Nvidia Control Panel Settings for VR

[Dagwoodyt]

In a YouTube video I saw recommendation to use "Prefer Maximum Performance" in the Nvidia Control Panel settings menu in order to obtain best VR performance. I am not sure that doing so is of any real benefit in VR but a day later I noticed in HWiNFO64 that my gpu was idling at 1665MHz and 120W. After resetting performance selection to "Normal" and restarting the pc the gpu idle went down to 210MHz and 34 Watts. So much for YouTube gurus ?

[dburne]

9 hours ago, Dagwoodyt said:

In a YouTube video I saw recommendation to use "Prefer Maximum Performance" in the Nvidia Control Panel settings menu in order to obtain best VR performance. I am not sure that doing so is of any real benefit in VR but a day later I noticed in HWiNFO64 that my gpu was idling at 1665MHz and 120W. After resetting performance selection to "Normal" and restarting the pc the gpu idle went down to 210MHz and 34 Watts. So much for YouTube gurus ?

 

Typically one would set it for a profile in Nvidia Control Panel for the particular game.  Setting it in the global yeah would cause that behavior.

[Dagwoodyt]

2 hours ago, dburne said:

 

Typically one would set it for a profile in Nvidia Control Panel for the particular game.  Setting it in the global yeah would cause that behavior.

I'm unsure there is any tangible benefit derived from using the "Max" setting for VR. The more substantive issue is that the user may be totally unaware of the penalty for applying it to the "Global" setting.

[dburne]

1 hour ago, Dagwoodyt said:

I'm unsure there is any tangible benefit derived from using the "Max" setting for VR. The more substantive issue is that the user may be totally unaware of the penalty for applying it to the "Global" setting.

 

I was very simply stating that I use a game profile for making those setting rather than the global, not whether or not one would find it beneficial, that is dependent on the user and their use case scenario. By using a game profile I do not worry with things running at max when I am simply working with my monitor, only when the game is running. Not really interested in a debate of the benefit it provides. For me I have always preferred using it in this manner. Each person is different.

 

[Dagwoodyt]

4 hours ago, dburne said:

 

I was very simply stating that I use a game profile for making those setting rather than the global, not whether or not one would find it beneficial, that is dependent on the user and their use case scenario. By using a game profile I do not worry with things running at max when I am simply working with my monitor, only when the game is running. Not really interested in a debate of the benefit it provides. For me I have always preferred using it in this manner. Each person is different.

 

There is no debate. Demonstrably, I do not need to use "Max" to peruse menus in VR or 2D. I do not see how "Max" makes any sense in my VR gaming in that I am undervolting to keep temps in check. I also doubt that "Max" can "supercharge" gpu's that are already performing at maximum design limits. Who "Max" helps I do not know. I am presenting a cautionary tale that I believe is worth relating. There seems a cost associated with using "Max" no matter it be restricted to certain applications, but most definitely if applied globally.

Edited August 12, 2022 by Dagwoodyt

[dburne]

3 hours ago, Dagwoodyt said:

There is no debate. Demonstrably, I do not need to use "Max" to peruse menus in VR or 2D. I do not see how "Max" makes any sense in my VR gaming in that I am undervolting to keep temps in check. I also doubt that "Max" can "supercharge" gpu's that are already performing at maximum design limits. Who "Max" helps I do not know. I am presenting a cautionary tale that I believe is worth relating. There seems a cost associated with using "Max" no matter it be restricted to certain applications, but most definitely if applied globally.

 

Hey I was simply responding to your statement in your original post trying to give some helpful information in that regard - that one should not use it for the global setting but if wished per game profile. Not doing that was why your gpu was idling so high on 2d. But apparently you were just wanting to make a statement period.

 

We disagree , that's cool. You run your rig your way and I will run mine my way. Cause I am not really sure now what the point of your post was intended to be. My GPU idles at 210 as well...

I would also note in my reply I included "each person is different" .  I am not telling anyone how to run, was just trying to clarify the settings regarding global versus per game profiles. 

Edited August 12, 2022 by dburne

[slikslik]

As far as I'm concerned, I run my 3090 at Prefer Max Setting. If a person has a PC that can run ANY piece of hardware, including a decent VR HMD, CPU, Ram, game settigs at Max or Ultra etc. etc., then I'm all in.  Go for it!  Ain't no such thing as overkill.

[Dagwoodyt]

"Prefer Maximum Performance" even if there is no definable benefit and it triples wattage use at idle. Never argue with "I don't care".  ?

[firdimigdi]

If you notice that the gpu clock throttles down too much (almost goes down to idle clock speed) and it causes a game to stutter then it makes sense to use this setting as a workaround until either nvidia or the game dev can identify what causes it to throttle down aggressively.

