Ultra-mode video card shopping guide
By
5th_Player,
Posted on: 2009-11-25 11:21 in Developers' Corner
Quote:
I've already mailed a kitten to each nVidia and AMD, both wearing little Statesman costumes. I hope they'll get the message.
|
Originally Posted by DarkEther
I think we all need to hit NVidia and ATI and make sure we request that they develop the SLI and Crossfire profiles for this game if they aren't there already, and hopefully while NC is upgrading things here, they'll go that extra step.
|
Just wondering if anyone can tell me how this setup will do for running ultra mode 
# Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 945 3.0ghz 4000MT/S 6mb Cache SKT AM3
Processor Interface : Socket AM3
# Memory: Major Brand 4gb DDR2 800 PC6400 CL6.0 Memory Module
# Hard Drive: Branded 1tb Sata 7200rpm 16mb Cache HDD
# Graphics Card: Nvidia GTX260 896mb DDR3 Graphics Card Dual DVI HDMI
# Motherboard: Asrock K10N78 Full HD-HSLI AM2 5200MT/S Nvidia 8200 Chipset SKT AM2
# Max Memory Support: 16gb DDR2 1066
# Motherboard Expansion Slots: 1x PCI-E 16x, 1x PCI-E 1x, 2x 32-bit PCI
# Network Card: 10/100/1000 Giga PHY RTL8211B
# Audio: 5.1 CH Windows Vista Premium Level HD Audio (Realtek ALC662 Audio Codec)
# Optical Drive: 20x Lightscribe DVD Writer with Buffer Underrun Protection
# Power Supply: Branded 750w 24Pin Power Supply Unit
thanks!
I damn well hope so.
See the first post in the thread. Posi says GTX 260 will allow UM at medium settings. With a fast, modern multicore CPU and 4GB of memory I think the rest of the rig is more than capable.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
A different sort of question- all this talk about being able to run Ultra in "low", "medium", or "high" modes...what will the interface be like? If you had a weak card, would it let you attempt to turn it on in a high mode? What would happen if you did? No video at all?
Quote:
You'll likely get a slideshow. The worse the card, the worse the performance.
|
Originally Posted by Thug_Two
A different sort of question- all this talk about being able to run Ultra in "low", "medium", or "high" modes...what will the interface be like? If you had a weak card, would it let you attempt to turn it on in a high mode? What would happen if you did? No video at all?
|
With I17 about to hit closed beta, I have to wonder if that includes testing UM. One would assume so but perhaps that will be later in the open. I suppose it's possible they know who has a rig that can run it and can factor that in their invites but I dunno. Not sure if that sort of info gets transmitted to them and the legalities of it being done so. Privacy issues and whatnot. Anyways, idle speculation and all.
It is known that there are an infinite number of worlds, simply because there is an infinite amount of space for them to be in. However, not every one of them is inhabited. Therefore, there must be a finite number of inhabited worlds. Any finite number divided by infinity is as near to nothing as makes no odds, so the average population of all the planets in the Universe can be said to be zero. From this it follows that the population of the whole Universe is also zero, and that any people you may meet from time to time are merely the products of a deranged imagination.
Quote:
My guess is that the client interface would be similar to what we have now: in the current client there's a basic detail slider that goes from low to high, but there's also an advanced mode that lets you tweak all of the graphics options separately and independently. Its probably a reasonable assumption that Ultra Mode adds more options which your card may or may not support, and there will be a basic slider that will go from low to high where the client will make reasonable guesses for the settings, and an advanced mode where you will be able to dial in all of the new options manually.|
Originally Posted by Thug_Two
A different sort of question- all this talk about being able to run Ultra in "low", "medium", or "high" modes...what will the interface be like? If you had a weak card, would it let you attempt to turn it on in a high mode? What would happen if you did? No video at all?
|
Just like now, if your card doesn't support the feature at all it will probably be disabled, but if it does, just slowly, you could turn it on and see what happens. Turning on a feature you support but not very fast will probably make the client run extremely slowly.
