[tutorial] Improve Fps With Nvidia Image Scaling

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by HeyYoPaulie!, Nov 28, 2021.

  1. HeyYoPaulie!

    HeyYoPaulie! Well-Known Member

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    What is image scaling and why is it useful?
    • Image scaling renders the display at a lower resolution then "upscales" the image back up to the native resolution of the display.
    • This results in a lower workload for the graphics card = Higher FPS
    • The image scaling algorithm attempts to upscale with minimal loss in fidelity / sharpness
    • Depending on your native resolution, and how low you set the resolution, performance gains can be dramatic.

    How to enable image scaling

    1. Open Nvidia Control Panel
    2. Turn Image Scaling On
    upload_2021-11-28_10-21-46.png
    • Recommend keeping "sharpen" setting at 0, and adjusting that on a per game basis
    • Check the "Overlay Indicator" box to start with. This is useful because it provides an onscreen indication of whether or not image scaling is working. You can turn this off later once you're satisfied that it's working.
    3. Open "Program Settings" tab
    4. Select the TSW2 game exe using the drop down list, or click "Add"
    • Pro tip: Nvidia tracks most recent apps used, so the easiest way to add TSW2 is to have opened TSW2 recently then click click "Add" It will be near the top of the list.
    1. 5. Turn Image Scaling on and choose a sharpen setting. Start at zero and experiment from there. In the example below, sharpen is set at 5%
    upload_2021-11-28_10-33-15.png

    6. Apply​

    When image scaling is activated, the Nvidia driver creates 5 new display resolutions, based on the native resolution of your display. These new resolutions can now be selected in game.

    upload_2021-11-28_10-21-29.png

    Example 1: Player with a 4k display would like to render the game at 77%
    • Start TSW2
    • Go to settings > Screen > Screen Resolution
    • Set resolution at 2954 x1662
    • Apply settings
    Example 2: Player with a 1440p display would like to render the game at 67%
    • Start TSW2
    • Go to settings > Screen > Screen Resolution
    • Set resolution at 1706 x 960
    • Apply settings
    Notes
    • Important: The game MUST be set to use "Full Screen" for image scaling to work. It will not work if set to "Windowed"
    • Setting the resolution too low below your native resolution will result in a lower quality image when upscaled.
    • Setting sharpen too high produces undesirable results. This is subjective and will behave differently on a game by game basis.
    • Please experiment with resolution and sharpness settings to find what works best for you.
    • Image scaling is not DLSS, and is not as effective as DLSS.

    How to confirm image scaling is working

    Because you checked the "overlay indicator" checkbox, you will see the letters "NIS" in the upper left corner of the screen:
    • Green text indicates that NVIDIA Image Scaling is scaling and sharpening the game.
    • Blue text indicates NVIDIA Image Scaling is sharpening but not scaling

    Request for DTG to integrate Nvidia / AMD SDK features into the game moving forwards

    Image scaling isn't new. However, last week, Nvidia extended availability of it's "Image Scaling" technology to all developers via an SDK, so it can be implemented and enjoyed by any gamer, irrespective of their graphics card brand. The developer implements the code into their game and it can then be detected and optimised automatically by Nvidia GeForce Experience.

    AMD have already released their equivalent, which is called FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR), which is also freely available to all developers.

    I hope DTG will integrate Nvidia / AMD features directly into the game moving forwards, as it makes it easier for all players to enjoy the benefits.

    For more details, and the official Nvidia guide on enabling image scaling guide (including how to enable image scaling within GeForce Experience):
    https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5280/~/how-to-enable-nvidia-image-scaling

    Image scaling tested by Rock, Paper, Shotgun: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/nvidia-image-scaling-upscaling-performance
     
    Last edited: Nov 28, 2021
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  2. Rudolf

    Rudolf Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for sharing. Unfortunately my NVDIA settings screen looks rather different and it tries to use Dutch language, which is not always an advantage... I give it a try though.
     
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  3. Tanglebones

    Tanglebones Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, mine doesn't appear to have an Image Scaling selection either - just Image Sharpening. NVIDIA Control Panel v 8.1.961.0, and card is a GeForce RTX 2060.

