Updated 9/20/26
How many Frames Per Second can the human eye see?
You may wonder what happens if you’re watching something with a really high FPS rate. Are you actually seeing all those frames that flash by? After all, your eye doesn’t move as fast as 30 motions per second.
The short answer is that you may not be able to consciously register those frames, but your eyes and brain may be aware of them.
For example, take the 60-frames-per-second rate that many have accepted as the uppermost limit.
Some research suggests that your brain might actually be able to identify images that you see for a much shorter period of time than experts thought.
For example, the authors of a 2014 study out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that the brain can process an image that your eye sees for only 13 milliseconds — a very rapid processing speed.
That’s especially rapid when compared with the accepted 100 milliseconds that appears in earlier studies. Thirteen milliseconds translate into about 75 frames per second.
Source: HealthLine
{Note: Max Frame Rate set to just above the speed of the human maximum processing speed of 75 frames per second (Example: set to 85fps) can produce a more steady frame rate and cooler running graphics card as it does less work with no visual loss.)
G-Sync, FreeSync and V-Sync
Both G-Sync and FreeSync absolutely matter for PC gaming. They are Adaptive Sync technologies that eliminate screen tearing and stuttering by matching your monitor’s refresh rate dynamically to your graphics card’s frame rate. They provide a vastly smoother experience than traditional V-Sync. Adaptive-Sync was introduced by Nvidia as G-Sync. AMD also added FreeSync to provide Adaptive-Sync for their cards.
To get the absolute best out of G-Sync, you are generally recommended to cap your FPS just below your monitor’s maximum refresh rate (e.g., capping at 141 FPS on a 144Hz screen).
Leaving G-Sync on won’t cause any harm, running games beyond the maximum refresh rate of your monitor will disable G-Sync, meaning that if you’re playing an easier to run game there is likely no benefit to using it.
V-Sync enabled could eliminate tearing, but causes increased lag and stutter.
The “Vertical Sync” (V-Sync) setting in Nvidia Control Panel set to “Fast” renders unconstrained almost as fast as V-Sync disabled, except doesn’t tear since frame rate above your monitor refresh rate will just drop the extra frames.
Set to “Off”. If you use G-Sync, set it to “Use the 3D application setting” and disable V-Sync in-game.
Nvidia
Most common cause for game stutters with Nvidia
Specific NVIDIA settings like Low Latency Mode (set to Ultra) and conflicting frame rate limiters are the most likely culprits to cause stutters in games.
Top NVIDIA Settings Causing Stutters
- Low Latency Mode (Ultra): Setting this to Ultra aggressively pre-renders frames to reduce lag. When your GPU hits 95%–100% load or in CPU-heavy games, it forces a bottleneck that ruins frame pacing and introduces harsh micro-stutters. (Fix: Set to “On” or “Off”).
- Conflicting Frame Rate Limits: Using an NVIDIA Control Panel frame rate cap at the same time as an in-game frame rate limiter or third-party software (like RTSS) can misalign frame pacing.(Fix: Choose only one limiter or keep one side unlimited).
- Shader Cache Size (Disabled/Too Small): If your shader cache is restricted or failing to save properly on your drive, your GPU must recompile shaders on the fly during gameplay, causing severe stuttering when new effects load.(Fix: Set Shader Cache Size to “10GB” or “Unlimited”s).
- Background Recording / Instant Replay: Features in the NVIDIA App or GeForce Experience that constantly record gameplay or clip highlights can choke system resources or create disk write latency on mid-to-lower-end systems.(Fix: Turn off Instant Replay if not needed).
- Power Management Mode (“Prefer Maximum Performance”): While meant to help, forcing maximum performance globally can prevent downclocking or cause weird voltage/frequency state changes and hitching in certain titles.(Fix: Use “Normal” or “Balanced” globally, and reserve maximum performance for specific game profiles if needed).
The settings below are designed towards performance, while still retaining good 3D image quality and help avoid stutters.
These settings can differ depending on your GPU model and driver.
(Note: Avoid global overrides that affect all applications, each game or application can be customized in “Program Settings”.)
