Nvidia control panel settings for gaming quality. Speeding up your video card

How to configure a video card?

Each PC user, by simply adjusting the characteristics of the video card, can improve its performance and image quality on the screen, and change the resolution.

Video card detection

If you do not understand which video card you are using, then you need to clarify its name:

To do this, open Device Manager.
Find the “Video adapters” item and expand the list by double-clicking on the line name. The name of the sub-item is the name of the video card installed on your personal computer.
Today, the most common video cards are Nvidia and Radeon.

Setting up an Nvidia video card

If you decide to figure out how to configure an Nvidia video card, then initially you need to right-click on the desktop, and then select “Nvidia Control Panel” in the window that opens. Now select "Manage 3D Settings". If you do everything correctly, you will see a window in which you need to set the following settings:

GPUs - all;
texture filtering - disable;
triple buffering - disable;
texture filtering (quality) - maximum performance;
anisotropic optimization - disable;
trilinear optimization - disable;
vertical sync pulse - adaptive;
acceleration of various monitors - single display performance;
PhysX - central processor;
anti-aliasing-transparency - disable.

Next, you need to click the “Apply” button. This way, numerous changes will be able to take effect. You should also pay attention to the fact that certain items presented above may be missing (it all depends on the version of the video card). However, you should not worry about this, since the settings for different video card models may vary slightly.

Such changes guarantee an increase in productivity of approximately 30-40%. This way, you can work more efficiently with 3D graphics, watch movies or play modern games.

Setting up a Radeon video card

Radeon graphics cards, like Nvidia's, can also be tweaked to improve their overall performance. This is quite easy to do. To get started, open the “Display Properties” tab, find “Settings” and select “Advanced”. Next, a window will open allowing you to configure your Radeon video card:

First set up OpenGL. Open the appropriate tab. Check the “Special settings” checkbox.
- Set the Anisotropic Filtering parameter to 16x. If you are using a video card based on R3xx chips, then it is additionally recommended to use the “Quality” mode. It provides the ability to apply trilinear and anisotropic filtering in parallel.
- Then set the SmoothVision anti-aliasing technology to values depending on the power of your PC. Before tuning your Radeon graphics card, be aware that this setting has the greatest impact on performance in 3D programs.
- “Sharpness Level” and “Texture Preferences” - set the values to maximum. Disable vertical sync.
Next, configure Direct. Go to the appropriate tab. Click Compatibility Settings.
If you plan to improve the performance of video adapters based on Radeon 7 xxx, 9100, 9200, then you need to do the following:
- disable 32-bit depth support;
- For all other video cards:
- enable support for DXT texture formats;
- disable alternate pixel center.
Additionally, to configure the video card, it is recommended to open the “VPU Recover” tab. Next to “Enable VPU Recover” check the box.

Please note that to more effectively configure the video adapter, you can use specialized applications, which are commonly called tweakers.

Thanks to them, you can increase the frequency at which the memory and adapter core operate. In addition, you can set special parameters so that all this is done automatically the moment you turn on your personal computer.

However, do not forget that it is necessary to increase the frequency little by little. As practice shows, the optimal step is a value of three to five megahertz. To prevent damage to the video card, after each change it is recommended to check the stability of its operation in 3D programs and games.

As you know, the majority of users who like to spend most of their time playing games while sitting at the computer do not know about the fine settings of the video card. It is important to note that by “fine tuning” we mean DSR, shader caching, CUDA, clock pulses, SSAA, FXAA, MFAA.

Surely you have ever come across similar settings when logging into "Nvidia Control Panel", but it’s one thing to meet it – it’s another thing to make fine adjustments that will allow you to develop the potential of your video card in games. Thus, in today's article we will take a detailed look at how to configure an Nvidia graphics card for gaming.

Setting up an Nvidia graphics card for gaming

It is worth noting that new games are announced almost every month; only a user who knows about standard Windows games, such as Spider Solitaire, Solitaire, Minesweeper, Solitaire, etc., can resist such temptation. But what if you are a fan of the gaming world? Of course, you can update your computer’s hardware every six months, and this costs a lot of money.

