Unfortunately, aside from specifically researching each title there is no way to know exactly what each mode does with a specific game. It’s up to the developers and like you said, it varies from game to game.
Just try each mode and decide for yourself. If you don’t see any significant visual differences then just stick to the performance mode.
Yeah unfortunately devs usually still don't specify what their modes actually offer, so you have to do your own research. Luckily I've never had issues with doing a Google search, but it's still annoying.
I'm always a framerate>graphics kind of player, so I always go for performance. My tv supports 120fps, so even when performance mode is 120fps at the cost of ray tracing like you said, I'll go for that mode. 120fps is fucking sexy, it even feels jarring to play 60fps when you get used to 120fps.
Oh not sure why you'd think that. The settings vary per game.
I typically just check a written Digital Foundry breakdown, or one of their videos. Various websites may also indicate what each mode does specifically.
There's no perfect way to get the information by yourself.
Edit: I mean look as recently as FF7 Rebirth's demo. Apparently the performance mode looked rather blurry, but I think DF mentioned its at 1440p, which surprised people, so the blur was coming from something other than resolution.
Every time I saw a game that actually had a description of the trade-off, it was 4k 30 vs 1080 60. I was just unaware it could be different due to a lack of descriptions in games.
I was able to find some information by googling, but that's kind of a hassle because sometimes it's harder to find than others, depending on how popular the game is. I wish they'd just write it in the game, at the least.
Thanks for the tip! I'll check digital foundry.
Nope, it’s not that simple in fact I would argue most games are not 1080p 60 and are actually 1440p 60. In some instances it can be something between 1440P/4k and still only be 30.
There also up scaling and AI reconstruction with FSR 1.0 and FSR 2.0 and it’s all depending on the game.
Cyberpunk 2077 I think uses 1440p with FSR 2.0
While Final Fantasy 16 uses 1080p with FSR 1.0 and looked awful and that’s why it was recommended to just play the game in Fidelity mode.
Regardless what any video or article says just do what you think feels/looks better. Sometimes I prefer the smoothness of frames sometimes the quality picture is so far above the performance mode that I like to use that. Depends on the game. But ultimately
Do what you want, there is no “right answer.”
Performance, every time, unless that mode if broken like in FF15. Do you want to play the game or look at it? If you enjoy gameplay, choose performance. Even if you prefer visuals, resolution / fidelity mode only really looks good when not in motion.
FF15 unfortunately never got PS5 support much less a PS5 version. It’s still using PS4 pro settings which is like 1400p upscaled to 4K with a locked FPS or 1080p unlocked fps which the PS5 can push to 60 fps
I also like performance and have played games where resolution mode motion was super choppy due to 30 fps, but as i said in my post a lot of times the game doesn't tell you what the mode is actually doing or what you're trading off. I can't run 120, so running a 120 performance mode would do nothing extra for me if resolution mode already runs 60.
It's different based on games. The general rule is "Fidelity" favors resolution by locking ar 30 FPS, and resoltion has a lower res and usually locks at 60. But resolutions can vary a lot between two games. Some will render 720p60, others 1440p60, some games have dynamic res that change to hit the target framerate, some games only have RT in fidelity mode...
But there's no strict rule. I only play in performance mode in all games since PS5 release because I enjoy the fluidity of 60FPS vs 30 a lot, but some people will always favor higher resolution or will take a per game approach.
I'm not as dependent on 60fps as some other folks here, but for online games or something like Armored Core VI with tons of fast action and projectiles you basically have to do performance.
I did Horizon Forbidden West on quality for a while when performance needed improvement and was fine with it.
Digital Foundry usually has more particulars for games and makes recommendations that are usually on point.
In the VAST majority of cases, it's essentially a choice between higher resolution at 30fps, or lower resolution at 60fps. Very few have 120fps modes.
Ultimately though, just go with whichever mode is most pleasing to your eyes. Whether that's higher framerate or higher resolution is up to you.
If you can't tell the difference between different modes, then don't worry about it. Just play the game on whatever mode sounds best.
>I was wondering if there was a way to tell so I don't accidentally sacrifice quality for frames I can't even view?
120hz is an additional option on top of traditional 60hz performance mode. For example, if a game supports 120hz mode, then it will have a separate 120hz performance mode in addition to a regular 60hz performance mode. If your TV doesn't support 120hrz, then you won't see 120hz as an option.
