D-Sync and Frame Rate Drop Issues & Resolutions

This is going to be a long and extensive post relating to the topic of D-Sync and frame rate drops. I am not a network engineer nor have a Computer Science degree however through some trial and error have come up with what was discovered through posts on Reddit, Quora, and Facebook and videos on YouTube and then adjusted settings in a combination of ways and it seems to have helped.

For anyone that has any feedback on the topic feel free to share. Let's try to keep the negativity out. I'm sharing because I was close to turning my back on this game after playing it since it has come out. Most of it is console related but there are some mentions, particularly monitors and network settings that apply to PC players.

My current set up is an Xbox Series X with a Samsung Odyssey G7 monitor and a wired Ethernet connection with speeds of 800-900 mbs download and 100 mbs upload.

About 6 months ago I started to have more frequent instances where there would be an engagement with an enemy and I would get "deleted" from what can be described as instant death. I would get shot with a DMR and my health would drop to zero immediately and either I would hear shots in short succession or even sometimes after I was dead the last shot would ring out. I know good players can spam a DMR and I know the difference and that was not the case. Other times it seemed like there would be no enemy in view and then a split second later the enemy would come into frame and then again deleted. It was demoralizing. I don't mind losing in PUBG in a fair fight. Someone is always better than you are this game. What also led me to believe something was wrong was that I would play with others players and they would say when looting I missed a highly regarded loot item or I would loot a room not see an item and then go back through the room and the item then magically appeared after. After playing this game this long, with all these "signs" something wasn't right. I set to dive deep and figure out what is going on.

Below is a list of the settings and specifications relating to the attempt to address D-Sync issues and frame rate drop issues. They are prioritized by being the least relevant to most relevant. I have no single recommendations that is a "smoking gun" and think with all the testing it was a combination of factors that helped make the game run more smoothly.

Disclaimer. It's best to try these out individually and come up with your own conclusion rather than change everything up all at once. I didn't do this and am out the point of exhaustion trying to figure out what I did that made an inherit change. I'm done changing things as I see overall improvement. Also, I'm not liable if something happens and it has a negative impact. Make a note of what you change and remember so you can undo it, if necessary.

Also there are more veteran players that I feel like they are "in the know". Like they have some information they may be withholding. I'm sharing my findings because I want our community to thrive and the player base to remain strong. I ask any player that knows what the are taking about chime in. Are you port forwarding or using VPN are my two main question but anything to add for the betterment of all!

(22) Miscellaneous - CD Copy v. Digital Copy - I have zero validation on whether a CD copy of the game performs better than a digital copy. I was willing at one point to give it a try and pay for a CD copy of the game because I was that desperate to resolving the issue. Didn't end up going that far. NO VALIDATION

(21) Xbox Settings - 4:2:2 - There are videos that state that enabling 4:2:2 on a TV helps with displaying 4K resolution. I've enabled/disabled this many of times and currently have it off. In the later sections, my findings suggest to caution against using higher resolution and have a smoother gaming experience instead. NO VALIDATION

(20) Networking Settings - Demilitarized Zone - There are published suggestions that state that having this disabled may prevent packet loss issues. This is few and far between. The benefit of not having it enabled for this potential of less packet loss does not outweigh having the entirety of your internet disabled and can lead to potential security risks. I have this "enabled". NO VALIDATION

(19) Xbox Settings - IP Address Relating to DHCP - It has been mentioned that setting your Xbox IP address outside of the beginning and ending DHCP leads your IP address not being scanned and helps with network issues. For example, if your starting and ending DHCP is 10.0.0.1 and 10.0.0.253, you would set your IP address to 10.0.0.254 as it is out of that range. I have no basis of comparison if this works or not and currently have my IP address on Xbox set as default. NO VALIDATION

(18) Network Settings - Port Forwarding - I've tried NordVPN and ExpressVPN. Found out that NordVPN I never used correctly but ended up getting ExpressVPN to work though changing the DNS unique to my VPN. When I used it the results were placebo. Felt like sometimes it made a difference and sometimes I still had unfavorable experiences. There are mentions that utilizing a VPN prevents your service provider from throttling your internet to lower speeds which can benefit overall performance. Cant speak to this if someone else can or uses VPN. NO VALIDATION

