What kind of Video Card for Orange Box

LymanAlpha wrote:

> I'm happy playing HL2 on my XBox 360 but pcgamer guilt made me
> realize I couldn't abandon my desktop. I just bought a bunch of PC
> upgrades and decided on an EVGA 8600GTS video card. Anyone have
> something in that range? It's my first PCI-Express video card.

ATI 1950 XT 256Mb - max settings - no lag

> Does anyone here bother with SLI?

McG is - but nobody else I think

- Peter

--
Hi! I'm a .signature *virus*!
Copy me into your ~/.signature to help me spread!
 >> Stay informed about: What kind of Video Card for Orange Box 

LymanAlpha wrote:
> I'm happy playing HL2 on my XBox 360 but pcgamer guilt made me realize
> I couldn't abandon my desktop. I just bought a bunch of PC upgrades
> and decided on an EVGA 8600GTS video card. Anyone have something in
> that range?
> It's my first PCI-Express video card. Does anyone here bother with SLI?
>
Here's what I just bought:

ASUS M2N-E SLI AM2 NVIDIA nForce 500 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard

EVGA 256-P2-N761-AR GeForce 8600GTS 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16
HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

Western Digital Caviar RE WD3200YS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Windsor 2.6GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model
ADA5200CSBOX

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single
Pack DVD - OEM

OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS ATX12V / EPS12V 600W Power Supply

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-05

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 675 (PC2 5400) Dual
Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-5400c4

It was an odd experience because I kept telling myself that I plan on
doing most of my gaming from now on on the 360. The 8600GTS seemed like
a good deal, $165 plus QuakeWars. The above all goes to upgrade a
system that's had the same processor in it since 2002. Holy moly!

--
"Out here on the perimeter there are no stars"

Steve --Inglo--
 >> Stay informed about: What kind of Video Card for Orange Box 

This message is not archived
 >> Stay informed about: What kind of Video Card for Orange Box 

Legion.RemoveThis@l.com wrote:
> On Mon, 22 Oct 2007 14:34:33 GMT, LymanAlpha <ioo@??.¿¿¿> wrote:
>
>
>> I'm happy playing HL2 on my XBox 360 but pcgamer guilt made me realize I
>> couldn't abandon my desktop. I just bought a bunch of PC upgrades and
>> decided on an EVGA 8600GTS video card. Anyone have something in that range?
>> It's my first PCI-Express video card. Does anyone here bother with SLI?
>>
>
> Use to do sli w/ dual7900GT's, don't need it now with the following:
>
> Evga 680i M/B
> BFG 8800GTX 746MB OC
> E6600 (2.4Ghz) o/c to 3.3 Ghz
> Dual boot XP & Vista
> X-Fi Extream Music sound card
> I play all games @ 1600x1200
> 20.1" Samsung204b monitor
> PC Power&Cooling 850w PS
> Three WD HD's @350GBs each
> Two Lite-On cd/dvd r-rw drives
> Saitek X-52 Flight Controllers
>
> Plus some other stuff.
>
> Legion
>
Are you running Vista 64-bit? I decided to buy that to go with my other
upgrades. I checked all my peripherals and they all seem to have 64 bit
drivers. If you have it, any problems with that OS (specifically 64
bit, I'm already running 32 bit Vista on my laptop, so I know about it's
general deficiencies?

I'm pretty stoked to be putting together my first whole new system in
years. I don't think I've ever made such wholesale changes, my system
was always slowly evolving, this is a radical mutation.

--
"Out here on the perimeter there are no stars"

Steve --Inglo--
 >> Stay informed about: What kind of Video Card for Orange Box 

LymanAlpha wrote:

> I'm pretty stoked to be putting together my first whole new system in
> years. I don't think I've ever made such wholesale changes, my system
> was always slowly evolving, this is a radical mutation.

More likely it's from outer space

- Peter

--
Hi! I'm a .signature *virus*!
Copy me into your ~/.signature to help me spread!
 >> Stay informed about: What kind of Video Card for Orange Box 

On Tue, 23 Oct 2007 06:46:46 -0700, LymanAlpha <ioo@??.¿¿¿> wrote:

>Are you running Vista 64-bit? I decided to buy that to go with my other
>upgrades. I checked all my peripherals and they all seem to have 64 bit
>drivers. If you have it, any problems with that OS (specifically 64
>bit, I'm already running 32 bit Vista on my laptop, so I know about it's
>general deficiencies?

I have Vista X64 on a spare partition, not using it much (other than
for Halo 2).

Once past the default annoyance of access control, I get 2 main issues
- application and driver setups frequently hang; and the NVidia
drivers/control panel are still poo-ey (for example, I can only get
refresh rate override by using 3rd party apps...)

(Oh, and no OpenGL, which I prefer for CS.)
 >> Stay informed about: What kind of Video Card for Orange Box 

kratz.DeleteThis@mailinator.com wrote:
> On Tue, 23 Oct 2007 06:46:46 -0700, LymanAlpha <ioo@??.¿¿¿> wrote:
>
>
>> Are you running Vista 64-bit? I decided to buy that to go with my other
>> upgrades. I checked all my peripherals and they all seem to have 64 bit
>> drivers. If you have it, any problems with that OS (specifically 64
>> bit, I'm already running 32 bit Vista on my laptop, so I know about it's
>> general deficiencies?
>>
>
> I have Vista X64 on a spare partition, not using it much (other than
> for Halo 2).
>
> Once past the default annoyance of access control, I get 2 main issues
> - application and driver setups frequently hang; and the NVidia
> drivers/control panel are still poo-ey (for example, I can only get
> refresh rate override by using 3rd party apps...)
>
> (Oh, and no OpenGL, which I prefer for CS.)
>
Huh, why no openGL? You mean you can't play any id games on 64 bit Vista?

