Could lowering my refresh rate from 165 Hz to 144 Hz (freesync) help with stuttering?

[Hoppled]

Hello, so I recently got a new monitor and GPU. I upgraded from an RX 580 to a 6600 XT. I now also have a 165 Hz Asus Freesync monitor 1080p

I get much better frames, however, in some games it stutters a bit more than it did with the 580.

I used DDU, changed with settings, etc. In a game like MW2 it actually runs very well on my system, however, sometimes in ground war big maps, it has a bit of a hiccup.

Since not many games at all I sustain 165 FPS, I figured lowering the refresh rate to 144 Hz. I actually intended to get a 144, not 165 Hz, but all that was on sale was 165 Hz. In MW2 I generally float between 100-150, but generally average 130 FPS. I also use Freesync to help with stuttering.

I heard you should cap frames 3 below your refresh rate to get the most out of Freesync. So, lowering to 144 Hz with 141 FPS cap, I assume there will not be as big of FPS spikes, since I will float from 141 to 100 instead of 160 to 100.

Lastly - could XMP ever be the culprit for stutters?

Hopefully this makes sense, but please let me know your thoughts

CPU: Ryzen 5 3600
GPU: RX 6600 XT
RAM: 16GB DDR4 @3200 MHz (XMP enabled)
Asus TUF 1 ms 165Hz 1080p monitor
Games installed on Samsung 980 1TB SSD

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Originally posted by Hopland:

In a game like MW2 it actually runs very well on my system, however, sometimes in ground war big maps, it has a bit of a hiccup.

...

In MW2 I generally float between 100-150, but generally average 130 FPS. I also use Freesync to help with stuttering.

There is a known issue with MWII tracked by the game devs that causes stuttering on various setups and their 2 attempts at game ready patches working with Nvidia and AMD didn't help fix the issue for many people, regardless of your in game settings.

[Rod]

OP likely confusing frame drops as stutter. You cant just go from 160-100fps it feels like a instant stutter its not its just the inpact of massive fps drops. Cap 3fps below refresh and get a stable framerate.

[Hoppled]

Originally posted by Rodders:

OP likely confusing frame drops as stutter. You cant just go from 160-100fps it feels like a instant stutter its not its just the inpact of massive fps drops. Cap 3fps below refresh and get a stable framerate.

Yes, that what I call these frame drops. I mean, aren't sudden, severe frame drops stutters? Otherwise, what is a stutter? Would I just call them frame drops? What about frame hitching?

I capped 3 below refresh rate - 161 on my 165 Hz monitor. I just figured that putting it to 144 Hz would lessen frame drops that appear like a stutter, since I'm capping at 141 instead of 161. In games, it often drops to 100-110, which is quite a leap from 165 Hz.

[Pocahawtness]

I prefer a stable framerate rather than wild peaks and dips so I normally set the fps at the lowest I will get. In your case 120fps cap maybe.

[Hoppled]

Originally posted by Pirate☠️Pocah:

I prefer a stable framerate rather than wild peaks and dips so I normally set the fps at the lowest I will get. In your case 120fps cap maybe.

True, but wouldn't it be a decent idea to lower the refresh rate a bit? Since people say to cap 3 frames below refresh rate for Freesync. 3 below 165 is only 161, so the drops are still large.

[Rod]

Originally posted by Hopland:

Originally posted by Pirate☠️Pocah:

I prefer a stable framerate rather than wild peaks and dips so I normally set the fps at the lowest I will get. In your case 120fps cap maybe.

True, but wouldn't it be a decent idea to lower the refresh rate a bit? Since people say to cap 3 frames below refresh rate for Freesync. 3 below 165 is only 161, so the drops are still large.

Nope thats a myth never ever lower refreshrate. You must understand that 120fps on a 165hz display locked is superior to 120fps on 120hz. Your only issue is you cant mantain your framerate. Keep the monitor at 165hz it performs better but itll still be bad under 120hz. I dont personally play games below 120fps for this very reason if the game starts to dip to say 90fps it feels like garbage and i will put that game on hold for a while.


Capping at 120.00fps at 165hz is fine, Capping at 163.00fps is fine the difference is one avoids big fps dips and no they are not stutters they are not frame drops either its simply your massive fps variation being visable.

[Hoppled]

Originally posted by Rodders:

Originally posted by Hopland:

True, but wouldn't it be a decent idea to lower the refresh rate a bit? Since people say to cap 3 frames below refresh rate for Freesync. 3 below 165 is only 161, so the drops are still large.

Nope thats a myth never ever lower refreshrate. You must understand that 120fps on a 165hz display locked is superior to 120fps on 120hz. Your only issue is you cant mantain your framerate. Keep the monitor at 165hz it performs better but itll still be bad under 120hz. I dont personally play games below 120fps for this very reason if the game starts to dip to say 90fps it feels like garbage and i will put that game on hold for a while.