Manage 3D Settings Menu
| Features | Performance settings |
|---|---|
| Image scaling | “On”: GPU Scaling & Sharpening, boosts frame rates for the application. |
| Antialiasing – Mode | “Application-controlled”: can minimize jagged edges, often called “jaggies” or “the staircase effect,” in some situations. |
| Antialiasing Transparency | “Multisampling”: provides superior performance. “Super Sampling” if your graphics card or console has extra power to spare and you want a cleaner, sharper image without jagged edges |
| Power Management mode | “Prefer maximum performance”: graphics card’s performance level The default mode reduces GPU clocks during brief load dips between frames, causing clock ramp-up latency that shows up as microstutter. Maximum performance keeps clocks high at all times. |
| Shader Cache Size | 10GB or above: maximum disk space for storing shader compile. Setting a size limit too small may cause the driver to remove shaders you still make use of and cause game play stutters. This allows DirectX 12 and Vulkan games to cache compiled shaders without eviction, eliminating shader compilation stutter after the first session. (Instructions to flush Shader Cache are on this page below) |
| Low Latency Mode | “Off” prioritizes render throughput by allowing games to queue frames. Good for CPU-heavy games or when your GPU has plenty of power “Ultra” reduces the GPU render queue to minimum. Your CPU submits fewer frames in advance, which increases GPU utilization slightly but dramatically reduces system latency. Measurable in frame timing tools as 10–30ms latency reduction. |
| Texture Filtering Negative LOD bias | “Allow”: lets applications specify a negative LOD bias when anisotropic filtering is used. |
| Texture filtering – Quality | “High Performance” Anisotropic filtering is handled better in-game anyway. The driver-level quality setting mostly affects edge cases that aren’t visible during gameplay. “Performance”: offers an optimal blend of image quality and performance. |
| Texture filtering – Trilinear optimization | “On”: improves texture filtering performance by allowing bilinear filtering on textures in parts of the scene where trilinear filtering is not necessary. |
| Threaded optimization | “Off”: for older games |
| Vertical sync | “Use the application setting”: to use the settings within the application to control V-Sync. “Fast”: improves latency without introducing tearing. “Off”: Useful if performance is more important than image quality and disable V-Sync in-game. If G-Sync is used, set it to “Use the 3D application setting”, or just below monitor refresh rate, and disable V-Sync in-game. Note: All three can produce higher Frames Per Second (FPS). |
| Max Frame Rate | The frame rate (FPS) should not exceed your monitor’s refresh rate, excess frames will be discarded and not seen and GPU run warmer with no visual benefit. It’s generally recommended to cap your FPS just below your monitor’s maximum refresh rate (e.g., capping at 141 FPS on a 144Hz screen). This also allows the graphics card to reduce work load and help it run cooler. Setting it to just above the speed of the human eye maximum of 75 frames per second (Example: 85fps) can produce a steady frame rate and cooler running graphics card as it does less work with no visual loss. (to check monitor refresh rate go to: Start > Settings > System > Display > Advanced display settings.) |
NVIDIA High Definition Audio
NVIDIA digital audio drivers can cause stuttering, frame drops, and audio crackling in games for some users. While the “NVIDIA High Definition Audio” and “NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device” drivers are intended to route audio over HDMI/DisplayPort or support tools like NVIDIA Broadcast, they can occasionally trigger high Deferred Procedure Call (DPC) latency or conflict with onboard audio solutions (like Realtek). When DPC latency spikes, the system struggles to process real-time audio and video data simultaneously, resulting in micro-stutters or audio pops.
Nvidia HD Audio is only necessary if you want to play sound through an HDMI or DisplayPort cable connected to a monitor or TV.
When You Need It
Monitor or TV Speakers: You use the built-in speakers on a display plugged into your graphics card.
AV Receivers: You send sound and video from your GPU to a home theater receiver.
VR Headsets
Nvidia Digital Audio (via the Nvidia High Definition Audio driver) is not a feature built into a specific VR headset hardware model. Instead, it is utilized by any PC VR headset that connects to an Nvidia graphics card via HDMI or DisplayPort.
When a PC VR headset plugs into an Nvidia GPU to receive its video signal, the connection frequently pipes audio through the graphics card’s digital audio encoder.
Headsets that commonly rely on or interface with Nvidia Digital Audio for their tethered PC audio streams include:
- Valve Index (connected via DisplayPort)
- HTC Vive / Vive Pro / Vive Pro 2 (connected via HDMI/DisplayPort)
- PlayStation VR2 (when used on PC via the PC adapter and DisplayPort)
- HP Reverb G2 (connected via DisplayPort)
- Pimax headsets (Crystal, 8K, etc. via DisplayPort)
When You Do Not Need It
Headphones or Desktop Speakers: You plug your audio gear directly into your motherboard’s audio jacks (like Realtek) or use a USB headset.
No Built-in Speakers: Your monitor does not have speakers and you do not pipe audio through it.
How to Remove NVIDIA High Definition Audio
Disabling these drivers will cut off audio sent through your graphics card to monitor speakers or VR headsets, but it will not affect standard headphones or speakers plugged directly into your motherboard’s audio jack. Keep in mind that clean-installing or updating your GeForce drivers may re-enable or reinstall these components
Device Manager Method
1) Right-click the Windows Start button and open Device Manager.
2) Expand the Sound, video and game controllers section.
3) Right-click NVIDIA High Definition Audio and select Disable device.
(Optional) Check under Audio inputs and outputs or other sections for NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device and disable it as well.
4) Restart your computer and test your games.
Clean Driver Reinstallation
When updating your graphics drivers via the NVIDIA installer, choose the Custom (Advanced) installation option. Uncheck the NVIDIA High Definition Audio box so it is omitted or removed during the installation process.
| Flushing DirectX Shader Cache On Windows 11, DirectX Shader is an optimization feature for storing pre-compiled versions of special instructions, known as shaders. Shaders are small programs understood by the graphics card that control various graphical effects. Compiling shaders can be time-consuming, and using a cache helps optimize performance by providing easier and faster access to pre-compiled versions. The decision to clear the cache will depend on you. However, below are some reasons why you may want to do so. To resolve performance issues – A cleared DirectX Shader cache may resolve some performance issues, including graphical glitches and stuttering. Freeing up disk space – Even though the cache may not take up much space, clearing it will still free up some extra space on your computer. To update the cache – If you have just updated your graphics card or installed new games, you may clear the DirectX Shader cache to fill it with new information. Note: clearing the cache is not something you must do often. It is mainly a troubleshooting step when you face some graphical issues. This procedure will not negatively affect your system. This is because the cache is isolated storage with no permanent information. You cannot disable or prevent the creation of the DirectX Shader Cache. Windows 11 has no official way of disabling this optimization feature. Ccleaner provides an option to flush the DirectX Shader Cache. To flush DirectX Shader Cache Using Disk Cleanup 1. Open Start Menu, type cleanup in the search bar, click Disk Cleanup to open it.. 2. Select your C drive, then click the OK button. 3. Tick the DirectX Shader cache option and click OK. (Note: Though this is meant to flush DSC, it could be a good idea to check every listed item and clean the system of other temporary files.) |
END