--
"Out here on the perimeter there are no stars"

Steve --Inglo--
 >> Stay informed about: What kind of Video Card for Orange Box 

On Tue, 23 Oct 2007 13:42:27 -0700, LymanAlpha <ioo@??.¿¿¿> wrote:

>Huh, why no openGL? You mean you can't play any id games on 64 bit Vista?

It apparently is supported on Vista - but not working in the last
NVidia driver I installed.
 >> Stay informed about: What kind of Video Card for Orange Box 

This message is not archived
 >> Stay informed about: What kind of Video Card for Orange Box 

I use a 6600GT and the games (EP2, TF2 and Portal) all work fine. In
HL2 I turned AA down to 2x, put shadow detail on medium, turned water
reflections on Reflect World, and turned HDR off. (1400 X 900
resolution, BTW) After that, game runs nice and smooth. Haven't
checked framerate, but so far no issues.
 >> Stay informed about: What kind of Video Card for Orange Box 

Shawk wrote:
> LymanAlpha wrote:
>> I'm happy playing HL2 on my XBox 360 but pcgamer guilt made me
>> realize I couldn't abandon my desktop. I just bought a bunch of PC
>> upgrades and decided on an EVGA 8600GTS video card. Anyone have
>> something in that range?
>> It's my first PCI-Express video card. Does anyone here bother with SLI?
>
>
> My first pci-e card was a 7900GT and I still have it. Plays
> everything great so far though I'm expecting it to give up the ghost
> on Crysis at native rez (1680x1050). Ref HL2:Ep2 I've done no
> experiments but I think my dual core E6600 has really helped me out.
> Everything is silky smooth
>
> Oh.. and SLI? Nah. If I want more speed I'd spend less on one good
> card than buy two mid-range. A lot of the research i did a year ago
> seemed to bear this out - don't know if that has changed
I did a little reading on SLI with the 8600 GTS, the reviews I've read
say that the SLI option is worthwhile but not as a starting point.
You're better off buying a 8800 GT than to start with two 8600 GTS's.
I'd like to give it a try eventually but not to begin with; I didn't
want to make this build a super gaming machine anyway. The benchmarks
I've looked at have the 8600 GTS SLI about the same as an 8800 GT. If,
in 7 or 8 months, I can pick up a second 8600 GTS for around $100, I'll
give SLI a shot.

--
"Out here on the perimeter there are no stars"

Steve --Inglo--
 >> Stay informed about: What kind of Video Card for Orange Box 

Gil wrote:
> I use a 6600GT and the games (EP2, TF2 and Portal) all work fine. In
> HL2 I turned AA down to 2x, put shadow detail on medium, turned water
> reflections on Reflect World, and turned HDR off. (1400 X 900
> resolution, BTW) After that, game runs nice and smooth. Haven't
> checked framerate, but so far no issues.


Actual framerates don't matter a damn. If you're happy with it then
that's all that matters. Let those who claim to be able to spot a
difference of 5 fps argue amongst themselves. As long as its smooth for
me its perfect
 >> Stay informed about: What kind of Video Card for Orange Box 

LymanAlpha wrote:
> Shawk wrote:
>> LymanAlpha wrote:
>>> I'm happy playing HL2 on my XBox 360 but pcgamer guilt made me
>>> realize I couldn't abandon my desktop. I just bought a bunch of PC
>>> upgrades and decided on an EVGA 8600GTS video card. Anyone have
>>> something in that range?
>>> It's my first PCI-Express video card. Does anyone here bother with SLI?
>>
>>
>> My first pci-e card was a 7900GT and I still have it. Plays
>> everything great so far though I'm expecting it to give up the ghost
>> on Crysis at native rez (1680x1050). Ref HL2:Ep2 I've done no
>> experiments but I think my dual core E6600 has really helped me out.
>> Everything is silky smooth
>>
>> Oh.. and SLI? Nah. If I want more speed I'd spend less on one good
>> card than buy two mid-range. A lot of the research i did a year ago
>> seemed to bear this out - don't know if that has changed

> I did a little reading on SLI with the 8600 GTS, the reviews I've read
> say that the SLI option is worthwhile but not as a starting point.
> You're better off buying a 8800 GT than to start with two 8600 GTS's.
> I'd like to give it a try eventually but not to begin with; I didn't
> want to make this build a super gaming machine anyway. The benchmarks
> I've looked at have the 8600 GTS SLI about the same as an 8800 GT. If,
> in 7 or 8 months, I can pick up a second 8600 GTS for around $100, I'll
> give SLI a shot.


Fairy nuff. I'm waiting for the next gen of video cards to see if there
is a massive difference justifying a largish outlay or whether to use
the inevitable price drops of current high end cards to buy one of
those. I'm usually at least one-gen behind due to cost/performance.

Only thing that makes me wonder this time about my usual trick of buying
last gen high end is that the 8xxx series is largely unproven in DX10
games due to the lack of said games. As Vista is going to become a
necessity rather than an option at some point in the next year or so I'd
rather save like hell and buy a new gen if the upcoming DX10 games show
the 8xxxx cards to be sheep in wolves clothing...
 >> Stay informed about: What kind of Video Card for Orange Box