The problem with only turning it off in the preferences is that the module is still loaded (taking up memory) and will still be initialised (executed - even if only to "register" itself). Any issues, such as those addressed by the hotfix) will still be present and may affect the system even though the onscreen features won't be available. Renaming the .gup prevents any of that happening, so in this case it's probably better to rename than simply disable.
Max 2016 (SP1/EXT1)
Win7Pro x64 (SP1). i5-3570K @ 4.4GHz, 8Gb Ram, DX11.
nVidia GTX760 (2GB) (Driver 430.86).