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I just inherited a Desktop that was used as a server in its previous life with a 8GB DDR3 RAM and an Intel Xeon W3550. I threw in a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 in place of the $10 graphics that was in there originally. With that, I think I should be able to play a fair amount more than I used to with my laptop. Any recommendations for testing out the capability of the graphics card? I need to get a new power supply as I don't have the required outputs for the card and the wattage is too low. It's been functioning fine right now but I suspect I won't get optimal performance until I get it appropriate power for it.
*EDIT* In fact now I think about it, don't try and stress test it until you get the new PSU
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I just inherited a Desktop that was used as a server in its previous life with a 8GB DDR3 RAM and an Intel Xeon W3550. I threw in a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 in place of the $10 graphics that was in there originally. With that, I think I should be able to play a fair amount more than I used to with my laptop. Any recommendations for testing out the capability of the graphics card? I need to get a new power supply as I don't have the required outputs for the card and the wattage is too low. It's been functioning fine right now but I suspect I won't get optimal performance until I get it appropriate power for it.
That's one hell of a CPU you've got there. Total overkill for gaming, of course, but if it's in your possession it's a real find.
Head over to the Gaming Your Machine thread for more considered thoughts but basically, get yourself a power supply which is at the very least certified 80 Plus Bronze.
With that server grade setup you've got I'd probably spend a few quid more (and we're only talking £15-20 more than a Bronze for a similarly powerful PSU) and get an 80 Plus Gold power supply.
Corsair, Seagate, Silverstone, Cooler Master are all good brands. Avoid the cheap and cheerful brands like the plague. Don't do any gaming until you get one - The PSU is the heart of your PC and if one fries it could take (worst case scenario but it's been known to happen) CPU, motherboard and GPU with it.
The Unigine benchmarks are the best freeware ones I've found but if you want to spend some money then look into 3DMark's latest Firestrike software. I bought it in a Steam sale a while back and it benchmarks your entire PC.
https://unigine.com/products/heaven/
https://unigine.com/products/valley/
EDIT - If you want to see how your PC is performing in games you own then download MSI Afterburner (you don't need an MSI GPU) and configure the on screen display. It's not the most intuitive thing to set-up but there are videos and tutorials out there.
You'll then see your framerate, GPU usage, GPU temp, VRAM usage, RAM usage, CPU usage (right down to individual cores), CPU temp and probably your inside leg measurement.
http://gaming.msi.com/features/afterburner
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Due to an unexpected dividend, and a life-long lack of self control, I am now a fully fledged member of the PC master-race
Got the GTX 970 card. And lord, things like GTA look lushhh....
The anti-aliasing, shadows and light work are just off the scale. And all the little touches like the depth-of-field trickery and dust effects getting in the mix make for some nigh breath-taking little moments. Then you add in the extra frames (45ish in my case, due to a CPU made of papier mache), and the whole experience is very slick indeed
I thought T was having a vinyl moment with the 60fps fixation for a while, but action-based games definitely are more enjoyable at higher frames. When the graphics are at the max, doubly so
It's worth noting how much time and money it takes to get here though. I totally get the plug-n-play console appeal. And there were many times, when I was sweating at the circuit board face, or trying to understand the arcane dimensions of a plug via the acronyms of the internet, that I was envious. But now I'm here, and have the rewards, I will face the next inevitable software clash with equanimity
Of course non of this stops GTA online being as stable a three-eyed donkey tho, which is why I'm here typing this up
Got the GTX 970 card. And lord, things like GTA look lushhh....
The anti-aliasing, shadows and light work are just off the scale. And all the little touches like the depth-of-field trickery and dust effects getting in the mix make for some nigh breath-taking little moments. Then you add in the extra frames (45ish in my case, due to a CPU made of papier mache), and the whole experience is very slick indeed
I thought T was having a vinyl moment with the 60fps fixation for a while, but action-based games definitely are more enjoyable at higher frames. When the graphics are at the max, doubly so
It's worth noting how much time and money it takes to get here though. I totally get the plug-n-play console appeal. And there were many times, when I was sweating at the circuit board face, or trying to understand the arcane dimensions of a plug via the acronyms of the internet, that I was envious. But now I'm here, and have the rewards, I will face the next inevitable software clash with equanimity
Of course non of this stops GTA online being as stable a three-eyed donkey tho, which is why I'm here typing this up
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A convert! We have a convert! 
