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Difference between revisions of "User:Blackbird/AA Test"

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(Updated ref templates)
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{{ii}} '''QCSAA''' variant is supposed to increase the quality even further
 
{{ii}} '''QCSAA''' variant is supposed to increase the quality even further
 
{{ii}} Developed by Nvidia
 
{{ii}} Developed by Nvidia
{{ii}} GeForce 8000 series and higher (Nvidia exclusive)<ref>[https://www.nvidia.com/object/coverage-sampled-aa.html CSAA (Coverage Sampling Antialiasing) article on Nvidia website]</ref>
+
{{ii}} GeForce 8000 series and higher (Nvidia exclusive)<ref>{{Refurl|url=https://www.nvidia.com/object/coverage-sampled-aa.html|title=CSAA (Coverage Sampling Antialiasing) article - Nvidia.com|date=2016-4-29}}</ref>
{{--}} Maxwell based cards such as GTX 750 Ti and GTX 800M/900 series removed the support<ref>[http://forums.realhardwarereviews.com/news/new-nvidia-maxwell-chips-do-not-support-fast-csaa/ New nVidia Maxwell chips do not support fast CSAA]</ref>
+
{{--}} Maxwell based cards such as GTX 750 Ti and GTX 800M/900 series removed the support<ref>{{Refurl|url=http://forums.realhardwarereviews.com/news/new-nvidia-maxwell-chips-do-not-support-fast-csaa/|title=New nVidia Maxwell chips do not support fast CSAA - Real Hardware Reviews|date=2016-4-29}}</ref>
 
{{++}} Aims to further reduce the additional stress that MSAA puts on the system, with Nvidia claiming that a CSAA-rendered image will rival 8x-16x MSAA whilst only putting a load on the system comparable to 4x MSAA. It does this by reducing the number of settings each sample determines (by creating a new sample for coverage) whilst increasing the overall number of samples.
 
{{++}} Aims to further reduce the additional stress that MSAA puts on the system, with Nvidia claiming that a CSAA-rendered image will rival 8x-16x MSAA whilst only putting a load on the system comparable to 4x MSAA. It does this by reducing the number of settings each sample determines (by creating a new sample for coverage) whilst increasing the overall number of samples.
  
 
===Quincunx Super Anti-Aliasing (QSAA)===
 
===Quincunx Super Anti-Aliasing (QSAA)===
 
{{ii}} Developed by Nvidia (Nvidia exclusive)
 
{{ii}} Developed by Nvidia (Nvidia exclusive)
{{++}} Improves on standard MSAA somewhat. For example, 2x QSAA roughly equates to 3x MSAA in terms of quality.<ref>[http://www.overclock.net/t/206755/msaa-and-qsaa MSAA and QSAA thread on Overclockers]</ref>
+
{{++}} Improves on standard MSAA somewhat. For example, 2x QSAA roughly equates to 3x MSAA in terms of quality.<ref>{{Refurl|url=http://www.overclock.net/t/206755/msaa-and-qsaa|title=MSAA and QSAA thread - Overclockers|date=2016-4-29}}</ref>
  
 
===Enhanced Quality Anti-Aliasing (EQAA)===
 
===Enhanced Quality Anti-Aliasing (EQAA)===
 
{{ii}} Developed by AMD
 
{{ii}} Developed by AMD
 
{{ii}} HD 6900 series and higher (AMD exclusive)
 
{{ii}} HD 6900 series and higher (AMD exclusive)
{{++}} AMD claims it offers enhanced AA quality over standard Multi-Sample Anti-Aliasing modes by adding more coverage samples per pixel but keeping the same number of color/depth/stencil samples to achieve better AA quality than standard MSAA modes.<ref>[http://developer.amd.com/wordpress/media/2012/10/EQAA%2520Modes%2520for%2520AMD%2520HD%25206900%2520Series%2520Cards.pdf EQAA Modes for AMD 6900 Series Graphics Cards (PDF document)]</ref>
+
{{++}} AMD claims it offers enhanced AA quality over standard Multi-Sample Anti-Aliasing modes by adding more coverage samples per pixel but keeping the same number of color/depth/stencil samples to achieve better AA quality than standard MSAA modes.<ref>{{Refurl|url=https://developer.amd.com/wordpress/media/2012/10/EQAA%2520Modes%2520for%2520AMD%2520HD%25206900%2520Series%2520Cards.pdf|title=EQAA Modes for AMD 6900 Series Graphics Cards (PDF document)|date=2016-4-29}}</ref>
  
