[SOLVED] Should I limit my FPS to 60 for a 60 Hz display?

[Orbit Storm]

This might seem like a weird question but if I have a display capable of just 60 Hz, should I cap my frames (i.e. via NVIDIA Profile Inspector) to 60, or 59, just to ensure there is no screen-tearing or any other artifacts on the screen? I ask this from an optimization standpoint, trying to ensure that games I run are buttery smooth. I have the hardware capable of doing that, just not the display at the moment.

 

[boju]

Yeah try limit to 60 first.

Can also compare the above by limiting to 57, 58 or 59fps with Vsync on and see how you like it and if you notice any Vsync input lag at all.

 

[Orbit Storm]

Yeah try limit to 60 first.

Can also compare the above by limiting to 57, 58 or 59fps with Vsync on and see how you like it and if you notice any Vsync input lag at all.

I'm assuming the tool I mentioned earlier would be the best solution, yeah?

I don't really experience any issues with low-strain games like WoW, where I can exceed 200 frames. I do notice it in more demanding games like Escape from Tarkov, where I get this weird, occasional rippling effect that runs vertically up the entire screen. I don't see any actual screen-tearing but I get the feeling that the game could run a lot smoother and less jittery if I did some changes with NVIDIA. Game is poorly optimized and there are hard stutters that drop GPU usage to single digits and that's tolerable but overall, 60 fps doesn't feel like 60.

 

[boju]

Yeah Nvidia Inspector or Msi Afterburner will help you limit fps.

Usually you'll see either tearing or like a micro jitter look on screen when exceeding the refresh rate. Limting fps does help and i've noticed in the past when i was on a 60Hz screen, enabling Vsync can also improve smoothness but to defeat input lag, i just limited fps a tiny bit lower, 59 from memory, but have seen others suggesting 1 or 2 fps lower still. Lowering fps kind of acts like a phantom frame buffer imo from experience doing it that way with Vsync on. So Vsync isn't trying to sync frames on the at-most edge of the refresh rate causing input lag.

There's a few ways of going about it but yeah if 60fps doesn't feel like 60fps, it's probably micro jittering yeah?

 

[Glenwing]

Can't you just do it, and then see if you like it better that way?

 

[Orbit Storm]

Can't you just do it, and then see if you like it better that way?

I was really asking because I wasn't certain if it was recommended or if there were any drawbacks.

Yeah Nvidia Inspector or Msi Afterburner will help you limit fps.

Usually you'll see either tearing or like a micro jitter look on screen when exceeding the refresh rate. Limting fps does help and i've noticed in the past when i was on a 60Hz screen, enabling Vsync can also improve smoothness but to defeat input lag, i just limited fps a tiny bit lower, 59 from memory, but have seen others suggesting 1 or 2 fps lower still. Lowering fps kind of acts like a phantom frame buffer imo from experience doing it that way with Vsync on. So Vsync isn't trying to sync frames on the at-most edge of the refresh rate causing input lag.

There's a few ways of going about it but yeah if 60fps doesn't feel like 60fps, it's probably micro jittering yeah?

I've had NVIDIA's Vsync disabled and allow the application to handle all of that. I've tried the game's built-in frame limiter but it doesn't work all that well. So, I'm trying random combinations right now. Thanks for the responses!

 

[boju]

Let us know how you go and what works best for you.

From experience playing Rage on a Tv, i limited the ingame fps command to 59 and forced Vsync in NvidiaCP.

Nvidia's Vsync and game's Vsync can be different on an engine level so try one or the other.