|
|
|
The Official Graphics Card and PC gaming Thread
|
|
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
|
3. November 2009 @ 18:30 |
Link to this message
|
Interestingly, it looks like Catalyst 9.10 writes some code into the game directories, I'm not sure how. Suffice to say a clean reformat with only 9.7 installed still preserves the bugs both with Operation Flashpoint and the Left 4 Dead 2 Demo. Not really sure where to proceed from here, don't want to have to reinstall all the games as well.
|
|
Advertisement
|
|
|
|
|
harvrdguy
Senior Member
|
4. November 2009 @ 14:03 |
Link to this message
|
Originally posted by sam:
L4D2 uzi (in case you aren't already aware) has a higher bullet usage rate, its effect seems to be about the same but it runs through ammo much faster,
Yes it does, but you can throttle back on the bursts. If you get a magnum pistol, just use that on everything except for hordes (3-4 shots will kill charger.) After reloading at the safe house, I was able to maintain 300 rounds until we found M16. Yes, I asked the guy with me, up on top after turning off the alarm "What gun is this?" He said "It fires in bursts!" I didn't know, because I always fire in bursts, hahaha. Must be something from COD4.
Quote:
Quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Rich with more on amazing "shotgun Hero Marcus":
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Could do with a little edit at the end, just in case site staff actually sit down to read one of your essays :P
Haha - good point - three "dirty" words in a row!! But not the "f" bomb. I'll leave it for now
-soon-to-be-banned Rich.
Quote:
I'll be honest Rich, I really don't have time to read the rest.
You bast*rd, lol. That was my greatest tank-killing writing I have ever done - and come on - you're a speed reader anyway, fess up.
Hey boozer - yeah another and maybe last essay of all. Sorry they're not letting you use the boat to be "man on the must-date list" but I'd like to hear about those cars sometime.
But no more essays - HEY FORUM BUDDIES - IT'S STILL EARLY FOR YOU BRITS LIKE SAM AND SHAFF - (I have no idea what time it is in Australia and I heard a nasty rumor that L4D2 is banned there)
COME ON AND FIND ME - BERKELEY - OR HARVARDGUY - ON L4D2 DEMO TODAY AND JOIN UP. It's so much fun!! I'll be on for the next 10-12 hours. If you don't have the demo, just find me on your friends list, choose "join game" and Steam will download the 2.2 gig demo for you whether you have pre-ordered or not - free for all Steam users.
Come find me. If the game is full send me a message and I'll invite you as soon as there's a bot.
-Rich
|
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
|
4. November 2009 @ 16:12 |
Link to this message
|
I must admit, when we did the Demo on expert (and passed with flying colours, we didn't have to retry once) I found myself using the magnum a lot - I'm liking it!
Yeah there is one gun which fires in 3-round burst as opposed to single shot/continuous like the colt. I don't know what it's based on in real life.
Speed reader + 5000 word essay doesn't equal speed finished :P
|
AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
|
4. November 2009 @ 23:43 |
Link to this message
|
The Colt is an M16A2. The Colt in Far Cry is actually an AR15 which is largely the same gun but more modular(just wanted to add that in). I'm fairly certain the new one in L4D2 is an M4 which is capable of firing in bursts in real life.
I've fired M16's, AR15's, and AK-47's in real life too. All semi-automatic of course. There's very little operational difference between the M16 and the AR15. My friend has two of them and basically they're all metal vs composite for the M16. They are also easier to modify and can have different sight rails installed. Haha just random gun stuff. I myself have a Ruger .357 Magnum my uncle gave me for Christmas, and a Chinese AK-47 with a folding stock and a 71 round drum. And a few deer/target rifles, a Marlin 30-30, a Winchester 7mm Magnum, and a Ruger .22 with a 10 round rotary magazine.