 
===Hybrid Sampling Anti-Aliasing (HSAA)===
 
===Hybrid Sampling Anti-Aliasing (HSAA)===
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===Temporal Anti-Aliasing (TXAA)===
 
===Temporal Anti-Aliasing (TXAA)===
 
{{ii}} Developed by Nvidia
 
{{ii}} Developed by Nvidia
{{ii}} GeForce GTX 600 series and higher (Nvidia exclusive)<ref>[http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/txaa/supported-gpus TXAA supported GPUs on GeForce website]</ref>
+
{{ii}} GeForce GTX 600 series and higher (Nvidia exclusive)<ref>{{Refurl|url=http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/txaa/supported-gpus|title= TXAA supported GPUs on GeForce.com|date=2016-4-29}}</ref>
 
{{++}} Film–style technique designed specifically to reduce temporal aliasing (crawling and flickering seen in motion when playing games)
 
{{++}} Film–style technique designed specifically to reduce temporal aliasing (crawling and flickering seen in motion when playing games)
{{ii}} Combines the raw power of MSAA with sophisticated resolve filters similar to those employed in CG films to produce a smooth image.<ref>[http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/txaa/technology TXAA Technology on GeForce website]</ref>
+
{{ii}} Combines the raw power of MSAA with sophisticated resolve filters similar to those employed in CG films to produce a smooth image.<ref>{{Refurl|url=http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/txaa/technology|title=TXAA Technology on GeForce.com|date=2016-4-29}}</ref>
  
 
===Hybrid Reconstruction Anti-Aliasing (HRAA)===
 
===Hybrid Reconstruction Anti-Aliasing (HRAA)===
{{ii}} Hybrid solution of hardware sampling, postprocessing, temporal and analysis<ref>[http://michaldrobot.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/hraa.pptx HRAA Siggraph 2014 (PPT document)]</ref>
+
{{ii}} Hybrid solution of hardware sampling, postprocessing, temporal and analysis<ref>{{Refurl|url=https://michaldrobot.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/hraa.pptx|title=HRAA Siggraph 2014 (PPT document)|date=2016-4-29}}</ref>
  
 
===Temporal Super-Sampling Anti-Aliasing (TSSAA)===
 
===Temporal Super-Sampling Anti-Aliasing (TSSAA)===
 
{{ii}} Also known as '''TMAA'''
 
{{ii}} Also known as '''TMAA'''
{{++}} Applies anti-aliasing not only to the current frame but also to some frames that were rendered before, restoring the old positions of pixels by using their velocity. This creates smoother and more cinematic images in the game, while only slightly increasing the load on your video card.<ref>[http://worldoftanks.eu/en/news/pc-browser/46/update-99-graphic-changes/ Update 9.9: Graphics Changes - World of Tanks]</ref>
+
{{++}} Applies anti-aliasing not only to the current frame but also to some frames that were rendered before, restoring the old positions of pixels by using their velocity. This creates smoother and more cinematic images in the game, while only slightly increasing the load on your video card.<ref>{{Refurl|url=http://worldoftanks.eu/en/news/pc-browser/46/update-99-graphic-changes/|title=Update 9.9: Graphics Changes - World of Tanks|date=2016-4-29}}</ref>
  
 
===Multi-Frame Anti-Aliasing (MFAA)===
 
===Multi-Frame Anti-Aliasing (MFAA)===
 
{{ii}} Developed by Nvidia
 
{{ii}} Developed by Nvidia
{{ii}} GeForce GTX 900 series and higher (Nvidia exclusive)<ref>[http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/mfaa/supported-gpus MFAA supported GPUs on GeForce website]</ref>
+
{{ii}} GeForce GTX 900 series and higher (Nvidia exclusive)<ref>{{Refurl|url=http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/mfaa/supported-gpus|title=MFAA supported GPUs on GeForce.com|date=2016-4-29}}</ref>
{{++}} According to Nvidia it reduces performance cost while used with high resolutions and is more flexible to needs of different game engines due to its programmability.<ref>[http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/mfaa/technology Technology of MFAA on GeForce website]</ref>
+
{{++}} According to Nvidia it reduces performance cost while used with high resolutions and is more flexible to needs of different game engines due to its programmability.<ref>{{Refurl|url=http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/mfaa/technology|title=Technology of MFAA on GeForce.com|date=2016-4-29}}</ref>
{{--}} One note of importance is that MFAA doesn't function properly below 40FPS. Below that threshold, MFAA causes smearing and blurring in motion.<ref>[http://forums.guru3d.com/showpost.php?p=5137412&postcount=3109 NVidia Anti-Aliasing Guide (updated) thread - post by MrBonk on Guru3D]</ref>
+
{{--}} One note of importance is that MFAA doesn't function properly below 40FPS. Below that threshold, MFAA causes smearing and blurring in motion.<ref>{{Refurl|url=http://forums.guru3d.com/showpost.php?p=5137412&postcount=3109|title=NVidia Anti-Aliasing Guide (updated) thread - Guru3D|date=2016-4-29}}</ref>
  
