A VISUAL GUIDE TO THE GemFX SETTINGS
While there are many very good presets out there, very rarely do we find one that completely fulfills our expectations. This guide aims to help users make their own presets.
Some of these options will have little to no effect on your performance, and the cost to performance will depend on your system. The estimations are based off of my computer. Also remember that the more options you have enabled, the more fps you will lose, and that some options that wont effect your fps alone may take away a few fps if enabled with other things.
I have a solid 100 fps on max settings without FX injectors active.
Unlike SweetFX, GemFX comes with it's own configurator, making it much easier to use and edit. GemFX comes with a built in SweetFX configurator as well, so refer to the SweetFX DiY page if you are interested in using both.
Some of these options will have little to no effect on your performance, and the cost to performance will depend on your system. The estimations are based off of my computer. Also remember that the more options you have enabled, the more fps you will lose, and that some options that wont effect your fps alone may take away a few fps if enabled with other things.
- Alienware X51 R2
- Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-4130 CPU @ 3.40GHz
- 6.00 GB RAM
- 64-bit OS
- GeForce GTX 650
I have a solid 100 fps on max settings without FX injectors active.
Unlike SweetFX, GemFX comes with it's own configurator, making it much easier to use and edit. GemFX comes with a built in SweetFX configurator as well, so refer to the SweetFX DiY page if you are interested in using both.
FXAA
GemFX uses two types of FXAA, 1x and 2x. 1xFXAA only applies Anti-Aliasing to the image once, while 2xFXAA applies Anti-Aliasing twice.
Both of these settings seem to have a 10-20 fps drops when paired with any other setting, so if you are having performance issues turn this off first.
FXAA will make text and name tags look "noisy", so if you are having a hard time reading the text, try turning this option off.
1xFXAA estimated fps loss: 0
2x FXAA estimated fps loss: 7-8
Both of these settings seem to have a 10-20 fps drops when paired with any other setting, so if you are having performance issues turn this off first.
FXAA will make text and name tags look "noisy", so if you are having a hard time reading the text, try turning this option off.
1xFXAA estimated fps loss: 0
2x FXAA estimated fps loss: 7-8
Basic Shaders
The basic shaders change various things about your game, including brightness, shadow depth, saturation, and ambient light.
There are two types of base shaders you can choose; Realistic and TrueColor. If you don't like the look of either, you can choose No GEM Shader. Both Realistic and TrueColor shaders can be extensively edited in the "Basic Shader" tab. Both types of shaders also apply LumaSharpen to the image. Estimated fps loss: 0 |
Realistic Default Settings
Scene Depth: 1.02 Filter Depth: 0.2 Shadow Depth: 0.62 Tex Bright: 1.26 Contr Bright: 0.9 Shader Bright: 0.25 Saturation: 0.92 Amb Light: 12.8 Color Boost/SSAO/Auto HighLight: Off |
TrueColor Default Settings
Scene Depth: 1.03 Filter Depth: 0.6 Shadow Depth: 0.92 Tex Bright: 1.2 Contr Bright: 0.86 Shader Bright: 0.25 Saturation: 0.95 Amb Light: 15 Color Boost: On SSAO/Auto Highlight: Off |
Blur
The blur setting blurs the edges of the screen, and can make a psuedo Depth of Field effect. This effect is toggled by pressing the K key (default). When toggled off, there is no fps loss.
Estimated fps loss: 5 |
Blur Default Settings
Power: 5 Radius: 2 Focus: -0.6 |
Clear Vision
When checked, this disables the artificial details that are activated when using Realistic or TrueColor shaders. Since ClearVision removes detail, this should increase your fps if you are using one of the two shaders.
Davinci
Add an effect to the Realistic and TrueColor base shaders which makes the image look like a painting.
Estimated fps loss: 0
Estimated fps loss: 0
HBO
Applies a chromatic aberration effect to the image, similar to HBO movie effects.
HBO can also sharped the image without adding chromatic aberration by setting Shift Amount to 0 in "Additional Shader" tab. Estimated fps loss: 0 |
HBO Default Settings
Sharp Range: 0.74 Sharp Amount: 4.2 Blur Amount: 0.18 Shift Amount: 1.95 |
Motion Blur
Adds "streaking" to moving objects. This is more easily noticeable in-game.
Estimated fps loss: 0 |
Motion Blur Default Settings
Basic Settings Intensity: 0 Softness: 3.5 Precision: 0 Multiplier: 3.5 Recall: 0.4 Smart Intensity: 0.94 |
Gaussian
Adds high quality blur, sharpness, bloom, or sketch effects to the image. 0 is blur, 1 is sharp, 2 is bloom, and 3 is sketch.
Just like with SweetFX, increasing Quality can greatly impact performance. For comparison, Gaussian Blur has been set to Quality 3 and Sigma 4, estimated fps loss is based off of default settings. Gaussian Blur estimated fps loss: 1-2 Gaussian Sharp estimated fps loss: 0 Gaussian Bloom estimated fps loss: 6-7 Gaussian Sketch estimated fps loss: 1-2 |
Gaussian Default Settings
Effect: 0 Quality: 0 Sigma: 0 Warmth: 0 Threshold: 0 Exposure: 100 Strength: 0.17 |
Film Grain
Applies film grain to the image. More noticeable in-game.
Estimated fps loss: 0 |
Film Grain Default Settings
General Settings Exposure: 35 Size: 4.5 Shadows Threshold: 0.25 Intensity: 0.45 MidTones Intensity: 0.45 HighLights Threshold: 0.75 Intensity: 0.45 |
Ambient Light
Applies ambient lighting effects to the image, and is required for some other lighting effects.
If using a shader, make sure that Amb Light is set higher than 0 in the "Basic Shader" tab. Estimated fps loss: 0 |
Ambient Light Default Settings
Limit: 15 Threshold: 0.45 Intensity: 15 |
Dirt Lens
Adds a dirt effect to the screen. GemFX has 32 different dirt images that you can use, each giving a different look and intensity. When changing between different dirt images, the game will freeze for a few seconds.
Estimated fps loss: 0 |
Dirt Lens Default Settings
DirtInt: 1.5 DirtOVInt: 1.15 Scratchy: On Adaptive: On Dirt Overlay: 1 |
God Rays
This does not work in dx9 programs.
Lens Flares
Applies lens effects to the image.
For comparison, Intensity has been set to 2. Estimated fps loss: 0 |
Lens Flare Default Settings
Threshold: 0.7 Intensity: 1.05 |
AL Vibrance
Activates dynamic vibrance of the ambient light shader, though this doesn't seem to have a noticeable effect in-game. (If someone could provide screenshots that noticeably show this settings, I would greatly appreciate it)