Hello there! Today i’ve tried new piplay version (that has been already released out of beta). Like many others i was waiting for past months for any work around picture quality that would allow us get closer to 4k image quality. New version provides better stability, better oculus support and some other small features and optimizations that i (as a steam user with a gaming pc) still dont find useful, however i understand these things were necessary.
So i really hoped at least this will be a step forward:
I made some compares in Project Cars, using msi afterburner software to monitor fps/load (not in headset). Running windows 10, with i7 6700k and 1080 gtx. Each test were made on a same map, with same weather conditions and day time, so the load on gpu/cpu would be equal.
PiSetup_1.1.92, Project Cars
Best results i got:
Resolution: 1080p
Steamvr supersampling: 1.5
In-game downsampling: DS6X
Asynchronous reprojection: on
Other settings: low
GPU load: 90-90%
FPS: stable 60
HMD latency: 15ms
So what is it all about? Its a full hd image with a render multiplier of 1.5 and antialiacing DS6X which is triple height and doubled width resolution. All this runs with 60 stable fps, with gpu load 90-99% and hmd latency 15ms, looks amazing, almost perfect.
This was my best possible picture quality that i could enjoy with a good and stable fps on a version 1.1.92
Increase of “supersampling” or “downsampling” results in to increased hmd latency (30+) and fps lose, gpu at the same time wont load above 60% most of time. Not sure if its hdmi bandwidth limitation or pc hardware.
PiSetup_1.2.53, Project Cars (no more support for Asynchronous reprojection)
As mentioned before, asynchronous reprojection doesnt work with steamvr, which means 99% of games i own will suffer.
First try :
Resolution: 1080p
Steamvr supersampling: 1.5
In-game downsampling: DS6X
Asynchronous reprojection: off
Other settings: low
GPU load: 50-75
FPS: 30
HMD latency: 30-50ms
Second try:
Resolution: 1080p
Steamvr supersampling: 1.5
In-game downsampling: DS4X
Asynchronous reprojection: off
Other settings: low
GPU load: 50-75
FPS: 30-60
HMD latency: 30ms
Result: even lowering antialiacing and decreasing picture quality could not match the perfomance of version 1.1.92. Furthermore the game has lack of gui and horrible horizontal screen tearing (either with 30 or 30-60 fps) and vertical that looks like vsync tearing but verticaly. Never experiencing any of this problems with 1.1.92.
Сonclusion: the game is now not playable, unless i turn all the picture quiality features off. Is that something i’ve expected to see with a new version? Is that something i expected from a 4k resolution hmd or 800$ value gaming graphic card? Definitely not.
Had to revert back to 1.1.92 (thx god i have old version installer).
p.s. Another weird issue with gpu load and perfomance: if i turn settings to high (supersampling or downsampling) the game drops fps and increase the hmd latency (up to 35 or even 50). Although low fps gpu isnt loaded at full, it’s mostly about 70%. But, if alt tab (set game to not active windows simply by clicking with the mouse on desktop) gpu load rises up to 99%,providing better fps (+20) and decreasing hmd latency.
Example n1, project cars, 1.2.53, game window active
Example n2, project cars, 1.2.53, game window inactive
