# Adjusting dt instead of nsteps, how will this influence the results?

**URL:** <https://gromacs.bioexcel.eu/t/adjusting-dt-instead-of-nsteps-how-will-this-influence-the-results/1896>\
**Category:** User discussions\
**Created:** [April 4, 2021, 2:11pm UTC](https://gromacs.bioexcel.eu/t/adjusting-dt-instead-of-nsteps-how-will-this-influence-the-results/1896 "2021-04-04T14:11:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![IlseF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c5a1d2/32.png) [@IlseF](https://gromacs.bioexcel.eu/u/IlseF)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2021, 2:11pm UTC](https://gromacs.bioexcel.eu/t/adjusting-dt-instead-of-nsteps-how-will-this-influence-the-results/1896/1 "2021-04-04T14:11:42Z")

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GROMACS version: 2021  
GROMACS modification: Yes/No

Hello everyone,

I am a beginner in using GROMACS for molecular dynamics. Right now I did the minimization and equilibration, so I’m at the production step right now. I want to produce more nanoseconds so I adjusted the number of steps in the step6\_production file. My question is if I can also adjust the dt instead of the nsteps? Does anyone know how this will influence the results?

Thank you in advance!

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**Author:** ![pjohansson](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/gromacs.bioexcel.eu/pjohansson/32/316_2.png) [@pjohansson](https://gromacs.bioexcel.eu/u/pjohansson)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2021, 8:28pm UTC](https://gromacs.bioexcel.eu/t/adjusting-dt-instead-of-nsteps-how-will-this-influence-the-results/1896/2 "2021-04-04T20:28:51Z")

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Hello,

increasing dt is not advised – use the standard setting that your force field was derived for (typically 2 fs, i.e. 0.002 in Gromacs units). A higher dt means that the force integration will fail once the potentials are not sampled frequently enough.

Kind regards,  
Petter