Gaming Graphics Exlanation Needed?

[Buchanan0204]

Hi guys,

I'm pretty new to the gaming world on pc's and have minimal knowledge. I have just got myself a new 6970 and I have a few questions in mind regarding Frames Per Second.

Everyone benchmark is based on these. Correct me if i'm wrong, (I probably am) but isn't FPS how many times your screen refreshes itself per second to display the image, the quicker it refreshes the sharper and less laggy the image will be?

I realise the higher the better with regards to fps, But. Doesn't my monitor only refresh at a maximum of 60 Hertz anyway? So anything above 60 in the fps would be totally pointless? I know there is a connection to the "V-sync" option in most games here. I just can't understand the connection. Some people leave it on, some off? If it's on then I understand it doesn't allow frames to go over the monitors maximum refresh rate? So what's the point in having a super duper card that is capable of 100fps, if the monitor can only display 60?

Also, I'm sure i read somewhere the human eye can only see half of that or something? Probably wayyy off mark here though? I'm impressionable.

So, should I leave v-sync on or off? Is any higher than 60fps wasted? what's the point of cards that can show 60+ if the monitor can't?

I realise these are probably stupid questions, but to someone who is new to gaming and graphics card's, maybe not so.

Any explanations or advice would be smashing

Thanks.

 

[Rroff]

The reason people buy GPUs that can do much higher than 100fps is so that their framerate is constantly hitting 60fps, otherwise there would be drops to 30-40fps which is less acceptable for gaming.

VSync forces the rendering to wait until the monitor is ready for the next frame - at 60Hz this means you have a minimum delay of 16.667ms between every update - some people feel the delay as input lag (I'm one of them) and don't find it acceptable for fast paced gaming when you can feel that your input isn't immediatly having effect onscreen and so disable VSync.

The human eye has no fixed framerate upper limit, its quite a complex subject. For non-interactive viewing i.e. in a movie then 24 frames a second with motion blur is enough to fool the eye into seeing smooth/fluid motion but that isn't the upper level of what it can detect and also once you have interaction with the scene as well that pretty much doubles the minimum framerate required to fool the player into feeling and seeing a fluid scene. Without going into massive detail the average human eye/brain can detect light changes that only happen for 1/200th of a second, but for most people once framerates hit about 100 theres little advantage of anything faster and 60 is generally enough, ~45-48 the minimum for completely smooth interaction.

 

[Buchanan0204]

The reason people buy GPUs that can do much higher than 100fps is so that their framerate is constantly hitting 60fps, otherwise there would be drops to 30-40fps which is less acceptable for gaming.

VSync forces the rendering to wait until the monitor is ready for the next frame - at 60Hz this means you have a minimum delay of 16.667ms between every update - some people feel the delay as input lag (I'm one of them) and don't find it acceptable for fast paced gaming when you can feel that your input isn't immediatly having effect onscreen and so disable VSync.

The human eye has no fixed framerate upper limit, its quite a complex subject. For non-interactive viewing i.e. in a movie then 24 frames a second with motion blur is enough to fool the eye into seeing smooth/fluid motion but that isn't the upper level of what it can detect and also once you have interaction with the scene as well that pretty much doubles the minimum framerate required to fool the player into feeling and seeing a fluid scene. Without going into massive detail the average human eye/brain can detect light changes that only happen for 1/200th of a second, but for most people once framerates hit about 100 theres little advantage of anything faster and 60 is generally enough, ~45-48 the minimum for completely smooth interaction.

Ahh. Make's sense why then you would want a card more powerful so it's consistent. I keep forgetting about the fluctuation in frames.

you referred to 24Hertz. This is what blurays are displayed at, correct? So when the companies are claiming there tv's are 600Hertz, bla bla. It's really just a marketing con?

Even the standard 60Hertz tellys would be capable of a bluray experience with no visible difference to one at say 100Hertz? Is this correct? I've always wondered.

Cheers

 

[Nocky24]

With figures and theories aside, I recommend you just try it out and feel the difference for yourself seeing as you have a 6970

For me the difference between 60 and 100+ fps is really quite noticeable, particularly in say source based games for example. It just feels laggy and not very responsive with vsync on. Some will beg to differ however, it just depends on yourself.

 

[MichaelM]

Download Heaven and in free roam change settings so you just barely get 60fps and run around then turn the settings down so you get max fps and you will feel the difference yourself.
Just make sure you run and swing the camera around as if you are playing a fast paced game like counterstrike and you should understand.