LightBoost HOWTO — The Original

Published Jan 13, 2013 by in: Display Motion Blur HOWTO

Instructions for Zero Motion Blur on LightBoost LCD

HISTORY: These instructions, based on an original 2013 HOWTO, became extremely popular a decade ago. This HOWTO is still used today by users who still own these original monitors, as LightBoost was the first very popular desktop monitor motion blur reduction technology, and this HOWTO put Blur Busters on the map in 2013!

Supported LightBoost Monitors:
See Official List of Gaming Monitors. This is for LightBoost only. If you have another similar feature called ULMB (Ultra Low Motion Blur) or BENQ Blur Reduction, see Motion Blur Reduction FAQ.

LightBoost monitors have a strobe backlight feature that completely eliminate motion blur for 2D; for CRT-quality perfectly sharp fast motion on LCD.

Without LightBoost
Fast Motion Without LightBoost		 With LightBoost
Fast Motion With LightBoost
These are real photographs. Not simulated.  See Comparision: 60fps vs 120fps vs LightBoost

There are rave reviews of LightBoost (“It’s like a CRT”) and media coverage including TFTCentral, ARS Technica, pcmonitors.info, NewEgg, and many others!

For scientific information on how LightBoost eliminates motion blur, see the LightBoost FAQ and high speed video of LightBoost, simulating a 120Hz CRT via a strobe backlight.

Editor’s Note: As of 2017, there are new LightBoost clones.

There are new brand names such as NVIDIA “Ultra Low Motion Blur” (ULMB), EIZO “Turbo240”, ASUS “Extreme Low Motion Blur” (ELMB), BenQ “Blur Reduction”, BenQ/Zowie “Dynamic Acceleration” (DyAc), all with better picture quality. If you have not purchased a monitor yet, you may wish to consider a newer blur reduction technology in the Official List of Gaming Monitors.

Select preferred LightBoost instructions:

  • Easy LightBoost via ToastyX Strobelight App

    This is the world’s easiest way to use LightBoost to eliminate motion blur.
    Easily turn ON/OFF LightBoost via a keypress! No hacks. No registry tweaks.
    Does not require 3D Vision drivers.

    1. First, Download ToastyX Strobelight.
      IMPORTANT: You must have a supported 120Hz ASUS or 120Hz BENQ monitor!
      IMPORTANT: LightBoost will not work with NVIDIA Optimus (laptops).
    2. Next, run strobelight-setup to install strobed video modes. Then reboot.strobelight-setupstrobelight
      IMPORTANT: To easily turn ON/OFF LightBoost, you must install at least one strobed refresh rate AND at least one non-strobed refresh rate.
    3. Finally, after reboot, run strobelight to initialize LightBoost for the first time.
      NOTE: You can add strobelight.exe to the Startup Folder, so it starts up everytime you starts Windows. 
    4. Test LightBoost using a motion test. View Moving Photo Test at TestUFO.com.
      Turn ON/OFF LightBoost while viewing this motion test to see the big difference.
      Test in Chrome or other 120Hz-friendly web browser (FireFox 24+, Opera 15+).

    Useful LightBoost Tips:

    • Turning ON/OFF LightBoost via hotkeys
      Control+Alt+Plus — turns ON LightBoost
      Control+Alt+Minus — turns OFF LightBoost
    • Other Ways to Verify that LightBoost is enabled:
      (a) Check monitor OSD menus. The “LightBoost” adjustment should be unlocked.
      (b) Wave a finger in front of a white screen. You should see a stroboscopic effect.
      (c) Use a motion test such as www.testufo.com.
      Turn ON/OFF LightBoost while repeating test, to see the big difference.
    • For better LightBoost colors, adjust your nVidia Control Panel:
      nVidia Control Panel Desktop Brightness = 52%
      nVidia Control Panel Desktop Contrast = 45%
      nVidia Control Panel Desktop Gamma = 0.70
      This compensates for the LightBoost gamma bump (washed out colors).
      NOTE: If you get a purple tint, lower the Contrast setting via monitor’s menu until tint disappears. You can also adjust while viewing the Lagom Contrast Test Pattern.
    • For optimal benefit, run your games at triple-digit frame rates.
      Microstutters become easier to detect if they’re no longer masked by motion blur. To eliminate stutters, run LightBoost at frame rates matching the refresh rate.
      (a) Run at 100fps @ 100Hz, or run at 120fps @ 120Hz.
             …Adjust game details or upgrade your GPU.  Also try FXAA instead of FSAA.
      (b) Experiment with VSYNC ON (may lag) or use “Adaptive VSYNC” (less input lag)
             …These settings makes LightBoost framerate=Hz motion look much smoother, to allow game turning/strafing panning motion as smooth as TestUFO or PixPerAn.
      (c) Use a good 1000Hz gaming mouse.
            …Mouse microstutters can hurt motion clarity. LightBoost benefits from a mouse that can turn left/right as smoothly as keyboard strafing left/right. 
    • For other information, see the LightBoost FAQ.
      If you are unable to turn off LightBoost, simply re-run strobelight-setup.exe and install non-strobed refresh rates. Alternatively, simply unplug your monitor’s power cable for a few seconds to deactivate LightBoost.
  • Alternate LightBoost HOWTO #2: If Using 3D Emitter Or Glasses Kit

    Choose these alternate instructions if you have obtained the NVIDIA 3D Vision Kit, or it’s built into your monitor (e.g. ASUS VG278H).  Works on all versions of Windows that 3D Vision is supported. These instructions allow you to keep LightBoost for both 2D and 3D.

    If you prefer an easier method of enabling LightBoost with less input lag and less inconveniences, choose the Easy Strobelight method instead of these instructions below.

    The procedure is simply set up stereoscopic 3D normally, launch the game in stereoscopic 3D, and then use Control+T to turn off stereoscopic operation.  At this point, you have LightBoost in 2D and you can play normally with no glasses, and with no motion blur!  No need to wear the 3D glasses if you don’t want to wear them.  The steps are as follows:

    1. Make sure your monitor supports LightBoost (see 120Hz Monitors List)
    2. Get your favorite latest graphics drivers from nVidia (www.geforce.com).
    3. Make sure your glasses emitter is connected.
    4. Go to Control Panel -> Display -> Adjust Resolution.
    5. Verify “Enable Stereoscopic 3D settings for all displays” is enabled. (May be missing on Windows 7, skip this step).
    6. Go to NVIDIA Control Panel (system tray -> nVidia icon), and select “Setup Stereoscopic 3D”.
    7. Click “Test Stereoscopic 3D” and follow the vendor instructions to test it at 120Hz.
    8. Start a video game. The game should be running in stereoscopic 3D.  This makes sure LightBoost is running, since it is automatically enabled during stereoscopic 3D.
    9. Hit Control-T inside the video game to turn off stereoscopic operation. This is an official keypress combination provided by official nVidia graphics drivers.
    10. Now you can play the game with no motion blur, for 120fps @ 120Hz gaming!
      The LightBoost strobe backlight is still enabled, and you don’t need the 3D glasses.
    11. Test motion fluidity with www.testufo.com/photo in Google Chrome or another 120Hz web browser.
    12. To keep LightBoost enabled at all times even at Windows Desktop, install this registry tweak. Download this registry file, and doubleclick on this file.
    13. For other information, See the LightBoost FAQ. (e.g. how to easily enable/disable)

    Disadvantages:

    • Unlike the ToastyX methods, you have to hit Control+T every time you launch a game, and 3D is not persistently enabled at the desktop (unless the optional registry tweak is installed).
    • Some users have reported a lower framerate and more input lag with the Control+T method than the Unofficial Hack methods or the Easy ToastyX Strobelight method.
    • Some games may need extra adjustment to work well with this (e.g. raising max_fps in Source engine games, or adjusting the VSYNC setting).
    • You need frame rates matching (or exceeding) Hz for best benefit.  Since LightBoost only works at 100Hz to 120Hz, you need 100fps@100Hz, or 120fps@120Hz.