I don't use all of my guns but I've had them out to the range at some time or another. I use my 30-30 to hunt whitetail deer and that's about it. Sometimes my friend and I go to the range with his AR15 and my AK-47. Fun as hell to shoot up pumpkins and 2 by 4s. Haha we're both computer geeks too. It's hilarious :P
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T 4GHz(20 x 200) 1.5v 3000NB 2000HT, Corsair Hydro H110 w/ 4 x 140mm 1500RPM fans Push/Pull, Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5, 8GB(2 x 4GB) G.Skill RipJaws DDR3-1600 @ 1600MHz CL9 1.55v, Gigabyte GTX760 OC 4GB(1170/1700), Corsair 750HX
Detailed PC Specs: http://my.afterdawn.com/estuansis/blog_entry.cfm/11388This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 4. November 2009 @ 23:46
|
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
|
5. November 2009 @ 00:07 |
Link to this message
|
Ah, US gun culture, and how I will never understand it...
|
AfterDawn Addict
|
5. November 2009 @ 00:31 |
Link to this message
|
|
yet oh how i want to be part of it
MGR (Micro Gaming Rig) .|. Intel Q6600 @ 3.45GHz .|. Asus P35 P5K-E/WiFi .|. 4GB 1066MHz Geil Black Dragon RAM .|. Samsung F60 SSD .|. Corsair H50-1 Cooler .|. Sapphire 4870 512MB .|. Lian Li PC-A70B .|. Be Queit P7 Dark Power Pro 850W PSU .|. 24" 1920x1200 DGM (MVA Panel) .|. 24" 1920x1080 Dell (TN Panel) .|. |
AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
|
5. November 2009 @ 00:34 |
Link to this message
|
What's not to understand? Guns are awesome! It's like a million times more fun to fire the real thing vs clicking a mouse. Only problem is you can't do it all the time due to the cost of ammo. The 7.62mm aluminum for my AK isn't too bad though. I'm not really a gun nut but I have happened to get my hands on a few over the years. My AK and Ruger .22 have seen maybe 10,000 rounds whereas my Ruger .357 has seen maybe 50. I don't plan on using any of them for other than target practice, they're just fun to have. Take caution around them, unload your magazines, make sure a round isn't chambered, and dry fire it down range before packing it up. Carry them in the trunk and in the cases when not using them and they're perfectly safe too.
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T 4GHz(20 x 200) 1.5v 3000NB 2000HT, Corsair Hydro H110 w/ 4 x 140mm 1500RPM fans Push/Pull, Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5, 8GB(2 x 4GB) G.Skill RipJaws DDR3-1600 @ 1600MHz CL9 1.55v, Gigabyte GTX760 OC 4GB(1170/1700), Corsair 750HX
Detailed PC Specs: http://my.afterdawn.com/estuansis/blog_entry.cfm/11388
|
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
|
5. November 2009 @ 17:10 |
Link to this message
|
Reading a few articles, it looks like nvidia have pulled the plug on the Lucid Hydra. Back to the drawing board for my upgrade plans then I guess :(
Essentially, since the Hydra will cost nvidia huge amounts of money due to not needing the SLI tax to allow SLI, they have decided to bribe MSI into cancelling the program. To cover this up, they have seemlessly swapped the MSI Big Bang for the 'trinergy' and 'fuzion' boards, the trinergy being 'released shortly' and the fusion 'pushed back to Q1 2010 to perfect drivers' - considering the drivers already work, one would think that Lucid would want the board out for initial hubbub and then perfect them totally later on - after all, that's what all the other companies in the industry do.
The real cringe here is that the Trinergy board does not actually exist, the image of it is a photoshopped version of the Fuzion board. To get the nforce 200 onto the P55GD80 will take a new design to be brought up - by the looks of things MSI only accepted the bribe recently, and the Trinergy board has obviously yet to be designed.
Q1 2010 is enough of a pushback for the Fuzion to quietly push it back again, and then finally axe it when people lose interest.