 
=Post-processing methods=
 
=Post-processing methods=
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===Fast Approximate Anti-Aliasing (FXAA)===
 
===Fast Approximate Anti-Aliasing (FXAA)===
 
{{ii}} Developed by Nvidia
 
{{ii}} Developed by Nvidia
{{++}} Does not require large amounts of computing power. It achieves this by smoothing jagged edges ("jaggies")<ref name=jaggies>[http://www.geforce.com/whats-new/articles/introducing-the-geforce-gtx-680-gpu#fxaa FXAA: Anti-Aliasing at Warp Speed on GeForce website]</ref> according to how they appear on screen as pixels, rather than analyzing the 3D models itself as in conventional anti-aliasing
+
{{++}} Does not require large amounts of computing power. It achieves this by smoothing jagged edges ("jaggies")<ref name=jaggies>{{Refurl|url=http://www.geforce.com/whats-new/articles/introducing-the-geforce-gtx-680-gpu#fxaa|title=FXAA: Anti-Aliasing at Warp Speed - GeForce.com|date=2016-4-29}}</ref> according to how they appear on screen as pixels, rather than analyzing the 3D models itself as in conventional anti-aliasing
{{--}} However, the image quality improvement it provides is significantly less impressive than traditional AA methods such as MSAA.<ref>[http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2011/12/fast-approximate-anti-aliasing-fxaa.html Fast Approximate Anti-Aliasing (FXAA) on Coding Horror]</ref>
+
{{--}} However, the image quality improvement it provides is significantly less impressive than traditional AA methods such as MSAA.<ref>{{Refurl|url=http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2011/12/fast-approximate-anti-aliasing-fxaa.html|title=Fast Approximate Anti-Aliasing (FXAA) - Coding Horror|date=2016-4-29}}</ref>
  
 
===Morphological Anti-Aliasing (MLAA)===
 
===Morphological Anti-Aliasing (MLAA)===
{{ii}} Developed by Intel<ref>[https://software.intel.com/sites/default/files/m/d/4/1/d/8/MLAA.pdf MLAA: Efficiently Moving Antialiasing from the GPU to the CPU (PDF document)]</ref>  
+
{{ii}} Developed by Intel<ref>{{Refurl|url=https://software.intel.com/sites/default/files/m/d/4/1/d/8/MLAA.pdf|title=MLAA: Efficiently Moving Antialiasing from the GPU to the CPU (PDF document)|date=2016-4-29}}</ref>  
 
{{ii}} AMD claims it outperforms FXAA at comparable settings. SMAA is an upgraded form of it.
 
{{ii}} AMD claims it outperforms FXAA at comparable settings. SMAA is an upgraded form of it.
  
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===Conservative Morphological Anti-Aliasing (CMAA)===
 
===Conservative Morphological Anti-Aliasing (CMAA)===
 
{{ii}} Developed by Intel
 
{{ii}} Developed by Intel
{{++}} CMAA is positioned between FXAA and SMAA 1x in computation cost (1.0-1.2x the cost of default FXAA 3.8 and 0.55-0.75x the cost of SMAA 1x). Compared to FXAA 3.8, CMAA provides significantly better image quality and temporal stability as it correctly handles edge lines up to 64 pixels long and is based on an algorithm that only handles symmetrical discontinuities in order to avoid unwanted blurring (thus being more conservative<ref>[https://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/conservative-morphological-anti-aliasing-cmaa Conservative Morphological Anti-Aliasing (CMAA) on Intel website]</ref>
+
{{++}} CMAA is positioned between FXAA and SMAA 1x in computation cost (1.0-1.2x the cost of default FXAA 3.8 and 0.55-0.75x the cost of SMAA 1x). Compared to FXAA 3.8, CMAA provides significantly better image quality and temporal stability as it correctly handles edge lines up to 64 pixels long and is based on an algorithm that only handles symmetrical discontinuities in order to avoid unwanted blurring (thus being more conservative<ref>{{Refurl|url=https://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/conservative-morphological-anti-aliasing-cmaa|title=onservative Morphological Anti-Aliasing (CMAA) - Intel.com|date=2016-4-29}}</ref>
  
 
==Impact on Graphical Quality==
 
==Impact on Graphical Quality==

Revision as of 11:56, 29 April 2016

For a list of games, see List of games that support anti-aliasing (AA).


