Dual DisplayPort NVIDIA Gaming Stutters
Thursday 25th August, 2022 13:39
For quite a while I used an HDMI connection to a second monitor that was limited to 60Hz, and did all my gaming on my main 144Hz G-SYNC monitor. I recently managed to upgrade my setup to dual 144Hz G-SYNC monitors connected with DisplayPort. Everything seemed fine at the main screen, limited to 60 FPS, but once I was in game and the refresh rate went up to 144Hz I noticed stuttering, as somewhat similar to having lag when gaming. But the in-game stats showed my internet connection was fine (I'm on a wired Ethernet connection to an FTTP Internet connection). Knowing that all I'd really done was add the second monitor, after the first game was over I told Windows not to extend the desktop and everything was fine after that. I needed a long term fix though, and while searching the Internet between games I think I've found one.
I've not tested, but it's possible that everything on "Monitor 1" works fine using "Single display performance mode" and it's only "Monitor 2" that was affected. In the past I'm pretty sure my HDMI screen was "Monitor 2" but adding the new screen somehow change this around.
UPDATE: That alone didn't solve the problem :(
I've left the "Multi-display/Mixed-GPU acceleration" setting as on "Multi display performance mode", as that should help (as I have multiple monitors), but after seeing more juddering/stuttering and reviewing some more settings in detail I noticed that my second monitor was set to 60Hz instead of it's maximum refresh rate (I think I originally connected it via HDMI at 60Hz before finding a second DisplayPort cable that worked, as I had a faulty DP cable, which may explain the low refresh rate). I went to manually change it to 165Hz to match the first monitor (as I have the 144Hz monitor overclocked to 165Hz) and then noticed that I hadn't changed the overclock rate on that monitor from 160Hz to 165Hz. Now both monitors are set to 165Hz, and set to 165Hz in Windows, and everything is buttery smooth again. Why the refresh rate on the second monitor affected the other monitor, I have no idea (a weird G-SYNC issue?). I'm still not very good at gaming.
- Download nvidiaProfileInspector (not NvidiaInspector). I grabbed the zip file from the "Latest" release from https://github.com/Orbmu2k/nvidiaProfileInspector/releases.
- Extract the zip, then Run nvidiaProfileInspector.exe. It'll prompt for as Admin rights as it needs to be run elevated.
- Scroll down to "5 - Common" and look for "Multi-display/Mixed-GPU acceleration" which is set to "Single display performance mode" by default.
- Change this to "Multi display performance mode", then click "Apply changes" in the top right.
I've not tested, but it's possible that everything on "Monitor 1" works fine using "Single display performance mode" and it's only "Monitor 2" that was affected. In the past I'm pretty sure my HDMI screen was "Monitor 2" but adding the new screen somehow change this around.
UPDATE: That alone didn't solve the problem :(
I've left the "Multi-display/Mixed-GPU acceleration" setting as on "Multi display performance mode", as that should help (as I have multiple monitors), but after seeing more juddering/stuttering and reviewing some more settings in detail I noticed that my second monitor was set to 60Hz instead of it's maximum refresh rate (I think I originally connected it via HDMI at 60Hz before finding a second DisplayPort cable that worked, as I had a faulty DP cable, which may explain the low refresh rate). I went to manually change it to 165Hz to match the first monitor (as I have the 144Hz monitor overclocked to 165Hz) and then noticed that I hadn't changed the overclock rate on that monitor from 160Hz to 165Hz. Now both monitors are set to 165Hz, and set to 165Hz in Windows, and everything is buttery smooth again. Why the refresh rate on the second monitor affected the other monitor, I have no idea (a weird G-SYNC issue?). I'm still not very good at gaming.