[Guide to Defense] [Scrapper Secondaries Comparison] [Archetype Popularity Analysis]
In one little corner of the universe, there's nothing more irritating than a misfile...
(Please support the best webcomic about a cosmic universal realignment by impaired angelic interference resulting in identity crisis angst. Or I release the pigmy water thieves.)
I certainly hope that testing Ultramode will be part of i17's CB. Kind of counting on it. Right now the only reason I have to upgrade my video card is Ultra Mode... every other game I've tried recently (since upgrading my CPU) has run quite nicely at default (or better) settings... Batman, Mirror's Edge, etc.
Quote:
Well it's all speculation to me as I said. But if they do have UM in the CB, one would assume they'd want to have a decent slate of folks in there that can run it to some degree. If nobody in the CB can run it, what's the point in testing it? Which brought me to wondering what they knew about us concerning our systems and whether they could/would use that to pick invitees. No prior issue that I can think of depended much, if any, on user hardware for testing. Certainly not to this degree. So, idle minds wonder...|
Originally Posted by Psyte
I certainly hope that testing Ultramode will be part of i17's CB. Kind of counting on it. Right now the only reason I have to upgrade my video card is Ultra Mode... every other game I've tried recently (since upgrading my CPU) has run quite nicely at default (or better) settings... Batman, Mirror's Edge, etc.
|
Anyways, it certainly sounds like you expect an invite for some reason. So I'll just wish us both luck on that and leave it there. And then scurry home in a bit and try to get my new rig finished up in the unlikely event I do get lucky somehow.
It is known that there are an infinite number of worlds, simply because there is an infinite amount of space for them to be in. However, not every one of them is inhabited. Therefore, there must be a finite number of inhabited worlds. Any finite number divided by infinity is as near to nothing as makes no odds, so the average population of all the planets in the Universe can be said to be zero. From this it follows that the population of the whole Universe is also zero, and that any people you may meet from time to time are merely the products of a deranged imagination.
I'm not expecting a CB invite, but if its not in CB then it won't be in OB either. Something that big/major won't get added "at the last minute"! The more time they have to test, the better.
I have to admit, I am really curious to find out how the Radeon 3850HD will handle UM.
Based on what we've been told so far, I'm thinking it might be able to handle medium-lower settings, or simply just really low settings... However, the card seems to have always performed better than I've expected, so who knows.
I could also be wrong and it won't handle the new settings at all!
Thus, why I am eager to find out, hehe.
I'm not too worried. Just curious (And ever more-so as the day gets closer and closer to when I can find out).
Excelsior!!
@Zethustra
"Now at midnight all the agents and the superhuman crew come out
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan
Quote:
I'm not so sure. The base card for UM Posi states is the 9800GT which according to Tom's Hardware is generally equivalent to the 4830 and 5670. A 3850 comes in at 2-3 rungs below that in their rankings depending on the card's memory. So unless the specs for UM come down, I'd say you *might* do the bare minimum settings but I wouldn't count on it. And you'll likely have low FPS if you do. My advice? Scrape some cash together and go upgrade if you want UM.
|
Originally Posted by Electric-Knight
I have to admit, I am really curious to find out how the Radeon 3850HD will handle UM.
Based on what we've been told so far, I'm thinking it might be able to handle medium-lower settings, or simply just really low settings... However, the card seems to have always performed better than I've expected, so who knows. I could also be wrong and it won't handle the new settings at all! Thus, why I am eager to find out, hehe. I'm not too worried. Just curious (And ever more-so as the day gets closer and closer to when I can find out). Excelsior!! |
It is known that there are an infinite number of worlds, simply because there is an infinite amount of space for them to be in. However, not every one of them is inhabited. Therefore, there must be a finite number of inhabited worlds. Any finite number divided by infinity is as near to nothing as makes no odds, so the average population of all the planets in the Universe can be said to be zero. From this it follows that the population of the whole Universe is also zero, and that any people you may meet from time to time are merely the products of a deranged imagination.
