Curse

Lithril Ashwalker · Oct 07, 2011, 02:42 PM // 14:42

so apparently im trying to contemplate on whether to get a PlayStation 3 in order to play BF3 because i have no idea whether the problem with BFbc2 on my PC relies on the fact that the new patch 795745 makes my GeForce 210 now useless for playing it because it wont run and constantly freezes up.

should i get a new graphics card(7800) for the PC
or get a PS3 and get BF3?

if i get a new graphics card how would i know which 7800 to get, uncle says i have a PCI so any 7800 would work, how do i find out if the graphics cards im looking at meet the requirements for my pc and if i truly have PCI?

Hopefully this graphics card upgrade(im thinking of doing) works well with Guild Wars 2

Bladed Tribble · Oct 07, 2011, 03:52 PM // 15:52

If you're good with console shooters, get the PS3. It would be the sure shot to have BF3 working. If you haven't played console shooters or are not comfortable with it, avoid it COMPLETELY (unless you can test it out somehow). Reason being is the following (my experience):

The new beta drivers required to run BF3 beta crash my 560ti at random for no reason, so I'm stuck waiting until a fix is out (glad I have yet to pre-order). I tried BF3 beta on my roommate's PS3. I despised the thing, it just doesn't work for me. I'm way too used to the mouse/keyboard setup, so the controller is awkward and annoying to use for me.

I also play BF:BC2 without problems with my current card and non-beta drivers, so I don't believe issues with one game will translate to issues in the other. (Update your drivers too, your issue might be caused by outdated drivers)

In regards to the Graphics Card, I assume you mean an ATI 7800 which would be beyond overkill. Look at this page:
http://www.enterbf3.com/battlefield-...quirements.php
The recommended graphics card is a NVIDIA GTX 560 or an ATI 6950 (or above). These run at well under 1/2 of what a 7800 sells for, and will run the game perfectly fine. The choice is up to you. I'd say if you run an AMD processor, get the ATI, else get the NVIDIA if you're running an Intel processor, but that is purely my opinion. Both use PCI-e, which you have since its the same interface as your current 210.

And lastly, if it can run BF3 well, it will be overly prepared for GW2 (or so it seems).

TL;DR: I'm bad at shortening things, just read it

drkn · Oct 07, 2011, 03:54 PM // 15:54

Regarding the PS3 vs PC thing for gaming - i'm a happy owner of PS3 since January and i haven't played anything on PC since, excluding GW.
Assassin's Creed, most shooters, Fallout 3, even The Sims 3 - you name it - is so much better and more enjoyable on PS3. For me, at least.
Also, from personal experience and thorough research, PS3 > Xbox, unless you're really into playing with your body rather than gamepad (imho, Kinect > PS Move, but that's the only Xbox's current advantage).

Regarding the PC per se.
A graphic card requires a graphic card slot in your motherboard (or MOBO). The best thing you could do is find your MOBOs manual and check the type of its slot there. There are only two contemporary popular options - PCI-e or AGP (there's also 'clean' PCI, without the -e suffix, which is PCI-e's predecessor - PCI-e cards are not compatible with a PCI slot!). To be even more precise, you probably are mostly interested whether your card has a PCI-e x16 (or x32) slot.
If you don't have the manual, or don't know your MOBO model, you can always open your computer case and take a look inside. You may use this picture as a reference for PCI-e x16 slot (the x32 looks the same and is, technically, a newer version of x16, which is a newer version of x4... and so on). Please note that you will have your current graphic card attached to the slot, so it might not be apparent at the first glance.
For more references, including AGP and standard PCI slots, please refer to this graphic.

For example, this card (quite similar to mine, and i hope i will run GW2 with no problems on my machine), as seen in the Details tab, requires a PCI-e x16 slot in your MOBO (take a look at its interface).

