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Downsampling, a simple method for making your pc-games look better.
- Thread starter Corky
- Start date
Hope it works well
I've seen this, think I bumped into it in that guru3d downsampling thread but judging by other posters' results it didn't appear to be "all that" so I didn't jump aboard. But yeah, like others mentioned before the most ideal thing would be if there was a universal dsfix-esque solution where you could decide the render resolution yourself.
Sorry to hear, I myself never managed to downsample on my 2560x1440 monitor but there are people in this very thread who could, I wonder why you and me couldn't but they can.
Skyfireblaze
Member
Hmm what game did you try and was it in Fullscreen mode?
I see that's a bummer because I'm currently to lazy to downgrade my AMD drivers back to 12.11 only to get downsampling working
Is there any game where downsampling is really visually apparent so I can try SoftTH there and make a good comparison?Definitely, definitely, definitely Mirrors Edge.
I see that's a bummer because I'm currently to lazy to downgrade my AMD drivers back to 12.11 only to get downsampling working
Yeah I'll second mirrors edge but one of the games where I think downsampling truly shines is Darksiders ( in my case the 1st one as I haven't played Darksiders 2 ). The combination of lacking anykind of AA ( or even general pc-options ) and visuals that clearly suffer from aliasing results in a perfect game to showcase downsampling. The game has a distinct and "clean" artstyle where you benefit a lot of the AA from downsampling resulting in a surprisingly decent looking game on pc.
Although, now that I think of it - ironically enough - I think Darksiders was one of the few, handful of games where I had issues with downsampling in the sense that I couldn't choose a resolution higher than 2560x1440 due to the game's artificial limitations on resolution.
edit :
Ooh I figured out another game, Dead Space! That game lacks AA and works great with downsampling considering how gentle the game is on your rig.
Ooh I figured out another game, Dead Space! That game lacks AA and works great with downsampling considering how gentle the game is on your rig.
Did you do this with the injector or just regular downsampling?
I wish there were an injector that worked like DSfix - in that you could render at just about any resolution, but set the display resolution to 1080p so that the display didn't get all freaked out because of ridiculously high resolutions.
It's simpler than setting up all the SGSSAA stuff, even if SGSSAA is slightly better.
Just regular downsampling, ~2xOGSSAA ( 3670x2080 downsampled to 1080p ).
I've heard this a lot, seems like certain versions of fraps have this problem. Try the latest 3.5.9 fraps.
Same here, it won't even go to 2560x1441, lol
Well I'll be fucked! Changing cables, monitors, gpus - nothing made my setup go above 3680x2070 @ 59 Hz.
Remember when I said which driver you use matter? Well I tried the latest geforce beta drivers : 313.96 on a random whim ( not for downsampling purposes ) and as I mentioned in the OP your custom resolutions get erased when uninstalling and reinstalling drivers. So I was in the process of setting them up again and BAM...I finally managed to capture my white whale. 4k@60Hz.
Would love if it turned out to work for others as well, so go ahead and try the above resolution + timings and see if it works for you using the 313.96 beta drivers.
Remember when I said which driver you use matter? Well I tried the latest geforce beta drivers : 313.96 on a random whim ( not for downsampling purposes ) and as I mentioned in the OP your custom resolutions get erased when uninstalling and reinstalling drivers. So I was in the process of setting them up again and BAM...I finally managed to capture my white whale. 4k@60Hz.
Would love if it turned out to work for others as well, so go ahead and try the above resolution + timings and see if it works for you using the 313.96 beta drivers.
paperspace
Member
These timings have been working for me since ~390.10 (with a 670 2GB)
paperspace
Member
Those 4k settings are working for me too! I've been trying to get that resolution to work for ages, so thanks for that!
Fantastic. I'll give it a try in a little bit.
Well I'll be fucked! Changing cables, monitors, gpus - nothing made my setup go above 3680x2070 @ 59 Hz.
Remember when I said which driver you use matter? Well I tried the latest geforce beta drivers : 313.96 on a random whim ( not for downsampling purposes ) and as I mentioned in the OP your custom resolutions get erased when uninstalling and reinstalling drivers. So I was in the process of setting them up again and BAM...I finally managed to capture my white whale. 4k@60Hz.
Would love if it turned out to work for others as well, so go ahead and try the above resolution + timings and see if it works for you.
Bookmarked for when I upgrade my card. Great work man.
