I do not want to sound arsey.....

[THE SHADOW]

but the High Power card people must be kicking themselves, what with their hardware that hardly has any game worth mentioning out at the moment to actually tax said hardware or use its DX9 features in full glory?

oh....unless you are a 3DMark person that spends more time squeezing yet another point out of your card.

But going back to serious business, what time frame do people think we will start seeing more games using DX9 features and not just the two biggies we are all waiting for (D3 & HL2). What other goodies can we expect in store for us?

[Johnmcl7]

Highend cards thankfully aren't stuck to running DX9 games, they offer much better framerates and plenty of AA/AF as well in current games. I think until you get one of these cards you remain a sceptic, before I had a 9700 pro I was never bothered about getting one simply because I thought it's the same game underneath it all, it's just going to look a bit better. However, now having a 9700 pro, games look so much better and play so smoothly I wish I'd just bought the card as soon as I saw it instead of delberating over it for a couple of months, in no way am I kicking myself...

And incidentally, I've never even run 3Dmark on this PC!

John

[mikeysg]

As Johnmcl7 said, these high end DX9 cards can run DX8/8.1 games very well and, well, with eye candy on to smoothen things out. Before getting my cards, I came from an Inno3D GF2MX400 - a nice performer - to an Abit Ti4200 non-Otes - nice framerates and outstanding IQ. BUT when I got the 9700Pro, I was amazed at the IQ and FRs (even with AA/AF on ). Until you've owned one, you can't appreciate the difference these cards can offer. In terms of games, Vampire : Bloodline's one game I'm looking forward to myself. It employs the same engine as HL2 and is awesome looking! In terms of timeframe, I think the next 1/2 year would see the release of more DX9 games - upgrade time AGAIN!

[russ_watters]

Unlike Johnmcl7, I knew (or thought I knew) what I was missing and I couldn't wait to get my 9700p. I haven't been disappointed and there are some games where I want more (though mostly UT2003 which is more cpu than vid card limited).

I however have run 3dmark - 1999 on my footstool. Not since then though.

[THE SHADOW]

I understand where most of you are coming from but I rather play at 100hz than 60 and my monitor only does 60hz at 1600x1200. Is there any monitors out there that I could be interested in that give me higher refresh rates at higher resolutions.

But I will never believe that higher resolutions will improve gameplay, yes better fx will up the enjoyment but good FX still look very good (as long as it runs on my machine) at 1024x768. I guess we have the game freaks and the video freaks, sometimes both mix, sometimes not.

But as soon as you buy the new card at its high price, the marketing people have done their job. And what difference mikeysg??? are you telling me that you are looking at a say different game with all the eye candy turned on than me with my lousy old crappy quincunx at 1024x768 lets say in UT2003?????

[Johnmcl7]

Well, frankly, you are starting to sound 'Arsey'

I didn't buy my graphics card because of what PR or marketing I saw, I bought this card based on its graphic capabilities which impressed me, if I'd really not liked it I could have returned it within 16 days and had my money back. Yes, you do see a different game when you're playing at high res with AA/AF and smooth framerates, maybe once you have one of these cards you'll see what people are talking about. I'm not sure if you're aware of what AA does, but it gives the effect at running at a higher resolution than you are by smoothing out jagged lines, so in your case you would be able to run at 100Hz with a smooth anti-aliased picture without the need for a new monitor.

John

[mikead_99]

Gameplay is the key, but if you can get great gameplay with all the eye-candy, gameplay is even better. Yes, you can tell the difference. Give it a shot and you'll see where I'm coming from.

[mikeysg]

Originally posted by THE SHADOW
But as soon as you buy the new card at its high price, the marketing people have done their job. And what difference mikeysg??? are you telling me that you are looking at a say different game with all the eye candy turned on than me with my lousy old crappy quincunx at 1024x768 lets say in UT2003?????

I play at that resolution but with 4xAA and 4xAF, pic's smooth w/o jaggies to distract me. The pic's very sharp and color seems to be richer. This is with my 9700Pro in my Intel rig hooked up to a 50" plasma TV, that's why IQ's so important to me. IQ's so subjective anyway, what may appeal to me may not appeal to you, so it's pointless to try to compare. Like I said, I had a Ti4200 and I liked it, but the 9700Pro/9800Pro bumped up IQ and FRs. That was it for me! I'm too tired to get involve in a flamewar - just got outta one, like I said, IQ's subjective, I happen to prefer ATI's IQ over nVidia's - my preference. You have your preference, I'm not gonna diss you for yours (just don't diss me for mine ) I'm not gonna impose my values on you, and I hope you'll do the same.

Edit to add : I'm no mindless zombie who's a victim of PR - I happened to have a chance to get the 9700pro at lower cost - at $100 local $$ less, so I jumped at it - till then, I'd not even heard of ATI, let alone be a victim of their PR.

[Big_Mac]

the point of using a high-end vid card isn't to just make yourself feel special, it's because it's more immersive.

The original text-based games were the most immersive of all. A well written text adventure could inspire the imagination to create thw most vivid world and most immersive experience.

Then there was the introduction of 2D graphics, and that revolutionized gameplay. Everyone could now imagine the same world, but it was less believable than the one you imagined yourself.

Then 3d came along and it's been evolving ever since. More detailed models, more believable images. All approaching the ideal of life-like images generated in real time.

Well, with the more powerful cards, you can run in higher resolutions, with all the models and textures and every other aspect of the game optimized to provide a more realistic image. And the more realistic the image you're staring at, the more immersed in the gameplay you become, so that you're provided with a better escape from reality. For the same reason surround sound enhances the gaming experience, a better image displayed onscreen does the same thing. It makes it easier to suspend your disbelief and fall into the game world with your imagination.

[2630Goon]

Originally posted by THE SHADOW
but the High Power card people must be kicking themselves, what with their hardware that hardly has any game worth mentioning out at the moment to actually tax said hardware or use its DX9 features in full glory?

oh....unless you are a 3DMark person that spends more time squeezing yet another point out of your card.

But going back to serious business, what time frame do people think we will start seeing more games using DX9 features and not just the two biggies we are all waiting for (D3 & HL2). What other goodies can we expect in store for us?

2004

[rhettro]

Originally posted by THE SHADOW

But as soon as you buy the new card at its high price, the marketing people have done their job. And what difference mikeysg??? are you telling me that you are looking at a say different game with all the eye candy turned on than me with my lousy old crappy quincunx at 1024x768 lets say in UT2003?????

If you buy a new card at its low price, the marketing people have still done their job. I wouldn't go so far as to say it is a "new" game with a higher end card, but it does increase the level of immersion to run a game at higher than 1024x768 resolution with 4x AA and 8x Anso. The beauty of the 9800NP is that I can leave the AA and Anso settings fixed at that level and always have smooth gameplay regardless of resolution. That was worth the extra $100 alone. And do I feel ripped off that there aren't any Direct x9 games out now? Nope, I'm satified playing Direct x8 games really well, with the knowledge that the first batch of DX9 games will run good as well.