Best settings for Half Life 2?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

I just purchased a legit copy of Half Life 2....Steam, not as bad as people
made it out to be, though installiation was time consuming.

I have a XFX 7800GTX and can easily O/C to 490/1320. I am using the latest
78.01 drivers. There are many options for quality settings....could anyone
give me a rundown as to what the best settings for best visual quality might
be?

Antialiasing settings + Anistropic filtering, application controlled or
manual?...if if leave at default the in game options give me 6x AA and 16x
AF....which would be better?

Any other options i can enable for better image quality?, frame rates are
not an issue as i have an AMD FX-57 @ 3.0Ghz.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

"Sune Storgaard" <nospam@strueradsl.dk> wrote in message
news:432c0c62$0$18649$14726298@news.sunsite.dk...
> Then just max out the settings, max ANI filtering, max AA, max details,
> max resolution,force V sync enabled in driver for those games that doesnt
> have it pr default.

Why enabel Vertical Sync?...i thought i you should always disable VSync?


>
> The visual difference between 4 and 6x anti aliasing is minimal though,and
> same with x8/x16 ani. So if it starts to drop in fps, reducing those wont
> ruin anything.

How about 6x AA versus 8xS AA?

 

[Andrew]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

On Sat, 17 Sep 2005 13:38:00 +0100, "Richard Dower"
<richarddower@hotmail.com> wrote:

>Why enabel Vertical Sync?...i thought i you should always disable VSync?

You disable it for benchmarks, for actual use it is better to enable
it to avoid image tearing.
--
Andrew, contact via interpleb.blogspot.com
Help make Usenet a better place: English is read downwards,
please don't top post. Trim replies to quote only relevant text.
Check groups.google.com before asking an obvious question.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

In article <dgh2n6$o24$1@reader01.news.esat.net>, Richard Dower says...
>
> "Sune Storgaard" <nospam@strueradsl.dk> wrote in message
> news:432c0c62$0$18649$14726298@news.sunsite.dk...
> > Then just max out the settings, max ANI filtering, max AA, max details,
> > max resolution,force V sync enabled in driver for those games that doesnt
> > have it pr default.
>
> Why enabel Vertical Sync?...i thought i you should always disable VSync?
>
Yeah go ahead and watch that lovely tearing effect as you move fast.


--
Conor

"You're not married, you haven't got a girlfriend and you've never seen
Star Trek? Good Lord!" - Patrick Stewart, Extras.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

Wow ! Thats one hell of a rig you have there buddy !

Once you complete your *huge* 800MB odd download, and get HL2 running,
it will detect the settings on its own.

Here are some though :

1024x768 - 6x AA, 16x AF
1280 x 1024 - 4xAA, 16xAF (nVidia's AF )

You can experiment and get the same, difficult for me to tell you,
hopefully anything should work on that kinda rig


--
anishcool
------------------------------------------------------------------------
anishcool's Profile: http://www.techenclave.com/forums/member.php?u=627
View this thread: http://www.techenclave.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11366

The Tech SuperSite for India - www.techenclave.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

Try to stay above 75fps in all circumstances,i found maxing all out
sometimes dropped the fps to 50 and this played less smooth.
It did not matter i had my xp3800 @ 2.7Ghz,also setting my core/mem @
570/600 did not make much difference.
I use AA 4x because the rest is overkill and only blurs my screen image,this
is ofcourse a personal experience,which depends on the type of monitor u
use.
Playing at a refresh rate of 100hz already smoothens out alot so no AF for
me.
Ofcourse your card is faster then my x850pro,hence the advice to maintain
plus 75fps.