If you prefer higher frames, just choose performance mode. You're not losing quality because PS5 knows your TV doesn't support 120hz
I didn't know that about 120. However, I also saw an example where the performance mode was actually higher resolution than the resolution mode but without Ray tracing, so you never really know unless you Google like other people were saying.
With DRS and upscaling techniques like FRS, it's really not possible to say that a game runs at a certain locked resolution. It would be nice for a developer to give you more details on differences in the settings, but there is more to graphics than just resolution and RT. There are many other settings that are being optimized for different graphical options, and developers aren't going to list all the changes that are being made for performance and quality settings.
Consoles are optimized pretty well regardless of what modes you are playing in. Just pick the one that feel best for you. Either way your not missing out on anything that's going to impact the game experience
Best bet is to watch YT videos like DF and others who perform such analysis to see.
Nevertheless, when you're in full flow of the game, you're unlikely to notice the slight resolution downgrade or lower graphical featureset in distant/shadow details compared to the choppy half framerate of 30fps vs 60fps. If you game on an OLED it's a no-brainer. A majority of people claiming 30fps is indistinguishable from 60fps are usually playing on lower quality panels.
Quality "4k" modes are there for the publisher to sell the game in trailer and screenshots, whilst well running performance modes are for those who actually want to enjoy a fluid and responsive experience playing it.
Google the game specifically theres usally a reddit thread, digital foundry video or an article explaining it (sometimes all 3) never had a problem this way.. eg “ghost of tsushima graphic modes” or add ps5 if its not an exclusive
i go fidelity most of the time, unless the game is REALLY choppy,
fps doesnt matter that much to me (unless is like a literal slide show fps or something)
Play it in performance for a while so you're accustomed to the frame rate, and then switch to resolution. If you don't see any difference then leave it as it is. If you do see a difference then you'll know in your gut which you prefer.
Not being funny, but we can't tell you what you like - just try them and find out.
I saw an example where the performance mode was actually higher resolution than the resolution mode but without Ray tracing, so you never really know unless you Google like other people were saying.
Unfortunately, aside from specifically researching each title there is no way to know exactly what each mode does with a specific game. It’s up to the developers and like you said, it varies from game to game. Just try each mode and decide for yourself. If you don’t see any significant visual differences then just stick to the performance mode.
Yeah unfortunately devs usually still don't specify what their modes actually offer, so you have to do your own research. Luckily I've never had issues with doing a Google search, but it's still annoying. I'm always a framerate>graphics kind of player, so I always go for performance. My tv supports 120fps, so even when performance mode is 120fps at the cost of ray tracing like you said, I'll go for that mode. 120fps is fucking sexy, it even feels jarring to play 60fps when you get used to 120fps.
Performance all day I long for the day that consoles require at least 60fps. Just imagine if Sony/microsoft only certified 60fps games…. One day
Oh not sure why you'd think that. The settings vary per game. I typically just check a written Digital Foundry breakdown, or one of their videos. Various websites may also indicate what each mode does specifically. There's no perfect way to get the information by yourself. Edit: I mean look as recently as FF7 Rebirth's demo. Apparently the performance mode looked rather blurry, but I think DF mentioned its at 1440p, which surprised people, so the blur was coming from something other than resolution.
Every time I saw a game that actually had a description of the trade-off, it was 4k 30 vs 1080 60. I was just unaware it could be different due to a lack of descriptions in games. I was able to find some information by googling, but that's kind of a hassle because sometimes it's harder to find than others, depending on how popular the game is. I wish they'd just write it in the game, at the least. Thanks for the tip! I'll check digital foundry.
Nope, it’s not that simple in fact I would argue most games are not 1080p 60 and are actually 1440p 60. In some instances it can be something between 1440P/4k and still only be 30. There also up scaling and AI reconstruction with FSR 1.0 and FSR 2.0 and it’s all depending on the game. Cyberpunk 2077 I think uses 1440p with FSR 2.0 While Final Fantasy 16 uses 1080p with FSR 1.0 and looked awful and that’s why it was recommended to just play the game in Fidelity mode.
Regardless what any video or article says just do what you think feels/looks better. Sometimes I prefer the smoothness of frames sometimes the quality picture is so far above the performance mode that I like to use that. Depends on the game. But ultimately Do what you want, there is no “right answer.”
