At Gamescom 2021 Nvidia announced a game bundle containing Battlefield 2042
with select RTX graphics cards and laptops. This is a big marketing push of course since the title
features Nvidia’s DLSS technology in order to help push frames. And as we all know: frames win games.
The latest battlefield title also brings another Nvidia technology that has become quite popular
among the competitive eSports shooters like Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Call of Duty Warzone.
That is none-other than Nvidia Reflex. In this video I’m going to explain what Nvidia Reflex is,
how it’s measured, and tell you if it actually works. Let’s load this one on up, shall we?
Before going deeper, let’s start off by explaining what Nivdia Reflex is.
In the past, the chase for the competitive edge in most shooter scenarios
revolved around getting higher frames - and obviously referenced in Nvidia’s marketing.
After all, the more frames you can render in a given time gives you a greater number of images
to work with. This allows for quicker reaction times and generally does give players an edge.
But as time marches on there are more ways to climb a tree. And since the purpose of
all those frames is to lower latency, then why not tackle the latency issue directly? Well
that’s exactly what Nvidia Reflex does. Rather than finding a way to boost frame
rates in order to increase responsiveness, Reflex tackles the render pipeline to remove obstacles
and shorten the time taken from mouse click to on-screen action.
There are two parts to Nvidia Reflex: the in-game SDK
as well as the Reflex Latency Analyzer. I’ll go over both,
but the more important part to most the audience is going to be in the in-game portion.
When it comes to the SDK, this is used by game developers who want to implement
Reflex in their games. During typical gameplay the render queue is filling up subsequent frames in
a game so that they are delivered smoothly and on schedule. This is super important for most gaming
situations when absolute smoothness is important, like in single-player adventure games. However in
competitive shooters what you really want is the absolute latest information on the screen. This is
what Nvidia Reflex allows for. It keeps the queue clear and displays the most recent data at the
fastest time possible. This also allows for a bit of relief for the CPU as it’s no longer having to
queue up frames. Reflex also allows for the GPU to boost a bit faster in heavy CPU-bound scenarios.
Something very important to keep in mind is that the effectiveness of Nvidia Reflex
is going to be most beneficial for lower to mid-tier cards. Higher-end cards are
typically already able to crank the frames at the more competitive resolution of 1080p
so there may not be much improvement anyway.
This simple fact makes this technology very attractive to entry-level and even mobile gamers.
So that’s a general overview of how it works and what it does,
but how is it measured? How do you even know it’s working? Well,
there will be a definite ‘feel’ associated with Nvidia Reflex when it’s enabled. But measuring
it allows you to make your own adjustments, and in order to do that, there are a few options.
One option is to acquire a custom mouse and light sensor setup. This, paired with custom software,
measures click to screen change latency. It’s super accurate, but let’s be honest,
that whole arrangement is quite impractical, expensive, and out of reach for most people.
Another option is actually quite viable for enthusiasts and those willing to spend a bit more
on a really premium monitor. That is to jump in the ever-growing world of high-end Gsync panels
that house a built-in Reflex Latency Analyzer. What they do is take all
those parts that I previously listed - so an integrated sensor and a dedicated mouse
port for supported mice - and in one package gives the ability to monitor, in real time,
the overall system latency. It also allows for real time tuning for the best experience possible.
This integrates perfectly with the Nvidia Performance Overlay so you
can get the most detailed metrics while you’re setting up and playing.
But if neither of those is an option for you then you can always make use of the basic information
that you get from the Nvidia Performance Overlay that is provided through the Nvidia
GeForce Experience. This will gives rudimentary latency information but
doesn’t provide a thorough breakdown. Given that, it can still be helpful in basic tuning.
So even if you invest in one of those options, what does all that mean for
when the rubber meets the road? Well, to be honest, you don’t HAVE to have the additional
hardware if you want the advantage of Nvidia Reflex. All you need is a supported GPU,
and that list is rather extensive with support going all the way back to the GTX 900 Series.
You just head into the settings of a supported game, and toggle on Reflex. The additional
hardware is what’s needed to monitor and measure accurately. So did it make a difference? Well,
I did a few tests for you with my Alienware AW2521H 360Hz panel which has a built in analyzer.
After doing some tuning I tried Fortnite at 1080p high settings with an RTX 2080 Super
and found that - just like Nvidia had suggested - this higher-end GPU didn’t see a whole lot of
benefit from running Reflex. But using Reflex with Boost, this GTX 1660 saw a massive improvement,
and it was certainly felt in game. By simply enabling Reflex the GTX 1660’s latency improved
to RTX 2080 Super levels. This doesn’t mean the GTX 1660 was pushing out
RTX 2080 Super levels of framerates, it means that it becomes just as responsive,
making this a game-changer for those on that level of performance.
However, the same can’t quite be said about Call of Duty Warzone at 1080p. While there was a decent
reduction of latency on the GTX 1660, it goes to show that you still need raw power to really get
the most out of some games. Either way I can say that the GTX 1660 still benefited from Reflex,
so it continues to show that this performance tier is benefiting more than the high end.
So by this point, you should have a better understanding of what Nvidia Reflex is.
There’s clearly more to it than just a toggle in a game as there are additional components,
such as those built into high-end Gysnc displays. Support from developers is constantly growing,
with games like Battlefield 2042 getting support day one. Even the list of supported monitors and
gaming mice grows with each passing month, so for the latest on that you’ll want to check
out the official Nvidia Reflex page over at GeForce.com. For now if you liked this
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