    TIP: Turning Off LightBoost:
    To turn off LightBoost, either:
    1. Switch to a non-LightBoost refresh rate; OR
    2. Simply unplug monitor for a few seconds.
    Make sure “Enable Stereoscopic 3D” checkbox in nVidia Control Panel is turned off. 

    TIP: Improving Convenience, Stability & Eliminating “Control+T”:
    Try the easy ToastyX Strobelight App instead, if you are more interested in motion blur elimination rather than 3D Vision.

  • Alternate LightBoost HOWTO #3: ToastyX Custom Resolution Utility

    Choose these instructions only if you need more control than the Easy Strobelight Method. If you prefer the easy LightBoost method, choose a different set of LightBoost instructions.

    1. Get ToastyX Custom Resolution Utility (CRU).
      Download this and run CRU.
    2. Upon running ToastyX CRU, it will display a drop-down list.
      It should have an entry for each monitor. If there are more entries (e.g. old monitors no longer in use) and you’re not sure which ones are active, run reset-all.exe and reboot. That should leave you with one entry for each connected monitor.
    3. Use the “Edit…” button at the very top to set the product ID to ACI27F8 for each monitor. This will make the driver think you have a monitor with a built-in emitter.
      This makes it easy to enable LightBoost for 2D. (The model name doesn’t matter)
    4. Use the “Import…” button at the bottom to import this file: lightboost.bin
      This includes the LightBoost modes (100Hz / 110Hz / 120Hz).
      You can remove modes that you don’t need. If you have multiple monitors, use the copy & paste buttons at top to copy the resolutions to the other monitor entries. If you need 144Hz (non-LightBoost), add it using Timings “Reduced” instead of “Auto”
    5. Click OK to save the changes, then reboot.
    6. In NVIDIA Control Panel, open the “Set up stereoscopic 3D” page, then click the “Run Setup Wizard” button. If the button isn’t there, uncheck “Enable stereoscopic 3D” and click the “Apply” button.nvidia_control_panel_3dsetup
    7. In the setup wizard, click the “Next” button, then click “Next” again.
      At this point, it should enable LightBoost.  If don’t have an emitter, the mouse cursor may temporarily become very sluggish and jerky.  If you don’t need to enable 3D (which may add input lag for LightBoost 2D), then you can exit here. Otherwise, continue the wizard as usual.
    8. Quickly verify your LightBoost is enabled.
      (a) Check the motion test at www.testufo.com/photo
      (b) Check monitor’s OSD menus, the “LightBoost” adjustment is unlocked.
      (c) Wave finger in front of a white screen. You should see a stroboscopic effect.
    9. For better LightBoost colors, adjust your nVidia Control Panel:
      nVidia Control Panel Desktop Brightness = 52%
      nVidia Control Panel Desktop Contrast = 45%
      nVidia Control Panel Desktop Gamma = 0.70
      This compensates for the LightBoost gamma bump (washed out colors).
      NOTE: For purple tint, lower the Contrast setting via monitor’s menu until the purple disappears. You can also adjust while viewing the Lagom Contrast Test Pattern.
    10. Make sure you run your game at frame rates matching refresh rates.  Motion clarity is so greatly improved, that microstutters and tearing can become more visible.
      You need framerate matching Hz for maximum LightBoost benefit.
      (a) You must run at 100fps @ 100Hz, or run at 120fps @ 120Hz.
      (b) For best game performance, use VSYNC ON (may lag) or use Adaptive VSYNC (eliminate lag, best for competitive). These settings makes LightBoost framerate=Hz motion look much better, similar to TestUFO or PixPerAn.
      (c) Use a good 1000Hz gaming mouse that can turn left/right as smoothly as keyboard strafing left/right. Mouse microstutters can hurt motion clarity.
    11. Test motion fluidity with www.testufo.com/photo in Google Chrome or another 120Hz web browser.

    TIP: Turning Off LightBoost:
    To turn off LightBoost, either:
    1. Switch to a non-LightBoost refresh rate; OR
    2. Simply unplug monitor for a few seconds.
    Make sure “Enable Stereoscopic 3D” checkbox in nVidia Control Panel is turned off. 

    For Other Tips: See the LightBoost FAQ.