But yeah, I'm not a graphics whore (although I love things looking correct) but I definitely am a framerate junkie. The first serious GPU I bought was an Nvidia 7800GTX in 2005-ish, mainly for Oblivion. Did this expensive card with its mahoosive 512MB of VRAM run Oblivion as well as I was expecting?
Not on yer nelly. I don't think any card did back then and certainly not one which was running in a single core Pentium 4 PC.
This was also the first time I'd bought anything substantial from the internet. I'd changed GPUs before but only to overpriced undercooked things from PC World...
But yeah, I'm not a graphics whore (although I love things looking correct) but I definitely am a framerate junkie. The first serious GPU I bought was an Nvidia 7800GTX in 2005-ish, mainly for Oblivion. Did this expensive card with its mahoosive 512MB of VRAM run Oblivion as well as I was expecting?
Not on yer nelly. I don't think any card did back then and certainly not one which was running in a single core Pentium 4 PC.
This was also the first time I'd bought anything substantial from the internet. I'd changed GPUs before but only to overpriced undercooked things from PC World...
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I recently finished The Last of Us. I found it so hard to put down whenever I picked it up. Such a good game. I'm humming and hawing over getting a ps4 now since I've heard The Last of Us 2 will be exclusive. Usually I wait till a console has gone all but retro before buying it, relying on PC for my up-to-date gaming needs. But this is getting me to consider forking out the doe.
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They patched the PC version yesterday (part of an ongoing process apparently, and it was only 60mb) but I've not had the chance to try it out yet. I remember City being dog-rough on PC when it was released and it runs brilliantly now. We'll see.
If only other AAA studios followed the Rockstar route and released games when they were ready. Pre-order hype and shareholder-pleasing release dates are set in stone now, I think.
Roockstar is one of the few who don't have to worry.
If only other AAA studios followed the Rockstar route and released games when they were ready. Pre-order hype and shareholder-pleasing release dates are set in stone now, I think.
Roockstar is one of the few who don't have to worry.
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I wouldn't take IGN serious these days, at least not when it comes to reviews.
__________________
“By definition, you have to live until you die. Better to make that life as complete and enjoyable an experience as possible, in case death is shite, which I suspect it will be.”
“By definition, you have to live until you die. Better to make that life as complete and enjoyable an experience as possible, in case death is shite, which I suspect it will be.”
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At least the game's in a more playable state now. Instead of single-figure framerate hitches when you're in the Batmobile I'm only dropping to 45-50. The missing PS4 rain effects are referred to in the patch notes as bugs and they seem to be in the PC version now and outside of gliding and Batmobile powersliding I've got a steady 60, but I still have to manually edit the .ini to get there.
Arkham Knight PC is now less of a sh*tshow and more of a poor port. We're getting there.
Arkham Knight PC is now less of a sh*tshow and more of a poor port. We're getting there.
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I wouldn't take IGN serious these days, at least not when it comes to reviews.
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Hey guys, here's my take on Batman: Arkham Knight. I've tried to keep it spoiler-free but I would advise to be careful!
Well, this is it. Having reviewed 8 Batman films in the last week and a half, it is time to review Batman: Arkham Knight, the long-awaited, much-anticipated finale to Rocksteady Studios' Batman Arkham Trilogy. After suffering a delay late last year, my expectations only rose and rose, to the point that I genuinely believed that there was no way the game could surpass my expectations, let alone match them.
My God, I was so wrong.
In Batman: Arkham Knight, Batman is at the peak of his physical condition, but after Scarecrow forces the citizens of Gotham to evacuate and promises to kill Batman with the help of the mysterious Arkham Knight, the Caped Crusader has to not only prevent Scarecrow's fear toxin from spreading, but also figure out who the mysterious Arkham Knight is, whilst having to battle his inner demons.
