New to gaming, Question about FPS

[joecool85]

I'm assuming it means frames per second. I have a 9600XT (in the g5 in my sig) and when in halo in the menu it says 33fps, can I change that or does it automatically adjust according to the computer/card you have? Also, I have been running it at 1024x768 with full effects etc and it seems fine, not chunky at all.

btw, I'm only sorta new to gaming, I haven't done much with it (other than starcraft) since highschool (3 years ago.)

[Sdashiki]

FPS is Frames Per Second.

it can not be set by the user. All you are seeing is like an Activity Viewer for the game. Telling you the framerate currently. So you can see it drop when you have more stuff on screen and go up when less. Mostly its so you can see whether the changes you made to the video options will increase or decrease the frame rate.

Technically anything over 85FPS is overkill because the refresh rate of your screen is the cap for how fast the images can actually be put on the screen anyway. 85fps = 85Hz

The higher the FPS the better of course, gives smoother movement and graphics placement. Lower the resolution, it goes up. Increase the detail, it goes down.

[joecool85]

OK...well, it gives you the option of VSYNC, no VSYNC and 30fps. (I thought it was 33, whatever.) Is there a way to check in game what your fps is? I'm confused I guess. I think when in the video settings it is setting it to just 30fps no higher or lower, or vsync thingy.

[WillMak]

turning on vsync generally lowers fps. turn off vsync if you want more fps.

[Sdashiki]

VSYNC sets the framerate at your refresh rate. Which in games like Quake 3 where framerates can reach over 200, makes sense, you dont need the extra 140 frames to be processed.

Each game, usually only first person shooters, has its own command to bring up an FPS ticker. Youll have to look that up.

A framerate under 60 is usually kinda jumpy, 30 is terrible. BUT everything is relative, I remember people saying they wanted to play the Sims 2 so bad they didnt mind the 10fps they got. To each his own.

Also FPS can mean FIRST PERSON SHOOTER.

[Sdashiki]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertical_synchronization

VSYNC sets the framerate at your refresh rate. Which in games like Quake 3 where framerates can reach over 200, makes sense, you dont need the extra 140 frames to be processed.

Each game, usually only first person shooters, has its own command to bring up an FPS ticker. Youll have to look that up.

A framerate under 60 is usually kinda jumpy, 30 is terrible. BUT everything is relative, I remember people saying they wanted to play the Sims 2 so bad they didnt mind the 10fps they got. To each his own.

Also FPS can mean FIRST PERSON SHOOTER.

[tdhurst]

OK...well, it gives you the option of VSYNC, no VSYNC and 30fps. (I thought it was 33, whatever.) Is there a way to check in game what your fps is? I'm confused I guess. I think when in the video settings it is setting it to just 30fps no higher or lower, or vsync thingy.

There is no great reason to go above 30 fps because human eyes can't really tell the difference after that (TV is 24 fps, digital video is 30...well not exactly, but close enough).

But more is always better!

[Sdashiki]

Well when you are playing "intense" shooting games online, a higher FPS can mean the difference between you being able to whip your guy around to shoot the backstabber, or you die.

60FPS is a good place to strive to be. but yeah 30 is cool, just not great for "action" games.

[Soulstorm]

There is no great reason to go above 30 fps because human eyes can't really tell the difference after that
Actually, they can! Even if it is 50 fps compared to 100 fps! Most people think that won't happen, but I have read an article that explains why we can't take as an example the thing that happens in the TV.

In the TV, let's perform an experiment and freeze an image. You will see that the image is blurred a bit. In transisive scenes, the frozen image may be way too blurry to see anything. That happens because in every frame, the camera gets ALL the lighting transormations that happen in real life. Meaning that when we.. lets say turn our heads quickly we see blurry images, in real life. That also happens in TV, because the camera catches all light's elements.

Motion mlurring is the reason why we think the FPS in TV is sufficient enough to give us the feeling of normal movement.

But in computers, this doesn't happen. Every frame is designed and drawn to screen which means that if we turn the camera quickly, motion blurring won't occur, and out feeling of reality won't be complete!

I hope I've explained it right...

[Lord Blackadder]

Actually, they can! Even if it is 50 fps compared to 100 fps! Most people think that won't happen, but I have read an article that explains why we can't take as an example the thing that happens in the TV.
...

You're pretty much correct, but 30FPS is still a magic number where most games are smooth most of the time. Generally you want to set up your computer so that games spend the majority gameplay above 30FPS.

With that said, I have spent most of my gaming career on low-end hardware and I can tell you that playing games in the 20's (20-29FPS) can be perfectly tolerable.

[Soulstorm]

With that said, I have spent most of my gaming career on low-end hardware and I can tell you that playing games in the 20's (20-29FPS) can be perfectly tolerable.
I didn't say all those things just to show that "every fps counts". See my machines at my sig. These machines (with these videocards), apart from the g5, were giving me always 20-25 fps tops. And I agree, at 25 FPS, a game can be perfectly playable.