Understanding Graphics Frame Rates
One day I came across a marketing video put together by SGI marketing selling the concept of the 60 hz update rate. I don't remember the details, but the concept was presented by two individuals, one a computer scientist and the other a occulist. Both explained, from different points of view, the way the computer and the brain worked in somewhat disparate trains of thought, but the final conclusion, voiced by both individuals at the same time was:
"And it all happens in 16 milliseconds".
I bought into the concept (probably because the video was done so well) and believed for quite a while that there was something magical about the 16.667 millisecond time slice which results in the 60 hz visual update rate. At the time I was training myself to recognize the difference between 30 and 60 hz and becoming quite aware of the 60 hz requirements that government flight simulator contracts imposed on prospective developers. I also learned the term "sim sickness" and in fact experienced some of this with head-mounted displays.
This article and accompanying test software will teach you how to recognize frame rates as a function of your computer monitor's refresh rate. Beware, until the mid 90's, I was perfectly happy with simulators that ran at 30 Hz, and even tolerated some at 20 hz. After learning these concepts I cringe at so-called "real-time" 3D graphics applications that update at anything less than the monitors refresh rate. This article may do the same for you, as well as ruin your enjoyment of big screen movies which all run at 24 frames per second.
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