2023 Esports Optimization Guide

[imprecise]

2. Turn off "Enhance Pointer Precision" in mouse settings.

mouse.png

3. Disable power savings in Device Properties.

power saving 2.png

4. Configure network settings.

networksettings.png

Hello sir thanks for sharing your Windows Tweaks, I was wondering my windows 10 is somehow broken as you can see the MSI mode utility shows weird numbers My Nvidia GPU 1060 has like limit blank, max limit 1, the ethernet controller too (limit 1) max limit 4

as you can see here in the image: (tried to set all normal because they were set undefined, I was thinking If i set to normal they will behave better, as I have a horrendous desync in games like counter strike.

Hope you can see the image:
https://i.imgur.com/pS03sKM.png

In the testing I've done, I barely noticed a difference in the MSI settings. However, I have it here in the guide because it can make a big impact depending on the system and there were obviously bad settings leaving it on default.

Adding a priority flag can be problematic, but it could also "fix" an otherwise broken system. I would not use priority flags unless you find them to make a noticeable improvement. I have tested these at different settings and noticed worst performance when changing priority on devices like the network, and have read others reporting either major improvement or major problems when adjusting priority on GPU. If the system is working correctly, the GPU (or any other device) shouldn't need higher priority because all the events should be in-time and in-order.

But yeah I'm a bit tired of the desync while playing my favorite game counter strike, I also have a regular HP monitor that is 60 hertz, and I noticed that If I decided to go 100fps ingame, I start to feel visual lag, like it feels 30fps or something, then I need to type fps_max 61.5 or so to avoid the (tearing) and now the game looks less laggy, but then I feel like mouse floating, is hard to aim, etc,etc

PS: I also noticed that sometimes the latency moon gave me spikes with the: CLASSPNP.sys

CSGO's game engine is built off an old quake engine, and has weird behavior at different framerates. In CSGO I have noticed running below 200fps creates this choppy feeling, and it seems to go away above that. All versions of CS have these framerate issues, although it could potentially change in CS2.

I think the desync issue is most likely caused by network problems. You could have a bad NIC, bad drivers, misconfigured OS creating or contributing to the problem. You could have an overcrowded path to where the gaming server is located, causing your packets to be delayed along the route. You could be connected to an overloaded switch where your neighbors stream HD video 24 hours per day. One thing you can try to help determine if this is the cause: When experiencing the issue... restart computer and test again right away. If the condition remains, remove all caches and buffers from your side... boot from a live OS (easiest), reset your networking equipment so the error logs and caches are cleaned out, keep your network disconnected from the ISP for like 15-30 minutes so the port on the ISP switch has a chance to clear out any cache errors. Test again... if there is an improvement then somewhere along the buffer->network->server path was causing the problem. If the problem remains, it could simply be an overloaded network path.

Something I've been considering lately is switching from Fiber gigabit to 5G wireless. Other people have posted positive results when using mobile networks, and logically it makes sense for it to be better. If you're using voice over Fiber, there is a way to flag your network packets with higher priority because voice doesn't work well unless it's real-time. Skype and other communication apps are designed around this idea. Mobile data was designed with voice-first in mind, so real-time priority can be expected. A downgraded mobile connection is essentially broken for its intended purpose, while a fiber connection can limp along at really unreasonably bad performance and still be considered delivered service by the ISP.

[EchoGhost]

As you mention in the MSI Tweaks section, you're currently using Limit "1" for all devices and have "Undefined" interrupt priority.

Somehow, when I set my Network card to limit 1, it completely broke the internet access. I have some error saying something like the device cannot start. It's fixed by uninstalling and reinstalling the driver and keeping the value as the default one (5). So can I ask, is it any different if I use limit 1 for all devices except the Network card?

Further more, I tried to set "bcdedit /set disabledynamictick yes" and turned off HPET on the window as you mentioned. It turns out it gave me higher latency than it used to (measured by Latencymon). Is it anything to worry about?

Thank you for the very informative guide.

[imprecise]

As you mention in the MSI Tweaks section, you're currently using Limit "1" for all devices and have "Undefined" interrupt priority.