Okay, Ultramode has me salivating, but unfortunately, my current box (2.1g proc, 2 gigs ram, 6600GT vid card) can barely handle CoX at good settings (solo i get about 30 fps at 1024 x 768 w/o AA or AF... forget team content!).
But then Techreport (.com) did their system guide for 2010 and the econobox looks very nice. I made some modifications to fit my own desires, and here's what i came up with:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Pu...umber=17853108
Basically, it's a AMD Athlon II Quad core at 2.8GHz, 3 gigs of DDR3 ram, and a Geforce GT 240 (512 mb GDDR5). The vid card has impressive numbers and good reviews, and I was wondering/hoping that it would be good enough for all the Ultramode goodies. Confirm/deny?
-STEELE =)
Allied to all sides so that no matter what, I'll come out on top!
Oh, and Crimson demands you play this arc-> Twisted Knives (MA Arc #397769)
I got this computer here the link let me know what other video Card it can take?
http://www.thesource.ca/estore/produ...ine&tab=2#more
Nacht Nova Thunder = Level 50 (Liberty) Dark Blaster/Storm Summoning - Defender
Nova Ninja = Level 50 (Liberty) spines/ Regeneration - Scrapper
CanadianMan = Level 50 (Liberty) Super Strength/Invulnerability - Tanker
LibertyBoy = Level 35 (Liberty) Stone Armor
/Fiery Melee - Tanker
Quote:
Ah, three 1GB sticks is going to force memory into single channel mode, halving memory throughput. Are you sure you want to go that way?
|
Originally Posted by EmperorSteele
Okay, Ultramode has me salivating, but unfortunately, my current box (2.1g proc, 2 gigs ram, 6600GT vid card) can barely handle CoX at good settings (solo i get about 30 fps at 1024 x 768 w/o AA or AF... forget team content!).
But then Techreport (.com) did their system guide for 2010 and the econobox looks very nice. I made some modifications to fit my own desires, and here's what i came up with: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Pu...umber=17853108 Basically, it's a AMD Athlon II Quad core at 2.8GHz, 3 gigs of DDR3 ram, and a Geforce GT 240 (512 mb GDDR5). The vid card has impressive numbers and good reviews, and I was wondering/hoping that it would be good enough for all the Ultramode goodies. Confirm/deny? |
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
Quote:
Not sure. It will depend on the PSU. |
Originally Posted by NovaThunder
I got this computer here the link let me know what other video Card it can take?
http://www.thesource.ca/estore/produ...ine&tab=2#more |
Acer normally ships a 300 watt unit in their Aspire line. Not sure how many watts at 12 volts. You wouldn't be able to use any of the GPUs Posi recommends with that sized PSU in any case.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
Quote:
Wait, are you saying 2 gigs would be better? o_O (I don't wanna do 4 gigs as i'm still using Win XP 32-bit, and i needn't explain to you the 4 gig limitation =) )
|
Originally Posted by Father Xmas
Ah, three 1GB sticks is going to force memory into single channel mode, halving memory throughput. Are you sure you want to go that way?
|
-STEELE =)
Allied to all sides so that no matter what, I'll come out on top!
Oh, and Crimson demands you play this arc-> Twisted Knives (MA Arc #397769)
You can put 4 GB in, you (the OS) just won't see it all until you go with 64-bit Windows 7 (64-bit anything actually but why anyone would want to install Vista or 64-bit XP is beyond my help).
You are spending $90 on ram anyways, why not spend $20 more and get 4GB (2x2GB) of DDR3? There are several nice sets for around $105 at NewEgg, less with rebates. The 4GB of Cas 8, 1.65V, DDR3-1600 in my $1200 build is only $115 which is still less than the $30 a GB you were paying.
