NVIDIA Multi-Frame Sampled Anti-Aliasing (MFAA) Performance
NVIDIA launched MFAA (multi-frame sampled AA) along with the GTX 980 and GTX 970 back in September of last year and in November the driver finally enabled it. I did some testing with it including screenshots and benchmarks so I would highly encourage you to reference that story for a full background on the technology. Here is a summary:
While most of the deep, architectural changes in GM204 are based around power and area efficiency, there are still some interesting feature additions NVIDIA has made to these cards that depend on some specific hardware implementations. First up is a new antialiasing method called MFAA, or Multi-Frame Sampled AA. This new method alternates the AA sample pattern, which is now programmable via software, in both temporal and spatial directions.
The goal is to change the AA sample pattern in a way to produce near 4xMSAA quality at the effective cost of 2x MSAA (in terms of performance). NVIDIA showed a couple of demos of this in action during the press meetings but the only gameplay we saw was in a static scene. I do have some questions about how this temporal addition is affected by fast motion on the screen, though NVIDIA asserts that MFAA will very rarely ever fall below the image quality of standard 2x MSAA.
That information is still correct but we do have a little bit more detail on how this works than we did before. For reasons pertaining to patents NVIDIA seems a bit less interested in sharing exact details than I would like to see, but we'll work with what we have.
Previous-generation GPUs include fixed sample patterns for anti-aliasing (AA) that are stored in Read Only Memory (ROM). When gamers selected 2x or 4x MSAA for example, fixed sample patterns were used. With Maxwell, we have introduced programmable sample positions for rasterization that are stored on Random Access Memory (RAM), creating opportunities for new, more flexible, more inventive AA techniques that uniquely address the challenges of modern game engines, such as the increased performance cost of high-quality anti-aliasing. Maxwell's new RAM-based sample position technology can still be programmed with standard MSAA and TXAA patterns, but now the driver or application may also load the RAM with custom positions that are free to vary from frame to frame, or even within a frame.
While temporal anti-aliasing has definitely been done before, the key point appears to be its locality in graphics memory and the flexibility for the driver or game developer to specify these AA sample points on-demand. MFAA, as a technology, takes advantage of this implementation by alternates sample patterns on a frame-to-frame basis, offering potential image quality and performance advantages.
Interestingly, taking screenshots of MFAA doesn't work as it has with most other AA implementations. Users or reviewer's taking screenshots of MFAA with Fraps or similar capture utilities are not going to be the final image sent to the display; this same thing occurs with DSR-enabled games and screen captures. Instead, you need to use hardware capture to see the results of MFAA and we are already well-versed in that with our Frame Rating performance capture capabilities.
At the time, MFAA only supported a small selection of 20 games. But with this release, the 347.25 driver ups support for all DX10/11 games that support MSAA with the exception of Dead Rising 3, Dragon Age 2 and Max Payne 3 due to image quality concerns. That's big news as nearly-global support for it is required for gamers to really take it seriously as an alternative to today's standard practices.
Below I have included screenshots to demonstrate some interesting locations in our BF4, GRID 2 and Crysis 3 test runs.
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Our first comparison comes from GRID 2 and you can see in the metal frame work of the signage that the MFAA implementation is definitely a step above that of the 2xMSAA screen capture. Here, in a very static portion of the benchmark, the quality of 4xMSAA and 4xMFAA are difficult to distinguish between.
Click to Enlarge
Next up is Battlefield 4 and a look into the distance at a collection of telephone poles. In this case the screen capture comes from a portion of the game that is moving. Once again we see that NVIDIA's MFAA is definitely a quality step above 2xMSAA and nearly identical to the result of the 4xMSAA image.
Click to Enlarge
Finally, we have our most difficult comparison in Crysis 3. Look along the top edge of the red pipe we are walking across and notice the jagged edges at 2xMSAA that are mostly gone at 4xMSAA. With 4xMFAA though, the result is better than 2xMSAA but still a clear step behind that of the standard 4xMSAA implementation.
Let's see how a couple of examples pan out for NVIDIA with the GTX 960.
Wow, first impressions are great here as we see the move from 4xMSAA to 2xMSAA on Crysis 3 results in a big performance improvement! With a nearly 20% increase in the average frame rate in this title, and image quality that nearly matches that of 4xMSAA, the technology of MFAA can definitely prove useful for gamers struggling with a game on the edge of playability.
GRID 2 results are minimal – it would appear that MSAA performance is not a bottleneck.
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i r disappoint
i r disappoint
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Why is the texture fill rate
Why is the texture fill rate for the 970 lower than the 980, aren’t they using the same memory architecture?
