The Official Graphics Card and PC gaming Thread

and the 300 million in revenue loss.

6%, is going to scare the share holders though.

not true. You can't OC the unlocked cpus in a H67 chipset. This is a mix of the H and P, hopefully allowing you to use the onboard intel gpu for 2D items, like the desktop and video etc, and auto swapping to the dedicated gpu for gaming.

 

A question for some of you computer buffs on here...what seems to be the best bang for the buck video card and the same for a solid state drive? I'm currently have issues decided on which parts to finish off my computer build. Thanks!

 

whats your resolution for your monitor, and how much are you looking to spend?

how big is your games folder?

 

What's the point of that, really?

stinky: Really depends what you want to run on the SSD, what games you play, what monitor you use, and how much you want to spend. Generally I don't bother putting games on an SSD unless you only have a small number of them, as it's prohibitively expensive for the relatively minimal gains you get (game loading time is mostly CPU-based). If you can fit windows and the programs you use the most then that's big enough, most of the time.

 

Basically the ssd drive is for 1 or 2 games tops. I tend to stick with the same couple of games for a very long time. For the ssd right now I have this on my list:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231377

As for the video card Im considering the Radeon HD 6950 2gb. It's a little off my budget but I figure if I spend a little more now I dont have to upgrade for awhile.

video card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125356

Thanks for the input!

I'm also considering this rig from cyberpower and I'm leaning towards it very much, unless you wonderful people have something better for cheaper. Like perhaps I can downgrade the case and go with 6 gigs of ram?

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/CyberPower_Black_Pearl/

 

Don't buy a PC from CyberPower. You wouldn't believe the problems they have with build quality. The number of complaints, and even threads I've taken part in trying to help diagnose problems with the units is a disgrace. Use cheap quality parts and you get problems. You get what you pay for.

If you can build a PC yourself (it really isn't difficult), not only will you save some money, but perhaps counter-intuitively, you'll end up with a better machine for a result. It'll also help boost your knowledge about computers, and should you encounter any problems with the hardware at a later date, you can simply replace a part yourself rather than having to send the entire PC off for analysis.
We'll be willing to help you every step of the way through building a PC.

The HD6950 is an excellent graphics card, but its talents are largely wasted at intermediate resolutions (1920x1200, 1920x1080) or lower. The 2GB of memory, combined with the unique architecture of the HD6900 series is really optimised for eyefinity (multi-display) gaming, or the WQXGA resolutions of 2560x1600 and 2560x1440.

On an intermediate budget, I'd recommend a Radeon HD6850 or HD6870 at reduced resolutions. On a higher budget, two of these cards in crossfire. Two HD6850s only cost $350, little more than one HD6950, but will be vastly superior to it in performance at intermediate resolutions (typically a 50% increase).

 

Tell ya what I'm sick of people on Bad Company 2 calling the M416/M4A1 the HK416. It is not labeled as the HK416 so there's no reason to confuse it and it really doesn't look like one. I actually happen to own both an HK416 and an AR-15 so I know the difference.

The basic firing mechanism(lower receiver) is the same exact thing, but the rest of the internals are different. To use an M4 as an HK416 you need a new upper receiver, buffer and drive spring as it uses an entirely new gas recoil operation from the G36. This allows it to have less recoil, be more durable and stay cleaner longer without regular maintenance. In essence, they're both just another AR model variation. In practice, the M4 and HK416 are two entirely different guns.

And there are people who obviously have never handled a gun in their life, trying to tell me about guns!

Agreed that those cards are recommended, but a little Crossfire action doesn't hurt even at the low low resolution of 1920 x 1200

 

Tell ya what I think I've finally gotten Oblivion as modded as it'll ever be. I always had the feeling that the game was rushed, and the graphics were nowhere near what the engine was capable of. I've tried to keep all of my mods limited to enhancements of existing material. So ie better graphics and more richly detailed world, without changing the game itself at all.

