Nvidia Reflex Tested: Low Latency Revolution?

Nvidia Reflex is the company's latest feature that they're promoting as part of the overall GeForce packet and today we're looking into everything surrounding the Reflex ecosystem.

Nvidia has made concerted efforts equally of late to expand their GeForce feature set, and so that raw functioning is not the merely deciding factor when ownership a new GPU. Features similar DLSS and ray tracing take also been heavily pushed, and today we'll be checking out whether Reflex is something you should intendance about.

Reflex is currently split up into two similar, but separate features. One is just called Nvidia Reflex, and it's the feature you'll find added to games with the goal of improving latency. If you burn upwards a game's settings and come across the choice to plough on or off Nvidia Reflex, this is what nosotros're talking near.

The second is Nvidia's Reflex Latency Analyzer, which is a collection of hardware and software tools you tin can use to analyze game and total system latency. The goal is to provide latency information to gamers, so they can optimize their system for the best responsiveness.

In this article we programme to cover both. Outset we'll look at how well Reflex works across some of the supported games and so far similar Fortnite, Valorant, and Call of Duty Modernistic Warfare – in a variety of weather condition. Then we'll accept a look at some of Nvidia's Reflex Latency Analyzer tools including the GeForce Feel overlay and the new monitors with built in latency tools.

We take the Asus ROG Swift PG259QNR on paw, so we'll take a brief look at what's on offering.

Latency is a complicated matter, so we're going to break information technology downwards to the simplest terms possible. Existing depression latency modes are driver based, including Nvidia's Ultra Depression Latency mode (otherwise known as NULL), as well equally the regular low latency manner. They work by adjusting the style the GPU buffers frames, usually reducing the number of frames in the buffer, and by modifying the render queue. However, as they are driver based, features like Null only piece of work with older DirectX 11 titles. DirectX 12 games, which are condign more popular, have total control over almost aspects to queuing and buffering, and then driver modes are not uniform.

Reflex is the adjacent pace for low latency modes. This is a feature that is built into the game with the goal of further reducing latency, beyond just modifying queues and buffers. Nvidia is being a bit cagy over exactly how it works, only it tin be summarized as this: through Reflex, your Nvidia GPU tells the game engine what it is doing, and the game engine responds by looking at this info, and doing its work just earlier the GPU is prepare to return. This means the game engine is doing just-in-time processing, which allows it to catch the freshest inputs from your system, and deliver that to your display with the to the lowest degree latency.

It's only possible to get this latency reduction when in that location is skillful advice between the GPU, CPU and game engine, which is why something like Reflex is required. You tin call up of this a bit like a kitchen at a restaurant, you don't want to have your steak cooked well earlier the fries are set or it'll get cold; good communication in the kitchen allows both to be gear up at the aforementioned fourth dimension for the freshest, hottest and tastiest meal. That's what Reflex is doing, just with your game.

Due to this, you lot might be able to realize why Reflex requires game integration, and why information technology's exclusive to Nvidia's GeForce 900 series GPUs and newer. It won't work as a driver solution as it needs deep integration with the game engine, and it also requires knowledge of how the GPU is operating.

The Nvidia GPU driver provides that information and manifestly it goes beyond just the regular telemetry that functioning overlays tin access. And so this isn't an open solution, information technology doesn't work with AMD GPUs, and it requires game-level integration. But, it doesn't require new RTX 30 GPUs, so it works with older GeForce cards from the past few generations which volition let you access Reflex.

Time to look at how much of a benefit we actually go from Reflex. Our test bed will be performing some CPU-limited testing today at 1080p, then we're using a Core i9-10900K test rig for all benchmarking. The system has been equipped with 16GB of DDR4-3200 memory and the MSI Z490 Unify motherboard.

For Reflex testing we're using Nvidia'due south LDAT or Latency Display Analysis Tool, which is essentially a photodetector you can place on the screen to measure game latency. This is a better version of the tools we were already using for latency measurements, which were also based on a photodetector, and we've confirmed it to be very accurate. Subsequently we'll exist exploring the Reflex Latency Analyzer, merely for at present, nosotros're measuring total system latency from mouse click, to activeness on screen, using LDAT.

Benchmarks

Nosotros wanted to kickoff off by looking at how Reflex improves latency when we are gaming with the maximum in-game quality settings. This is where Nvidia says we should meet the most do good; the more GPU spring you lot are, the more probable Reflex will evangelize a latency improvement.

Starting time upward we are testing in Fortnite's Artistic way, using DirectX 12, the Ballsy Preset and maximum ray tracing. nosotros're also using the DLSS Performance mode and a GeForce RTX 3090 Iron GPU, with the display beingness a 4K 144Hz panel with adaptive sync enabled, the LG 27GN950 in this instance.

