Years of "Input Lag" With Perfect FPS — Turned Out to Be a Scaling Issue?

[Watchdog]

Keep in mind that some displays have low-lag scaling, and other displays have laggy scaling.

It's possible for display>gpu and display<gpu for scaling. YMMV.

Usually a good GPU is faster at scaling for 240Hz or less to most 240Hz displays.

But it's now quite possible that for 1000Hz, the display may be faster at scaling 1000fps than the GPU is able to do scaling on 1000fps. GPU horsepower plays a role here.

I found the vid and tried it out. When I did it, only the GPU scaling remains in my NVCP and no display scaling. I tried it on my XL2411K.

https://youtu.be/gdYcXAtVK2w?si=-A4Lhcs7aGTIjt4l

if you see only gpu scaling, that mean only 1 display resolution set rn.
to activate it, add some default res like 640x480.

Thank you, this worked. I now have display scaling. I just followed the video and clicked the "none" on the bottom left of the "established resolutions" section. Somehow, he still has the display scaling option with only 1 display resolution.

[wasted42]

display scaling? if it custom preinstalled resolution by zowie benq, you can delete that resolution in cru.exe, and add gpu res in sre.exe, after set fullscreen + display scaling.

Can you explain it a bit better?
Should I add the resolution I play at into SRE?
For now I don’t have a single resolution in SRE because I deleted everything following a video.
It’s still much better for me on display scaling — it’s playable at least. The input lag isn’t completely gone, but it’s about 50% better.
I don’t have screen tearing anymore, which I do have on GPU scaling.
As soon as I switch back to GPU scaling, the game becomes totally unplayable.

But still, it’s not quite right — the mouse feels very strange on display scaling.

[wasted42]

Guys, thanks for the replies, but we’ve completely drifted off topic. This has nothing to do with Windows at all.
My simple question is this:

When I play using GPU scaling, the game is basically unplayable — I get a lot of screen tearing, I can’t properly peek or jiggle-peek, and everything feels like the walls are shaking.
But when I switch to Display scaling, the image is completely SMOOTH, with no screen tearing at all.

No one has actually answered my questions, so I’d really appreciate it if someone could give a proper explanation or suggestion. I’ll repeat them clearly:

If you lack the ability to read even one piece of information maybe you should turn to ChatGpt and repeat things clearly until you understand.

There’s no need to be rude, I was just asking nicely, because literally no one gave me a proper answer to any of my questions. I really didn’t understand what you answered, and I explained my situation clearly..

[wasted42]

Are you sure you have input latency on display scaling? Have you tried measuring it with a software tool to compare? Maybe you are just not used to the feeling. amd frame latency tool, intel presentmon, nvidia frameview all can do that.

Can you explain in a bit more detail what I need to do? Thanks!

[wasted42]

Guys, thanks for the replies, but we’ve completely drifted off topic. This has nothing to do with Windows at all.
My simple question is this:

When I play using GPU scaling, the game is basically unplayable — I get a lot of screen tearing, I can’t properly peek or jiggle-peek, and everything feels like the walls are shaking.
But when I switch to Display scaling, the image is completely SMOOTH, with no screen tearing at all.

No one has actually answered my questions, so I’d really appreciate it if someone could give a proper explanation or suggestion. I’ll repeat them clearly:

Is it somehow possible to keep this smooth Display-scaled image, but have the sensitivity and mouse feeling behave like on GPU scaling?

Why don’t I get this smooth, tear-free image on GPU scaling, but only on Display scaling?
(I’ve changed 3 GPUs — all NVIDIA.)

- Would switching to an AMD GPU (I’m planning to get a 9080 XT) potentially solve this and give me proper GPU scaling?

-Is it possible that I’ve been dealing with a scaling issue for years because I always played on GPU scaling?
- But how is that possible when almost every pro player and high-level player uses GPU scaling and their game doesn’t feel floaty?
- I really hope someone replies and helps solve this problem.
- It already feels like a huge relief now that my image is smooth on Display scaling, which makes me think that I don’t actually have input lag — but rather a GPU scaling issue.

Thank you!

You have a 9800X3D so you should have IGPU that would be AMD. Do you have a DP port on your motherboard? This would put Nvidia in the backseat and use AMD Adrenalin drivers for GPU scaling. Make sure to update your VGA drivers with whatever your MOBO recommends. Would be an easy way to rule out Nvidia or it's drivers. If you're like me, you'll also discover that for some reason it's better than plugging right into the GPU. Too many people here are convinced of their own techniques so I'd be careful who you listen to.

I understand, but what do you mean by disabling Nvidia and playing on the AMD iGPU? I would have around 100 FPS… I wouldn’t solve the problem, or maybe I didn’t understand you correctly? Could you explain a bit better?

[wasted42]

Keep in mind that some displays have low-lag scaling, and other displays have laggy scaling.

It's possible for display>gpu and display<gpu for scaling. YMMV.

Usually a good GPU is faster at scaling for 240Hz or less to most 240Hz displays.

But it's now quite possible that for 1000Hz, the display may be faster at scaling 1000fps than the GPU is able to do scaling on 1000fps. GPU horsepower plays a role here.

