The Official Graphics Card and PC gaming Thread

Interestingly, the HD4870 2GB from Sapphire is GTA4's dream card.

 

By ok-ish, do you mean the install process LOL! Because running it in windows 7 has been virtually bug free, in about 20-30hrs ive ran it. Xp is buggy as hell! But im wondering if the Direct X version im running has something to do with it. My version of directX is not the...usual means LOL!

Yah, I ran my Athlon 1.4Ghz (512Mb Ram) on the Windows 7 beta for a day. It seemed a lot better than I expected. Though Xp ran a little better on it. I think it would have ran loads better with a new HDD, and better GPU though. Its HDD (80GB WD) is 8 yrs old Still performs fairly well too.

 

Sam, I thought you said Nvidia was the better card for GTA IV?

 

Like for like they are. However, as the only card with 2GB of memory per GPU, the HD4870 2GB is the only card that can max the game. Due to the relatively low graphical load of maximising the settings, the performance loss is actually nil over the settings the HD4870 1GB is limited to.

 

mars 295 will be its best friends aswell then

also the lighnting 275 and 260 from MSI which have doubel the ram

 

Yes, but I haven't seen those in the UK yet. With nvidia's poorer memory management though, and only double the RAM (1792MB) that's not so much a sure bet as the Radeon though, I'll wait for a bench on that.

 

£150 for it. its about a GTX 275 level performance according to reviews like guru 3d.

 

Guru3D. Hmm, I'll wait for a few other sites to review it before I draw any conclusions. There's no innate performance to be had from more memory, it will clearly be due to the memory problems that the GTX275 is plagued with at high detail.

 

Crysis requirements (High Detail)

ATi nVidia

1280x1024
15fps minimum: : HD4770 0x, HD4870 2-4x, 8800GT 0-2x, 9800GTX 4x
20fps minimum: : HD4870 0-2x, HD4890 OC 4x, 9800GTX 0x, GTS250 2x, GTX260 4x
25fps minimum: : HD4890 0x, HD4890 OC 2x, HD4870X2 4x, GTX260 216 x, GTX275 2-4x
30fps minimum: : HD4870X2 0-4x, GTX275 0x, GTX285 2x, GTS250 SLI 4x

1680x1050
15fps minimum: : HD4870 0-2x, HD890/HD4850X2 4x, 8800GT 0x, GTS250 2x, GTX260 4x
20fps minimum: : HD4890 0x, HD4890 OC 2x, HD4870X2 4xGTX260 216 0x, GTX275/280 2-4x
25fps minimum: : HD4870X2 0-4x, GTX275/280 0x, GTX285 2x, GTX260 SLI 4x
30fps minimum: : HD4870X2 0x only, GTS250 SLI 0-2x, GTX260 SLI 4x

1920x1200 (only tested up to 2x)
15fps minimum: : HD4870 0x, HD4870 OC/HD4890/HD4850X2 2x, GTS250 0x, GTX260 216 2x
20fps minimum: : HD4890 OC 0x, HD4870X2 2x, GTX275/280 0x, GTX275 2x
25fps minimum: : HD4870X2 0-2x, GTS250 SLI 0x, GTX260 SLI 2x
30fps minimum: : GTS250 SLI 0x, GTX260 216 SLI 2x (excluding GTX295)

2560x1600 (only tested up to 2x)
15fps minimum: : HD4870X2 0-2x, GTX260 SLI 0x, GTX275/280 SLI 2x
20fps minimum: : GTX275/280 SLI 0x, GTX275 SLI 2x
25fps minimum: : GTX285 SLI 0x, Triple SLI 2x

 

And these scores were calculated on Windows Xp/Vista? Im curious how windows 7 would do. Gonna have to try that this weekend. Since it blows Xp away with GTA IV! I wonder if Walmart has Crysis...

 

Vista x64.

