[H]ardOCP Doom 3 Hardware Guide is up!

[FluxCap]

Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER
ATi is likely to run the table with HL2 the way nV is with D3, but just as the ATi cards are doing well in D3 the same should go for nV in HL2. I hadn't consider the 512mb card senario, but given what it's likely to cost I'm betting on sticker shock when/if it shows up. You should install the coolbits reg patch and use the auto overclock feature to determine good settings for your card. That'll take your inexperience largely out of the equation and let you get some extra juice from it

I feel like Nvidia will win some of the HL2 benchmarks by a tiny bit.

Oh yeah, 3 days and counting and I have still not overclocked my eVGA 6800 GT. I guess I better get to it and see if I even need to STEP UP to the Ultra in 90 days.

 

[DarkKnight]

Great guide, my system should do fine. Kinda wish they tested the AMD system with 1gig of ram, like the P4, instead of 512.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

It's good to run stock for awhile to be certain it's not defective, ect. Don't let us pressure you guys to do it before you are ready.

AS to nV winning some in HL2, I wouldn't bet the farm on that It's likely to be optimized for ATi similarly to the way D3 is for nV. I'm no coder, and I know they claimed to have spent far more time programming for nv3x due to it's DX9 failings, but I think on it's most demanding settings ATi is likely to have a clear lead. Valve owes ATi big for helping to finance the project through the cash infusion the voucher deal provided, so I doubt if they would fail to properly look after the goose that lays golden eggs for them

 

[jrphoenix]

Hey Punisher,

Thanks for the tips! Maybe I will wait a bit to overclock as my system is running plenty quick now I hope the Nvidia's don't get slammed to hard in HL2... that is the game I have been waiting for! and waiting for.... otherwise I may just have to trade someone and Ultra for an XT

 

[GeneralGrievous]

ATI will probably have more dominant HL2 performance, due to the fact that they have an advantage throughout their entire product line. Nvidia only has a D3 advantage in the 6800s, the 9800s seem to be pulling ahead of the 5900s by a bit.

This is ridiculous. How the XTPE can beat a 6800 by a factor of almost 3.5 in Farcry then tie it in Doom 3 is beyond me.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I don't think you will be in a position to need to trade cards to have a great HL2 experience, I just think ATi will have the same bragging rights as nV does in D3 that's all

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: GeneralGrievous
ATI will probably have more dominant HL2 performance, due to the fact that they have an advantage throughout their entire product line. Nvidia only has a D3 advantage in the 6800s, the 9800s seem to be pulling ahead of the 5900s by a bit.

This is ridiculous. How the XTPE can beat a 6800 by a factor of almost 3.5 in Farcry then tie it in Doom 3 is beyond me.

1) ATI's OpenGL support -- well, it blows, at least in terms of speed. ATI may go up in performance significantly when (if ever) they finish rewriting their OGL drivers.

2) One of the other threads in Video was saying that all 6800s may run in 32x0 mode when computing stencil shadows (including the 12-pipe 6800, which you would think would run in 24x0 with only 12 pipes). This would give it a significant leg up on the X800 cards in Doom3, since it uses stencil shadows so heavily. If this is the case, these results would not necessarily carry over into other games (even other games on the Doom3 engine, unless those games are also use stencil shadows essentially everywhere).

 

[stardust]

All I hope for this game is that I don't have to constantly tweak and adjust settings to make things work! 800x600 on High is good for me untill I upgrade

I had a horrible experience with Farcry and I have the A64+nvidiaFX system combo that is recommended by Ubisoft..and the cd case..

 

[CrazyHelloDeli]

Awsome!

My EXACT same system configuration right there! Oh man I cant wait

 

[nemesismk2]

Originally posted by: GeneralGrievous
ATI will probably have more dominant HL2 performance, due to the fact that they have an advantage throughout their entire product line. Nvidia only has a D3 advantage in the 6800s, the 9800s seem to be pulling ahead of the 5900s by a bit.

This is ridiculous. How the XTPE can beat a 6800 by a factor of almost 3.5 in Farcry then tie it in Doom 3 is beyond me.

Why did you feel the need to say "Nvidia only has a D3 advantage in the 6800s" when it's not even true?

I've also noticed that you keep going on and on (broken record syndrome maybe?) about Half Life 2 when the only results we have seen are from a half life 2 beta leaked in 2003?

 

[biostud]

cool seems like the next upgrade is not until next summer

 

[OMG1Penguin]

That guide is the most comprehensive guide I have seen in a while.

To sum it up in one word: sweet ass.

