Poll: What Do You Do? Resolution v IQ

[Jokester]

So, you've just bought the latest and greatest 3D shooter - but horror of horrors you can't play it at your monitor's native resolution with all the quality options turned on. What do you do?

 

[jkb]

I voted turn quality options down...in reality I would buy a new graphics card

 

[Jokester]

 

[andicole0]

I voted turn quality options down...in reality I would buy a new graphics card

+1

Andi.

PS The third option wasn't there when I voted.

 

[Admiral Huddy]

Definitely turn the options down. If the problem became persistent over many games, then new card for sure.

 

[Fars]

Option 3, i'd buy a new card if at all possible.

Failing that, Option 4. Not play said game until I could buy a new card, I have a really hard time compromising.

Also Option 1 literally makes me suicidally sad, the thought of lowering resolution brings me out in a cold sweat.

 

[Fonz-Valo]

If funds are available I'd buy a new gpu BUT in the first instance i'd keep the resolution and drop the quality settings

*thinks back to playing Crysis on my old 7900gs*

 

[Spokwiththeears]

Option 2/3, depends whether the game is worth it.

 

[AshenShugar1873]

Turn down the quality a little if it doesn't make too much difference to the visuals and gives enough of a boost to frame rate, otherwise it's a new GPU.

 

[paradigm]

Depends entirely on just how much I have to turn down the quality, and whether or not the game deserves extra hardware (by deserves I don't mean technically demands, more if I feel that I'd get more out of it, or a game I adore).

2 usually, 3 sometimes.

 

[Marvin]

It depends on the monitor. On my current 3007WFP, for Metro (when I had a single GTX480), I turned the resolution down to 1920x1200, and stuck the settings on full, then sat back a little.

However, if on my previous U2311, I would not turn the resolution down, but the settings.

It also depends somewhat on the game. Metro almost suits a little fuzziness, whereas a very clean looking game like Mirror's Edge would benefit more from the smoothness of a higher resolution.

 

[MeddlE]

Turn the options down as much as I can stand. Only game that made me drop the resolution was GTAIV. My trusty 4890/2405 set-up carries on delivering for everything else that I play.

 

[=XDC=FluphyBunny]

Options down till its running around 100fps in multiplayers (BFBC2 70-130 fps depending on map and wha'ts going on)

Single player games like Witcher 2 at around 50 fps

 

[arc@css]

Depending how much you have to compromise. If it's just some AA then that's ok, providing it's not too much, and 'maybe' one other setting if you can't the difference. Otherwise if this starts to become a pattern with a few other games then I start to look at purchasing a new card.

One good reason for me atm to stick with 1920x1200 res : once you go over that you are more likely to start needing more graphics horse power in a greater number of situations. Coping with 1920x1200 is easy atm, pick a decent high end card as I did and there is precious little out there that I can't max out. The few titles that there are, I either don't play or aren't even bothered about. If your expectations are 60fps in all titles at all times (for example), then even at a lower resolution you are still going to need at times more power than you possibly thought was necessary / possible frequent driver changes.

1. Turn down AA.
2. Lower settings if I have no other way round it.
3. If this happens on a title or two more, buy a new gpu!

 

[trickycurve]

I couldn't really say for sure, as there have been so few games that I've struggled to run that I needed to turn the settings down. Saying that, I did game at 1440x900 for quite a while, so not a great deal troubled my old 4890. Even when I upgraded my monitor, I only had to endure my old card for three months before getting a GTX470. Even with my 4890 at 1680x1050, though, I only had to turn the AA off in Crysis -- I was still running it at Very High with about ~30-ish fps.

GTA IV and Metro 2033 are the only games I don't run on full whack (shadows on Very High in GTA IV rape performance, so I turn it down a notch, and Metro I just run it on High [though still in DX11]).

Because I'm so used to playing 98% of my games at max settings, I'd proably just not play any games I struggled to run for a while and wait until I get a card capable of maxing them out with smooth frame rates. Still, I picked option 2 because it seems more realistic.

 

[OLDPHART]

New GPU, just tell your better half your GPU's out of date and can't play the up and coming games, hence thats why you need a new one.

 

[Zefan]

Option 1 is a last resort for me, I can't stand games running at non-native res.

 

[jkb]

New GPU, just tell your better half your GPU's out of date and can't play the up and coming games, hence thats why you need a new one.

It's easy to sneak a new GPU in without the other half knowing.....just need to figure out how to get a new Samsung monitor without her seeing it

 

[OLDPHART]

Buy new monitor hide it in the garage or garden shed when The Boss is out swap them over.

 

[InfiniteNoise]

Turn down quality until it's playable, my 5850 is only few months old and I can't stand playing on non-native resolution, it looks too blurry.