Resolution VS Quality: Impact on Game Performance

What affects game performance? Clarity or Details?

By Ashley on November 26, 2018

Resolution VS Quality: Impact on a Game’s Performance

A heated discussion has always imploded between players when it comes to resolution versus the quality of a game. Almost every player has his or her own preference. However, one thing that we all agree with is that performance is always the key to a great gaming experience. A thing that may slip your mind is the fact that resolution and gaming quality go hand in hand. Besides, even the slightest tweak in the display setting can have an effect on the performance outcome. Therefore, here is a write-up that will discuss the performance quality impacts, caused due to the different resolution configurations.

High Resolution and Low Quality

While considering the high resolution and low quality graphics setting; here are some of the differences, that you will be able to notice during a gaming session.

1. High visual quality

When a player opts for a high-resolution configuration like Ultra, they are able to enjoy life-like visual quality. In games like Call of Duty, Middle Earth or The Witcher 3, the resolution improvement is around 5% to 8%.

2. Low FPS rate

Since your hardware resources are mainly being utilized for keeping up with the high resolution, performance is compromised to a great extent and thus a high-resolution setting can drop your FPS by almost 30%.

3. Depends on the GPU

A high-resolution PC game setting requires extensive use of your GPU. It is because the display or resolution setting has everything to do with the graphics component of the hardware. It can even result in bottlenecks, due to over processing.

Low Resolution and High Quality

The low resolution and high quality combination gives out a more stable gaming experience. Here are some of the features that you can expect to see with a similar graphics configuration.

1. Low visual quality

Whether it is low or a medium graphics configuration, the display or resolution quality is comparatively dull. This can be affected further depending on factors like screen size, viewing distance, as well as the aspect ratio.

2. High FPS rate

Whenever the resolution is set to low, performance of the hardware automatically increases. In other words, your system is able to produce a higher Frames-per-Second rate, which allows you to enjoy speed. For some games, the refresh rate is a critical element. Thus, this combination is ideally preferred.

3. Depends on GPU and CPU

Unlike a high resolution and low quality setting, this combination depends on both GPU as well as CPU. It utilizes both the aspects of your hardware and does not put the pressure of extensive processing on the same. To put it across simply, you would need to have a decent specification for your hardware, especially CPU and GPU.

Which combination is better?

1. Single Player Games

For a single player, both options can be good. It completely depends on the speed of the game as well as your personal preference. Therefore, in our opinion, if you want to play games like City Builders and Strategies, then a higher resolution would be a great choice. It is because these games do not require a higher refresh rate.

2. Multiplayer Games

In the case of multiplayer games, you may want to consider a lower resolution. The fast phase of these games makes it critical to have a good FPS rate. By opting for a low-resolution configuration, your hardware will be able to perform better. Overall, choosing between the resolution quality and performance is up to a player. Thus, making a decision based on your gaming experience goals is the ideal solution.