The Official Graphics Card and PC gaming Thread

Have watched Avatar many times. Admittedly a cop-out from beginning to end as it rips 90% of its story elements from better films. The location, characters, and sheer quality of detail make it stand out a bit though. Certainly an interesting watch, but easy to pick up the problems with it on subsequent viewings.
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Finally got my Gamecube component cable shipped for $150. Well worth the price for this particular collector's item as they are extremely rare. Any other component cables than the Official Nintendo one are simply a passthrough for the analog signal and cannot take advantage of progressive scan. The true digital signal sent via the pre-2004 Digital Output port is superior to the analog, and also to the component on the Wii.

The Xbox has easily the highest number of games that take advantage of 480p. A few also run at 720p. The Xbox is by far the most powerful console of its generation and has twice the computing power of the other consoles. It also has DirectX 8.1 and Pixel Shader 1.4 as well as anti-aliasing, which gives it vastly superior rendering capabilities to the other consoles. The Xbox has a good number of exclusives that the other consoles definitely couldn't run, including full ports of Half Life 2 and Doom 3, and an exclusive version of Far Cry with an expansion and map editor. It also had some system exclusives not available on PC like MechAssault, Conker Live and Reloaded, and Halo 1 and 2(both released on PC later).

The Gamecube has a very high number of good exclusives. There are MANY graphical powerhouse Gamecube-only games that benefit drastically from 480p. F-Zero GX, Super Smash Bros Melee, Mario Sunshine, the proper un-mirrored version of Zelda Twilight Princess, Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2 and 3, the list is actually quite impressive. As far as overall capabilities, it was much more similar to the Xbox than to the PS2. It was more powerful and had more memory than the PS2, but suffered from its half capacity mini-DVDs. The Gamecube had a very decent GPU for the time and the best Vertex Shader support so was able to produce some stunning imagery. The wizards at Nintendo were masters at squeezing every last drop of horsepower out of the Gamecube. Sadly the Gamecube had a relatively small library compared to its competitors due to a lack of 3rd party developers. Progressive scan also wasn't very well utilized due to the lack of demand at the time. The cables have become highly sought after in later years though as all the best games happen to have supported it.

The PS2 benefits the most from component cables as it had the lowest average rendering resolution across its game library. When multi-platform releases were compared on composite video, the Xbox would almost always look the best, with the Gamecube second, and the PS2 trailing far behind. Really a shame as aside from resolution, the PS2 was capable of some serious graphical splendor. The addition of the component cable is such a drastic change, it really must be seen to be believed. Only a 1st gen PS3 with the PS2 hardware built-in on HDMI approaches it, and it's still not the same. While being the weakest of the big 3 sixth gen consoles by a wide margin, the development community was very experienced due to the long life cycle of the console. Mid and late PS2 exclusives were absolutely insane compared to the earlier releases. Metal Gear Solid 3, Shadow of the Colossus, the Jak and Daxter and Rachet and Clank games, Ace Combat, God of War, Final Fantasy, all amazingly good looking games. Gran Turismo 4 even has support for 1080i, which is fantastic. The PS2 also has by far the largest game library of any console ever, which is a great bonus.

TL;DR Component cables make a drastic difference for sixth gen consoles and they are far better than we ever gave them credit for back in the day.

 

I think GT4 running at 1080i on the PS2 was a region 1 feature only as I recall, remembering my disappointment when I tried it for myself...

 

Not to mention Star Wars Republic Commando which is without a doubt one of the best Star Wars games and one of the best games of its era period. The PC version doesn't run properly on anything newer than a Radeon X1000 or GeForce 7800 due to some very specialized technologies being used. Thus the only way to play it properly is the Xbox or installing an older video card. Would like to see the PS2 or Gamecube manage that or Halo 2...

 

The sequel - yeah I was thinking about that a few days ago. As I recall, Cameron signed the main actors for 3-film contracts. So they should all be coming back. I have an idea he's probably been working on it. Wait - I seem to recall reading somewhere, that they already did scenes for #2 and #3 when they made the original - not necessarily ALL the scenes, but some of them.

Kind of how they did the Lord of the Ring trilogy. Did you hear anything about that Kev?

Picky picky picky. But seriously - problems? With Cameron's obsessiveness about perfection? Wow, you ARE a good critic. Anything you care to comment on specifically? I have no doubt that you are correct, but I am intrigued.

