What is Nvidia Reflex? What does it do and how can it improve your gaming prowess?

(Pocket-lint) - Along with the uncover of the 3000 bid RTX GPUs, Nvidia besides announced its plans to assistance you crippled much competitively with Nvidia Reflex. 

Reflex is simply a exertion designed to trim the input lag betwixt your devices and your PC/display to trim latency and assistance you get the precocious manus successful games. 

What is latency?

To recognize however Nvidia Reflex volition enactment to amended your gaming experience, it's archetypal important to recognize what latency is and wherefore it makes a difference. 

Latency comes successful 2 main forms: strategy latency and web latency. Network latency is often referred to arsenic ping and represents however an online multiplayer crippled responds to your actions based connected the hold betwixt your actions successful the crippled and the server. 

System latency, connected the different hand, is the hold that happens betwixt erstwhile you click your rodent oregon property a cardinal connected your keyboard and the enactment that happens successful the game. 

There are 3 main stages of strategy latency. The latency betwixt your mouse/keyboard and the PC, the PC rendering the crippled and the hold betwixt however that displays connected your monitor. This hold tin beryllium minimal and sometimes invisible but it tin impact your gameplay successful assorted ways. 

A hold successful however your purpose follows the question of your mouse, truthful what's happening on-screen lags down the real-world movement. A hold successful shots happening aft you've pressed the trigger. And a hold successful the presumption of opponents displayed connected the screen. 

The best gaming mice effort to trim portion of this occupation with minimal input latency exertion but adjacent past there's immoderate strategy lag that tin hap betwixt your rodent actions and the crippled itself. 

The occupation of strategy latency

System latency happens successful antithetic ways, these are nicely described by Nvidia:

• Peripheral Latency: The clip it takes your input instrumentality to process your mechanical input and nonstop those input events to the PC
• Game Latency: The clip it takes for the CPU to process input oregon changes to the satellite and taxable a caller framework to the GPU to beryllium rendered
• Render Latency: The clip from erstwhile the framework gets successful enactment to beryllium rendered to erstwhile the GPU wholly renders the frame
• PC Latency: The clip it takes a framework to question done the PC. This includes some Game and Render Latency
• Display Latency: The clip it takes for the show to contiguous a caller representation aft the GPU has finished rendering the frame
• System Latency: The clip encompassing the full end-to-end measurement - from the commencement of peripheral latency to the extremity of show latency

As you tin spot determination are respective steps successful the process that tin perchance interaction the results of what you're seeing successful game. 

Nvidia's extremity is to trim the problems caused by input and strategy latency by utilizing bundle and operator optimisation to trim latency and spot your actions reflected much accurately successful the crippled world. 

Nvidia Reflex is simply a solution that includes assorted technologies to springiness gamers a competitory borderline successful definite games. One of which is reductions successful strategy latency with the close drivers and enactment from crippled developers.  

What is Nvidia Reflex? And which games enactment it?

Nvidia Reflex is simply a exertion that crippled developers tin usage to trim your strategy latency and amended your acquisition in-game. 

Reflex requires developers to instrumentality the exertion into their games. Current supported games include:

• Apex Legends
• Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
• Call of Duty: Warzone
• CRSED: F.O.A.D
• Destiny 2
• Enlisted
• Escape from Tarkov
• Fortnite
• Ghostrunner
• Kovaak 2.0
• Mordhau
• NARAKA: BLADEPOINT
• Overwatch
• Rainbow Six Siege
• Rust
• Valorant 
• Warface
• War Thunder

Nvidia claims that implementation of Reflex successful games similar Rainbow Six Siege tin trim latency by arsenic overmuch arsenic 30 per cent. Giving serious, competitory gamers the borderline and a split-second advantage. 

For Overwatch, Nvidia says that erstwhile Reflex is enabled successful the video settings, there's arsenic overmuch arsenic a 50 per cent simplification successful strategy latency. Improving your wide acquisition and hopefully resulting successful much palmy gaming sessions arsenic well. 

The bully quality is, this tech isn't constricted to the caller 3000 bid RTX graphics cards either. Nvidia Reflex volition beryllium supported by graphics cards dating each the mode backmost to the company's GeForce GTX 900 Series. Even lesser graphics cards volition payment from the strategy arsenic well.

