Defining the Term 'MAXED OUT'

Which one is it?

  • 1

    Votes: 54 28.4%

  • 2

    Votes: 136 71.6%
  • Total voters
    190
P

P4rD0nM3

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jun 5, 2007
Messages
1,544
For all the [H] users out there. Can you guys define what 'maxed out' is for you? Because right now I'm seeing two different interpretations of that term here in [H].

1. Maxed Out - All game settings set to the highest possible setting (the ones that say low/medium/high/etal). AA/AF settings doesn't count though.

2. Maxed Out - All game settings set to the highest possible setting plus highest possible settings for AA/AF whether it's in-game or via your GPU's control panel.
 
I vote the latter. Who the heck plays games without AA? The Jaggies would drive you crazy!
 
Hm I think I generally communicate it as Max settings w/4xAA or highest detail 8xAA so I guess the first.

Partly because past 8xAA is useless (I don't even need 8x myself), and partly because AA/AF is the only setting that doesn't say "low - medium - high" so it doesn't fall neatly into the 'highest settings' construct.

But if I was just thinking "MAXED OUT" in my head I'd have everything turned up including AA as high as it could go in game engine. :)
 
I vote 2. AA is no trivial feature, and it can be useful when comparing benchmarks.
 
The real question is, what kind of AA?

Because the highest level of that stuff is no joke...
 
I'd say highest in-game details and 4xAA/8xAF. There are severe diminishing returns above that.
 
Russ said:
The real question is, what kind of AA?

Because the highest level of that stuff is no joke...
Click to expand...

Highest possible allowed and not 'acceptable' because then it would just be 4x or 8x right? If you can set it to 16 then that's the highest possible setting for AA imho. It doesn't matter whether you can see the difference between 8x vs 16x, if your system chugs at 16x and not at 8x then you can't max it out.

Well that's my view.
 
All on very high, 4x AA 16x AF.

Whats the point playing with 8X AA? I cant see a damn difference between 4x and 8x,only performance hit.
 
John Vuong said:
Maxed out means everything on highest settings including AA and AF on the highest level.
Click to expand...

yes, but the GPU CP does not count.

if with x4 AA = maxed out, what is x16 AA? super extra maxed in and out? :D. x8 or 16 being noticeable or not is another issue.
 
firas, if for some abnormal reason you can't set a game's AA to x16 even with the help of 3rd party apps then x4 would then be the highest possible setting. But if you can force x16 from let's say catalyst then x16 is the max setting you can use.
 
Highest possible ingame option. If the game only supports up to 4xAA. Then that's the max for it. Overriding something via an outside program would put it outside what the developer designed it for.

Involving the driver settings in the MaxOut definition would imply that it includes overclocking as well.
 
You can't use the term "game settings" and exclude AA/AF.
Maxed out is maxed out, everything. You can't choose which ones count.
Everything all they way is the [H]ard way!
 
maxed out = many things but people usually equate it to maximum performance that can be acheived from a given hardware setup.
 
AA is not a quality setting and does nothing for quality. I have no use for AA, no need to at high resolutions anyways. The guys that say it is needed are only trying to justify there $500 video cards. I vote #1.
 
I vote #2.

If all the settings can't be pushed to the right, then its not maxed out.
 
I vote for #2. Everything must be set at eleven
 
Last edited:
malleus_male said:
AA is not a quality setting and does nothing for quality. I have no use for AA, no need to at high resolutions anyways. The guys that say it is needed are only trying to justify there $500 video cards. I vote #1.
Click to expand...

lol. You my friend seem very jealous of us with high end video cards. You must have never seen AA. Even at high resolution it is a marked improvement. Maxed is maxed. That means everything including AA.
 
With the video cards we have today the only viable option is #2
 
Game "maxed out" , I would say all in game video options are set as high as they can be and there 'aint no more.

I generally use that term, but will include my highest AA setting in the description.

Computer "maxed out", generally means i have achieved the highest combinations of CPU/RAM/GPU overclocks that are stable to allow everyday gaming and work without interruption.
 
1 is closer. 8x edge-detect SSAA is a FAR GREATER performance hit from the "typical" 4x/8x AA than no AA to 4x/8x AA is.