At 4K, we saw the most benefit from using Reflex, and in fact the gains are quite impressive. Total system latency was around 104ms with Reflex disabled, but when turning on the feature, we saw latency halved to under 50ms. There wasn't much difference betwixt Reflex On, and Reflex On + Boost – which keeps the GPU clocked upwardly high to farther improve latency – just with either Reflex mode we saw a pregnant latency improvement. In contrast, Nvidia's Ultra Low Latency Mode doesn't ameliorate the feel, as Null doesn't piece of work with DirectX 12 titles.

At 1440p, gains were all the same present, simply not every bit pregnant every bit 4K. While at 4K we were gaming around 45 FPS, reducing the resolution to 1440p saw us spring up to 85 FPS. Nosotros are no longer seeing half the latency with Reflex enabled, but a 12ms reduction is still decent and something that nosotros could notice while gaming. This is all with M-Sync enabled and Vsync disabled, so we're getting the optimal Vsync related latency.

There are as well gains to be had at 1080p, with well-nigh a 10ms improvement in our testing. Given the RTX 3090 is quite powerful, yet being able to attain meliorate latency at 1080p with Reflex enabled is decent. But the largest gains, and the most notable improvement in responsiveness, was observed when nosotros're more GPU jump at below 60 FPS.

Nonetheless you aren't ever going to be GPU bound. The RTX 3090 makes easy piece of work of Valorant for example, running at over 600 FPS in our test expanse at all resolutions with the Core i9-10900K. It's hither that, fifty-fifty when playing on the maximum quality settings, that Reflex delivers adjacent to no improvement. With latency around the 16ms mark in all situations, which is very responsive, in that location isn't much else Reflex tin can do in terms of optimization.

We also saw less of a gain when playing Phone call of Duty: Modern Warfare'due south Warzone manner. Even when playing at 4K, using the highest settings with ray tracing enabled, Reflex but provided virtually a 3ms reduction to input latency with all of the resolutions we tested. There was a consistent proceeds, just with this sort of GPU power at hand, the improvement wasn't in the same league every bit with Fortnite.

While you lot do clearly need to be GPU bound to see large improvements with Reflex, and that isn't as possible with the RTX 3090, if you take an entry-level GPU like the GeForce GTX 1650 Super, you are much more likely to get a latency improvement using the Reflex mode...

In Fortnite, with the Epic preset but without ray tracing as the 1650 Super doesn't support it, Reflex provided a similar benefit to what nosotros saw with the 3090 at 4K, but this time at 1440p and 1080p. In both of these modes, the game is pretty GPU bound and runs below 100 FPS on our test island. Here we run into Reflex halving the input latency, which makes quite a significant difference to gameplay on these systems where you still want all the visual effects cranked up.

Nosotros too saw a latency improvement in Valorant using this course of GPU. Nosotros're no longer seeing over 600 FPS, in fact at 4K the 1650 Super is more like an 80 FPS GPU using the highest quality settings. In this state of affairs, we saw a healthy 19ms latency improvement, which is a significant leap in this sort of championship.

Gains were more than modest at 1440p, with a 9ms drop to latency, and at 1080p, with simply a 6ms drib. But however, in these conditions it doesn't appear the game is fully GPU bound, so we don't see a situation like with the 3090 where Reflex is useless.

Call of Duty Warzone consistently delivered the least impressive latency improvements. Even with a GTX 1650 Super, which runs below 60 FPS at 1440p with high quality settings, nosotros simply saw well-nigh a 10-12ms improvement to system latency when enabling the feature, and this was at both 1440p and 1080p. To me this was pretty hard to find, specially with a frame rate around 50 FPS which isn't the nigh responsive, but for more than highly tuned competitive gamers this might exist a pregnant departure.

In general though, our testing shows that when you are playing on high to ultra quality settings, and you're generally GPU leap, Reflex volition provide a latency improvement, especially in titles like Fortnite. The gains are going to be more pronounced on lower cease cards every bit your system in full general will exist more GPU limited, and that seems to exist central for Reflex: the more your CPU is sitting idle, the more potential in that location is for a latency improvement. We would expect that on systems with a weaker CPU, like say a Ryzen 5 1600, yous'd become the reverse issue and there would exist less of a gain.

With this in heed we wanted to test Reflex with competitive esports settings. Most of the time if you're a serious competitive gamer, y'all'll be playing using mostly depression settings. This allows you lot to achieve a higher frame charge per unit, which inherently lowers full latency, but it tin can besides frequently make spotting enemies easier without the distractions of shadows and other effects. So if you've already done a lot to optimize your organization for latency, you're getting very high frame rates and are playing at 1080p, what tin Reflex do for you?

