Nvidia has released its latest preview driver as part of the new 590 branch, adding Smooth Motion Frames support on last-gen hardware. Though not yet available to the public, this update allows a glimpse at the upcoming features coming for GeForce users.
The GeForce 590.26 driver is targeting developers interested in testing the new Shader Model 6.9, adding Nvidia’s Smooth Motion Frames (SMF) technology to RTX 40 Series GPUs along the way. SMF is the equivalent to AMD’s AFMF (Fluid Motion Frames), which is a driver-level frame-generation solution that works with any game, regardless of developer integration. It uses the driver to inject an additional frame between two traditionally rendered ones, effectively increasing the frame rate in games. In turn, this aids perceived smoothness.
Although SMF doesn’t offer the same image quality as in-game supported frame generation, it has the benefit of being compatible with any game, including those lacking all DLSS features. This makes it a fantastic choice for gamers playing old or unsupported DirectX 11 games, allowing them to boost smoothness with a single click. That said, this is not equivalent to DLSS and FSR upscaling; both of which boost the real frame rate while reducing latency. In fact, all types of frame generation currently available do the opposite, increasing latency due to their need to hold two frames to generate the one in between.
Even so, if upscaling isn’t enough, or simply not available, SMF can be a nice alternative to boost the perceived performance, especially on games that are less sensitive to input latency. I recently used the equivalent on Radeon, i.e. AFMF, and it was surprisingly good for a simple option toggle. Also note that the higher the initial frame rate is, the fewer artefacts you will see, since the higher number of ‘real’ frames will hide any defects in the generated ones. A nice solution to leverage nowadays fast monitors.
A Guru3D forum user tried this preview driver and saw World of Warcraft’s frame rate move from 82fps to 164fps thanks to SMF. Folks at Videocardz did the same with Company of Heroes 3, again doubling the frame rate. In other words, the technology is already in working order, just awaiting general availability, perhaps alongside the next Game Ready driver.
The Nvidia GeForce 590.26 driver is currently available through the developer page. Those owning a developer account can already download and test it. The rest will unfortunately have to wait a little bit longer.
