Messages

496

Off Topic / Re: New computer

« on: April 04, 2010, 11:20:01 PM »

Paypal is a safe method of shopping online. There is no reason not to use it, unless you sell stuff and prefer not to get hit with $3 in fees.

497

Off Topic / Re: New computer

« on: April 04, 2010, 04:37:01 PM »

Eyefinity is bullstuff, imo. It's more of a "look what we can do" type thing than something practical.  I don't want to play a game through a window.  dual and triple screens are better for multiple apps, imo.

I've actually been having lots of fun gaming on my Eyefinity setup. It really isn't "playing through a window" any more than it is when you game on a single screen. The idea isn't to focus on the side monitors, but instead to use them as peripheral vision to enhance the immersion. It has gameplay benefits too, such as in L4D2 in which you can see threats that would normally be easy to miss.

Of course, I don't just use them for gaming. They are tremendously useful for completing assignments and doing research. Nothing better than being able to have 6 full page PDF documents open at a time.

I dunno. I have a 1600x1200 primary and a 1024x768 secondary, and something like the commander screen in BF2 on the smaller one would be cool.

Dual monitors loving suck for any game because you have the edge of them right in the middle of the screen. Use either three or one.

Well, one exception to the two monitor gaming taboo you seem so expressive about, is the RTS, Supreme Commander. It allows you to hook up and use a second monitor in game for whatever you like. It doesn't even have to be the same resolution and doesn't require Eyefinity. You can use it purely as a giant minimap, or you can zoom in and play on it just like you do with the main screen.

498

Off Topic / Re: New computer

« on: April 04, 2010, 02:15:51 AM »

Lian Li makes some nice looking cases. The K58 doesn't have their signature aluminum construction like their high-end cases but has plenty of space inside and adequate cooling. Pretty affordable too. They have a version with a window if you want that.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112237

499

Off Topic / Re: New computer

« on: April 04, 2010, 01:58:18 AM »

I bought the HAF 932 over a year ago and though it is an easy case to work with and has plenty of space inside, I quickly grew tired of it's garish appearance. It's shear size and weight mean I couldn't take it to LAN parties, and moving it to college was a challenge.

Now, granted the 922 is slightly smaller, but it still shares some of the bulk and the styling of the original.

I've built 3 machines using various CoolerMaster Centurion cases and I find them to be quite good on the budget end. The aren't obnoxious in appearance and are easy to carry/store.

500

Off Topic / Re: New computer

« on: April 04, 2010, 12:59:04 AM »

Hot damn, is it really that resource intensive that you can devote an entire card to its various maths?

It can be. In most cases it doesn't really affect your performance that much if you just run it on your main GPU. I wouldn't worry about it as for now it is mostly a gimmick.

Knowing that I would have to buy an adapter. Both of my (larger) monitors are being run through DVI although they have HDMI ports available. I've had them for a year or so now so they don't have female sockets for the DP in them.

If you're playing a game that requires heavy physx simulation. Crysis would be a good example.

Yes, if you are using purely DVI monitors an active display port adapter is required (they usually cost about $100) or you can use a cheaper DP to VGA adapter ($20?). There have been plenty of reports of issues when using various adapters so just beware if you go that route.

To my knowledge Crysis/Cryengine does not use Nvidia Physx.

He means a secondary card that is not identical.

Reactor, if I've got a main card that's ATi, and an older nVidia card lying around, could I use it for physx?

The Physx GPU (if you decide to use a dedicated one) does not have to be identical to your primary GPU(s).

Originally the drivers allowed you to use an ATI card as your main display adapter and an Nvidia GPU for Physx, but Nvidia didn't like this so most newer drivers will detect the ATI card and prevent you from using Physx. I don't recommend it, but if you really want it, you can probably find the last driver set that supported it. Not the greatest idea as it will lack all of the major performance/bug fixes that Nvidia has released over the past year or so.

501

Off Topic / Re: New computer

« on: April 03, 2010, 11:17:20 PM »

SLI requires identical GPUs but you can use a secondary card purely for Physx simulation. This is not necessary as you can just run Physx on your primary GPU anyway.

The displayport has caused some strife for some users (mainly those that didn't do their research ahead of time) but I avoided those issues when I bought my new monitors, each already has native DPs on them.