Just a quick list of modifications I've made to take Oblivion from underachiever to stunning:

- Modifications made in the INI file that allow for better multithreading and memory usage
- Manually unpacked the archived files for the game. Basically Oblivion's main data files are compressed, which adds to load time and stuttering at the benefit of lower memory usage and storage space used. With 3rd party tools, these files can be unpacked into their individual folders, which facilitates easier modding, less hitching, and quicker load times. With 8GB of RAM, what do I have to worry about memory usage? lol
- Improved performance through a mod called Streamline which clears the game cache on a regular basis for less hitching. Also dynamically adjusts LOD on several objects in order to further smooth out gameplay
- Several unofficial patches released for the main game and all the expansions that fix thousands of small bugs.
- New ultra high resolution textures on just about everything. About 90% of the game has been retextured completely with about 5 or 6 different texture packs including one main one that covers the whole game. Video memory intensive? You betcha
- Better LOD on just about everything including fixed distant land textures and shadowing. Using the Tamriel VWD(Visible when distant) Mod, you can see shrines and other structures from a greater distance so they don't just pop into view. And because it only affects buildings, it has only a small impact on performance.
- New random NPCs, the towns were a bit sparse because all the NPCs were manually created and there were very few of them. I found a mod that adds about a dozen or so random wandering NPCs to every town, adding a bit of life.
- Better sounds, replaced and enhanced a lot of the combat and atmospheric sounds
- Martigens Monster Mod, which adds some 150 new enemies to encounter that look natural to the game. Plus it adds more guards to the cities, ups weapon damage slightly to make combat more exciting, more wildlife in the wilderness etc
- Better water with full reflections including the player character through ini tweaks
- Better weather through the Atmospheric Weather System Mod. You can see storm clouds rolling in and it adjusts the HDR and sounds so everything is more natural. Everything isn't sunkissed yellow anymore. Also added the Get Wet mod which simulates the effect of water running down characters bodies in the rain or after leaving the water.
- Better prettier lighting using the Real Lights mod. Literally disables global lighting completely and makes every single light in the game a dynamic light source. Has a big effect on nighttime and indoors scenes. Much moodier. Also looks miles better because torches and lanterns all over the cities actually throw light. Also, I have added a mod that makes building windows light up at night, which plays very nicely with this mod. Really looks nice
- The addition of clocks and clock towers all over the game that accurately tell the in-game time and date. The actual Elderscrolls lore makes mention of clocks even in the "ancient" days so they fit perfectly.
- Better more attractive people using several mods. Have several face mods stacked that first lay a higher res base texture, then replace the facial features of everyone in the game to look better and make everyone more unique. Also have body replacer mods that make the women more beautiful and the men more muscular.
- A small weapon expansion that reskins a few weapons and adds a few new types and some unique ones in dungeons.

Last but not least

I have added the Unique Landscapes Compilation mod. Basically most of the wild areas in the game are procedurally generated by an automated process. This mod is a collection of about 20 uniquely detailed areas that range from wide swaths of hand detailed forest to small streams added to the existing area. Everything in this mod follows my own standard of leaving the core game intact, and simply enhancing it to make the world feel richer and more cohesive. Some of the included landscapes also include some new wildlife for that extra touch. These are evenly spread all over the game and seamlessly blended into the surrounding geography.

What I've done is take Oblivion from simply a decent game for its time, to one of the best looking and most richly featured games I have ever played. It's still instantly recognizable as the same game. I have only changed a few small mechanical elements and added things which look and feel natural to the existing game. I have given Oblivion a massive graphical overhaul as well.

So yeah, basically a big long project I started forever ago. The beauty of Oblivion is I can install it and all the expansions and patches, then copy over my modded program files. I can play my fully modded game from a fresh install every time. Man that engine takes some abuse.

I know this is a lot of trouble to fix a badly rushed game. But I truly love Oblivion, and felt it deserved any improvement I could make. I have now created version that I feel Bethesda would have released themselves if they had spent more time on the game.

 

wow. I thought sam had dropped a wall of text, but its you jeff. Should have guessed as it was about oblivion. Any chance you could supply us with screen shots of your modded glory. Never played before.

