Are Ultra settings even worth it?

[V F]

Depends on the game.
Some games "Ultra" just uses uncompressed textures compared to "very high".

Other games there can be a big difference

Funny thinking that. I've yet to see a game that doesn't have some form of banding. Some worse than others. Granted Uncharted 4 and Horizon Zero Dawn looks some of the best with low lit gradient scenes.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Is it in certain areas in the game you have noticed? havn't got the time to look into this but i ran a quick run and i struggled to see a noticeable increase in visual quality. i dropped about 15-20% in FPS from high settings to max settings at 4k.

Off the top of my head, I'm sure the Soviet Installation is where I really noticed it.

 

[V F]

Oh I hated that part and those damn wolves near/in the caves. The other side was cool climbing through the wooden structure for the fire fights.

 

[StriderX]

Depends, the biggest benefit i imagine is less fidelity and actually showing more of the landscape... frankly i'd rather take infinite view distance over infinite resolution, the latter would be nice too but if one must choose.

 

[KNiVES]

I've found that in the vast majority of cases the difference between high and ultra is negligible yet the framedrops are quite massive. If it isn't framedrops, it's stuttering, loading, etc. I don't use it at all even on a 1080ti.

For example I was playing Max Payne 3 earlier today, on the highest settings it's a locked 144fps but if you do some 360 degree turns at the start of the game you will get hitching and stuttering without fail. Turning the game down to high eliminates it altogether.

I think for a lot of games, especially modern ones in the last couple of years, ultra tends to be the same as high but uncompressed and lossless, it's really not worth using. A decade ago you'd see an enormous visual difference but it's not quite as evident anymore. For the frames it kills, ultra is never worth it.

 

[jupiter_man]

Most of the time High will do just fine, resolution got to be more important.
1440p has to be minimum

 

[arc@css]

Depends very much on the game. One title might look noticeably better with ultra settings selected, while another might barely look any different.

Ultimately, for me frame rate and resolution are king. There doesn't have to be a very high frame rate at all times, just as long as for the most part I get a consistent, healthy fps. Nice and smooth.