The Official Graphics Card and PC gaming Thread

Check my edit.

Yeah I have a huge library of games waiting to be finished as well. Every once in a while there is a dry spell in new games and I'm able to catch up a bit. I still have console games to finish from the Xbox/PS2/Gamecube generation lol.

Also, I got Dirt 3 free on Steam with one of my XFX 6850s. Thanks for yet another amazing thing XFX!

Upon further reading I have found that the TOCA Race Driver series is the prequel to Race Driver Grid while the Colin McRae Rally series is the prequel to Dirt. Quite a long list of games as well. CodeMasters is very prolific

It seems that the only two older titles worth looking at are TOCA Race Driver 3 and Colin McRae Rally 2005. Everything else is horribly old and even those seem painfully old to try now. Grid 2 is in development as well, somewhat excited for that

 

Fun, is certainly the main factor here I enjoy games from the atari to this day. NES, SNES, I probably will never tire of them

Yes, I'm discovering that LOL!

Grid 2 eh? I'll definitely be into that LOL!

 

I had Race Driver 2 on the PS2. Was fun actually, got some really good enjoyment out of that.

Glad we've got some more retro console enthusiasts here. I don't like partaking in the PC gamer-elitist 'consoles are the enemy' stance per se because of how much enjoyment I got out of the cartridge-based systems, and even the earlier disc consoles.

 

Yes Sam the older generation of consoles were great, but the newer consoles are trying to become something there not.

 

The current generation of consoles has only succeeded in stifling game advancement and quality. They were relatively underpowered even when new. In contrast, when the Xbox was released it was somewhat equivalent to a mid-low gaming PC of that generation. When the 360 was released it was equivalent to a mid-low gaming PC 2 generations old.

If you want performance and settings comparisons I can start tearing apart cross platform titles as well.

Oblivion is a good example of how games can be nerfed due to consolitis. The engine basically went to waste on the Xbox and was severely hindered on the PC. It took till Fallout 3 to have the engine up to graphical and performance snuff and by then it was average looking at best, due once again to the console contraints. Skyrim seems to have escaped the worst of it, but is still marred by a few low res textures remaining from the porting process, spoiling the rest of the game which is amazingly high fidelity. Basically, in an effort to make games run under the strict hardware constraints of a console, all versions of it are nuked as a matter of convenience.

A few other noteworthy games would be Mass Effect 1 which had amazing technology and graphics, but had its textures and loading technology borked to make the textures work on the 360. And Dragon Age Origins, a natively PC developed game with badly nerfed controls and graphics on the consoles(PC thankfully got the superior controls). It also had the curse of average graphics for its generation, due to the overarching console constraints.

Last but not least I'll mention Crysis 2. Crysis 1 was PC only while Crysis 2 was multiplatform. Consequently, Crysis 2 is a bunch of enclosed corridors, has less graphical effects than Crysis, worse textures than Crysis, and extremely watered down gameplay. Basically even Crytek themselves agree that Crysis and Warhead were better games, with better design, technology, and graphics. Every single good thing about Crysis was destroyed by consoles. Compared to Crysis 1, Crysis 2 is a joke. I've seen the tech demos and what CryEngine 3 is capable of and let me tell you it didn't have to be nerfed. Their initial engine test was loading the entirety of Crysis 1 into CryEngine 3. Crysis 2 was literally nerfed for the consoles and nothing else. Cevat Yerli has personally expressed his regret about the impact on quality the multiplatform dev process has. Essentially, Crytek admitted that the PC was the better platform to develop for, and it allowed them to focus on quality, and not the console fanboi Xbox Live crap. Crysis 2 ended up being heavily stripped down from its original design as well, because Crytek's initial plans pushed the Xbox to overheating problems. In the end CryEngine 3 turned out to be CryEngine 2 with things REMOVED to make it run n consoles.

I can keep naming games and specific instances where consoles affected their quality directly

So if you want to get really nitpicky, yes I do have a major problem with consoles. The Xbox 360 is a cancer that needs to be eradicated. The PS3 isn't so bad but right on its heels.

A fortunate trend that seems to be returning as of late, at least with reputable devs, is developing for the PC and porting to consoles. Mass Effect 2, Dirt 3, Battlefield 3, Battlefield Bad Company 2 and Skyrim are all extremely noteworthy titles that received their own exclusive dev time on PC, and the quality shows it. Even multiplatform releases like Mass Effect 2 can be just fine, if they develop the game for PC first(which they did). It's always been traditional to strip the game for consoles, not vice versa.

3D engines like Unreal 3 reveal the worst of the consolitis but they also reveal the very best. Mass Effect 2 is an excellent example of this. It is an extremely pretty and high resolution game. It does NOT have consolitis AT ALL, not in the menus, the graphics, the gameplay, or the controls. It is one of the most pleasurable experiences I have ever had with a 3D game.

On the opposite end of the spectrum you have watered-down sh*t like Bioshock 1 and 2, Medal of Honor Airborne and Singularity, with their sluggish KB/M controls, bland graphics, boring, repetitive gameplay and limited video settings. Yes, both Bioshock games sucked, had sub-par graphics, and were boring and repetitive. Also, yes I do have a right to judge them having played both to completion. Kind of funny how console gamers praised Bioshock for graphical quality while PC gamers were basically underwhelmed. We'd already had BETTER graphics for years.