It's times like this when I sort of wish the more corrupt companies out there would just hurry up and go bankrupt, they're halfway there already...
|
AfterDawn Addict
|
5. November 2009 @ 17:15 |
Link to this message
|
|
any proof on what your are saying?
MGR (Micro Gaming Rig) .|. Intel Q6600 @ 3.45GHz .|. Asus P35 P5K-E/WiFi .|. 4GB 1066MHz Geil Black Dragon RAM .|. Samsung F60 SSD .|. Corsair H50-1 Cooler .|. Sapphire 4870 512MB .|. Lian Li PC-A70B .|. Be Queit P7 Dark Power Pro 850W PSU .|. 24" 1920x1200 DGM (MVA Panel) .|. 24" 1920x1080 Dell (TN Panel) .|.
|
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
|
5. November 2009 @ 17:17 |
Link to this message
|
Stems from this article:
http://www.semiaccurate.com/2009/11/04/n...id-based-board/
I'd provide the other supporting links but the article includes them.
Let's make it plain, this is a very anti-nvidia website for no good reason, so you have to take a broad aspect of what's being said.
However, as per the last article they wrote (which is slowly coming true), the evidence seems pretty solid.
|
AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
|
5. November 2009 @ 18:36 |
Link to this message
|
Ah hah! Got my first Xbox 360 controller today. Gonna have to have some fun tonight :)
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
|
5. November 2009 @ 18:39 |
Link to this message
|
I think they are anti-Nvidia biased and are purposely seeking out negative news. Nvidia may be buttoning up a bit but remember they are MUCH larger than ATi. Nvidia isn't as desperate as the news seems. They are just having a tough time with their tech right now. Just watch, things will improve again. Remember they've been trading blows for years.
Also remember when all ATi/AMD could manage was the Phenom and the HD2900? Both of these were very buggy and slow with low yields. It really looked like they were going under because of the craptacular sales. But now look they are back in force with good quality products and decently competitive performance. If it didn't kill ATi, Nvidia sure isn't going down.
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T 4GHz(20 x 200) 1.5v 3000NB 2000HT, Corsair Hydro H110 w/ 4 x 140mm 1500RPM fans Push/Pull, Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5, 8GB(2 x 4GB) G.Skill RipJaws DDR3-1600 @ 1600MHz CL9 1.55v, Gigabyte GTX760 OC 4GB(1170/1700), Corsair 750HX
Detailed PC Specs: http://my.afterdawn.com/estuansis/blog_entry.cfm/11388
|
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
|
5. November 2009 @ 18:43 |
Link to this message
|
Very true, but the sad thing is, people still bought Phenoms and HD2900s, it's kind of hard to buy products that don't exist. nvidia are a larger company than ATI, but not a larger company than AMD. Only thing holding AMD back is actually their CPU market at the moment. If you don't think a product's very good you don't get rid of it. nvidia could learn a lesson from ATI on that one.
|
AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
|
6. November 2009 @ 02:25 |
Link to this message
|
For sure, Nvidia is really kicking themselves in the balls on this one. Why did they stop producing their current cards if they couldn't even get a working prototype out? As far as I was aware the GTX series has been selling well so where's the logic in cutting off your own bread and butter? I understand the entire world is spiraling into an economic crisis right now, but it seems some of these company heads have just given up. Is our entire economy really run by such idiots?
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T 4GHz(20 x 200) 1.5v 3000NB 2000HT, Corsair Hydro H110 w/ 4 x 140mm 1500RPM fans Push/Pull, Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5, 8GB(2 x 4GB) G.Skill RipJaws DDR3-1600 @ 1600MHz CL9 1.55v, Gigabyte GTX760 OC 4GB(1170/1700), Corsair 750HX
Detailed PC Specs: http://my.afterdawn.com/estuansis/blog_entry.cfm/11388
|
AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
|
6. November 2009 @ 02:33 |
Link to this message
|
Originally posted by Estuansis:
Is our entire economy really run by such idiots?
LOL! I often wonder myself...
