Poll: Which Is More Important To You, Resolution Or Frame Rate?

•If above 30fps, but under 1080p: Resolution.
•Once you get to 1080p: Frame rate
•Once 60fps: Resolution

Don’t try to give me 120fps at 900p
Don’t try to give me 4k at 30-35fps

Much rather have a 2k/60fps over 4k/30fps

Get to 60fps first, then use the remaining horsepower (if any) to Resolution/visuals.

Beyond 60fps, i don't really care, that's mostly for very competitive Shooters

Or even better, make 2 modes and let the player decide.

I chose framerate - however not necessarily for a high framerate. I want a locked framerate.

If you want to completely max out the GPU/CPU to the point where 30fps is the best you can do, fine. Just make sure that the framerate is 100% locked 30fps (which means there is always a little bit of overhead where the game runs at a consistent framerate in the 40's with an unlocked framerate). Also make sure your frame pacing isn't all over the place.

Choice is always nice, though.

I guess I would say I like consistency over graphics.

Framerate

1080p60 looks and plays lovely.

Next gen was doomed to repeat all these issues after games the 1st reveals of both consoles confirmed 30fps games on each platform. Absolute failure on both companies for not mandating 60fps.

@AJDarkstar If you demand better, they will be forced to give you it. "Artistic" "creative" "cinematic" are words design to sell you lies and failures.

Resolution. I want games to look the best they can be, I don't need 60fps, 4k at a solid 30fps is more than good enough. If the framerate can be 60fps at 4k, then I won't complain, but I'm happy with a solid 30fps.

Im glad developers prioritise resolution over framerate

@AJDarkstar I do. Because I'm not fooled by the lies.

It really depends on the game - I would and happily do play games at 30fps - just as long as its a LOCKED 30fps. Of course 60fps maybe better but the sacrifices to visual quality - not just resolution - could be too much. If the game is suffering from looking blurry, with pop-in, low quality/blocky shadows etc - all of that to me is worse than playing at 60fps when 30fps still plays and feels great.

With advances in rendering techniques, like temporal reconstruction, AI upscaling, Variable Rate Shading (which may make 'parts' of an image seem to be lower resolution as they treat 'blocks' of pixels as one) etc, Native resolutions are not so important. If you can make 1080p look as good, indistinguishable from a native 4k using DLSS, then why waste resources on rendering natively at 4k - especially if that is the difference between hitting a locked 60fps or a locked 30fps.

As someone with an Xbox and PS4, as well as a Pro and X, and a 4k screen, the difference in resolution and overall visual quality can be very noticeable. The lack of 'pixels' can make the difference between something looking right and something just appearing as a blurry mess.

First impressions count and often people make a judgement on a game based on their first look - often a screenshot, a teaser trailer or actual game-play video. The quality of the visuals matter - hence you have people who feel 'cheated' if the final game doesn't look as good as the early looks - going so far as to not buy a game.

I don't think its a simple black and white answer to this question. I would rather have a locked 30fps to a game that averages 45fps but constantly fluctuating up and down. 45fps is 'higher' but overall worse for me. Consistency is more important than overall frame rate. It could average 50fps, only drop to 40fps at the lowest point, but I would still pick Resolution and a locked 30fps over that.

In games that have offered a locked 30fps Resolution mode, I do tend to pick that over an unlocked Frame rate mode - especially in games that are visually stunning rather than reduce that visual quality. You notice more in games - just like I do when watching movies at 4k over 1080p and certainly over DVD quality. It doesn't change the story but does enhance the overall experience for me.

Point is, Image Quality matters too and just being higher frame rate doesn't necessarily make a game more enjoyable either - consistency is more important as far as frame rates go and there is a reason that we have seen development of new rendering technologies to give the impression of higher native resolution without needing the GPU grunt to deliver that - better use of the resources to achieve that picture quality without sacrificing frame rates...

@GamingFan4Lyf these were the words I was gong to say.

A couple months ago I saw people claiming we'd have a 4K/60fps future, when I warned them about the reality of how game development works, they weren't very receptive. Now we have examples of games going to run at 30fps, people are up in arms about having a performance option. (this is mostly on the sister site, BTW).

And yeah, frames are important, but we have to understand that higher doesn't automatically mean better. When it comes to certain games, genres, ports, Switch ports, etc, a more consistent experience is always a better experience.

I usually always op for resolution over frame rate. For example, when I eventually get around to playing The Witcher 3 after finishing RDR2 I’ll be choosing 4K visuals over 60fps because it plays fine at 30fps but when played at 60fps it just looks wrong, the game looks like it’s playing in fast forward and just looks so unnatural, so it can depend on the game. Games like FIFA, Forza and CoD are the ones that really benefit more when played at 60fps.