 

If this is not the case and you've got your gpu overclocked without undervolting it or with innadequate cooling then you risk the possibility of it throttling it self when it reaches its thermal or power limit since it has been told to always try and remain boosted. This bouncing off limiters can then in turn cause stutters which stand out in VR if you are playing without motion reprojection.

 

In general I find that VR is demanding enough that the GPU never throttles down too much anyway to cause any stuttering issue so normal/adaptive clock works. If you also tune it to maintain a steady boost speed without fluctuations when it is under prolonged load so much the better because when it eventually can't keep up and the framerate does dip it happens smoothly since it doesn't also have to contend with a continuously changing boost speed.

 

Necessary disclaimer: the above is my 2c so do what thou wilt.

 

Edited August 13, 2022 by Firdimigdi
added disclaimer for religious purposes

[Dagwoodyt]

4 hours ago, Firdimigdi said:

If you notice that the gpu clock throttles down too much (almost goes down to idle clock speed) and it causes a game to stutter then it makes sense to use this setting as a workaround until either nvidia or the game dev can identify what causes it to throttle down aggressively.

 

If this is not the case and you've got your gpu overclocked without undervolting it or with innadequate cooling then you risk the possibility of it throttling it self when it reaches its thermal or power limit since it has been told to always try and remain boosted. This bouncing off limiters can then in turn cause stutters which stand out in VR if you are playing without motion reprojection.

 

In general I find that VR is demanding enough that the GPU never throttles down too much anyway to cause any stuttering issue so normal/adaptive clock works. If you also tune it to maintain a steady boost speed without fluctuations when it is under prolonged load so much the better because when it eventually can't keep up and the framerate does dip it happens smoothly since it doesn't also have to contend with a continuously changing boost speed.

 

Necessary disclaimer: the above is my 2c so do what thou wilt.

 

Thanks. If someone needs to try "Max" setting to solve a VR performance issue there is no reason not to. The typical setting for its' invocation I suspect is that the user has a "Max Performance" mindset and has no idea what happens once "Max" is invoked. Moreover, the mindset is likely that, if a little is good, "Max" should be applied "globally". Those who tout various options on YouTube do not necessarily know or care that a viewer would apply a setting that might not do anything benefical while increasing power consumption unnecessarily.

Again, I cannot make anyone care. I only wanted to report a finding to anyone who might.

 

Edited August 13, 2022 by Dagwoodyt

[sg_hubsghub]

After experimenting with Nvidia settings on the Oculus Quest 2, I've discovered several insights into their impact on VR performance and quality. Here's a summary of my findings:

• Minor Performance Variations:

  • Adjusting Nvidia settings resulted in only minor changes in VR performance (±1.5 FPS) and visual quality.

  • Most noticeable effects were slightly sharper textures with anisotropic filtering and smoother edges with antialiasing.

• In-game Settings Matter More:

  • Adjusting in-game graphics, render resolution, and headset refresh rate had a more significant impact on performance and quality than Nvidia Control Panel settings.

• Testing with OpenVR Benchmark:

  • Used OpenVR Benchmark for reproducible VR performance tests.

  • Benchmarked various Nvidia settings to see their impact on performance, with focus on average FPS.

• Key Nvidia Settings Tested:

  • Power Management Mode: Setting to 'Prefer Maximum Performance' had negligible impact.

  • Anisotropic Filtering: Recommended to enable; enhances visuals with minimal performance hit.

  • Antialiasing: Tested various modes; overriding application settings lowered FPS slightly.

  • Low Latency Mode: 'Ultra' setting slightly increased FPS.

  • MFAA: Enabled for better visuals without performance penalty.

  • Texture Filtering – Quality: 'High Performance' setting achieved the highest average FPS.

  • Vertical Sync: 'Fast' setting improved FPS.

  • VR Pre-rendered Frames: Increasing value marginally improved FPS.

• Nvidia Presets:

  • Performance, Balanced, and Quality presets were tested.

  • Gradual improvement in FPS from Quality to Performance preset.

• Custom Performance Setup:

  • Based on a popular YouTube guide for high FPS, but only saw marginal improvement over baseline.

• Conclusion:

  • Start optimizing VR performance with rendering resolution, refresh rate, and in-game graphics settings.

  • Use Nvidia Control Panel settings for final adjustments or specific game requirements.

These findings highlight the importance of prioritizing in-game and VR-specific settings over general GPU settings for optimal VR experience. Feel free to check out my post for more details on any of these points!

[FTC_ChilliBalls]

On 1/8/2024 at 1:14 PM, sg_hubsghub said:

• MFAA: Enabled for better visuals without performance penalty.

Does MFAA even work in games anymore?

I thought Nvidia AND basically all game devs ditched it ages ago?

I honestly don't know, and I doubt I would notice any visual differences.