Graphics cards: rBAR, general tuning and market overview

Graphics cards

Today's special is all about graphics cards. We are also looking at the topic of "resizable BAR" or rBAR, which has been more and more in discussion around graphics cards for many weeks. We clarify what exactly rBAR is, what it brings and who can use it and how. We'll also give some general game tuning tips, covering things like graphics presets, anti-aliasing, and the resolution used.

Table of Contents

Page 1 Graphics Cards: Graphics Tuning and Presets 1.1 Graphics tuning and graphics cards 1.2 Fluid gaming 1.3 Testing graphics presets Page 2 Graphics cards: Anti-Aliasing 2.1 Anti-Aliasing Page 3 Graphics cards: Resolution and resizable BAR 3.1 Resolution as a solution 3.2 Resizable BAR (rBAR) 3.3 DLSS Page 4 Graphics cards: current market and Overview 4.1 Current market situation Page 5 Image gallery for "Graphics cards: rBAR, general tuning and market overview" Expand

Graphics tuning and graphics cards

Finally, we will also look at the current graphics card market, which is still under supply and the associated price increases suffers, so that one has to pay significantly more "per FPS" for months than in autumn 2020. We'll start with general tips on graphics tuning.

Smooth gaming

3D games need a certain amount of computing power to run smoothly. "Fluid" means FPS values ​​(FPS = frames per second) from around 30. It is important that it is always at least 25 FPS even with an average value of 30 FPS - some users only perceive a graphic at values ​​well over 30 FPS as fluid.

Example: The extended graphics options in Tomb Raider Source: PC Games Hardware For slow games, of course, high FPS are not as important as for fast games - in an online shooter, many people use 60 FPS for themselves as a minimum value, whereas in a game like Civilization it is hardly noticeable if you have a little less than 30 FPS. Since PCs are of different strengths, there is almost always the possibility in 3D games to adjust the graphic details yourself. For example, if you have a six to seven year old, meanwhile weak PC, you can still enjoy the game smoothly with many brand new games if you accept that the graphics look more like the state of five years ago. We come to the simplest way of adapting the graphics to the PC in the next section.

Testing graphics presets

The easiest way to reconcile a game and your PC at the mix of game optics and FPS values, it is natural to simply try out the preset modes in the graphics options of a game. Virtually every game has at least three modes for graphic detail: Low, Medium, and High. Especially with more complex games there is also an ultra mode, and levels such as "very low" and "very high" are often available. If the mode that is active by default after the first start of the game does not jerk (i.e. you have enough FPS available), then test the mode that is one level higher. The other way around, of course: If it stutters, select a lower mode. As soon as you have found the mode in which it does not jerk, you can also raise some sub-items individually by one notch in the advanced graphics settings.

Because there you can often find things such as texture quality, the variety of objects or set the quality of the shadow calculation separately. With all submenus and also the default settings, you should select a higher graphic quality until the game starts to stutter. Users who not only want "no stuttering" but rather a minimum level of FPS, of course, look to their desired value for the FPS and not to ensure that the game is still running smoothly. Because there are definitely players who (especially in fast multiplayer games) prefer to accept weaker graphics, but always have at least 60 FPS available. Via the GeForce Experience included in the driver packages, Nvidia also offers a function in which presets are available for many games, so that you no longer have to manipulate the game options.

These presets are based on those of a number of gamers use graphics settings and promise to activate a setting suitable for your PC. Many players still prefer to adjust the details on their own. In general, it is important to install the latest drivers anyway, regardless of whether they are for AMD or Nvidia graphics cards. Other drivers such as those for the mainboard should also be up-to-date. The anti-aliasing, which can often be set separately, eats up a lot of performance in the graphics options. More about this on the next page.

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