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If you like PC games, there is a chance that at some point you have had problems with your graphics card. This is because new titles are becoming more and more demanding on your GPU.
Fortunately, there is a way to still enjoy beautiful textures even with your old shitty paper.
We tell you all about what anti-aliasing is!
What is smoothing?
To better understand what smoothing is, you need to know the term “aliasing”.
is the effect of distortion in an image or video due to lower resolution or limited frame rate. As a result, the edges of the object may appear offset or videos may not play smoothly.
On the other hand, anti-aliasing uses a variety of techniques to correct those “jaggedness”. This will make the entire image softer, making it more pleasing to the eye.
So is smoothing okay?
It strictly depends on your team.
This is because, while it will improve your gaming experience, some types of AA use a lot of memory. Therefore, it will have a negative impact on the performance of your PC. Also, some of them can make the game unplayable.
Now that you’ve learned what smoothing is, we’ll show you how it actually works.
What does smoothing do?
First, you need to know how computer graphics work.
Basically, most video games are 3D, but our monitor can only produce a 2D image. This 2D image is generated by the GPU drawing it. However, sometimes these images are too difficult to draw, and the result is a pixelated object with jagged edges.
Images displayed on a monitor are drawn by rows of joined pixels. Everything is fine as long as these lines are horizontal and vertical. However, if you draw a diagonal line, it will become jagged. This is because the shape of the pixels is square or rectangular.
This is where this technology plays its part.
What is smoothing for?
Needed samples the surrounding area and fills in the gaps near the edges with similar pixels. Then create a smooth diagonal line by blending the colors of the adjacent pixels.
Now let’s dive into the different types of smoothing to further enhance your knowledge.
Types of smoothing
If you’re an avid gamer, you probably know that there are various forms of AA. However, you may not know what these abbreviations mean.
Fortunately, we’re here to help you define the different smoothing options.
Here is the short version:
- Increased sample rate (used in MSAA, SSAA)
- Edge blur/contrast (used in MLAA, FXAA and SMAA).
Let’s take a closer look at each type.
spatial smoothing
These types of smoothing work by making the image a higher resolution and then resizing it.
At the highest resolution, it samples color from the new pixels and then reduces the image to its original resolution. This process gives each original pixel a new color.
Supersample Smoothing (SSAA)
This is the most effective way. However, you need to have a very powerful PC to process it.
You are using a larger number of samples of each pixel. Also, the color is calculated using the values ​​it contains. This results in the pixels having a mixture of their own colors.
SSAA antialiasing is probably the best form of AA. This is because, due to the higher sampling rate, the textures become sharper and clearer. Also, there is no blur effect.
The only downside is that it uses a lot of your PC’s resources. Often only multi-GPU machines can cope.
Multi-sampling anti-aliasing (MSAA)
When a GPU renders an image, it draws two things:
- The polygon, which is the outline of an object.
- The texture, with which you fill the polygon.
MSAA reduces the resources required compared to SSAA. What MSAA is doing to accomplish this is just scanning the edges of the polygons and increasing the number of samples there.
This AA can create high-fidelity images using multiple samples of just two pixels. In this way, it reduces the time it takes to display a good image, thus balancing performance and quality.
The advantage is that it will use less resources, however, you can still see pixelated images.
Coverage Sampling Anti-Aliasing (CSAA) / Enhanced Quality Anti-Aliasing (EQAA)
Well-known GPU manufacturers Nvidia and AMD have created their own smoothing methods. They both work the same way.
Using these methods, the GPU detects if there is a polygon in the image. It then determines which parts of this polygon are most likely to be “jagged” and oversample only those pixels.
It is an efficient way to smooth the image because it only scans parts of it. It also uses significantly less processing power to run.
TXAA (Temporal Smoothing)
This is one of the best and most complex anti-aliasing methods. It is designed to eliminate glare that is most noticeable on the move.
It collects information from current and past frames to create a clearer image on the current frame. Each pixel is sampled once at a different position within it. Pixels from the previous and current frames are then merged to produce a smooth image.
DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling)
This is an innovative anti-aliasing mode invented by Nvidia that tries to increase your frame rates.
It does this by rendering the image at a lower resolution than it is displayed to reduce stress on the GPU. It then upscales it to its native resolution using deep learning technology.
In this way the frames are sharper, making them more attractive at the original resolution. Also, it boosts the frame rate and gives you a lag-free experience.
Post Process Smoothing
It works by slightly blurring each pixel after rendering. The GPU determines where the edge of the polygon is by comparing the color contrast between pixels.