502

Off Topic / Re: New computer

« on: April 03, 2010, 10:44:26 PM »

If you are worried about bandwidth on x8 PCIe slots, why are you considering 9800GT SLI?  ;)  Seriously though, the x8 bandwidth is not an issue and results in very little performance degradation.

A 5870 actually. I purchased mine for $420, double lifetime warranty and all. The 5970 is two 5870s in internal Crossfire set at 5850 clock speeds and regularly retails for $650-750.

The ability to use 2 monitors on a single card has been a feature for quite awhile; I was using two of my new monitors on my GTX260 up until about 2 weeks ago. The ATI 5xxx series allows you to use up to 3 monitors on a single card; a feature typically reserved for workstation cards. The best feature (in my mind) is that you can use those 3 monitors for triple-monitor gaming (known as Eyefinity). I've been having lots of fun using it so far. :D

503

Off Topic / Re: New computer

« on: April 03, 2010, 10:25:54 PM »

I'd seriously reconsider SLIing your "9800".

A single 5770 can be found for less than $150 and is almost as powerful as having two 9800GTs in SLI. This leaves you an upgrade option to add a second 5770 (or higher) and get performance close to the HD5870.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/charts/gaming-graphics-cards-charts-2009-high-quality-update-3/compare,1684.html?prod[3222]=on&prod[3253]=on

A 5770 will use less power, generate less heat, and take up less room than a GX2. In crossfire two 5770s will easily "crush" a GX2.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/charts/gaming-graphics-cards-charts-2009-high-quality-update-3/compare,1684.html?prod[3250]=on&prod[3214]=on&prod[3222]=on&prod[3253]=on

The i5 750 is a good choice and one that I am considering myself. Right now most of my funds are depleted after buying my HD5870 and 3 monitors so it will have to wait. :(

504

Off Topic / Re: Shipping and Handling

« on: March 30, 2010, 08:09:11 PM »

I find that S&H isn't usually that costly and can be quite fast. Main things to keep in mind is that most online stores don't ship out orders on weekends and that it helps to purchase multiple items at a time. The only time I really consider S&H in my purchasing decisions is when considering large, heavy items like computer cases and/or power supplies.

Rush shipping is generally not worth the price premium. I don't mind waiting for items I've purchased online as it almost always saves me quite a bit of cash.

505

Gallery / Re: Badspot's Blockparty and Eyefinity [Pagestretch?]

« on: March 28, 2010, 08:55:59 PM »

OK, I've done a test panorama in ACM city. Not a full 360⁰ yet but the software seems to work. Sadly the trial version limits the size of the images you can save. I may be able to get past this limitation by simply using larger images using megashot.

506

Gallery / Re: Badspot's Blockparty and Eyefinity [Pagestretch?]

« on: March 28, 2010, 08:25:54 PM »

If you guys have a build you want me to try I'd be happy to grab some screens. I just went with the Blockparty save because it happens to have plenty of detail.

I found some software to generate panoramas so I will give it a go. Any build in particular?

507

Gallery / Re: Badspot's Blockparty and Eyefinity [Pagestretch?]

« on: March 28, 2010, 08:11:31 PM »

I might be able to make a 360 image... I don't know about animating it though.

508

Gallery / Re: Badspot's Blockparty and Eyefinity [Pagestretch?]

« on: March 28, 2010, 04:10:47 PM »

Looks like the water disappeared :o

The water is there, it is just transparent. I happened to have a non-standard colorset enabled at the time so it approximated what the color of the water should be.

509

Gallery / Badspot's Blockparty and Eyefinity [Pagestretch?]

« on: March 28, 2010, 02:40:38 PM »

Just tried out a little experiment combining Eyefinity with the Megashot tool.

The image was originally generated at a resolution of 12120 x 2160 pixels and added up to a raw file size of 14MB. I just resized it down to my normal screen resolution of 6060x1080.



One thing I noticed that looks kind of cool is that the waterfall emitters ended up blurring into a coherent flow in the image.

EDIT: Hmm, it appears that Tinypic has resized my image. Anyone know of an image host that preserves the file in its original size and format?
EDIT2: OK, fixed it by uploading to Imageshack. Click the thumbnail for the full size.

510

Off Topic / Re: GTX 480/470 Released

« on: March 27, 2010, 12:06:34 AM »

That is a pity. It's not like it is a difficult decision.

Lets not go wasting hundreds of dollars on a coin toss now.