2nd try : 4870 1Gb + Q9450...

[Evildead666]

Yeah, FarCary2 has some smashing reviews, and I'm just starting to get bored with Stalker....
They've done it again, where you get to a certain point, and then there is no going back, and you have a very linear play to the final end sequence...
I liked Oblivion in the sense I could come back and travel anywhere, even after having completed almost every part of the game...

i never finished the first stalker due to this problem....

BUT, Far Cry was one of the best games I ever played, being able to shoot someone with a rocket launcher who is a few km away was sweet...

[Mehen]

I'm enjoying Crysis much more at high details as compared to medium on my 9600GT. It just looks so amazing, and its running even smoother.

There's definitely a lot out there for FPS lovers.

[Evildead666]

33fps is the lowest I have seen yet in FC2, driving at night full belt thru the forest...
usually its at 40+fps...
4xEdgeDetectAA(12samples) 1680x1050 16xAF, all the in-game setings at Maximum.

Its a good game for high settings

edit : i'm gonna have atry at getting the CPU at little bit higher again, but with just the 2Gb of RAM it should be a lot more stable...
From my latest reading on the web, 450fsb is going to be the maximum for the Q9450's, due to the large cache (12mb)

[Evildead666]

NoAA and NoAF I get 45 avg and no lower than 40, upto 50's in the highs...
1680x1050
Ati is at 799core and 900mem
CPU is at 3520MHz, memory at 1057 i think.

edit : I haven't installed the hotfix driver yet for FC2, couldn't find it on ATi website...
Might be on FarCry2 website...

[Evildead666]

Gonna be spending winter in front of the PC i think.
Left 4 Dead is already pre-purchased and awaiting the release, Fallout 3 is on pre-purchase, FarCry2 ....Theres a lot for Xmas...

One gripe about FarCry2, some of the missions deliberately send you to the other side of the map, every time. Just for the fun of going back thru every road block you've already defeated a hundred times...yes, they respawn when you get a small distance away...hmmm

[Evildead666]

I even think FarCry2 was thought mostly as a multiplayer game rather than a single player game like the original...

Its like a huge multiplayer map. a very large square.
Yes, the fire effects are good, but i wouldn't put the whole games money on that.
This is starting to feel like GTA with with extra retardedness...single player wise.

It must be absolutely the best multiplayer map ever, but the single player experience is pretty crap, solely for the lack of need of weapon storage, lots of ammo, and the deliberate respawing of the bloody people you've just killed...

Even the crysis story knocks pants off this one so far.....

edit : I have tried to just drive thru all the road blocks, but they get within 3 feet behind you in 2 seconds with their vehicle...
And i accidentaly ran over an antelope, and was very remorseful....just jumped out from behind a bush...

[Evildead666]

If you're a fan of multiplayer games, you will love it.
I am not. I loved Daikatana until the point where it crashes, just when I got the daikatana to level 5 power...i've tried on my old matrox g400, when it came out, then on a banshee, and on a 6800GT, and still it crashes...

One day of FarCry2 and first impressions are bad...i've already been all over the map, just about, i'm only missing top right of the map.
There are gun shops on every map, which ahve free unlimited amoo stores...and places that respawn ammo, health kits, and explosives...very multiplayer map-like...
I have no idea how this got 90%+ everywhere...

[Evildead666]

Oh, and i ran 3dmark 06 again, in XP, with the cpu at 3520, mem at 1056, 2Gb, and gpu at 799-3600:
All gpu driver settings on high quality, with NoAA, NoAF.
17728 overall
6691 SM2
8158 SM3
5654 CPU

[Evildead666]

And here we have with 845core-899memory on the 4870:

18073 Overall
6888 SM2
8317 SM3
5655 CPU

[Mehen]

Yikes, don't think I'll be able to beat that.

[Evildead666]

Have dropped the GPU down to 840, since after an hour or so of Stalker, I got some nice grey/white alternate vertical bars...
Farcry2 worked fine for over a couple of hours beforehand...

The memory is double density, over the 512Mb version, and these chips will not budge.
Still 18K was possible, and I just made it

[Mehen]

Well this is interesting, I didn't think I would do that well...
CPU 3.52, GPU at the stock factory settings (overclocked to 630, apparently I should be able to push it to about 700)>

17,372 3dmarks
7238 sm 2.0
7533 hdr/sm 3.0
5206 cpu

CPU score is interesting, I wonder if that is the Vista factor.

[Mehen]

First overclock:
GPU 680(630)
Memory 1150(1063)
Shader 1450(1350)

17,918 3dm
7456 sm2
7910 sm3

[Mehen]

Second overclock
GPU 700(630)
Memory 1165(1063)
Shader 1465(1350)

18,071 3dm
7495 sm2
8035 sm3

2 3dm's shy!!

[Mehen]

Third overclock
GPU 705(630)
Memory 1180(1063)
Shader 1480(1350)

18,124 3dm
7483 sm2
8043 sm3