If you are playing a game, motion blur can add to the aesthetics and cinematic effects on your screen. This feature is thought to make the game more realistic. However, many gamers tend to avoid and disable this feature.
This is especially true if the game you are playing is fast-paced. Read ahead to find out what motion blur is. Further, we have also discussed whether it is better to enable or disable it as you go ahead and play your games.
Motion Blur and its Causes
Motion blur simply refers to the blurring of a scene that is in fast motion. This phenomenon is also visible in real life. For instance, you may be seated in a car and looking outside the window as the car moves swiftly.
You will most likely see a blurred image before you outside the window. This is called motion blur. On-screen, it specifically refers to the blurring or un-focusing of objects. This may occur when high speeds are represented on screens. It may also occur when there is a rapid change of pace in movement.
When it comes to gaming, this is experienced as a graphic setting. This causes the surroundings to blur. In gaming, this is caused by a graphics setting. It generally occurs in two settings.
It may happen if your character is moving very quickly. It will also occur if the camera rotates when it is kept stationary. This feature, along with others like depth of field and shadows, was specifically designed to make the game look realistic.
Is Motion Blur Good For Games?
Many people are unsure about how motion blur can be beneficial to any game. Yes, it does make it look realistic. However, it also affects the Frame Rate per Second (FPS) in any game. This can make the gaming experience itself unappealing.
However, how motion blur affects a game is determined by the game itself. If you do enable motion blur for a game, you will have to note that it will run slower than otherwise. If this is appropriate for the game, it won’t affect the performance as much.
You will also have to pay attention to just how powerful and effective your hardware is. If you do have motion blur on and prefer it that way, ensure that your hardware is good enough to handle it.
If the hardware is not as powerful, the FPS can drop. Many people don’t prefer motion blur.
For instance, in many games that rely on finding your enemies with a keen eye, motion blur can be rather disadvantageous. People prefer to play these games without motion blur so that they have a clear image at all times.
Do note that motion blur won’t matter as much in non-competitive games.
Motion Blur and FPS Impact
Yes, your FPS will be lower if motion blur is enabled. This is because motion blur demands more resources to get it running. This may include RAM, CPU Processing Power, and Graphics VRAM, among others.
This applies to many genres of games. You are likely to find this with competitive games and racing games. This has a direct effect on the visual quality of the game.
However, you may want to note that if you are using a low-end computer, motion blur can have the opposite effect on FPS. It may increase it but only very minimally. This is also true for very few games.
Should I Enable or Disable Motion Blur?
If you like your games to be more realistic and cinematic, motion blur is the way to go. In this case, you may also want to opt for hardware that is powerful enough to handle it.
On the other hand, the detail in a game may be crucial to your gaming experience. In this case, the best way to go forward is to disable motion blur. Most competitive gamers keep motion blur disabled.
This is because motion blur can reduce the reaction time. It is largely due to not being able to locate your enemy quickly through a blurred background. Further, competitive games will require you to move around yourself so that you are not a target of the enemy.
Motion blur can highly restrict this ability as you will have to remain stationary to play the game to avoid the blur.
The best thing to do is to opt-out of motion blur if you are a competitive player. If not, you can either enable or disable it depending on your personal preference.
Hardware and Motion Blur
If you want to enable motion blur, invest in a good hardware setup that will allow you to do this. Gaming consoles can help you get the most of motion blur if you enjoy it. You can opt for a gaming console like Xbox Series X|S or Playstation 5.
Turning Motion Blur Off in Video Games
If you have decided that you want to disable motion blur, here is how you can go ahead and do it. The way you do it may differ for each game you are playing. However, many games follow this procedure to disable motion blur.
You will first have to press the ESC key so that you gain access to the game menu. You can then pick Settings and look for Graphic Settings here. This is the area where most games hold their motion blur options.
In this, you can go ahead and enable or disable motion blur, as you like.
Other Ways to Fix Motion Blur
Other than using the motion blur option in the game itself, there may be other options using which you can reduce it. A good monitor will help you do this in many ways.
Turning Up the Refresh Rate
One of the ways in which you can use your monitor to fix motion blur is by tweaking the refresh rate. You will notice that your standard monitor will refresh at 60Hz. This means that the monitor will go ahead and refresh the screen 60 times per second.
If you are picking a monitor and also want to play games with it, look for one that refreshes at 90Hz or higher. Some may refresh at 144Hz or higher, and you can take your pick depending on the kind of gamer you are.
The lower the refresh rate, the more the blur on your screen is bound to be. To reduce this, you can increase the refresh rate. This makes each image remain on screen for a shorter duration, hence reducing blur.
If you opted for a system with a high refresh rate and are still experiencing significant blur, this may be because this rate may not be enabled. You can enable this by going to Settings and then System Display.
Here, you can scroll down to then click and select Advanced Display Settings. From here, you can pick Display Adapter Properties. Here, you will find a Monitor tab. You can select the drop-down menu of the Screen Refresh Rate option and pick the refresh rate that works best for you and your system.
Improving the Frame Rate of the Game
Another option that you have is to improve the frame rate of the game. Many modern games require a rather powerful CPU and GPU. This is because the games run at high resolutions like 8K, 4K, 1440p, or 1080p.
You will have to open your game of choice and then figure out how many Frames per Second it is giving you. This may be the cause of the blur. If the game is giving you a much lowers FPS on a monitor that works at a higher number like 144Hz, this can prove problematic.
At this point, you will have to turn down a few graphic settings in your game. This will increase the FPS and will make it more compatible with your monitor. It will also reduce the motion blur on your screen as you play the game.
You can also keep the resolution of the game-high to prevent such blurring. The simple idea is to keep the frame rate of your game higher than or at least as high as the one on your monitor. This will allow smooth motion and minimal blur.
For instance, if you have a 60Hz display, ensure that your game runs at 60FPS or more.
Endnotes
Most gamers prefer to have motion blur disabled on their monitors. With this, the FPS of your game is the same or more than the Refresh Rate on your monitor. This keeps the blur away. You can change the motion blur by doing it directly in the settings.
You can also tweak the monitor’s Refresh Rate and the game’s Frames Per Second (FPS) to allow for this. If you have finally decided to keep the motion blur, invest in good hardware for the same. This will keep the game running smoothly even with motion blur on.
We have discussed this and more above to help you make the best decision for you.
