FPS: Is less more?

Is 50 FPS more than 100 FPS if it is stable and the 100 FPS isn’t?

If you have a computer that can do 100 FPS, there is no way that the eye can see any problems there. The monitor can only show 60 FPS. But if the processor dips a misses 5-6 frames because it is jammed somewhere (maybe the FSB). Will you notice that the game doesn’t have a smooth flow even if the FPS is sky high?

Could it be that Phenom doesn’t need as much fps as Intel because Phenom doesn’t have that schizophrenic behavior. Intel is fast when data is in the cache, if it isn’t in the cache it is slow. There are some users that claim they need three digit FPS numbers.

Some games is playable in even if the FPS is low, others need high FPS. Could it be that the games that is playable in low FPS do present frames more evenly?

well, in general higher frames are better.
Lower frames, are well bad.. But anywhere over 30 frames is completely fluid to the human eye.. the advantage of 100 FPS, is that under no circumstances will your frames drop below 30 so the game is 100% fluid. Games that "need more frames" just have bad graphic rendering systems.. IE the original crysis without updates.

Some games like the Call of Duty series run noticeably better and smoother when the frame rate doesn't dip below 125FPS(if I remember correctly) but in most other games you'll only start noticeing frame rate drops if the frame rate drops below 30.

Dunno, I've always read that FPS has a direct correlation with the refresh rate of the monitor. Such as, if I'm running 1600x1200 ingame res with 85hertz refresh rate I set the v-sync at 85. Otherwise, you may notice what's called "tearing"... which is essentially the game trying to draw more frames per sec than your monitor can support.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

I'd rather have a constant 50fps than drops from 100 to 30...or maybe even 100 to 40. I can definitely tell in game when it drops to ~35, not sure about 40+. It also depends on the game as some games are more sensitive to drastic changes in FPS due to the nature of the game engine.

40 is my comfortable low point. 35-30 I can start to feel some lag in response (visual and/or input depending on the game). Some games are fine with it but others are not.

If you had a card which could supply vsync refresh 100% constant then it would be best to lock to your preferred vsync (60, 80, 125, etc) when using a CRT....

For an LCD things dont quite work the same. The are acceptable for gaming but do not perform in my opinion.


Of important note is that if you are capable of high FPS but limit the card to a specified FPS you may generate less power draw. Stability should not be affected by generating more FPS but it may be perceived as stuttering when going from high FPS to low FPS and back rapidly many times.

Possibly this is related to the micropausing issue with crossfire?