Auto Detect

This is a question that has to do with the options menu in game. When you click auto detect does it change your game settings to run best for your computer or what becuase I started a Dervish in Nightfall and I hit auto detect to see what it does and it appeared that some settings were higher then I previously set them to (I have little faith in my machines performance). What confuses me though is that the game seems to run better on these higher settings or am I just imagining things.

Probably turned off v sync or post-processing effects?

I wouldn't trust Auto Detect, my PC can run the game at max settings perfectly, but auto detect sets them lower oddly.

Same thing here, Brianna.

Don't use Auto Detect, just play around with it and see what your comp runs best.

Post-Processing and Anti-Aliasing are the two things that kill the FPS.

Keep in mind that certain video cards, for instance, are optimized for certain resolutions and other settings. Just as an example, my Nvidia 8600GT works quite well at resolutions over 1024x768, but actually performs poorly at resolutions under 1024x768. It also works better at 4xAA as opposed to 2xAA.

Also keep in mind that the 'auto detect' feature of most games is based upon processor speed, ram, and video card, instead of actual thorough testing results. So, you should adjust settings manually until you find a combination of settings that gives you the look and performance you find acceptable.

Brianna, i'm with you, the Auto Detect sets my attributes lower than that which my computer can run perfectly fine. It sets my shadow quality to medium, and when i put it on high, i get a steady 120-140 FPS. I just play aroudn with the settings.

You guys are missing the point - his GW runs better, with higher settings after auto-detect.

Certainly, auto-detect can only make assumptions based on your cpu, RAM, gpu, etc., and we don't really know what criteria it uses. For instance, what fps it shoots for. So, it's quite possible that you can tweak things higher after auto-detect.

But, if it runs better after auto-detect, it.....um.... runs better.

To the OP - it may have knocked back Anti-Aliasing (AA) or something. AA uses a lot of GPU power, and you can often make great gains in fps by knocking it back to 2x or even turning it off (although "jaggies" may be more noticeable, depending upon the screen rez).