How exactly do Nvidia Control Panel global settings work?

[yellow]

I'd like to let all 3d apps (games) use their own settings and not force ANYTHING on them via the CP settings EXCEPT the "Power Management Mode" which I'd like to set globally to "Prefer maximum performance". Is that possible?

If I set "Use the advanced 3d imge settings" in the preview window, how will the global settings apply? Are they FORCED on games, or just the defaults which games can still override? Some settings have the "Application-controlled" option and it's clear they aren't forced, but not all of them. For example, if you set settings such as "Ambient Occlusion", "AA - Gamma Correction", "AA - Transparency", "Triple buffering" to Off, what does that mean? Are they FORCED to be off, or can games still set them to On?

[ReBoot]

If the global setting says "application-defined", then the appplication (game) gets to decide. If the global setting says "That's the way it is", then it's the way it is. If you want the game to be able to override it, set "application-defined" for AA or whatever.

There's also an odd mode, something like "enhance application setting". That will make the driver to go higher (i.e. MSAA 4x instead of 2x) than the game, but not lower.

[Muppet among Puppets]

Do you want maximum power for a reason or a feeling?

It is usually not needed.
If its needed, you would know and that is a setting for the specific game then.

Not the other way around.

[Venryx]

@OP I have the same question, and have yet to see a definitive answer on it.

I also want there to be no "global overriding", by the Nvidia control-panel, of game-managed settings -- but like you say, some of the settings don't have the "Application-controlled" option by which to clearly do this.

I did find this post on it: https://www.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/4ye8mn/nvidia_control_panel_or_ingame_settings/d6n4308

According to him, the Nvidia control-panel options are generally different than the in-game equivalent options (so eg. NVCP's vsync is different than in-game vsync), and when enabled in the NVCP, it overrides the in-game implementation. (I suppose eg. the in-game code checks if driver-managed vsync is enabled and thus doesn't start its own)

Don't know if he's correct, but he seems to have some experience with it, so it's good enough for me for now.

[Muppet among Puppets]

Its simple.

You set it to default settings. And if you want to change something in global settings, it has global effect.