[Proper Settings] G-Sync, frame times, latency, and Warframe

[Chaos.Blades]

I was reading through this amazing article by Blur Busters about Gsync and decided to do some testing with Warframe.

G-SYNC 101 | Blur Busters 

Use ParkControl or CPU Core Parking Manager to unpark your CPU Cores. Plenty of threads on here and other game forums were this resolved performance issues. I always do this and disable all power saving features so I didn't do any testing for this. People have been complaining to Microsoft for years there core parking is too aggressive.

The game needs to be set to Fullscreen Mode within Warframe or G-Sync will not work properly. Yes, there is an option in NV Control Panel for Windowed Mode but let's just say it is defaulted to off for a reason.

V-SYNC = Don't use the Warframe version or the Nvidia Control Panel Version it creates massive frame time spikes when loading into certain GUI elements in Warframe specifically. The Foundry is a massive one.

FPS Limit =  Don't use the Warframe version as it is not a limit but a soft cap and causes small but unnecessary frame time spikes and FPS inconsistency. Use RTSS and set the FPS limit to -3 your max Hz of your monitor. So if you have a 144hz G-Sync monitor you would set your FPS limit to 141 FPS.

Nvidia Control Panel Settings to Change (Waframe Specific):  All the below assumes your Global NV Control Panel settings are Default.

Max Pre-Rendered Frames = You should test this on your system but I didn't see any extra frame time spikes when set to 1 on my system. Either Warframe already forces a value of 1 (DE will need to confirm) or latency has been reduced by reducing it from 3 (default) to 1.

SLI = If you have 2+ GPUs in your rig then you need to disable SLI and manually set it to "Single-GPU". SLI makes Warframe for lack of a better word, run like trash. You actually get worse frame times and FPS in SLI. DE should have Nvidia remove this profile from the driver so people do not fall into this trap. Who knows how old that profile even is.

Texture Filtering Negative LOD bias = Clamp (I found no performance or frame time penalty to enabling this and it will make textures looks better)

Texture Filtering - Quality = High quality (I found no performance or frame time penalty to enabling this and it will make textures looks better)

V-Sync = Off (It is already set to "Use 3D application setting" by default and you should already have the Warframe setting off but Warframe has major issues with Vsync in Fullscreen Mode so set this to OFF just to be safe)

Test System:

CPU - i7-6800k @ 4.25Ghz
Motherboard - ASUS Strix x99 Gaming
Graphics - GTX 1080 @ 2Ghz in SLI
RAM - 32GB 4x8GB @ 3Ghz
Storage - Samsung M.2 NVMe 960 Pro 1TB
Monitor - Asus ROG PG279Q

Edited October 1, 2018 by Chaos.Blades

[Shalath]

I find that with Vsync completely off I get very slight tearing while spinning the camera really fast. Not nearly as bad as without Gsync/Vsync but it is definitely there and it annoys me so I keep Vsync on Fast in the Nvidia panel. I've not noticed any frame spikes but I'll check when entering my foundry. That said I keep my framerate at either 60 or 72 when the weather is warm rather than my native 100 or it sounds like I live in an airport (on the plains especially) so the slower framerate may be making it easier to spot.

ROG PG348Q and a GTX 1070 here.

[Chaos.Blades]

You might want turn on your FPS counter built into your monitor to make sure G-Sync is working. You should not be getting any tearing when you are within the G-Sync range. With Gsync on and v-sync off you should only get tearing below 30fps and above your monitors refresh rate which is why we cap the FPS in RTSS to -3 your max refresh rate. Also when you check frame times and fps make sure you use the graph option. I found I was not seeing the whole picture until I enabled this. What is really weird is that when you enable Fast in the NVCP it only engages when the FPS is above your monitors refresh rate so this should not have any effect at all on tearing when within the G-Sync range. The Blur Busters article states "Fast Sync can introduce uneven frame pacing, and is best used with FPS in excess of 2-3x the maximum refresh rate". Also, I should note that I did not test Fast Sync due to this quote since I only get 2-3x the max refresh rate when in the Liset.

Edited September 27, 2018 by Chaos.Blades

[-SR-Darwin]

well i tried many time to use v-sync or cap my fps and every time i do that game become laggey so i leave it uncapped with v-sync off and i go window boarderless

other setting maxed

fps: liset 210-235 - missions 140-160 - plains 110-140 -cetus 110 and after while fps drop to 75 (which i donno why) - relays 160-210

CPU - i7-4771 @ 3.9Ghz
Motherboard - G1-sniper-z87
Graphics - GTX 970 4g 256bit
RAM - 32GB 4x8GB 1600
Storage - SSD kingstone ssd now 240 +1T black WD + 2x 2T WD green
Monitor - LG 28 inch 60 frame rate

Edited October 1, 2018 by -SR-Darwin
correct words

[Chaos.Blades]

Just so you know G-sync does not work in Borderless Window, only fullscreen.