 

[g3pro]

Good thing that it was finally cleared up that 128mb cards can run on high. I just hope that it is possible to disable AF on high (it sounded like 8x was forced).

Great results!

 

[Schadenfreudex]

Originally posted by: selfbuilt
On the XP3200+ system, I notice that the recommended setting for both the 9800XT 256MB and 9800Pro 128MB is the same (1024x768 with High IQ, 8X AF), and the average FPS score difference is only 50.4 vs 47.3. Looks like my 9800Pro 128 o/c to XT speeds should do pretty well!

I noticed the same thing. I have the same system except with an xp2700. The Barton 2500 system is probably closer to mine but they didn't test any 9800pro or XT cards. Think I will still get 1024 high ?

 

[Childs]

I wish they would have done a traditional apples to apples review. I guess I can wait a week for all the review sites to do it, but I dont like the way hardocp determines what looks good and whats playable. Just show me the numbers and the options used and I'll tell YOU if its playable!

 

[gururu]

a very inspiting article!

 

[Jeff7181]

Lets see... 1.5 GHz (or XP1500) and a Geforce4MX... 640x480 with no AA, no AF, and low detail settings... average 22 frames per second. NOT a quality gaming experience by ANY means, especially with FPS dropping below 10 at times. So... who was it who was trying to convince me in another thread that it would be just fine? 22 FPS average with drops below 10 != fine.

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Lets see... 1.5 GHz (or XP1500) and a Geforce4MX... 640x480 with no AA, no AF, and low detail settings... average 22 frames per second. NOT a quality gaming experience by ANY means, especially with FPS dropping below 10 at times. So... who was it who was trying to convince me in another thread that it would be just fine? 22 FPS average with drops below 10 != fine.

That's with many options set to high. With all the options off it runs near 30FPS average, and the places where it dips into single digits are apparently in cutscenes which do not affect gameplay.

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER

Originally posted by: JBT
Does anyone else think they will piss their pants while playing this game?

Put it this way, I think there will be a run on adult undergarment protection :laugh: I may intentionally hold off playting till halloween just for the horror movie effect. Yeah, I'm old and don't go out partying that night I'll take the little man on his candy run then plan on sh*tting myself with D3.

LOL

Fusk that I'm ole skool let them brats go out alone I got better things to do..like DOOMIII Muhahaha.!

 

[jpvrabec77]

I was stuggling between the MSI 9800PRO and the 6800NU, as a couple others have done as well. Doom III and Far Cry were my gaming priorities. Needless to say, after these DIII numbers were posted today I went for the evga 6800 on Newegg for 283 (+ Far Cry was the clincher). Plus I can always upgrade to the GT through step-up with evga if my fps isn't satisfactory at 10x12 on high quality. The best part is that it was actually IN STOCK! Sweet.

Got myself some nice headphones as well to keep the monsters loud while the neighbors sleep.

 

[cappsa]

Well they pretty much nailed my system. XP 3200+/512MB Corsair/NF-7S

Now I just have to pick a video card, since my 16MB Radeon VE isn't going to cut it.

http://www2.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NjQ0LDc=

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: SickBeast

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Lets see... 1.5 GHz (or XP1500) and a Geforce4MX... 640x480 with no AA, no AF, and low detail settings... average 22 frames per second. NOT a quality gaming experience by ANY means, especially with FPS dropping below 10 at times. So... who was it who was trying to convince me in another thread that it would be just fine? 22 FPS average with drops below 10 != fine.

That's with many options set to high. With all the options off it runs near 30FPS average, and the places where it dips into single digits are apparently in cutscenes which do not affect gameplay.

Only the end of the graph is where the cutscene was... there were a couple places before that where it dropped below 10. After they turned off specular lighting it only got down to 13... still hardly a quality gaming experience IMHO. But like the article says, at least id made sure they would have a very wide install base. 128 MB GeForce4 Ti's for less than $100 wouldn't be bad for someone on a real tight budget.

 

[bcoupland]

Looks like a 9800 pro 128mb will run it just fine on High Quality/1024x768 8xAF. Awesome!

 

[Zebo]

Looks like a Geforce mx will run it just fine like I said months ago and everyone laughed at me... game developers arn't in the biz of limiting thier market. People like us are top .05% of compter gamers I'd imagine.

GeForce4 MX-440 64MB video card at the Low Quality setting and 640x480 resolution. We were literally drawn into the game, and became fully immersed in it at these settings

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: Rage187
Nice, looks like I can run High Quality at 10x7.

AMD 2600
BFG 5900nu
1gig 333

Yup, me to.

P4 2.8b
BFG 5900U
1gig 333
865 asus mobo

RED TO GOOOOO!!!!