PC Hardware | video settings | benchmarksPC

[Whitestar]

Here is something that should interest you guys with a new GTX 970 or 980. MFAA (only for Maxwell cards) was released with the new 344.75 drivers. http://www.pcgamer.com/nvidia-finally-adds-mfaa-to-maxwell-gpus-with-34475-driver/

Should be interesting to see how the quality and performance in AC is compared to MSAA.

 

[Johnnypenso]

Here is something that should interest you guys with a new GTX 970 or 980. MFAA (only for Maxwell cards) was released with the new 344.75 drivers. http://www.pcgamer.com/nvidia-finally-adds-mfaa-to-maxwell-gpus-with-34475-driver/

Should be interesting to see how the quality and performance in AC is compared to MSAA.

To take advantage of this, one would turn MSAA off in game and use the MFAA from the card instead?

 

[Wiz]

Somebody on the official forums is saying that MFAA isn't working on AC yet.
http://www.assettocorsa.net/forum/index.php?threads/new-nvidia-driver-344-75-whql.17927/

 

[NLxAROSA]

From what I've read so far on other forums, it's not too impressive either...

 

[chromatic9]

What you do is turn on MFAA in the NVidia control panel then run MSAA in the game. The driver does the work in supported games

Here's a list of games that support MFAA

• Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag

• Assassin's Creed: Unity

• Battlefield 4

• Civilization V

• Civilization: Beyond Earth

• Crysis 3

• DiRT 3

• DiRT Showdown

• F1 2013

• F1 2014

• Far Cry 3

• Far Cry: Blood Dragon

• GRID 2

• GRID Autosport

• Hitman: Absolution

• Just Cause 2

• Saints Row IV

• Splinter Cell: Blacklist

• Titanfall

• Wargame: European Escalation

I've only tested it in AC Unity but MSAA incredibly demanding in that game and MFAA performance gain is not good enough to make me want to switch from using FXAA or SMAA. The in game FXAA for ACU is very clean. Normally FXAA is very blurry but Ubisoft have worked some wonders.

I suspect it will be quite good in some games, where FXAA is rubbish and AA options are limited. Nvidia are checking each game to see if it works and then will allow said game to work in the driver.

 

[Johnnypenso]

What you do is turn on MFAA in the NVidia control panel then run MSAA in the game. The driver does the work in supported games

Here's a list of games that support MFAA

• Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag

• Assassin's Creed: Unity

• Battlefield 4

• Civilization V

• Civilization: Beyond Earth

• Crysis 3

• DiRT 3

• DiRT Showdown

• F1 2013

• F1 2014

• Far Cry 3

• Far Cry: Blood Dragon

• GRID 2

• GRID Autosport

• Hitman: Absolution

• Just Cause 2

• Saints Row IV

• Splinter Cell: Blacklist

• Titanfall

• Wargame: European Escalation

I've only tested it in AC Unity but MSAA incredibly demanding in that game and MFAA performance gain is not good enough to make me want to switch from using FXAA or SMAA. The in game FXAA for ACU is very clean. Normally FXAA is very blurry but Ubisoft have worked some wonders.

I suspect it will be quite good in some games, where FXAA is rubbish and AA options are limited. Nvidia are checking each game to see if it works and then will allow said game to work in the driver.

So you run both MFAA and MSAA? Doesn't that increase the workload?

 

[NLxAROSA]

No, MFAA stacks on top of MSAA. So if you select MSAAx2 + MFAA that should (theoretically at least ) give you the same quality as MSAAx4 at less performance cost than actual MSAAx4.

That said, Dutch site tweakers.net did a few tests/comparisons in a few game and results were, to say the least, 'varying'.

 

[chromatic9]

So you run both MFAA and MSAA? Doesn't that increase the workload?

No, you need to enable MSAA in game and the NVidia driver overrides, that's how they designed it. And like NLxAROSA said, in theory you get MSAAx4 type results at the cost of MSAAx2 and MSAAx8 type results at the cost of MSAAx4.

 

[Johnnypenso]

No, you need to enable MSAA in game and the NVidia driver overrides, that's how they designed it. And like NLxAROSA said, in theory you get MSAAx4 type results at the cost of MSAAx2 and MSAAx8 type results at the cost of MSAAx4.