    It's like being given a Lamborghini but only being allowed to drive it in school zones, lol. I don't know what any of these settings do but feel I'm not using the card to maximum capability.
     
  4. HeyYoPaulie!

    HeyYoPaulie! Well-Known Member

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    That's curious. Image scaling has been a setting in Nvidia Control panel for the past 2 years.

    Please post an image of your control panel global settings tab.

    Try updating your Nvidia driver - latest version is 496.76
     
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  5. hand92

    hand92 Member

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    Thank a lot very good job
     
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  6. roysto25

    roysto25 Well-Known Member

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    I am a little confused. I have a 4k monitor, but run TSW2 at 1440p with frame rate capped at 40fps to limit the load on the machine. Would appreciate it if you can give me an idea how would performance compare to 4k with image scaling at 67% - or does the frame rate cap limit any gain?
     
  7. Tanglebones

    Tanglebones Well-Known Member

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    Thank you for this. I've now updated to the latest 496.76 driver through GeForce Experience, rebooted, and opened the Nvidia Control Panel again, to find the same thing. Screen shots attached:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  8. Tanglebones

    Tanglebones Well-Known Member

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    Not sure why the images aren't showing, they show fine for me when I open them in a new tab. Anyone else seeing them? Sorry for being such a clueless newb!
     
  9. HeyYoPaulie!

    HeyYoPaulie! Well-Known Member

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    They're not showing up. I had to right click and open them in a new tab.

    Is this a laptop? Your Nvidia control panel suggests you have multiple graphics cards?

    Choose your RTX 2060 in "Preferred Graphics Processor", reboot and see if that makes a difference
     
  10. Tanglebones

    Tanglebones Well-Known Member

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    There are three options under 'Preferred Graphics Processor - Auto Select, High-Performance NVIDIA Processor, and Integrated Graphics. I selected the second one and hit apply, then rebooted - same menu options - i.e. Image Sharpening rather than Image Scaling. My laptop is an Asus ROG Strix G712LV_G712LV (i7-10750H @ 2.6GHZ, 2592 MHz, 6 cores, 12 logical processors.

    Under 'Display' in Windows System Information, there are two options - Intel UHD Graphics and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060.

    Thank you for this - and, for the record, I don't expect you to work with me to troubleshoot this, lol, though your help is certainly appreciated.
     
  11. HeyYoPaulie!

    HeyYoPaulie! Well-Known Member

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    Pretty sure it'll be linked to having to push everything through your RTX 2060.

    If it's not explicitly set, laptops often use the lowest power option to conserve battery life.

    Try searching for "Nvidia image scaling laptop" - I guarantee others will have solved this already.

    Good luck!
     
  12. Tanglebones

    Tanglebones Well-Known Member

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    I just did exactly that and apparently it's not available for laptops because they also utilize integrated GPU's. Who knew!

    Many thanks.
     
  13. WaveyDavey

    WaveyDavey Well-Known Member

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    I think you maybe need to edit your original post to advise this is more a desktop PC option. Nvidia don't provide this option on laptops unless they are very much top end (£1500+) gaming laptops that have a mux switch to cut the integrated graphics completely.
     
    Last edited: Nov 28, 2021
  14. londonmidland

    londonmidland Well-Known Member

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    Personally I’d just leave the game running at its native resolution/graphics settings. I find image upscaling/sharpening quite ugly looking, as it tends to over sharpen things and looks pretty unrealistic looking.

    I think it’s better to just use the in game screen percentage setting, as this is much easier to use and gives better results.
     
  15. solicitr

    solicitr Well-Known Member

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    But murders fps.
     
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  16. shamanspark

    shamanspark Member

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    +1

    First of all, thanks for your tutorial and the explanation!
    I tried it out but i am not satisfied with the weird look of the upscaling.
    I gone back to the native resolution.
     
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  17. Callum B.

    Callum B. Well-Known Member

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    It's really just a glorified sharpening filter, which has pretty severe limitations in terms of effectiveness. What I would really like to see is Nvidia's DLSS implemented into the game. That would be a huge boon for anyone running an RTX 2060 or higher.

    Cheers
     
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