Thanks for the reply, but I think my PC is extremely good for CS2 and shouldn’t have any issues with scaling, I mean GPU scaling. I really don’t understand the cause of my problem — as soon as I enable GPU scaling, the game becomes completely unplayable.
All pro players and high-elo players use GPU scaling and have no problems, their image is smooth, and they enjoy the game.

By the way, my monitor is a 400Hz BenQ, and I always get over 400–500 FPS, never below that..

[cuaderno]

Are you sure you have input latency on display scaling? Have you tried measuring it with a software tool to compare? Maybe you are just not used to the feeling. amd frame latency tool, intel presentmon, nvidia frameview all can do that.

Can you explain in a bit more detail what I need to do? Thanks!

No problem. Download nvidia FrameView. Open up cs2 in a practice map. Frameview should add an overlay on top left side showing FPS, GPU load% and a PC Latency. Make a mental note of the approximate PC Latency value, and see if it changes when you are using display scaling or gpu scaling.

If display scaling is adding input latency, there is a good chance that PC Latency value will be comparetively higher.

For reference, I have similar specs as you and get around around 4ms latency at 400 in-game fps cap, and 3,5ms if running uncapped. If you are getting those as well, I'd say it is unlikely that display scaling is adding input latency and the weird feeling you are getting is just because you are so used to bad tearing/scaling issues that a normal game starts to feel off. Good news is that if you keep grinding you should get used to the feeling.

A last note. Do you have reflex enabled? If you are getting max GPU load and reflex is disabled, there is a chance you are getting input latency when heavy gunfights or smokes happen, and your GPU becomes overloaded. If this is the case, try enabling reflex or setting a reasonable fps cap. Anything above 450 fps is a waste in cs2 because the benefits of "higher fps -> lower input lag" hit large diminishing returns, and at the same time you risk overloading GPU.

[Kanipshun]

Guys, thanks for the replies, but we’ve completely drifted off topic. This has nothing to do with Windows at all.
My simple question is this:

When I play using GPU scaling, the game is basically unplayable — I get a lot of screen tearing, I can’t properly peek or jiggle-peek, and everything feels like the walls are shaking.
But when I switch to Display scaling, the image is completely SMOOTH, with no screen tearing at all.

No one has actually answered my questions, so I’d really appreciate it if someone could give a proper explanation or suggestion. I’ll repeat them clearly:

Is it somehow possible to keep this smooth Display-scaled image, but have the sensitivity and mouse feeling behave like on GPU scaling?

Why don’t I get this smooth, tear-free image on GPU scaling, but only on Display scaling?
(I’ve changed 3 GPUs — all NVIDIA.)

- Would switching to an AMD GPU (I’m planning to get a 9080 XT) potentially solve this and give me proper GPU scaling?

-Is it possible that I’ve been dealing with a scaling issue for years because I always played on GPU scaling?
- But how is that possible when almost every pro player and high-level player uses GPU scaling and their game doesn’t feel floaty?
- I really hope someone replies and helps solve this problem.
- It already feels like a huge relief now that my image is smooth on Display scaling, which makes me think that I don’t actually have input lag — but rather a GPU scaling issue.

Thank you!

You have a 9800X3D so you should have IGPU that would be AMD. Do you have a DP port on your motherboard? This would put Nvidia in the backseat and use AMD Adrenalin drivers for GPU scaling. Make sure to update your VGA drivers with whatever your MOBO recommends. Would be an easy way to rule out Nvidia or it's drivers. If you're like me, you'll also discover that for some reason it's better than plugging right into the GPU. Too many people here are convinced of their own techniques so I'd be careful who you listen to.

I understand, but what do you mean by disabling Nvidia and playing on the AMD iGPU? I would have around 100 FPS… I wouldn’t solve the problem, or maybe I didn’t understand you correctly? Could you explain a bit better?

I didn't say to disable Nvidia. If you plug into your motherboard dp slot, Nvidia will still be doing most of the work but it would be scaled by your AMD IGPU drivers and not the Nvidia drivers.

[nima13822002]

Bro, if you're truly only playing CS2, try CachyOS (Linux).

I get 15-20% more performance compared to Windows 11 on CachyOS in CS2.
Also, the overall fluidity and responsiveness is UNMATCHED. I've tried Windows 11 (to test Gsync on my 360 Hz OLED) and it felt really bad. Choppy, laggy and overall not enjoyable.

Try CachyOS. It's super simple. You can setup a dual boot, install only CS2 to try it out and let me know how it feels. Trust me, CS2 is superior on Linux with CachyOS.

i installed cachyos but i dont know which setting need to better than windows performance if u can tell me im very thankfull of you

[wasted42]

UPDATE

Sorry, I forgot to update you. After about two days the input went back, so it’s not related to scaling. It doesn’t matter whether it’s display scaling or GPU scaling — the problem is the same.

Maybe with display scaling the walls look a bit more stable and don’t shake as much as with GPU scaling, but the core issue is still there. Check out these two clips — literally 80% of my deaths look like this. It’s impossible to react, impossible to track the enemy with my crosshair. I’m dying behind walls, getting backtracked, and so on.

My mouse is never consistent. It feels like my sensitivity is constantly changing, even though it’s always been 2.00 sens at 400 DPI. The mouse feels like it’s floating on something — it’s just impossible to control. Sometimes it even feels different from round to round.

I honestly don’t know what else to say. Like I said, I’ve changed apartments three times, and I’ve also changed three PCs and three monitors...