  • Alternate LightBoost HOWTO #4: Advanced EDID Override Method

    This is the hardest and most advanced method. It requires no software and no 3D glasses emitter. It only requires nVidia 3D Vision drivers to be installed. Most users should use the easy LightBoost method instead of the below.

    1. Make sure your monitor supports LightBoost.
    2. Make sure you install the latest 3D Vision drivers from www.geforce.com.
    3. IMPORTANT (monitor-specific): If you’re using a monitor without an emitter (e.g. BENQ monitors, ASUS VG278HE or ASUS VG248QE) you must trick it into thinking it’s an ASUS VG278H (non-HE) by installing the EDID override INF file. (This is so nVidia drivers are able to be tricked into enabling LightBoost in 2D mode, without needing to own a shutter glasses emitter). Download the INF file here:
      LightBoost-Monitor-EDID-override.inf
      Supports Windows Vista, 7 and 8. Windows XP is NOT supported.
    4. Install this INF file via Device Manager, then reboot.
      Detailed instructions: First, right-click this INF file in File Explorer and select “Install”. Next, go to Device Manager and right-click your monitor, select “Update Driver Software”, then “Browser my computer…”, then “Let me pick…”, then disable “Show compatible hardware”, then select “LightBoost EDID Override” from manufacturer ASUS (even if you use BENQ) then reboot.
      IMPORTANT (Windows 8 specific): If you’re installing under Windows 8,
      follow these instructions to disable driver signature enforcement before installing this INF file. The INF file is installed via right-clicking the monitor in Control Panel -> Device Manager, and updating its driver.
    5. Install registry tweak to enable LightBoost in 2D mode without shutter glasses:
      ForceLightBoostWithoutGlasses.reg
    6. Save this as a .reg file, double click on .reg file, add to registry, reboot.
    7. Go to Control Panel -> Display -> Adjust Resolution
    8. Check “Enable Stereoscopic 3D settings for all displays” is enabled (Windows 8 only)
    9. Go to NVIDIA Control Panel (system tray -> nVidia icon)
    10. Select “Set up Stereoscopic 3D” at left bar
    11. Select “Enable Stereoscopic 3D” checkbox
    12. Select “Asus 120Hz LCD” (even if you have a BENQ), and click Apply
      Immediately, you should see a change in display colors. Immediately, you should see a change in display colors.
    13. Quickly verify your LightBoost is enabled.
      (a) Check the motion test at www.testufo.com/photo
      (b) Check monitor’s OSD menus, the “LightBoost” adjustment is unlocked.
      (c) Wave finger in front of a white screen. You should see a stroboscopic effect.
    14. For better LightBoost colors, adjust your nVidia Control Panel:
      nVidia Control Panel Desktop Brightness = 52%
      nVidia Control Panel Desktop Contrast = 45%
      nVidia Control Panel Desktop Gamma = 0.70
      This compensates for the LightBoost gamma bump (washed out colors).
      NOTE: For purple tint, lower the Contrast setting via monitor’s menu until the purple disappears. You can also adjust while viewing the Lagom Contrast Test Pattern.
    15. Make sure you run your game at frame rates matching refresh rates.  Motion clarity is so greatly improved, that microstutters and tearing can become more visible.
      You need framerate matching Hz for maximum LightBoost benefit.
      (a) You must run at 100fps @ 100Hz, or run at 120fps @ 120Hz.
      (b) For best game performance, use VSYNC ON (may lag) or use Adaptive VSYNC (eliminate lag, best for competitive). These settings makes LightBoost framerate=Hz motion look much better, similar to TestUFO or PixPerAn.
      (c) Use a good 1000Hz gaming mouse that can turn left/right as smoothly as keyboard strafing left/right. Mouse microstutters can hurt motion clarity.
    16. Test motion fluidity with www.testufo.com/photo in Google Chrome or another 120Hz web browser.
    17. IMPORTANT: If certain games stubbornly launch in 3D mode (double image), press Control+T while inside the game, to make it switch back to 2D mode.
  • Alternate LightBoost HOWTO #5: Monitor Hardware Modification

    It is possible to re-flash the monitor’s EDID to have LightBoost persistently enabled.  This is an advanced method primarily useful for triple monitor surround LightBoost with newer GeForce drivers. For instructions, see Hardware LightBoost Modification HOWTO.

