Does Native Resolution or Lowering It Reduce Input Latency?
Asked by
MellowCactus42
I have a 27-inch Samsung Odyssey G6 running at 240Hz, but the experience feels terrible. Does using the monitor's native resolution reduce input latency, or would lowering the resolution help? My system has an RTX 5060, a Ryzen 5 processor running at 3.7 GHz, and 16GB of RAM. I'm currently using DisplayPort and would also like to know whether HDMI might perform better.
Answers
At the monitor level, native resolution at the highest refresh rate usually gives the lowest input lag. Lowering the resolution only helps if your GPU is struggling to render the game quickly enough. Also make sure the monitor is actually set to 240Hz, use its Game or Instant mode if available, and verify that Adaptive Sync is configured correctly.
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Check Windows under Display settings and confirm the screen is running at 240Hz. DisplayPort is generally the better choice for this setup, so switching to HDMI is unlikely to improve things unless the current cable or port has a problem. Try the cable included with the monitor and confirm Adaptive Sync is enabled on both the monitor and GPU.
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The monitor probably isn’t the main source of the latency. Check your frame rate, graphics settings, drivers, BIOS settings, background programs, and system temperatures first. Enable FreeSync or G-Sync, then cap the game a few frames below 240 FPS to keep latency low while avoiding tearing.
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If by “running terribly” you mean low frame rates rather than delayed controls, the RTX 5060 may simply be struggling with modern games at 1440p. Lowering the resolution can improve performance when the GPU is the bottleneck, but 1080p may look soft or blurry when scaled to a 1440p panel. Reducing demanding graphics settings is often a better compromise.
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MellowCactus42: I’m using DisplayPort with an RTX 5060. I’ll check the refresh-rate, Adaptive Sync, and frame-rate settings first instead of switching to HDMI. Thanks for the suggestions.