Refresh rate/FPS

[ben127127]

So, I've made a post similar to this one before, and I've watched a lot of videos on the topic - but I started talking with my friend about this and got confused all over again. Here's the issue: so, if I have a 144Hz monitor, but a GPU capable pf pushing, say, 500FPS, is there any benefit to the extra FPS? Or does it just cap at 144FPS? I've heard that the answer to this is yes, there is still a benefit to 500FPS, as it reduces input lag but you still will be getting diminishing returns. Is this true? If so, could somebody knowledgeable on the subject try to explain to me why this is and how it works? I'd like to understand it well enough so I can explain it to my friend and convince him this is the case. At the moment, he thinks you can only run 60FPS on a 60Hz monitor and that anything else is pointless. I know he's wrong but can't explain why! Thanks for any help.

[Enderman]

The monitor will display whatever is in its display buffer at the time of the refresh.

The more recent the image that is in there, the more recent the content is that you're looking at.

If you let your GPU push hundreds of frames per second to your monitor then the image your monitor displays is more recent and that means lower delay between something happening and you seeing it.

 

For example if your GPU is at 500fps that is only 2ms per frame.

Even if your monitor is 60hz (16.6ms per frame) the frame buffer will have an image that is AT MOST 2ms old sent to it by your GPU.

So the total time between your GPU making an image and you seeing it is between 2ms (monitor refreshes immediately after) and 18.6ms (monitor just refreshed and wont refresh for another 16.6ms).

 

Something to remember is that usually a monitor can refresh the image on the screen even if only part of the buffer has been overwritten by a new image, so you end up with part of the monitor displaying a new image and part displaying an old image, which is known as screen tearing.

 

If your fps is only slightly above the monitor's refresh rate, eg 61fps on a 60hz monitor, the screen tearing will be very bad because the difference between each frame is ~16ms.

 

If you have 500fps that's only 2ms per frame which will make the difference between two frames much harder to distinguish (unless you're moving super fast in game) so at very high fps frame tearing is (usually) less noticeable.

[Guest]

theres also a thing about some game engines having physics depending on frame rate

 

pros:

for example length and height of a jump was different in cod4 (you could jump further/higher with higher fps)

cons:

other games physics get broken, stuff flying off etc.

(i think dark souls unofficial 60 fps tweak makes equipment breaking faster)

[Mick Naughty]

Wouldn’t say there is a benefit to that degree at 500 or so. Not in most games though. 

 

Intend to want 60 over my refresh. The smoother I can get it the better. 

 

Id take higher frames and lower frame times any day of the week. If we are talking online shooters. If not it wouldn’t care. Maybe even lock the frames of it isn’t gonna effect gameplay.