Do anyone know a way for me to get 2840*1620 to work with my TV?
I have the following;
First screen is a 1080p for the computer that I can go up to 2880*1620 in downsampling
The second screen is my TV (1080p) and is hocked with a HDMI from my Nvidia 670-card, first to the receiver and then another one from the receiver to the tv.
I have the both screens on mirroring the computer screen.
The problem I have is when I go and set a custom resolution in the nvidia controll panel for the TV at 2840*1620 its greyed out. You cant press on it.
I have set both the screen and the tv to GPU-scaling.
Is there some way you can "ungrey" this button?
I have the following;
First screen is a 1080p for the computer that I can go up to 2880*1620 in downsampling
The second screen is my TV (1080p) and is hocked with a HDMI from my Nvidia 670-card, first to the receiver and then another one from the receiver to the tv.
I have the both screens on mirroring the computer screen.
The problem I have is when I go and set a custom resolution in the nvidia controll panel for the TV at 2840*1620 its greyed out. You cant press on it.
I have set both the screen and the tv to GPU-scaling.
Is there some way you can "ungrey" this button?
therealminime
Member
Finally got around to replacing my dead GTX 580 with a 680 and gave Battlefield 3 a run. 60fps at 3200 x 1800. Glorious.
I'm not quite sure downsampling works while using a dual-monitor setup.
Lostconfused
Member
It works. But I haven't tried anything higher than a 2880x1800 on a Dell u2412m. Extended desktop though, and both are computer monitors. The receiver probably has something to do with the problem.
Ah thanks for clarifying.
Fffuuuuuuuu it actually works!!!
seems to do a number on my mouse sensitivity in some games
Vincent Alexander
Member
God, I need my new computer built already....I keep getting stuck in the "new stuff is right around the corner!" or "prices are about to drop" mindset and never upgrade. Still rocking a Q6600 rig from 4 years ago.
it worked for me too, well done corky
Works for me as well. Huzzah!
Well I'll be fucked! Changing cables, monitors, gpus - nothing made my setup go above 3680x2070 @ 59 Hz.
Remember when I said which driver you use matter? Well I tried the latest geforce beta drivers : 313.96 on a random whim ( not for downsampling purposes ) and as I mentioned in the OP your custom resolutions get erased when uninstalling and reinstalling drivers. So I was in the process of setting them up again and BAM...I finally managed to capture my white whale. 4k@60Hz.
Would love if it turned out to work for others as well, so go ahead and try the above resolution + timings and see if it works for you using the 313.96 beta drivers.
Worked for me thanks!!
tried windows with it, everything so small!! lol
I think it's working, just not having the same screen as the OP is worrying though.
Mine just looks like this...
Would I just create a custom resolution as I did above and apply it, then set the same resolution in the game I'm playing? As you can see from my image there is no way for me to set the scaling mode.
Mine just looks like this...
Would I just create a custom resolution as I did above and apply it, then set the same resolution in the game I'm playing? As you can see from my image there is no way for me to set the scaling mode.
I can't get 3840x2400 to work, myself. The highest I can get my u2412m to go is 2880x1800
I wish more games supported in-game downsampling like planetside 2, so that this wouldn't be an issue. Here's a 4k shot from it downsampled to 1200p
The scaling options are in the "adjust desktop size and position" tree
After you set that then you just select the resolution in the game options menu, yes. You don't set that resolution via windows.
I wish more games supported in-game downsampling like planetside 2, so that this wouldn't be an issue. Here's a 4k shot from it downsampled to 1200p
The scaling options are in the "adjust desktop size and position" tree
After you set that then you just select the resolution in the game options menu, yes. You don't set that resolution via windows.
I haven't made any changes other than the resolution so I'm guessing it's still full RGB unless it's bugged for me as well. But I'm not using HDMI-HDMI so I might be exempt from the bug.
Well, pretty darn powerful - can't think of many single gpu solutions that beat the 680 ;p . The titan will when it comes out.
I just thought that I should post this here in-case someone is trying to get 2160p with Asus VG236H. This is with the latest nvidia drivers and a GTX 460.
Any reason why you have so high total pixels values? I was under the impression that any "pixel" over "active pixels" wouldn't display.
it worked for me too, well done corky
Huzzahs are in order, great to see it being so simple seems like most of you who tried it got it to work. Maybe we've finally cracked this downsampling mystery
Saint Gregory
Member
I've been wanting to do this for a long time but on my first attempt I realized that my default pixel clock was already close to the threshold because of my 120hz monitor.