Although perhaps not as consistent as Arkham City before it, I believe Arkham Knight to be have one of the best plots in the whole series. Its story is character-driven and pretty deep at points, reaching into some of the darker abysses of Batman's psyche, giving huge fans something to sink their teeth into. There are several twists and turns throughout the roughly 12-hour campaign, and for the most-part, these really hit the spot. There are a few shock moments that you will never see coming, but the highlight is the final cutscene of the game - which I won't spoil here - which I found absolutely phenomenal. However, by the time you eventually find out who the Arkham Knight really is, there is no surprise. The actual identity is spoon-fed to the player only a few hours before the actual reveal, so you'd either need to be paying no attention whatsoever or know nothing of Batman lore to not figure this one out. Regardless, by this stage the Arkham Knight's identity is no longer important, since so many plot points are introduced that will grip you without worrying about this one. The game is well-written, and like previous entries in the series, jam-packed with Easter eggs referring to the DC Comics universe, with even a Superman one slotted in. Could Rocksteady be suggesting something?
From a gameplay standpoint, Arkham Knight retains the incredible FreeFlow combat from previous games, based on three factors: attack, counter, and gadgets. Although not altered a whole lot here, a few new elements are added, such as being able to hit grounded enemies so you don't lose your combo, but the biggest addition is by far being able to drive and battle inside the Batmobile. It handles superbly and you always feel in control, and the combat system that Rocksteady incorporate is superb, providing some of the game's most thrilling action scenes. It sounds fantastic and truly roars, and although it doesn't usurp the rush of soaring around Gotham as Batman, the introduction of the Batmobile is certainly one of the game's strongest elements. This time around, there are far fewer of the much-praised Arkham boss battles, even including the side missions, which is a shame because some of the bosses of previous games - such as Mr. Freeze in Arkham City - were where this series soared.
Graphically, the game is stunning. Rocksteady claimed that the same number of polygons were used for one character model in Arkham Knight as in the entirety of Arkham Asylum, and this is truly evident during gameplay. The stubble on Batman's face looks so realistic, and the way his cape shimmers in the wind when gliding, and how rain glistens off the surface of the cowl is just breathtaking. The Batmobile is very detailed, as is the new and improved Batsuit, and the stunning graphics help to enhance what was already a gorgeous series of games. However, whilst playing I did encounter a number of graphical glitches, such as textures not popping in for a good while, the cape getting caught inside the Batsuit, damage not rendering on the suit throughout the game, and enemies getting caught in the environment, but considering how close to launch we currently are, I will allow some lenience to Rocksteady.
Much like the games before it, the design of Batman: Arkham Knight is astounding. As mentioned, the Batsuit and Batmobile are superb, and the plethora of additional skins for both are not only well-designed, but prove how much care has gone into making this the definitive Batman experience. The character models are faithful to their comic-book origins, particularly Harley Quinn, and some other characters that I won't mention here. Gotham itself is phenomenal, with legendary locations such as Ace Chemicals and Wayne Tower having superb designs and detail.
When reviewing this game, I have tried to be as impartial as possible, since I love the Arkham games so much and have played them all numerous times. However, it is impossible to overlook the fact that this game is simply a triumph: yes, there are a few glitches, the big twist wears thin and the PC version is in a near-unplayable state, but on the PS4 and Xbox One, the game not only looks gorgeous, but runs solidly, and tells Rocksteady's incredibly character-driven and deep story perfectly. Maybe I am being slightly biased when I say this, but in my opinion, Batman: Arkham Knight is one of, if not the, greatest game(s) I have ever played.
I give Batman: Arkham Knight 9 out of 10.
Well, this is it. Having reviewed 8 Batman films in the last week and a half, it is time to review Batman: Arkham Knight, the long-awaited, much-anticipated finale to Rocksteady Studios' Batman Arkham Trilogy. After suffering a delay late last year, my expectations only rose and rose, to the point that I genuinely believed that there was no way the game could surpass my expectations, let alone match them.
