How much does FPS really matter

[Lery]

I noticed that I was rolling at about 60 FPS during my games. I decided to bump up the video settings to the highest level available. My FPS is now ranging around 45-50. I don't see a problem, but I'm wondering if I just can't tell that there is a problem?

[Boathouse]

Depends on your level of play. If you don't care about improving your skills or playing at the best of your abilities you'll be fine. You want to set the fps limit to 60 and find the settings that let you play there if you want to take the game more seriously.

[xerus]

I feel bad when my FPS drops below 144 on Epic settings.

[Lery]

Depends on your level of play. If you don't care about improving your skills or playing at the best of your abilities you'll be fine. You want to set the fps limit to 60 and find the settings that let you play there if you want to take the game more seriously.

I don't understand the reply, but I thank you for it. It doesn't seem to affect my level of play. I still snipe the same and nothing seems different.

[Boathouse]

I don't understand the reply, but I thank you for it. It doesn't seem to affect my level of play. I still snipe the same and nothing seems different.

More so I'm saying if you're not noticing it and it's not affecting how YOU play then it's no big deal, but when ranked comes out and you're trying to push higher ranking then yes I'd find settings that let you lock it at 60. You'll notice it at super clutch moments.

[WskyDK]

A dev posted this in the forums (the whole thread has since been deleted)
"Thanks for all the feedback. I can give you a little bit more information about the details of input lag.
We use only unadjusted raw input for our input handling (except when in the UI) as is common for FPS's. We also do a few other things to try to minimize input lat (sample input at the latest possible moment, minimize allowable buffered frames in the driver, etc).
However, we have noticed that if the GPU gets bogged down, input lag will be a little bit worse because the driver will start to buffer a frame and there can be a frame buffered in our game (we have a multi-threaded renderer that has a frame in submission to the GPU while we simulate the next frame). In those cases if you want to prefer less input lag over visual quality you can reduce your graphics detail settings to ensure you get the quickest path from sampled input to result on screen."

So for Overwatch, FPS is probably a little more important than in other shooters.

[Very Tired]

General rule I got from TF2 was, as long as you're above 30 fps, you can't really blame it for your performance.

[Raidenwins]

I was running 30-40 fps before upgrading my video card, and now I run around 130. It's like a totally different game. So smooth and much easier to aim.

[A Chozo]

More so I'm saying if you're not noticing it and it's not affecting how YOU play then it's no big deal, but when ranked comes out and you're trying to push higher ranking then yes I'd find settings that let you lock it at 60. You'll notice it at super clutch moments.

I think OP is asking WHY he'll notice it at super clutch moments. He probably will, but he wants to understand why the fps will affect his perfomance.

[Hana Song]

I feel bad when my FPS drops below 144 on Epic settings.

How can you have 144 fps?

[pkm]

How can you have 144 fps?

144hz monitors my man

[Hana Song]

144hz monitors my man

I have that too but my fps don't go above 70 most of the time

[Jakexe]

How can you have 144 fps?

By having a monitor with a 144hz refresh rate, and the gear to handle that frame rate.

I play on 2 pc's, one only does 60 and the other 144. There's a definite difference, especially in hectic situations with a lot of rapid turning but I don't think it's enough to consider it a serious advantage.

[Hana Song]

By having a monitor with a 144hz refresh rate.

I play on 2 pc's, one only does 60 and the other 144. There's a definite difference, especially in hectic situations with a lot of rapid turning but I don't think it's enough to consider it a serious advantage.

I have a monitor with 144 hz but it's around 70 fps most of the time

[Jakexe]

I have a monitor with 144 hz but it's around 70 fps most of the time

Edited my post. You need pretty powerful hardware to push those higher numbers.

[pkm]

I have a monitor with 144 hz but it's around 70 fps most of the time

Check your settings, what does it say under fps? Something like cap at monitor refresh rate? Do you have a video card that can sustain 144 fps?

[Mifuyne]

I have a monitor with 144 hz but it's around 70 fps most of the time

That means your computer is not good enough to hit 144 FPS.

[tapczan100]

I have a monitor with 144 hz but it's around 70 fps most of the time

He has better pc and/or lower settings.

Generally the more FPS you can get the better, the difference is less noticable from 200 to 300 but 100->200 is huge. Right now I'm stuck on 160-170~ because I don't want to lower the details.
Remember to turn off Triple Buffering and VSync

[Hana Song]

Edited my post. You need pretty powerful hardware to push those higher numbers.

I have i7-5930k with 2x gtx 980 ti :/

[Mifuyne]

I have i7-5930k with 2x gtx 980 ti :/

And which graphic settings/screen resolution?