I have an Nvidia GTX 1050 graphics card in quite a high powered laptop (Windows 10), running Zwift in Ultra mode (1440) and getting 60fps. I have the Nvidia control panel configured to ensure that the zwiftapp.exe uses the Nvidia card rather than the built in Intel card on the chipset.
Whilst the graphics are really good, there are times I notice a little texture inconsistency and can see some shadows or detail in front of me in lower detail until I get closer, at which time it repaints to the correct detail.
So, are there any setting changes I can make in the Nvidia control panel to ensure I get the best out of the game?
I have also tried the 4K mode, but the frame rate drops to 30fps, so I would rather stick to ultra 1440.
I have the antialising and texture filtering settings maxed out, with v-sync on.
What is the native resolution of your display? If it’s less than 1440 the image will get scaled down - which on my 1080 TV smooths out the diagonal jaggies similar to anti-aliasing, and it looks great, but lowers my frame rate, so I prefer to keep the resolution set to 1080, frame rate locked on at 60 (v-sync), and let the nvidia card do the anti-aliasing and filtering. 1080 still has the Ultra graphics effects. (I’m using a EVGA 970 SSC 4GB in a desktop).
The on board graphics are located inside the CPUs these days, not the motherboard unless that graphics card was an upgrade of an older system. You’re probably running with vsync or it could be limited to 60fps (I’d never bothered to look myself) but I’m guessing you only have a 60hz display on the laptop so although it may feel marginally smoother to get more you won’t really see much benefit from it. Try disabling vsync to allow it to go higher if you wish. A non-mobile version of the nvidia 1050 can run Doom at Ultra with 55-68fps so Zwift should be fine maxed out to full graphics settings. Maybe check inside the nvidia control panel itself or download the drivers direct from nvidia.com if you dont have that. Usually you can increase quality over performance or edit a program list containing things beyond what some the basic programs support themselves. Its also handy to download “Geforce Experience” as although this may not work with zwift (yet), it will give you the best possible settings for every game/program it supports for your specific system spec
It’s a standard laptop display, 1920 x 1080, so I have dropped to 1080 in game. The laptop has a standalone GTX 1050, which I am definitely using for Zwift (I am not using the on-board graphics). I’m not worried about the frame rate, as I think it is smooth enough at 60.
I still think some of the graphics are not as good as they can be. As you cycle up through the shadows of trees, you are only seeing the leaf shadow detail draw as you get close by, so I’m wondering if there is a Nvidia setting or Zwift setting (maybe in the files in C:\Program Files (x86)\Zwift\data\configs ) that I can change.
As far as I know, the shadows detail / distance relationship is not something that can be tweaked in config files or nvidia control panel settings. It’s just how it is. Here’s my current settings. I prefer v-sync on.
Thanks for the information. I tried Mike’s settings last night. I don’t know whether it is because of the graphics changes Zwift made recently, or because of the settings, but I think I’m going to revert to what I had as it looked better.