Tested: NVIDIA GeForce Drivers Limiting Maximum Frame Rate

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Conclusion

It is about time that NVIDIA has implemented this feature into its driver control panel.  We only kid about the 25 years of waiting.  NVIDIA’s first video card chipset, the NV1, was released in 1995.  Since then NVIDIA has been constantly developing its drivers, implementing new features that gamers want.  However, this specific frame limiting feature is something we’ve had to rely on third-party applications for until now.  Not really sure what took so long for it to be implemented, but we are very excited and happy that it finally has been.

Why ever would you want to limit your frame rate?  There are plenty of reasons.  One is so that you can enjoy non-tearing gaming but still keep VSYNC OFF for the best latencies.  Another is to adjust your performance to monitor for GSYNC and non-GSYNC displays. 

There is also the idea of power savings, capping the framerate saves power that can be used for other multi-tasking duties.  For example, maybe you stream, and record video for Twitch or YouTube at the same time while gaming.  You can free up GPU cycles to handle those tasks and balance performance.  Or maybe you have an older game that just freaks out at higher frame rates.  Sometimes game engines operate at locked tick rates and setting the FPS to match that improves behavior.  There are many other scenarios as well.

Final Points

We have long wanted an easy to use, just push it and go option.  In all of our testing today we have proven that the feature works as intended.  It works in DX11, DX12 and Vulkan games just fine.  You can set the option globally, or per-game.  With plenty of leeway between 40-240Hz in 1Hz increments, you can customize to your heart’s content.

As we also found out games are going to treat this a little different.  You may end up needing to set the cap at 1 or 2 FPS/Hz behind your refresh rate instead of exactly that number.  This is because it may actually run 1 or 2 FPS faster at the maximum frame rate.  This is all going to depend on the game.  Your best bet is to set it 2 Hz behind your refresh rate, and you should be good to go for a non-tearing experience.

Grab NVIDIA GeForce 441.87 WHQL

Discussion

Brent Justicehttps://www.thefpsreview.com
Former managing editor of GPUs at HardOCP for 18 years, Brent Justice has been reviewing computer components since the late 90s, educated in the art and method of the computer hardware review, he brings experience, knowledge, and hands-on testing with a gamer-oriented and hardware enthusiast perspective. You can follow him on Twitter - @Brent_Justice You can sub to his YouTube channel - Justice Gaming https://www.youtube.com/c/JusticeGamingChannel You can check out his computer builds on KIT - @BrentJustice https://kit.co/BrentJustice

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