Capping at 120.00fps at 165hz is fine, Capping at 163.00fps is fine the difference is one avoids big fps dips and no they are not stutters they are not frame drops either its simply your massive fps variation being visable.

Alright, thanks. And it is okay to use 120 FPS cap with freesync on as well, right? I like freesync cuz I hate tearing. Hopefully this improves my experience.

[Rod]

Originally posted by Hopland:

Originally posted by Rodders:

Nope thats a myth never ever lower refreshrate. You must understand that 120fps on a 165hz display locked is superior to 120fps on 120hz. Your only issue is you cant mantain your framerate. Keep the monitor at 165hz it performs better but itll still be bad under 120hz. I dont personally play games below 120fps for this very reason if the game starts to dip to say 90fps it feels like garbage and i will put that game on hold for a while.


Capping at 120.00fps at 165hz is fine, Capping at 163.00fps is fine the difference is one avoids big fps dips and no they are not stutters they are not frame drops either its simply your massive fps variation being visable.

Alright, thanks. And it is okay to use 120 FPS cap with freesync on as well, right? I like freesync cuz I hate tearing. Hopefully this improves my experience.

It stays on always but ingame vsync and triplebuffering have to be disabled. Or you run two sync and double your latency.

[Hoppled]

Originally posted by Rodders:

Originally posted by Hopland:

Alright, thanks. And it is okay to use 120 FPS cap with freesync on as well, right? I like freesync cuz I hate tearing. Hopefully this improves my experience.

It stays on always but ingame vsync and triplebuffering have to be disabled. Or you run two sync and double your latency.

Ok, cool thanks. Do you have any idea what "Premium" Freesync does? It can only be turned on/off in the Adrenalin Software Display tab, otherwise regular Freesync is always an option. By default, Freesync is always put to "AMD optimized" not on or off, so idk what that means either.

[CZI]

I think the machine is not optimized for gaming. Some background process, notification, and/or automatic update get triggered.

It depends on the games, but if frame drop happen not related disk access area, it may be better to check Windows configurations.

For reference, my configuration is at "Windows 10 configurations" section of
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2192326393

Note that some configration would lower Windows security and may cause other issues.
ex) Disabling automatic Windows Update
If you do, reasearch and take your own risk.

[Rod]

Originally posted by Hopland:

Originally posted by Rodders:

It stays on always but ingame vsync and triplebuffering have to be disabled. Or you run two sync and double your latency.

Ok, cool thanks. Do you have any idea what "Premium" Freesync does? It can only be turned on/off in the Adrenalin Software Display tab, otherwise regular Freesync is always an option. By default, Freesync is always put to "AMD optimized" not on or off, so idk what that means either.

No idea im Nvidia myself i know nothing about Freesync you should learn and consult someone on proper freesync setup. Wrong setups result in extra latency which is double your standard so you can mess up and go from 6ms or so at 165hz to 12ms. Blurbusters is a good site.

[Guydodge]

Originally posted by Hopland:

Originally posted by Rodders:

OP likely confusing frame drops as stutter. You cant just go from 160-100fps it feels like a instant stutter its not its just the inpact of massive fps drops. Cap 3fps below refresh and get a stable framerate.

Yes, that what I call these frame drops. I mean, aren't sudden, severe frame drops stutters? Otherwise, what is a stutter? Would I just call them frame drops? What about frame hitching?

I capped 3 below refresh rate - 161 on my 165 Hz monitor. I just figured that putting it to 144 Hz would lessen frame drops that appear like a stutter, since I'm capping at 141 instead of 161. In games, it often drops to 100-110, which is quite a leap from 165 Hz.

is it a 165hz monitor or does it overclock to 165hz ? if its overclocked to hit 165 unclock it
not all monitors are created equally some dont handle going below there target fps very well.

[Rod]

Originally posted by Guydodge:

Originally posted by Hopland:

Yes, that what I call these frame drops. I mean, aren't sudden, severe frame drops stutters? Otherwise, what is a stutter? Would I just call them frame drops? What about frame hitching?

I capped 3 below refresh rate - 161 on my 165 Hz monitor. I just figured that putting it to 144 Hz would lessen frame drops that appear like a stutter, since I'm capping at 141 instead of 161. In games, it often drops to 100-110, which is quite a leap from 165 Hz.

is it a 165hz monitor or does it overclock to 165hz ? if its overclocked to hit 165 unclock it
not all monitors are created equally some dont handle going below there target fps very well.

This is poor advice and should be disregarded. Its an Asus if it has overclock issues he could RMA. Thats like saying gimp your car so it has less faults.