Userbench fails Sphere graphics test. Possible solution.

If you are experiencing an error running the userbench suite of tests, and the error indicates “ERROR: Sphere GPU benchmark failed, aborting further tests on this GPU” then this MAY solve your issue.

I isolated this error on my system to the Nahimic service that is a part of the Realtek Audio driver package. To verify this as the cause on your system:

  1. Open the control panel.
  2. Administrative Tools applet. *You may need to change the view in your control panel to large icons to see this as an icon. Check the drop down menu at the top right area of your control panel.*
  3. Click on Services.
  4. Disable the Nahimic service by right clicking on it in the list, properties, then disable. Reboot for that change to take effect.
  5. Test userbench.

IF userbench now runs successfully, then Nahimic service IS the cause. The real solution is to update the Nahimic service to the latest version. In my case I have an ASUS Z370-E Motherboard and there is an update package on the ASUS Support page. IF you have a Z370-E here is the link for the audio driver update. You probably will need to find the update that corresponds to your motherboard at the manufacturer’s web site of YOUR motherboard.

Steps:

  1. Download the update.
  2. Extract or unzip or unpack the update.
  3. Run the Setup.exe file.
  4. Say yes to the prompt to uninstall your existing driver and install the new one.
  5. Reboot when it suggests.
  6. Wait for the installer to resume after the reboot.
  7. Reboot again after the install completes.
  8. Run the AsusSetup.exe to update the Nahimic service, this won’t work correctly if the service is disabled. Enable it and reboot if necessary. Reboot again AFTER the AsusSetup.exe completes it’s install.
  9. Test userbench with the new version of the Nahimic service running.

Your mileage MAY vary. Good Luck!

9 comments

  1. WOW .. after almost 2 weeks looking for the solution .. this one finally worked. !!

  2. Thank you it worked for me but only when i did update new drivers i still had same prob , but to disable worked

  3. I just upgraded from:
    asrock z390m-itx ac
    i5 9400f
    msi rtx2060 super

    to:
    Asus z490-i gaming
    i7 10700k
    (same GPU)

    Everything was functioning properly on the 9th gen motherboard before I swapped in the new cpu and mobo. Did a clean windows install in addition to the new hardware and updated all the drivers.
    Since the installation I’ve had ongoing issues with freezes/restarts, artifacting in certain applications, and failing the sphere graphics test on userbench. I have scoured the internet to make sure the drivers were correct, safety mode uninstalls of gpu drivers with clean installs, removing gpu/cpu from socket, etc. In short, everything under the sun to attempt to figure out the reoccurring issues (yes, I even tried turning it off and back on again).
    Disabling the driver is the only thing that has *successfully* caused the problems to cease. Thank you very much!!

    So, this fix is still applicable 05/31/2020. It also works with 10th gen comet lake hardware.

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