Catalyst AA Guide

If you mean the last post with battlefield 3 images then it is using the same host for them all, this includes the later images. The reason I edited it was because the original links were not going through to the full images but just the smaller 'face' images.

 

Um, don't mind me... I just realised that the completely different screens I was looking at was from a page earlier. I was at work so really shouldn't have been reading this thread anyway Apologies for the confusion!

Appreciate your work too, BTW

 

Thank you, Shaneus.

Also wanted to add that the guide has now been updated to reflect the recent developments concerning DX10 and DX11 based supersampling, as well as the new MLAA revision.

There is still some confusion regarding older supersampling techniques and whether the new techniques apply to all graphics cards including those limited to DX9 based supersampling. I will try to add more details regrading this once I have more information.

 

just went through the op again to read your updates..

I had no idea AA for dx10/dx11 could only be enabled by enhance application setting, and you have no control over it, it does what it wants.

no wonder it never seemed to do anything.

 

It is further explained in the driver release notes.

http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles/Pages/AMDCatalystSoftwareSuiteVersion124ReleaseNotes.aspx

 

yeah, but it doesnt actually say "enhance application" needs to be on. Thats news to me.

 

There would be no other way to enable it.

 

I think you missed my point.

I scratched my head for a long time on how to enable it and just gave up.

No where does it explicitly say how to enable it.

Im supposed to guess using enhance application settings tuns it on?

come on....

 

I suppose it's just another example of the ambiguities faced by catalyst users.

 

To be honest, its the first real ambiguity ive run into...

There a lot of confusing stuff with regards to AA, but most of it isnt real ambiguous.

 

Looks like AMD have swapped around their definition of antialiasing mode and method, or perhaps I understood it wrong in the past.

I've updated the guide to this effect, though the changes in layout may also need to be addressed.

 

The Guide has now been updated for the latest control panel changes.


AA game compatibility list updated.


Added:

Hitman Absolution, The Secret World


The secret World did not allow any form of traditional antialiasing. Hitman Absolution allowed all forms of antialiasing in enhanced mode.


Image Comparisons:


Hitman Absolution: NO AA




Hitman Absolution: 2x MSAA (In-game)




Hitman Absolution: 2x EQ Edge Detect SSAA




Hitman Absolution: 4x MSAA (In-game)




Hitman Absolution: 4x EQ Edge Detect MSAA




Hitman Absolution: 4x EQ Adaptive MSAA




Hitman Absolution: 4x EQ Edge Detect Adaptive MSAA




Hitman Absolution: 4x EQ SSAA




Hitman Absolution: 4x EQ Edge Detect SSAA




Hitman Absolution: 8x MSAA (In-game)




Hitman Absolution: 8x EQ Edge Detect SSAA





And a few further Hitman Absolution images at 1920x1200 for anyone interested. All images using 2x EQ Edge Detect SSAA.










http://postimage.org/image/o5craqs9f/
http://postimage.org/image/x1njeoivn/
http://postimage.org/image/89nx7g1oz/

 

Does edge detect still hit fps really hard? I haven't tried it for a long time. Like others, I don't really like the blur of SSAA, so maybe adaptive + edge detect is the way to go?

 

It would depend on the game, though for the DX11 games I've tried so far it seems to be quite subtle and not as demanding. Same can be said for supersampling, and with the auto LOD adjustment now added it should be less of a concern.

Having said that, SSAA does still add some blur to Hitman Absolution in the images above. I would need to test more DX10/DX11 games with SGSSAA, but it's a light form of SSAA so the added blur shouldn't be as obvious as other forms of SSAA can be in some games.

The last few images are using 2x Edge Detect SSAA and the image quality seems quite reasonable with very little noticeable blur.

 

AA game compatibility list updated.


Added:

Batman Arkham City (DX11/DX9), Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, X3: Terran Conflict

Batman Arkham City seems to have been designed to minimise the need for antialiasing, this makes it difficult to spot any differences. I could see subtle differences by concentrating on Batman's left side in the images below.


