Why does the LTT team use 8x msaa for games testing?

[Ashley]

I recently watched the Assassins Creed video card showdown. And I've seen a recurring theme in their tests which I don't like.

They always use 8x msaa for their tests, even in the Assassins Creed test at 1600p. I'm not super picky but I like to turn up the settings to the max as much as the next person but I personally don't notice much difference beyond 4x msaa. With such a large hit to performance why not just go with 4x to get rid of jaggies? Maybe 2x if it still looks good.

>1080p resolutions with 8x msaa? You kidding me? You really shouldn't need 8x msaa. Do I just have that bad of vision? I can't be the only one that thinks this is a bit of an issue with their testing.

[megadarkwood]

It takes more POOWAAHHH

so the benchmarks are more tough

[miyabwah]

Well, benchmarks at max settings have to be at max..

[Freaky_spider]

 

even in the Assassins Creed test at 1600p.

AC4 is always at 720p, so yea...( mean max textures are 720P)

[helping]

It's more stress to see how the card performs, it's just running for numbers, not necessarily how playable. I haven't seen said benchmark, but I'd probably prefer the max everything method instead of just using a high preset. 

[Ashley]

Well, benchmarks at max settings have to be at max..

Yes but they disable TressFX for Tomb Raider sometimes, and they disabled "God rays" for AC:BF.

[MegaDave91]

It at least gives you an idea for what you can expect in terms of framerate if you don't use 8xMSAA.

[Vic9mm]

Because its a benchmark, they want the highest possible FPS on max settings.

[Ashley]

It's more stress to see how the card performs, it's just running for numbers, not necessarily how playable. I haven't seen said benchmark, but I'd probably prefer the max everything method instead of just using a high preset. 

I get that but why disable "God rays" then? I get pushing the cards as hard as possible but... I feel like adding a poll, who here even goes above 4x msaa? (excluding older games you can max out and get 100+fps).

[Vitalius]

I get that but why disable "God rays" then? I get pushing the cards as hard as possible but... I feel like adding a poll, who here even goes above 4x msaa? (excluding older games you can max out and get 100+fps).

I never use above 2xAA (any kind). I have a 290X. I see no point in it as I see no difference in graphics. 

I think them doing it is ... understandable, but not necessary. They should test the cards at the resolutions and settings people are most likely to play them at. I doubt anyone really uses 8xMSAA on 1080p or higher for normal gameplay. 

At the same time, it's understandable, because they are showing you the bare minimum average FPS you would ever get. So you know for a fact you will at least get that or better.

[Lil Chillbil]

It macs the benchmark harder for those beast cards. 

[helping]

I get that but why disable "God rays" then? I get pushing the cards as hard as possible but... I feel like adding a poll, who here even goes above 4x msaa? (excluding older games you can max out and get 100+fps).

Not particularly sure, it might just be based on what's favorable since more people would be inclined to turn down things like TresFX and god rays than AA. The only time I turn off all maxed settings (including 8x MSAA) is if I go below 50 fps in single player. 

 

Again, I haven't seen the video but might it possibly have something to do with fairnes? i.e. X card gets a large FPS drop from god rays where Y card has negligible impact. Something like the equivalence of benching a Batman game and leaving PhysX on high. 

[bartekxx12]

I get that but why disable "God rays" then? I get pushing the cards as hard as possible but... I feel like adding a poll, who here even goes above 4x msaa? (excluding older games you can max out and get 100+fps).

Yes I agree with you that anything above 4x msaa is pointless, however, when they disable things like god rays or tress fx it's not because of the performance hit but because of the inconsistency things like that create meaning that in one run a 780 might get 65FPS and in a 2nd run of the same thing it might get 75 and in another run it might get 50...

[Vic9mm]

Slick said in the video why he didn't use "God rays".

[MegaDave91]

It macs the benchmark harder for those beast cards. 

What about Macs now?

[Ashley]

What about Macs now?

You can't max on macs.

[Ashley]

Slick said in the video why he didn't use "God rays".

My apologies then, I watched it muted because I was at work. Probably wasn't the best idea if I'm criticizing it. BUT this applies to all their game benchmarks, and I have seen many of those with audio.