Gaming performance question about resolution

[AppleMacFinder]

Is it true that, if you set the in-game resolution on BTO 17" MBP as same as native resolution of BTO high-end 15",
you will receive nearly the same game performance as on BTO high-end 15"?
(with the same internal hardware)

In other words, is it easier for GPU to stretch the game screen every frame
than to calculate the extra pixels?

 

[billgates99]

Is it true that, if you set the in-game resolution on BTO 17" MBP as same as native resolution of BTO high-end 15",
you will receive nearly the same game performance as on BTO high-end 15"?
(with the same internal hardware)

In other words, is it easier for GPU to stretch the game screen every frame
than to calculate the extra pixels?

There is a lot of debate about this and I don't have a 2011 MBP.

However, I have noticed on a few different laptops, running a game at lower resolution improves frame rate roughly to the same extent as it is improved on a similar model with lower native resolution.

(for example I tried this running 1366x768 mode on a laptop with 1920x1080 native resolution and it seemed to be essentially same frame rate as the version of this model with native 1366x768 display)

 

[neteng101]

In other words, is it easier for GPU to stretch the game screen every frame than to calculate the extra pixels?

Most definitely so... the GPU has to work for pixels. Display resolution scaling is done by the LCD panel in hardware, and doesn't look anything half as good as the native resolution, no impact to the GPU.

 

[Derango]

Given the same hardware and the same resolution, the performance is going to be roughly equivilient.

The GPU doesn't really have to do much work, if any at all to stretch the image. A lot of times that's even handled by the LCD hardware even.

The big question is...can you stand the image quality decrease of running a LCD at a non-native resolution?

 

[AppleMacFinder]

Given the same hardware and the same resolution, the performance is going to be roughly equivilient.

The GPU doesn't really have to do much work, if any at all to stretch the image. A lot of times that's even handled by the LCD hardware even.

The big question is...can you stand the image quality decrease of running a LCD at a non-native resolution?

I can just move my chair a half-meter more from the table to change the angle of view!