"anishcool" <anishcool.1vi7c8@no-mx.forums.yourdomain.com.au> schreef in
bericht news:anishcool.1vi7c8@no-mx.forums.yourdomain.com.au...
>
> Wow ! Thats one hell of a rig you have there buddy !
>
> Once you complete your *huge* 800MB odd download, and get HL2 running,
> it will detect the settings on its own.
>
> Here are some though :
>
> 1024x768 - 6x AA, 16x AF
> 1280 x 1024 - 4xAA, 16xAF (nVidia's AF )
>
> You can experiment and get the same, difficult for me to tell you,
> hopefully anything should work on that kinda rig
>
>
> --
> anishcool
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> anishcool's Profile: http://www.techenclave.com/forums/member.php?u=627
> View this thread: http://www.techenclave.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11366
>
> The Tech SuperSite for India - www.techenclave.com
>

 

[BigJim]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

anything 60 fps or higher is great
the eye sees smooth flow at that, below 60 and it gets choppy
"Richard Dower" <richarddower@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:dggvoi$n0a$1@reader01.news.esat.net...
>I just purchased a legit copy of Half Life 2....Steam, not as bad as people
>made it out to be, though installiation was time consuming.
>
> I have a XFX 7800GTX and can easily O/C to 490/1320. I am using the latest
> 78.01 drivers. There are many options for quality settings....could anyone
> give me a rundown as to what the best settings for best visual quality
> might be?
>
> Antialiasing settings + Anistropic filtering, application controlled or
> manual?...if if leave at default the in game options give me 6x AA and 16x
> AF....which would be better?
>
> Any other options i can enable for better image quality?, frame rates are
> not an issue as i have an AMD FX-57 @ 3.0Ghz.
>
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

"Andrew" <spamtrap@localhost.> wrote in message
news:8v3oi1dahc0nmggvl5ihedovt9vlb6lvu4@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 17 Sep 2005 13:38:00 +0100, "Richard Dower"
> <richarddower@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>>Why enabel Vertical Sync?...i thought i you should always disable VSync?
>
> You disable it for benchmarks, for actual use it is better to enable
> it to avoid image tearing.

I have an XFX7800GT, and honestly I can't see a difference between VSync
being on or off. But maybe I'm not looking for the right thing - in which
case, well I can't simply noticed the difference so it seems pointless to
have it on. Especially considering VSync drastically reduces FPS in some
areas of every game I've tried it on.

Saying that, I usually max everything else out and run at 1600x1200 in all
games. With HL2 I had:
1600x1200
Max AA (maybe one less than max, actually, can't quite remember)
Max AF.
Max everything else.
No VSync.

It ran as smooth as a hot knife through butter.

> --
> Andrew, contact via interpleb.blogspot.com
> Help make Usenet a better place: English is read downwards,
> please don't top post. Trim replies to quote only relevant text.
> Check groups.google.com before asking an obvious question.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

"Dragoncarer" <wee@ihaveabrandspankingnew.computer> wrote in message
news:432c3178$1@dnews.tpgi.com.au...
>
> "Andrew" <spamtrap@localhost.> wrote in message
> news:8v3oi1dahc0nmggvl5ihedovt9vlb6lvu4@4ax.com...
>> On Sat, 17 Sep 2005 13:38:00 +0100, "Richard Dower"
>> <richarddower@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>Why enabel Vertical Sync?...i thought i you should always disable VSync?
>>
>> You disable it for benchmarks, for actual use it is better to enable
>> it to avoid image tearing.
>
> I have an XFX7800GT, and honestly I can't see a difference between VSync
> being on or off. But maybe I'm not looking for the right thing - in which
> case, well I can't simply noticed the difference so it seems pointless to
> have it on. Especially considering VSync drastically reduces FPS in some
> areas of every game I've tried it on.
>
> Saying that, I usually max everything else out and run at 1600x1200 in all
> games. With HL2 I had:
> 1600x1200
> Max AA (maybe one less than max, actually, can't quite remember)
> Max AF.
> Max everything else.
> No VSync.
>
> It ran as smooth as a hot knife through butter.

VSync is just a frame limiter that limits the number of fps to the refresh
rate of your display. It's not a quality setting.

--
NoRemorse
"Expect me when you see me."

