You just spent hundreds of dollars to build your own SLI computer for some serious gaming. But, you are having problems trying to configure your system to work at its full capability. Playing around with your nVidia 3D Graphic Settings, you come across two options called Antialiasing (AA) and Anisotropic filtering (AF), yet you’re not sure what these settings are used for and how they affect you. Through the following experiment I hope to make the performance of these two settings clear so you can utilize AA and AF settings to optimize your SLI rig and render incredible graphics with each breath-taking frame per second. I will also propose which combinations of AA and AF I would recommend to optimize your SLI rig.
Background Information
Without giving long, in depth definitions, I will define Antialiasing and Anisotropic Filtering so you know what they do; not how they do it.
Antialiasing is the process which reduces jagged edges and curves diagonals to produce a smoother, “bubblier” image. Take note that rectangular objects will not appear jagged, and will appear “properly” rendered even if Antialiasing is disabled.
Anisotropic filtering is a technique, similar to AA, which enhances the image so it appears clearer, with a reduced blur. Most of this blur is a result of reducing jaggedness with AA. Objects on the viewable horizon are usually greatly enhanced due to AF.
Additionally, frames per second (FPS) are the number of times the image is “refreshed” or redrawn within one second (pretty much self explanatory). As FPS increase, the actions and motions appear smoother; and as FPS decrease the actions and motions are “jumpier”.
Also, remember that with nVidia’s current Forceware drivers that the Antialiasing level can be set to: application controlled, off, 2x, 2xQ, 4x, 8xS, SLI AA 8*, and SLI AA 16*. The Anisotropic Filtering level can be set to: application controlled, off, 2x, 4x, 8x, and 16x.
For further reading on SLI and nVidia’s AA levels and how they are developed I would highly recommend reading this.
*Both SLI AA 8 and SLI AA 16 do not come built in with current SLI drivers and have to be tweaked using Coolbits. I will test both these settings, and if you are interested in enabling SLI AA 8 or SLI AA 16 I would suggest reading this guide.
The Experiment
Purpose - To determine which Antialiasing and Anisotropic filtering settings will most efficiently render quality graphics while maintaining optimal frames per second, so that images appear clear and crisp, and actions and motions flow smoothly.
Materials-
Hardware:
AMD Athlon 64 FX-55, stock cooling @ 2613Mhz
ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe
2 x ASUS 6800 256MB PCI-Express x16 in SLI @ stock speeds
Enermax 600 Watt Noisetaker SLI approved
2 x Seagate Barracuda 300GB Ultra – ATA100, 8mb cache, 7200rpm
ASUS CD-RW (52x/32x/52x)
ASUS DVD-RW Combo Drive
Operating System:
Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2
Software involved:
3D Mark05
Fraps
Battlefield 2
Guild Wars
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