Now, all these games are on Unreal 3, so what's the difference? Mass Effect 2 had a version devved specifically for PC, and all of those other games were devved only for consoles then ported to the PC like a lazy bastard.

I am very anti-console. Not because I think consoles are bad, but because the general public is too stupid to handle them without ruining everything else. The Xbox 360 created a generation where any 12 year old with mommy's credit card tries to call himself a hardcore gamer. Seriously, I'm often sickened by commercialism and gimmicks, and the current generation of consoles has both in spades.

If you want a good example of why consoles suck, take a good look at FEAR. Released in late 2005 as a PC exclusive, it is still higher resolution and more beautiful than the large majority of console games being produced, and it's as old as the consoles... I know FEAR had a console release later on, but if you've ever played the two side by side you'll know there is no comparison. FEAR looks like a PS2 game on the 360.

Also look at CoD2, another game the same age as FEAR that surpasses most new releases in graphics and quality. Graphics have fundamentally changed very little since the release of the Xbox 360. From Call of Duty 2 all the way to Modern Warfare 3 there have been no major changes to the engine. Texture resolution has barely even increased and in Black Ops it even went down. Black Ops, a fairly new game, is by sheer technicality worse looking than CoD2, a game 5 or 6 years its senior. Console gamers are braindead.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...50-521^14-150-521-TS,14-161-384^14-161-384-TS

any input on these cards? good? bad?

 

Good cards. Get the XFX one as there is no reference design for the HD6850. XFX is the only third party brand I trust.

 

Wow, thanks Jeff, now I'm really gung-ho to bust out the Bio-shocks in April. Despite your glowing review - I'll probably play them anyway, since I don't have the horsepower to join you, yet, on the BF3 battlefield, nor jump into any of the crysis titles.

LOL

But since I take your reviews seriously, I will downscale my expectations. Still, I have heard so much about Bioshock "atmosphere" I am kind of curious. The one demo that they put out was, underwhelming, to use your word, and so I never got interested.

But since Codemasters decided to fire everybody who put together the two operation flashpoints, and focus everything on racing, then I don't know what is coming up that will satisfy my fps cravings - well, I could replay Rage. That was a lark. Respawn Entertainment will eventually have something - when - 2013? I'm looking forward to that for sure.

Rich

 

A buddy at work just bought the 7970. I'm jealous. LOL! Of course HE can afford it! He drives truck for the company. They generally average 70,000USD per year or more I'm holding out for a position that will eventually pay nearly that much though Then I can buy/build whatever I want!

 

One of my friends has sold both his HD6970s and bought two HD7970s

Am I jealous? Not that much at the moment, genuinely. I've not really been playing anything that would need them of late. That will eventually change, of course...

 

He says he has three displays too. MAN I can't wait LOL! You're probably right though. There's very few games that can make use of the horse power of those beasts.

I still find it impressive that GRiD can tax the hell out of the 570. What I mean by that, is it runs considerably warmer than even the GTX 260 did. Although I never ran GRiD on it. It appears to me, that GRiD is very GPU intensive. Where GTA IV is very CPU intensive. I Guess I'm quickly becoming accustomed to seeing 72-75C on the 570. Of course it WOULD be warmer, but I won't allow it LOL! Before I go into a game, I ramp the fan up to 60 - 65%. Which really isn't that loud if you ask me. My stereo nearly drowns it out, at the level I listen at. I realize they're designed to reach very high temps, but the idea of boiling point, or near it really doesn't seem right to me

 

Yep that's right, a quad core is basically mandatory for GTA4, whereas GRiD will run on low-end dual cores quite happily. GTA4 is one of the worst coded games ever to be released on the PC.

 

LOL sorry to burst your bubble. Like other games though, play it anyway. For the record, the first game is actually quite decent, and I enjoyed it. It's the second game that was a let-down.


Omega, don't be so paranoid about graphics temps and let the fan auto-adjust itself. My cards have way above average coolers and they still hit up to 75 when gaming. 85-90 would not be overly crazy for some cards out there.

 

Remember though Jeff these are GeForces, they can't withstand the same temperatures that Radeons can. Keeping a GTX570 below 80 Celsius is good practice.

I'd recommend Bioshock rich, It's a good laugh.

 

Well he's getting uneasy at 72-75 lol. If those temps made me uneasy I'd be a nervous wreck.

 

True, it's only beyond 81-82 you should start to have any concern. My HD4870X2s ran at 90 or so for most of their working life. No real issues to report.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...50-597^14-150-597-TS,14-150-599^14-150-599-TS

would it be safe to say the HD6870 is a better card than the HD7770?

sorry didnt mean to insult your guys expertise on these cards. after looking closer o them the HD7770 sucks in my eyes compared to the 6870. am i right in my thinking? if not please explain.
thanks.
thinking of ordering a card today. seeing igot my blu ray player i can use this stuff now until i get everything else

 

It will do, the HD7770 is designed as a modern replacement for the HD6850, not the HD6870.

 

so for the same price im better off getting the HD6870 than?

 

Yes I would assume so. It should technically be faster. How much faster I'm not sure.