Key takeaways
- A full render queue. When the GPU is maxed out, the CPU queues frames ahead, and each waiting frame adds a full frame time of delay. Without a built-in Reflex option, nothing in the game empties that queue for you.
- CPU spikes. PUBG is an Unreal Engine 4 game that leans heavily on the CPU in towns, during the drop and when several squads fight in one compound. The average fps can look fine while the slowest frames, the 1% lows, are what you feel.
- V-Sync. It forces finished frames to wait for the next refresh and stacks them up when fps falls below the refresh rate.
- DirectX 12 shader stutter. The DX12 option has carried a beta label for years, and players commonly report compilation hitches on first map loads.
- Display and peripherals: a monitor stuck at 60 Hz, TV picture processing, or a mouse polling at 125 Hz.
To reduce input lag in PUBG: Battlegrounds, run DirectX 11 Enhanced in Fullscreen with V-Sync and Motion Blur off, lower the CPU-heavy settings (View Distance, Foliage, Effects) so the frame rate stays high and steady, and cap frames a few below your refresh rate so the graphics card never sits at 99% usage. PUBG’s official patch notes, up to Update 43.1 in September 2026, list no in-game NVIDIA Reflex toggle, so a sensible frame cap and the right driver settings do most of the work Reflex does in other shooters.
Why PUBG Feels Laggy Even at High FPS
- A full render queue. When the GPU is maxed out, the CPU queues frames ahead, and each waiting frame adds a full frame time of delay. Without a built-in Reflex option, nothing in the game empties that queue for you.
- CPU spikes. PUBG is an Unreal Engine 4 game that leans heavily on the CPU in towns, during the drop and when several squads fight in one compound. The average fps can look fine while the slowest frames, the 1% lows, are what you feel.
- V-Sync. It forces finished frames to wait for the next refresh and stacks them up when fps falls below the refresh rate.
- DirectX 12 shader stutter. The DX12 option has carried a beta label for years, and players commonly report compilation hitches on first map loads.
- Display and peripherals: a monitor stuck at 60 Hz, TV picture processing, or a mouse polling at 125 Hz.
Desync and hit registration are network problems tied to ping and server updates. They feel similar to input lag, but no graphics setting changes them.
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Refresh rate and cable
Open Windows Settings, System, Display, Advanced display and confirm the refresh rate matches your monitor. A 144 Hz panel running at 60 Hz is a very common cause of “floaty” aim. Use DisplayPort or a cable rated for your resolution and refresh rate.
GPU-bound or CPU-bound
Enable a performance overlay (NVIDIA app, AMD Adrenalin or Steam’s FPS counter) and watch GPU usage during a full match. At 95 to 99% GPU usage you are GPU-bound, so lowering GPU settings, using upscaling or capping fps cuts latency. If GPU usage drops well below that while fps falls in towns, the CPU is the limit, and View Distance, Foliage and background apps matter more than resolution.
DirectX version and launch options
Check the DirectX setting in the Graphics menu; changing it needs a game restart. Also clear old Steam launch options. Flags such as -USEALLAVAILABLECORES and -malloc=system come from guides written for the 2017 and 2018 builds and are not a latency fix on the current client, so an empty Launch Options field is the safest baseline.
Recommended Graphics Settings for Low Latency
| Setting | Value | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Display Mode | Fullscreen | Most direct presentation path; borderless adds compositor variables |
| Render Scale | 100 | Higher values multiply GPU load (see the pixel math below) |
| Anti-Aliasing | Very Low, or Medium if you need DLSS/FSR | Upscaling options only appear at Medium, High or Ultra |
| Post-Processing | Very Low | One of the most expensive GPU settings |
| Shadows | Very Low | Frees GPU headroom so a frame cap can hold |
| Textures | Medium to Ultra, by VRAM | Little fps cost if your card has enough memory; Medium for 3 to 4 GB cards |
| Effects | Very Low | Smoke and explosions cause big frame drops |
| Foliage | Very Low | Reduces CPU and GPU load in grass and trees |
| View Distance | Low or Medium | Heavily CPU-bound; the biggest help for 1% lows |
| V-Sync | Off | Removes the refresh wait and frame back-up |
| Motion Blur | Off | Saves performance and keeps moving targets sharp |
| DirectX | DX11 Enhanced | The stable default for most systems; try DX12 only if DX11 Enhanced runs poorly, which some AMD owners report |
Resolution and Render Scale Math
Render Scale applies to each axis, so its effect on pixel count is squared. Stretched resolutions popular in competitive play, like 1728 x 1080, also cut work for the GPU. The table shows pixel counts at a 1920 x 1080 base.