Anti-aliasing (AA) is a computer graphics technique that attempts to minimise the unwanted 'staircase' or jagged object outlines which occur due to the limited resolution in 3D-Renderers, essentially by 'smoothing' these lines. Enabling this graphics feature will also increase the texture quality in some cases.

Example of Anti-Aliasing

No anti-aliasing 16x anti-aliasing
Not antialiased Cube.png Antialiased Cube.png

Types of Anti-Aliasing

There are a number of anti-aliasing techniques today but all of them are based on the same principle. They simply render multiple pixels per pixel of the final image.

The techniques only differ on two factors:

  • How they determine which pixels are aliased.
  • How they "mix" the multiple rendered pixels to get the final pixel.

These algorithms are also variable on how many pixels they use to determine one final pixel. In video games this is represent by a simple number which is a power of 2 like 2x, 4x, 8x etcetera.

There are several terms associated with anti-aliasing, most of which are derivatives on the standard anti-aliasing formula.

Traditional methods

The result is much sharper and clearer than post-processing methods
Usually more taxing on resources
Some methods are mixed with post-processing ones

Super-Sampling Anti-Aliasing (SSAA)

Also known as FullScreen Anti-Aliasing (FSAA)
Applies the general anti-aliasing formula to fullscreen images, reducing the "staircase effect". When compared to a rendered image undergoing MSAA, a SSAA/FSAA image will appear smoother.
Has largely been replaced by MSAA due to the huge stress it puts on the GPU, but due to the better result that it provides, some games still adopt it as an option in the in-game settings.[1]

Multi-Sample Anti-Aliasing (MSAA)

Essentially a "budget" version of Super-Sampling
To reduce the stress that SSAA/FSAA puts on a system, multi-sampling optimizes the process by evaluating each pixel only once, with true super-sampling only occurring at the edges of a rendered object, and to depth values. This results in a similar (but less drastic) improvement in visual quality whilst reducing the load put on the system to render and downscale such high resolutions.[2]

Coverage Sampling Anti-Aliasing (CSAA)

QCSAA variant is supposed to increase the quality even further
Developed by Nvidia
GeForce 8000 series and higher (Nvidia exclusive)[3]
Maxwell based cards such as GTX 750 Ti and GTX 800M/900 series removed the support[4]
Aims to further reduce the additional stress that MSAA puts on the system, with Nvidia claiming that a CSAA-rendered image will rival 8x-16x MSAA whilst only putting a load on the system comparable to 4x MSAA. It does this by reducing the number of settings each sample determines (by creating a new sample for coverage) whilst increasing the overall number of samples.

Quincunx Super Anti-Aliasing (QSAA)

Developed by Nvidia (Nvidia exclusive)
Improves on standard MSAA somewhat. For example, 2x QSAA roughly equates to 3x MSAA in terms of quality.[5]

Enhanced Quality Anti-Aliasing (EQAA)

Developed by AMD
HD 6900 series and higher (AMD exclusive)
AMD claims it offers enhanced AA quality over standard Multi-Sample Anti-Aliasing modes by adding more coverage samples per pixel but keeping the same number of color/depth/stencil samples to achieve better AA quality than standard MSAA modes.[6]

Hybrid Sampling Anti-Aliasing (HSAA)

Developed by Nvidia
Combination of MSAA and SGSSAA

Sparse Grid Super-Sampling Anti-Aliasing (SGSSAA)

Developed by Nvidia
GeForce GTX 400 series and higher (Nvidia exclusive)
Modern version of SSAA, possessing superior quality to other anti-aliasing methods at a steep performance cost.
Comes in two forms: FSSGSSAA (Full Scene Sparse Grid Supersampling Anti-Aliasing) and TRSGSSAA (Transparency Sparse Grid Supersampling Anti-Aliasing). More information can be found here.

Temporal Anti-Aliasing (TAA)

Not confined to a particular manufacturer
Seeks to reduce or remove the effects of temporal aliasing[7]

Temporal Anti-Aliasing (TXAA)

Developed by Nvidia
GeForce GTX 600 series and higher (Nvidia exclusive)[8]
Film–style technique designed specifically to reduce temporal aliasing (crawling and flickering seen in motion when playing games)
Combines the raw power of MSAA with sophisticated resolve filters similar to those employed in CG films to produce a smooth image.[9]

Hybrid Reconstruction Anti-Aliasing (HRAA)

Hybrid solution of hardware sampling, postprocessing, temporal and analysis[10]