Well, time to try out my new controller :D
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
|
6. November 2009 @ 03:09 |
Link to this message
|
|
Estuansis, thanks for pushing me to buying the 360 controller. While it didn't work properly at first(hacked controller in the install directory) it works properly now. VERY pleased here. Its gonna take some getting used to, but I think 40$ was well spent.
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
|
6. November 2009 @ 04:52 |
Link to this message
|
I'm glad you like it :)
As far as gamepads for the PC go it's the only decent quality one I've found. Try as they may, third party mfgs always screw up their gamepads. Sticky joysticks that are stuck pushing slightly in one direction, buttons with weak rubber so they stick down, and the biggest sin of all, cheap USB connectors with pins that actually PUSH OUT OF THE HEAD when you plug them in. The 360 controller escapes all of this due to the first party build quality and programming. There are drivers for it built right into Vista and 7(plus additional software to support the middle "Xbox" button in GFWL), and nearly every single new game out supports it.
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T 4GHz(20 x 200) 1.5v 3000NB 2000HT, Corsair Hydro H110 w/ 4 x 140mm 1500RPM fans Push/Pull, Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5, 8GB(2 x 4GB) G.Skill RipJaws DDR3-1600 @ 1600MHz CL9 1.55v, Gigabyte GTX760 OC 4GB(1170/1700), Corsair 750HX
Detailed PC Specs: http://my.afterdawn.com/estuansis/blog_entry.cfm/11388
|
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
|
6. November 2009 @ 07:33 |
Link to this message
|
|
Actually, from what I hear, the only GTX200 card to sell well was the GTX260. Perhaps unsurprisingly it's the only one left other than the GTX295.
|
AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
|
7. November 2009 @ 09:29 |
Link to this message
|
Meh I'm not surprised to hear it. All of their cards are/were stupidly overpriced. It was much the same with cards like the 8800GTX which never actually saw any significant price drops over its entire life. I still regret buying mine for $550 because a year an a half later I found my 8800GTS for 1/3 the price while the GTX remained the same. I will never again make a purchase like when I bought the E6600, Evga 680i board and 8800GTX all at once. About 6 months later I felt like an idiot. It's just I had gotten my first decent job and I was excited about getting a sweet PC so I didn't think about the actual value of my components. Luckily it all had good resale value though so I was able to get my new hardware rather painlessly once I knew better because everything turned out cheaper.
I spent the last 4 years moving around on my hardware. The first year or so actually not being able to afford it but doing it anyway piece by piece cheaping out on a lot of stuff... Glad I finally went high end the right way here. I haven't upgraded for a long long while compared to before. Though I would consider the Phenom II only a sidegrade for mindless self indulgence. But at least I know exactly what I was getting and what I was looking for as far as features, chipset, cooling, connector layout, 16x/16x Crossfire, etc.
Not only that but I have already made the initial investment in all the peripherals and some good cases so I can just upgrade internals. My most expensive single purchase has been my monitor. Keeping a current system is easy if you configure it so you can carry over components and leapfrog new technology. Even my X38 still has assloads of potential and there are still MUCH faster CPUs available for it. I was thinking a Q9x50 quad when they drop dirt cheap because they will remain blazingly fast CPUs for a while still. Let one slip past my fingers before with that Q9450 but the Q6600 turned out to be a good pick anyway. Now that I'm seeing the differences though, I'm seeing what I missed.
