CSGO capped vs uncapped FPS

[Nakedpengwin]

Hi guys

I play CSGO Competitively and I'm wondering whether I should cap my fps or play with it uncapped.

I've got a 60hz Samsung monitor.

Should I cap it at 60 fps or 120 fps or just let it fluctuate from 0 - 300?

Thank in advance!

Best regards, Jonathan

 

[joshyboy82]

well, you're going to get 60 fps either way. If you want to go competitive, I'd get a faster monitor. In fact, I just had a conversation about this....
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-3038707/uhd-60hz-1440p-144hz-monitor.html#17858756

 

[joshyboy82]

slightly different answer: If you cap, you induce lag. So when you click to fire, you're actually firing on a buffered frame, and 3 ms later, it fires. Leave it uncapped, you have a better 'chance' of it being immediate. I say chance because when it's unbuffered, and it's faster than your monitor can register, it's random if the frame you fired in is the frame rendered.

 

[Nakedpengwin]

I never knew that!

Thank you very much for your help Josh!

One more question, if I leave my fps uncapped, so that it fluctuates between 0 - 300 fps, will it put a greater amount of stress of my CPU and GPU?

I have an AMD X4 860k, with turbo mode control turned off and I haven't overclocked it!

My GPU is pretty weak, it's a geforce GT 730, I'm getting the Sapphire Radeon Nitro R7 360 (should arrive on Monday), which I'm excited about!

I don't want to burn out my brand new computer!!

Best regards, Jonathan

 

[joshyboy82]

Short answer: Yes. It will max out it's capabilities. That isn't the best for long term. You can strike a balance however, go into the Nvidia control panel and select "add game". Choose CS and scroll down to frame buffer. Select lowest number, I think 1, maybe 2. Then enable vsync (nvidia control, not in game). It will give you the best compromise.

 

[joshyboy82]

none of this touches on ping, your connection to the server. When you click fire the server marks your location, you weapon's direction, and other player's locations. Your computer pulls a live feed of what the server sends it, but if your computer has buffered frames, people aren't visually (to you/ monitor) where they actually are on the server. So a fast moving headshot may be behind the person's actual headbox, and you miss. that was what that link talked about, countering server lag by aiming ahead of them (very slightly, this is all happening crazy fast on the hardware/ server end). That's why the frame buffer in vsync is detrimental. It adds another set of lag and your brain has to compensate for the fact that what you see on screen, actually happened 3 frames before. So take necessary steps. I used to play competitively, and alll the people I knew, myself included, played without Vsync. Even if that meant my computer was rendering 300 fps.

 

[joshyboy82]

one last thing: Long term was used inappropriately, I mean 5+ years. If you think about it, you'll probably have a new computer, or at least new crucial parts by 2021, so I say, Run It!

 

[Colonel Kernel]

Good answer Josh. Could I recommend this video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjWSRTYV8e0&list=FLco7McVTqsrajPUq4YbSxLQ&index=9