Thus, if you do not plan to shell out money to buy a new video card for your computer, but still want to increase gaming performance, then use the instructions below:

Right-click on the desktop to bring up the context menu, then open "Nvidia Control Panel".

After this, you need to select the setting on the left side of the window "Manage 3D Settings". At this point, we will begin the process of fine-tuning the Nvidia graphics card for gaming. Pay attention! Follow the instructions strictly.

Function "CUDA - GPUs"

CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture) is a software architecture that can significantly increase graphics performance in games and applications.

In parameters "CUDA - GPUs", the user is given the opportunity to select the graphics video adapter that will be used by the CUDA software and hardware architecture.

Function “DSR-Smooth” and “DSR-Steer”

Many users do not know, but the function "DSR-Smoothness" is part of the function "DSR-Now".

Please note that the function "DSR-Now" was in a position "Off". Below we explain why this feature needs to be disabled.

DSR (Dynamic Super Resolution) – technology that performs the function of upscaling high-definition games to the resolution that your monitor supports. You may have noticed that while playing a game, some objects, such as grass, greenery, trees or other graphics, were displayed with flickering or ripples.

This problem is that your monitor is not suitable in resolution for this game, and therefore there are not enough points to sample, and DSR technology allows you to solve this problem by artificially increasing the points to sample. Thus, if you run the game at maximum performance and it is suitable for resolution, then you need to disable the function "DSR-Now", since this technology consumes a sufficient amount of system resources.

Anisotropic Filtering Feature

Anisotropic filtering is a technology designed to significantly improve the quality and clarity of displayed graphic objects and objects in games. It is worth noting that of all the parameters, the function "Anisotropic filtering" is the most voracious in terms of video memory consumption.

Parameters allow you to select the filter coefficient "2x", "4x", "8x", "16x". In the best case, select the option "Off"– this will allow you to achieve maximum performance from the video card.

Vertical Sync function

Vertical sync pulse– this function allows you to synchronize the image with the maximum refresh rate that your monitor allows.

Thus, by activating the function "Vertical sync pulse", you will notice that the gameplay in games has become smoother. However, if you want to get the maximum frames per second (FPS) from your graphics card, then this feature needs to be disabled.

Function "Pre-prepared virtual reality frames"

There is no point in considering this function, since the use of virtual reality glasses in games on a computer or laptop is not widespread.

"Off".

Background Light Shading feature

This feature makes game scenes more realistic by adjusting the intensity of ambient light. It's important to note that this feature also consumes a lot of video memory!

Open the drop-down menu and select an option "Off".

Shader Caching feature

If you enable this feature, the central processing unit (CPU) will begin saving game shaders to the hard drive. Thus, if this shader is needed next time, the graphics processor (GPU) will copy it from the hard drive. As a result, the central processing unit (CPU) will no longer have to recompile this shader.

Open the drop-down menu and select an option "On". This will significantly improve gaming performance.

Function "Maximum number of pre-prepared frames"

The function is responsible for processing graphics frames by the central processing unit (CPU) before processing by the graphics processing unit (GPU). Thus, here you need to place the rule "The more the better".

Open the drop-down menu and select the maximum setting. In our case, the maximum number of frames is "3".

Multi-Frame Anti-Aliasing (MFAA) function

A technology that allows you to rid the edges of images in games from the so-called “jaggedness”. Note that this function requires a sufficient amount of video memory. Therefore, it is worth disabling.

Open the drop-down menu and select an option "Off".

Stream Optimization feature

This feature is responsible for activating idle CPU in games and applications that place high demands. The easiest and most convenient way not to bother with this function is to simply set it to auto mode.

Open the drop-down menu and select an option "Auto".

Power Management Mode feature

As you know, the Windows operating system provides two power modes - "Adaptive mode" And . It is important to note that in Adaptive mode the computer runs at minimal power consumption, therefore the goal is to increase the battery life of the computer. Please note that this mode is not suitable for gaming. If you are in the mood to play games, then be sure to set the mode "Performance mode".