Also, I'm strongly considering selling my LANbox because I don't find myself using it much if at all. Mostly just to try out new games on mid-range hardware to see how it runs. It might go this week actually if everything works out right. I just got offered for it so I could be getting $400 for the whole build minus the peripherals because he already has a good monitor(1400 x 1050), logitech mouse, razer keyboard, etc. A fair deal I'd say considering what else is in it and the quality of the parts. Just drop in a Phenom II and you have a solid gaming rig. Besides my Intel quad is already portable enough for the occasional LAN. I even got my LANbox largely for trade or free so it hardly cost me anything :P
------------------------------------------
Dudes, I'm trying so hard to hate Borderlands for its non working multiplayer and lack of AA support but I love it so much. It's EXACTLY like Diablo in FPS form. So addicting XD
Not to mention the graphics don't really need AA too badly. The game looks very sharp and the cel shaded visuals are done perfectly. Doesn't look like a comic book, obviously a 3D game in the Unreal Engine, but sometimes it looks like a painting. Very visually striking and quite high res friendly :)
The shooting is satisfying and all of the ~500,000(not a typo) guns at least LOOK awesome if only a few of them are decent. Lots of variations on basic designs including elemental effects and different sights and ammo. No customization really beyond skill perks so half the fun is finding just the right gun out of nowhere when running through a random crap job mission. Lots of the "unique" guns are just slight variations in damage, accuracy or fire rate though so there are a few generic ones that a lot of baddies carry. Lots of loot and skills to level up too plus 4 unique characters that all play very differently. There are lots of cool and fun to use weapons including an incendiary bouncing betty :D
This is going to be AMAZING when the online co-op works.
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T 4GHz(20 x 200) 1.5v 3000NB 2000HT, Corsair Hydro H110 w/ 4 x 140mm 1500RPM fans Push/Pull, Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5, 8GB(2 x 4GB) G.Skill RipJaws DDR3-1600 @ 1600MHz CL9 1.55v, Gigabyte GTX760 OC 4GB(1170/1700), Corsair 750HX
Detailed PC Specs: http://my.afterdawn.com/estuansis/blog_entry.cfm/11388
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 7. November 2009 @ 10:58
|
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
|
7. November 2009 @ 11:41 |
Link to this message
|
Thing is though Jeff, the 8800GTX didn't need price drops for so much of its life. The only thing that rivalled it was nvidia's own products, such as when the 8800GTS 512MB came out, the performance difference was so small that the 8800GTX had to be nudged down a bit. The only thing to beat the 8800GTX for performance was the 9800GTX+, which was only by a very small handful of percent, and it had less memory, so the 8800GTX was still expensive. There was nothing to truly conquer it until the GTX280's release in June 2008, a full 19 months after the card's release. The 8800GTX goes down in history as a graphics god, whether you like nvidia or not.
As for the PC build, unlucky on buying a 680i - thankfully you got rid of it quick enough :P
I would technically argue that 8x/8x bandwidth wouldn't be a limiting factor for your 4870s anyway and thus there wouldn't have been a need to buy the 790FX for them, but I can understand it was perhaps done with the future in mind.
I can relate to your lanbox problem, I rebuilt my NZXT system to be a work PC I'd use most of the time and just use the power-hungry QCF for games. Upshot of it is though, even after switching from the WD360GD to the WD1001FALS as the OS drive, I can't really tell the difference (other than lack of noise), and yet the XP PC with the OS on a WD10EADS is painfully slow indeed, thus it hardly gets used. To use it again I'd really need to stick a faster hard drive in there, which would ruin my nice silencing. Time to get handy with the acoustic foam :S
I quite enjoyed what I played of Borderlands. The fact that it runs needlessly badly on ATI hardware is a real put-off though. It's just too laggy to be really enjoyable on my system right now. A single HD4870 would normally be able to keep a solid 62fps in the Unreal Engine at 1280x1024 with no AA, but due to a few TWIMTBP optimisations, it will drop to 52-55 on numerous occasions. That's fine, but turn the resolution any higher than 1280x1024 and performance drops even further. No crossfire support for the game at all at the moment, even having it enabled causes severe graphical glitching, and all ATI cards, crossfire or not, suffer from missing textures. The real big hitter though is just how much nvidia coded out ATI GPUs from playing the game. Arkham Asylum was the first title to really show this, but Borderlands is worse, much worse.