Somehow, when I set my Network card to limit 1, it completely broke the internet access. I have some error saying something like the device cannot start. It's fixed by uninstalling and reinstalling the driver and keeping the value as the default one (5). So can I ask, is it any different if I use limit 1 for all devices except the Network card?

Further more, I tried to set "bcdedit /set disabledynamictick yes" and turned off HPET on the window as you mentioned. It turns out it gave me higher latency than it used to (measured by Latencymon). Is it anything to worry about?

Thank you for the very informative guide.

The reason I'm using 1 on each is to eliminate problems from being introduced. It seems like changing this setting is introducing a problem for you, so it might be best to keep it on default. Since my NIC is the weakest component in my system, I recently started testing the NIC in legacy mode (non-MSI), which does cause higher latency in CSGO netgraph, but the connection seems more accurate with less rubber-band corrections happening. In UE4 games I'm also noticing less desync, and it feels like almost every input counts instead of having moments where no inputs count for what feels like hundreds of milliseconds. I'm still testing this legacy setting but it could be worth trying for you as well.

msicurrent.png (25.77 KiB) Viewed 7428 times

If I'm losing a few ms of latency for more accurate gameplay, that's a tradeoff worth making. This also applies to your question of losing some latency when disabling HPET. If the gameplay feels more accurate, it's probably worth the trade. Using newer NIC driver + current settings probably costs me 3-5ms on every input but it's worth it because those 3-5ms of delay give me much more consistent gameplay where inputs don't drop-out and desync/resync events aren't as common.

I just double-checked and the sv setting in net_graph shows a constant 4-5ms instead of the 0-1 it showed before switching to NIC legacy. It's completely possible my settings for NIC could be wrong or bad generalized advice, I'm testing and sharing as I go. I've spent months eliminating multiple variables so now I'm going back through and focusing more on network.

[imprecise]

The reason I'm using 1 on each is to eliminate problems from being introduced. It seems like changing this setting is introducing a problem for you, so it might be best to keep it on default. Since my NIC is the weakest component in my system, I recently started testing the NIC in legacy mode (non-MSI), which does cause higher latency in CSGO netgraph, but the connection seems more accurate with less rubber-band corrections happening. In UE4 games I'm also noticing less desync, and it feels like almost every input counts instead of having moments where no inputs count for what feels like hundreds of milliseconds. I'm still testing this legacy setting but it could be worth trying for you as well.
msicurrent.png
If I'm losing a few ms of latency for more accurate gameplay, that's a tradeoff worth making. This also applies to your question of losing some latency when disabling HPET. If the gameplay feels more accurate, it's probably worth the trade. Using newer NIC driver + current settings probably costs me 3-5ms on every input but it's worth it because those 3-5ms of delay give me much more consistent gameplay where inputs don't drop-out and desync/resync events aren't as common.

I just double-checked and the sv setting in net_graph shows a constant 4-5ms instead of the 0-1 it showed before switching to NIC legacy. It's completely possible my settings for NIC could be wrong or bad generalized advice, I'm testing and sharing as I go. I've spent months eliminating multiple variables so now I'm going back through and focusing more on network.

Here is a quick update:
Legacy NIC is running very smooth, my characters in-game feel like they are inside their hitboxes most of the time. This is a big improvement from that feeling being rare using MSI mode. Air dribbling in Rocket League seems very achievable online, as the feeling of hitting the ball is pretty consistent now. Before, it would feel like my car just ran into a brick or a blanket and then I would have to adjust out of a mistake.

I also increased NIC to 2 channels, just in case a full channel is needed for each direction (full duplexing) and so far things seem the same if not a bit better. (EDIT: only 1 channel is assigned when using this setting, so no difference)

It could be worth experimenting with IRQ mode on devices that are adding latency like NIC, audio, etc. MSI is pretty new outside of GPU so expecting the drivers to work as well in MSI mode as they do in IRQ mode might be something to reconsider. As a generalized guess, older devices likely run better on IRQ than on MSI.

Overall system performance is excellent after optimization. Recently ran Witcher 3 for several hours while recording in OBS on 1440p, ultra settings, ray tracing, hairworks, DLSS 3 quality. The only thing I had to turn down was the AA inside hairworks to get rid of a bit of frame slowness, and then it was completely buttery smooth for the whole session.

