After getting my new computer (last one ran on low with 15 fps average) I decided to see how different the graphical settings are from one another. So I took some Screenshots of the same thing on each graphical setting. Enjoy.
Terran Base
+ Show Spoiler +

LOW

MEDIUM
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HIGH

ULTRA

Zerg Base
+ Show Spoiler +

LOW

MEDIUM
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HIGH

ULTRA

ZvT Battle
+ Show Spoiler +

LOW

MEDIUM
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HIGH

ULTRA

PF Exploding
+ Show Spoiler +

LOW

MEDIUM
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HIGH

ULTRA

Protoss Base
+ Show Spoiler +

LOW

MEDIUM
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HIGH

ULTRA

PvT Battle
+ Show Spoiler +

LOW

MEDIUM
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HIGH

ULTRA

From what I could tell, the biggest graphical difference is between Low and Medium. The Difference between medium and high is lighting and the difference between high and ultra is very small.

Jonoman92

United States9101 Posts

February 17 2011 04:52 GMT

Thanks for posting. I myself have tried in game switching between medium and ultra, and I really can't discern much of a difference while actively playing.

eviltomahawk

United States11133 Posts

February 17 2011 05:33 GMT

These are very nice screencaps, especially considering that everything is in the exact same location in every screenshot, which is something I rarely see in these graphics comparisons.

The huge difference between Low and Medium is actually due to the Shader setting. Switching between Low and Medium shaders causes the majority of graphical differences between the overall graphics levels. The other setting really don't matter as much as the Shaders, which provide vital lighting improvements to the game.

I think playing on Medium with an awesome framerate is much more efficient than playing on Ultra or High with bad framerate. However, deciding between Medium and Low will be difficult since there is such a huge difference in lighting and shader quality.

Lemonwalrus

United States5465 Posts

February 17 2011 05:36 GMT

Sweet I have been trying to decide if I should go for High or just settle for medium and this really proves for me that Medium is more than adequate. Ty

XXGeneration

United States625 Posts

February 17 2011 05:49 GMT

Are forcefields usually that hard to notice on low settings?

denzelz

United States604 Posts

February 17 2011 06:23 GMT

On February 17 2011 14:49 XXGeneration wrote:
Are forcefields usually that hard to notice on low settings?

Yeah they are. I was not used to them when I had to play on low on my laptop.

dala

Sweden477 Posts

February 17 2011 07:24 GMT

How about cloaked units? Which settings is bets? And should you have high or low gamma settings to see them easier?

CooDu

Australia899 Posts

February 17 2011 07:36 GMT

Like someone mentioned I can't actively tell too much of a difference between Medium and Ultra during play. It certainly looks a lot crisper on Ultra, but other than that the difference between low/medium is so huge compared to the rest.

I just run medium most of the time. Ultra texture settings though

Edit: Forgot to say, nice write-up OP, good comparison shots too! N1!

Comeh

United States18918 Posts

February 17 2011 07:45 GMT

Pretty great OP.

All I really have to say, is damn the graphics in this game are crazy (from the perspective of a person who plays on low settings)

cheeseyesplz

United Kingdom82 Posts

February 17 2011 07:51 GMT

#10

you seem to be me in the future. my current laptop runs on 15 fps at low settings and i'm building 1 within a week. i was ALSO going to change between each graphical setting for funsies :D after seeing this i might keep it on medium just so it runs really smooth and looks a hell of a lot better than low.

care to post your comp specs if you want?

Karliath

United States2214 Posts

February 17 2011 08:03 GMT

#11

One thing I distinctly don't like about low with terran is that you can't see the symbols on terran structures.

NIIINO

Slovakia1320 Posts

February 17 2011 08:38 GMT

#12

thanks for demonstration

btw am i the only one who plays Multiplayer games on low ?

CooDu

Australia899 Posts

February 17 2011 08:49 GMT

#13

On February 17 2011 17:38 NIIINO wrote:
thanks for demonstration

btw am i the only one who plays Multiplayer games on low ?

Definitely not, I seem to watch more streams that are on low than any other.

CrazyF1r3f0x

United States2120 Posts

February 17 2011 23:56 GMT

#14

On February 17 2011 17:03 Karliath wrote:
One thing I distinctly don't like about low with terran is that you can't see the symbols on terran structures.

Yeah, I feel that symbol distribution in the game is fairly imbalanced (Maybe that'll be the next topic on Imbalanced?) On low Terran have no symbols, Protoss only has symbols on the robo and the nexus, and the Zerg have their symbols at the base around the hatchery; on all graphical settings that remains the same for Zerg) Graphic settings Medium and up: Terran has symbols on EVERYTHING even their marines have a symbol on their shields, and Protoss have them on every building+the mothership.