     If you are a single-monitor user, this is overkill. See Easy LightBoost HOWTO.

Other Tips

Adjust your LightBoost setting for very sharp-looking fast motion:
Adjust your “LightBoost” OSD setting via monitor menus or via ToastyX Strobelight. This adjusts strobe length. Use any value except “OFF”. Lower values are dimmer but have sharper-looking fast motion. Higher values are brighter but have less clear-looking fast motion. The sharpest fast motion occurs at 10% but is very dim. 100% is bright and is good enough for most people. A good compromise setting is 50% in a darkened room. See PHOTOS: LightBoost 10% vs 50% vs 100% for a comparision of the settings.

Smooth Scrolling In Web Browser
Smooth scroll in web browsers: If you’re using Chrome and web browsing, install Chromium Smooth Scroller to gain the benefits of sharp text scrolling with the mouse wheel. Make sure the steering wheel icon is enabled in your Chrome toolbar.

The Resulting Zero Motion Blur

What happens?

  1. All trailing artifacts disappears!  Ghosting, coronas, etc.
  2. All motion blur disappears!
  3. No motion blur when you play video games, even during fast motion.
  4. The zero motion blur effect will also occurs on the Windows desktop (e.g. window dragging, scrolling) if this LightBoost tweak is enabled in the Windows desktop.

How is it possible?

LightBoost is a programmable strobe backlight. The backlight is turned off while waiting for LCD to finish pixel transitions (unseen by human eyes), and the backlight is strobed only on fully-refreshed LCD frames (seen by human eyes). The strobes can be shorter than the panel’s pixel transitions, bypassing the pixel transition speed limit!

This is seen in high speed 1000fps video:

Motion blur is determined by the length of time a refresh is displayed on the screen. In addition to increased Hz, this can be further improved by flicker (black periods between refreshes, like a CRT). See this motion blur comparison:

motion-blur-graph

Some notes:

  1. IMPORTANT: Optimus (laptops) is NOT supported.
  2. Minor Side Effects: Different color, dimmer screen brightness, some flicker feel (if sensitive to CRT flicker). The LightBoost FAQ has picture adjustment tips.
  3. LightBoost is hardware-limited to refresh rates between 100Hz and 120Hz.
    For 144 Hz, LightBoost is turned off (automatically).  Fortunately, there’s far less motion blur with 120 Hz LightBoost than with 144 Hz non-LightBoost.
  4. You need framerate matching Hz for best LightBoost benefit.
    (e.g. 100fps@100Hz or 120fps@120Hz)
  5. The improved motion clarity can make tearing and stutters easier to see at higher framerates than normal. To compensate for this, upgrade your GPU for better fluidity, use a 1000Hz mouse for better fluidity, adjust game detail settings for better fluidity, and adjust VSYNC ON / OFF / Adaptive settings. In some situations, VSYNC ON (more lag) or Adaptive VSYNC (less lag) can make LightBoost motion smoother looking.
  6. For answers to common questions, see the LightBoost FAQ.

CRT style gaming on LCD

LightBoost provides gaming with a CRT-like clarity, with zero motion blur — allowing complete immersion without being distracted by motion blur. Improved competitive gaming scores are possible thanks to a faster reaction time.  See improved Battlefield 3 statistics graphs.

A high end GPU is required (e.g. Geforce GTX 680, 780 or Titan) to frequently hit 120fps@120Hz most of the time to really notice the big improvement in motion clarity, with perfectly clear images even during fast turning and strafing. Also, it is necessary to disable the GPU artifical motion blur effects in video games, as that can ruin the LightBoost motion blur elimination. Also, some source-engine games needs their fps_max raised at the developer console, to play smooth.

For LightBoost help, feel free to ask your questions in the Blur Busters LightBoost Forum!

