Just a note I deleted my previous post and rewrote it as it was a rambling diatribe of confusion... lol (as this one turned into?????)
He runs with AA enabled. I turn it off.
You misunderstood how I roll...
It will vary depending on what is going on.
Let's start with 'benchmarks': If you are talking synthetic benchmarks like the UL 3DMark benchmarks (think Fire Strike, Time Spy, etc) for reviews, I run their default settings which typically includes AA and default driver settings. If there is an option of IQ settings, like in FF XV, I run the highest settings (also includes AA). If you are talking those same UL 3DMark benchmarks but for competitive purposes like for Hwbot or threads, then I follow those rules, but disable allowable things to improve the score (like AA). THAT is a race. Reviews and performance testing are NOT a race to see who gets the highest score by disabling things at the driver/NVCP level.
Now games: If we are talking for reviews, I run games at default Ultra settings and the driver is default as well. When I PLAY games for fun, I also use the highest settings in game. The only difference is that for my daily driver, I set the texture filtering to maximum in the NVCP. When I play modern games (for the last several years honestly) there is ZERO need for me to adjust anything in the NVCP or make a profile for a game. It was always recommended to have the driver on app controlled and select the AA and AF levels in game by settings. Settings in the NVCP can supplement in-game, but isn't reccommended to be the primary handler of AA/AF settings.
So, to summarize, it is situation dependent as to what my settings are.
In reference to the other thread, you spit out performance differences for 'your settings' which runs things without AA (and forced off through the NVCP it seems). This is fine and dandy for your 24/7 settings, but is not a great way to compare cards with the masses. Most people that play PC games strive to use the highest settings (setting games to Ultra/High which typically includes AA) to get the best IQ (and balance of FPS depending on the card)...so please understand the incredulous response to your performance numbers which vary quite a bit from all the reviews. Turning off AA clearly increases performance but at the sake of losing IQ and seeing aliasing. It was unclear, to me, the context you were talking about in the thread, though it was clear I am talking performance reviews and such, hence my comments and response. In my head, ya just don't test willy nilly with settings disabled that are commonly used (IRL and reviews) and call it 'so' as was done in that thread.
In the end, I didn't vote. Bad poll is bad, because it is situation dependent on how things are run... even the same things. Sometimes its on ultra settings (gaming personally and game reviews), sometimes the benchmark defaults (when reviewing), and sometimes I disable things in NVCP (like AA) when benchmarking competitively. It will vary wildly depending on how its used. So, no vote from me, sorry.