A Question for I17 Beta testers with both Nvidia and ATI graphics available
By
5th_Player,
Posted on: 2010-03-01 10:21 in The Global Training Room Test Server
I was wondering if ATI was worth getting.
I could get a NVid 9800 fairly cheaply (I've had an 8800 for a while) but I don't know a thing about ATI cards or what I should be looking for there.
The issue will probably be memory more than anything else.
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Also, people can wait till this issue goes open beta (or till they get into the closed) and see how it runs with like... experiance and such. Silly idea but still, throwing it out there.
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http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...card,2544.html|
Originally Posted by Alexandria2000
I was wondering if ATI was worth getting.
I could get a NVid 9800 fairly cheaply (I've had an 8800 for a while) but I don't know a thing about ATI cards or what I should be looking for there. The issue will probably be memory more than anything else. |
This should give you some good info. It also has a ranking chart at the end that gives a fair idea of what cards from ATI and Nvidia (relatively) match up with each other in performance terms. Right now ATI is generally considered the leader in graphics as you tend to get more performance for less $$ from them than Nvidia. Either brand should do fine in CoH really once I17 removes the issues it has with ATI cards but you'll get more bang for your buck if you go ATI right now.
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Hello someone who has a name very similar to one of my favorite people on chat! |
Originally Posted by Alexandria2000
I was wondering if ATI was worth getting.
I could get a NVid 9800 fairly cheaply (I've had an 8800 for a while) but I don't know a thing about ATI cards or what I should be looking for there. The issue will probably be memory more than anything else. |
ATI cards are quite good. As pointed out right now they do offer the best price/performance, and Ultra Mode will be getting rid of the crappy code (very possibly put in there by Nvidia) that causes the issues COH has had with ATI cards in the past. As such, in theory, any graphics card (Nvidia or ATI) will be fine.
I myself have a Radeon 4670, which is an older card bought for under $100. Runs quite well!
Worth mentioning: COH currently likes fast CPU's. Moreso than normal. I wouldn't necessarily buy until we get minimum/recommended specs for Going Rogue if GR is a major factor for you. If you've got other games you're jonesing to improve, well, that's something else
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This is a great point. A lot of older games and console ports prefer powerful CPUs to powerful GPUs. Anyone out there not too sure about their current set up's ability to provide decent FPS should see if they can overclock their CPU a bit. You'd be amazed what bumping up the clock speed on an AMD Athlon or Intel Pentium dual core from 2.4GHz to 2.8 or 3.0 can get you out of even a mid-range graphics card; and a lot of older tri/quad cores that run around 2.0GHz or 2.2GHz can start to see a lot more FPS by getting up to about 2.6GHz or above.
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Originally Posted by Psyte
Worth mentioning: COH currently likes fast CPU's. Moreso than normal. I wouldn't necessarily buy until we get minimum/recommended specs for Going Rogue if GR is a major factor for you. If you've got other games you're jonesing to improve, well, that's something else
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Does that mean a 9800 GTX will fair well. I'm assuming I'll be able to handle the shadows just fine (I run Fallout 3 maxed), but reflections might slow me down.
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Originally Posted by Bill Z Bubba
G92- 8800GTS
The 9800 is nothing but a slightly overclocked version of the same card. Performance won't be great, but I'll be able to turn all the ultra mode goodies on. |
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Considering Bill's quote, and that you're running a GTX versus a GTS, I'd say yes. The chipset would need to be checked... what's the model and part number of your card? (If it's a G92, then a definite yes. If it's a G90, it would use it, but at the reduced settings.)|
Originally Posted by 5th_Player
Does that mean a 9800 GTX will fair well. I'm assuming I'll be able to handle the shadows just fine (I run Fallout 3 maxed), but reflections might slow me down.
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Positron's shopping guide may be of use to you. http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=200245 Bearing the following in mind:
-- Processor isn't king anymore, but is still a significant factor.