My God, I was so wrong.
In Batman: Arkham Knight, Batman is at the peak of his physical condition, but after Scarecrow forces the citizens of Gotham to evacuate and promises to kill Batman with the help of the mysterious Arkham Knight, the Caped Crusader has to not only prevent Scarecrow's fear toxin from spreading, but also figure out who the mysterious Arkham Knight is, whilst having to battle his inner demons.
Although perhaps not as consistent as Arkham City before it, I believe Arkham Knight to be have one of the best plots in the whole series. Its story is character-driven and pretty deep at points, reaching into some of the darker abysses of Batman's psyche, giving huge fans something to sink their teeth into. There are several twists and turns throughout the roughly 12-hour campaign, and for the most-part, these really hit the spot. There are a few shock moments that you will never see coming, but the highlight is the final cutscene of the game - which I won't spoil here - which I found absolutely phenomenal. However, by the time you eventually find out who the Arkham Knight really is, there is no surprise. The actual identity is spoon-fed to the player only a few hours before the actual reveal, so you'd either need to be paying no attention whatsoever or know nothing of Batman lore to not figure this one out. Regardless, by this stage the Arkham Knight's identity is no longer important, since so many plot points are introduced that will grip you without worrying about this one. The game is well-written, and like previous entries in the series, jam-packed with Easter eggs referring to the DC Comics universe, with even a Superman one slotted in. Could Rocksteady be suggesting something?
From a gameplay standpoint, Arkham Knight retains the incredible FreeFlow combat from previous games, based on three factors: attack, counter, and gadgets. Although not altered a whole lot here, a few new elements are added, such as being able to hit grounded enemies so you don't lose your combo, but the biggest addition is by far being able to drive and battle inside the Batmobile. It handles superbly and you always feel in control, and the combat system that Rocksteady incorporate is superb, providing some of the game's most thrilling action scenes. It sounds fantastic and truly roars, and although it doesn't usurp the rush of soaring around Gotham as Batman, the introduction of the Batmobile is certainly one of the game's strongest elements. This time around, there are far fewer of the much-praised Arkham boss battles, even including the side missions, which is a shame because some of the bosses of previous games - such as Mr. Freeze in Arkham City - were where this series soared.
Graphically, the game is stunning. Rocksteady claimed that the same number of polygons were used for one character model in Arkham Knight as in the entirety of Arkham Asylum, and this is truly evident during gameplay. The stubble on Batman's face looks so realistic, and the way his cape shimmers in the wind when gliding, and how rain glistens off the surface of the cowl is just breathtaking. The Batmobile is very detailed, as is the new and improved Batsuit, and the stunning graphics help to enhance what was already a gorgeous series of games. However, whilst playing I did encounter a number of graphical glitches, such as textures not popping in for a good while, the cape getting caught inside the Batsuit, damage not rendering on the suit throughout the game, and enemies getting caught in the environment, but considering how close to launch we currently are, I will allow some lenience to Rocksteady.
Much like the games before it, the design of Batman: Arkham Knight is astounding. As mentioned, the Batsuit and Batmobile are superb, and the plethora of additional skins for both are not only well-designed, but prove how much care has gone into making this the definitive Batman experience. The character models are faithful to their comic-book origins, particularly Harley Quinn, and some other characters that I won't mention here. Gotham itself is phenomenal, with legendary locations such as Ace Chemicals and Wayne Tower having superb designs and detail.
When reviewing this game, I have tried to be as impartial as possible, since I love the Arkham games so much and have played them all numerous times. However, it is impossible to overlook the fact that this game is simply a triumph: yes, there are a few glitches, the big twist wears thin and the PC version is in a near-unplayable state, but on the PS4 and Xbox One, the game not only looks gorgeous, but runs solidly, and tells Rocksteady's incredibly character-driven and deep story perfectly. Maybe I am being slightly biased when I say this, but in my opinion, Batman: Arkham Knight is one of, if not the, greatest game(s) I have ever played.
I give Batman: Arkham Knight 9 out of 10.
