FAQ: How can I optimize my Display PC for the best timing / performance?

[SR-SUPPORT]

To ensure the best real-time performance for your experiments, you can optimize both the hardware and software on your Display PC. This guide covers recommended hardware upgrades, best practices for running experiments, and specific Windows settings to minimize interruptions and maximize performance.

(Please note that Windows settings may vary across different versions and editions.)

• Hardware Enhancements
  If you can upgrade your computer's hardware, focusing on these components will provide the most significant performance improvements:
  • Install more or faster RAM.
    
  • Upgrade to a more powerful video card.
    
  • Use a Solid State Drive (SSD) instead of a traditional Hard Disk Drive (HDD).
    
• Experiment Best Practices
  Follow these rules when setting up and running your experiments to ensure data integrity and stable performance.
  • Run experiments from a local drive. Avoid running projects from USB flash drives, external hard drives, network locations, or cloud-synced folders (e.g., OneDrive, Google Drive).
    
  • Do not use a virtual machine to run experiments.
    
  • Use the deployed experiment for data collection. Do not collect data using the "Test Run" option within Experiment Builder.
    
  • Close the Experiment Builder application before you begin data collection with your deployed experiment.
    
  • Run experiments from an administrator account. While you can deploy an experiment to run on a standard user account, performance may be compromised.
    
• General System Preparation
  Before running any experiment, perform the following checks to create a clean and stable environment:
  • Uninstall Bloatware: Remove any unnecessary pre-installed programs from the manufacturer.
    
  • Stop Virtual Machines: Shut down any VM software like VirtualBox, VMware, or Hyper-V services.
    
  • Disable Unnecessary Services: Stop non-essential background services.
    WARNING: Disabling the wrong service can cripple Windows. Do not attempt this unless you are certain of what you are doing.
    
  • Shut down background applications/services like OneDrive, Google Drive, or Microsoft Teams from the notification area (system tray).
    
  • Close all other applications, including web browsers, email clients, and chat programs.
    
  • Disable scheduled tasks like data backups or virus scans that could activate during a session.
    
  • Update your operating system with Windows Updates, but configure it to run outside of your data collection hours.
    
  • Scan for malware, but disable your antivirus software temporarily while deploying and running experiments, as it can interfere with timing.
    
  • Disconnect unnecessary external devices such as flash drives or external hard drives.
    
  • Configure Network:
    • Temporarily disable all network adapters except the one used for the EyeLink connection.
      
    • Disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth if they are not needed for the experiment.
      
    • Ensure any firewall or VPN software is configured to allow uninterrupted traffic to the Host PC.
      
• Windows Performance Settings
  These settings will help minimize system interruptions and dedicate more resources to your experiment.
  • Disable Notifications & Interruptions
    • Go to Settings > System > Notifications.
      
    • Turn Off the main toggle for "Get notifications from apps and other senders."
      
    • Click Additional Settings and uncheck all boxes related to Windows tips, suggestions, and welcome experiences.
      
  • Configure Focus Assist / Do Not Disturb
    • Go to Settings > System > Focus.
      
    • Set the mode to Alarms only.
      
    • Under "Turn on do not disturb automatically," enable the options for "When playing a game" and "When using an app in full-screen mode."
      
  • Set High-Performance Power Plan
    • Go to Settings > System > Power & Battery.
      
    • Set Power Mode to Best performance.
      
    • Click Screen and sleep and set all dropdowns to Never.
      
  • Disable Screen Saver
    • Right-click the desktop and choose Personalize.
      
    • Go to Lock Screen (Windows 10/11) or click the Screen Saver icon (Windows 7).
      
    • Set the screen saver to (None).
      
• Graphics Card Optimization
  Ensure your graphics drivers are up to date before changing these settings.
  • Windows 11 Graphics Settings
    • Go to Settings > System > Display > Graphics.
      
    • Click Change default graphics settings.
      
    • Turn On "Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling."
      
    • Turn On "Optimizations for windowed games."
      
    • Turn Off "Variable refresh rate."
      
  • NVIDIA Control Panel Settings
    • Right-click your desktop and open the NVIDIA Control Panel.
      
    • Go to Manage 3D settings.
      
    • Set Power management mode to Prefer maximum performance.
      
    • Set Vertical sync to On.
      
    • If your monitor uses G-SYNC, go to the Set up G-SYNC tab and uncheck the "Enable G-SYNC" box.
         
      
    • Reboot the computer for the settings to take effect.