GeForce GTX 295 Quad-SLI does up to 64xQ FSAA

[AuDioFreaK39]

GeForce GTX 295 Quad-SLI does up to 64xQ FSAA

With GeForce 185.20 beta drivers

The guys over at PCGamesHardware have released some particularly noteworthy information regarding GeForce GTX 295's anti-aliasing capabilities. According to the site's represented graph, the new cards, when used in dual pairs for Quad-SLI, are capable of rendering up to 64xQ full screen anti-aliasing.




No Self Promotion allowed


esquared
Anandtech Senior Moderator

 

[JPB]

Represented graph doesnt work.

It says no deeplinking

 

[ArchAngel777]

I am all for AA and stuff, but that is just a little ridiculous. I'd rather see SSAA 2x2 instead of MSAA taken to the extreme, unless the MSAA mode incorporates 2X2 SSAA into it. That way there is no need to use Transparency Super Sampling. Of course, it is typically more economical to use basic MSAA with TSA than SSAA.

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: JPB
Represented graph doesnt work.

It says no deeplinking

Link to the article fud got the info from:

http://www.pcgameshardware.com...with_GTX_295_quad_SLI/

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777
I am all for AA and stuff, but that is just a little ridiculous. I'd rather see SSAA 2x2 instead of MSAA taken to the extreme, unless the MSAA mode incorporates 2X2 SSAA into it. That way there is no need to use Transparency Super Sampling. Of course, it is typically more economical to use basic MSAA with TSA than SSAA.

It's basically a gimmick feature. In my experience, even 16xAA isn't really usable in a lot of games, so I doubt 64xAA will be either. IMO, the AA sweet spot is still 4x. 4x is a pretty substantial IQ increase over 2x, and it doesn't incur nearly as much of a hit as 8x. I am a huge fan of transparency AA/Adaptive AA though. Regrettably, most sites still bench with 'normal' AA that doesn't apply any AA to alpha textures.

 

[SlowSpyder]

I don't know if there is really a benefit to going that high, but it is pretty cool none the less.

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: nitromullet

Originally posted by: JPB
Represented graph doesnt work.

It says no deeplinking

Link to the article fud got the info from:

http://www.pcgameshardware.com...with_GTX_295_quad_SLI/

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777
I am all for AA and stuff, but that is just a little ridiculous. I'd rather see SSAA 2x2 instead of MSAA taken to the extreme, unless the MSAA mode incorporates 2X2 SSAA into it. That way there is no need to use Transparency Super Sampling. Of course, it is typically more economical to use basic MSAA with TSA than SSAA.

It's basically a gimmick feature. In my experience, even 16xAA isn't really usable in a lot of games, so I doubt 64xAA will be either. IMO, the AA sweet spot is still 4x. 4x is a pretty substantial IQ increase over 2x, and it doesn't incur nearly as much of a hit as 8x. I am a huge fan of transparency AA/Adaptive AA though. Regrettably, most sites still bench with 'normal' AA that doesn't apply any AA to alpha textures.

Thank God I am not the only person with this viewpoint. 100% Agree...

 

[BFG10K]

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777

I am all for AA and stuff, but that is just a little ridiculous. I'd rather see SSAA 2x2 instead of MSAA taken to the extreme, unless the MSAA mode incorporates 2X2 SSAA into it.

I tend to agree. While there are certainly differences in edges above 4xAA, they tend to diminish so non-edge AA becomes more important. Generally I?d rather use 8xS than 16xQ (despite the former having inferior edge AA than the latter) because of the super-sampling component.

If nVidia are smart they'd implement 4xRGSS or even 4xSGSS for free on Quad SLI (given they have four GPUs), but I doubt they?re going to do that.

That way there is no need to use Transparency Super Sampling.

I would disagree with this. Because TrAA/AAA anti-alias each texture individually, they do a far better job with alpha textures than full screen super-sampling using the same amount of samples. To match the output of AAA/TrAA on alpha textures you'd need many more super-samples and that would create a very costly performance hit on the entire scene regardless of the alpha content.

Of course, it is typically more economical to use basic MSAA with TSA than SSAA.

Agreed, although sometimes huge outdoor areas with vegetation are cheaper to render with basic super-sampling. Then again, if TrAA/AAA multi-sampling works, it?s extremely cost-effective in those situations even with a large amount of samples.

 

[BFG10K]

Originally posted by: nitromullet

It's basically a gimmick feature. In my experience, even 16xAA isn't really usable in a lot of games,

I run AA modes well over 4xAA in the vast majority of the 90+ games I have installed right now. 16xCSAA is actually a very cheap mode compared to the other heavy AA modes I use because it?s usually only about 15%-20% slower than 4xAA.

I use 16xCSAA in games as recent as 2006 (e.g. Prey and Condemned) with my top resolution of 1920x1440 and all game details maxed out.

Regrettably, most sites still bench with 'normal' AA that doesn't apply any AA to alpha textures.

I bench it and review it, but sadly due to the self-promotions rules of this forum I can?t provide any links.

 

[Cookie Monster]

How is the TRAA quality between MSAA and SSAA? I did read about some improvements made by nVIDIA but never saw actual evidence of this.

So this 64xQ mode is basically 32 MSAA samples and 32 coverage samples? Pretty overkill if you ask me, just like the 64xS mode. Id say its more gimmicky than functionality. It would be better to see something like what BFG10K suggested i.e 4xRGSS for example. Ive always preferred SSAA especially the hybrid modes (xS AA mode) by nVIDIA, so they should really give us some improved version of this mode. Or another suggestion is nVIDIAs equivalent of edge detect,

 

[BFG10K]

Originally posted by: Cookie Monster

How is the TRAA quality between MSAA and SSAA? I did read about some improvements made by nVIDIA but never saw actual evidence of this.

Multi-sampling works pretty well for finer edges such as leaves and grass but super-sampling is better for hard edges such as gratings and fences. TrMS can still look very good (especially with eight samples), especially after nVidia's IQ improvements in this area. It's also very fast too so it's a shame it doesn't work in all Direct3D titles.

It's also interesting that ATi seem to have removed the multi-sampling option from their drivers, AFAICT.

So this 64xQ mode is basically 32 MSAA samples and 32 coverage samples?

Yep, it's four boards running 16xQ each with the image offset slightly for each.