What is the minimum power
What is the minimum power supply requirements for 950 SLI
Live Q: can any other card be
Live Q: can any other card be used in SLI with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 ?
no, you can only sli with the
no, you can only sli with the same card family. i’ve read that some games won’t even work with different brand cards. I find that one hard to believe but worth double checking. 2 cards doesn’t give you 4gb of videoram. You will still only have 2 gb for gaming.
This is more of a GTX 950 Ti
This is more of a GTX 950 Ti to be honest. While the power consumption is excellent, the performance is nowhere near the x60 class. The gap between this card and the 970 is simply too big. A cut-down GM204 with 1280:80:48 3GB 192bit will fit the 960 monika better.
So when is this power
So when is this power efficiency going to turned into affordable performance? Nothing to see here.
This card is just is about as
This card is just is about as close as you can get to exactly as powerful as a gtx 760 with the same amount of vram and and a 128 bit bus. The only place you see true improvements are in the titles and benchmarks that Nvidia spent time making driver/firmware improvements. Look at older benchmarks like Heaven or 3dmark vantage and the gtx 970 and 760 are neck and neck. We got a much more power efficient card but at the same time a crippled memory bus to save money. Except for the niche htpc market (which I may or may not belong to) this is really isn’t that exciting and pretty much a sidegrade to the existing gtx 760. Even the compute numbers clearly show this.
I think a lot of people here
I think a lot of people here hating on the 960 are missing a key point – SLI. $200×2=$400. That’s $400 for great fps at 2650×1440 with high settings, barely any heat, and barely any noise.
I think it’s a great deal, and I think Nvidia has a TON of room to lower the price if they want/need. Who cares though, its still only $400 for 2x GTX 960 that can basically do everything youll need. Play more, worry less.
What about the people that
What about the people that don’t want to deal with crappy SLI profiles for games that are getting lazier and lazier with optimization. I want to spend money now for something that plays everything fairly decent and in a year or two buy another.
Will the 128-bit memory
Will the 128-bit memory interface cause any performance hit in modern games?
In layman terms, how does
In layman terms, how does Nvidia make their performance so smooth compared to the competition? It’s the one thing in particular I like about their products. 🙂
Do you know why the
Do you know why the performance differential for Crysis 3 is so much smaller than for the other games? I was considering this card for an upgrade, but if it doesn’t play nice with the CryEngine 3 (Star Citizen in particular) then it might not be worth it.
I am on the Sapphire Vapor-X
I am on the Sapphire Vapor-X R9 290 right now but I just don’t see anyone making a really smart choice by going for this slow of a card. I would at least get the 970.
Call optimization for what it is but PC games now are crushing through 2GB of vram all day long. Dying light at 1080p and max settings is hitting 4gb. Farcry 4 hitting 3GB. Shadow of Mordor 3.5GB. All of this at 1080p…
It’s funny to see reviews
It’s funny to see reviews about gaming GPU’s that emphasize power consumption, and decibel levels. My son and I game everyday for hours on a regular basis. We play games for entertainment because we have a little bit of disposable income I can use for just playing… paying a few cents worth of electricity extra is not even a concern, we saved more by buying a GPU with a better price.
Decibles… seriously? We aren’t playing in a library… and most gamers have headphones that make the decibel level of pc’s really un-noticeable. Even if we are recording with sensitive mics for gameplay uploads… our decibel level is not a concern.
Maybe it’s just me… and I just don’t understand the new sophisticated testing methods. But as a father who enjoys gaming with my son, price… and a GPU’s in game playability is my main concern. I refuse to pay the premium price some manufacturers charge just for a few less watts and decibles… we can use that saved money buying new games, and snacks.
Yes yes we all get it…the
Yes yes we all get it…the 960 isnt blowing anyone away with raw performance. At the same time, everyone is giving this card a ton of crap and saying how over priced it is…is this coming from the same crowd that has been paying $250 for a 760 as close as a couple months ago? A TON of people have a 760. The 960 gives you marginally better performance using much less power, giving off much less heat, less noise AND at $200. If power, heat and noise do not concerns you, then think of it as getting an overclocked 760 at a $50 discount.
Finally upgraded my Radeon
Finally upgraded my Radeon 5850 after a long and painful to tolerate card failure. So happy with this card.
NEVER AMD again !
Fry’s price-matched Amazon and same $10 rebate.
$189 after rebate ; )
Is it worth it to upgrade
Is it worth it to upgrade from my gtx 560 to the 960 because from looking at this review it’s not…