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Had a massive binge through my back-catalogue . Has brought it home that I've bought the card more for future titles I'm excited about (Elite expansions, Battlefront etc) rather than AAAs I actually own though.
GTA looks the dogs, but I've played it absolutely to death on Xbox
Far Cry 3 seems a lotta fun and looks pretty sweet all maxed out. Played a few hours, but set it down when a pack of dogs finished me off after a prolonged run of carnage. Possibly playing on the 2nd hardest level is a mistake. (It also tries and fails to access the Uplay servers, or something similarly useless, every time I click on the tutorial insets - and you have to click on them ). Possibly sandbox fatigue, or the cheap price, but I could still take it or leave it right now.
Witcher 2 enraged me so much with its apparently awful controller interface that I uninstalled it. Literally couldn't get it to chose the sub-sets in the combat menu reliably. I was just about girded up to try and remember what all the silly magic symbols meant mid-combat, but when I ended up stuck in an infinite loop of a hairy man hitting me painlessly while my mutant bravely refused to throw a bomb, that was it...(and they added that tutorial to make it more accessible)
So ironically, rough-edged alphas and Indies are where the fun's been at...
I'm not sure why I love fast-paced, fast-turnaround, ludicrous combat multiplayers quite so much, but I do. Spent probably half of my binge playing 'just one more round' of Chivalry... It helps that I found a whole new set of audio excerpts to play with - the voice acting really is fricking hilarious. Very Monty Python, and that whole level of silliness is a wonderful counterpoint to spending half the round with your head cut off
The new Gang Beasts unstable Alpha is shaping up nicely. You can do handstands. And flying headbutts. And accidental flying handstand butt-attacks. (And it still has that delicious feel of co-operative carnage, even though it's set up competitively. I can see many rounds turning into attempts to form a handstand totem pole ).
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On the avoid front: Carmageddon. My god, what a dog. They can't even get the screen resolution right (when I enter mine, it letterboxes it). Even with the 970 I can only get this un-optimised piece of garbage to look... terrible. And play slightly worse. Shocking.
. Has brought it home that I've bought the card more for future titles I'm excited about (Elite expansions, Battlefront etc) rather than AAAs I actually own though.GTA looks the dogs, but I've played it absolutely to death on Xbox
Far Cry 3 seems a lotta fun and looks pretty sweet all maxed out. Played a few hours, but set it down when a pack of dogs finished me off after a prolonged run of carnage. Possibly playing on the 2nd hardest level is a mistake
. (It also tries and fails to access the Uplay servers, or something similarly useless, every time I click on the tutorial insets - and you have to click on them ). Possibly sandbox fatigue, or the cheap price, but I could still take it or leave it right now.Witcher 2 enraged me so much with its apparently awful controller interface that I uninstalled it. Literally couldn't get it to chose the sub-sets in the combat menu reliably. I was just about girded up to try and remember what all the silly magic symbols meant mid-combat, but when I ended up stuck in an infinite loop of a hairy man hitting me painlessly while my mutant bravely refused to throw a bomb, that was it...(and they added that tutorial to make it more accessible
)So ironically, rough-edged alphas and Indies are where the fun's been at
...I'm not sure why I love fast-paced, fast-turnaround, ludicrous combat multiplayers quite so much, but I do
. Spent probably half of my binge playing 'just one more round' of Chivalry... It helps that I found a whole new set of audio excerpts to play with - the voice acting really is fricking hilarious. Very Monty Python, and that whole level of silliness is a wonderful counterpoint to spending half the round with your head cut off The new Gang Beasts unstable Alpha is shaping up nicely. You can do handstands. And flying headbutts. And accidental flying handstand butt-attacks
. (And it still has that delicious feel of co-operative carnage, even though it's set up competitively. I can see many rounds turning into attempts to form a handstand totem pole ).---
On the avoid front: Carmageddon. My god, what a dog. They can't even get the screen resolution right (when I enter mine, it letterboxes it). Even with the 970 I can only get this un-optimised piece of garbage to look... terrible. And play slightly worse. Shocking.