By the way, there was a HUGE flaw with Gravity - which I just saw a couple nights ago - why would the guy be tugging on the girl who was hung in the ropes - and then when he unclips - he goes off sailing. Like as if he was under the pull of gravity - hanging from a building - or trapped in a current heading sideways. There was absolutely no reason for him to do that - he is in stationary orbit just like she is. He wouldn't have been pulling on her the least little bit once he had stopped moving. Am I wrong? (I loved the movie anyway - Cuaron is a magnificent director.)

"Jeez", Jeff, that's all I can say for your savvy about game consoles - of which I know zero, but I know a little bit more now - and what I now know is that component cables make a huge difference. And Sam tried what you did - but he's in the UK so they said "you're sh*t out of luck limey!" (That's for coming back in 1812 and giving us some more grief down there in Louisiana. )


What about the new consoles - doesn't xbox have a new version - xbox infinity or something like that? Yeah, as I recall, they hired AMD to do the graphics on all the new consoles. Are they still working on them - or are they out?

Lastly, anybody heard anything about COD. The trailer looked meh, and since I don't do multiplayer anymore like Kevin, I'll wait until it's $20. But I may have a long wait - ghost from 8-10 months ago is still full price.

Rich

 

I vaguely recall future scenes being filmed. But I DO recall, that part 2 is definitely in the works. Definitely a no brainer for them. It's one of the highest grossing films, if I recall correctly

 

Avatar is the highest grossing film of all time. By a considerable amount. Even adjusting for inflation, it has grossed more money than all three of the original Star Trek films combined.

However, it is very nearly 5 years old. That's a long time to wait to make a sequel with the same actors.

For queries about the film 'Gravity' - may I direct you to this video guest-starring astrophysicist (and arguable internet celebrity) Neil deGrasse-Tyson, whom you may be familiar with from the TV series 'Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey'


The new Xbox is 'Xbox one'. Yes, it's a stupid name, but yes like the other two consoles, AMD produced the GPU for it. It's to a lesser standard than that in the PS4 though, as I recall, hence the Xbox One being limited to lower resolutions with comparable titles to the PS4. Commence usual console fanboyism etc

I'm very anti-Call of Duty as of Modern Warfare 2 onwards, but people who shared that opinion are telling me that the newest game is actually quite good fun, likening it to 'a Call of Duty interpretation of Battlefield 2142' which could be interesting. I'll gauge how much interest they have in it, and if it becomes popular, consider buying.

 

There's a great deal of complex cgi in the movies (as I'm sure you're aware). Things like that take time, even with crew of experts. But I suppose 5yrs does seem a bit of a wait(and a long while). Building anticipation? I doubt it. 2yrs would definitely suffice in that regard lol.

I wouldn't worry too much about aging of the actors/actresses. Hollywood is pretty talented at reducing/increasing age.

 

I'd argue there's a great deal of complex CGI in the transformers series, but that doesn't stop them churning them out with increasingly questionable results in every area apart from said CGI

It's not a question of ageing, it's a question of moving on, doing other things, illnesses etc.

 

Well, you may not be first in line, but I will! LOL!

 

I still wouldn't mind watching the original but I've never really thought to sit down and watch it throughout. I'll be sure to try and do that next available opportunity. The way life's going nowadays though, no idea when that'll be!

 

I can appreciate where you're coming from. Hope things start looking up for you I've had two jobs, part time jobs, no jobs, and too much time. Any more, I can't seem to find enough time lol. I've also been depressed like no other (believe it). I'm currently trying to stay sober for at least a week. Rather difficult lol :S

Might I recommend 3D. Not sure what your capabilities are in that regard. I seen a bit of it at a buddies house once. VERY impressive! This December, I hope to get myself either a 3D PC monitor, or Cheap 3D tv connected to my PC.

 

God damn mobile aD is a waste of space

Thanks for the support, it's a long story, work has been strenuous but that's just been stressful, which hasn't helped with the depression but it isn't the root cause. I know exactly what the root cause is, but it's very difficult to describe. Suffice to say I built up quite a strong bond with a particular individual but things have deteriorated considerably over the last month or so. The unusual circumstances of this mean that I do very occasionally get to talk to them but have yet to resolve anything positively. This situation going on as long as it has been has made life a bit of a misery to be honest, but as the saying goes, you never know unless you try...

On topic, nothing I'm afraid, I took the 4K route rather than the 3D route. It's a pain to get working, but when it does, it's superb, especially for desktop work (for which 3D obviously is unsuitable).

 

Well, that is interesting regarding COD - your friends, Sam, are telling you it isn't bad. I might wait until you pick it up then. Who did it by the way - Infinity or the other guys - and now there's a third one doing them, right? Sledgehammer or something or other. I know the original Infinity guys are gone - doing that multi-mech game - one dropped out for personal reasons. I sent an email to Gabe Newell once telling him to bankroll them on a new franchise. He didn't - but I see he did license Source to them.

