Question(s) About Fullscreen Resolution And Image Quality

xhunter

When I swap between fullscreen and maximized window size, the difference in image quality is pretty noticeable. Does the difference in game screen size between fullscreen and maximized when running the highest resolution of the retina display (the equivalent of 1920x1200) really cause things to look significantly blurrier when in fullscreen? While it isn't serious, it is a bit jarring when I swap to maximized for a minute or two and notice how much sharper the image is.

Also, I noticed my game defaults to 1440x900 when fullscreen, but I have the option for 1680x1050. Any reason I shouldn't use 1680x1050?

alenae1b14_ESO

Try setting your computer's font to default, that allowed me to change my ESO game resolution.

xhunter

alenae1b14_ESO wrote: »

Try setting your computer's font to default, that allowed me to change my ESO game resolution.

That wasn't what I was going for. I was just wondering why going from maximized to fullscreen reduces the game image quality (blurrier) when the game screen size isn't changing that much. I was also wondering if there is any reason I shouldn't use 1680x1050 when the game defaults to 1440x900 in fullscreen.

Moonraker

xhunter wrote: »

When I swap between fullscreen and maximized window size, the difference in image quality is pretty noticeable. Does the difference in game screen size between fullscreen and maximized when running the highest resolution of the retina display (the equivalent of 1920x1200) really cause things to look significantly blurrier when in fullscreen? While it isn't serious, it is a bit jarring when I swap to maximized for a minute or two and notice how much sharper the image is.

Also, I noticed my game defaults to 1440x900 when fullscreen, but I have the option for 1680x1050. Any reason I shouldn't use 1680x1050?

The Mac client limits it to 1440x900 because running it at the the highest scaled setting would put very heavy load on a graphics card which is not designed to do so in intensive action games and equally the increased heat generation which is a real potential problem with the MBP. Apple recommend this in their own kb article:

My application wants to take over the screen and use it own resolution settings. Which setting works best?

If you are setting the resolution from inside an application (for example, when adjusting settings in a 3D game), try the 1440 x 900 resolution first. You can experiment with additional resolution settings from there.

The higher scaled resolution was removed as an option to reflect this. it is still scaled x2 pixels (from memory) and should look good still. Not sure on the other resolution. In the Retina display is is scaling resolution rather than normal native resolution. Try it

The Mac client has proper Fullscreen and why the Vsync works but you always want that switched OFF as it will cap FPS being double buffering. PC isn't yet.
In Windowed or Maximised which is not also a true Maximised window mode on the Mac as it shows the menu bar etc. In windowed it is using the screen setting I assume and why it is sharper. What is the FPS difference from one ot the other?

xhunter

If it is best at 1440x900, I'll leave it at that. Don't want to overload the graphics card.

My current settings:
V-sync - Off
AA - On
Texture - High
SubSampling - High
Shadow - Off
Water Reflection - Off
Particle Density - Medium
View Distance - 30
Ambient Occlusion - Off
Bloom - Off
Depth of Field - On
Distortion - Off
Sunlight Rays - Off
Grass - Off

In Vulkhel Guard, I typically get between 30-40fps windowed and 50-60fps fullscreen. But windowed gives me a sharper/clearer picture compared to fullscreen. It is especially noticeable when looking at the edges of my character or trees/bushes.

Moonraker

xhunter wrote: »

If it is best at 1440x900, I'll leave it at that. Don't want to overload the graphics card.

My current settings:
V-sync - Off
AA - On
Texture - High
SubSampling - High
Shadow - Off
Water Reflection - Off
Particle Density - Medium
View Distance - 30
Ambient Occlusion - Off
Bloom - Off
Depth of Field - On
Distortion - Off
Sunlight Rays - Off
Grass - Off

In Vulkhel Guard, I typically get between 30-40fps windowed and 50-60fps fullscreen. But windowed gives me a sharper/clearer picture compared to fullscreen. It is especially noticeable when looking at the edges of my character or trees/bushes.

Look all about right. How is the heat with maxed window over extended play?

If the display is set for Best then it will be sharper as you have double the pixels again. Once you go in crowded places like AvA I think you'll find it will be really dropping in both but especially in windowed. But I don't have one myself to test (shame )

DoF I find pretty rubbish myself and saves a few FPS. If you get memory crash you need to set Texture Quality to Medium. I find it's actually pretty good even at Medium but don't need to set it down with my setup. For Cyrodiil I will for sure.

xhunter

I haven't had any crashes yet with my settings and find that DoF doesn't affect my fps one way or the other. I have my Retina display resolution set to the highest (1920x1200) because I like all the extra space I get. I know it doesn't look as pretty as the 4x pixel density of the "best" setting, but that doesn't bug me.

I don't have my app installed yet that I use to monitor heat as this is a relatively new laptop for me, but the fans don't seem to ever hit max based on fan noise and they aren't constantly running at a high enough speed to hear them. I do think windowed gets them going more, though.