But there's at least one more thing to consider when replacing old stuff in your machine - the power supply unit, or PSU. Is it powerful enough to supply your new card and not burn at some point?
In general, the current 'normal' power of PSUs is about 550W - a PSU like that should be able to handle any contemporary video card, plus other usual stuff people stick into their MOBO, this way or another. If you have a PSU like that but its manufacturer is, well, let's say not the best-known for good hardware, you might have to take some of the real power of the PSU. The same goes if your PSU is over ~1,5 year old - the older it gets, the less 'real power' it provides (or, more often, is more prone to burn down or damage other components).

Hope this covers your question a little bit. If you need more aid, please reply and elaborate with your questions.

my_fat_monkey · Oct 07, 2011, 04:42 PM // 16:42

Just as a note: I'm running a (moderately) overclocked 5850 and I'm still running the BF3 Beta on max fine. I hover around 40+ fps. So something like an ATI 6850+ should easily play BF3 once it's released (and it's more optimised). The same card should take care of GW2 as well. Personally I hate the PS3 for it's controls and lack of mods; though it's looking like you won't be able to mod BF3 anyway.

OFF TOPIC: I have to say Fallout 3 is much better on the PC, in my opinion. I got just over 1,000 hours playing that game. Most of it being mods. I'm very vocal about Bethesda and Mods.

Mireles · Oct 07, 2011, 05:35 PM // 17:35

Id go computer upgrade unless your planning to play titles that are exlusive to PS3...Games on PC always have the potential for better graphics than there console counterparts, this would also depend on how old the computer your upgrading... I'd hope that you are buying a Video card for a PCI-E slot and not just normal PCI... the bus speed on regular PCI is significantly slower than the newest PCI-E technologies and the card performance would not be as fast as it could be.

Lithril Ashwalker · Oct 07, 2011, 10:57 PM // 22:57

how do i update my drivers/force update em free without paying cash/risking viruses?

also how do i show what my system stats are so i can get feedback on which graphics card can run BFBC2 & BF3 CHEAPEST?

Bladed Tribble · Oct 08, 2011, 12:35 PM // 12:35

Since you're running a nvidia card, you would go to their website for the drivers. If you were running an ATI you would go to theirs. It's just a matter of going directly to them to be safe :P
Here's your link:
http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

For system specs, (assuming you're running Vista or Win7) right-click on "My Computer" and select "Properties". Copy here only what is under the "System" heading, you don't want to be posting your computer name or activation info :3 (Don't be worried if your graphics card doesn't show up, it's not supposed to. We already know what you have anyways since you mentioned it in your first post)

You could just compare it yourself to the specs listed on the link I originally posted. It lays it out well and shouldn't be hard at all to see if you meet the specs

drkn · Oct 08, 2011, 03:51 PM // 15:51

Quote:

Games on PC always have the potential for better graphics than there console counterparts

I thought so too, but it's just so, so false.
The PC games have potential for better graphics, because the TOP PCs are hardware-wise better than consoles (and PS3 is, hardware-wise, probably the best console available to a wide audience right now, the graphics in most games is so much better than on Xbox). But since not everyone owns TOP computers, the game developers will not exploit that full potential, and the middle-ground, commonly used for PC games (even the topmost demanding on your machine, such as Crysis on its release), is still a lot lower than the potential of PS3 - and, in this case, it is fully exploited by the developers, because every console is the same, what allows them to fully use it without worrying about losing some of the gamers.

The possibility to emulate PS2 games on PCs at home wasn't available until quite recently due to limited resources that desktop PCs have. Emulating PS3 is beyond even the most filled and wanting wallets.

Abedeus · Oct 08, 2011, 06:42 PM // 18:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by drkn

I thought so too, but it's just so, so false.
The PC games have potential for better graphics, because the TOP PCs are hardware-wise better than consoles (and PS3 is, hardware-wise, probably the best console available to a wide audience right now, the graphics in most games is so much better than on Xbox). But since not everyone owns TOP computers, the game developers will not exploit that full potential, and the middle-ground, commonly used for PC games (even the topmost demanding on your machine, such as Crysis on its release), is still a lot lower than the potential of PS3 - and, in this case, it is fully exploited by the developers, because every console is the same, what allows them to fully use it without worrying about losing some of the gamers.