These are quick and inexpensive methods of removing unevenness, but due to blurring, images can appear very blurry.
FXAA (fast anti-aliasing)
This post-process AA uses blur filters to soften the image. The way it does this is by analyzing all the pixels in a fraction of a millisecond. Every time it detects an artificial edge, it softens it.
This is arguably the best anti-aliasing method for low-end PCs because it’s not very demanding on the GPU. This is because it smooths the 2D image, rather than the 3D geometry of the objects.
However, the downside of this technology is that it can blur textures.
MLAA (morphological anti-aliasing)
It works by finding predetermined patterns in the image or discontinuities in the pixels. It is not very demanding because it mixes the pixels and blurs the image.
However, as you know, this results in a very blurry image. Also, the effect is worse than FXAA.
SMAA (Subpixel Morphological Smoothing)
It is similar to FXAA but it also detects edges and is easier to see. This is because it reduces the blur effect, which is the downside of the two mentioned above.
The detection method is more similar to MSAA than MLAA. The result is a sharper image with reduced power consumption.
Now that you’ve learned a bit about each type, let me help you decide which smoothing to use.
What smoothing should I use?
Choosing between different smoothing settings can be difficult. Although SSAA provides the best quality, it is expensive in terms of resources used.
Therefore, turning smoothing on or off largely depends on several factors.
- How challenging are your games?
- How powerful is your team?
- Which features do you prefer to be sharp and which ones jagged?
Let me help you decide with a brief explanation.
If you have a PC with:
- Less than 8GB of RAM
- Moderate GPU and CPU
- integrated graphics card
You may need to use SMAA or CSAA because they require less computing power. This will help you run games at optimal speeds without compromising quality.
If your computer is equipped with:
- Moderate CPU and GPU
- dedicated graphics card
- More than 8GB of RAM
- good cooling system
So you may want to use SMAA, MLAA or FXAA and MSAA. However, you should try them out a couple of times so you can find out what works best for you. Even if your computer isn’t that bad, it’s still not a game.
Finally, if your PC is a real gaming setup that has these components:
- A CPU and GPU optimized for gaming
- Dedicated Graphics
- 8GB or higher
- Perfect game cooling.
This means you can run SSAA, TXAA, and MSAA with little or no problem.
I hope this explanation sheds more light on what types of smoothing you should choose.
Why is it important in games?
Over the last decade, screen resolution has increased to levels where pixels have become nearly invisible. You have to get very close to the monitor to spot them. This made using anti-aliasing in games an unnecessary memory drain.
However, few game titles offer high resolutions and this could be a problem. This is because your screen is getting bigger, but your game resolution has stayed the same.
And as we already know, if the resolution of the game does not match the big screen, you will start to notice the pixels. So anti-aliasing could prove crucial to your overall gaming experience. It not only affects the graphics of the game but also improves your skills as it improves your vision.
conclusion
Since its invention, the use of AA technology has become imminent. Because of how computer graphics worked, it was difficult at the time to produce a sharp, attractive image. This is why the graphics of the old game were far from perfect, to say the least.
The implementation of different types of smoothing made the gaming experience more realistic. Also, it allowed people with low-spec equipment to enjoy stunning visuals.
However, this feature could be very expensive in terms of performance. So if you’re wondering whether you should use FXAA or SSAA smoothing, check your machine’s capabilities.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS.
What does smoothing actually do?
All types of anti-aliasing are designed to remove sharp edges on game objects, also known as “jagged.”
Should I turn smoothing on or off?
If your artwork looks fine without it and you have a high-resolution monitor, you should consider turning it off. While some types can further improve your textures, they could drastically affect performance.
Is anti-aliasing good for FPS?
As AA improves visual quality, it further increases the load on the GPU. Therefore using it will have a negative impact on your FPS.
Is anti-aliasing good for graphics?
Yes! All its forms improve your graphic quality. Also, SMAA smoothing doesn’t affect performance much either.
Does anti-aliasing cause lag?
AA is tied to FPS, so using it too much can cause some input lag. However, this is unlikely to happen, and if it does, it will be almost unnoticeable.
What is temporal smoothing?
It is a form of spatial smoothing that eliminates unevenness, which is more noticeable in motion. It uses very complex techniques that combine pixels to create a clear image.
What is the best smoothing?
If you have a high-end computer, SSAA smoothing will be your best option. However, if your PC is in the middle class, then FXAA will fit better because it’s not that demanding.
What is anti-aliasing in games?
It is a method that uses a combination of techniques to eliminate “irregularity” in the game.
Now that you’ve learned what smoothing is, feel free to browse the rest of TechJury for more useful information.
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