The Windows 11 January 2026 cumulative update (KB5074109) is causing serious gaming performance issues, especially on PCs powered by NVIDIA graphics cards. Gamers worldwide are reporting frame-rate drops, stuttering, and visual glitches after installing the update — prompting NVIDIA to officially recommend uninstalling it as a temporary fix.
Microsoft has acknowledged the problem and is working on a patch, but until then, many players are rolling back the update to restore smooth gameplay.
⚠️ What Problems Are Gamers Facing?
After installing KB5074109, affected users have reported:
📉 Sudden FPS drops in popular games
🖼️ Screen flickering and artifacting
🎮 Inconsistent GPU utilization
❌ Stuttering even on high-end RTX GPUs
The issue appears most common on Windows 11 systems using NVIDIA drivers, while AMD and Intel GPUs are largely unaffected.
🧠 Why KB5074109 Is Causing Gaming Issues
While KB5074109 includes important security and system fixes, it also makes changes to graphics handling and system scheduling, which seem to conflict with certain NVIDIA driver versions.
According to reports:
The update can interfere with DirectX performance
GPU frame pacing becomes unstable
Performance regressions appear even on clean driver installs
NVIDIA has since advised gamers experiencing issues to remove the update until Microsoft releases a fix.
🛠️ NVIDIA’s Recommendation: Uninstall the Update
NVIDIA now suggests that affected users uninstall KB5074109 if they experience gaming problems.
How to Uninstall KB5074109:
Go to Settings → Windows Update
Open Update history
Select Uninstall updates
Remove KB5074109
Restart your PC
⚠️ Note: Uninstalling the update may temporarily remove some security fixes, so this should be treated as a short-term workaround, not a permanent solution.
🔄 Is Microsoft Working on a Fix?
Yes. Microsoft is:
Investigating performance regressions tied to KB5074109
Testing hotfixes and driver-level mitigations
Expected to release a fix in an upcoming cumulative update or out-of-band patch
Until then, Microsoft recommends gamers stay on the previous stable build if performance is impacted.
📊 Should You Uninstall KB5074109?
| User Type | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| 🎮 PC Gamers (NVIDIA GPU) | ✅ Uninstall if facing FPS drops |
| 💻 Casual / Non-Gamers | ❌ No action needed |
| 🔐 Security-focused users | ⚠️ Wait for Microsoft’s patch |
🧩 Bottom Line
The Windows 11 KB5074109 update has unintentionally disrupted gaming performance for many NVIDIA users, forcing gamers to choose between security updates and smooth gameplay. With NVIDIA recommending removal and Microsoft actively working on a fix, a permanent solution is likely coming soon.
Until then, gamers experiencing issues may want to roll back the update and pause Windows Updates temporarily.
