Nvidia’s Smooth Motion: Revolutionizing Gaming Frame Rates
Nvidia has introduced the innovative “Smooth Motion” feature, designed to significantly enhance gaming experiences by boosting frame rates in all DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 games. This exciting development is part of the latest Nvidia App update, which also includes support for the RTX 50 series graphics cards, multi-frame generation, and DLSS 4. Initially overshadowed by other features, “Smooth Motion” is now gaining attention for its potential to transform gaming performance.
How “Smooth Motion” Works
The “Smooth Motion” AI model operates by generating an AI-created frame between every two traditionally rendered frames in DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 games lacking native DLSS or frame generation support. This functionality is similar to AMD’s Fluid Motion Frames, first introduced with the RTX 40 series cards.
Users with GeForce RTX 5080 or 5090 cards can activate this feature in most games released over the past 15 years. Nvidia plans to extend this capability to the RTX 40 series GPUs in a future update, broadening its reach and impact.
Accessing “Smooth Motion”
To enable “Smooth Motion,” users should navigate to Graphics > Driver Settings in the Nvidia App version 11.0.2.312 or later. This option is available for both individual program configurations and global settings, positioned just below the DSR Factors setting. It’s important to note that enabling or disabling “Smooth Motion” requires restarting the game.
Performance Insights
In tests conducted by PC Games Hardware on a pre-release version of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, activating “Smooth Motion” on an RTX 5080 at 4K DLSS quality mode resulted in an average frame rate increase from 83.3 fps to 135 fps—a remarkable 62% improvement. However, capping the frame rate at 120 fps and enabling a variable refresh rate delivered smoother frame times, reducing the rendered frame rate to 60 fps. Notably, latency remained largely unaffected, especially with Nvidia Reflex enabled.
Potential Downsides
While “Smooth Motion” offers significant benefits, it also introduces more noticeable artifacts compared to full native frame generation implementations. The uniform application of interpolation can lead to issues such as distorted text and blurred characters in AI-generated frames, particularly in interface elements like subtitles. These artifacts are more pronounced during Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s cutscenes, typically locked at 30 fps but interpolated to 60 fps.
Looking Ahead
As more RTX 50 series GPUs become available to consumers, and “Smooth Motion” is rolled out to RTX 40 series cards, further testing and analysis are anticipated. This development represents a major advancement in Nvidia’s ongoing efforts to enhance gaming performance, offering gamers smoother and more immersive experiences. For further insights and updates, visit TechSpot.
In conclusion, Nvidia’s “Smooth Motion” is set to redefine gaming performance by delivering higher frame rates across a wide array of games. As the feature becomes more widely available, gamers can expect to enjoy a more fluid and engaging gaming experience. Share your thoughts and experiences with “Smooth Motion” in the comments below or stay tuned for more updates.
