I recently upgraded my video card and did (and still do) lots of before/after benchmarks. I'm left with the feeling that some settings mostly just reduce framerate without providing much visible improvement. Anti-aliasing seems to be one such setting. At 1920x1080 resolution I don't normally notice jaggies, so it's not clear what would be the benefit of enabling this option, let alone setting it on something really high. I'm curious which settings people use, what value do they use, and do they see a benefit beyond bragging rights.

So, how do you usually configure the following:

  • Anti-Aliasing
  • Texture Quality
  • Shadow Quality
  • Anisotropic Filtering
  • VSync
  • Triple Buffering

I assume most people use their monitor's native resolution, so no need to discuss this one, but would be nice if you give some background about your rig for context.

Thanks!

View attached image.
8 years ago*

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Almost always all in low in everythinh, i prefer more fps than quality, i only put them in high if i know my pc will handle it good...

8 years ago
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Anti-Aliasing: Medium
Texture Quality: Highest
Shadow Quality: Medium
Anisotropic Filtering: The lowest possible
VSync: ON

About the resolution, my 900p monitor recently stopped working so I had to buy a new one. I got a 720p TV (I fail at life. It said 1080p in the box, I believed it, turned out it was upscaled).

Now, the reasons:
VSync: I hate screen tearing and it doesn't affect my fps that much if I turn down AA to medium.
AA: Med. Above.
Shadow Quality: Med. My CPU/GPU seem to work twice as hard with high quality shadows on, lowering my FPS.
Anisotropic: Lowest (not off). Above.
Texture doesn't seem to affect my FPS that much. On the lowest settings I get like 15FPS more, but I always have 60+fps.

Now, if I have problems with the settings or get really good FPS, I usually mess around with it some more to get a steady 60.
My build's got a 550Ti and a crappy i3-2100 which I'll soon (not really soon) replace.

8 years ago
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I usually set everything to low, and if it runs for at least 30 fps - I play it. Because my computer is potato.

8 years ago
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ultra high

8 years ago
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Anti-Aliasing - 2xMSAA

Texture Quality - utra

Shadow Quality - ultra

Anisotropic Filtering - 16x

VSync - FastSync

Triple Buffering - off

8 years ago
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graphics = off

8 years ago
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8 years ago
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more like phone player detected

8 years ago
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Soo, this ain't really much of a gaming pc, more a office one. :]
I usally use Low / medium settings
And my ress is often 1920x1080, 1280x1280 or 800x600, depens on how much fps, genre, etc.

:3

LOWSPECSQUAD

8 years ago
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I generally have games on the lowest settings except for resolution. My current laptop is kind of old, so its not too good, but I will probably be able to upgrade in about a month or two.

8 years ago
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I turn VSync off in first person games and some platformers or games that require quick and precise inputs while leaving it on with triple buffering in most other games.

As for quality settings, I set everything as high as possible while maintaining a framerate over my monitors refresh rate. I always drop AA first if I need to, but I try and keep it on at least the lowest setting because I notice the jagged edges with it completely off. I find shadow quality, ambient occlusion, and anisotropic filtering important because they make the game feel more realistic. I always turn motion blur off if I can.

I also sometimes have trouble seeing the difference when adjusting some settings because there are many variations (2x, 4x, 8x, 16x) and there may not be much difference between them, but there is a noticeable difference if you turn them off completely.

Also, if you don't know what the setting does it can be hard to see that difference because you don't know what to look for. Here's some example of AF on and off.

View attached image.
View attached image.
8 years ago
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Anti-Aliasing and V-sync are off I don' need them

Everything else is maxed

8 years ago
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Texture High
Shadows Low/OFF is possible (it's just annoying)
AA 2x or Low but never Off
AF 2-4x
TB Off
Vsync Definitely OFF.

I also turn off Depth of Field, Motion Blur, Grain effects etc. because they're unnecessary and I hate them.

I only lower Texture Quality until I get a stable 60+ FPS.

8 years ago
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Vsync seems to be the most polarizing option. Many people here always have it on, while other always have it off.

Any reason not to use higher level of AF? According to most benchmarks, impact on framerate is negligible.

8 years ago
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i don't use any

8 years ago
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8 years ago
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Hehe I do the same for screenshots, even though it can take ages for some games because of all the lag.

8 years ago
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I have absolutely no idea what these options do or are ment for. So I leave them the way the game sets them.

8 years ago
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Lol, I mess around with them sometimes, but I don't really have a clue either. :P

8 years ago
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Thank you! I'm not alone :)

8 years ago
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Anti-Aliasing: 16x forced for all games
Texture Quality: Ultra
Shadow Quality: Depends how much it affects performance.
Anisotropic Filtering: None or super sampled, I don't really like most post process AA solutions.
V-Sync: ON for all games. I hate screen tearing and don't own a G-Sync or 120/144hz monitor.

CPU: i5-4670
GPU: GTX 1060 6GB (just got this recently, haven't found any games it had trouble maxing out yet)
RAM: 16GB
Screen: 1200p

8 years ago
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High for everything if possible with motion blur off

8 years ago
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The highest my computer can handle (which usually is everything off and 800x600 resolution).

8 years ago
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motion blur OFF (most stupid thing invented ever)
Anti-Aliasing off
Textures High

8 years ago
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1920*1200
Anti-Aliasing: mostly 2x, avoid fxaa because it just blurs everything
Texture Quality: High
Shadow Quality: Low or off, ambient occlusion off
Anisotropic Filtering: 16x
VSync: off
Triple Buffering: off
DoF, motion blur, lens flares etc are always off or low, can't stand those effects,
Intel C2Q 2,8
4GB Ram
AMD R9 270x 2GB

8 years ago
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defaults

8 years ago
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Whatever GeForce Experience recommends.

8 years ago
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I should try just using GeForce Experience more often, I don't know if I can use it without switching to desktop mode on my Alpha, though... :/
I guess I should try sometime, lol.

8 years ago
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Anti-Aliasing ; 2x MSAA or FXAA. At 1440p its quite enough I feel.
Texture Quality : Highest. I its got almost no FPS drop regardless of the setting if your GPU has enough memory.
Shadow Quality ; Highest. No PCSS
Anisotropic Filtering : 16x. It barely reduces FPS.
VSync : Off. I have Gsync
Triple Buffering : Off.

I have a 144Hz Gsync monitor. GTX 1080 and i7 4790K.

8 years ago
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Lol, I really just set it to whatever.
Anti-Aliasing : idk, usually just leave it off or at 2x, I think
Texture Quality: Med or Low, I think, usually
Shadow Quality: Low
Anisotropic Filtering: idk, off?
VSync: On (I just like the name, probably don't need it, lol, or really get what it does...)

Honestly, though, I don't really get what all the fuss is about, a fun game is fun without having 4K Ultra graphics and an unenjoyable game doesn't really improve by upping the settings... I started on consoles and so I never focused that much on what all the PC stuff can do, I just like playing.

I have an Alienware Alpha plugged into a 4K 3D TV, but I doubt my Alpha could even run 4K, so I never bother with it and just do 1080p

8 years ago
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8 years ago
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As high as I can get them without noticing any frame rate issues! VSync is usually on unless it gives me issues. Texture quality over AA. What I end up using depends a lot on the game. Monitor does not support more than 60 FPS so getting 100 FPS is rather pointless for me, but I can notice the difference between 30 & 60 in many games, and FPS > graphics in most (but not all) games.

8 years ago
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What issues do you see with VSync other than reduced frame rate?

8 years ago
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Sometimes, mainly with older games, Vsync could cause noticeable input lag.

8 years ago
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