[peeb]

So movies (IIRC) use about 24 fps, and look good, so what am I buying with games with higher fps than this?

[highstakes]

I dont understand your question, you want to know how to improve fps in games, or want to know which games have high fps?

[peeb]

Sorry. Movies have a frame rate of about 24-30 fps, right? I guess my question is 'does 70fps look better?' Why do I care if I get 70fps, when movies look good at 24? Why is fps an important measure, when we don't seem to be able to perceive the difference?

[highstakes]

I am not sure about movies, but if you compare two games, one 30 FPS, and one 60 FPS, the 60 FPS will seem a lot smoother. FPS is important for fast-paced games, so like racing/sports games, certain action and shooting games would seem "realistic" (like watching a race in real life and then playing it on Playstation...at 30 FPS, the racing game would just seem a little slow compared to real life, where if the game was 60 FPS, it would seem "silky smooth"). If you take a look at some of the animations done in action movies like Starwars remake, the CGI animations actually has a little faster fps than the rest of the movie.

[peeb]

But when you see star wars on DVD, its still 24 fps, right?

[Aegis]

Yep, film is 24fps. However, film has a motion blur effect that gives the impression that it's smoother than it really is.

So with games there is a definite improvement from 24 to 70+ fps. Even when you venture into the higher territories of fps, it may not seem a noticable improvement but your eyes will appreciate the lessened strain.

[peeb]

Thanks - is there a maximum visible benefit?

[Aegis]

Some say ~72fps. I'm sure it varies depending on the person's eyesight, the kind of game, etc. But I bet most people wouldn't notice much of a difference above that.

[Tomchu]

There's also the fact that your FPS in games dips and rises depending on what's going on on the screen.

If your hardware can sustain a smooth 60 FPS during regular gameplay, that might dip to a very annoying 10-20 FPS during intense action. If your hardware can sustain a smooth (but useless) 200 FPS, then a dip in an intense scene might bring you down to 80 -- which is still great.

That's generally why the "hardcore gamer" crowd aims for ultra-high framerates, among a few other things.

[cgc]

If you play an FPSs game at 24 FPS and turn, run, or try aiming, it will be harder than if the game were at 72FPS, for example.