Is there any quality difference between old and new GPUs?

[Kristijonas]

Is there any quality difference in games like Skyrim (no dx11 or physx) from for example 8800gt to 650gtx ?

 

[SithSolo1]

There is definitely a quality of life difference between to too. I don't have the proof on hand but I'd hazard a guess there is an actual image quality improvement as well, even at the same exact settings.

 

[Kristijonas]

Thank you, Sith, it's really interesting. Because technically GPU is just a processing unit so it does what the software says. So 8800 and 650 should technically only differ in performance and features, not quality at the same settings. It would be very interesting to find out the truth.

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

If there are any differences it would be in the way that the older and newer GPUs handle AF and AA. Maybe the textures are processed differently too.

 

[GotNoRice]

Both would be able to play DirectX11 games, but the 650GTX would be using feature level 11.0 whereas the 8800gt would be using feature level 10.0 (essentially the DirectX10 feature set, Shader Model 4.0, etc). That means no tessellation and a few other minor features missing.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

Pretty sure AA and AF would be different, if you were to compare screenshots. But in-game, there would be a huge difference purely because of the huge performance difference between the two.

 

[SKORPI0]

Games will look so much better on a graphic card that is DirectX 11 capable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtNHmj7vznI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSpZ-wuMuss&feature=related

https://www.google.com/search?q=screenshot+of+DirectX10+vs.+DirectX11+games

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,...DX11-pics-Top-article-of-September-2009/News/

 

[lamedude]

Didn't G80 achieve "perfect" IQ? IIRC it has angle invariant AF and rotated grid gamma correct AA and all the extras like TrAA, CSAA, and SGSSAA so anything 8800 and later should look the same. Not sure if brilinear filtering is still around but you could disable that. You'd have to go back further (NV40/G70 can't do HDR+AA ,NV40 ditches angle invariant AF, G70 introduces gamma correct AA) to get those kind of IQ improvements.

 

[boxleitnerb]

lamedude is right.
There is no difference on Nvidia cards. Regarding AA and AF nothing has changed since G80 except SGSSAA though I suspect this would also be possible on pre-Fermi cards.

On the AMD side, there is a difference. Only with the HD7000 series did AMD provide good AF, before it was prone to shimmering.

 

[KingFatty]

Games will look so much better on a graphic card that is DirectX 11 capable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtNHmj7vznI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSpZ-wuMuss&feature=related

https://www.google.com/search?q=screenshot+of+DirectX10+vs.+DirectX11+games

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,...DX11-pics-Top-article-of-September-2009/News/

After looking at these to compare, my feeling is that I don't really notice/mind the difference between DX10 and DX11. I mean, for me the quality/impression comes from the artwork, and that's all the same between the two. As for the tesselation, yeah the guy's mask is ever so slightly more realistic, but I had to really study the still image to even detect that difference. When actually gaming, I'm not sure I'd devote as much effort to studying the little details like this. And yeah, the shadows are nice where they have a softer edge to them, but ah I'm not really seeing how it hurts my impression that much.

My basic point is that if you do a "blind" test where you conceal which DX version is used, and you play one of those videos where they show you DX10, then DX11, I'm unable to determine which is which. The only way I notice a difference is if you actually tell me "hey this is DX11, here are the differences let me point them out to you so you can intently study the image and maybe notice them". If you just show me the scenes and don't tell me which DX version, I won't be able to know and I'll get equal satisfaction regardless of DX10 or DX11 because it's the same artwork.

 

[Bonesdad]

OK, whew. I thought I was the only one who didn't really see a killer diff between the two. Not enough to throw down $300 bucks anyway.

After looking at these to compare, my feeling is that I don't really notice/mind the difference between DX10 and DX11. I mean, for me the quality/impression comes from the artwork, and that's all the same between the two. As for the tesselation, yeah the guy's mask is ever so slightly more realistic, but I had to really study the still image to even detect that difference. When actually gaming, I'm not sure I'd devote as much effort to studying the little details like this. And yeah, the shadows are nice where they have a softer edge to them, but ah I'm not really seeing how it hurts my impression that much.

My basic point is that if you do a "blind" test where you conceal which DX version is used, and you play one of those videos where they show you DX10, then DX11, I'm unable to determine which is which. The only way I notice a difference is if you actually tell me "hey this is DX11, here are the differences let me point them out to you so you can intently study the image and maybe notice them". If you just show me the scenes and don't tell me which DX version, I won't be able to know and I'll get equal satisfaction regardless of DX10 or DX11 because it's the same artwork.

 

[Rikard]

OK, whew. I thought I was the only one who didn't really see a killer diff between the two.

Wow, you guys are funny! To me the difference is enormous and impossible to miss, so I do not know if you need better glasses, or if you are just lucky that your brain does not work the same way as mine so you can save some cash! I recently upgraded from a 9800 to a 7950 and the difference in games like Skyrim is mindblowing! The game looks so much better now, even though I was comparing Ultra to Ultra. In addition having 3 Gb instead of 1 Gb allows me to use HD texture mods taking the improvement even further. But, yeah if you cannot see the difference in the above picture, I guess any upgrade is a waste for you.