And note, at NewEgg, due to how manufacturers round, there are three DDR3 "identifiers" for DDR3-1333, PC3-10600, PC3-10660 and PC3-10666 (1333 x 8). Use Power Search to select them all when you go looking. Also if you keep the search in the 1.5V (DDR3 default) to 1.65V (Core iX "max voltage), you can reuse these on an Intel Socket 1156/1366 motherboard if you ever find yourself upgrading to Intel.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
So there's no harm going 4Gs, then? Hmm, I'll have to consider it then, thanks! *gives prezents!*
Oh, but the computer should still run Ultra Mode fine, right? Or is that still unknown at this point?
-STEELE =)
Allied to all sides so that no matter what, I'll come out on top!
Oh, and Crimson demands you play this arc-> Twisted Knives (MA Arc #397769)
Since all we've gotten so far is generalities on video cards, it's still unknown.
If the game spit out 20 dollar bills people would complain that they weren't sequentially numbered. If they were sequentially numbered people would complain that they weren't random enough.
Black Pebble is my new hero.
Quote:
Well if Posi's recommendations are correct, the GT 240, even with GDDR5 memory, is a bit on the low side. Problem is anything more powerful will require external power and that brings up the whole issue about having a decent PSU.|
Originally Posted by EmperorSteele
So there's no harm going 4Gs, then? Hmm, I'll have to consider it then, thanks! *gives prezents!*
Oh, but the computer should still run Ultra Mode fine, right? Or is that still unknown at this point? |
But since we don't know the actual impact on performance with Ultra Mode, even on it's minimum settings, relative to current performance as well as what you may consider to be an acceptable resolution and frame rate, there may be a combination of settings that you would feel OK with.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
ok, I am running an older comp, it runs CoX on performance and it runs on recommended...Is it ultra mode possible?
Pentium 4 3.00GHz cpu
4Gig RAM
NVidia GeForce fx5200 integrated RAMDAC 128mb
I am running Windows XP SP3...I have windows 7 but I havent gotten to installing it,Will windows 7 do anything special?
http://s305.photobucket.com/albums/n...stumes%202011/
spit take
Ah, no.
No.
Hell no.
Ultra Mode is for players who have beast machines and gamers who may be attracted to this game purely due to the "pretty" factor. It's entirely optional and if you don't have the hardware to run it, no big deal, the game will simply look as it does today.
First you are going to need a Dx10 class of card. Not that the game is Dx10 but you need the GPU hardware a Dx10 card can bring, a bucket load of configurable streaming processors for all the complex shaders Ultra Mode will be using. Then it's not just any Dx10 card but a mainstream or higher relative to today's standard. So HD 47xx, HD 48xx, HD 57xx, HD 58xx, 9800GT or GTX 2xx.
Of course to feed such beasts you will need a reasonable CPU, a true dual core should do. An old P4 even with HT isn't really an option.
And all that Windows 7 will bring, assuming it's 64-bit, is access to all 4GB of RAM.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
Quote:
just wondering, has it been confirmed in some way that directx 10+ are not used in ultra mode? a forum search suggested opengl was being used to implement it, but nothing redname popped out at me. |
Originally Posted by Father Xmas
First you are going to need a Dx10 class of card. Not that the game is Dx10 but you need the GPU hardware a Dx10 card can bring, a bucket load of configurable streaming processors for all the complex shaders Ultra Mode will be using.
..... And all that Windows 7 will bring, assuming it's 64-bit, is access to all 4GB of RAM. |
i only ask as i idly consider upgrading from xp and dx 9.c to win7 and dx 11 with a 5870 (that will likely be cheaper in 4-6 mos/rogue range for this and other games).
thanks for all the info spread throughout the thread so far.
Kittens give Morbo gas.
I think we all need to hit NVidia and ATI and make sure we request that they develop the SLI and Crossfire profiles for this game if they aren't there already, and hopefully while NC is upgrading things here, they'll go that extra step.
My Deviant Art page link-link
CoH/V Fan Videos