Open the drop-down menu and select an option "Maximum performance mode preferred".

Function "Anti-aliasing - FXAA, gamma correction, parameters, transparency, mode"

The anti-aliasing function consumes a huge amount of video memory. Therefore, it is best to disable all anti-aliasing related features.

Open the drop-down menu and select an option "Off". Do this with each smoothing function.

Triple Buffering Feature

Triple buffering technology eliminates image distortion and artifacts in games, thereby increasing graphics performance. But the fact is that this technology only works when the vertical sync function is enabled, which we disabled. Therefore, this technology is not needed and should be disabled.

Open the drop-down menu and select an option "Off".

Multi-Display/Mixed GPU Acceleration Feature

If you use one monitor for games and applications, then you need to use the "Single Display Performance Mode". In the case when two or more monitors are used, the function is used "Compatibility Mode"

Texture Filtering - Anisotropic Filtering Optimization feature

Activating this feature will slightly degrade the image quality in games, but will increase performance and increase the number of frames per second (FPS).

Open the drop-down menu and select an option "On".

Texture Filtering - Quality feature

This function is designed to improve the quality of smoothing of game scenes. But, in our case, the emphasis is on gaming performance, so it is necessary to choose a performance function rather than a quality function.

Open the drop-down menu and select an option "High performance".

Function "Texture filtering - negative level of detail deviation"

This feature increases the contrast of the display of game scenes, which will increase graphics performance.

Open the drop-down menu and select an option "Allow".

Function "Texture filtering - trilinear optimization"

Activating this function helps reduce trilinear optimization, which again allows you to increase graphical performance in games.

Open the drop-down menu and select an option "On".

Now we have finished setting up the Nvidia video card for games. After these manipulations, you will notice a significant increase in performance in games.

When choosing a video card, many users pay attention to how it will perform in games and how high its performance is. In addition to installing the video card and drivers, you can do more fine-tuning in order to get the most out of it. As you can see in the Nvidia control panel, the default settings for parameters such as CUDA, SSAA and so on are already set. We will look at how to accurately and correctly configure these parameters to improve the performance of your video card.

How to properly perform detailed tuning to improve video card performance in games

Every year there are more and more high-quality games that have fairly high system requirements and the video card plays one of the most important roles here. You need to carry out detailed settings in the video card control panel.

To begin, right-click on the computer desktop and click on the Nvidia control panel in the list.

A new window will appear, in it you need to go to the 3D parameters management section.

This section contains the necessary settings to adjust the performance of the video adapter and get the best performance in games.
First on the list is CUDA. It is a technology that is used in parallel programming to obtain the best computational optimization while performing various operations.

Next on the list is DSR smoothness. This technology allows you to maximize the detail of every point in the game image (grass, sediment on bricks, traces of glass fragments, etc.). This consumes a large amount of system memory. From this we can conclude that the use of DSR is not essential and, if you look from the point of view of performance for games, it is not even necessary.

The next item is “Anisotropic filtering”. This technology allows you to dynamically change the image when you change the camera, that is, work is underway on maximum and detailed texturing of the image. This function also takes up a lot of system resources, which means we also disable it.

Next is the vertical sync function. If you need good FPS, then the function must be disabled since frame drops may occur when it is running. This is due to the fact that when the camera moves sharply, small gaps will be removed, which are generally not visible, but this procedure takes a lot of video card resources.

The VR preset feature should also be turned off or left at default, since few gamers have VR headsets. VR presets.

If you enable the background lighting shading function, this will soften the lighting and make it non-linear; it will also softly shade game objects. A lot of resources are taken, but you can get a little more realism, which is very difficult to notice. We also disable this function.

Shader caching must be enabled. Since the more shaders are used, the lower the performance of the video card will be. But thanks to caching, the same shader is used several times.

The function of the maximum number of prepared frames allows you to reduce the number of frames that the video adapter takes and connects the central processor to work, which prepares the rest of the frames. We put the highest value in the line of this function.

We also turn off the MFAA option. It smooths out small inaccuracies on corners and surfaces that are difficult to notice right away, but consume resources intensively.

