The Power PC Thread [f*ck off consoles]

[JaredHasNoBrain]

I had one for about 2 weeks as my mates a technician in a local school, used my water cooler on it and got it to like 4.2 iirc,
I can't even get my AMD phenom x6 to above 4ghz before the comp crashes lol

Edit: If anyone wants to play CS tonight I'll jump on, Sorry for coming on last night and ignoring your invites haha

 

[James28]

Screenshots are pointless really unless they're full resolution and no compression.

Where the PC versions of games tend to excel is in resolution, anti-aliasing, frame rates and vsync. These aren't very easy to portray in web quality images.

Oh, that's a shame

 

[Munson]

Oh, that's a shame

I just remembered I posted some cool Crysis Warhead caps ages ago. They're jpegs of course, and even then not full size 1920x1200, but I reckon they kinda show PC superiority, and it's not even a new game.

 

[msremmert]

I actually went the laptop route.
After I went to university and lugged around a massive gaming machine withe 1KW PSU and all that noise, dual monitors and 5.1 speakers I decided to go the gaming laptop route and haven't looked back.

Current set up numbers: (can't be arsed to put all the massive details)
Intel i7 3630QM
16GB 1600mhz
nVidia GTX680m
1x 128GB mSATA SSD for OS and programs
2x 500GB 7200 RAID 0 for games and downloads
1080p display on the laptop
External Dell 2407-HC

I used to play loads of games and still have loads installed but productivity seems to have overtaken my life these days and it hasn't really seen any games since around January.

Only thing I will knock the laptop for is the internal soundcard which is sh*t and needs to die. But the problem was fixed with a shiny external one so all is well.

 

[McGherkin]

Hi-5 for Laptop gaming. Going anywhere and firing up your favourite game FTW.

 

[msremmert]

Hi-5 for Laptop gaming. Going anywhere and firing up your favourite game FTW.

This.
​And maxing it out and making the desktop owners jealous.

 

[McGherkin]

Crysis on a plane FTW.

Nice rig by the way, I only had a grand to spend but I got a pretty good computer for it so I'm happy.

(I've got Bang and Olufsen audio with an external sub, sound is probably the best thing about my laptop!)

 

[S1MON]

I actually went the laptop route.
After I went to university and lugged around a massive gaming machine withe 1KW PSU and all that noise, dual monitors and 5.1 speakers I decided to go the gaming laptop route and haven't looked back.

Current set up numbers: (can't be arsed to put all the massive details)
Intel i7 3630QM
16GB 1600mhz
nVidia GTX680m
1x 128GB mSATA SSD for OS and programs
2x 500GB 7200 RAID 0 for games and downloads
1080p display on the laptop
External Dell 2407-HC

I used to play loads of games and still have loads installed but productivity seems to have overtaken my life these days and it hasn't really seen any games since around January.

Only thing I will knock the laptop for is the internal soundcard which is sh*t and needs to die. But the problem was fixed with a shiny external one so all is well.

What brand is that? Looks impressive, need a new laptop soon.

 

[msremmert]

What brand is that? Looks impressive, need a new laptop soon.

It's a Clevo P170EM however Clevo don't sell directly so I got mine via PC Specialist.
http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/laptop-computers/

It's a Vortex 3 17.3"
​I dropped about £1.5k on mine to get it to that spec though.

 

[Wilkeh]

Skyrim -

 

[dajones]

Im about to drop my money on this once I get vouchers through the post.
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/lapto...re-v3-771g-17-3-laptop-grey-21324854-pdt.html

Laptop.
Acer Aspire V3-771G
I7-3632QM (3.2ghz)
16GB DDR3
Nvidia Geforce GT730M (4GB)
17.3" LED screen (1920x1080)
128GB SSD + 1TB HD
Bluray.

Cant wait to get it now. Been without a computer for over a month now. My last acer with half the spec was comfortable (nothing huge fps wise but playable) playing GTA4 so if this is even a 10th improvement im happy. Sadly being in the forces living on base I have no room for a desktop at the moment.

 

[Silent_Scone]

Just got Metro: Last Light. That will definitely produce some worthy screenshots

 

[Silent_Scone]

As above, took a few screenshots of Metro: LL. Taken at 1920x1200, Very High settings. SSAO @ 4X means there are literally no jagged edges, making image quality super sharp.

Full res links:

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/9477/metroll2013052916342882.png

​http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/1619/metroll2013052916082359.png

 

[JaredHasNoBrain]

What FPS is that running too? Looks stunning

 

[Munson]

I imagine his machine can render that at least sixty times a second.

I must get around to playing Metro 2033!

 

[Nickson]

Jesus!

That looks awesome.

 

[JaredHasNoBrain]

As above, took a few screenshots of Metro: LL. Taken at 1920x1200, Very High settings. SSAO @ 4X means there are literally no jagged edges, making image quality super sharp.