Here are the direct rivals of ATI GPUs to nvidia ones in borderlands. Spot the problem:
HD5870: GTS250
HD5850: 8800GT/9800GT
HD4890: 9600GT
HD4870: 8800GS
HD4850: 7900GTX
HD4830: 7900GT
Aside from the ridiculous anti-coding, the actual game itself, what textures ATI cards will actually render, look good, but to say the game doesn't need AA is grossly misguided. Even at native res the aliases stick out like a sore thumb, cell-shading done this way really does make it stick out, I noticed the same thing with stuff like Prince of Persia. The type of cell-shading used in TF2, however, doesn't seem so vulnerable to this.
I must admit, there are different types of gun everywhere in the game which seemed a bit weird, but I really do enjoy the little SMG I found that sets baddies on fire. Fun times. The fact that real multiplayer is completely broken at the moment puts me in no rush to buy the game, and having to run it at 17" resolution or less until I buy an nvidia card is obviously a bit of a tease. Here's hoping a crossfire profile appears for it in Cat 9.11 to brute-force out of the coding issue. I could live with being limited to 1920x1200 if it meant smooth performance. From what I can gather, 3.2x CF performance (as much as I would expect from a TWIMTBP title in QCF) would make the maximum smooth res about that. Here's hoping.
Heh, the funny thing is, due to all this, Crysis Warhead on Enthusiast with 4xAA actually runs just as well as Borderlands, and doesn't have any corrupt textures :P
|
AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
|
7. November 2009 @ 21:25 |
Link to this message
|
What version of the Catalyst drivers are you using? The Cat 9.11 betas helped me a bit. It runs 45-50FPS for me but maxed at 1920 x 1200 with Crossfire off. I hope the 9.11 final includes a Crossfire profile because Unreal Engine is normally good with Crossfire. I think the jaggies are minimal BTW. Never been an issue in all my play. The game looks awesome though AA would definitely have a large impact admittedly.
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T 4GHz(20 x 200) 1.5v 3000NB 2000HT, Corsair Hydro H110 w/ 4 x 140mm 1500RPM fans Push/Pull, Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5, 8GB(2 x 4GB) G.Skill RipJaws DDR3-1600 @ 1600MHz CL9 1.55v, Gigabyte GTX760 OC 4GB(1170/1700), Corsair 750HX
Detailed PC Specs: http://my.afterdawn.com/estuansis/blog_entry.cfm/11388
|
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
|
7. November 2009 @ 21:50 |
Link to this message
|
9.11 Beta. Better performance than other drivers, but still no crossfire profile. At 1920x1200 I will get 40-50fps through most of the game, but there are certain viewpoints (not many, but perhaps a 10-30º segment in one direction) that will drop the fps to around 30-32. Normally this wouldn't be much of an issue, but Borderlands uses advance rendering, so low fps = laggy mouse.
|
AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
|
7. November 2009 @ 22:06 |
Link to this message
|
So does running a monitor at 1920 resolution, that comes recommended at 2560 sacrifice much quality? I think i've asked a similar question before :S I would probably (with the equipment you have)sacrifice frame rate, for higher resolution. But since I have no past experience with this particular dilemma, my opinion really is worthless here LOL!
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
|
7. November 2009 @ 22:07 |
Link to this message
|
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T 4GHz(20 x 200) 1.5v 3000NB 2000HT, Corsair Hydro H110 w/ 4 x 140mm 1500RPM fans Push/Pull, Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5, 8GB(2 x 4GB) G.Skill RipJaws DDR3-1600 @ 1600MHz CL9 1.55v, Gigabyte GTX760 OC 4GB(1170/1700), Corsair 750HX
Detailed PC Specs: http://my.afterdawn.com/estuansis/blog_entry.cfm/11388
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 7. November 2009 @ 22:08
|
|
Advertisement
|
|
|
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
|
7. November 2009 @ 22:08 |
Link to this message
|
Doesn't get crossfire working, I'm not sure why so many people seem to think this, I have already tried it.
|
|