Image Comparisons:


Batman Arkham City DX11 - Enhanced Mode Only

Batman Arkham City: NO AA




Batman Arkham City: 2x MSAA (In-game)




Batman Arkham City: 2x Adaptive MSAA




Batman Arkham City: 2x SSAA




Batman Arkham City: 2x Edge Detect SSAA




Batman Arkham City: 4x MSAA (In-game)




Batman Arkham City: 4x SSAA




Batman Arkham City: 4x Edge Detect SSAA





Batman Arkham City DX9

Batman Arkham City: No AA




Batman Arkham City: 4x Adaptive MSAA (Enhanced)




Batman Arkham City: 8x MSAA (Forced)




Batman Arkham City: 8x SSAA (Forced)




Batman Arkham City: 12x EQ Edge Detect Adaptive MSAA (Forced)




Batman Arkham City: 24x EQ Edge Adaptive MSAA (forced)

 

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines

VTM: Bloodlines does not support in-game antialiasing. It must be forced.


Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines: NO AA




Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines: 4x MSAA




Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines: 4x SSAA




Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines: 12x Edge Detect SSAA




Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines: 12x EQ Edge Detect SSAA




Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines: 24x Edge Detect Adaptive MSAA




Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines: 24x Edge Detect SSAA




Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines: 24x EQ Edge Detect SSAA





X3: Terran Conflict

X3 Terran Conflict: NO AA




X3 Terran Conflict: 4x MSAA (In-game)



X3 Terran Conflict: 4x Edge Detect SSAA (Enhanced)




X3 Terran Conflict: 4x MSAA




X3 Terran Conflict: 24x EQ Edge Detect MSAA




X3 Terran Conflict: 24x EQ Edge Detect Adaptive MSAA




X3 Terran Conflict: 24x EQ Edge Detect SSAA




Edit:

The guide has now been partially rewritten and re-formatted.

 

Best setting for Borderlands 2?

Hi,

Was wondering what is a good AA setting for Borderlands 2? I read that FXAA is adequate but am using an injectSMAA utility instead. What do you guys think?

Thanks

 

I personally do not own borderlands 2 so can't provide much information, I do however know that some people prefer to use downsampling for that game, likely as other antialiasing methods either don't work or are not very effective.

In any case, I am only guessing here so perhaps someone with first hand knowledge can add more.

 

Hi I made an account just to reply to this thread.

I've been running similar tests and scratching my head trying to figure out what AA modes are running and working/not working.

I have a problem though. If I enable enhance application settings in CCC, I don't get the options to pick 2x, 2xeq, ect. The samples box is greyed out and I cannot choose anything in it.

I can only access this box if I select override application settings. I know this option does not work with most games.

I basically want to run 2xSSAA whenever possible. From my own tests I've had the highest frame rates at 2xAA compared to 8xMSAA or 4xMSAA with AAA. The picture quality has also probably been better.

How do I go about doing this?

I was originally using "use application settings" with super sampling set as the AA mode. I thought if I had AA set to 2 in game options then it would use SS as the AA method regardless of the games settings. This is wrong I assume.

So I should be setting enhance app settings? Do I still set the in game AA to the level I want my SSAA at?

Thanks for making the effort to clear this up. I can't find any recent articles on professional sites doing these tests.

I'm using driver cata 13.1

 

Mojojojo

Your assumption was in fact correct. The only way to increase antialiasing samples when using the enhance application settings mode is to do so from the in-game antialiasing settings. Of course, it would require multisample antialiasing to be supported and enabled in-game and simply goes about by adding the 'EQ' samples to the sample settings in-game from what I understand.

If using a 7 series GPU you can also enhance the in-game multisampling settings by choosing any of the available antialiasing methods from the control panel. This would include supersampling, and is in fact the only way to do so for dx10/dx11 applications as they do not allow the force antialiasing method setting.

In the specific example you listed, to apply 2x SSAA, you would enable 2x MSAA in-game while enabling the enhance application settings mode from the control panel with supersampling antialiasing as the method. So what you would end up with is 2xEQ SSAA in-game. Also, in some cases and almost always for DX10/DX11 applications, you might need to modify the control panel settings before you launch the application.

I like to believe the guide is relatively detailed regarding this matter, if you feel it's not very clear in some part please let me know and I'd be happy to make the required changes.