Gaming Nirvana: 60fps + high AA + Vsync?

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jessterman21

jessterman21

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Dec 14, 2010
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Just wondering everyone's opinion - I had a kind of zen-moment this weekend. I finally got my living-room controller-based PC gaming situation worked out perfectly, with my 40" LED TV as a second monitor via HDMI + Steam Big Picture + my new wireless controller. Now, since I only have a midrange rig, I can't play the prettiest games on Ultra with a high framerate, but older games run beautifully.

I picked up GRID about 2 years ago and I have been playing it on and off since then - it runs maxed at 1080p and a solid 60fps with Vsync. Now the shadows could be a little more accurate, and the lighting isn't the best, not to mention some of the average-quality models and textures. BUT the visuals come together in a very nicely balanced package that looks consistently great IMO. I unlocked a new track that you race at night through a city, and I was blown away. Felt like I was playing a next-gen console game because of the combination of Vsync'd 60fps @1080p + 8xMSAA + 16xAF on my TV. I've also been playing Darksiders and RAGE at the same settings minus AA, and I get a similar feeling - though AA would make it perfect.

No screen-tearing, no jaggies, and no framerate drops.

Maybe I haven't been playing PC games long enough, but this kind of feels like the holy grail. Does anyone with a rig that can run a consistent monitor-refresh-rate in great-looking games at HD resolutions hear what I'm saying?
 
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nukemaster

nukemaster

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Nov 23, 2004
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The biggest problem is that no matter how good a system, you may still run into games or spots in a game that will drop out of your 60fps(or 120 for Cons29 :) ) goal. If you want this to be as constant as possible, you may want top end hardware(i5 for gaming is just fine, I have yet to see many games NEED an i7).

Multi-card is another option some users like. It can bring micro stuttering and some games just do not get the same speed boost out of a multi gpu system.

My recommendation is get the best you can and then fine tune your settings. Sometimes a little less shadow will give you a bit more AA if you want it. depending on your preferences, a bit less AA can help frame rates as well.

I agree with you, the consistent performance of vsync works very well.
 
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jessterman21

jessterman21

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Dec 14, 2010
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This isn't so much an "I need help" post - I just wanted to know if other PC gamers have experienced this feeling of perfection when everything runs perfectly smoothly and looks flawless.

In the PC gaming space, so much time is spent getting good-enough AA or fps or low-enough frametimes, that perfect image quality and consistently smooth motion are illusive. And the console-kids scoff because we spend hours tweaking settings to play games smoothly on our more-expensive hardware, while they rarely see dips in framerate or screen tearing, and they're pretty much blind to jaggies (I actually miss the days before they were pointed out to me on my PS2... I can't un-see them now!).

After playing a few rounds of GRID and Mirror's Edge @60fps+Vsync+max settings on my TV the other night, I wanted to invite my consolite brothers over just to show them the awesomeness that PC gaming can deliver when you finally get it just right.
 
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B

bystander

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Dec 9, 2009
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I definitely know the feeling of everything running smooth and great. I won't play a game with less than 60 FPS, and I have a 120hz monitor to take advantage of more. Recently, I've been playing FarCry 3 in 3D Vision with a mod that fixes all the 3D issues, and the game plays flawless at 60 FPS (per eye) with near maxed out DX9 settings (the fix works for Dx9, not Dx11). The game looks amazing.
 
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bruniss

bruniss

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Feb 28, 2013
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I know what you mean jessterman21. DAT feelin. I've recently finsihed setting up mi high end gaming PC. I 've being saving up for quite a while now and seeing it all put together and functioning perfectly is awesome. Games run oh so smoothly :p
 
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jessterman21

jessterman21

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Dec 14, 2010
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Hey, you dudes with Kepler cards: does Adaptive Vsync work like it should? Any difficulties with it? I have several 3rd-person games (Prince of Persia, Darksiders, Mass Effects, Batman AC) that I can get running at Vsync'd 60fps about 90% of the time, but long draw-distances cuts it to 30 and ruins the flow. I know I'll get some screen-tearing at those points, but I'd rather have that and 55fps-smoothness than no screen-tearing and Vsync'd 30fps lag.

Seriously considering selling my HD 6870 and buying a GTX 660 now that they're $199. 40% more performance + Nvidia features and stability for $50? Yes please.
 
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jessterman21

jessterman21

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Dec 14, 2010
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Wow, apparently I can have my cake and eat it too - RadeonPro has Adaptive Vsync, and injects FXAA and even SSAO in some games. Haven't tried it in anything other than Darksiders (in which all three work perfectly), but I may have found my stopgap solution for the Nvidia features I want while I wait for the yet-to-be-released GTX 760 to drop below $200.
 
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jessterman21

jessterman21

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Dec 14, 2010
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I dl'd it back when Mass Effect 3 came out to try to get MSAA working (works in the other two when you force through driver), but it didn't do it for me, and I didn't see the advantage of SMAA x1 over MLAA - so I uninstalled it. Very very happy to see these new features.

EDIT - Tested the rest of my games: FXAA and Dynamic Vsync work like a charm (SMAA doesn't play well with ambient occlusion for some reason). The Dynamic/Adaptive Vsync helps considerably with the flow of gameplay when the framerate drops below 60. It's not perfect - looks like a 50ms+ frame to turn Vsync on or off, but it's a lot better than having to choose between dropping to 30fps or copious screen-tearing.
 
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