What NOVA changes for Dota 2, the launch options worth using, and how to measure the difference on your own PC.
No FPS promise here: what Dota 2 gains depends on how your PC is set up today. NOVA shows what's holding it back, then measures before and after.
01What NOVA changes for Dota 2
These are in Tweaks, off until you switch them on. Each edits Dota 2's own settings file, only while the game is closed: the same change as its video menu, made for you. Your current value is backed up first; switch it off and it goes back.
in-game V-Sync off
B · Measured by one lab or tester
Turns off V-Sync in the game's own settings, which holds each frame until the next refresh and adds input lag. With G-SYNC, use NVIDIA's G-SYNC setup instead of in-game V-Sync. Close the game first.
Exactly what it changesIn video.txt for each Steam account (userdata\<account>\570\local\cfg\video.txt under the Steam folder named by HKCU\Software\Valve\Steam SteamPath), sets the existing "setting.mat_vsync" value to "0" (no line is added if it's missing). Nothing is changed while dota2.exe is running.
Plus everything that isn't game-specific: Windows, power, network and input settings, and Game Boost, which applies per-game settings each time Dota 2 runs and puts the PC back when you close it. Every tweak →
02Launch options, rated
Guides still pass these around. NOVA's Games page shows the same verdicts for Dota 2: Use, Your choice, Test (prove it on your PC) or Skip.
Option
Verdict
Why
-novid
Use
Skips the intro video, so the game reaches the menu sooner. Startup only: no effect on FPS.
+fps_max <refresh − 3>
Your choice
Caps the frame rate (the fps_max console command). With a G-SYNC or FreeSync monitor, a cap a few frames under the refresh rate keeps every frame inside its range; with NVIDIA Reflex and V-Sync on, Reflex caps by itself. 0 removes the cap.
-vulkan
Test
Uses Vulkan instead of DirectX 11 (also in the game's video settings). Which is faster depends on your GPU and driver.
-high
Test
Starts the game at High CPU priority, the same as NOVA's per-game option. No lab has measured a gain; prove it on your PC before keeping it.
03Measure it on your PC
Benchmark › Proof mode runs the same test before and after a change and tells you whether the difference is real or within the noise, including when it made none.
The in-game overlay shows FPS and frame time in a corner of Dota 2, drawn in its own window, without touching the game.
History lists every change NOVA made, with undo for each, or Revert all.
NOVAOne price, no subscription. Try it in your browser first: nothing changes on your PC.
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