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Should you uninstall Windows 11 KB5074109 if your NVIDIA GeForce shows artifacts or stuttering after the January 2026 update?
What’s happening
Windows 11’s January 2026 cumulative security update KB5074109 (Build 26200.7623) has been tied to NVIDIA-related display and gaming issues on some systems, including black screens, artifacts, stuttering, and performance drops.
Reports include noticeable FPS reductions (often described as around 10–20 FPS in some titles) and visual glitches in games, and multiple users say uninstalling KB5074109 or restoring to a pre-update state brings performance back.
What NVIDIA has confirmed
NVIDIA staff (quoted in coverage of NVIDIA forum discussions) has acknowledged the reports and stated they are investigating, while also noting that uninstalling KB5074109 appears to be the only reliable resolution for affected users right now.
The core takeaway: even if the symptoms look “driver-like,” evidence in the threads points to the Windows update as the trigger in these cases.
Practical, low-risk actions
- Update the NVIDIA driver to the latest available version first (then reboot), since some setups may improve with newer driver packages.
- If symptoms began right after KB5074109 and persist, uninstall KB5074109 via Settings > Windows Update > Update history > Uninstall updates, then reboot.
- If you haven’t installed KB5074109 yet and rely on stable GPU performance for work or gaming, consider delaying installation until the issue is fully addressed in an updated patch/driver path.
Notes on scope (so expectations are set)
Not every NVIDIA user is affected, but the issue pattern is consistent across user reports: black screens, artifacts, stutter, and FPS regression after KB5074109, with uninstalling the update repeatedly cited as the most dependable mitigation.
At least one Microsoft Q&A thread also describes KB5074109-related instability with NVIDIA GPUs in real workloads (e.g., GPU-accelerated apps hanging/crashing), which supports that this can impact more than games.