Though maxed-out really is 1 with 4x/8x intelligent AA.

16x AF is a given.
 
Of course option 2.

Option 1 is like saying my house is 2500sq ft, but I didn't count the kitchen, bedrooms, nor bathrooms in the calculation.
 
AA and AF are filters of sorts (not using the word in a technical sense) and therefor aren't really part of the games graphics. Texture detail, lighting and other effects are part of the creative process when the game developers design graphics. Because of this difference I don't consider AA and AF when saying the graphics are maxed.

Granted there are exceptions, as I think it depends on the game. In Stalker, enabling AF doesn't change the appearance of the graphics that much if at all. At least, not to me. So, why should anyone enable it? While in Neverwinter Nights 2 there is a big difference between AF on and AF off. In that case, #2 would definitely apply.
 
Maxed out for me = All settings in game are at highest except for AA/AF. It's assumed some AA/AF is used, but if a game supports 16xAA not many are going to use that option, especially if it's a newer title.

If highest AA/AF is used then I think it should read, "I'm maxed out w/ AA/AF @ whatever"
 
#2. maxed out is every single, in-game setting cranked up all the way; weather you can notice it or not.
/thread
 
I think you need a #3. Maxed out IN GAME settings. AA and AF count, but only the IN GAME ones, rather than forcing them in your control panel.
 
Maybe I'm getting old, I personally consider AA as something "extra". If I can use it, great, if not, no biggie. I definitely prefer 4xAA but not having it certainly doesn't make things "unplayable". I played Crysis and Warhead w/o AA and while I wish I could have ran it with 4xAA, it wasn't a deal breaker for me. I go with "max settings with XXAA and XXAF" and "max settings without"
 
malleus_male said:
AA is not a quality setting and does nothing for quality. I have no use for AA, no need to at high resolutions anyways. The guys that say it is needed are only trying to justify there $500 video cards. I vote #1.
Click to expand...

I def notice the jaggies playing at 1920x1080. I think you might be blind! When I turn on 4xAA, I can def see a diff....
 
Maxed out in game settings including AA and AF. Whether it's noticable or not is a different story.
 
There are certain games where AA and AF are somewhat inapplicable concepts for various reasons. Many games don't properly support AA for this that and the other reason, so it's difficult to include that in the definition of "maxed out". For AF, I'm thinking the mutual exclusivity of parallax occlusion mapping and AF in Crysis. I'm personally willing to sacrifice AF for POM.
 
I voted 1 because I usually make a separate distinction for the AA setting and resolution.

For example, I would normally say something like "maxed out with 4xAA at 2560x1600".

I don't think one can say "maxed out" and expect it to be a complete and encompassing definition of the game graphics settings.
 
Ravynmagi said:
I voted 1 because I usually make a separate distinction for the AA setting and resolution.

For example, I would normally say something like "maxed out with 4xAA at 2560x1600".

I don't think one can say "maxed out" and expect it to be a complete and encompassing definition of the game graphics settings.
Click to expand...

Valid point. Despite the poll results, most people clarify their exact AA settings at the very least when using the terms "maxed out", "highest settings", etc.
 
If I can't move up any sliders or settings anymore ingame and out of game it is maxed out.
 
Id say "maxed out" is highest possible ingame. It doesn't matter whether you "feel" like AA is a part of maxed settings many games and cards either dont support AA or support it to varying degrees. So "maxed out" cut and paste means highest possible ingame settings.
 
Ravynmagi said:
I voted 1 because I usually make a separate distinction for the AA setting and resolution.

For example, I would normally say something like "maxed out with 4xAA at 2560x1600".

I don't think one can say "maxed out" and expect it to be a complete and encompassing definition of the game graphics settings.
Click to expand...

I completely agree. In fact I'd rather 'max out' my game and adjust my resolution down until my framerate sits at 60 the whole time. Resolution is the first thing to go for me. Something running at 720p, all maxed out with visual quality settings, looks much more visually impressive than something on 'low' at 2560x1600.

It's more complicated than the OP suggests as resolution is another factor.

With definition (2), nobody is maxing anything out as the current 'max' is 7680x1600 with X16 SSAA and X16AF. Maybe Quake3 is playable at those settings....
 
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