The Official Graphics Card and PC gaming Thread

I'll stick with 4GB thanks. Being primarily an XP user and only using 1920 x 1200 res means Warhead takes about half the RAM. Well, maybe not exactly half but it doesn't justify anywhere near 8GB yet. I wish you luck though. Trying to run the most graphically demanding game ever made at the ultimate resolution is no mean feat. I'll stick with my tweaked DX9 config for the time being.

 

I suspect the detail setting is what does it. Resolution only affects video memory usage. Plus, XP uses much less RAM to start with.

 

I guess were both gonna find out. Just about to click buy LOL!

 

A lot of it might be the fact you're running DX10 in 64 bit. 64 bit pretty much automatically means higher memory usage. Mind you I have every single effect and detail setting from very high settings apart from the DX10 motion blur. And only high object quality, which helps quite a bit with little noticeable increase in fade-in. Warhead at my settings on XP takes about 1.5-2GB for itself. XP detects 3GB of RAM so no big deal.

Sitting as-is with a few backgroud apps open, I have 32 running processes and about 430MB of RAM being used. Vista 64 uses like 1.7GB with 48 running processes.

 

Just something else to put on the table
using 1147mb/4gb(28%) ram 44 processes. On windows 7

 

Idle with Google Chrome, Remote Desktop, a few explorer windows, Excel, Task Manager, Msn, Steam, Word, Msn, Slype, Xfire, AnVir, DAEMONTools and uTorrent open (as well as Antivirus):

RAM usage: 2.41GB/4.09GB
Page File usage: 2.95GB/8.41GB

 

Haha I never even have that many apps open. I don't multi task very well

Utorrent
Speedfan
Comodo Internet Security
Peerguardian 2
Thunderbird
Firefox(2 tabs)
GOM Player(music)

I don't generally have Steam open unless I'm going to play a Steam game. And that's mostly just all the Source engine games. I get everything else mostly through torrents or just buy the retail box version.

Same with MSN. Only if I feel like talking I have it open. But I like to game in solitude or usually have other projects going so I hardly log on

Pagefile is like 445MB right now. About 500MB of RAM usage.

 

Likewise, but I was hoping the Left 4 Dead DLC would come through... No such luck yet, think it's going to be a few more hours!

 

OMG the DLC pack is coming out today? I'll have to log on DD

Also, my latest reformat seems to have completely fixed all of my issues with Left 4 Dead. Even my mic issues

 

Been having some fun with the Left 4 Dead DLC tonight. It all seems so weird not knowing the best places to spawn as infected. The survival mode is just brutal... haha
Amped my AA up to 8x the other day, expected my system to handle it, it sure does. No noticeable impact on FPS numbers, let alone gameplay. Managed to bump my 3dmark up to 23026 by clocking the CPU at 4Ghz, but long-term it isn't stable (though I'm sure I can rectify that with a bit more NB and/or CPU voltage) so 3.91 it is at the moment.


Silentlight's PSU awaits me when I return to York this weekend, and my X48-DS5 is being collected for replacement or refund tomorrow. No turning back now

 

Shaff is back! Where'd you go dude? How's your laptop working out? Was your permanent ban just for the builder thread, or did you have to move to Canada for a bit?

Hey Rubix, dude down under, I didn't know you jumped in and got your i7 920 build going - with a DFI no less! I see you opted for the H6 since they wanted to rape you Aussies for another $150 for the H8, whereas here it's only an extra 50 bucks lol. (Me - I'm still waiting for the paycheck.)

Speaking of modding, my "spedo" (it's a case, not my swim trunks) is going to be modded with so many additional intake fans it's gonna be silly. I already have the case sitting in the pretty box, waiting FOR THE REST OF THE CASH TO SHOW UP!!

So Sam, have you finally put the coin together for the 8 gigs? Yes I would say that Warhead would just as soon not have to put all those gigs out on the hard drive, lol.

Plus with 8 gigs you should be able to join those other people who are playing gta4 at 2560x1600, right?

DLC - "spawn as infected?" - do they now allow you to play as a zombie? Like Estuansis I leave my Steam off when I'm not playing a steam game so I have no idea what the Steam community has been up to. The last I heard zombie play was taken out of the released game, but in playtest over the last 2 years, Miles and all his turtle rock buddies used to love to be the "hunter" zombie dude.

Rich

 

Yeah she's up and running now, already cut a hole in the side of my case to fit an extra 12cm fan because it wasn't breathing very well to start with (55c idle temp at stock with coolermaster v10). It's not a perfect circle but once I put a fan grill over it noone will be able to tell lol. Currently at 4ghz 1.3625v HT off. Pretty much stable. Might need a little more voltage tweaking. I've had one hard lock, but it didn't BSOD.. so I don't know what that was about. Anyone got any ideas? Now it's about 38-44 idle across all cores, and mid to high 60s at load when overclocked. Funny what one little fan can do.

 

I haven't yet pulled the trigger on 8 gigs, I think I might try and make use either of my Scan order with its free postage (where my current RAM is out of stock), or grab some from ebuyer. Either way, I'm basically completely out of spending money until Monday when next term's Student finance arrives. That, coupled with minor support from my parents totals about £2400, minus £1100 on rent and bills.

Rich: You always could play as infected (the specials, i.e. Hunter, Smoker, Boomer and Tank, but not Witch), in Versus mode. 4 survivors vs. 4 people controlling the special infected, but it was restricted to The first and last campaign, No Mercy and Blood Harvest. In the DLC, the other two maps were added, along with a survival mode which can be played at any of the game's 'choke points' - be they the finales of campaigns, or various different stages where you trigger a massive horde, Except this time you're going for a time record, and there is no limit on how many of a smoker/hunter/boomer can be about at once, and the tanks spawn much more frequently.
Playing as the Specials has been in the game since it was released.

Rubix: The V10 is the one with the Peltier? If so that doesn't surprise me. Peltiers are ridiculously inefficient coolers so need lots of surrounding cooling to do their job.
Hard locks without BSODs indicate FSB instability. You might want to raise the NB voltage a little bit.

 

Indeed, its the huge ass one lol. But apparently the TEC only kicks in at "high temperatures". Well, bumped the VTT voltage up to 1.26v so we'll see how that goes I guess.

 

Watch your case temps skyrocket when it does, not to mention your power consumption.

 

Apparently it draws 9.8 amps on its own... thats heeeeaps. Guess the only way for me to know its on is actually plug in my power monitor on my zalman controller.. but thats effort... lol.

 

Haha yeah. Nah, Peltiers are outrageous. To cool a stock i7 with one, you add as much power (and heat) as an overclocked i7.

 

hey I was just reading that coolermaster recommends you only attach the TEC unit and nothing else to a single molex chain for maximum performance. Currently I have a zalman fan controller (with 4 fans plugged in), the power led, and the case beam projector plugged in on the same line. would removing those possibly increase performance marginally or is the draw from all those things so small that it wouldn't matter?

 

They don't draw much power, but the power draw is high so you should put the TEC closest to the incoming connection from the power supply. That way the high current load for the TEC doesn't have to work its way through the typically abysmal wiring that such peripherals come with.

 

lol rich, yeah im back

i was getting a tad bored.

well no i didnt get a laptop in the end, i bought a shuttle style PC

quite powerfull and size of a shoe box