The answer to that is... practically nothing. We're non fifty-fifty using a high-end GPU for this testing. This is a system with a Core i9-10900K to give u.s.a. the least corporeality of CPU bottlenecking and an RTX 2060 GPU. We've hooked it upwards to the Asus PG259QNR besides, to get that sugariness 360Hz goodness.

In Fortnite, using the lowest settings, no ray tracing, the DLSS Performance style and epic describe distance, we were able to achieve around 400 FPS in the test area. At this sort of super loftier frame rate, latency was already very low without Reflex, at merely 14ms of total organization latency. Reflex did non improve this issue, every bit nosotros are fully CPU leap.

Same story in Valorant. we were achieving between 600 and 1000 FPS using the game's everyman settings, and latency was consistently around the 13ms mark whether Reflex was enabled or disabled. The "Boost" fashion hasn't done much and so far, fifty-fifty though it'southward supposed to assistance a bit with latency in more CPU bound situations.

And so we too accept Warzone, where there was a small latency improvement of around 4ms when using Reflex in combination with the lowest settings. Withal in this title with the lowest settings, nosotros did appear to be GPU bound rather than CPU bound, and so we'd wait results to fall more in line with the other titles if we tested with a higher stop GPU similar an RTX 3090 using the everyman possible settings.

What's also important to note is that the gains you lot see from Reflex are contained of your monitor'due south refresh rate when gaming with Vsync disabled, as you should be for the everyman latency possible. For example, in Fortnite with a 1080p display, Reflex consistently gave a 9ms comeback in our testing across the board with the RTX 2060 using epic settings, at the aforementioned frame rate, regardless if the monitor was set to 360Hz or 60Hz. The chief deviation is that you'll see additional latency added at lower refresh rates, then it's e'er better to exist gaming at the highest possible refresh charge per unit

A lot of these latency results fall in line with what we've seen previously from latency-reduction modes. When GPU bound, especially when heavily GPU spring, there is often scope to reduce organisation latency. The extent of the reduction will depend on the game and how information technology works, but when CPU bound, your arrangement is basically apartment out and you won't see much, if whatsoever, of a latency improvement. The closer to beingness CPU bound you are, which by and large correlates with higher frame rates, the less useful Reflex is.

Reflex Latency Analyzer

Earlier giving our concluding thoughts on Nvidia'south Reflex, it's worth going through the tools Nvidia are providing through their Reflex Latency Analyzer. While the LDAT tool we used for our Reflex assay isn't available to end users or buyers, every attribute of the Reflex Latency Analyzer will be available, though some elements have a cost.

Some of the Reflex tools are bachelor to use without whatever specific latency hardware. In some Reflex-enabled games like Fortnite and Valorant, you lot can enable a latency overlay in the game which shows diverse metrics. In both cases we see what's known as "game to render" latency -- in other words, the time it takes from when the game receives an input, to when the frame is output to the brandish. This is not total organisation latency – which also includes the latencies from your brandish and input peripherals – but for a lot of people this game to render latency will exist a good enough metric for optimizing latency.

Yous can also use GeForce Experience's new latency performance overlay, however this only shows GPU-side latencies such every bit render latency, not the full game to render latency, so its usefulness without additional Reflex Latency Analyzer hardware is limited.

In games similar Fortnite though, you can use the built in tool, mess effectually with your settings, and see how that impacts the total latency number presented.

For hardcore enthusiasts, Nvidia is offering a hardware ecosystem in conjunction with diverse partners that allows for farther, more in-depth latency analysis.

This comes in the course of two components: the Reflex Latency Analyzer built into some displays, and Reflex Latency Analyzer Compatible mice. We could spend a ton of time detailing how all of this stuff works, just to be honest that would take a while and wouldn't be that interesting, so if you're interested in the nitty gritty details you can read Nvidia'southward documentation on it.

It basically boils downwards to this: when you have both a Reflex Latency Analyzer equipped monitor similar the Asus ROG Swift PG259QNR and a Reflex Latency Analyzer Compatible mouse, like the Asus ROG Chakram Core, you tin mensurate total organization latency. This includes not only the game to return latency (like Fortnite reports), but mouse latency and brandish latency too. This gives us the virtually valuable and accurate latency information possible.

It takes a bit of fourth dimension to prepare and it's really only suitable for benchmark conditions – information technology won't give y'all good readouts in general gameplay as you take to position the capture expanse for the latency analyzer over a cage flash, for example, and that could change in dynamic gameplay.

