{"id":66653,"date":"2014-07-08T06:58:35","date_gmt":"2014-07-08T04:58:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/?p=66653"},"modified":"2014-07-08T07:00:58","modified_gmt":"2014-07-08T05:00:58","slug":"pc-game-graphics-options-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/features\/66653-pc-game-graphics-options-explained","title":{"rendered":"PC game graphics options explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

I don’t have a powerful gaming PC, mainly due to the fact that the PS4 is my weapon of choice, but I still\u00a0like to play a game or two on the old gal on the weekend. When choosing my graphics settings, I normally put everything on medium and hope for the best.<\/p>\n

Do I need Anti-Aliasing on? Yes, of course, I mean, it’s there for a reason, right? Why it’s there and what it does, exactly, is another question – one that I might have to use Google to answer.<\/p>\n

Thanks to a prompt from GameSpot<\/a>, I decided to find out what AA does exactly, along with all the other settings in the options menu.<\/p>\n

Here is a noob’s guide to graphics settings.<\/p>\n

Resolution<\/h3>\n

Resolution, in brief, is the number of distinct pixels that can be displayed on your screen.The measurement is usually displayed in width by height,\u00a0with 1920 x 1080 the HD standard most commonly referenced in modern gaming.<\/p>\n

As seen in the image, below, ultra-HD (4K and above) is the current top-end standard. The higher the resolution the better the game will look, and you should set yours as high as possible in-game.<\/p>\n

\"Screen<\/a>

Screen Resolutions – Wikipedia<\/p><\/div>\n

Refresh Rate<\/h3>\n

Refresh rate – also known as the vertical refresh rate – is the number of times in a second that the display updates its buffer. This ties into frame rate,\u00a0where\u00a0the refresh rate includes re-drawing\u00a0the same frame to compensate for the game’s sometimes slower video feed.<\/p>\n

Refresh rate is measured in Hz, with 60Hz equalling 60 “refeshes” per second. High refresh rates may result in “visual artefacts” on occasion. The refresh rate setting is a screen option, and you should make sure your screen is at least 60 Hz capable.<\/p>\n

Vertical Sync<\/h3>\n

I know about this one, it stops screen tearing… I think.<\/p>\n

Vertical synchronisation (Vsync) is an option that stops the video card from doing anything to display memory until after the\u00a0monitor has finished its refresh cycle. This is done to prevent “screen tearing” where the display is stopped from showing information from two or more frames in a single screen.<\/p>\n

How Vsync works is by ordering the video card to either rapidly copy the off-screen graphics area into the active display (known as double buffering), or switch back and forth between memory areas. You should only turn Vsync on if you experience screen tearing, as the setting often produces lag.<\/p>\n

\"Screen<\/a>

Screen Tearing<\/p><\/div>\n

Anti-Aliasing (AA)<\/h3>\n

Aliasing is an effect that causes different signals to become indistinguishable when sampled. Basically, distortion. AA gets rid of this effect and makes your game look smoother by blending jagged pixels together. Most games come with multiple levels of AA, and there are also multiple rendering methods within these levels.<\/p>\n