Most gamers believe that a high FPS gives them an advantage in competitive games. FPS is the rate at which your gaming system completes frames which should not be confused with Hz, which is the rate at which your gaming system shows those completed frames. The PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X can play certain games at 120fps, and you might be wondering if it makes a difference.
So, do 120fps make a difference? 120fps does make a difference because it results in a smoother visual, making your reactions during gaming easier. If you have been playing a game at 60fps and then switch to a gaming machine with 120fps, you will notice the reduced latency and blurring effects.
For example, when you aim at a target with your gun at 120fps, everything in view remains in clear focus. Research by Nvidia shows performance improvement when a gamer plays games such as Fortnite and Call of Duty using a gaming system with a high FPS.
Video game console makers are striving to increase their machines’ ability to play games on high FPS. However, some researchers claim that the human eye might not see the difference at some point.
For many gamers, the frame rate of their gaming system is not a requirement when shopping for a new console or television, but for hardcore gamers, it is on top of their list. Frame rate plays a critical role in gaming, and you might be wondering how you can tell the difference between 60fps and 120fps.
There is a difference between 60fps and 120fps when you play a game, and you will notice it through the display. However, you can only see the difference if your display is compatible with the FPS. If your display is 60Hz, you will not see any difference when your gaming system can play at 120fps.
The difference also depends on the type of game you are playing. Most people believe that the human eye cannot perceive more than 60fps. Research supports the claim that the eyes and brain can process high FPS.
The main difference between 60fps and 120fps is the smoother display. When you play your video game at 60fps and switch to 120fps, you will notice that the animation becomes smoother. Many professional gamers prefer to play games with a gaming console or PC that can play at the highest FPS.
When you play a video game that depends on you seeing objects or characters quickly, a high FPS will provide a clear image. Animations on a 120fps display will also be less blurry, reducing the number of mistakes a professional gamer would make if playing on a 60fps display.
You can only tell the difference between 60fps and 120fps if your display is compatible with the FPS. Many gamers who use consoles for gaming will connect them to their television for display. Most televisions have a 60Hz; therefore, even if your console can play at 120fps, you will not see any difference.
If your television is limited to 60Hz, it will continue to display the game at 60fps. When you buy a console or PC with a high FPS capability, ensure you also get a television or monitor that can match its FPS.
The game you are playing will also determine if you can tell the difference between 60fps and 120fps. When playing single-player games, 60fps works best, while 120fps is highly recommended for multiplayer games.
For example, when you play Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales on PS5 at 30fps and make a sharp turn, you will notice a blurring effect. But when you do the same at 60fps, the visuals will be very smooth. 120fps is very important for first-person shooter games like Call of Duty but not important for games such as The Sims.
Some researchers claim that the human eye cannot perceive images more than 60fps. For many years, televisions were limited to 60Hz, and the human eyes got used to the 60fps display. Even when you change to television with 120Hz, you will not see the difference right away.
It is hard to notice the difference immediately because high refresh rates are only noticeable in dynamic scenes. If your game has many static scenes or slow images, you will not notice the difference. If you want to see the difference, play a game for a day using 120pfs and revert to 60fps the next day. You will definitely notice the difference.
The human eyes work closely with the brain to process images. When you are playing a game at 60fps, your eyes send the light to your brain, and your brain will process the light from the television or monitor as one steady stream as opposed to a series of constant and flickering lights.
This means that the human eye has the capability of detecting higher FPS than previously thought. The reason why your brain will process the frames as one constant light is to avoid distracting you. You cannot concentrate well on your game if your eyes can see all the 120 frames flash by each second; however, your brain is consciously processing all of them as one image.
Higher FPS will not affect the processing power of your gaming system as long as it is built for those speeds. The PS5 and Xbox Series X can play games at 120fps; therefore, your gaming system will not slow down games because it needs more processing power. However, if you are using a PC for gaming, you will notice your game is slow when playing at 120fps if you have other programs or applications running in the background. You should reduce the number of other programs or applications running to give your machine more processing power.
Why Is a High FPS Important in Gaming?
When Sony launched PlayStation 5 in November 2020, they ensured gamers were informed that their console would play all games in 120fps. Gamers want a great experience, and all gaming machine developers try to ensure their machines can play games at high FPS, and there are several reasons they keep improving the frame rate speed.
There are several reasons why a high FPS is very important in gaming, and the first one is reduced tearing. A high FPS also ensures smoother animations and clearer images. Playing a game on high FPS also reduces ghosting. High FPS also ensures lowers system latency. You can test the frame rate of your display by using Nvidia GeForce.