The thread optimization feature allows you to use multiple central processors. The importance of the function is individual for everyone. But it is better to set the automatic mode or simply disable the function.

In power management, there is an optimal mode for low power consumption and a high performance mode, which is what we choose.

The anti-aliasing parameters have already been described above, so we simply disable the parameters shown in the image below.

The triple buffering function only works correctly in conjunction with vertical sync (which we disabled). Therefore, we also disable the triple buffering option.

The multi-display acceleration function sets modes in which either one video card operates (single display) or several (compatibility mode).

The first glance at the control panel sometimes frightens the user with its unusual terms and apparent complexity. Many people prefer not to get involved with this cunning set of unfamiliar words. Understand what it is setting up the video cardNvidiaFor games and performing the necessary actions is actually quite simple.

You should not be under the illusion that all parameters are correct. In practice, it has been proven more than once that only certain efforts on your part will help to achieve a significant improvement in frame rate. Don't be intimidated by unfamiliar words like triple buffering or streaming optimization. The result in the form of increased FPS is a good reward for the time spent on setup.

Clicking the right mouse button in any area of the desktop is necessary to enter the video driver management menu.

The next step is to go to “3D Control” in the window that appears.

It is here that the main settings of the most important parameters when displaying 3D images take place. Do not be afraid that the process of obtaining the performance itself is associated with large changes in the image in terms of its quality.

Video processors are presented in the first paragraph - “CUDA - graphic processors”. You can choose to use applications with this name - Compute United Device Architecture. Almost any graphics type uses a similar computing architecture to improve its performance.

Due to the fact that “DSR-Smoothness” is included in the list of “Degree” components, we skip it. Now let’s look at the reasons for the need to disable the “DSR-Degree”.

This technology is the main tool for calculating image parameters in high-resolution games. The obtained result is reproduced on the required scale. In our case, its use is not required, which is easy to prove in the following example.

Each of us is familiar with the situation of flickering when elements move or ripples of small parts during the game. This is caused by an insufficient number of sample points at the minimum resolution. Increasing the number of sample points is the main function of DSR technology. But for us this does not play any role if we have the highest productivity. And with it turned off, it is impossible to adjust the smoothness. So let's move on by disabling.

Now let's look at an algorithm called antisotropic filtering. It is necessary to improve the quality of those textures that are located at a certain angle relative to the camera. This method allows you to create clearer game textures.

Compared to trilinear and bilinear options, the new filtering technology is very expensive in terms of memory usage. There is only one setting at this point – coefficient selection. You must disable this feature.

Performing image synchronization while simultaneously adjusting the scan frequency on the monitor is the capabilities of the next item. It is possible to eliminate gaps in the overall image when the camera is turned too sharply, but frame drops below the nominal scan frequency often occur. It's best to disable it to ensure you get the required frames per second consistently.

A tool for using virtual reality glasses is not particularly interesting to us until VR has become an element for constant use by gamers. We don’t touch anything in the settings here.

The “Shading” process will help make the visual perception realistic. But this function is not compatible with a large number of games. It's better to turn it off.

Preservation of compiled shaders for the central processor is the working function “Shader Caching”. When reuse is necessary, the GPU takes the required component from disk. Disabling this option will definitely have a negative impact on performance.

Next comes the point for choosing the CPU number of frames for processing by the GPU. Here the highest value remains optimal.

Multi-frame correction technology for removing a kind of fracture along the edges of the working image. All tools of this type are very processor-hungry. The conclusion is clear - turn it off.

The thread optimization feature helps you use multiple CPUs simultaneously. If it does not work correctly, disable it or set it to automatic.

There are two power management modes. We set the first maximum because of its immunity to loading.

In the interval from “Smoothing” to “Smoothing – mode”, turn off all the items.

The next item works in conjunction with a function that has already been deactivated. We perform the same action for the parameter in question.

When using multiple video cards, acceleration is applied to more displays.

The texture filtering option will help us achieve the result we need - increase performance.

The technology for changing the level of detail with a negative value helps.

Trilinear optimization must be enabled to reduce the parameters of the same filtering.

