since when 30 fps becomes unplayable
since when 30 fps becomes unplayable
I think I'm an outlier. My settings are around 144hz, and I can handle anything from 144 up to the mid-20s. Below 25 it starts to drop significantly. It's not really about the frame rate itself, but more about the frame time. When I switch to triple screen mode, I get 40-60 FPS, but for some reason it causes a lot of stutter and screen tearing. That makes games like Assetto Corsa nearly unplayable in triple screen because even though it claims 60 FPS, turns feel slow—like 15 or less. And then there are titles like Forza Horizon or Forza Motorsport that stay steady at 30 and 60 fps, which is much smoother.
I used to enjoy playing with an Intel HD 4400 and barely managed anything at 60 fps. 1080p low in Overwatch was around 30 fps with very low frame rates, while Minecraft ran smoothly at about 40 fps with low settings in 1080p, though it had some loading issues. After upgrading to a 1050 Ti, things improved significantly. Now, even on my laptop with 50 fps, I struggle to play because the game feels sluggish and my aim is poor compared to the smooth 60 fps experience I used to have.
I used to support you wholeheartedly. Back when I had limited funds and bought affordable, passive cooling GPUs for old Dell machines, I was thrilled with 30 FPS. I told myself "I don't need 60 fps." Nowadays, I'm much more comfortable. Whenever a game drops below 60 FPS, it's clear to me right away. It's not unplayable, but it's definitely noticeable.
Regarding higher frame rates, I'm not that spoiled. However, you can easily spot the difference by moving a Windows Explorer window around. The jump from 60 fps to 100 fps in Windows is quite obvious, yet I still keep my monitor at 75 Hz because I can't push games beyond that speed.
In online gaming, having a frame rate of 30fps is a major drawback