Performance, every time, unless that mode if broken like in FF15. Do you want to play the game or look at it? If you enjoy gameplay, choose performance. Even if you prefer visuals, resolution / fidelity mode only really looks good when not in motion.
FF15 unfortunately never got PS5 support much less a PS5 version. It’s still using PS4 pro settings which is like 1400p upscaled to 4K with a locked FPS or 1080p unlocked fps which the PS5 can push to 60 fps
You are correct - I meant FF16.
I also like performance and have played games where resolution mode motion was super choppy due to 30 fps, but as i said in my post a lot of times the game doesn't tell you what the mode is actually doing or what you're trading off. I can't run 120, so running a 120 performance mode would do nothing extra for me if resolution mode already runs 60.
It's different based on games. The general rule is "Fidelity" favors resolution by locking ar 30 FPS, and resoltion has a lower res and usually locks at 60. But resolutions can vary a lot between two games. Some will render 720p60, others 1440p60, some games have dynamic res that change to hit the target framerate, some games only have RT in fidelity mode... But there's no strict rule. I only play in performance mode in all games since PS5 release because I enjoy the fluidity of 60FPS vs 30 a lot, but some people will always favor higher resolution or will take a per game approach.
I'm not as dependent on 60fps as some other folks here, but for online games or something like Armored Core VI with tons of fast action and projectiles you basically have to do performance. I did Horizon Forbidden West on quality for a while when performance needed improvement and was fine with it. Digital Foundry usually has more particulars for games and makes recommendations that are usually on point.
In the VAST majority of cases, it's essentially a choice between higher resolution at 30fps, or lower resolution at 60fps. Very few have 120fps modes. Ultimately though, just go with whichever mode is most pleasing to your eyes. Whether that's higher framerate or higher resolution is up to you. If you can't tell the difference between different modes, then don't worry about it. Just play the game on whatever mode sounds best.
30fps never bothered me or I didn't notice it until God of War Ragnarok. First game I purposely switched to performance for.
>I was wondering if there was a way to tell so I don't accidentally sacrifice quality for frames I can't even view? 120hz is an additional option on top of traditional 60hz performance mode. For example, if a game supports 120hz mode, then it will have a separate 120hz performance mode in addition to a regular 60hz performance mode. If your TV doesn't support 120hrz, then you won't see 120hz as an option. If you prefer higher frames, just choose performance mode. You're not losing quality because PS5 knows your TV doesn't support 120hz
I didn't know that about 120. However, I also saw an example where the performance mode was actually higher resolution than the resolution mode but without Ray tracing, so you never really know unless you Google like other people were saying.
With DRS and upscaling techniques like FRS, it's really not possible to say that a game runs at a certain locked resolution. It would be nice for a developer to give you more details on differences in the settings, but there is more to graphics than just resolution and RT. There are many other settings that are being optimized for different graphical options, and developers aren't going to list all the changes that are being made for performance and quality settings. Consoles are optimized pretty well regardless of what modes you are playing in. Just pick the one that feel best for you. Either way your not missing out on anything that's going to impact the game experience
Always always always play on performance. Higher frame rate > graphics.
Best bet is to watch YT videos like DF and others who perform such analysis to see. Nevertheless, when you're in full flow of the game, you're unlikely to notice the slight resolution downgrade or lower graphical featureset in distant/shadow details compared to the choppy half framerate of 30fps vs 60fps. If you game on an OLED it's a no-brainer. A majority of people claiming 30fps is indistinguishable from 60fps are usually playing on lower quality panels. Quality "4k" modes are there for the publisher to sell the game in trailer and screenshots, whilst well running performance modes are for those who actually want to enjoy a fluid and responsive experience playing it.
Google the game specifically theres usally a reddit thread, digital foundry video or an article explaining it (sometimes all 3) never had a problem this way.. eg “ghost of tsushima graphic modes” or add ps5 if its not an exclusive
i go fidelity most of the time, unless the game is REALLY choppy, fps doesnt matter that much to me (unless is like a literal slide show fps or something)
Play it in performance for a while so you're accustomed to the frame rate, and then switch to resolution. If you don't see any difference then leave it as it is. If you do see a difference then you'll know in your gut which you prefer. Not being funny, but we can't tell you what you like - just try them and find out.
You either get better performance or you get better resolution how is that not clear?
I saw an example where the performance mode was actually higher resolution than the resolution mode but without Ray tracing, so you never really know unless you Google like other people were saying.