Supported LightBoost Monitors:
See Official List of Gaming Monitors. This is for LightBoost only. If you have another similar feature called ULMB (Ultra Low Motion Blur) or BENQ Blur Reduction, see Motion Blur Reduction FAQ.

491 Comments For “LightBoost HOWTO — The Original”

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12 years 5 months ago
Condefull
Member
Condefull

I switched back to the XL2411T driver, but Nvidia is still detecting my monitor as an Asus monitor, and I can only select 120Hz, the 144Hz option is gone, even from Window’s Display advanced properties.

Please help me, how do I revert all changes made by the tweak? What are the default values for the registry?

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12 years 5 months ago
Mark Rejhon
Author
Mark Rejhon

Easy method to add 144Hz (non-LightBoost) back:
1. Install “ToastyX Custom Resolution Utility” (google for it)
2. Add 144Hz, using “Reduced” (rather than “Automatic”)
3. Reboot
4. The 144Hz mode should be back.

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12 years 5 months ago
Whitestar
Member
Whitestar

Yep, this is what I do. And also add any other non-LigthBoost resolutions you might need, like 85hz, 60hz and so on.
85 or below is needed for Skyrim, and 60 is needed for Trials Evolution Gold.

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12 years 5 months ago
Condefull
Member
Condefull

EDIT: Turns out I had to override again with the XL2411T values. So for anyone who wishes to change back to 144Hz here’s the INF: http://dfiles.eu/files/wcmdqa83y

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12 years 5 months ago
Mark Rejhon
Author
Mark Rejhon

Good news: You don’t need an INF file anymore — you can use the ToastyX Custom Resolution Utility and easily add 144Hz (Reduced Timings) much more easily without an INF file.

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12 years 5 months ago
podonnell
Member
podonnell

Unsure if this is related to the Lightboost hack or not — but I am getting a stagger within any game and even the Pixel motionblur test application. When I tested with a framerate tool, it looked as though it was jumping between 120fps and 60fps continuously. Games would run fine, but there would be a stutter or stagger experienced every few seconds.

I’ve tried with and without Lightboost on, and it seems to persist. I have tried on separate monitors as well.

Any ideas what could be causing this? I have ran the reset-all config file and I am still experiencing the stagger. This is a new issue within the past few days.

Thanks!

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12 years 5 months ago
podonnell
Member
podonnell

Example of the issue:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/myq23f

Notice the stagger on the car.

FPS look like they jump between 62 and 120 every second or two.

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12 years 5 months ago
Whitestar
Member
Whitestar

This sounds like what happens when one uses vsync and the card isn’t able to retain 120fps, i.e. the framerate drops below 120. Sometimes it will drop all the way down to 60 then, and sometimes it will just drop down to the actual framerate. In my experience this depends on the game. Have you checked what the actual framerate is by turning vsync off? If your card is indeed powerful enough to retain 120fps all the time, then something else is going on here. Not sure what. But I doubt it has anything to do with LightBoost. That should only affect your monitor, not your video card.

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12 years 5 months ago
podonnell
Member
podonnell

I think you’re right — this doesn’t have to do with Lightboost. I’ve tried upgrading drivers and completely removing Lightboost features and I see the stagger issue.

I’m not sure what else may have changed to cause this, but a program like the motion blur test should easily be able to maintain 120fps. I’ll have to try experimenting with different things tonight.

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12 years 5 months ago
podonnell
Member
podonnell

For the record — I finally ended up tracing this issue down to what I would describe as common denominator refresh rate.

I had my main monitor cloned to another, and my secondary monitor was only 60hz.

When the clone was active, my fps was staggered and seemingly wouldn’t hold at 120. It seemed like it was confused if the refresh rate was actually 120 or 60.

Anyway, I had to drop the clone and it started working fine. Hopefully this is something that Windows or NVIDIA can fix in the future.

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12 years 4 months ago
Mark Rejhon
Author
Mark Rejhon

Great to know!
True, it is not recommended to clone between a 120Hz monitor and a 60Hz monitor.

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12 years 4 months ago
podonnell
Member
podonnell

Thanks for all the help Whitestar. Unfortunately I don’t belong to any of those sites. I’ll just leave one last comment here and unless anything jumps out at you, I’ll try to figure this one out by myself. I do agree that this does not seem like it is related to lightboost in any way at this point. Again, I really do appreciate the help.