Full res links:

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/9477/metroll2013052916342882.png

​http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/1619/metroll2013052916082359.png

You happy you can actually wipe your mask now? haha
Makes me want your comp so much more.

 

[Silent_Scone]

Not sure on frame rate as using vsync but it seems a solid 60fps

 

[Andy.]

My 7970 arrived today. It's massive!! Totally dwarves my old 4870. Plumbing it in with 2x8 Pin connectors was also an arse ache, but it seems to be worth it so far. Games are looking pretty again.

Getting a bit cramped in the case:

 

[Addicted]

As above, took a few screenshots of Metro: LL. Taken at 1920x1200, Very High settings. SSAO @ 4X means there are literally no jagged edges, making image quality super sharp.

​How is it as a game? Just playing Dirt 2 atm, got this to install soon!

Finally up and running with all 4 gpus by the way (needed to use powered risers, so I was waiting on those from the states):

Specs are as follows:

4x 7950's (3 Gigabyte WF3, 1 MSI Twin Frozr),
MSI Z77A-G45 Mobo (can take 2 more GPUs),
Celeron i1610,
8gb 1600Mhz RAM,
OCZ 1250W PSU,
8Gb USB Stick (for linux).

Wish I could throw some games at the GPUs, the CPU would be pointless though.

 

[JaredHasNoBrain]

My 7970 arrived today. It's massive!! Totally dwarves my old 4870. Plumbing it in with 2x8 Pin connectors was also an arse ache, but it seems to be worth it so far. Games are looking pretty again.



Getting a bit cramped in the case:

Good card! I think you got the same MB as me too haha

 

[Andy.]

I have some problems with a couple of games and their cut scenes not showing, game play is awesome though.
P55-GD65? It's also in need of an update but that has to wait for a while.

 

[JaredHasNoBrain]

Yeah think thats it, The Bios aint the good with overclocking the gpu as there is no voltage adjustment lol
Should be getting either your card or the 7950

 

[Andy.]

That might be it then... I'll try it with the OC turned off.
I snapped the card up in a sale for £240! Utter bargain for a damaged box.

 

[Silent_Scone]

​How is it as a game? Just playing Dirt 2 atm, got this to install soon!

Finally up and running with all 4 gpus by the way (needed to use powered risers, so I was waiting on those from the states):



Specs are as follows:

4x 7950's (3 Gigabyte WF3, 1 MSI Twin Frozr),
MSI Z77A-G45 Mobo (can take 2 more GPUs),
Celeron i1610,
8gb 1600Mhz RAM,
OCZ 1250W PSU,
8Gb USB Stick (for linux).

Wish I could throw some games at the GPUs, the CPU would be pointless though.

Nice, that PSU must love you!

Metro is ok, not really played much of it yet but loving the atmosphere (much like Metro 2033).

Performance is decent enough maxed out, but this piece from HardOCP will give you an idea:

We have one good things to say about the image quality in Metro: Last Light; it is superb! As we said, all of our video cards handled the "very high" quality setting with relative ease. We had to adjust tessellation on a few of our video cards in order to play at higher resolutions, which did keep us from having the 15 meter tessellation range provided by the "very high" spec. We had to lower tessellation on both the GeForce GTX 680 and AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition to "normal" meaning only a 10 meter range on tessellation.
Anti-aliasing was somewhat a different story. Analytical AA is a combination of FXAA and 4A Games technology. It is a post-processing AA method that is able to quickly recognize shapes and patterns of an image and can effectively render it at a higher resolution. The image becomes clearer and smoother, removing a large portion of the blur that comes with using a post-processing AA technique. What is great about this is that the AAA image quality is improved when combined with SSAA. The negative side to this is that we can't even play with 2X SSAA enabled, even on the GeForce GTX 680 and Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition at 1080p. It will take a more expensive video card like the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 to be playable with it enabled. This means anyone without a brand new $650 video card (or beefy SLI/CrossFire setup) will be out of luck in terms of SSAA.

Metro: Last Light is calling for more powerful and more capable hardware. We can't even enable 2X SSAA at 1080p unless we're using a GeForce GTX TITAN or GTX 780 which have large price tags. SSAA even goes all the way up to 4X, with noticeably better image quality to go with it. I don't think we need to brag anymore on how well PhysX performed and looked. We enjoyed the Metro: Last Light story and gameplay, and acknowledge the demanding performance that leads to visual improvement. Hands down we will be including Metro: Last Light to our testing suite and we suggest you purchase this game and give it a playthrough.

 

[JaredHasNoBrain]

That might be it then... I'll try it with the OC turned off.
I snapped the card up in a sale for £240! Utter bargain for a damaged box.