Tearing when playing a video game means the display shows different frames from the GPU, which causes an image shift or a horizontal tear across the screen. Tearing happens when the GPU (FPS) output rate fails to match the display’s HZ.
For example, if your console is playing at 120fps and your television or monitor is limited to 60Hz. You can fix tearing by ensuring the V-SYNC is on, which means the GPU will only render one frame for each display.
The tear appears bigger at 60fps on a 120Hz display because the displacement between the two frames is large. At 120fps on a 144Hz display, the tear will be very small because the displacement between the two frames is minimal. When you use V-SYNC to repair the tear, it will add input delay, making the game feel less responsive.
For example, when you make a character in a video game move to the right, the GPU will have to wait a few seconds before showing you the results of your actions. Therefore, a higher FPS ensures that you have less or no tearing depending on the Hz of your display.
A higher FPS also guarantees reduced ghosting. Ghosting in gaming means that the image is left behind by a moving object on the display. Ghosting can be very annoying because it can lead to you losing the game. In a multiplayer game like Fortnite, you have to fight other players, and the last one standing is the winner.
You have various weapons you can use to kill the characters of other players in the game. Ghosting can ruin your chances of winning because you might aim at another gamer’s character and shoot, your display will show your shot hitting the target, but the character will still be moving.
Your aim was correct, but it only hit the image left behind by the moving object because of a low FPS. Ghosting is very high on low speeds such as 60fps and reduces as the speed increases. The high FPS helps you improve your eye focus on the target rather than the ghost.
Therefore, if you want to try professional gaming, you should have gaming equipment that can play games at high FPS. If you enter a competitive multiplayer online game with a console that plays games at low FPS, your chances of winning are very slim.
A high FPS also ensures smoother animation when playing games. Most gamers want realistic images or animations when playing a game, and those with experience can tell the difference between a 240fps animation and a 60fps animation.
For example, when playing a game and your character is either walking or running, the higher the speed, the smoother the animations. You can see your character moving in steps. For each step in your character’s movement at 60fps, there are four steps at 240fps. The three additional steps fill in the motion making it smoother and more realistic.
Many gamers confuse system latency in games as the time it takes for the information on your console or PC to reach the game server and pack to your gaming machine. However, system latency means the time it takes for your actions to reach your example, for example, mouse clicks, mouse movements or keyboard input.
When you play a game, you control the characters in the game with your mouse and keyboard. When you press a certain key, the action sends a message to the CPU that prepares the GPU frames.
The GPU then takes all the frames on the render queue and renders them. Once the GPU finishes rendering, you will see the images on your display. All these actions take time, and the amount of time it takes from input to display amounts to system latency. The 60fps displays frames later because it breaks each frame with each system.
A gaming system playing at 60fps takes longer to process; therefore, the display is far behind the input. For example, the rendering is much closer to the input on a higher FPS, such as 120fps or 240fps.
The lowest system latency is very important for gamers in online multiplayer games. The lower system latency allows you to see players earlier and plan your actions accordingly. The game also feels more responsive to your actions when you set in on a high FPS. So, the next time you play Battlefield or Call of Duty, try using a high FPS to have a competitive edge over other gamers.
If you are a gamer using Nvidia graphics which supports ShadowPlay, you can go to the settings and activate the in-game fps counter. Open the settings of Nvidia GeForce Experience and enable the share mode. Click on the Overlays button and select the FPS counter tab.
If you are not using Nvidia graphics, you can use other programs such as VideoLAN. If you want to increase the frame rate, you can drop the resolution display setting to a lower contrast or update your graphics card drivers with better hardware.
Wrap Up
The change in the display from 60fps to 120fps is significant, and a keen gamer will notice the difference in animation. The animations are smooth when playing a game at 120fps, but it also depends on the frame rate of your display. If you choose a console that can play games at 120fps, you need a display that is compatible with that frame rate. If your gaming machine and display do not match, you will experience tearing whenever you play a game with a high FPS.
Nvidia, a graphic developing giant, researched to support the claim that a high FPS improves the gaming experience. The research shows that a higher FPS ensures smoother animations, reduces tearing, ghosting, and guarantees a lower latency system.
If a gamer decides to use a high FPS when playing combative games, they improve their kill-to-death ratio by up to 90%. Therefore, when you are out shopping for a new gaming system, it will be a great decision to buy a gaming system that can play games at high FPS.