My last thoughts: I’m pretty sure there were a few programs I was using before where I couldn’t maintain 120fps, but I didn’t experience the jumping between 60 and 120fps. If I am getting a framerate between 60-120, even with vsync on, would it stagger between the two as such? The only thing that throws me off is that this pixel blur test program should absolutely maintain 120fps, as there is literally nothing to it. But for some reason, my card is flickering between the two refresh rates when vsync is on.

I’m going to do a bit more testing. If I can’t figure it out, I will probably join one of those websites you mentioned. Thank you!

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12 years 5 months ago
Whitestar
Member
Whitestar

I had one 670 too, and now I have two in SLI.
Could you first try to force vsync off like you did and then use a program to monitor the framerate (FRAPS, EVGA Precision X or MSI Afterburner) so that you can see if it in fact regularly drops below 120. Maybe we should continue this in a hardware forum or something, since it probably doesn’t have anything to do with LightBoost. Unless our Chief Blur Buster has some input on this.

I am on TechPowerUp, HardOCP and Anandtech. Let me know if/where you decide to post.

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12 years 5 months ago
podonnell
Member
podonnell

I’m not sure why it won’t let me respond directly to your post, but anyway — I have a GTX 670. I’ve tried right after booting my computer and I have very few background programs, so I will rule that out for you.

I DID however just make a discovery — it doesn’t appear to happen if I force VSYNC off through my NVIDIA control panel. However, I have always kept that setting at “let the 3d application decide”… so what would cause the blur test program to start trying to use vsync?

Basically, any program running vsync seems like it’s quickly switching between 120/60 every other second and it causes this frame stutter.

Any ideas? Thanks for your help!

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12 years 5 months ago
Whitestar
Member
Whitestar

Yes, the blur test should of course be able to handle 120fps. May I ask which card you have? Only thing I can think of is something running in the background that is using a lot of resources.

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12 years 5 months ago
airstrejf
Member
airstrejf

Hey, I tried the ToastyX method and it works really well. However, I noticed a while ago that it doesn’t allow me to use monitor scaling anymore. My card isn’t very powerful, so I’d like to play at 720p. But as far as I know, GPU scaling is essentially making the card render the native resolution and scaling it down, which doesn’t help the frame rate in any way. So I’m wondering if it is possible to enable monitor scaling somehow?

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12 years 5 months ago
Whitestar
Member
Whitestar

Hmmm, no I think GPU scaling just means that your video drivers try to scale the image at whatever resolution to your display. So you should be able to set the resolution at 1280×720 and scale the image to fill your screen, if that’s what you want. That’s what I do in Far Cry 3; I set the resolution to 1600×900 and fill the screen (1920×1080) with that image. It’s very easy to do this in the nVidia Control Panel, if you have that brand.

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12 years 5 months ago
airstrejf
Member
airstrejf

The actual scaling works perfectly, I was just concerned about the frame rate. It looks like it does actually give an fps increase. I didn’t notice any improvement in Battlefield 3 going from 1920×1080 to 1280×720. Just now, however, I tried 720p at Ultra settings (Always played minimum for best frame rate) and that’s when I saw a big 50-60 fps increase. I guess the CPU was just doing too much of the work while the GPU had very little to process.

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12 years 5 months ago
Whitestar
Member
Whitestar

Yeah, at minimum settings the CPU will be the bottleneck for sure. Glad you sorted it out. 🙂

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12 years 5 months ago
madrid
Member
madrid

I have a question is normal when you move your mouse in desktop you can see some kind of shadow following the pointer it? lightboost ON and lightboost off still got that shadow following the pointer when i move it fast….

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12 years 5 months ago
Whitestar
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Whitestar

Yes, on some background colors you will see a shadow if you look closely for it. Also in some game menus you will notice this. Does in no way affect the game itself though, so for me it is a very minor issue. I only see the shadow if I look closely for it, and it’s only on the mouse.

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12 years 5 months ago
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