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

You are correct
I remember playing blood2 the chosen long time ago and it played fine with
40/60 fps.
In those days i wasn't very concerned with graphics settings either,just
setting things at medium or high and it played fine.
Perhaps it's the games in general that require more from the system such as
sound and input devices,the scenery ,or it's directx that's forcing us to
play with higher fps.Or i am simply spoiled
Too bad nowadays games can't maintain a reasonable balanced fps,it jumps
from 60 to 160 and that's not really enhancing the game experience i find.



"BigJIm" <woody10277@hotmail.com> schreef in bericht
news:3P-dnQ0nbqgXQrHeRVn-2A@comcast.com...
> anything 60 fps or higher is great
> the eye sees smooth flow at that, below 60 and it gets choppy
> "Richard Dower" <richarddower@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:dggvoi$n0a$1@reader01.news.esat.net...
> >I just purchased a legit copy of Half Life 2....Steam, not as bad as
people
> >made it out to be, though installiation was time consuming.
> >
> > I have a XFX 7800GTX and can easily O/C to 490/1320. I am using the
latest
> > 78.01 drivers. There are many options for quality settings....could
anyone
> > give me a rundown as to what the best settings for best visual quality
> > might be?
> >
> > Antialiasing settings + Anistropic filtering, application controlled or
> > manual?...if if leave at default the in game options give me 6x AA and
16x
> > AF....which would be better?
> >
> > Any other options i can enable for better image quality?, frame rates
are
> > not an issue as i have an AMD FX-57 @ 3.0Ghz.
> >
> >
> >
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

To put all minds at ease , the monitor operates at a certain refresh rate
frequency,mine operates at 100hz (can go higher but is not desired by me)
So vsync limits the game fps to that of the monitor to maintain a
sturdy/solid image when moving around in the game.
When you max out everything in a game you will have for example 90fps,if
your monitor handles 100hz your fps will be limited by that,but since it
only goes to 90fps there is no real difference wheter you use it or not.
Playing at medium or low settings will boost your fps in game closer to 200
but now the monitor limitation of 100 will cause your edges on guns and
buildings in game are tearing,or broken up in small pieces when you move
around.So enabling vsync will limit your game fps to that of the monitor
regardless of what graphics setting you use in the game.It smoothens out the
whole gaming experience and the difference between playing at 100 fps or 200
fps is little to zero.
Having said that,i played farcry on high settings with vsync disabled and it
ran fine,however,changing scenery from the outside to the inside of
buildings does effect overall gameplay,the fps changes are noticable.
Playing online in mp games it could be wise to enable vsync to maintain a
steady streaming in the server you play,too much fps will cause you to
hinder the server or yourself since your screenupdate goes faster then with
other players.They call this Lag.



"Conor" <conor.turton@gmail.com> schreef in bericht
news:MPG.1d9650fb80d97f8798ad01@news.individual.net...
> In article <dgh2n6$o24$1@reader01.news.esat.net>, Richard Dower says...
> >
> > "Sune Storgaard" <nospam@strueradsl.dk> wrote in message
> > news:432c0c62$0$18649$14726298@news.sunsite.dk...
> > > Then just max out the settings, max ANI filtering, max AA, max
details,
> > > max resolution,force V sync enabled in driver for those games that
doesnt
> > > have it pr default.
> >
> > Why enabel Vertical Sync?...i thought i you should always disable VSync?
> >
> Yeah go ahead and watch that lovely tearing effect as you move fast.
>
>
> --
> Conor
>
> "You're not married, you haven't got a girlfriend and you've never seen
> Star Trek? Good Lord!" - Patrick Stewart, Extras.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

"Sune Storgaard" <nospam@strueradsl.dk> wrote in message
news:432d4754$0$255$14726298@news.sunsite.dk...
> NoRemorse wrote:
>
>> VSync is just a frame limiter that limits the number of fps to the
>> refresh rate of your display. It's not a quality setting.
>
> You are right about the vsync, but when you enable it, the quality of the
> picture increases. Having such rig and run it with vsync disabled, would
> be like buying a ferrari , and use it for stock car racing.
>
> For those that dont think it makes a difference, try face a wall and
> sidestep.
>

