I have an RTX 5060 Ti 16GB and I'm trying to understand the latency reading shown by the NVIDIA performance overlay while gaming. With VSync enabled, the overlay reports roughly 100–110 ms. If I cap the game at 60 FPS with VSync disabled, it drops to around 80–90 ms. The games look smooth and I don't notice obviously inconsistent frame times, but the latency still seems unusually high. My monitor is a 1440p display capable of 180 Hz, although I normally use it at 60 Hz. Windows shows 59.98 Hz rather than exactly 60 Hz, and I'm not sure whether that matters. Is this expected system or input latency at 60 FPS, and what settings should I check?
3 Answers
At 60 FPS, each frame takes about 16.7 ms to render, but the NVIDIA overlay is usually reporting total system latency rather than just frame time. That includes input processing, the game engine, rendering, the display queue, and the monitor. Even so, 80–90 ms is on the high side and is closer to several frames of delay than what you would normally expect from a responsive 60 FPS setup.
The 59.98 Hz reading is normal for a nominal 60 Hz display mode and usually isn’t the cause of this by itself. VSync can increase latency because completed frames may wait in the queue for the next display refresh, which explains why your reading rises to around 100–110 ms. Try comparing an in-game frame limiter, NVIDIA Reflex if the game supports it, and a properly configured variable-refresh-rate mode. Also check that the game is actually running at the intended refresh rate and that no extra buffering option is enabled.
Turning VSync off can reduce queueing, but it may introduce tearing. If the game supports Reflex or a low-latency mode, that is usually a better first option than relying only on the driver setting.
A 60 FPS frame rate alone does not automatically mean 80–90 ms of input latency. The 16.7 ms figure is the time between frames, not the complete time from an input to seeing the result, but a total latency that high deserves investigation. Test with different games and verify the overlay’s individual latency metrics, since a high CPU or render queue time can point to a performance or settings issue rather than the monitor’s refresh rate.
That makes sense. I was treating the overlay number as if it were just the frame time, but it may actually be showing input or end-to-end latency.