Thread: Maxed Out Video Settings

I just built a new rig and was looking to screw with the video settings. Before I was running pretty low settings but last nite I cranked it up and saw a HUGE difference. It was like a different game with all the detail and smoothness. I just wanted to make sure I have the correct settings though.

Here is the list of settings:


Some are obvious but others I was wondering if I had the right settings though. The reason I was wondering was because all the High settings are found at the top of the list in each category. But Anti-Aliasing Mode and Filtering Mode have None and Bilinear at the top, respectively, whereas I would think 16xQ CSAA and Anisotropic 16x (respectively) would be the top setting for those categories. I messed with both categories and didnt see any change in my fps.

I did see a difference in fps when I disabled VSync (doubled my fps). Im no fps junkie, but to the untrained eye, I didnt see much of a difference in gameplay when I turned it off. Actually, I would say it looked less realistic than when I had it set to Enabled Triple Buffered. What exactly is the purpose of VSync? Should I keep it on? My new rig should be able to handle anything that gets thrown at it, so Im not worried about performance issues. Just want to get the best detail in game.

Actually, could this be moved to PC Hardware and Technology since these settings include most of Valve's games on Steam? Thanks.

Thats just a screenshot I pulled off the interweb showing all the settings. Im running 1440x900 @ 16:10 actually. I just wanted to show all the settings so others could tell me what the highest settings were for each.

vsync is to stop tearing... Tearing happens when the screen tries to update before the "raster" has finished drawing the screen. Obviously there's no raster on an LCD, but the effect is the same.

[img width=700 height=560]http://www.overclock.net/attachments/graphics-cards-general/106180d1240223886-screen-tearing-overclocked-cpu-ggdsg_19.jpg[/img]

See how the screen starts drawing halfway down the urinals? It's drawing the next frame starting halfway down... That's tearing. If vsync was on that wouldn't happen.

Vsync will lock the max framerate to your monitor's refresh rate... So if your monitor is running at 60hz, then your max fps will be 60.

If your computer can't handle 60fps, the game could slow down far slower than that with vsync on. Rule of thumb... If you get less than 60fps regularly, turn vsync off. If you get far more than 60, you can eliminate tearing without a real performance hit by turning it on.

Originally Posted by Kanati8869

Vsync will lock the max framerate to your monitor's refresh rate... So if your monitor is running at 60hz, then your max fps will be 60.

Which would explain why my fps didnt change from 75 when I was screwing with the other options...

Originally Posted by Kanati8869

If your computer can't handle 60fps, the game could slow down far slower than that with vsync on. Rule of thumb... If you get less than 60fps regularly, turn vsync off. If you get far more than 60, you can eliminate tearing without a real performance hit by turning it on.

Great info. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Kanati8869

vsync is to stop tearing... Tearing happens when the screen tries to update before the "raster" has finished drawing the screen. Obviously there's no raster on an LCD, but the effect is the same.

[img width=700 height=560]http://www.overclock.net/attachments/graphics-cards-general/106180d1240223886-screen-tearing-overclocked-cpu-ggdsg_19.jpg[/img]

See how the screen starts drawing halfway down the urinals? It's drawing the next frame starting halfway down... That's tearing. If vsync was on that wouldn't happen.

Vsync will lock the max framerate to your monitor's refresh rate... So if your monitor is running at 60hz, then your max fps will be 60.

If your computer can't handle 60fps, the game could slow down far slower than that with vsync on. Rule of thumb... If you get less than 60fps regularly, turn vsync off. If you get far more than 60, you can eliminate tearing without a real performance hit by turning it on.

Yup.

haha Thanks for your insight Jason 'post whore' Jinx :P

In doing some tests with VSync off, Ive found that the two settings I had in question were best left to the highest level for display quality:

Anti-Aliasing Mode
16xQ CSAA

Filtering Mode
Anisotropic 16x

This gave me the best look with really no hit on my performance or fps. Hopefully this will help others that are looking for these settings.