So in theory I can then max them both out on supported games and see what happens. Be nice to see if AC eventually supports this.

 

[BrandonW77]

Well, I received the PC but at first there was no picture. Then there was a picture but it would eventually lock up and the picture would freeze or go out. Spoke with tech support a few times (they were helpful and easy to understand) and they think the video card is bad so it's getting shipped to the doctor today. A few times I was able to get a car on track in iRacing and it was great (driving around by myself). But once I'd leave the track and try to select a new car/track everything would lock up again. Got several warnings that the video card driver had crashed/recovered, tried reinstalling the driver but it made no difference. For the few minutes it would run it ran great, when I left the fps uncapped it was approaching 300fps on one screen. Probably gonna be a couple weeks before I get it back, hopefully they can get it sorted.

Update: Finally got the PC back and all seems to be well. Ran about five hours last night with no problems. Only got one screen going at the moment but iracing with max settings was 400+ FPS and AC with max settings was 250-300. Loving it so far, got a busy weekend ahead of me!!

 

[Lewis_Hamilton_]

I'm going to be upgrading from my HD7850 next week and will probably settle with a GTX 970. Can't wait to see this and other games with all their bells and whistles maxed out. My HD7850 couldn't quite do it.

The GTX 970 seems to be very popular right now.

 

[Wiz]

I love my 970. I went with the MSI Gaming Edition. Super happy with it so far.

 

[BrandonW77]

Mines working very nicely so far. Got all three screens running and can have almost all the bells and whistles on in iracing and AC with triple digit fps. 👍

 

[Xiamoto]

I'm thinking of trying to install a GTX970 into my Win7 64-bit PC in January because I cannot get Assetto Corsa to work at all with my existing nVidia Quadro 3450/4000 Video Card. Is anybody here aware if I can install the GTX970 without removing my Quadro Video Card? I've got an SLI Mobo in the PC right now...........so I definitely have PCI-E Slots available in the Mobo. The goal would be for me to switch between the Quadro Video Card to Run Solidworks 3D CAD software and use the GTX970 for gaming.

Thanks in advance for any info you may have.

 

[Whitestar]

I'm not sure to be honest. While it might be possible it's certainly not recommended. I'm not sure how equipped Windows 7 is to handle two different sets of graphics drivers, which is the main issue here. This could in fact be made to work back when PhysX was on separate cards. You could have a primary graphics card (with PhysX) and a secondary supporting card in another PCI-e 16x slot.

But what will happen once you stick the 970 in there and install the drivers for it is a bit of a black box for me. Will those drivers "take over" the PC and make the PC not "see" the Quadro drivers (or the Quadro card)? I don't know.

Your best bet would be to move the quadro to a different slot and use the primary slot for the GTX 970 (I think).

Maybe you could just try it out? Shouldn't be too much of a hassle. Just make a restore point (or other type of backup) before you start, so you can get your PC back to it's original state the way it was before you installed the 970 drivers, in case it all goes belly-up.

Getting back to original state should also be possible by just uninstalling the 970 drivers and reinstalling the Quadro drivers (after having removed the 970 card and moved the Quadro back to the primary slot of course).

 

[Xiamoto]

...............Maybe you could just try it out? Shouldn't be too much of a hassle. ..............

Yes, thanks. The good news is that this is not my primary PC, so I can experiment around with it a bit. I'll give my Solidworks CAD Software Support people a call to get their take on it as well. A search on the internet shows it may be possible if not already has been done. I can also check out my local Microcenter store staff, as they have 970's in stock and most of those guys there build their own PC's personally. Cheers.

 

[Xiamoto]

Hey Guys,

Initial tests running AC on my computer are showing these results. Your thoughts on where I should go from here to make improvements? I'm getting 80fps with occasional dips to 32fps (5% of the time) and dips to 24fps for the first 2-3 seconds at the start of races. I know that I am running a somewhat dated Mobo and CPU, but thought you might see some obvious bottlenecks or methods for improvement of FPS. Thanks in advance for your replies.

