MBPr gaming resolution fix in bootcamp?

[jackthedude99]

Alright, so I've read through the forums a lot about how the macbook pro with retina display does not look very good in windows 7 without making the resolution 2880 x 1800, and creating a DPI scaling of 2x. That's fine and all, but in order to optimize FPS in a game (like tera, or any other graphically intense game) it's best to keep a lower resolution that emphasizes clarity and performance. In my opinion, the old macbook pro model that had a 1440 x 900 resolution in windows 7 had great clarity and performance (FPS).I don't want to run a graphically intense game at 1920 x 1080 because there are too many pixels, which reduces frame-rate and performance in a game. I want to recreate 1440 x 900 resolution quality that the old MBP utilized on this on this newer model with retina display. Unfortunately from what I have read, there is no (easily found/done) solution to this as windows 7 doesn't scale the pixels correctly.


(Forgive me for my lack of knowledge in this department, I just want to make this model of MBPr work the best it can.)

According to forum posts I have read, the windows operating system creates a bilinear filter in the 1440 x 900 resolution that creates a very soft and fuzzy image. I assume this is the problem in recreating the old MBP resolution with clarity while running bootcamp? Anyways, I was wondering if there is ANY way to make the resolution at 1440 x 900 look as clear and sharp as the old MBP model. One thing I read also is that the problem is a software error, meaning that there has to be a solution out there somewhere! Please post if you have any knowledge regarding what type of software can fix this issue, or any solutions. I would very much so appreciate this as I am a bit distressed and bummed out that this new model of MBP with retina display is technically running games less efficently than the older models in bootcamp.

 

[MICHAELSD]

There really is not much in the way of improvement as a display's native resolution will never be able to be fully up-converted from a lower resolution. Four times more pixels makes a very noticeable impact on unoptimized content, with little in the way of improvement. For that reason, a 1440x900 MacBook Pro will always look better at 1440x900 than a 2880x1800 display will, not counting the contrast and color improvements the Retina display brings to the table. Try comparing games unoptimized for the iPhone or iPad's Retina Display - even with upconverting, there is still no going back to the clarity an unoptimized app had on a non-Retina display. One can hope that there will be a program that can upconvert those 1440x900 pixels to at least look better than it does now with simply bilinear filtering.

I would recommend setting the resolution at full Retina and turning down a few settings. The Retina resolution will certainly enhance the game more than some of the more taxing settings like DirectX 11 in some games. Which game are you trying to play that the 650M is having issues with at Retina resolution?

 

[Beta Particle]

I think your best bet is to petition Nvidia to see if they can offer the option, or poke around in the registry and see if there are any tweaks available for the GPU scaling. (you will need to set it to scale on the card in the drivers)

 

[jackthedude99]

>MichaelSD

Retina display on Tera Online (A relatively new MMORPG with intensive graphics) will yield ~8-25 fps in the game. You will only be able to achieve 25 FPS when not in combat and in less graphically intensive areas. The act of decreasing graphic settings has very little effect upon the terrible FPS yield at the 2880 x 1800 resolution; It's a better idea to just run the game at 1680 x 1050.

>Beta Particle

I really want to contact Nvidia but I'm not sure if they'll actually do anything about it. I messed around in regedit and changed font size from 96 to 48 in 1440 x 900 resolution, but it didn't really fix anything. I'll look into how and what i can tweak in the GPU scaling, thanks for the advice.

 

[doh123]

while I haven't tried Windows... gaming at 1440x900 vs 2880x1800, I only notice a difference if I'm comparing side by side. It may be a bit 'fuzzier' but its something my eyes don't really notice after 30 seconds or so of playing unless I start trying to compare them side by side.

It would be nice if the graphics drivers (OSX or Windows) would scale 1440x900 correctly, as mathematically it could look perfect, but neither one scale them exactly right like they should.

 

[Beta Particle]

It would be nice if the graphics drivers (OSX or Windows) would scale 1440x900 correctly, as mathematically it could look perfect, but neither one scale them exactly right like they should.

In Windows, Nvidia offers the option to scale resolution on the GPU to 2880×1800, or simply to pass the resolution through to the display and have it handle the image scaling. The reason you might want to do that now, is that it gives you more control—you can set whether to stretch to fill the screen, maintain aspect ratio and fill the screen, or display the image centred on the screen.

The problem is that the image is interpolated when upscaled to 2880×1800.

When scaling non-integer resolutions such as 1680×1050 to 2880×1800, you absolutely do want interpolation.

However, when scaling 1440×900 to 2880×1800—particularly when playing games—you want to use Nearest Neighbour interpolation, rather than anything else. Doing this would essentially give you exactly the same image as a 1440×900 native display, rather than a softer/fuzzier interpolated image. (which actually looks better with photos and video)

As Nvidia already has most of the work already done (already has options for scaling on the GPU etc.) I bet it would actually be relatively easy for them to implement the option to use Nearest Neighbour scaling when the resolution is an integer multiple of the display resolution.

 

[leman]

Just set the resolution to 1440x900 or 1680x1050 in the game. Most games will also happily run at 1920x1200 (this is how I run GW2 and it performs very well). The quality is indistinguishable from a native display with the same resolution.