Nvidia says much affordable GPUs similar the GTX 1660 Super, volition spot arsenic overmuch arsenic a 33 per cent betterment successful responsiveness erstwhile utilizing Reflex. Though obviously, an RTX 3080 volition spot adjacent amended gains. 

• How to physique a fund oregon mid-range gaming PC

The different item of Nvidia Reflex is that it's designed to trim latency adjacent with higher resolutions. Professional/competitive gamers thin to play astatine little resolutions arsenic that mostly means little rendering load and little latency but with Reflex, Nividia is saying it'll beryllium imaginable to play games astatine overmuch higher resolutions with acold little latency. Assuming the games enactment it of course. 

What if a crippled doesn't enactment Reflex?

To get the champion performance, the games you're playing ideally request to enactment Nvidia Reflex, but it is besides present imaginable to payment from latency improvements with insignificant tweaks to your existent setup. 

Within the Nvidia Control Panel, you tin activate Nvidia Ultra Low Latency mode to minimise latency rapidly and easily. 

To bash this, unfastened the power sheet and find "Manage 3D settings", past find the "Low Latency Mode" and prime "Ultra" from the drop-down.

This volition assistance trim immoderate latency but won't beryllium arsenic effectual arsenic having afloat enactment from the crippled developers. 

Other ways to trim strategy latency

As good arsenic activating Nvidia Reflex (if possible), determination are different ways to trim strategy latency, adjacent by utilizing your existent hardware. Though upgrading your cogwheel is evidently an option, tweaking your settings whitethorn beryllium capable successful immoderate cases. 

Increase your polling rate

With modern gaming peripherals, similar high-end mice and gaming keyboards, it's imaginable to set the polling rate. 

Polling complaint is however often information is sent from your instrumentality to your PC. In different words, however swiftly the clicks are registered. Higher polling rates mean that these clicks are registered faster and latency is reduced.

With a 1000Hz polling rate, latency is astir 1ms. Razer's Viper 8K mouse has an 8KHz polling rate, arsenic an illustration of much utmost tech meaning its latency is arsenic debased arsenic 0.125ms and it tin nonstop information 8,000 times each second. 

Check the settings of your rodent and keyboard and if you can, alteration the polling complaint to its highest setting. 

Turn connected Exclusive Fullscreen

Playing successful Windowed mode, whether borderless oregon different tin pb to different issues with latency. Turning connected Exclusive Fullscreen wrong your crippled tin trim this occupation and amended wide performance. 

Turn disconnected VSync

VSync has historically been utilized to trim surface tearing. It's a graphical mounting you'll find some successful Nvidia power sheet and successful your game's graphics settings. Turning VSync disconnected tin really amended show (meaning you'll get higher framework rates) and trim latency arsenic well. We'd urge turning it disconnected whenever possible. 

Activate Game Mode and hardware acceleration

For these tweaks, you'll request the latest mentation of Windows 10. With that, you tin activate immoderate settings successful Windows to amended crippled show by prioritising the processing powerfulness needed for the game. 

The archetypal 1 is to activate Game Mode. To bash this travel these steps:

1. Press the Start fastener connected your keyboard and benignant game 
2. Click Game Mode Settings erstwhile it appears astatine the tope of the Start menu
3. Click the fastener to crook connected Game mode

The 2nd is hardware acceleration. You tin find this mounting thusly:

1. Press the Start fastener and hunt for Graphics Settings
2. Then click to crook connected Hardware-accelerated GPU Scheduling
3. Scroll down and presumption the settings for "graphics show preference" from determination you tin take the app to acceptable your preference. For Nvidia, this is the Nvidia Control panel. You tin prime this arsenic a desktop app oregon Microsoft store app via the dropdown. 
4. Click connected the app, click options and prime precocious performance

Both these settings combined volition springiness you wide amended show and reduced latency arsenic well. 

Activate your maximum refresh rate

If you've got a good gaming monitor, past the chances are you person a accelerated refresh complaint option, this mightiness beryllium 144Hz, 240Hz oregon adjacent 360Hz. 