The only thing I can figure out with the quality discrepancy between maximized windowed and fullscreen is that with windowed it is matching the Retina display resolution I have it set to and with fullscreen it is 1440x900 (which makes it look blurrier than 1920x1080).

Moonraker

xhunter wrote: »

I haven't had any crashes yet with my settings and find that DoF doesn't affect my fps one way or the other. I have my Retina display resolution set to the highest (1920x1200) because I like all the extra space I get. I know it doesn't look as pretty as the 4x pixel density of the "best" setting, but that doesn't bug me.

I don't have my app installed yet that I use to monitor heat as this is a relatively new laptop for me, but the fans don't seem to ever hit max based on fan noise and they aren't constantly running at a high enough speed to hear them. I do think windowed gets them going more, though.

The only thing I can figure out with the quality discrepancy between maximized windowed and fullscreen is that with windowed it is matching the Retina display resolution I have it set to and with fullscreen it is 1440x900 (which makes it look blurrier than 1920x1080).

Yep it will run at the display scaled setting when windowed. Why it looks better. I see now that it is set down from best and explains why it is not melting the MBP

If you do want to try temperature to watch and also option to set fans for cooling then the reviews for Mac Fan Control look good currently and it's free. But if you don't have any issue then it's good to leave it alone too. I just like to monitor heat especially GPU.

xhunter

Moonraker wrote: »

Yep it will run at the display scaled setting when windowed. Why it looks better. I see now that it is set down from best and explains why it is not melting the MBP

If you do want to try temperature to watch and also option to set fans for cooling then the reviews for Mac Fan Control look good currently and it's free. But if you don't have any issue then it's good to leave it alone too. I just like to monitor heat especially GPU.

I use iStat Menus because it lets me monitor a whole lot of stuff all in one place. I can even set fan speeds and such with it.

Everything seems to be working just fine, my laptop hasn't melted, and the game looks pretty enough for me so I am not going to mess with any settings.

When I play tomorrow, I'll make a note of the different temps when playing windowed vs fullscreen and report back. I think the highest temperature I've ever noted on a MacBook pro is about 185F on the CPU when playing a game.

Moonraker

xhunter wrote: »

Moonraker wrote: »

Yep it will run at the display scaled setting when windowed. Why it looks better. I see now that it is set down from best and explains why it is not melting the MBP

If you do want to try temperature to watch and also option to set fans for cooling then the reviews for Mac Fan Control look good currently and it's free. But if you don't have any issue then it's good to leave it alone too. I just like to monitor heat especially GPU.

I use iStat Menus because it lets me monitor a whole lot of stuff all in one place. I can even set fan speeds and such with it.

Everything seems to be working just fine, my laptop hasn't melted, and the game looks pretty enough for me so I am not going to mess with any settings.

When I play tomorrow, I'll make a note of the different temps when playing windowed vs fullscreen and report back. I think the highest temperature I've ever noted on a MacBook pro is about 185F on the CPU when playing a game.

Ah cool. iStat Menus is great just costs but worth it

I would be interested to see results.

xhunter

Moonraker wrote: »

Ah cool. iStat Menus is great just costs but worth it

I would be interested to see results.

So, it would appear that fullscreen (despite what appears to be running at a lower resolution) has the CPU and GPU running 10-12F (in the low 190s) higher than windowed. The fans didn't seem to reach full speed, though. I could crank the fans all the way up if I chose, but the laptop seems to be doing just fine even when the CPU and GPU are up in the low 190s.

Moonraker

xhunter wrote: »

Moonraker wrote: »

Ah cool. iStat Menus is great just costs but worth it

I would be interested to see results.

So, it would appear that fullscreen (despite what appears to be running at a lower resolution) has the CPU and GPU running 10-12F (in the low 190s) higher than windowed. The fans didn't seem to reach full speed, though. I could crank the fans all the way up if I chose, but the laptop seems to be doing just fine even when the CPU and GPU are up in the low 190s.

Funny when I read temps like that and remind myself we use centigrade here and my heart slows a bit

Seems all is where it should be. Good to hear. Thanks for the details. When the ambient temperature goes up and over extended play things can change and why, at least for a test period, I like to monitor them. I have to say the latest iMac 27 inch (late 2013) is the best for cooling and quietest I have ever had.

xhunter

Moonraker wrote: »

Funny when I read temps like that and remind myself we use centigrade here and my heart slows a bit

Seems all is where it should be. Good to hear. Thanks for the details. When the ambient temperature goes up and over extended play things can change and why, at least for a test period, I like to monitor them. I have to say the latest iMac 27 inch (late 2013) is the best for cooling and quietest I have ever had.

Heh, I thought about converting them to C, but decided against it. :P

I'll have to watch air flow proximity temperature to see how high that gets to make sure the computer isn't pulling in the hot air it is putting out. I'll also watch the CPU and GPU proximity temperatures for fun. The new designs for the fans in the latest MacBook Pros are really nice. Nowhere near as loud as they used to be.