Computer Info
Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
Motherboard: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. System Model: Z68P-DS3
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2600K CPU @ 3.40GHz (8 CPUs), ~3.7GHz
Memory: 16384MB RAM
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
Card name: Gigabyte GTX970 G1 Gaming

nVidia Settings:
Let the Application Decide

AC Settings:
Track: Silverstone (large circuit)
# of AI cars 12
1600x900@60hz Resolution
Single Screen HDMI input
Fullscreen Render: Yes
Vertical Sync: No
Framerate Limit: 200fps
Anisotropic Filtering: 4x
Anti-Aliasing Samples: 2x
World Detail: Max
Shadow Resolution: Ultra

 

[BrandonW77]

I'm no expert by any means, and I don't know anything about that motherboard, but everything else I see should be able to run smoothly at 60fps+ all the time. I have an i5 4960, 16gb ram, GTX 970 and three 32" 720p/60hz tv's, running higher settings in AC then you and if I leave frame rate unrestricted it's usually over 100fps even at the start with a full grid.

It might be your shadows though, higher shadow options can gobble up some FPS. And change the shadow frequency (or something like that, forget what it's called) to static and that might help. And maybe turn World Detail down a notch.

Edit: it's reflections rendering frequency that you can put on static to improve frame rate.

 

[Lewis_Hamilton_]

What is the native resolution and Hz of your monitor? 1920x1080 resolution and 60Hz is very common.

I also have a GTX 970, I run every setting on high except for smoke detail, which is set to low. I've tested between using resolutions at 2560x1440 with 2xAA and 1920x1080 with 4xAA, image quality and frame rate seems to be about the same at both settings.

Up your resolution to at least 1920x1080, the card can handle more no problem. Turn down Shadow Resolution and World Detail to high, also make sure that Reflection Detail and Frequency are on high rather than max. With those settings (especially with smoke on low), you should be able have stable frame rates on the starting grid. Smoke on medium will chop a few fps off at a race start only, if you can tolerate that.

Lighting settings are big frame rate killers, so Shadows Resolutions/Details are the first things I turn down if I want higher fps in games.

 

[Xiamoto]

Thanks Guys for the replies.

What is the native resolution and Hz of your monitor? 1920x1080 resolution and 60Hz is very common.

I am outputting to this TV:
VIZIO E421VA - 42" Class Television
TV Native resolution: 1920 x 1080
TV Resolution: 1080p (FullHD)
TV Refresh rate: 120 Hz

.................... I've tested between using resolutions at 2560x1440 with 2xAA and 1920x1080 with 4xAA........

Where is this 2560x1440 setting found? In my PC's nVidia Control Panel it only lists 1080p, 1920 x 1080 as the highest resolution that I can set.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

 

[Lewis_Hamilton_]

Where is this 2560x1440 setting found? In my PC's nVidia Control Panel it only lists 1080p, 1920 x 1080 as the highest resolution that I can set.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

So I just looked at your TV to see if it would support a 120hz input signal, may be it does through it's PC connection but the resolutions supported are not very high. With 4 HDMI ports on your TV set, I'm guessing that's how you are connected at the moment? If so, the older HDMI inputs on your TV won't support anything above 60Hz. In that case, set your resolution up to 1920x1080, cap the frame rate to 60 and turn on Vsync.

As for enabling higher resolutions than your TV can support, you can do that by going into the Nvidia Control Panel settings on your PC. Under "Display" on the drop down list, click "Change resolution" and then the "Customize" button. Enable GPU scaling by selecting the tick box, and then set a custom resolution of your choice (try 2560x1440, 60Hz).

Advanced warning: Everything is going to appear a lot smaller afterwards.

If you only want the resolution to be downsampled during gameplay and for the desktop to run at standard 1080p at all other times, then use the following option in Nvidia Control Panel:

Select "Manage 3D settings", in the top half of the options that appear (it's the 9th option down on the list for me) there will be one called "DSR Factors", select somewhere between 1.50 to 2.0. You can choose a higher multiplier but this will hammer the frame rate, so you'll need to turn down Anti Aliasing and other graphical options for the games to run smoothly. It's good to experiment with however, as the higher the resolution the less AA you need to use, and downsampling is the best form of AA.