 

Ooo found this interesting nugget in the catalyst 9.6 release notes:

􀁺 Crysis – performance improves up to 13% in multi-GPU configurations
􀁺 Crysis Warhead – performance improves up to 11% in multi-GPU configurations

 

I'm not sure I can remember well enough how Crysis performed before, but suffice to say even at 1680x1050, enthusiast detail isn't possible even with quad crossfire. What I've done is set most of the minor things, and texture details to Enthusiast, shadows to minimum, shaders to gamer. I initially cut down volumetric effects but it made the game look stupid, random things started flashing, so i turned it back up to enthusiast. This allows me to run the game at 1680x1050 with nice textures and effects. However, I'm pretty sure 2560x1600 would still be out of the question.

 

About to cancel my FUEL order because I CAN'T trust codies to release a decent game because they can't even confirm a release date that's next week!

Prototype's suppose to be good I'll get that!

The foul mouthed Keith1993 on the codies forums isn't me (even though he has exactly the same specs ;-)

 

Oh yeah I've been playing Prototype for hours now. The performance isn't the best but it's fun as hell. It's like the Spider Man games with the free-roaming and whatnot, but you're a superpowered anti-hero and you can kill everything

Use an Xbox360 game pad though. Mouse and keyboard is really awkward with it.

Oddly, AA doesn't seem to affect the FPS at all for me. All the way from none to 8x and I get no difference. You can definitely SEE it though 0.0 Explain that to me...

Maybe a CPU bottleneck is what I'm thinking...

 

I tend to use the PS3 pad on anything other then FPS's.

Estuansis you have a stupidly fast CPU... You might be running out of video RAM although I'm not Sam so that's not a definite reason more of an inkling.

 

Well if I were running out of video RAM I think the FPS would go DOWN. But I turn on multiple levels of AA and the FPS doesn't even stutter. I think with 16x I'm only losing maybe 5FPS overall. And I can SEE that AA is on.

If you play the game you'll notice the HUGE amounts of vehicles, people, enemies and stuff. I think that would be a LOT of edges for AA to hit and AA would be a killer in this game. But it seems more CPU dependent. Because I can turn the game down, turn it up, AA, AF, whatever. It doesn't change my performance by more than 10FPS average from lowest to highest possible. That tells me CPU bottleneck.

EDIT:

A quick google search shows this as well. A lot of people aren't seeing much of a performance difference between video cards. The game seems processor bound.

 

CPU bottleneck is quite likely. It's not unheard of with console ports (ahem, GTA4)
I'm also eager to try Prototype, seems like a really cool title.
Video RAM is a major factor for AA, AA is the #1 cause of running out of memory. Many cards have taken up to 5000% performance hits due to memory issues, simply from changing AA from 4x to 8x.

 

Well the 9800GTX can play it at 1680 x 1050 with 8xAA smooth as butter. Average maybe 40FPS. Low of 30. Just fine for a platformer-ish beat-em-up game. The Crossfire build does maybe 75 with a low of about 60. And it does not vary. Any setting on both systems and they're both the same distance apart every time. Apparently it's multi-threaded fairly well??? Makes sense to me. But the 9800GTX does kick the bucket at 1920 x 1200 w/ 8xAA. So there must be limits to it.

I must admit that Prototype is pretty damn awesome. The graphics are alright considering how the engine has to work. Hundreds of detailed models running around at any given time. Lots of wicked powers and explicit violence. Driving an APC down the sidewalk with a bloody froth spraying from the treads. Whipping people at each other, or at walls, lol. Stealing identities, in fact, anyone's identity. Try it Sam!

 

Most people say that inFamous is better and it seems average scores from review sites relect that, and, whilst i thought that inFamous seemed fine from the demo, it didn't make me think *wow*, so i don't hold out much hope for Prototype considering it's the same genre but i still might have to try it out to see what the fuss is

Also, speaking of running out of video RAM - i play Mirror's Edge at max settings with 8xAA perfectly fine; probably at an average of 45-50 FPS, but when i set it to 16xAA it runs at practically the same framerate until something happens on screen that's really 'busy' - like lots of windows smashing - and the frame rate literally plummets to about 5, and it doesn't go up again for a couple of minutes after the action has passed. Never seen it before but at a guess i'd say it was probably running out of RAM... Good job i don't really see a difference between 8x and 16x