Thanks for the Gravity analysis - I will watch that clip very soon.

For avatar - the actors are locked into a contract. Yes, they could get sick, but other jobs won't get in the way, due to the contract. Cameron is a total perfectionist. He did Titanic, then I think he followed it next with Avatar. Wasn't there a good 5 years between those two? He did Aliens and Terminator also if I am not mistaken.

Wait a second - I decided to not be so lazy. Titannic is 1997, Avatar 2009. If my math is right, THAT IS 12 YEARS BETWEEN FILMS.

WUT !!!!!!!!!!!!!

I might be all wrong, but I think there was nothing in the middle for him - a dozen years in the making? That seems incredible.

Well, he's a perfectionist, and a genius. Like Kevin, I consider Avatar to be one of my all-time favorite films. I'm dying to hear from Jeff what some of the flaws are - but maybe Jeff should keep mum until AFTER you finally watch it, Sam.

If the sequel is truly in the works, it still might be another two years before he finishes. I just wonder what we're in for. That one, I will go to the theater for - maybe one of those really fancy theaters up in LA where you reserve your seat. It's probably $50 a ticket by then, but it will be worth it.

I did see it in 3d in the theater for around $24 I recall, but the 3d effects, I believe, were not completely essential - they were subtle - and since then I've seen some 2d of it that looked quite good. But the 3d tickets were another $5-7 each, and yes they were worth it, and yes they added considerably to the revenue and profit generated by the film. More power to him and to the producers.

Back in '97 he gave back his $6 million salary because Titanic went so far over budget, but later as the revenues were gigantic, they decided to give him a few million anyway (in order to be invited to participate in the next big Cameron project I imagine) is the story that I heard.

Yes, you must certainly get a good-sized - I would say 10 gig minimum size bluray rip - and spread it out on the 4k. If you can get a 20 gig rip - even better.

I swear by Power DVD 13 for its uploading and enhancement algorhythms - all done in software - and you can see in split screen the effect of the true theater. I try to only download 720p in good size - to get around 3 gigs per movie - and then I let the software upscale to 1080p.

But I have done some comparisons, like Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, "Poo people, do you speak English" which the rich kid in fancy tuxedo, standing in the front-yard mud, leaning on the bumper of the chauffeur-driven Rolls, says to his UK farming cousins. The 6 gig looked slightly better than the 3 gig, but both were quite nice.

I don't know if Power DVD supports 4k. I doubt it. So Sam, I would get the largest file you can find - and I imagine that you can find a 20 gig rip.

As to Avatar - will we ever see Avatar 3? What do you think Kevin? Maybe not. But I am pretty sure that I heard in the beginning that all the contracts were for 3 films. I think I watched an interview with Zoe Saldana, and she mentioned it, or maybe it was the Australian guy.

Rich

EDIT - Sam's movie was funny - Neil said there were dozens of things wrong with the movie, including what I talked about - he floated away in zero G (no reason at all for him to float away) - but despite it all, Neil said he still enjoyed the movie very much.

Now that's a guy with a good sense of humor.

 

Wow Rich. imdb.com suggests a 4th Avatar! I'd say a 3rd is looking quite likely! LOL!

Sam, there are 3D IPS panels. But, if you're referring to real estate(ultra HD) for desktop space... you may have had to choose one or the other, eh? I can't be bothered to look for an ultra HD/3D monitor/TV. If they DO exist, they're likely BIG $$$! LOL!

 

It's far better now than it used to be I will admit (thankfully!) but I find it has difficulty with the large number of images in this thread, as I'm in the middle of typing a post it'll suddenly jump upwards which led me to hit the 'post reply' button instead of positioning my cursor to edit a typo. It's possibly an artifact of the browser, I don't know (android chrome)

 

Replaced my Microslop mouse with this one today. Good wifi distance, feels agreeable, and is hopefully hypoallergenic! LOL!

Only cost me $11 after coupon code. Plus I'll get a bit more off, using a rebate site.

 

Thinking of upgrading my gpu and after considering my budget I considered a R9 but then settled on a GTX970 but there is so many GTX970 which of these two would you recommend Asus GeForce GTX 970 or Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970. I'm currently leaning towards the Asus but your recommendations would be appreciated.

 

Gigabyte, purely because almost everything I buy from Asus falls to pieces in a matter of months
I'm running a Gainward GTX970 at the moment, partly because it was the cheapest but also because it has a blower cooler, which I prefer.