If you went for the permanent GPU Scaling option rather than the DSR method, all your games will have a 2560x1440 option available in the resolution settings the next time you play. Good luck.

 

[Xiamoto]

So I just looked at your TV ........

Fantastic, thank you

Yes, I am using the TV's HDMI Port 1 input connected to the GTX970 HDMI port output. (My GTX970 has (1) - HDMI, (1)-DVI-I, (1)- DVI-D and (3)-DP outputs.

Your feedback is exactly the high level recommendations I was looking for...........I'll tinker around with your instructions and report back.

Thanks again.....👍

 

[Lewis_Hamilton_]

Your feedback is exactly the high level recommendations I was looking for...........I'll tinker around with your instructions and report back.

Thanks again.....👍

No problem.

I wasn't too clear on the GPU scaling option which you will need to enable, that part is under the "Adjust desktop size and position" drop down option. Make sure that is selected on GPU and FullScreen. For some reason I remembered it wrongly appearing in the customize resolution tab.

If when you change the resolution and you get a blank screen, don't press anything and leave it for 30 seconds, it will reset to your previous settings.

 

[praiano63]

Here in Brasil ,computer parts are very expensive. There is a used gamer PC for sale with this configuration. Is this enough to run the best video quality ??

I7 2600 (3,40 GHZ)

Vídeo ATI HD7970 Double Dissipation XFX 3GB 384bits

Mother board Gigabyte B75

8GB RAM Kingston

Sound Creative SB 0770

Fonte Corsair CX600

HD 1TB

Cabinet HAF 912 with 2 coolers

 

[BrandonW77]

Here in Brasil ,computer parts are very expensive. There is a used gamer PC for sale with this configuration. Is this enough to run the best video quality ??

I7 2600 (3,40 GHZ)

Vídeo ATI HD7970 Double Dissipation XFX 3GB 384bits

Mother board Gigabyte B75

8GB RAM Kingston

Sound Creative SB 0770

Fonte Corsair CX600

HD 1TB

Cabinet HAF 912 with 2 coolers

It would probably run it, but not at the best video quality due to that HD7970. It's not bad, but not the best. To be honest though, you don't need to run it at best video quality, even medium settings look great and should keep a steady, good frame rate. 👍

Edit: Certainly says something when Mr. GT Tuner himself is looking to jump into the PC game.

 

[Xiamoto]

............There is a used gamer PC for sale with this configuration. ...............................

Mr. P.
I have had AC up and running with an I7-2600 and similar Gigabyte motherboard, but I do have a GTX970 high end video card. The FFB and "feel" of the cars in AC is incredible and you won't need high end graphics to experience that........I am hooked............and I haven't played GT for 2 weeks!

 

[BrandonW77]

.......and I haven't played GT for 2 weeks!

If/when you go back, be prepared for frame rate drops and screen tears like you've never seen before! I never really noticed them when I only played GT, but the few times I've been back to GT6 since getting the PC it's like they smack me in the face.

 

[Lewis_Hamilton_]

@praiano63 My 7850 used to run AC at 1080p/60, high+medium settings and either 2xAA or 4xAA depending on solo/full grid. That was a year ago and may be the game was slightly less taxing back then, but since a 7970 is double the power of the 7850, it will do you just fine.

 

[BrandonW77]

@praiano63 My 7850 used to run AC at 1080p/60, high+medium settings and either 2xAA or 4xAA depending on solo/full grid. That was a year ago and may be the game was slightly less taxing back then, but since a 7970 is double the power of the 7850, it will do you just fine.

Do it @praiano63!! You won't be sorry. I believe AC is one of the more taxing/less optimized games too so if you can run that well then you should be able to run other games too. But be warned, you don't have as many tuning options in any of these games as you have in GT, and I know that's your thing, so that may or may not be an issue. 👍

 

[Lewis_Hamilton_]

you don't have as many tuning options in any of these games as you have in GT, and I know that's your thing, so that may or may not be an issue. 👍

Unless you tweak the car's data files in notepad, where you can change any setting to any number.