Frames per second - What is good?

First off, total noob questions: Higher ping causes lower fps (lag), right? If you are just playing by yourself (no internet), I am correct in saying that there is no "ping", right?....in this case how good your graphics card is will purely determine your fps, right? The graphics card determines both the amount of detail you see in the game's graphics, and the fps, right?


So how many fps do you consider a smooth play? Not just enough to make the game "playable," but to actually produce a near-seamless experience.

 

Ping is how long it takes a packet to go from your computer to the destination (server) (in miliseconds). This is only for network play (over a lan or over the internet). For example you can type in the command prompt "ping google.com" and it will send 4 packets and let you know how long they took to get there. You want this time to be as small, which is also faster, as possible. The faster it is the quicker your game will get updated on the other characters positions and yours as well and other things going on in the game. If it is too long, (or high of a number) you will notice lag. This is because the information is taking much longer to get to you which results in your eye being able to detect the lag.

I believe you eye can see at 60fps. This is the number you want to shot for at a minimum to see the smoothest game play. Anything higher and you wont notice it, but anything under and you will.

As for the graphic card question, it does determine the amount of detail you see in the games graphics, and results in fps, however there are other factors that are involved in that is well like your processor, your memory, your chipset etc. But the largest (usually) factor in fps gameplay is the graphics card.

 

Higher ping does not cause lower fps, it just causes jittery jumps in the game because it is taking a longer time for your position to be refreshed. If you are not playing on the internet or through LAN, you can disregard ping. Even with high ping, your fps is still determined by your system's power, not by the ping. For me, 25+ fps is playable but it really depends on the game. For Crysis, even 20+ is pretty smooth, but for something like Race Driver GRID I need at least 40.

 

40-60 FPS - playable
125+ FPS - seamless, as it accounts for overdraw and things that will drop your FPS down a lot without you noticing. I don't play any online games with less than 100FPS steady.

 

depends on the game and how it was designed and coded..

there are a few games that look totally smooth a 18 fps.. and some that are choppy at 50 fps

thought the majority of games will be smooth at 30+

 

i have noticed in some games that Ping actually affects FPS. like UT3 for instance... when Offline i get an average of 75FPS on certain maps, while online, and due to my slow connection, i drop to 40s

 

Most RTS games are fine between 20-30, andthing else I would need atleast 40.

 

whats the difference between fps and lag? wouldn't high ping, mean high lag, therefore low frames per second?

 

high ping is network lag. you wont get low frames but you will get stuttering.

 

Lag affects all games differently. A game can be lagging 100% ie no one else is moving, but you still are and your computer is getting 60fps still while you are totally lagging.

 

Rocksteady 30fps with a nice motionblur is good enough for me. Look at Crysis or Bioshock and Halo3 on Xbox360.

 

Ok, so unless you have one of the very few monitors that actually has a refresh rate over 59/60, 60FPS with v-sync on will be indistinguishable (aside from the adverse effects of tearing) from 6000FPS. Don't let anyone tell you different. Second, 60FPS is really more than you need for smooth viewing. Movies run at 24FPS, and TV (in the US) runs at 30FPS. Some people can pick things up at those FPSes, but 30+ is more than enough for 99% of people.

 

yeah. if your monitor can only display 60 frames per second, anything more will not be displayed. you do not need 100 frames per second. for most games, 30+ frames per second is fine. for really "twitchy" games like counter strike or ut3, a higher framerate is better.

there are two distinct things we are talking about here. "Lag and ping" is one. "Choppiness and low framerate" is the other.

Lag and ping are network phenomenon only. If you have a slow internet connection, you may have a low ping. You may, in turn, experience lag. Lag can be expressed to you in a variety of ways: you may see other players "warping" around, you may find yourself unable to move, and warp around yourself. however, you will notice that the animations and motions will still be smooth, as your frame rate should be unaffected.

frame rate is a separate issue. this is a direct consequence of how much computer power you have. higher framerates make motion seem more fluid. lower framerates make motion seem choppier. this will remain true whether you are online or not, and whether or not you have a decent network connection.

you might feel as though the gameplay is slightly choppy whether online or offline, but no one seems to be warping around. that is a framerate problem.

you might feel as though the gameplay motions and animations are fluid, but you find yourself getting "stuck" or others warping around. that is a network issue, low ping.

if you have both of these issues, then you have both network issues and framerate issues, but they are separate.