Temporal Super-Sampling Anti-Aliasing (TSSAA)

Also known as TMAA
Applies anti-aliasing not only to the current frame but also to some frames that were rendered before, restoring the old positions of pixels by using their velocity. This creates smoother and more cinematic images in the game, while only slightly increasing the load on your video card.[11]

Multi-Frame Anti-Aliasing (MFAA)

Developed by Nvidia
GeForce GTX 900 series and higher (Nvidia exclusive)[12]
According to Nvidia it reduces performance cost while used with high resolutions and is more flexible to needs of different game engines due to its programmability.[13]
One note of importance is that MFAA doesn't function properly below 40FPS. Below that threshold, MFAA causes smearing and blurring in motion.[14]

Post-processing methods

Less taxing on resources than traditional methods
Applied after the image is rendered unlike the traditional methods. This means that many titles which are DirectX 9 and later and which did not previously support anti-aliasing can be forced
In most cases the image quality can be worse/blurry

Fast Approximate Anti-Aliasing (FXAA)

Developed by Nvidia
Does not require large amounts of computing power. It achieves this by smoothing jagged edges ("jaggies")[15] according to how they appear on screen as pixels, rather than analyzing the 3D models itself as in conventional anti-aliasing
However, the image quality improvement it provides is significantly less impressive than traditional AA methods such as MSAA.[16]

Morphological Anti-Aliasing (MLAA)

Developed by Intel[17]
AMD claims it outperforms FXAA at comparable settings. SMAA is an upgraded form of it.

Subpixel Morphological Anti-Aliasing (SMAA)

Developed by Crytek
Image quality varies from game to game due to differing implementations, but it is arguably better than FXAA or MLAA. You can find pictures, videos and a demo from the developer's site.

Conservative Morphological Anti-Aliasing (CMAA)

Developed by Intel
CMAA is positioned between FXAA and SMAA 1x in computation cost (1.0-1.2x the cost of default FXAA 3.8 and 0.55-0.75x the cost of SMAA 1x). Compared to FXAA 3.8, CMAA provides significantly better image quality and temporal stability as it correctly handles edge lines up to 64 pixels long and is based on an algorithm that only handles symmetrical discontinuities in order to avoid unwanted blurring (thus being more conservative[18]

Impact on Graphical Quality

Anti-aliasing improves the general graphics quality but lowers the frame rate quite significantly. Lowering or disabling the anti-aliasing effect is a good way to improve the overall frame-rate. An anti-aliasing setting is present in most PC games. If its not available in a specific title, it is usually possible to force it via the graphics card driver or a mod/hack. For ATI cards, anti-aliasing can be forced via the Catalyst Control Centre (CCC), and for nVidia cards it can be forced via the Control Panel.

For lower-end systems, prioritise post-process anti-aliasing types such as FXAA and MLAA, as these will result in a much lower reduction in frame rates. If your system is up to it, however, use more traditional anti-aliasing methods such as MSAA to drastically improve overall image quality.

Forcing Anti-Aliasing

Anti-Aliasing Nvidia ATI/AMD How to force?

SSAA

True icon.svg True icon.svg NVIDIA Control Panel/NVIDIA Inspector and AMD Catalyst Control Center

MSAA

True icon.svg True icon.svg NVIDIA Control Panel/NVIDIA Inspector

CSAA

True icon.svg False icon.svg NVIDIA Control Panel/NVIDIA Inspector

QSAA

True icon.svg False icon.svg NVIDIA Inspector

EQAA

False icon.svg True icon.svg AMD Catalyst Control Center

HSAA

Unknown icon.svg Unknown icon.svg

SGSSAA

True icon.svg False icon.svg NVIDIA Inspector

TAA

False icon.svg False icon.svg Can't be forced. Has to be implemented in the game by developer.

TXAA

False icon.svg False icon.svg Can't be forced. Has to be implemented in the game by developer.

HRAA

False icon.svg False icon.svg Can't be forced. Has to be implemented in the game by developer.

TSSAA

False icon.svg False icon.svg Can't be forced. Has to be implemented in the game by developer.

MFAA

True icon.svg False icon.svg NVIDIA Control Panel/NVIDIA Inspector or GeForce Experience. Requires MSAA to be enabled.

FXAA

True icon.svg Hackable icon.svg NVIDIA Control Panel/NVIDIA Inspector and FXAA injector/SweetFX 2.0

MLAA

False icon.svg True icon.svg AMD Catalyst Control Center

SMAA

Hackable icon.svg Hackable icon.svg injectSMAA (DX9/10/11 only)

CMAA

False icon.svg Unknown icon.svg

External links

References