PC Gaming and FPS.. Wut Do? (Non Retro Wall Of Text)

[SuperDerpBro]

Over the last year or so i have switched from consoles to PC gaming. I play mostly 'AAA' single player third person games with a few FPS (single player campaign) games from time to time. I didn't want to put a lot of money into it as i wasn't sure i would be sticking with it. I had an i3-4170 so i bought a cheap r7 265 and have been playing at 768p on a '720p' TV connected to my computer. It has been great so far. At that resolution i can run most games at high-ultra. The catch being only at an FPS between 30 and 60. I didn't like the FPS going from 60-55-60-39-48-35-60-57-39... you get the point. So, i have pretty much played every game at a 30 FPS lock using RivaTuner (unless the game has an FPS option like Witcher 3). I just prefer a 100% lock at 30 over the massive fluctuation.

I'll be honest. I have played at 60 FPS and it feels a bit like playing a game on fast forward to me. Now, I grew up on consoles like the apparent subhuman pleb I am (according to the master(bator) race), so maybe I'm just used to 30 FPS, but go to 60 and suddenly everything's too fast for me. I can't really explain it well. It just feels wrong. I can tell the difference and i don't think i like 60 FPS. Blasphemy!!

Which brings me to my point/questions. I have 3000 Canadian dollars to spend on a new PC (not just for gaming), 4 HDDs to turn this i3 box into an Unraid NAS, and 2 monitors. Will be moving to 1080p for gaming and I am thinking about buying a card that can do 1080p60 in case i change my mind someday (likely). So probably an RX 480 4GB (the most id be willing to spend on a card). As far as i see it i have 4 options.

- Buy a 460 instead and continue capping at 30 FPS
- Play everything maxed out and continue capping at 30 FPS (and waste the money spent/potential on/of the 480)
- Play at 60 until i get used to it and live with the drops below 60 when they happen
- Blow even more money and get a freesync monitor

The 4th option really isn't an option because i am not willing to spend that much on gaming for the amount i do. Seems like 2 and 3 are the best bet. My idea behind the 480 is to buy a card that is, give or take, 3 times what i need for 30 FPS so that when i lock it at 30 it will never go under that. I supose i could do the same for 60 FPS and buy a 1070.. but thats to much to spend for the amount of gaming i do. So, what to PC gamers do here? Do most of them (without high refresh monitors) really play games at 60 and just let the frames jump around all over the place? Seems that way. The Witcher 3 on the 480 (Ultra settings) for example is about 55 average. So it will be jumping around. Probably get mostly 60 on high settings but im willing to bet it drops below 60 quite a bit still.


Here is the build i will likely be buying in the next few days. Minus the monitors.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($428.94 @ Vuugo)
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS10X Extreme Ball Bearing CPU Cooler ($23.22 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: MSI Z170M Mortar Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($155.00 @ Amazon Canada)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($109.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Crucial MX300 525GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($168.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 6TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($279.98 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 6TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($279.98 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 6TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($279.98 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 6TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($279.98 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Western Digital Green 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 480 4GB NITRO+ 4G Video Card ($319.05 @ Vuugo)
Case: Fractal Design Define Mini MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($119.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case Fan: Rosewill Hyperborea 57.5 CFM 120mm Fan ($10.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $2536.08
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-04 19:16 EDT-0400

[Xeogred]

So, it sounds like you've at least given it a shot for about a year or so? I remember years back seeing my friend play games on his PC running at 60FPS, when I was playing stuff on consoles. And it was definitely an uncanny valley thing to me. But now I've had a good PC with two good cards over the last few years and have slowly replaced just about all of the first person shooter games I liked on the 360 on Steam now, and then there's been a few remasters on the PS4 that run on 60FPS... and I simply can't go back now. So I have decided for the first person genre I'm going to stick with the PC from here on out for the most part, so I have full sets of series on Steam or whatever and don't waste money rebuying so much stuff over again.

It's only a first person thing for me though. I still don't care about 30FPS for third person or other genres. But I guess I have gotten a little picky about it with first person. I definitely took awhile to adjust though... but I really think all I needed was to play just about one game and then I fully adjusted. And now it even feels more natural and consistent replaying stuff like Quake or whatnot at such high framerates and resolutions too.

I guess I'm just curious if you really gave adjusting a shot, but it sounds like it. I'd never condemn anyone for having a preference on this though, unlike some people out there haha...

[SuperDerpBro]

I played one full game at 60. Tomb Raider (First reboot). I got used to it i guess. But i still switch back and forth between unlocked and locked at 30 before i really get into a game and i always end up picking locked.

I should mention that i play all these games with a 360 controller. 30 FPS feels weird with a mouse. Or maybe it's is just my shity mouse haha.

My main thing is .. no gpu crushing game (witcher 3 crysis 3 so on) seems to run 60 100% of the time. Even on higher end hardware. So, do gamers just let it drop and fluctuate between 60 and 40 on intense parts of the game?

[isiolia]

My main thing is .. no gpu crushing game (witcher 3 crysis 3 so on) seems to run 60 100% of the time. Even on higher end hardware. So, do gamers just let it drop and fluctuate between 60 and 40 on intense parts of the game?

Could depend on the person or the particular game. Some may opt to dial down settings to get a consistently high framerate. Keep in mind too that a lot of comparisons for PC hardware performance are moving targets, and 1080p or lower resolutions may easily stay north of 60fps with a modern card.

Without VSYNC, no game is going to have 100% consistent framerate, and VSYNC introduces its own issues. You can "lock" the FPS being sent to the monitor, but that means you're effectively introducing lag to do so.

From what I've seen though, by and large, people like higher framerates, and the debate is typically more between screen tearing or capping frames to sync with the monitor's refresh rate. That's where things like Freesync, GSync, or other adaptive methods come in, since you can sync up those fluctuating framerates.

Personally, sure, I'll take something doing 40-60fps over something locked at 30.

'course, it's not like console games entirely lock framerates much either, or only ever run at 30fps. Some genres, like 3D fighters, have commonly run at 60fps.

[SuperDerpBro]

I always use vsync.

https://youtu.be/6F4H_PtJS6c

That is basically how i play. Works for me. I think im just gonna get a cheaper card for now. Maybe try Nvidia so i can try half rate adaptive vsync.

Yea, i can play performers and fighters at 60. You have to. They are slow motion at 30 hehe.

[SuperDerpBro]

Hmmm. I just played 30 mins of the Witcher 3 at 1080p with my 265. Set to high post processing and graphics settings to high (hair works off). At max 30 FPS setting I got a pretty stable 30 FPS. Dipped to 28 a few times. At the unlimited FPS setting i got 37 to 28 ish.

Toms hardware is recommending a GTX 950 for 'ok' 1080 but just a bit ago they were saying 370. After a bit of reading i found out that the 370 is just a refreshed 265.

Maybe i wont even need to buy a card. heh. Still kinda want to though.