FPS vs Refresh rate vs Ping

[box o rocks]

OK, I'm confused. I always thought that there was no need to demand more fps from one's video card than the v. refresh rate of your monitor. But other gamers informed me that even with a 60 hz monitor they could "feel" the difference in their response time if their fps was greater than 60 fps. Ok, I bought that I guess.

But then I started thinking. If a 60 hz monitor has a response time of 1/60 of a second, that is less than 17 ms! Even the best ping on a busy server is rarely (if ever) that good. Right? So unless you get better than 17ms ping, how can a faster fps than your monitor's v.refresh rate make any difference? It would seem that the PC to server back to PC time would be the limiting factor.

 

[Finstar]

Ping has nothing to do with fps.
Ping is how long it takes to send data from the server to your pc, while fps is how fast your gpus can run a certain game.

 

[box o rocks]

I know that. But the point is that ping is the weak link in response time that gamers say they can feel with faster fps than their monitor's v. refresh rate. So how can they feel like they are getting faster response time with higher fps if the time it takes to send and receive that response is worse than the v. refresh rate?

 

[Finstar]

I know that. But the point is that ping is the weak link in response time that gamers say they can feel with faster fps than their monitor's v. refresh rate. So how can they feel like they are getting faster response time with higher fps if the time it takes to send and receive that response is worse than the v. refresh rate?

That's the time it takes for your input to show on the screen.
Let's say you move your mouse. On a Vsync lock it might happen fraction of a second slower than without Vsync.
Yet again it has nothing to do with ping.

 

[Glenwing]

Certain things, such as movement reactions, are processed locally, they don't wait for server response. When you move your mouse to the side and your character looks to the left, that's all processed locally. It doesn't sit there, wait for server response, and then show your character moving after the ping time is over. Things like registering hits do wait for server ping; long ping time is responsible for phenomena like shooting someone and then feeling like your bullets are hitting behind where you are shooting. If absolutely everything waited for server response, that wouldn't happen; your bullets and gun direction would be synchronized, just the entire animation would be delayed.

Instead, basically you click your mouse -> wait for (local) input lag -> after local delay, you see gunshot or whatever on the screen -> wait for server ping time -> guy gets hit

If you have lower input lag, it might still "feel" more responsive since the reaction time between moving your mouse and pressing buttons and seeing the reaction on the screen would be less. Then there would be an additional delay on top of that for the server to be informed that that action has taken place.

 

[box o rocks]

@ Glenwing
So, you're saying that mouse reaction time and whether or not I am quick enough to score a hit are both processed internally? Whether or not I score a hit and the man drops does not wait for the server to confirm it?

@ Finstar
Yes, I may been using the term 'ping' wrong since ping is actually a software utility. I should have just said server reaction time.

 

[Glenwing]

No, I'm just saying the animation for moving and firing does not wait for the server. The registering of the hits does wait for the server.

 

[box o rocks]

No, I'm just saying the animation for moving and firing does not wait for the server. The registering of the hits does wait for the server.

A little off topic here, but what happens if my PC shows me getting a head shot on my opponent first, but my opponent's PC shows him getting a head shot on me first? Since we are dependent on server lag time, how does it determine who won that kill?

 

[Finstar]

No, I'm just saying the animation for moving and firing does not wait for the server. The registering of the hits does wait for the server.

A little off topic here, but what happens if my PC shows me getting a head shot on my opponent first, but my opponent's PC shows him getting a head shot on me first? Since we are dependent on server lag time, how does it determine who won that kill?

Depends on game, in most cases you'll both die and get a kill.

 

[Glenwing]

No, I'm just saying the animation for moving and firing does not wait for the server. The registering of the hits does wait for the server.

A little off topic here, but what happens if my PC shows me getting a head shot on my opponent first, but my opponent's PC shows him getting a head shot on me first? Since we are dependent on server lag time, how does it determine who won that kill?

Usually whichever one the server receives first, depending on how the game developers set it up.