Trials Evolution was optimized for consoles which typically run at either 720p (1280×720) or 1080p (1920x1080), the vertical and horizontal component of these resolutions are both multiples of 8.

A lot of PC gamers use monitors with a native resolution that is not divisible by 8 (a few examples: 1680x1050, 1600x900, 1440x900 and 1366x768) and these resolutions cause performance issues for the current version of Trials.

By switching your display to a resolution where both the vertical and horizontal component of the resolution is a multiple of 8 you should notice a much smoother frame rate throughout the game.

I have a 22" monitor with a native resolution of 1680x1050 which suffers from performance issues due to the fact that the vertical component (1050) is not divisible by 8. In this guide I will show you how to create a custom resolution of 1680x1048 and disable scaling to prevent distortion when using a non-native resolution.

The general solution is to take your resolution and reduce both the horizontal and vertical component to a multiple of 8. Disable scaling to prevent distortion, and then create a custom resolution that is a multiple of 8. Load up Trials, and select your newly created custom resolution and enjoy a lag-free experience.


As you can see our vertical component of 1050 fails the divisible by 8 test. To reduce it to the nearest multiple of 8 simply take the modulo of 8 and subtract that result from the original resolution.


So our new resolution will be 1680x1048

Normally when using a resolution that doesn't match your monitors' native resolution, your graphics card (or the display itself) will scale the image up (or down) to fit the native resolution[en.wikipedia.org]. This produces distortion that will sacrifice image quality for size.

• Note 1: This will result in any resolution less than your maximum native resolution being centered in your monitor with black borders rather than being scaled to fill your monitor; scaling often causes blurring and distortion on LCD (flat panel) monitors.
  
• Note 2:This option is only available for monitors connected via digital connection such as DVI.

(instructions authored for driver version 314.22)

• Open nvidia control panel
  
• Go to the "Display" section.
  
• Go to the "Adjust desktop size and position" subsection.
  
• In the section about scaling select the "No Scaling" option.

Note: These ATI instructions are written for a very old version of ATI Catalyst: version 10.11. If anyone would like to provide a newer guide for ATI I'd be happy to add you as a contributer.

• Open the Catalyst Control Center. Switch to advanced mode if you're not already in advanced mode.
  
• Set your resolution to anything below your native resolution via the "Desktop Properties" section.
  
• Go to the "Desktops & Displays" section.
  
• Right-click the miniature icon of your monitor in the lower portion of the screen and click the "Configure..." menu item.
  
• Check the "Enable GPU scaling" box and select "Use centered timings". Apply your changes.
  
• Restore your native resolution settings. Even though the scaling controls now appear greyed out and the "Scale image to full panel size" appears grey-selected your changes will still take effect at lower resolutions.

• Open nvidia control panel
  
• Go to the "Display" section.
  
• Go to the "Change resolution" subsection.
  
• In the main window, near the bottom, click "Customize".
  
• Click "Create custom resolution..." and enter
  the desired resolution, this this case
  1680x1048.
  
• Test the custom resolution and if it all checks
  out click OK.

ATI instructions provided as a guide only, they are from something I did almost 2 years ago. If anyone can verify how this works for ATI with the latest drivers, then I would be happy to add you as a contributor.

Note: ATI cards requires editing your registry in order to add a custom resolution, please proceed at your own risk.

I followed this guide: http://www.ehow.com/how_7649449_add-custom-resolution-ati.html
I was unable to find an exact match between the 2D Driver Path and my registry, but I did find only a single entry under:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Video\

That contained the "DALNonStandardModesBCD1" key, and so that's where I made my modifications. Once I rebooted my system recognized the new resolution.

Remember, the important concept here is that you create a custom resolution where both the horizontal and vertical dimensions are divisible by 8. 1680x1048 is what you'll want to use if you have a 22" monitor with a native resolution of 1680x1050, but for those of you with other sizes you'll need to find your own resolution to use using the "General Solution" section above.

You should notice a marked improvement in frame rate.

With all graphics settings turned on, I went from very frequent stuttering to no stuttering at all on my GTX 680.