Windows 10 doesn't ever default to utilizing these maximum settings though and if you privation the champion show and the slightest latency past you'll request to guarantee you are moving astatine maximum. 

There are 2 ways to bash this, the archetypal is done Windows show settings:

1. Right-click connected your desktop and click show settings
2. Scroll down until you spot "advanced show settings"
3. Then scroll down to refresh complaint and click the driblet down. From determination prime your monitor's maximum refresh rate. 

Alternatively usage Nvidia's Control Panel:

1. Right-click connected your desktop and click the Nvidia Control panel
2. Under "display" find the enactment for "change resolution" 
3. From determination click the refresh complaint drop-down and prime the highest imaginable setting.

Activate G-Sync

If you person a G-Sync compatible gaming show past it's worthy checking that G-Sync is acceptable up correctly. To bash this right-click connected the desktop, unfastened Nvidia Control Panel and find "Setup G-Sync" connected the left-hand broadside menu.

From determination you tin take to alteration G-Sync if it isn't already enabled. 

Reflex Latency Analyzer and 360Hz displays 

squirrel_widget_4332300

Alongside Nvidia Reflex, the institution is besides moving with partners to usage hardware built into new 360Hz G-Sync displays to actively analyse the inputs from your mouse. 

With these compatible monitors, you'll beryllium capable to plug your rodent straight into the show and past usage Reflex Latency Analyzer to measurement the latency. Reflex Latency Analyzer volition measurement rodent latency, strategy latency and PC + Display Latency to past optimise for champion performance. 

Which gaming mice are Nvidia Reflex compatible? 

Corsair, ASUS, Logitech, Razer and SteelSeries are connected committee with compatible mice and utilizing those successful conjunction with the latest drivers and a compatible surface you'll beryllium capable to get real-time information connected your latency. Some older mice person besides been updated with caller firmware to marque them compatible too. The database of existent Nvidia Reflex compatible mice includes:

• Acer Predator Cestus 330/350
• Alienware AW610M
• AOC GM500 Gaming Mouse
• AOPEN Fire Legend GM310    
• ASUS ROG Chakram and Chakram Core
• ASUS ROG Gladius III and Gladius III wireless
• ASUS ROG Keris and Keris wireless
• ASUS ROG Spatha X
• Corsair DARK CORE RGB PRO and SE
• Corsair Katar Pro Wireless and XT
• Corsair Sabre Pro and champion series
• EVGA X15 and X17
• Hyperx Pulsefire Haste
• Logitech Pro X Superlight
• MSI Clutch GM41 lightweight and wireless
• Razer Basilisk Ultimate
• Razer DeathAdder V2 and Pro 
• Razer Viper Ultimate
• SteelSeries Rival 3

Some games are designed to specifically enactment the Reflex Latency Analyser with a dedicated flash indicator. These games see Fortnite, Mordhau and Overwatch with much coming. 

Find retired much astir Nvidia Reflex here and you tin besides read a heavy dive into however it each works here. Nvidia besides has a elaborate usher connected how to usage the Nvidia Reflex Latency Analyser if you person the close equipment. This involves connecting a supported rodent to a supported show and moving the bundle and investigation to optimise performance. 

Measuring show with GeForce Experience

Nvidia besides makes it casual to measurement your system's show utilizing GeForce Experience. Even if you don't person a compatible show you tin inactive entree absorbing and utile information here. Make definite you person the latest mentation of the software, past unfastened it up and click connected the settings cog. From there, click connected wide settings, past click to alteration experimental features.

With that done you tin past unfastened the in-game overlay with ALT+Z. In determination you'll spot a "performance" enactment connected the right-hand side. Click that and you tin past get an overlay with show stats. As standard, you tin get this to see basal data, FPS, GPU timepiece speeds and more, but you tin besides get latency information. This is peculiarly utile erstwhile investigating and optimising your instrumentality to get the champion performance. 

You tin past unfastened and adjacent this overlay connected the alert by pressing ALT+R erstwhile in-game. Find retired much astir how this works and what each the information means here. 

• Best gaming monitors: Top 4K, ultrawide and ultra accelerated monitors to buy

Writing by Adrian Willings. Originally published connected 4 September 2020.