OT: Climbing System Requirements and Specs

[Atrocities]

According to most game reviewers and hard ware testers, the top of the line ATI and Nvidia cards are vastly superior in quality and performance over their half priced brethin. The SLI and the ATI version cards can run such games as F.E.A.R. and Half Life 2 without a problem on the highest quality settings available. While the mid range cost cards tend to have problems.

Having a dual SLI system with a top of the line CPU/HD/MEM only provides the gamer with a better gaming experience.

Lets face it, Microsoft wants to force people into upgrading to VISTA through their decision to not make DirectX 10 backwards compatable. Game developers are going to be forced to step up to DirectX 10. When Vista comes out, games designed using older versions of DirectX will be obsolete.

Games developed after Vista, to utilize DirectX 10, will be using more and more of the features and capabilities of the higher end video cards.

Right now the only reason I can see to upgrade to a new system is to enjoy the wonders of the newer high end games, in anticipation of what is too come.

I bought my GeForce 5700 Ultra only three years ago and already it is dramatically obsolete. Eveything is switching to PCI Express, that alone means I need to upgrade my computer as my MB is not PCI Express Compatable, much lime many of you.

My computer is only three years old.

Hell most of the games released in the last year are already maxing out my video cards capabilities, and that was something that I did not expect to see so soon. Hell my $450.00 GeForce 3 card was ficken leap frogged and is now vitually worthless. Might as well be an old Mytrix Mastique for all the good it does in gaming.

So ya, buing a new "high End" video card is something that I am very wary of, yet I know that eventually, especially after the release of VISTA, I will be forced into updating both my PC and my video cards to meet the new standards for the new games.

MS is evil.

[Saber Cherry]

Don't buy SLI or Crossfire, they're both rip-offs. Or rips-off. They only increase the framerate sometimes, in some games... in most games (meaning, not the 10 that every website use for benchmarks) they reduce the framerate. Even when there is an increase, it's almost never more than 20% at any resolution my monitor can handle... and for people who use LCDs for gaming (sometimes even by choice), you can't tell a difference in framrate above 50fps anyway (on a modern monitor - older ones are more like 30 fps). CRTs are a different story, but I've never seen one that can handle 16x12 at 100 Hz, so framerates ate those resolutions are immaterial to me. In short, I wouldn't spend my money on a dual setup, even if I had unlimited money - more noise, heat, and problems for no advantage.

nVidia does a better job for a dual setup, BTW, but I wish sites would stop reviewing that junk when 0.1% of gamers will ever buy it. Your money will always be better spent on a higher-tier card than a second card of the same tier, or if you are at the top, saved for the next generation, which will be faster than duals of the current generation. nVidia and ATI both need to spend their money on useful research, too, rather than this stupid ego-boosting game of "Who can win the NASCAR races with a car totally unlike anything consumers will buy".

[Ragnarok-X]

I bought my current computer in February 2003, which is more than 3 years ago. Back then i spend about 1200 €, about 1400 (?) US $. Up until now, i added 512 MB ram (now 1024), exchanged graphics once (GF 4800 TI -> GF 6600) and bought a second harddrive (120 > 120 + 160). Additionally, i bought a dvd-burning-capable drive.
So, to sum it up, i spent about 50 + 300 + 90 + 40, a total of 1400 + 480 $ to get a top system.

As of now, i can play every game, with decent solution (1024x768 / 1280*1024, both with 32 mb texture depth).

- Empire at War
- F.E.A.R.
- HL 2
- Need for Speed: Most Wanted
- AoE 3
- DoW

So, i basicly cant agree with Atrocities. I spend about 1850 $ in 3 years, and got myself countless hours of enjoying games, not mentioning being able to watch countless movies and tv series, and, to make it better, surf the internet and do certain work online.
For me, since im spending a LOT of time in front the computer, this is a good investment, and definitly worth the trouble.
One thing im missing is a proper soundcard. I think i will get an Audigy ZS 2 soon.


current setup:

CPU Typ AMD Athlon XP, 2075 MHz (12.5 x 166) 2600+
RAM 1024 MB (DDR SDRAM)
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT (128 MB)
HD Maxtor 120 + Maxtor 160
Drive 3x virtual, 1x physical LG 8120
Sound, Modem built on Board
Running XP pro with SP 2.

[Fyron]

Atrocities said:
According to most game reviewers and hard ware testers, the top of the line ATI and Nvidia cards are vastly superior in quality and performance over their half priced brethin.

Those reviews are full of baloney. Artificial benchmarks are fairly useless. All that the current generation top of the line lets you do is run at best settings. Last generation's top of the line is generally going to be 90%+ of best settings, which is still practically the same. Go back two generations and you might lose the latest useless buzzword feature (like HDR), but the game will still look great and play extremely well.

One thing im missing is a proper soundcard. I think i will get an Audigy ZS 2 soon.

That's not a proper sound card, however. Sure, it can spit out a lot of mediocre quality sound, but it is pricey. Better to go with a card like a M-Audio Revolution.

[Atrocities]

This is why I love coming here. You guys always know more than I and that usually results in me saving money.

I can upgrade the video card in this HP POS so long as it is an AGP card. Man I can remember when AGP first came into play and it was the Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit. Now its worthless again... WTF? Everything is going to PCI - Express. This has to be some kind of gimic to force people into buying new MB and Video Cards.... Kinda of like changing gas powered cars to nitrogen or something... Must buy a whole new car or replace the motor you have in order to run the new, and only, fuel available.

[Fyron]

There are still going to be AGP cards available for at least a few years...

[Renegade 13]

Atrocities said:
Kinda of like changing gas powered cars to nitrogen or something... Must buy a whole new car or replace the motor you have in order to run the new, and only, fuel available.

I wish is was possible to make a car that could be powered by nitrogen! After all, about 76% of the atmosphere is nitrogen. Unfortunately, it's a rather stable element, and wouldn't work as a fuel at all.

Now ethanol...that's a fuel we should be using more. Cheap, easy, renewable, environmentally friendly.

Whoops, a little off topic there. Oh well.

You can still find AGP cards, even at the top-of-the-line. But who'd wanna pay that much for top-of-the-line stuff anyways?

[Fyron]

Ethanol would require a huge amount of land to be added for cultivation for any sort of wide-scale use (possibly as much as it takes to make food for 7 people, if this site is reputable), which is not particularly good for the environment either (though obviously in a different way). Ah, tradeoffs. Hmm... a quick search for "ethanol production" found a number of issues with using it as a fuel.

[Atrocities]

FlexFuel cars are already being sold in South America in great numbers. They have an established distribution infrustructure for ethanol fuel and have been selling it for years now.

The myth that we would need huge amounts of land to cultivate bio-fuel is a myth started by the oil companies in order to discourge research into that area. The truth is, you can make ethanol from many crops not just corn.

Alcohol fuel is the best alternative and is what I believe they are using in Brazil at the moment. Remember, the oil companies don't want alternative fuels on the market and have virtually bottomless pockets to keep the anti alternative fuel PR machine going.

"Its bad for the environment." - false
"Its bad for your motor." - False - look to flex fuel engines built by most manufactures now.
"It will cost more to produce." False, look to brazil and see that it is about a 1/3 the cost of gas.
"It will hurt the economy." Untrue, just flat out a lie.

Don't buy into the PR machine funded by the oil companies.

[Atrocities]

AGP vs PCI Express. Which is better and why? Is there really a noticable differance?