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Pro-tip for Witcher 2: You can rebind the gamepad controls in the pre-game menu but you're probably better off playing with kb/m. I've always preferred 3rd person games with a controller and, to be honest, didn't find Witcher 2's that terrible.
The interface, on the other hand...
Witcher 3's is better but everything is still more streamlined without a gamepad. Fortunately, for the Dualshock 4 master race, there are a number of custom profiles which utilise a shift button and map signs to the face buttons.
If you fancy a bit of faffing about (and I think Witcher 2's worth it), there's a program called AntiMicro. It's open source re-mapping software and there are a load of Witcher 3 profiles to give Xbox pads the same usability as the custom Dualshock 4. Don't know of any for Witcher 2 but it looks pretty straightforward to create profiles.
EDIT - While I'm in a PC gamepad functionality adding mood, here's an app for the wireless 360 pad that I find invaluable - XBStart
Not only can you now turn the controller off in the same way as when connected to an Xbox, it now shuts off when you power down your PC and you can even use it to navigate the W8 start screen.
It's got mouse functionality too.
The interface, on the other hand...
Witcher 3's is better but everything is still more streamlined without a gamepad. Fortunately, for the Dualshock 4 master race, there are a number of custom profiles which utilise a shift button and map signs to the face buttons.
If you fancy a bit of faffing about (and I think Witcher 2's worth it), there's a program called AntiMicro. It's open source re-mapping software and there are a load of Witcher 3 profiles to give Xbox pads the same usability as the custom Dualshock 4. Don't know of any for Witcher 2 but it looks pretty straightforward to create profiles.
EDIT - While I'm in a PC gamepad functionality adding mood, here's an app for the wireless 360 pad that I find invaluable - XBStart
Not only can you now turn the controller off in the same way as when connected to an Xbox, it now shuts off when you power down your PC and you can even use it to navigate the W8 start screen.
It's got mouse functionality too.
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@T
Cheers. I think I'm just totally sandboxed out to be honest, and Witcher's uphill accessibility all told is just a climb too much for me right now. Gonna stick with simple thrills for a bit
Cheers
. I think I'm just totally sandboxed out to be honest, and Witcher's uphill accessibility all told is just a climb too much for me right now. Gonna stick with simple thrills for a bit
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Problem solved!
Witcher 2's totally linear so you've got no excuse. I expect to see 20 hours on your Steam account by Friday.
Witcher 2's totally linear so you've got no excuse. I expect to see 20 hours on your Steam account by Friday.
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Is it?? I thought it was all chose-your-objective, play-it-your-way, mooch-around-and-find-background-info-y like the first one?
Even so something about it says not now. I think it's just the vertiginous time investment / concentration aspect. I know from tomorrow my playtime will be piecemeal again, so I need something unsubtle I can just jump straight into.
And talking of which...
Thought I'd give GTA online another go. It's where the remaining novelty lies. And lo, this time it was fun. Because I actually got a painless run of games, some of which were even well-populated. And immediately you think: Where the hell else could I be in a gumball rally down a beautiful coast, finishing in a helter-skelter cityscape, followed by a ludicrous offroad monster-truck session, followed by a helicopter race ducking around cranes and bridges? There's not many games that can pull that off.
It doesn't look quite as slick as offline, but it is a damn impressive achievement.
And then it crashed
Even so something about it says not now. I think it's just the vertiginous time investment / concentration aspect. I know from tomorrow my playtime will be piecemeal again, so I need something unsubtle I can just jump straight into.
And talking of which...
Thought I'd give GTA online another go. It's where the remaining novelty lies. And lo, this time it was fun
. Because I actually got a painless run of games, some of which were even well-populated. And immediately you think: Where the hell else could I be in a gumball rally down a beautiful coast, finishing in a helter-skelter cityscape, followed by a ludicrous offroad monster-truck session, followed by a helicopter race ducking around cranes and bridges? There's not many games that can pull that off.It doesn't look quite as slick as offline, but it is a damn impressive achievement.
And then it crashed
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