(17) Miscellaneous - Closing Your Game - It has been observed moreso on streamers gameplay where they close out PUBG by selecting "Quit" and it essentially restarts PUBG. Some seem to think restarting PUBG throughout your gaming session has its benefits. Unproven from what I can tell but I do it nonetheless. Doesn't hurt matters. In Solo play, it's easy but in Squads and Duos it is a bit of a hassle.
NO VALIDATION

(16) Xbox Settings - IP Address Relating to the Network Gateway - There are articles and videos that touch on having your Gateway address and IP address as the same is not ideal and to prevent it from occurring. The settings I have is they are both separate. VALIDATED

(15) Xbox Settings - Variable Refresh Rate - It always makde sense to have VRR on and always had it enabled. Came across a post where having it off was the best method. Tried it and noticed that my monitor changed from Freedom Sync enabled to Adaptive Sync enabled. The rationale from what I read is it's better to have your monitor process the display than it is your Xbox. Freedom Sync is to allow for both the Xbox AMD processor and your monitor to work in harmony. This goes against the status quo and it took the later stages of trying to figure this all out to try it. I believe firmly that having VRR disabled and having your monitor is the right way to go. I have VVR not enabled on my Xbox settings. NOT VALIDATED

(14) Xbox Settings - Clearing The MAC Address - There are tips that doing this clears some network parameters and makes your network run more smoothly. I do this at the start of each gaming session because at this point I don't know if it makes a difference or not but it's like a ritual and doesn't appear to have an adverse impact so why not. VALIDATED

(13) Xbox Settings - Persistent Storage - At the end of every match I go to "Device and Connections" then "BluRay" then "Persistent Storage" and clear it. It is mentioned that this clears the memory cache in your system. After every match match may be overdoing it a bit, but again why not. NOT VALIDATED

(12) Network Settings - DNS - It is mentioned that changing your DNS settings from the default one provided from your internet provider is optimal. CloudFare and Google typically are reported as the best. I have CloudFare at the moment which is 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1. VALIDATED

(11) Network Settings - Port Forwarding - For some reason, I have the inability to do this in my Network settings and used to be able to. There are websites that specify for which games are the ideal ports to sets up. PUBG has its own. I have no way of knowing if this makes a difference but I have a suspicion that the better players in the game all do this and have the right settings for port forwarding. Care to share? NOT VALIDATED

(10) Xbox Settings - Resolution - I was motivated to get an upgrade on a HMDI 2.1 monitor for the ability to have 1440p at 120hz. I dabbled enabling 4K and HDR due to the appearance of the game but have since dabbled back to 1440p at 120hz. A balance between graphics and performance. "Auto-HDR" and "HDR10" had also been disabled. Again a lot of different setting changes I do so I don't know the true outlier. The game seems smoother as a result. It makes sense, high definition requires more performance and may compromise frames, non HDR may prevent frame drops but again speculation. What is not speculation is playing the game in 4K does not bode well for competition PUBG. NOT VALIDATED

(9) In Game Settings - FXAA v. TAA - When TAA came out it was covenanted as better overall with the exception of when smoke grenades were deployed. This has since been worked out but still it gets you to think. If TAA requires more performance and is processing is overextended at certain points during a match, does that lead time frame drops? Is it less noticable now to the untrained eye because the developers have improved it but for that competitive edge does it make a difference at all? I have FXAA enabled. You can't convince me otherwise. NOT VALIDATED

(8) Miscellaneous - Restarting Your Router - Suggestions across the Gaming universe is that powering off your router and cleaning the memory cache is a good thing every once and awhile. This is referenced not just in the the Gaming community but for overall internet performance. VALIDATED