With the Series X and PS5 we shouldn’t have to be choosing either option, both should come as standard as both consoles will be powerful enough to do both.

FPS should be at least 60. During the current generation, I have had issues with games that were 30 and below. I didn't get many games because of that and I disliked trials (Star Wars, Anthem) because of the frame rate. I consider a game faulty when the frame rate is unstable below 30 FPS because I'm not able to enjoy it and the excuses that developers give like advanced visual effects and higher resolution is an offence because the more visually advanced a game is, the more irritating a choppy frame rate is.

However, it seems that PS5 AAA games will be 4K 30FPS (first-party games Spiderman and Ratchet & Clank are) and I applaud Microsoft for encouraging developers to deliver 4K 60FPS on Series X. With the extra 9% CPU speed and between 18 and 32% more TFLOPS compared to PS5, I expect games to have higher frame rates and resolution on Series X like it happened on PS4 and then on Xbox One X this generation. I expect a 60 FPS option on Series X games and even Assassin's Creed Valhalla might include the option below 4K resolution.

Finally, I admit that some developers are very good at delivering 30 frames per second consistently but I still prefer to have both options like in Forza Horizon 4 and the Tomb Raider games.

@zane547 It's not a philosophical stance. A lot of visual effects combined with a choppy slideshow literally hurts my brain. Where is the fun in that?

i have a silly question: if we're going to be asked to choose, why are we buying new machines, again?

Depends on the game. For some 60fps is really beneficial, for others not so much and in that case I don't really care. I mean, I have a 4K TV, so I may as well use it.

@armondo36 The question remains the same regardless of every console generation. Devs can always choose higher res or higher fidelity over higher frame rate. Even back in PS3 days there were shooters targeting 60fps. It will be the same all the time.

Gameplay is the most important to me above everything

@zane547 I think that some brains are more sensitive than others but, objectively, higher frame rates bring better controls and less lag. If the frame rate is not stable or it's too low I just can't enjoy the game. It's like watching a film with 20 random pauses per second or listening to a song at variable speed.

If it's stable 30 fps with perfect frame pacing I can enjoy the game but if it's a racing game or a shooter I still prefer 60 fps. That's why 60 FPS is more important than resolution always but even more important in fast games or even slower games where you control the camera all the time.

If 4K60 isn't possible in next-gen games like Assassin's Creed Valhalla, a choice between 30 and 60 FPS should be given. This is something that has happened many times this generation on Xbox One X thanks to superb developers like The Coalition, Crystal Dynamics, Playground Games... I think that Ubisoft is able to make Valhalla 4K60 but they won't achieve that until the next Assassin's Creed game. Ubisoft and Playground Games were able to optimise their engines to run at higher frame rates and resolution but Valhalla is Ubisoft's first game for Series X and PS5 and it's not easy to hit the target the first time. Next Assassin's Creed game will be 4K60 FPS on Series X and PC, not sure about PS5 though where even first-party games are 30 FPS.

30fps is ok if stable. 60fps with dynamic resolution (if needed) gets my vote.

I think Frame Rate is more important, because I've played some games at 1080p 60fps and they can still look amazing. I think if they have good anti-aliasing, they will still be sharp enough for me to appreciate the visuals. But if the game is like super blurry with artifacts everywhere, I may prefer 4K 30fps because it will still feel ok but will look amazing.

I’d choose a better frame rate because the difference between 30fps and 60fps is far more noticeable than 1080p and 4k, I mean even now some of the 360 games still look fantastic.

Personally I think this 8k ready on the series X will be one of the features removed from the first revision

How about the games themselves? I'm getting so sick of this. Specs, resolution, frame rate, ray tracing, SSD, teraflops, revolutionary, "It's completely change game design!" blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah!

Can I remind everyone these are game consoles, and the most important aspect of them will be the games themselves!? But no one is talking about them. No, they aren't. Stop typing that reply saying "but 4K 60FPS is so amazing!" Shut up! I know. We all know, and I don't care.

I want to hear about the games, what do you get to do in these games? Give me a preview of the story, hook me on the gameplay, tell me about the setting, the characters, the vehicles etc etc. What kind of adventure can I go on? Where will it happen?

Why is no one talking about the games themselves anymore? It's nothing but specs, resolution and frame rate!

As i don't have a 4K TV (and it's not in my plans), 1080P and 60FPS is cool.

@Heavyarms55 well said. Unfortunately, now its all about 'terraflops', when most people don't even know what a tf actually is.

The gap in power probably won't even be noticable. Most of it is all in people's heads I think. The games will be great regardless.