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Input latency and framerate capping

Tags:
  • Latency
  • Framerate
  • Games
  • MSI
  • Graphics
  • GPUs
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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August 4, 2014 11:43:42 AM

I cap the framerate on all my games with MSI Afterburner, but I've noticed that when the GPU usage hits 100% and the framerate drops below my cap, I get noticeably more input-latency. It feels like it's waiting til the next frame to register my input - as if Vsync was on.

It happens most noticeably in my modded Skyrim (45fps cap), and the Crysis series (40fps cap).

I wonder if it's tied to Nvidia's driver throttling the GPU clockspeed...

More about : input latency framerate capping

August 4, 2014 11:48:52 AM

Have you tried removing the caps?
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August 4, 2014 12:15:16 PM

Forcing the FPS to stay at a certain threshold sometimes confuses the card and makes it perform less than the cap.
I'd suggest putting the cap at least 5-10FPS higher than your target.
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August 4, 2014 12:41:17 PM

stokes1790 said:
Have you tried removing the caps?


Yes - causes the same latency effect all the time except for when the GPU isn't peaking at 100% usage. The effect is definitely reduced at higher framerates, but I believe that's because there's a frame or two of delay, not a set lag.

When I have the cap enabled to just above my minimum framerate (usually 40-45fps) in demanding games, I get pristine smoothness because the framerate never varies, and input is almost instant - even at 40fps. I just get mouse/controller lag when the GPU hits 100% usage.
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August 5, 2014 9:06:13 AM

Did some more testing - at 100% GPU usage @ 50-60fps the input lag is definitely reduced - almost unnoticeable.

But even at a capped 30fps, the input lag feels less than 60fps uncapped. Something to do with the framebuffer, I'm sure.

Can someone else try it out and see how it feels on your system? I wonder if it's bound to 1st-gen Kepler GPU Boost.
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