I may try to see if I can make it work at 60hz. I never looked into it but I think the trade off would be worth it.
I may try to see if I can make it work at 60hz. I never looked into it but I think the trade off would be worth it.
Great thread, explanations, tutorials, and all! Hats off to you Corky!
This is one of the preferred methods devs use to spice up a semi-bullshot screen for marketing. (Lots of devs have this functionality built into their tools, super easy to access without all the custom settings fuss... Screenshots is why.)
This is one of the preferred methods devs use to spice up a semi-bullshot screen for marketing. (Lots of devs have this functionality built into their tools, super easy to access without all the custom settings fuss... Screenshots is why.)
I might now how to do what you're asking, but I'd need you to clarify because the wording is a little confusing.
- I have an HDTV with a native screen resolution of 1080p
- Nvidia 3D requires the game to be displayed at a resolution of 720p
I would like to render at 1080p or higher and display at 720p (downsample).
The instructions in this thread are designed for downsampling to your native resolution. I want to downsample to an even lower than my native resolution.
Hopefully that is clearer! Thanks.
If i go under 3500, it fails the resolution test.
Those settings are the default settings, I'm not sure whether they pertain to 1080p itself or to my monitor but judging by others success with them I doubt they're settings that are somehow 'locked' to my monitor model.
I see, interesting, haha that does sound weird though.
Perhaps it may be by card? I have a 570 and a 1080p monitor, while all of you seem to have 680's.
Nah doubt monitor timings variables are directly related to the gpu. Could be wrong, as always pulling this straight out my ass.
JoeyJungle
Banned
Sorry if this has already been asked, but I read the OP and didn't understand exactly why this work. Can someone explain it to me? If you're monitor is 1920x1080, and you're pushing the image out at twice that resolution and then downsampling it to 1920x1080, why is it not the same as displaying it at a normal 1920x1080 resolution? Intuitively this seems like it should be like doing 1 * 2 = 2 -> 2/2 = 1, but what's actually happeing is 1 * 2 = 2 -> 2/2 = 1.5 which makes no sense to me.
GHG
Gold Member
In a normal situation, when rendering at 1080p, everything is being rendered with that resolution in mind - assets, models, textures, etc. This in itself creates minor anomalies which means a decrease in image quality. These can be overcome somewhat with solutions such as AA and AF but never perfectly.
With downsampling, you render everything at a much larger resolution than 1080p and then shrink it down. The anomalies are still there, just that you can't see them anymore because they are shrunk down to such a degree that they are no longer visable.
Mathematically:
Normal rendering: 1 * 1 = 1 -> 1/1 = 1
Downsampling: 1 * 4 = 4 -> 4/4 = 1
The input is larger (better quality) but the outcome size is the same.
jediyoshi
Member
The very nature of the source image being rendered at a higher resolution before being downsampled back to your monitor's resolution is where the benefit comes from. Same reason why rendering an image at a lower resolution and then enlarging it would produce a different image, there's no baseline quality getting reset back to at any of these references.
JoeyJungle
Banned
Thanks for the replies GHG and jediyoshi, I still didn't totally understand why it was working though. I found this explanation here that basically explains the whole process.
I couldn't understand how you could choose an output resolution higher than your native resolution, and then reduce it to your native resolution and have it appear to be so much nice, because you end up with the same amount of pixels as you would have just by displaying the image at your native resolution. The reason for this is that when the image is being reduced to your native resolution, and anti-aliasing algorithm is being applied to make the resolution conversion/reduction. The algorithm takes 4 pixels and averages the color of them and displays that color-averaged pixel in the final image, and that's why there appears to be less jaggies in the image that gets sent to your monitor.
Thanks for the help, it all makes sense to me now
I couldn't understand how you could choose an output resolution higher than your native resolution, and then reduce it to your native resolution and have it appear to be so much nice, because you end up with the same amount of pixels as you would have just by displaying the image at your native resolution. The reason for this is that when the image is being reduced to your native resolution, and anti-aliasing algorithm is being applied to make the resolution conversion/reduction. The algorithm takes 4 pixels and averages the color of them and displays that color-averaged pixel in the final image, and that's why there appears to be less jaggies in the image that gets sent to your monitor.
Thanks for the help, it all makes sense to me now