(7) Miscellaneous - Internet Provider Troubleshooting - If you are at wits end, having your Internet Provide come out to your residence and test speeds from the street to your residence is something they can may be addressed if your have a plan that is underperforming. If there is validation that your speeds align with what is expected but if you are getting slower speeds when testing at the source of the router, it could be a bad cable, bad Ethernet port, your router is outdated, or your router firmware is corrupted and a factory reset of all settings is needed. Before that all this, can usually contact your Internet Provider and ask for them to send a remote "signal" which may change some network configurations on their end and communication between your Internet Provider and the your router. Everyone tests internet speed, but internet jitter is a real thing. Anything over 3.0 and you apparently have a network issue. VALIDATED

(6) Miscellaneous - Streaming On The Xbox App - I've dabbled into streaming. I don't have a legit set up so I streamed though Xbox and connected a camera into the USB drive to the Xbox. I noticed a difference when I don't stream and when I do. Again, rationally if you think about it, you are requiring your Xbox to broadcast and play the game simultaneously and adding a plug-in camera is even more demanding. That is in just terms of processing for the Xbox and sharing all that data over ONE network IP when doing all of this is likely demanding. The streamers that have an El Gato setup is ideal. The again MnK Mikey has this set up for streaming from console and does just fine. I prefer not to stream if I think it will have ANY impact on gameplay. NOT VALIDATED

(5) Network Settings - Pause Devices Sharing Your Internet - This is recommended. If devices are not used at the moment disable them. My household we don't have cable and stream for TV. With multiple TVs, my kids tablets, and my wifes and my phone including the Xbox there could be at least 8 devices all connected. My provider has a mobile app where I can pause and unpause devices. When I do this I do both phones and have phones use my cell phone providers data for internet. The mantra every little bit helps. HIGHLY VALIDATED

(4) Xbox Settings - DSCP Tagging and WMM Tagging - Found in Network Settings, DSCP tagging refers to "Tags IPv4 and IPv6 packets on both wired and wireless network connections to identify and prioritize latency-sensitive network traffic. WMM tagging refers to "tags packers on wireless connections to protect priority Wi-Fi traffic against latency impacts during congestion. I have these both enabled for obvious reasons but you would be surprised how many players don't realize this feature is a necessary benefit for multiplayer Gaming. HIGHLY VALIDATED

(3) Xbox Settings - Open NATS - This is a stable of online gameplay. Open NATS are ideal and Moderate or Strict NATS are bad. Sometimes all it takes is changing the port number to reticfy the issue. There are troubleshooting techniques all over the Internet. Xbox's official website has this referenced so it a legit mention for having a favorable Gaming experience. HIGHLY VALIDATED

(2) Xbox Settings - Disable Capture Settings - If you have gone this far this is single-handily the number one recommendation. I have wired over wireless as #1 for obvious reasons but this recommendation I don't see referenced all that much and it makes perfect sense to not have it enabled. If you have the ability to capture a previous clip then something is running in the background. If you have this feature disabled, then enable it quickly, you CANNOT record the clip because it was never recording in the background. This is likely that it is constantly recording in the background and when you tag it as being clipped, it is able to do it. I can't express how much this is "smoking gun" for me personally in what I found and it was profound. I don't have stuttering nearly as much and the game is much more smoother. In the new Blue Zone, I suggest you have it enabled, see how you do a match and then have it disabled then see how you do. When I get a dinner, I enable it briefly to take a screen shot of the post match game summary page. Sometimes I forget to turn it off again. This happened one particular time for a gaming session for the new Blue Zone mode, I went like 2 and 4. I realized post match that I didn't disable Capture and then disabled it and went 8 and 0. Today I remembered to have it disabled I went 15 and 3. I've told one long time player of this tip and they said he has less issues. Test it out. Play a couple of matches with it on and with it off. Yes you can no longer record clips of crazy moments in PUBG but I rather have fluid and unhindered gameplay over that ability. NOT SUBSTANTIATED (BUT HIGHLY RECOMMEND)

(1) Miscellaneous - Wired v. Wireless - The most obvious tip of them all. It's the most widely and publicized recommendation across the internet for gaming. Wired always if you can. Back in the Halo 3 days I had a Ethernet cord from my router downstairs out the window upstairs to my bedroom from the outside. Now I have it running from my living room through a vent strung out along my basement floor. It's a disadvantage if you aren't wired, plain and simple. HIGHLY VALIDATED