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Could Flat Frame Times Be the Fix for Input Lag & Desync? Share Your Experience
Posted: 11 Sep 2025, 15:18
by zouhair_psi
Could you share your CapFrameX results with me? I want to compare them to mine to see if my findings are normal or if I've discovered a new Windows optimization.
Could Flat Frame Times Be the Fix for Input Lag & Desync? Share Your Experience
Posted: 22 Sep 2025, 07:33
by zouhair_psi
Hey everyone,
I’ve been experimenting with system and in-game tweaks to push Overwatch 2 performance beyond just “high FPS.” What I ended up with surprised me: my frame time captures are completely flat.
- At 125 FPS, my frame times are locked at ~8 ms with no fluctuation.
- At 400 FPS, they’re ~2.5 ms, and the graph literally doesn’t move—400 to 399 FPS max.
- No spikes, no dips, no micro-stutter.
This wasn’t done in a test scenario like looking at a wall or the sky — the capture was taken during a live match with all the usual action, abilities, and team fights going on.
In-game it feels incredibly smooth, almost like the input is more predictable because every frame lands exactly when expected. I also feel like the usual “desync” sensation I used to notice is either gone or reduced to the absolute minimum compared to when I had normal fluctuating frame pacing.
For context, here’s my PC setup (nothing crazy high-end):
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
- RAM: 32 GB DDR4 @ 3600 MHz
- Motherboard: MSI MAG X570 TOMAHAWK WIFI
I’m curious:
- Has anyone else managed to get this kind of perfectly stable frame pacing?
- Do you notice a difference in aiming or overall feel when your frame times are this consistent?
- Do you think this matters more than just chasing the highest FPS number?
I’ll share my captures below so you can see what I mean. Would love to compare notes with others who’ve tried to optimize for consistency instead of just raw framerate.
Re: Could Flat Frame Times Be the Fix for Input Lag & Desync? Share Your Experience
Posted: 26 Sep 2025, 15:34
by ManWhoSoldTheWorld
Please do share how you are able to get such a stable frame time
Re: Could Flat Frame Times Be the Fix for Input Lag & Desync? Share Your Experience
Posted: 28 Sep 2025, 10:29
by atlantis
zouhair_psi wrote: ↑11 Sep 2025, 15:18
Could you share your CapFrameX results with me? I want to compare them to mine to see if my findings are normal or if I've discovered a new Windows optimization.
can you share with us please
Re: Could Flat Frame Times Be the Fix for Input Lag & Desync? Share Your Experience
Posted: 28 Sep 2025, 15:36
by Chief Blur Buster
Ultra-stable frametimes usually are achieved by external frame rate capping (RTSS cap or NVCP cap or VSYNC ON cap or similar).
The challenge is simultaneously getting ultra-stable frametime and ultra-low latency. Getting both simultaneously is a big challenge, and requires quite a bit of difficult optimizing.
You usually need to let your average framerate go down in order to achieve stable frametimes, so you have the attendant pros/cons. On one hand, gyrating framerates = gyrating latency. So sometimes you trade off "low but highly variable and random latency" with "slightly higher but consistent latency".
The million dollar question is how tiny the compromise can get, in order to get the flat-frametime nirvana. Sometimes it's achieved in certain games by combining two caps (e.g. an internal cap and an external cap) since one cap reduces lag and the other cap reduces stutter. If you do this, watch out for cap interference: Making sure the external cap is fractionally higher (e.g. ~0.1 or ~0.01 higher than the internal cap) to prevent nasty side effects like sawtooth lag or weird cyclic stutters. You WILL make things worse unless you spend a bit of time optimizing, then you can get better than before (it's not straightforward -- different systems are finicky in different ways -- and you've got the rabbit hole of drivers, GPU brands, Win10 vs Win11, VRR and non-VRR, and other nuances).
Re: Could Flat Frame Times Be the Fix for Input Lag & Desync? Share Your Experience
Posted: 29 Sep 2025, 08:41
by atlantis
yeah, i tried capping fps. but he said smth about windows setting
Re: Could Flat Frame Times Be the Fix for Input Lag & Desync? Share Your Experience
Posted: 29 Sep 2025, 14:00
by ManWhoSoldTheWorld
Thank you for the feedback, Chief!
I was just in awe regarding OP pushing flat frame times @400 FPS in OW2, considering his outdated hardware ↓
For context, here’s my PC setup (nothing crazy high-end):
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
- RAM: 32 GB DDR4 @ 3600 MHz
- Motherboard: MSI MAG X570 TOMAHAWK WIFI
Re: Could Flat Frame Times Be the Fix for Input Lag & Desync? Share Your Experience
Posted: 29 Sep 2025, 14:25
by Brutek_Vladimir
OP could be testing in rather low resolution.
Re: Could Flat Frame Times Be the Fix for Input Lag & Desync? Share Your Experience
Posted: 02 Oct 2025, 08:32
by atlantis
zouhair_psi wrote: ↑22 Sep 2025, 07:33
Hey everyone,
I’ve been experimenting with system and in-game tweaks to push Overwatch 2 performance beyond just “high FPS.” What I ended up with surprised me: my frame time captures are completely flat.
- At 125 FPS, my frame times are locked at ~8 ms with no fluctuation.
- At 400 FPS, they’re ~2.5 ms, and the graph literally doesn’t move—400 to 399 FPS max.
- No spikes, no dips, no micro-stutter.
This wasn’t done in a test scenario like looking at a wall or the sky — the capture was taken during a live match with all the usual action, abilities, and team fights going on.
In-game it feels incredibly smooth, almost like the input is more predictable because every frame lands exactly when expected. I also feel like the usual “desync” sensation I used to notice is either gone or reduced to the absolute minimum compared to when I had normal fluctuating frame pacing.
For context, here’s my PC setup (nothing crazy high-end):
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
- RAM: 32 GB DDR4 @ 3600 MHz
- Motherboard: MSI MAG X570 TOMAHAWK WIFI
I’m curious:
- Has anyone else managed to get this kind of perfectly stable frame pacing?
- Do you notice a difference in aiming or overall feel when your frame times are this consistent?
- Do you think this matters more than just chasing the highest FPS number?
I’ll share my captures below so you can see what I mean. Would love to compare notes with others who’ve tried to optimize for consistency instead of just raw framerate.
any updates?