NVIDIA GeForce drivers provide a range of options for setting the maximum frame rate that your graphics card can support. This article will cover the most common options and how to set them. The first step is to open the NVIDIA GeForce driver control panel. This panel is located in the left-hand corner of the main screen of your graphics card. The control panel contains a number of panels, including one for managing your graphics card, one for controlling performance settings, and one for setting up new cards. To open the NVIDIA GeForce driver control panel, click on the following icon: The NVIDIA GeForce driver control panel will open: In this window, you will see three panels: The left-handpanel shows information about your graphics card and its drivers; the middle panel shows performance settings; and the right-handpanel shows how to set a maximum frame rate. The following sections will describe each of these panels in detail. The left-handpanel shows information about your graphics card and its drivers: This pane displays information about your graphics card including its name, manufacturer, type (PCI or PCI Express), revision number (if any), date of release (if any), and other important details. You can also see information about any installed software on your computer that might be using this graphics card. If you have multiple cards in use, each one’s information is displayed in its own pane. If you want to uninstall a specific driver or change some other aspect of your graphic card, you can do so by clicking on its name in this pane and then clicking on Change Driver Settings from the ensuing menu. You can also right-click on a particular device in this pane and select Properties from the resulting menu to get more detailed information about it (for example, whether it is an ATI or Nvidia device). In addition to these general data fields, each device has specific fields that are relevant to it (for example, Manufacturer ID
Why Would You Want to Cap Your FPS?
This feature is particularly useful on Windows gaming laptops with NVIDIA hardware, as you can stop your GPU from running as fast as it can. This will save battery power and reduce heat consumption, letting you game for longer when you’re away from a power outlet.
You might also find the cap useful to reduce screen tearing in games. You can try setting the maximum FPS to your display’s refresh rate if you don’t have a G-Sync or FreeSync-enabled monitor with variable refresh rates. The NVIDIA Control Panel also says this feature can “[reduce] system latency in certain scenarios.”
How to Set a Maximum FPS for All Games
This feature is built into the NVIDIA Control Panel. To open it, right-click your Windows desktop and select “NVIDIA Control Panel.”
(If you don’t see this menu option, you likely don’t have NVIDIA’s drivers installed.)
Select “Manage 3D Settings” under 3D Settings at the left side of the NVIDIA Control Panel window.
To control the maximum frame rate for all applications on your PC, ensure the “Global Settings” tab is selected.
In the list of settings, click the box to the right of “Max Frame Rate.” By default, this option is disabled, and there is no maximum frame rate.
To set a maximum frame rate, select “On” and choose your maximum frames per second (FPS.)
Click “Apply” at the bottom of the window to save your settings.
How to Control Max Frame Rate for Specific Games
You can also control the maximum frame rate setting for individual applications. Click the “Program Settings” tab at the top of the list of settings. Under “Select a program to customize,” choose the app you want to control.
If a game doesn’t appear in the list, you can click “Add” and specify its .exe file.
Look for the “Max Frame Rate” option, click it, and select your desired setting. By default, each game is set to “Use global setting”—it’ll use whatever setting you chose on the Global Settings tab.
However, you can select different settings here. For example, you might leave the maximum frame rate option disabled on the “Global Settings” tab and configure a different maximum frame rate for each game you want to cap. Or, you might set a maximum frame rate globally and exempt individual games from the cap. It’s up to you.
Be sure to click “Apply” to save your settings.
If you don’t see this option, be sure to update your NVIDIA drivers. You can update your drivers in the GeForce Experience application if it’s installed or by downloading the latest drivers from NVIDIA’s website.
This feature was added in version 441.87 of the NVIDIA GeForce drivers, which were released on January 6, 2020.
