Capping Games at 60fps with VRR?

[daylight_EX]

Hi, all.

This is my first post so I'm sorry if I don't articulate my question very well.

I have a VRR display that is rated G-Sync Compatible (the Gigabyte M28U). I have followed the BlurBusters guide on how to set up G-Sync as outlined in the BlurBusters 'G-Sync 101' article and, when I play games without an FPS game, everything is perfect. However, I had a question regarding capping games at 60fps (to save on GPU workload, power, etc.) whilst using a VRR display.

When I have VRR enabled on my 120Hz display, and when I cap games to 60fps using Nvidia Control Panel/RTSS, the game seems to feel really stuttery. This is especially noticable when moving the in-game camera. I've tried this in roughly 10 different games from varying years of release - I'm not sure if I'm getting unlucky with games that don't play well with VRR for some reason or if I'm doing something wrong. I'll provide an example for a little bit more context (with my PC specs):

I am playing The Evil Within 2 via Steam. G-Sync is enabled for fullscreen mode. The game is set to exclusive fullscreen and no in-game FPS lock or in-game V-Sync is active. NVCP settings are V-Sync enabled, and a max FPS of 60. When these settings are enabled, the game feels really suttery, especially when moving the camera. When these settings are off, and the framerate is unlocked with VRR enabled, this issue goes away. My (basic) specs are an 5950X, a 3080Ti, and my monitor is set to 4K @ 120Hz.

Any help on why my games feel stuttery with an NVCP/RTSS lock of 60fps would be really appreciated. Thank you!

[Luviaz]

Any help on why my games feel stuttery with an NVCP/RTSS lock of 60fps would be really appreciated. Thank you!

I assume there are no synchronization-related issues here. Remember that external limiters intercept API present calls without guaranteeing proper frame pacing for all games. Some options you might consider are: an in-game limiter, half-refresh V-sync at 120Hz, or plain V-sync at 60Hz.

Our eyes are highly adaptable to motion, which may explain why 60Hz doesn't feel the same after becoming accustomed to higher refresh rates. Before experiencing high Hz, 60Hz appeared reasonably smooth; this is similar to how we perceive resolution, HDR, ...

You may be perceiving a perfectly fine 60FPS; it's possible that you've simply become used to higher Hz, making 60Hz appear stuttery now.