An unusual concept within the PC gaming community space
An unusual concept within the PC gaming community space
It appears that after the release of the last year of games and the launch of ten new graphics card series, many PC gamers have become overly critical of game optimization. There seems to be a perception that lower-end video cards are now being treated as inferior simply because they perform less well under maximum settings. This has led to widespread negative reviews on Steam and numerous comments about poor optimization in YouTube benchmarks.
In reality, if certain games fail to run smoothly even with high settings—especially on less powerful systems—they shouldn’t automatically be labeled as "poorly optimized." The idea that "Ultra" should always be the default benchmark is outdated; performance varies widely depending on the game and hardware. Many titles now deliver comparable results at both high and ultra settings, yet still face criticism.
The situation becomes clearer when comparing games like Grand Theft Auto V, which struggled under heavy settings, versus other titles such as Deus Ex: Mankind Divided or Rise of the Tomb Raider that performed well across the board. Even when tested on powerful hardware, these games didn’t receive "unoptimized" labels despite their limitations.
The real issue lies in how expectations are set and communicated. When a game consistently underperforms at its highest settings, it’s unfair to blame the system alone—developers should be held accountable for delivering consistent performance, regardless of the card used.
People's reactions seem unusual, but they claim it appears as a trend where running games at ultra settings becomes increasingly difficult. Back when I played, I could handle triple A games smoothly at 60 fps with my 560Ti. I was younger then and didn’t have much experience, so maybe the settings weren’t consistent or the GPU wasn’t powerful enough. Now I own a 960 card, which is far below current standards, yet I still need to play most triple A games even at lower settings. It feels like a significant drop in just a few years, despite upgrading my graphics card. Also, I can run Battlefield 4 at medium settings with ease, but with Battlefield 1 I struggle with 20-40 on low settings. This might be due to CPU limitations rather than GPU issues.
A 960 offers solid performance, but it doesn’t drastically improve over a 1050 Ti. For me, BF1 runs smoothly at medium settings around 100 fps without any issues, and even on an i5 I used a while back without noticeably slowing things down—usually staying near the mid-50s frame rate. In BF4, it handles Ultra quality and 70-80 frames per second just fine. It might be that your setup has some quirks, or you're expecting more than it delivers. The situation feels a bit unfair, like demanding specific behavior based on your investment.
It could be related to something in my situation. I recently had a clean windows reinstall, which might help now. A few years ago, when I didn’t know much about computers, I tried cleaning my PC with a vacuum cleaner, and since then I’ve noticed it’s running much slower. Maybe there was ESD damage, though I always thought only the 560Ti was affected—maybe I was mistaken.
The humor in your point is that when the details are too basic, they begin criticizing the game as "dumbed down console trash." PC developers struggle to succeed regardless of their approach, except for a few rare cases. I also find it unnecessary to play games on Ultra; the quality gap with the next lower tier is minimal and you need careful comparison between screenshots. And if you're doing that in-game, are you truly playing for entertainment or just testing your e-peen?
I only express that I wish your frustration helped, since it didn’t achieve anything else.
Usually, I'd say the same thing. Ultra adds little value when you can achieve a nearly similar look with slightly reduced settings. For those who want a mix of visual quality and frame rate, Ultra isn't worth it unless you're willing to go all out. Everyone will object, and it applies to both consoles and PCs.