(GPU) Using Higher Internal Resolutions (IR) [UNOFFICIAL]

[Starscream]

I see too many people not knowing which settings to use when it comes to Dolphin and its internal resolution options, so hopefully this thread can clear up some things and show people the right way to find out which IR setting is best for them.

Ideally, you'll want a CPU that is on-par with your GPU so that either one does not bottleneck the other. Most people are not going to know exactly how that works, so I'll quickly describe an easy way to find out which IR setting is best for your hardware.

If some people are unclear about which settings the IR (Internal Resolution) settings are, here is a picture of them. They are located in graphics/enhancements/internal resolution (IR).





Do not use any AA (Anti-Aliasing) with this guide.

Using "EFB copies to texture" is recommended.


Very simple:

1) Run a game. While the game is running, set the IR (Internal Resolution) to 1x and make note of your fps (frames-per-second).

2) Raise the IR to 1.5x. Did the fps stay the same as with 1x or did it go down? (If the fps stayed the same, move on to the next step. If the fps went down, go back and play the game with 1x)

3) Raise the IR to 2x. Same thing here, did the fps stay the same from the first two IR settings or did it go down? (If the fps stayed the same, move on to the next step. If the fps went down, go back and play the game with 1.5x)

4) Try the same thing with 2.5x. 3x and 4x IR.

You'll easily know when to go back one level when the fps drops dramatically. A drop of 1 or 2 fps does not mean anything.

Basically you want to start low and slowly raise the IR (while in a game) until you start to lose fps. When that happens, go back down to the next level and play the game with that IR setting. Doing this will ensure that you're not using an IR that is too high for your GPU and causing major slowdowns and will also make sure you're not using too low of an IR setting and having the game not look as good as it can. When testing this, stay in one spot in the game, don't move around or actually play while doing this since other areas of the game may have a higher or lower frame rate and that would interfere with the results.

Now, finding the IR this way for one game does not necessarily mean that it will be the same for all games (it could be though), but it should put you close to where you need to be. You should try this method every now and then with new games to make sure you're using the right Internal Resolution setting.

Hopefully that helps somewhat, feel free to post questions or suggestions here and talk about your experiences with these settings.

[Duke Nukem]

Nice guide, even helped me to figure out some gaps I didn't knew about.
In general I suck at this kind of stuff...

[dannzen]

this benchmark thread
gives a quick overview what gpu can handel what resolution
http://forums.dolphin-emu.org/showthread.php?tid=14201

its true there is no 4xIR
but its visible that 3xIR is already hard to handle with high end gpu's

[Starscream]

There is no place that lists every CPU and GPU known to man, this is the easiest way for people to figure this out for themselves and it works with everything.

[dannzen]

its just a short overview...
to see how much impact the change can have..
iam not attacking your post

its more a support for your words... ;>

[NaturalViolence]

Well done, clear and concise (unlike my guide which is a clusterfuck of way too much info. that I'll get around to fixing sometime over winter break).

[Starscream]

You should try to beak-up your thread into smaller single threads that are easier to understand. Then those threads and this one can then be added to a help thread linking to them all. If and when you edit your thread, think simple, you're trying to explain these things to people who have no idea what's going on.

[johnk119]

(12-17-2011, 07:25 AM)dannzen Wrote: this benchmark thread
gives a quick overview what gpu can handel what resolution
http://forums.dolphin-emu.org/showthread.php?tid=14201

its true there is no 4xIR
but its visible that 3xIR is already hard to handle with high end gpu's

---

I suggest using the fractional autosize option instead of setting an Internal Resolution multiplier. The reason I suggest this is because there's no need to have an IR higher than your native resolution unless you're spanning across multiple monitors and even then you shouldn't go higher than the combined resolution. You're simply wasting gpu and cpu cycles by increasing beyond the native. In my opinion. Any dissenters?

[AnyOldName3]

Yes, everyone disagrees with that.. We're making it big also for the antialiasing effects, not just to make the picture as big as our screens.

[NaturalViolence]

Quote: In my opinion. Any dissenters?

I. Along with all of our graphics developers. They put it in there for a reason.

Quote:I suggest using the fractional autosize option instead of setting an Internal Resolution multiplier. The reason I suggest this is because there's no need to have an IR higher than your native resolution unless you're spanning across multiple monitors and even then you shouldn't go higher than the combined resolution.

If you can't see any difference from raising your IR past your screen resolution then you need an eye exam. It reduces aliasing and improves texure sharpness even though the image quality follows a diminishing returns curve.

On top of that there are several efb copy effects that have been identified that work properly with integral scales but not with fractional (for obvious reasons integral scales are less likely to create off by 1 pixel issues with efb copy effects).

Not to mention integral scales allow users to fine tune the gpu load to achieve the highest image quality possible with their particular gpu.

Quote:You're simply wasting gpu and cpu cycles by increasing beyond the native.

You're not wasting any cpu cycles. It doesn't affect cpu load at all.