Downsample vs. Native

[ARMRoc Molloy]

I just started downsampling and a couple of my higher end games can't handle it with the fps (I understand downsampling makes fps drop a bit already)

So my question is: (Concerning Tomb Raider 2013):

Would you rather play on Ultra at 1080p (My rig is running 45-55 avg. but never dipping below 30; i.e. the "survival instincts" makes it drop)

Or would you rather downsample at 2560 x 1440p but have to scale back some of the settings?

I'm running:
AMD FX(tm)-4300 Quad-Core Processor
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750
8.2 GB Ram

Please don't make this about upgrading my GPU, I will be upgrading my GPU when I have more money but not right now

This is purely a would you rather question

 

[bystander]

Downsampling is a form of AA. It really comes down to your preference. Would you rather have a few jaggies but higher settings, or less jaggies at lower settings?

There is on right or wrong answer.

 

[ARMRoc Molloy]

I was asking the community...so what's your choice?

 

[Supernova1138]

I'd rather run native with higher settings than downsample if I had to choose between the two to get good performance. I do downsample older and less graphically demanding titles that my GTX 770 can chomp through easily at 1080p anyway, but I don't bother with newer and more demanding titles where I'm not going to be able to stay around 60FPS at resolutions above 1080p without seriously compromising quality. I just don't find jaggies to be enough of a problem to justify downsampling in that case, especially when there are much less demanding AA options I could use.

 

[bystander]

I was asking the community...so what's your choice?

Are you just wanting to know what other people like, or what you should use?

What you should use should be based on what you think looks and plays better. Every game is going to be different and the choice will change. Simply play any game in question both ways and decide.

As to my choice, it depends on the game.

 

[chenw]

My choice very heavily depends on the game in question, but I generally use Downsampling when the game in question isn't very demanding in the first place (such as ME2) or if there is an acute visual difference between native and higher resolution (For example FF13, the character models differ greatly between 1440p and 4k), but I generally prioritise graphic detail over downsample because more often than not, there are certain issues with higher resolution rendering, especially with older games when UI doesn't scale.

 

[Raiin]

Native higher Settings, lowering the settings can erase stuff from the game, like Trees,grass,NPC's, SSAO and other stuff, not worth it.
SSAA is for pc that can play max native and have power to go up a step without suffering in performance, SSAA works great on older games like Mass effect, were you can downsample from 5k,7k,9k. batman Arkham Asylum is one game i played recently downsampled from 7k to 1440p.

i use Gedosato, it works great on almost all Dx9 games.

 

[iamlegend]

Play it in your Native res instead a choppy 1440p DSR (Dynamic Super Resolution) not Downsampling.

 

[ARMRoc Molloy]

Thanks everyone

What about slightly older games? Where it doesn't tax fps at all? I heard downsampling is great for older games with a simple on/off switch for anti-aliasing

 

[Supernova1138]

Thanks everyone

What about slightly older games? Where it doesn't tax fps at all? I heard downsampling is great for older games with a simple on/off switch for anti-aliasing

It is pretty good on older games, and can make things look very smooth, the big drawback is UI scaling can be a bit wonky. Sometimes it's not too bad like in Source Engine games where the in game UI does scale well up to 4k, but the game menus don't and look absolutely tiny, fortunately you don't need to interact with the menus too often so it's not a huge problem. For other games though the UI elements don't have their scaling adjusted, so if you do downsample from 4k, you have to deal with tiny aiming reticules, ammo counters or whatever other UI elements you normally have.

 

[bystander]

You also don't have to downsample from 4K. You can use 2560x1440 and see a noticeable improvement. Primarily I use it when no other forms of AA work well.

 

[ARMRoc Molloy]

Thanks everyone

What about slightly older games? Where it doesn't tax fps at all? I heard downsampling is great for older games with a simple on/off switch for anti-aliasing

It is pretty good on older games, and can make things look very smooth, the big drawback is UI scaling can be a bit wonky. Sometimes it's not too bad like in Source Engine games where the in game UI does scale well up to 4k, but the game menus don't and look absolutely tiny, fortunately you don't need to interact with the menus too often so it's not a huge problem. For other games though the UI elements don't have their scaling adjusted, so if you do downsample from 4k, you have to deal with tiny aiming reticules, ammo counters or whatever other UI elements you normally have.

I have noticed the tiny mouse arrow in the main menus