 

I played Oblivion for a bit, but stopped playing it, and I'm guilty to admit one of the reasons for that is how suddenly shockingly bad it looked when I got outside. I'd perhaps be willing to try it again with all the mods you use.

 

Here, took a few screens from my TV.


Notice specifically the reflections in the water, the foliage and the lighting



Here I want you to notice the textures on the wall. The originals are downright muddy and blurry.



Just a beauty shot of some rolling forest land



Here notice specifically the ground textures on the large island to the front left of me. The originals are practically gameboy quality which is, I believe, one of the main things that turned Sam off to this game.



Just a shot of the Market District in the Imperial City. Notice the textures for all the stonework including the road and every single building. This scene is transformed by my modding. Also notice the sun-kissed glow on the buildings, courtesy of my tweaked HDR.



Just a shot to demonstrate my improved faces. Basically every single person in the game is butt-ugly without mods. Elisa Pierrane here is particularly ugly in the stock game. Would say she's quite attractive now ;P

 

One last shot specifically showing the Real Lights mod as well as my improved night sky. Notice how the torch is the only light source except for the moonlight. Due to my mod, only actual light sources cast light. YES the moon and stars actually cast light. Global lighting has been disabled completely.

Apologize for the quality of the screens. Tinypic's resize didn't help either, but I hope these screens get the basic effect of all my modding across. The actual amount of stuff affected by my mods, is almost countless. About 90% of the game has been changed.

Yes, it is that demanding and that's not much worse than stock. The performance is bugged though. The second you get around any NPCs, the framerate plummets. And going from no AA to 8xAA, has very little performance difference on any part of the game.

I will note that the Shivering Isles expansion, brings some large graphical and performance improvements to the game. Even in the same unified engine much like Source, it is simply better coded and better made. The large majority of my modding covers improvements to the main game. Shivering Isles is another story entirely and needs very little done to bring it up to standard. Very few of my texture improvements apply to SI, but all of my non-texture and non area-specific mods do apply, so the game as a whole feels quite seamless.

For Shaff's benefit, never having played Oblivion, here is one of the more descriptive reviews: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/theelderscrollsivoblivion/review.html

Basically imagine all the detail and beauty the reviewer describes, but doubled or even tripled in some areas. Even without the mods, please do give this game a chance. It really is one of the most significant game releases in the last decade.

 

Just built a lite gaming computer for a buddy. Just emulators

Here's the thing, I set all the emulators up so they would recognize an xbox 360 controller. Well...his aren't like mine. Infact, windows is giving a bad connection sound. And none of the emulators will acknowledge the controller. Are the new ones simply not compatible? Or is there a driver I have to download somewhere. He doesn't recall a disk coming with them

The one he wants to use, is supposedly brand spanking new. It has the transforming D-pad:

 

Yeah there does happen to be some software for it. Google 360 Controller Drivers, should come up fairly quickly...

 

I did lol. I just thought there might be something special for this controller, that you guys might be aware of That might perhaps make it incompatible with PC at the moment. The controller model is still pretty new.
Thanks though

 

Have you tried using it in the back USB ports? A lot of cases don't have fully powered front USBs.

 

That's not a bad idea. The sound windows makes, is the error connecting. But the thing is, I used mine just fine in the front while setting it up. But mine is the basic model Controller. Perhaps his require a little more juice eh? I'll recommend his trying that.

 

Hardware error noise will never happen, even with a device that has no driver for it. It can only happen if there's a fault with the USB hardware somewhere in the system, be it the controller/hub, or the end device. The only properly working device that will ever produce that noise is a 360 play and charge cable, as it doesn't have any data wires, since it's just a power charging cable.

 

That's it sam! I think he was using a play and charge cable! So the controllers he has are exclusively wireless. Wow, that really sucks! IN my opinion they really dropped the ball on that one.

 

when this controller error occurs, are lights 1 and 4 (sometimes it will be 2 and 3) lit up on the controller if so try another usb port(you must turn off the power to the computer completely, shutting it down wont cut it. either pull the plug or flip the on off switch on the power supply) also unplugging the controller for about a day works.