F5F Stay Refreshed Software PC Gaming Is this a thing?

Is this a thing?

Is this a thing?

V
V4L3N73
Member
209
08-02-2026, 07:01 PM
#1
Someone else should know about this... Do all PC games need to download new shader packs when drivers change? Why do I ask? With an old Nvidia card, my Apex Legends game suddenly started compiling shaders right after a driver update. After that first time, it just kept going normally. But with the AMD card now, I have never seen this happen. Does this surprise me or is it something I missed? For other games like Hunt Showdown or BF2042 does it only happen when you start playing on a new map for the first time because of shader glitches? It would be helpful if every game told us right away when this happens. Any help would be amazing. Cheers
V
V4L3N73
08-02-2026, 07:01 PM #1

Someone else should know about this... Do all PC games need to download new shader packs when drivers change? Why do I ask? With an old Nvidia card, my Apex Legends game suddenly started compiling shaders right after a driver update. After that first time, it just kept going normally. But with the AMD card now, I have never seen this happen. Does this surprise me or is it something I missed? For other games like Hunt Showdown or BF2042 does it only happen when you start playing on a new map for the first time because of shader glitches? It would be helpful if every game told us right away when this happens. Any help would be amazing. Cheers

X
X_the_king
Member
101
08-03-2026, 12:20 AM
#2
Apex Legends probably uses something called shader caching, which helps make things run faster. Some games have a setting you can turn on or off (I guess Call of Duty: Black Ops has this), but some just do it automatically. Also, shaders aren't being downloaded; they are small programs that the GPU runs to draw pictures. Making these programs usually takes time and is called compiling.
X
X_the_king
08-03-2026, 12:20 AM #2

Apex Legends probably uses something called shader caching, which helps make things run faster. Some games have a setting you can turn on or off (I guess Call of Duty: Black Ops has this), but some just do it automatically. Also, shaders aren't being downloaded; they are small programs that the GPU runs to draw pictures. Making these programs usually takes time and is called compiling.