Well, I should have phrased it better. The VSync setting does not affect the
quality of the generated pixels. The quality improvement you are seeing when
VSync is enabled is lack of tearing. VSync does this by synchronizing the
frames with the refresh rate of your monitor. You are not measuring your
true performance when you enable VSync. If your refresh rate is x fps, then
with VSync enabled you will see x frames per second (or less). The computer
could generate more fps, but VSync simply prevents it from doing so.

--
NoRemorse
"Expect me when you see me."

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

"NoRemorse" <m-jastrzebski@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:a7OdnX4zYJZD_7HenZ2dnUVZ_s6dnZ2d@comcast.com...
>
> "Dragoncarer" <wee@ihaveabrandspankingnew.computer> wrote in message
> news:432c3178$1@dnews.tpgi.com.au...
>>
>> "Andrew" <spamtrap@localhost.> wrote in message
>> news:8v3oi1dahc0nmggvl5ihedovt9vlb6lvu4@4ax.com...
>>> On Sat, 17 Sep 2005 13:38:00 +0100, "Richard Dower"
>>> <richarddower@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>>Why enabel Vertical Sync?...i thought i you should always disable VSync?
>>>
>>> You disable it for benchmarks, for actual use it is better to enable
>>> it to avoid image tearing.
>>
>> I have an XFX7800GT, and honestly I can't see a difference between VSync
>> being on or off. But maybe I'm not looking for the right thing - in which
>> case, well I can't simply noticed the difference so it seems pointless to
>> have it on. Especially considering VSync drastically reduces FPS in some
>> areas of every game I've tried it on.
>>
>> Saying that, I usually max everything else out and run at 1600x1200 in
>> all games. With HL2 I had:
>> 1600x1200
>> Max AA (maybe one less than max, actually, can't quite remember)
>> Max AF.
>> Max everything else.
>> No VSync.
>>
>> It ran as smooth as a hot knife through butter.
>
> VSync is just a frame limiter that limits the number of fps to the refresh
> rate of your display. It's not a quality setting.
>

Heh. Yeah, it is too. Then why does it seem to effect performance on my
machine? Hmmm...I'm off to explore this...

> --
> NoRemorse
> "Expect me when you see me."
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

"Dragoncarer" <wee@ihaveabrandspankingnew.computer> wrote in message
news:432d4974@dnews.tpgi.com.au...
>
> "NoRemorse" <m-jastrzebski@comcast.net> wrote in message
> news:a7OdnX4zYJZD_7HenZ2dnUVZ_s6dnZ2d@comcast.com...
>>
>> "Dragoncarer" <wee@ihaveabrandspankingnew.computer> wrote in message
>> news:432c3178$1@dnews.tpgi.com.au...
>>>
>>> "Andrew" <spamtrap@localhost.> wrote in message
>>> news:8v3oi1dahc0nmggvl5ihedovt9vlb6lvu4@4ax.com...
>>>> On Sat, 17 Sep 2005 13:38:00 +0100, "Richard Dower"
>>>> <richarddower@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>Why enabel Vertical Sync?...i thought i you should always disable
>>>>>VSync?
>>>>
>>>> You disable it for benchmarks, for actual use it is better to enable
>>>> it to avoid image tearing.
>>>
>>> I have an XFX7800GT, and honestly I can't see a difference between VSync
>>> being on or off. But maybe I'm not looking for the right thing - in
>>> which case, well I can't simply noticed the difference so it seems
>>> pointless to have it on. Especially considering VSync drastically
>>> reduces FPS in some areas of every game I've tried it on.
>>>
>>> Saying that, I usually max everything else out and run at 1600x1200 in
>>> all games. With HL2 I had:
>>> 1600x1200
>>> Max AA (maybe one less than max, actually, can't quite remember)
>>> Max AF.
>>> Max everything else.
>>> No VSync.
>>>
>>> It ran as smooth as a hot knife through butter.
>>
>> VSync is just a frame limiter that limits the number of fps to the
>> refresh rate of your display. It's not a quality setting.
>>
>
> Heh. Yeah, it is too. Then why does it seem to effect performance on my
> machine? Hmmm...I'm off to explore this...