| Option | Pixels rendered | GPU pixel load vs native |
|---|---|---|
| Render Scale 120 | 2,985,984 | 1.44x |
| Render Scale 100 (1920 x 1080) | 2,073,600 | 1.00x |
| Stretched 1728 x 1080 | 1,866,240 | 0.90x |
| Render Scale 90 | 1,679,616 | 0.81x |
| Render Scale 80 | 1,327,104 | 0.64x |
Lower pixel counts only help when you are GPU-bound. On a CPU-limited system, dropping Render Scale makes the image softer without improving responsiveness.
DLSS and FSR: When Upscaling Helps
Update 43.1 added NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 and AMD FSR 4.1 under Settings, Graphics, Advanced, with manual or automatic quality selection. Upscaling renders fewer pixels and rebuilds the image, which raises fps and lowers latency when the GPU is the bottleneck, such as at 1440p or 4K on a mid-range card. Two catches: Anti-Aliasing must be Medium or higher to unlock it, which costs some performance back, and it does nothing for a CPU-bound system. The 43.1 notes cover upscaling only, not frame generation, so it adds no generated-frame delay.
Frame Cap Values by Refresh Rate
A cap lowers latency because the GPU finishes each frame with headroom to spare, so frames never queue. Set it in the game’s frame rate limit option or in your driver. Choose a value your PC holds during late-circle fights, not in the lobby.
| Monitor refresh | Refresh interval | Cap with G-Sync/FreeSync | Frame time at cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 Hz | 16.67 ms | 57 | 17.5 ms |
| 144 Hz | 6.94 ms | 141 | 7.1 ms |
| 165 Hz | 6.06 ms | 162 | 6.2 ms |
| 240 Hz | 4.17 ms | 237 | 4.2 ms |
With a variable refresh monitor, the cap three below refresh keeps frames inside the VRR window, so you can enable V-Sync in the driver for tear-free play without the usual V-Sync delay. Without VRR, keep V-Sync off; if your PC can’t hold a cap near the refresh rate, set it a little under your typical in-fight fps.
Driver Settings for NVIDIA and AMD
- NVIDIA: in the Control Panel, create a profile for TslGame.exe and set Power management mode to Prefer maximum performance. Low Latency Mode On can trim the queue if you are GPU-bound and cannot cap; when CPU-bound it does little, and some players report stutter with Ultra, so leave it Off if a cap already keeps GPU usage below 95%.
- AMD: Anti-Lag 2 needs developer integration, and AMD’s published list of supported games has not included PUBG. Use the standard Radeon Anti-Lag toggle in a PUBG profile in Adrenalin, turn Radeon Chill off, and enable FreeSync. Do not use Anti-Lag+ on old drivers; AMD withdrew it in 2023 after anti-cheat conflicts.
- Windows: keep Game Mode on, disable Enhance pointer precision so mouse movement stays one-to-one, and close capture or RGB tools you don’t need while playing.
Mouse and Display
Polling rate sets how often the mouse reports position: 125 Hz is every 8 ms, 1000 Hz every 1 ms, and 4000 Hz every 0.25 ms. Use at least 1000 Hz. On a monitor, a moderate overdrive level avoids smearing; on a TV, Game Mode skips picture processing that can add noticeable delay.
What Improvement to Expect
The largest change comes from removing V-Sync and stopping the GPU from running at 100%. Published latency measurements for that type of change typically show reductions in the tens of percent on GPU-bound systems, while CPU-limited PCs gain more from lower View Distance and Foliage than from any GPU setting. Results vary with hardware, map, settings and patch, so compare one change at a time.