After completing these operations, we will complete the settings.

The performance of any video card can be increased not only by changing the hardware, but also the software. In the first case, we are talking about overclocking it, but this may end badly for the card itself. Therefore, changing the software is the best option. It allows the chip to “painlessly” increase its performance. But before you configure your Nvidia video card, you need to know exactly its model.

Defining a Graphics Model

You can determine the model of the video card used in the system in different ways. The simplest one is:

Right-click on the desktop and select the bottom item “Screen Resolution”.
Click on "Advanced options".
The window that appears will display information about the video card. The "Adapter" tab will show the model name.

The Aida64 program will also allow you to accurately determine the model. It is distributed for a fee on the Internet, but there is also a free version with reduced functions. The free version is fine for us. Download it from the official website and install. Run it and your card model will be listed in the GPU tab.

Installing the correct driver

Before setting up your Nvidia video card, you must install the appropriate driver. We have found out the model of our graphics, so now we can download the necessary driver for it. Be sure to download it from the official website. Where, having selected the “Support” section, you need to click on “Drivers”. There you need to indicate the “Product Type” (in our case GeForce), the operating system, as well as the series and family. We know all this from the name of the video card, which we just determined.

Download the driver and install it - there is nothing complicated about it. At a minimum, if you previously had an incorrect or outdated driver, then new software can already improve the performance of your graphics.

How to configure Nvidia video card drivers?

When installing a new driver, the setup program is automatically installed. There we can change parameters, select the operating mode of the video card in games or when watching videos, etc. And if you don’t know how to properly configure an Nvidia video card, then this program will definitely help.

Typically, Nvidia Control Center opens from the desktop. Right-click on the desktop and select "Nvidia Control Panel". There we need to select the “Manage 3D parameters” item. This section contains key ones such as texture filtering, buffering, synchronization, etc.

Anisotropic optimization

The very first option is called "Anisotropic Optimization", and when activated, it increases the clarity of 3D objects. The higher the filtering value, the sharper the objects in the 3D application (game) will be, but it will require slightly more graphics resources. Usually this parameter is configured in the game itself, but you can disable it in the video card settings, and then it will be ignored in games.

It is worth noting that texture filtering, although it has an impact on performance, is small. Other parameters have a stronger effect.

Filtering and optimization

Trilinear optimization - this option should be set to "Off". Disabling it allows the driver to reduce the quality of trilinear filtering, and this has a good effect on increasing performance. This filtering is a more advanced version of bilinear. But disabling this option will affect the visual component of the game or other 3D application.

We also pay attention to the option It has settings: 2x, 4x, 8x, 16x. The higher the value, the more natural the textures in the game will look. But, as we already understood, a higher value implies a larger graphics resource.

Triple buffering is a type of double buffering. The technology allows you to avoid or at least reduce the number of graphics artifacts. It's worth setting this option to "Off" to slightly improve performance.

In the "Texture Filtering" option, "Quality" and "Performance" options will be available. Select "Performance" - this will reduce the quality of texture filtering, but will increase processing speed.

These are the most basic settings that allow you to achieve higher data processing speed with your video card. There are also minor ones:

Vertical sync pulse - select the value "Adaptive".
PhysX - CPU.
Power management - select the mode for maximum performance.
Antialiasing is disabled.
Streaming optimization - enabled.

Once you have successfully adjusted the performance of your Nvidia video card, all changes need to be saved. Let us immediately note that on different models of video cards these settings may be named or look slightly different, and the number of options for sampling may be more or less. However, the idea in general is to disable the above technologies.

Conclusion

Yes, the picture quality in games will drop significantly, but something has to be sacrificed. Users who know how to configure an Nvidia GeForce video card never disable all options at once. And you, too, do not immediately disable all the above parameters. Try them one at a time and see how much the FPS in the game increases, whether the “freezes” and “brakes” disappear. If, after disabling two or three parameters, you can achieve normal operation of the game without freezing, then you should not disable the remaining parameters to the detriment of graphics.

Now you know how to properly configure an Nvidia video card, and you can do it yourself.