Well, I should have phrased it better. The VSync setting does not affect the
quality of the generated pixels. The quality improvement you are seeing when
VSync is enabled is lack of tearing. VSync does this by synchronizing the
frames with the refresh rate of your monitor. You are not measuring your
true performance when you enable VSync. If your refresh rate is x fps, then
with VSync enabled you will see x frames per second (or less). The computer
could generate more fps, but VSync simply prevents it from doing so.

--
NoRemorse
"Expect me when you see me."

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

"NoRemorse" <m-jastrzebski@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:vpCdnTaZqO2ceLDeRVn-gw@comcast.com...
>
> "Dragoncarer" <wee@ihaveabrandspankingnew.computer> wrote in message
> news:432d4974@dnews.tpgi.com.au...
>>
>> "NoRemorse" <m-jastrzebski@comcast.net> wrote in message
>> news:a7OdnX4zYJZD_7HenZ2dnUVZ_s6dnZ2d@comcast.com...
>>>
>>> "Dragoncarer" <wee@ihaveabrandspankingnew.computer> wrote in message
>>> news:432c3178$1@dnews.tpgi.com.au...
>>>>
>>>> "Andrew" <spamtrap@localhost.> wrote in message
>>>> news:8v3oi1dahc0nmggvl5ihedovt9vlb6lvu4@4ax.com...
>>>>> On Sat, 17 Sep 2005 13:38:00 +0100, "Richard Dower"
>>>>> <richarddower@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>Why enabel Vertical Sync?...i thought i you should always disable
>>>>>>VSync?
>>>>>
>>>>> You disable it for benchmarks, for actual use it is better to enable
>>>>> it to avoid image tearing.
>>>>
>>>> I have an XFX7800GT, and honestly I can't see a difference between
>>>> VSync being on or off. But maybe I'm not looking for the right thing -
>>>> in which case, well I can't simply noticed the difference so it seems
>>>> pointless to have it on. Especially considering VSync drastically
>>>> reduces FPS in some areas of every game I've tried it on.
>>>>
>>>> Saying that, I usually max everything else out and run at 1600x1200 in
>>>> all games. With HL2 I had:
>>>> 1600x1200
>>>> Max AA (maybe one less than max, actually, can't quite remember)
>>>> Max AF.
>>>> Max everything else.
>>>> No VSync.
>>>>
>>>> It ran as smooth as a hot knife through butter.
>>>
>>> VSync is just a frame limiter that limits the number of fps to the
>>> refresh rate of your display. It's not a quality setting.
>>>
>>
>> Heh. Yeah, it is too. Then why does it seem to effect performance on my
>> machine? Hmmm...I'm off to explore this...
>
> Well, I should have phrased it better. The VSync setting does not affect
> the quality of the generated pixels. The quality improvement you are
> seeing when VSync is enabled is lack of tearing. VSync does this by
> synchronizing the frames with the refresh rate of your monitor. You are
> not measuring your true performance when you enable VSync. If your refresh
> rate is x fps, then with VSync enabled you will see x frames per second
> (or less). The computer could generate more fps, but VSync simply prevents
> it from doing so.
>

Yes, I am aware of this. I was referring to performance, not (visual)
quality. It's bizarre. Maybe I'm hallucinating all this anyway...oh well...I
coulda swore I turned Vsync on with HL2 and it went chunkalicious. That is,
the performance went down for not much of a noticeable gain in quality.

> --
> NoRemorse
> "Expect me when you see me."
>