[eropsy]

The reason I'm using 1 on each is to eliminate problems from being introduced. It seems like changing this setting is introducing a problem for you, so it might be best to keep it on default. Since my NIC is the weakest component in my system, I recently started testing the NIC in legacy mode (non-MSI), which does cause higher latency in CSGO netgraph, but the connection seems more accurate with less rubber-band corrections happening. In UE4 games I'm also noticing less desync, and it feels like almost every input counts instead of having moments where no inputs count for what feels like hundreds of milliseconds. I'm still testing this legacy setting but it could be worth trying for you as well.
msicurrent.png
If I'm losing a few ms of latency for more accurate gameplay, that's a tradeoff worth making. This also applies to your question of losing some latency when disabling HPET. If the gameplay feels more accurate, it's probably worth the trade. Using newer NIC driver + current settings probably costs me 3-5ms on every input but it's worth it because those 3-5ms of delay give me much more consistent gameplay where inputs don't drop-out and desync/resync events aren't as common.

I just double-checked and the sv setting in net_graph shows a constant 4-5ms instead of the 0-1 it showed before switching to NIC legacy. It's completely possible my settings for NIC could be wrong or bad generalized advice, I'm testing and sharing as I go. I've spent months eliminating multiple variables so now I'm going back through and focusing more on network.

Here is a quick update:
Legacy NIC is running very smooth, my characters in-game feel like they are inside their hitboxes most of the time. This is a big improvement from that feeling being rare using MSI mode. Air dribbling in Rocket League seems very achievable online, as the feeling of hitting the ball is pretty consistent now. Before, it would feel like my car just ran into a brick or a blanket and then I would have to adjust out of a mistake.

I also increased NIC to 2 channels, just in case a full channel is needed for each direction (full duplexing) and so far things seem the same if not a bit better.

It could be worth experimenting with IRQ mode on devices that are adding latency like NIC, audio, etc. MSI is pretty new outside of GPU so expecting the drivers to work as well in MSI mode as they do in IRQ mode might be something to reconsider. As a generalized guess, older devices likely run better on IRQ than on MSI.

Overall system performance is excellent after optimization. Recently ran Witcher 3 for several hours while recording in OBS on 1440p, ultra settings, ray tracing, hairworks, DLSS 3 quality. The only thing I had to turn down was the AA inside hairworks to get rid of a bit of frame slowness, and then it was completely buttery smooth for the whole session.

Hey, is it better to set sata and nvme to undefined interrupt priority? Mine is set on high by default

[imprecise]

Hey, is it better to set sata and nvme to undefined interrupt priority? Mine is set on high by default

I switched from the default High to Undefined, and haven't noticed any specific difference. It is probably best on default, but could be worth adjusting if experiencing stutter lag.

[Slender]

you feel better dwm on normal priority because your csrss on normal, use high for both.

[imprecise]

you feel better dwm on normal priority because your csrss on normal, use high for both.

CSRSS is high by default right? There was definitely a lot of problems under default settings. I have noticed dwm ever since it was introduced in Windows Vista and have always disabled it. It was known as full-screen optimization. In Windows 11, I have to decrease priority on any app that uses CPU and is running at above Normal priority, or the mouse will move unpredictably. I will consider testing higher priority on these two specific apps but I think it will just lead to unpredictable inputs again.

Edit: CSRSS is not allowed to change priority, which means a complicated override process. I will likely keep the recommendation to turn down DWM and other above normal priority apps.

[Slender]

you feel better dwm on normal priority because your csrss on normal, use high for both.

CSRSS is high by default right? There was definitely a lot of problems under default settings. I have noticed dwm ever since it was introduced in Windows Vista and have always disabled it. It was known as full-screen optimization. In Windows 11, I have to decrease priority on any app that uses CPU and is running at above Normal priority, or the mouse will move unpredictably. I will consider testing higher priority on these two specific apps but I think it will just lead to unpredictable inputs again.

no, bro, csrss normal by def

[yuv1]

irq.png (18.71 KiB) Viewed 6455 times

Do I want these IRQ values negative for MSI mode? How do I achieve that