Level Up Your Gaming Experience with Tech Power-Ups
Up your PC gaming skills with this tech from ENBLE
Enble is introducing tech that will enhance your PC gaming skills.
There’s a school of thought that believes gaming is all about skill, that no matter what kind of PC setup you have, your chances of winning are the same as everyone else of similar skill. As a fellow gamer, I have to say, I don’t fully buy into that idea. In fact, I’ve discovered that certain tech can give you a major edge over your competitors in certain games.
Skill and experience are definitely important, but why not give yourself that extra boost? Here’s a rundown of the tech that has helped me score higher in my favorite games.
Refresh Rate: Entering the Matrix with Your Monitor
Whether you’re diving into fast-paced esports games like League of Legends or Overwatch or immersing yourself in RPGs like Hogwarts Legacy, your monitor’s refresh rate and response time play a massive role in your gaming experience.
Now, you don’t have to shell out your life savings on a 500Hz Alienware monitor, but let’s be real here – if two gamers of equal skill and rank face off, but one has a monitor with superior refresh rates, that person is likely to emerge victorious in a 2v2 match. The difference is tangible and undeniable.
Refresh rate, measured in hertz (Hz), determines how frequently your monitor updates the image on your screen. While 60Hz has been the standard for years, the gaming community is slowly leaving it in the dust, as displays with 120Hz and above gain popularity. Currently, 144Hz monitors are the golden standard for gamers, with a 1440p 144Hz display considered the sweet spot for competitive gaming.
Why does refresh rate matter so much? Well, going from 60Hz to 120Hz (or more) is a massive leap. It cuts input lag in half, making everything feel smoother. Even scrolling through your files becomes a more seamless experience. And in games, it’s like night and day, especially if you’re a fan of first-person shooters (FPS) and other competitive titles.
A higher refresh rate gives you a notable advantage in aiming. Your cursor moves more smoothly, giving you an edge over competitors with lower frame rates. Running these titles with higher frames per second (fps) means you see things sooner and can react quicker. Sure, it won’t make a huge difference in story-based games, but in esports titles – it’s a game-changer.
Don’t forget about response times too! While not as critical as refresh rates, response times affect motion blur and ghosting in fast-paced scenes – which, once again, are commonly encountered in FPS games. Many gamers aim for 1ms response times, but be cautious, as monitor brands have a knack for bending the rules in how they market these specs.
One important thing to keep in mind before you invest in a new monitor: even the best gaming monitor won’t reach its full potential if your graphics card isn’t putting out an equal number of frames per second (fps). If you have a 60Hz monitor but a top-of-the-line GPU, well, your fancy graphics card is going to waste. The same goes for a high-end display paired with a budget PC.
Simply put, your monitor – and the tech that powers it – plays a crucial part in your gaming victories.
Latency and Anti-Lag: Shaving Off Those Milliseconds
So, you’re already gaming with high frame rates and low monitor response times to minimize input lag. But what if I told you that you could trim off a few extra milliseconds? Enter Nvidia Reflex.
Reflex is the tech that helps you measure and reduce system latency, enabling both your PC and your monitor to react faster to inputs from your mouse and keyboard. It bypasses the render queue by utilizing various driver optimizations and SDKs to cut down the time it takes for each frame to be rendered by your GPU. The result? Faster reactions, improved aiming, and lightning-quick strikes. Reflex is optimized to work seamlessly with FPS games like Call of Duty and Fortnite, boosting responsiveness and precision.
Sounds amazing, right? Well, here’s the catch – Reflex isn’t universally available for every Nvidia user. It can only be enabled in titles that support it. Additionally, Reflex is compatible with certain gaming mice and monitors, working directly to optimize latency on those specific peripherals. While Reflex is available on all Nvidia graphics cards starting from the GTX 900-series, it shines brightest on the RTX 30-series and beyond.
But fear not, Team Red enthusiasts! AMD has its own counterpart to Nvidia Reflex – Radeon Anti-Lag. You don’t necessarily need a Team Green GPU to bid high latency farewell. Anti-Lag is integrated into AMD’s drivers and enabled in most games, making it more universally accessible. However, in our testing, it’s clear that Anti-Lag falls short compared to Reflex. Not only did Nvidia Reflex manage to shave off more latency than the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, but the latter also had higher latency across the board with Anti-Lag disabled.
