- NVIDIA Reflex aims to minimize system latency.
- It is supported by three games as of now, Valorant, Fortnite, and Apex Legends.
- Let's see how you can optimize your gameplay with NVIDIA Reflex.
- PS: I enabled the Reflex feature in Valorant, and got the highest frags in the next game!
Update: COD: MW, Warzone, and Destiny 2 now support NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency mode.
NVIDIA unveiled Reflex technology along with the GeForce RTX 30 series GPUs on September 1, 2020. And as I said, NVIDIA Reflex minimizes your end to end system latency. Now, what is system latency?
Cut the crap and show me the steps.
What is System Latency?
Well, you might have heard about input lag, that comes under system latency along with other factors. Anyways, system latency is the time taken to reflect the changes you input via mouse or keyboard on the monitor. Let's say you fire a bullet, now system latency is the time that your device takes to show that change on your monitor.
Note: System latency and Network Latency are two different things!
How much does System Latency matter?
System latency is very crucial in esports, period. High system latency directly delays your hit registration and your responsiveness along with giving your opponents a peeker's advantage. It even impacts your accuracy. You can watch the importance of system latency optimization yourself in the slo-mo video below. The shot was fired when the crosshair was over the target (Brimstone, in this case).
How to optimize System Latency?
Okay, enough talking, now let's get into the real work, optimizing your system latency. The following steps are only for gamers with NVIDIA GTX 900 and above GPUs. This technology is fairly new and is supported by only a handful of games (listed below).
NVIDIA Reflex supported games
- Valorant
- Fortnite
- Apex Legends
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Call of Duty: Warzone
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
- Destiny 2
Your game is not supported? We recommend you enable the NVIDIA Reflex feature even if your game is not supported, because it will improve your overall system latency anyway.
How to enable NVIDIA Reflex for your game, or system in general?
The whole process can be divided into two parts, enabling Reflex mode for your system in general, and enabling it for a particular supported game.
Enabling the NVIDIA Reflex for your system
- Download the latest NVIDIA driver update (17th Sep 2020)
- Close all the games in your system
- Right-click anywhere on the desktop
- Open the NVIDIA control panel
- Go to "Manage 3D settings"
- Scroll down to "Low Latency Mode"
- Change the setting to either ON or Ultra
- Your system might heat up when using Ultra
- Revert back to ON in that case
- Don't forget to click on the Apply button finally
Enabling the NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency mode in-game
- Install the latest update of the game
- Go to video settings
- Scroll until you see "NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency"
- Change the setting to either ON or ON+Boost
- We recommend ON+Boost (more below)
- Happy hunting!
NVIDIA Reflex On vs On + Boost: Normally, when you fall below 40% of the GPU utilization, it starts to save power, like reducing fan speed. If you keep it at On + Boost, your GPU will always be at its 100% of clock speed.
How to download NVIDIA Reflex from website?
If you don't want to use the GeForce Experience app, you get the latest version of the NVIDIA Reflex driver from here [NVIDIA Reflex Download link]. Simply go to the website, select the correct version of your device, and hit that download button. You can then install the driver, and enable NVIDIA Reflex low latency mode in supported games.
Optimize More: 12 Best CSGO FPS boost tips and guide in 2020 (in-depth)
I hope I was able to explain the basics of the NVIDIA Reflex technology. If you are a geek and would like to explore more about it, you can visit the NVIDIA website here.