-- Memory (Capacity, Timing, Speed), Bus Speed (MT's per second), and Hard Drive Speed/Connection (SATA is faster than older PATA, and will greatly reduce load times/swap file seek times) are also bottlenecks to look at.
-- Laptops equipped with these models of video cards will always be slightly slower than their desktop counterparts for two reasons: voltage is overall less available than the desktop, and heat dissipation. They will work and work well, but not the same as your desktop with the same card.
It's crazy,
This game seems to cause me all kinds of heck.
I've run games with way better graphics than this game smoothly. However this one slows down a lot (not a lot noticeably, but a lot in comparison).
I still get hiccups in the game loading some things as I move around the map. However I'm not on a 64 bit system, and I've only got 3 gigs of ram, which I'm suspicious of.
Like I said, I've run other newer games maxed, reflections and all. However this one seems to just chug, and I have no apparent reason.
Same here. I play GuildWars on this system and it runs smoother than CoH ever did.
OpenGL was just what they used in development is all versus DirectX. May have been to skirt another fee paid to MS, may have been for future compatibility (There's a Mac client right now... Linux?), may have been a coin flip. Who knows.
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I don't think (could well be wrong) Microsoft charges for companies to use DirectX. That being said, Guild Wars seems to have lower system requirements in general, but at the same time when you're playing you never see other people unless you're in a town/outpost, there's far less variation in looks and such, less special effects going off, etc. When you load up COH, you're loading up a ton of stuff regardless of if you see it (or if anyone in the zone has it).|
Originally Posted by Tahquitz
Same here. I play GuildWars on this system and it runs smoother than CoH ever did.
OpenGL was just what they used in development is all versus DirectX. May have been to skirt another fee paid to MS, may have been for future compatibility (There's a Mac client right now... Linux?), may have been a coin flip. Who knows. |
There's little reason, in my mind, why Guild Wars couldn't be an offline game, only going online if you want to play with a friend. Its Diablo/Torchlight/etc., with a WOW/MMO point-of-view rather than isometric.
Of course they do, it's called Visual Studio Enterprise. 
OpenGL is an Open Source format, developed in any IDE you like (or make your own.)
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True. but certain tweaks change the performance little alone changes to graphics settings. running L4D(2) screen res 1920x1200, FSAAx2, and high to very high for everything else shows a performance difference to CoH/V on max everything.|
Originally Posted by 5th_Player
It's crazy,
I've run games with way better graphics than this game smoothly. However this one slows down a lot (not a lot noticeably, but a lot in comparison). |
at the moment, i have ATi 4850 in my notebook and a 9800GTX+ in my desktop and there is a MASSIVE difference in graphics between the two (screen resolution aside)
Posi has said that the ATi cards look like the best option. the most interesting thing will be if certain ATi bugs are fixed in ultra mode. i.e. ehnc window.
I started this thread about general appearance (FSAA, water, colors etc), but for anyone concerned about performance with Ultra mode, you just need to keep in mind that CoH is an MMORPG, and as such the system requirements are generally kept not too demanding, even for a graphical upgrade like Ultra mode, in order to appeal to the widest array of players possible. Older cards like an Nvidia 8800 or ATI 3870 should quite easily handle Ultra mode on the game's suggested detail levels while still maintaining very playable frame rates up to resolutions in the area of 1680x1050; at higher resolutions, you might start to see a definite FPS drop off. Ultra mode will definitely be more demanding, but its not like Paragon is overhauling the graphics demands to anywhere remotely close to the levels a game like Crysis requires to run well.
Ultra mode is called such simply because it is an optional graphics update mode, as opposed to a mandatory upgrade that would leave many players no longer able to play. The base system requirements for Ultra mode will be higher than base requirements for the regular game, but any mid-range card from the last two generations from Nvidia or ATI should handle Ultra mode quite well: I suspect even slightly older cards like Nvidia's 7900 or ATI's 2900 should also handle the newer graphics adequately.