NVIDIA ShadowPlay Capture Service
nvspcaps64.exe is safe. It’s NVIDIA’s ShadowPlay capture component used for gameplay recording and streaming overlays, typically running in the background when GeForce Experience is active.
nvspcaps64.exe is the 64-bit NVIDIA ShadowPlay capture component that enables game recording, desktop capture, and streaming overlays when GeForce Experience is installed. It runs in the background to handle video encoding, frame capture, and overlay rendering.
It operates as part of a multi-process capture stack, coordinating GPU-accelerated encoding with the overlay UI. This separation helps maintain game performance while recording or streaming.
Quick Fact: NVIDIA introduced ShadowPlay capture to offload encoding to the GPU, reducing CPU load during recording.
Yes, nvspcaps64.exe is safe when it is the legitimate NVIDIA ShadowPlay capture component installed via GeForce Experience and located in an official NVIDIA folder.
The real nvspcaps64.exe is NOT a virus. Malware can disguise as nvspcaps64.exe, so verify the file location and signature.
C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\ShadowPlay\ or C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\GeForce Experience\. Any nvspcaps64.exe elsewhere is suspicious.Red Flags: If nvspcaps64.exe is located in unusual folders (Temp, AppData, System32), runs without GeForce Experience, lacks a valid signature, or uses constant high resources, scan with antivirus. Be wary of similarly named files like "nvspcaps32.exe" from unknown sources.
nvspcaps64.exe runs to support NVIDIA ShadowPlay/GeForce Experience recording, streaming, and overlay features. It may run when you start a game, begin recording, or enable in-game overlay.
Reasons it's running:
Yes, you can disable nvspcaps64.exe. It is safe to close GeForce Experience and disable background capture if you don’t use ShadowPlay features.
If nvspcaps64.exe is consuming excessive resources while recording or overlay is active:
Quick Fixes:
1. Open GeForce Experience → In-Game Overlay off or adjust capture settings
2. Update NVIDIA drivers to the latest version
3. Close unused games and overlays to free GPU resources
4. Restart GeForce Experience or the PC
5. If problems persist, temporarily disable nvspcaps64 by disabling ShadowPlay
No, the legitimate nvspcaps64.exe is part of NVIDIA ShadowPlay/GeForce Experience. Verify its location under <code>C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\ShadowPlay\</code> or <code>C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\GeForce Experience\</code> and ensure a valid NVIDIA signature.
If GeForce Experience is configured to launch on startup, nvspcaps64.exe may run in the background to enable ShadowPlay. You can disable this in Task Manager → Startup or GeForce Experience settings.
You can disable the feature or uninstall GeForce Experience to remove nvspcaps64.exe. Deleting the file directly may cause ShadowPlay to malfunction; use the official uninstall route.
Disable in-game overlay: GeForce Experience → Settings → In-Game Overlay (toggle off). You can also disable ShadowPlay capture in the same settings.
nvspcaps64.exe is the 64-bit capture component for modern systems; nvspcaps32.exe is its 32-bit counterpart used on older software configurations. They share functionality but operate in different address spaces.
Update drivers, enable GPU-accelerated encoding, reduce overlay features, limit recorded resolution/frame rate, and ensure system is not bottlenecked by CPU or RAM during gameplay.