Sure, if you’re not a competitive gamer, those extra milliseconds that Reflex offers might not be a game-changer for you. But in certain situations, those precious milliseconds can decide who emerges victorious. Oh, and don’t forget about internet connection latency too – that’s a whole other ball game that even AMD and Nvidia can’t solve. If you’re facing frustrating lag, it might be time for some troubleshooting or a phone call to your ISP.
DLSS and FSR: Rendering a New Perspective
Ah, DLSS – the hot topic that has dominated discussions around Nvidia GPUs. In the past year, it feels like Nvidia is selling DLSS instead of selling graphics cards. DLSS, which stands for Deep Learning Super Sampling, is Nvidia’s AI-powered technology that upscales lower-resolution frames to higher resolutions, reducing the rendering load on your GPU. This, in turn, can drastically boost frame rates while maintaining image quality.
DLSS 3, especially, has revolutionized image upscaling in games. It can generate entire frames, elevating the gaming experience to new heights. Just take a look at the comparison screenshot Nvidia provided of Cyberpunk 2077 – from unplayable to silky smooth. And let’s not forget DLSS 3.5, which adds ray reconstruction and makes ray tracing even more realistic.
Sure, on beefier GPUs like the mighty RTX 4090, maybe DLSS 3 seems unnecessary. But for many midrange Nvidia GPUs, DLSS 3 is a game-changer, directly translating to better gaming performance. Let’s take the RTX 4070 as an example. In our review, we tested how it performed in Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K, ultra settings, and with ray tracing enabled. When DLSS 3 was enabled, the RTX 4070 outperformed the RTX 4080 by a landslide, maintaining an average of 73 fps compared to a measly 18 fps without upscaling.
However, Nvidia isn’t the only player in the upscaling game. AMD has its own solution – FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR). FSR does the same thing as DLSS but through a different approach. It renders frames at a lower resolution and then uses a spatial upscaling algorithm to make them appear higher-res than they actually are. Unlike Nvidia’s DLSS, FSR is available to all graphics cards from any vendor.
AMD has released three versions of FSR so far, including the original, FSR 2.0, and the newest FSR 3.0. Although FSR offers promise and has the potential to quadruple frame rates in certain games, the reality is, it’s still in its early stages. With limited game support and room for improvement, DLSS 3 remains the more impressive upscaling technology for high-end gaming.
Other Power-Ups for Your Gaming Arsenal
When it comes to gaming tech, manufacturers and marketers will have you believe that anything – from mice to chairs – can transform you into a professional gamer. But the truth is, sometimes, no matter how fancy your hardware and software, you’ll still get outplayed or fall victim to bad luck. That’s just how the game goes.
However, there are peripherals that can give you an advantage and maximize the skills you already have. For example, gaming monitors play a significant role in esports titles. A 144Hz monitor can elevate your performance to new heights. Of course, the choice of panel also matters. While some recommend TN panels for esports, truth be told, TN displays are only worthwhile if you’re solely focused on FPS games and nothing else. TN panels are infamous for poor color reproduction and limited viewing angles. If you want a more versatile option, variations of IPS panels are gaining traction, striking a balance between vibrant colors and speed. Check out our monitor buying guide for more details.
And let’s not forget about gaming mice. Precision and speed are key in many titles, and gaming mice offer higher DPI/CPI settings, allowing for greater sensitivity and control over cursor movement. They’re designed to withstand hours of gaming and often come with programmable buttons for quick hotkeys. Just be careful with mice like the Razer Naga – they have an abundance of buttons, but aren’t typically recommended for esports aficionados.
The best part? Many of the tech power-ups I’ve mentioned are either freely available or achievable with existing hardware. Nvidia Reflex caters to most Nvidia users, DLSS 3 is accessible with older Nvidia GPUs, and AMD FSR is open-source and compatible with all graphics cards. With just a few tweaks to your settings, you can start winning more games.
Leveling Up Together
At the end of the day, while technology can give you an edge in your gaming journey, it’s important to remember that it’s not the be-all and end-all. Sometimes, you’ll win, sometimes you’ll lose – that’s the nature of gaming. But if you’re eager to extract every ounce of potential from your current skills, these tech power-ups can make a real difference.
So, equip yourself with the right monitor, minimize latency with Reflex or Anti-Lag, and embrace the upscaling power of DLSS or FSR. Just keep in mind that victory ultimately comes down to your strategies, reflexes, and a hint of luck.
And who knows, maybe we’ll face each other in the gaming realm sometime. Until then, happy gaming, fellow enthusiasts!
