Why it matters: Performance junkies who love squeezing every last drop of responsiveness out of their games would want to check out AMD's new Frame Latency Meter tool. Just dropped via GPUOpen, this utility lets PC gamers measure mouse-to-pixel latency without needing fancy high-speed cameras or special hardware tricks.

Low input latency is crucial for fast-paced games where split-second reactions can mean the difference between winning and losing. The lower the latency between clicking your mouse and seeing that action play out on-screen, the better. Measuring latency requires cumbersome workarounds, like using high-speed cameras to capture mouse clicks and counting frames until you see the muzzle flash.

Red Team's new FLM tool promises to make that process much smoother. Compatible with virtually any modern GPU that supports DirectX 11 or newer (so AMD, Nvidia, and Intel silicon is fair game), it can directly capture the latency from mouse click to visual response. Although the utility leverages the hardware-native AMF capture codec on AMD GPUs, it works just as well on any GPU with DXGI codec capturing support.

The interface looks clean and straightforward, too. Users can run small measurement samples or continuous accumulated readings, select mouse move or mouse click as the triggering event, and adjust the capture region and threshold values. Users can export detailed latency and "effective framerate" stats to a CSV file for analysis.

One of FLM's coolest tricks is measuring latency without relying on temporary visual cues like muzzle flashes. That means users can run as many samples as they want, generating more data points for higher accuracy.

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Of course, AMD's release isn't entirely revolutionary. Nvidia has had similar tools like FrameView for latency measurement for a while now. A freely available, open-source alternative from Team Red is still a big win, especially for AMD GPU owners. Users can download the tool from AMD's GPUOpen website or here from TechSpot's downloads.

Making low latency more accessible to gamers seems like an industry-wide push lately. Microsoft's DirectStorage allows developers to improve the performance and responsiveness of games. Nvidia has beat the drum for ages about its Reflex latency analyzers and ultra-low latency modes. Now, AMD is offering an alternative that any PC gamer can use.