But with this hardware in conjunction with the GeForce Experience Latency overlay, you can benchmark total organization latency and optimize your configuration effectually that metric.

Generally speaking nosotros found the Reflex Latency Analyzer to be inside 1ms of LDAT, so it'due south a pretty accurate tool, although it pulls data from the One thousand-Sync module'south frame buffer as opposed to getting a reading directly from the display's pixels.

In that sense LDAT is the more consummate tool. Just for most people, the Reflex Latency Analyzer volition be accurate enough and certainly much ameliorate than any other tool currently available that's this easy to use.

The Asus PG259QNR is too just a Reflex Latency Analyzer version of the PG259QN that nosotros already reviewed recently, an excellent 1080p 360Hz display. We believe there are other monitors coming from Acer and Alienware that will back up the tool.

What We Learned

Nvidia'southward Reflex ecosystem is a tale of two dissever, simply related entities. On the one hand you accept the Reflex way integrated into games, and on the other you accept the Reflex Latency Analyzer. You could contend these are designed for two different groups of people, with lilliputian crossover.

The Reflex way institute in supported games is nearly useful in GPU limited situations. In these competitive titles, most of the time yous'll be GPU limited when you're either playing on ultra quality settings, using a lower-stop GPU, or some combination of both. The more CPU limited your system becomes, and the college the frame rate pushes, the less useful Reflex is for enhancing system latency.

This makes Reflex a useful characteristic primarily for casual competitive gamers; the people that want to play Fortnite simply don't want to sacrifice visual quality, don't want to play at 1080p or but don't accept the most powerful hardware. Turn on Reflex, your system latency volition drop, and that improvement to responsiveness might brand you a bit amend at the game.

On the flip side, Reflex is next to useless for competitive gamers. If y'all're the sort of person that already has a latency optimized setup – and so you're already playing at 1080p on powerful hardware with low settings to ensure you're getting the highest possible frame rate – Reflex will have no benefit any. That's because you lot're almost certainly CPU limited, and Reflex is ineffective in those situations. This holds truthful even in situations with mid-range GPUs similar an RTX 2060 in titles like Fortnite and Valorant when gaming at depression quality settings.

There's no downside to having Reflex enabled in those situations, merely don't wait to come across fifty-fifty lower latencies when you are already in a fully optimized surroundings. This is really for the casual gamers that don't want to sacrifice ray tracing, or 4K resolutions while gaming, simply all the same want a nice and responsive experience. And that's fine.

And so the Reflex Latency Analyzer is for serious competitive gamers that desire to practise everything possible to reduce organization latency. Having the tools available to do that are neat and potentially useful for tweaking hardware setups and game configurations, simply realistically this isn't something a coincidental gamer volition be doing.

Nosotros can see the Reflex feature in games existence widely used, but the Reflex Latency Analyzer and compatible mice seems like a really niche characteristic that probably won't get much traction outside a very small user base. With that in listen, we do have question marks over how long Nvidia volition support something similar this, which in turn may throw up question marks over whether information technology's worth investing in Latency Analyzer hardware. Information technology'south certainly neat and works well, merely without that broad user base, we tin see it getting the chop afterward just a few years.

The other question we're sure some of y'all volition exist asking is: is it worth buying an Nvidia GPU over the competition specifically for Reflex? After all, this is being pushed heavily equally the next best thing, similar to how Nvidia was positioning DLSS and ray tracing with Turing GPUs.

We estimate that's part of the adept news. If you're already in the Nvidia ecosystem, Reflex works with GTX 900 series GPUs and newer, so don't become out and experience that yous have to upgrade to Ampere to go Reflex.

At this signal, we don't think information technology's worth considering Reflex into your buying decision. Clearly, this isn't a DLSS 1.0 situation where the feature is kind of useless. Reflex works properly and tin can give y'all a latency improvement, only information technology'due south restricted to a small handful of settings correct now. You have to be playing one of the few supported titles, and be playing in a GPU limited state of affairs to run into the benefit. Also, non all games do good in the same way, with some titles giving big gains and others less noticeable ones.

If the simply affair you practise is play Fortnite, or Valorant, or Apex Legends, and so by all ways, buying a GeForce GPU might be the all-time style to go. But if you're one of the many gamers that plays a diversity of titles, or other competitive games for that matter, then like DLSS or ray tracing we think it's better to view this as a neat bonus characteristic for now. If the ecosystem continues to abound and Reflex becomes a cardinal feature in most competitive titles, then maybe that will change, only for now that ecosystem is too minor to be a must have feature.