Understanding Ultra Mode

Hi all.

I've done some asking in the Technical and Devs' corner forums, but I have to admit to still being somewhat in the dark over Ultra Mode and just what does what depending on the setting (presumably there will be varying degrees of quality sliders like in regular graphics mode) and the video card.

And I know nothing bar nothing about Raedon video cards beyond that people have said they've been problematic with CoH before. I am rather hoping for a Dummies' Guide to Ultra Mode that someone will write up to help me (and other people a bit confused) find their way to a new video card and if so, which one.

Can anyone shed light in a way that doesn't require me to have a degree to understand?


S.

Ultra mode will make things look nicer while activated. Things like real reflections on glass and water and shadows cast by almost every object as well as a few other things.

If you could tell us your specs (Operating system, Graphics card, Processor, RAM, motherboard) we can help you out a bit more in depth.

Easily done, sirrah!

My operating system is as follows:
Gigabyte GA-P55-UDR3 Motherboard
i5-750 CPU
2Gig DDR3 RAM
Nvidia 9600GT 1GB video card.
Windows XP 32-bit edition


S.

Positron made a post which can help point to what video card can do what. Though you don't need to despair if you're just under the line for what he says is the minimum card, since that's for enabling ALL the features on minimum settings. You still may be able to use SOME of them, even with a weaker card. (Or maybe not). So, that post is a good place to start if you're thinking of updating your video card.

Other than that, we don't really know much about the technical requirements (other than what your computer has to be to run the game awesomely, today). If you're unsure about whether you want to upgrade or not, you can always just wait until i17 goes into beta, and check it out then.


Something else worth mentioning. Radeon cards are indeed problematic with CoH... at the present. However, the Ultra Mode demo they did at HeroCon was running on a Radeon card. So, it's a good bet that they've taken care of some of those problems. So even if someone's card isn't quite up to speed for Ultra Mode, if they have a Radeon card they still might see some benefit from the update.

My local computer store has already informed me they will have the mid and high ranged Fermi cards starting the day they go live. So I am seriously considering trading in my 295 for the mid Fermi card...

I get that your all about ATI, but really the Nvidia cards I have been using are great. I say that because my husband has the 5870 in his computer right next to mine, and my computer is superior to his...

I suspect anyone who buys a high end video card solely for the purpose of running ultra-mode is going to experience a great deal of buyer's remorse in the long run. If you have other games that require that sort of thing, then go for it, but do you really want to pay $400 just so there will be reflections and the water will be prettier?

The i5-750's are outstanding. Even on just the 2gig of RAM, I have to do a LOT to max out the system. The other game I play, LotRo, has much more detailed graphics than CoH currently and the system takes it in its stride. I have to play for something like six hours or more before I get any sort of slowdown or errors.

I couldn't recommend them enough. There are newer generation chips, but the i5-750 is a powerful quad-core chip and makes my old AMD chip look amateurish.

je saist, you make some interesting points about Raedon and I'm definitely looking at prices. The store I most reliably look to however makes some interesting pricing choices.

Currently, I could get a Nvidia 260 for 213 dollars AU, but a Raedon 5770 would only cost me 179. The next steps down, the 250 and 5750 are 125 and 148 respectively. Now, most recommendations are to aim for that level, but I'm considering going to the 250/5750 levels firstly for price's sake (but that may change in the next two months) and secondly because I wouldn't mind knowing the gradients of detail that cards from the 9800GT range up would give you. I think that's a detail point that really hasn't been touched on. Currently the discussion seems to be 'all or nothing', and that surely can't be the case.

I think also that the upgrade on my end is justified for LotRo for one (it'll take more of the load off the quad-core and give me better performance) and that I also do video editing and Photoshop, both very memory intensive activities, and a good video card will process video better, plus give me inlet/outlet options.


S.

Interestingly, I think I can manage to snag a GeForce 275. My father said he'd procured a bunch from somewhere, and I was advised these were the most cost-effective nVidia cards I could get.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

Remember when upgrading anything, to make sure both your motherboard and power supply can take it.

That's not an issue. I've taken to using USB-powered devices like DVD burners, to cut down on the power needs. From what I can figure, even having the highest tier cards shouldn't stress my system unduly.


S.

Will we still have squarish round things (i.e., ship sterns)? Will trees and shrubs still be planes of psuedo-leaves crisscrossing each other? Will store windows remained blurred? Will my cellphone for the emote still be a cellphone of the 90s? Well, emote updates may be a different thing. I won't mention graphic updates for bases. (oops)

Will my...

AMD Phenom II x4 810 Quad-core Processor
8GB DDR2
ATI 5750 1 Gig
Windows 7

beable to run all of Ultra Mode at the highest settings, without lag?

Right now, I can run CoH & CoH Test at the same time, highest setting with no lag. I'm hoping Ultra Mode will allow the same!

Honest question.

Does a Quad core have any real advantage over a Dual core currently.
Obviously eventually more and more thing will support multiple cores, but currently don't most only support two at max?

I appreciate the rundown, je_saist, that actually answered a lot of questions for me!

To add a small bit of advice, for those of you who've had someone else build your rigs (I bought my current computer through IBuyPower), give them a call and ask if your current specs can handle the upgraded card. They had my specs on file and confirmed that a) my chassis could hold the card, b) my motherboard could hold the card, and c) my power supply was sufficient.

I'll be picking up the Radeon 5850 most likely (thank you, Universe, for generous players), not just for UltraMode, but because I'm sure my graphics on ANY game will look a hell of a lot better.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

I'm in the process of building my first gaming rig right now and am definitely going with the 5870

along with this CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103727

Zombie Man,

I appreciate the bullet points, but what I was curious about were the degrees of detail you'd get in various graphics cards, say for example a Nvidia 250GX to a 260, and a Raedon 5750 to a Raedon 5770. I think that'd help a lot of buyers sort out their budgets for this and more importantly what bang for their buck they'd be getting.


S.