The possibility to emulate PS2 games on PCs at home wasn't available until quite recently due to limited resources that desktop PCs have. Emulating PS3 is beyond even the most filled and wanting wallets.

How exactly do you explain the fact that games on PC ARE better-looking? Especially with older games like Oblivion, where you can ENHANCE graphics through mods. Pretty sure you can't enhance graphics on PS3 in any way.

OT: I have a 5770 and it runs BF3 beta on High without many problems, and if I drop AA and other detail-enhancing features, even Ultra, though it gets laggy with many people. Still looks amazingly.

drkn · Oct 08, 2011, 07:12 PM // 19:12

Enhancing graphics using mods, especially adding motion blur, post-HDRing the image or changing the lighting, is subjective. I personally hate this kind of things, but then again - meh, imho Oblivion is fugly.
Then again, compare Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood - with quite realistic, for such game, and really cool graphic - for PC and PS3. It's no point to compare two different games - i could throw PS3's new Uncharted or Killzone against your modded Oblivion and decimate it quite easily. Compare the same titles. I really don't like the sound of this argument, at least usually, but here it makes sense - i have both PC and PS3, i have Fallout 3 for both, as well as AC:B. Do you?
Another thing to take into consideration when talking about PS3 graphics is its monitor - well, usually, the TV set you're using. It may add (or take) a lot to the general experience. While the newest 3D sets are obviously not required, trying to run PS3 with an old CRT is a no-no, that is if it doesn't burn down.

Being able to mod things on PC is another thing, completely unrelated to the average graphics and hardware-usability of each platform's games.

The general idea is that once more powerful PCs are widely available, so will game developers make their games more hardware-heavy, thus better-looking (amongst other hardware-dependant things). But before the average PC, to which game developers try to cut their games, outclasses PS3, i guess Sony will release PS4.
Gaming consoles were always a step ahead of computers, 'hardware strictly for gaming'-wise. It was true back in the times of PSX and Sega Saturn, and so it is true now.

edit:
See what John Carmack has to say. Keep in mind he developed games mostly for PC throughout his lifetime.

Mireles · Oct 12, 2011, 07:18 PM // 19:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lithril Ashwalker

how do i update my drivers/force update em free without paying cash/risking viruses?

also how do i show what my system stats are so i can get feedback on which graphics card can run BFBC2 & BF3 CHEAPEST?

If you are using windows, you can right click on "My Computer" go to properties to get a basic summary of your processor and ram... Also Device manage is also handy to know what your components and mobo chipset is.....

If you want to know the cheapest possible configuration to run BF3 look at the minimum and recommened system requirements.
http://www.enterbf3.com/information/...-requirements/
(note that if you are still running Win XP, you cant run BF3 because Xp only goes up to directX9 and BF3 minimum is DX10)

as for the whole PS3 > CPU argument... yes titles to matter in the since a NES game will run with the same graphics emulated on a computer.. only because the software/game title does not utilize higher graphics...

But as for hardware... the PS3 uses Sony's RSX reality synthesizer video GPU (clocked at 550Mhz) based on Nvidias 7900GT, and has 256MB GDDR3 (clocked at 700Mhz)... Hardly impressive by current day standards...a high end computer blows this totally out of the water.... it would not take much for an average computer to beat this... especially if its compatable with newer technologies. So you will see a difference in quality for any graphics that utilizes resources higher than that ,which battlefield 3 does.... and you can not increase or decrease graphic settings and true native resolutions in most console games. Just because a console is compatable with 1080p does not means it renders the image at that native resolution, and as far as i know PS3 does not support ALL of Dx10 renderings... and BF3 is a Dx10/11 game.. so don't try to claim PS3 renders game better when it cant even render in direct x 11. PS3 is no where being near a step ahead of PCs not true now.. was not even true when it came out for 700$... it was still cheaper to buy computer parts and build yourself a faster comp.

But if you look at is as a price issue... the PS3 is by far cheaper than buying a new high end computer.