08-07-2010, 11:13 AM
Sorry for being such a perfectionist but it's who I am.
Make sure to make it perfectly clear that v-sync can have a significant framerate hit even if you were getting over 60 fps before. The process of moving data in and out of the backbuffer has a significant impact on performance. For example your gpu needs to be able to draw significantly more than 60 fps (usually 90 fps or above) in order to maintain 60 fps with v-sync enabled.
First off you wrote "FOW" instead of "FOV". This does not have a huge impact on performance. It increases the pixel throughput needed by about 33% so the most fps you can possible lose is 25%. And as long as your gpu has enough pixel throughput (it usually does) their should be no performance lose whatsoever. Other than that last part about performance the rest is correct.
Advantage: Certain EFB effects need this on to be rendered properly.
Disadvantage: Performance loss and a few games have graphical issues with this enabled.
I also noticed a lot of grammar errors but I know that if I pointed those out that would cross the line from helpful into annoying. You were probably just tired and/or in a rush so you can always go back and correct them later. Also since your about to write the sections for the graphics plugins keep in mind that many of the options work perfectly with many games but also screw up many games and therefore should only be used if that particular game needs it for something. Three examples of this that you have talked about already would be widescreen hack (works in certain games but causes problems in others), texture cache (needed in certain games but creates problems in others), and CPU-EFB access (needed for efb effects in certain games, creates problems in others). Try and get this point across if you can.
Also try and mention in the section for safe texture cache that each "level" safe, normal, fast has a different performance hit and chance of working and that you should use the fastest level that works with that particular game (some games only need fast, some need normal, very few need safe).
Once again, sorry to be so obsessive and nitpicking about this, I just want this to turn out near perfect so that we can turn it into a great help file (which is long overdue).
Quote:V-Sync
What it does:
Force V-Sync. Graphics card will wait until a full frame is displayed until it sends the next image to avoid any tearing
Advantage:
Remove tearing
Disadvantage:
FPS limited by the monitors frequency(often 60Hz -> 60fps). Might slightly slow down gameplay
Make sure to make it perfectly clear that v-sync can have a significant framerate hit even if you were getting over 60 fps before. The process of moving data in and out of the backbuffer has a significant impact on performance. For example your gpu needs to be able to draw significantly more than 60 fps (usually 90 fps or above) in order to maintain 60 fps with v-sync enabled.
Quote:Widescreen Hack
What it does:
Widens the Field of View(FOW) of the game
Advantage:
Widescreen gaming even if the game doesn't support 16:9(mainly for 3D GameCube games)
Disadvantage:
Aspect ratio has to be forced to 16:9. Glitches might appear in the new visible areas. Menu and HUD will most likely be stretched and loose their original aspect ratio. Huge hit on performance
First off you wrote "FOW" instead of "FOV". This does not have a huge impact on performance. It increases the pixel throughput needed by about 33% so the most fps you can possible lose is 25%. And as long as your gpu has enough pixel throughput (it usually does) their should be no performance lose whatsoever. Other than that last part about performance the rest is correct.
Quote:Enable CPU -> EFB access
What it does:
Allow the CPU to access the EFB cache, which is partially in charge of the graphics
Advantage:
Higher compatibility???
Disadvantage:
Performance lost???
Advantage: Certain EFB effects need this on to be rendered properly.
Disadvantage: Performance loss and a few games have graphical issues with this enabled.
I also noticed a lot of grammar errors but I know that if I pointed those out that would cross the line from helpful into annoying. You were probably just tired and/or in a rush so you can always go back and correct them later. Also since your about to write the sections for the graphics plugins keep in mind that many of the options work perfectly with many games but also screw up many games and therefore should only be used if that particular game needs it for something. Three examples of this that you have talked about already would be widescreen hack (works in certain games but causes problems in others), texture cache (needed in certain games but creates problems in others), and CPU-EFB access (needed for efb effects in certain games, creates problems in others). Try and get this point across if you can.
Also try and mention in the section for safe texture cache that each "level" safe, normal, fast has a different performance hit and chance of working and that you should use the fastest level that works with that particular game (some games only need fast, some need normal, very few need safe).
Once again, sorry to be so obsessive and nitpicking about this, I just want this to turn out near perfect so that we can turn it into a great help file (which is long overdue).
.