Nice! I got my card really cheap too
bought it off ebay for £180 brand new which I wan in a bidding war and then it took I thinkg 41 days to come in the post so declared lost and got a refund

 

[Silent_Scone]

​Options: Resolution: 1920 x 1200; DirectX: DirectX 11; Quality: Very High; Texture filtering: AF 16X; Advanced PhysX: Disabled; Tesselation: Not supported; Motion Blur: Normal; SSAA: ON;

SLi Max settings

• Total Frames: 10462, Total Time: 171.14 sec
• Average Framerate: 61.17
• Max. Framerate: 127.49 (Frame: 5427)
• Min. Framerate: 8.77 (Frame: 6534)

SLi Disabled

• Total Frames: 6747, Total Time: 171.073 sec
• Average Framerate: 39.47
• Max. Framerate: 68.85 (Frame: 5514)
• Min. Framerate: 8.47 (Frame: 5306)

 

[Addicted]

Nice, that PSU must love you! Metro is ok, not really played much of it yet but loving the atmosphere (much like Metro 2033). Performance is decent enough maxed out, but this piece from HardOCP will give you an idea:

Draws 1050W @ the wall so not too bad, should be still around 80-85% efficient

Should bloody hope so, that's £70/m on power it's costing me!..



​Ahh that is disappointing with Metro, I'm only on a single 7970 on my main pc now, but I'll give it a go tonight

 

[dajones]

Going off the laptop idea thingy. Things have been changed in work and ive been offered a new room... I have a desk!. Is anyone kind enough to make a basket for me as ive only got my phone to work with.
Im after a decent spec Intel based nvidia machine. Looking at about 1k (may go reasonably higher)for everything including monitor if I could. Only issue is I need to spend 500 in pcworld (of all places) as ive got vouchers from a claim to get rid of.

Im guessing the graphics and screen are going to be the biggest spend.

Ive had a quick look and I cant get my head around whats compatible with what. The laptop I was looking at has this for comparison

 

[Darren S]

My 7970 arrived today. It's massive!! Totally dwarves my old 4870. Plumbing it in with 2x8 Pin connectors was also an arse ache, but it seems to be worth it so far. Games are looking pretty again.

Getting a bit cramped in the case:

That chassis definitely could do with a blast of some air!

​Nice upgrade though.

D.

 

[wozzaa]

Mine is pretty simple, still running an older i7 920 (on a cheapo corsair water cooler). basically waiting for Ivybridge-E, trying to debate if I should sell the 690 and go for some titans too. Just depends what is left after the house fund...and if I want to throw some money at the PC or the car.

So i7 920 @ 3.8
24gb ram
GTX690
240gb ssd as primary
2 x 60gb ssd's as games drives
and a couple large 2tb storage drives.

The 690 does come in useful though...ignore the wallpaper. Whoever put it up didn't realise it had a pattern...like all wallpaper. This room is going to be getting decorated last after the kitchen and lounge and the spare bedroom is finished. Just my computer room at moment.

 

[McGherkin]

Forgot I had this!

About the only graphically intense thing I play, most of the other stuff is intensive in terms of physics. Will be getting Watchdogs though so looking forward to seeing what this baby can really do.

 

[Wilkeh]

Now, as much as I love my Sidewinder X4 keyboard I've had it for a few years so I thought it was time to go mechanical. Just picked up a Corsair K70 in Black that uses the Cherry MX red switches.

First thoughts? Brilliant. Second thoughts? Amazing. It really does look and feel the part. It's actually satisfying to be typing right now on this thing, can't wait to get stuck into some games. The back-lighting effect is really cool, you can even customise which keys are back-lit or not. They also include different keys to go in place of WASD and 1-6 that have a slight contour to them, I'm not sure if the below photos show it up that well though.

If you're in the market for a new keyboard then I cannot recommend this one enough. It is expensive though at £115 from Ebuyer, but you really do get what you pay for.

 

[Silent_Scone]

I've got the K90. Really nice keyboard.

 

[BigDaveRotary]

I bought an QPAD MK-85 when it was on offer on Overclockers with Cherry reds and I freaking love it. Has made a difference when playing!

Don't think I could use anything else now.

 

[Cookie]

I want a K70 now. Currently have an X4 that does everything I need it to though.

 

[SharkyUK]

I've got the K90. Really nice keyboard.

One of the best keyboards I've used. Would get one of these if I were upgrading my system.

 

[Uncle_Gravy]

Ordered an MSI GTX770 Gaming Edition earlier to replace my 6850.

Fingers crossed I get it tomorrow, Will upload some pics when I get it.

 

[Lal B3N]

My mate has offered me this for £650-700. Quite tempted by it as I just cba to build my own at the moment.

i7
2x GTX480's 1.5GB SLI
2x 500GB SATAII HDD's RAID0
ASUS P8P67 EVO
16GB Corsair Vengeance
1000w Corsair PSU
Corsair 700D Case
Samsung Blu-Ray drive
2 Watercooling loops!

 

[Wilkeh]

Ordered an MSI GTX770 Gaming Edition earlier to replace my 6850.

Fingers crossed I get it tomorrow, Will upload some pics when I get it.

Been looking at these myself. It's bloody typical for me to have spent £400 on a 680 in March for them to release the 770 now which is faster and about £80 cheaper. That's technology for you!