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    360 Graphics

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by nonya24, Dec 2, 2007.

  1. nonya24

    nonya24 Notebook Consultant

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    What lappy will give me 360 wise graphics on the new games ? (Cheapest new or used)
     
  2. Wu Jen

    Wu Jen Some old nobody

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  3. nonya24

    nonya24 Notebook Consultant

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    How would a 7800 GTX go compare to that card ?
    And +1 on your rep !!
     
  4. onlycopunk

    onlycopunk Notebook Consultant

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    It really comes down to the developers of the game and how well they optimize the engine for PC use. A properly coded game that is highly scaleable (such as the half life series) will look better then 360. Clearly the hardware on todays PC market is superior to the 360's and certainly capable, but when not utilised properly yields worse results.
     
  5. nonya24

    nonya24 Notebook Consultant

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    Okay the 3DMark06 Scores:
    Geforce 8700M GT----4630
    Geforce 7800 Go GTX----4000
    Geforce 6800 Go Ultra----2500

    But since the 7800 and 6800 don't have DX10 would it still look that good ?
     
  6. Wu Jen

    Wu Jen Some old nobody

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    You honestly won't notice much of a difference atm with Dx9 and Dx10...later on...you probably will. It's your call.
     
  7. nonya24

    nonya24 Notebook Consultant

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    I'm getting the laptop for Xmas so i don't even know if it has a 7800 ( *Prays* ) but i don't think someone will get a M170 with a 6800 because the Gen 2 has one... But the LP pic above shown better Bumpmapping but alot of that is DX10... And if is'nt it's going to pull a Gears of War where you just can't get the option for BM !!!
     
  8. nonya24

    nonya24 Notebook Consultant

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    I'm getting a laptop ( specs on sig ) and i'm wondering if it has a 6800 or 7800 ? So what's the difference of a Gen 2 to M170 if they both have a 6800 ? Thanks in advance...
     
  9. Tony_A

    Tony_A Notebook Evangelist

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    It's not easy to compare Xenos to PC hardware in an apples to apples way as they are some differences to the way they work. Most notably, the 10.XMB of EDRAM in Xenos.

    I suppose you could say the 360's GPU performs ~ to a Nvidia 8600 level part, but missing certain DX10 features like geometry shaders; also, it can do 4XAA for free---sort of.

    (spelling + accuracy edits)
     
  10. nonya24

    nonya24 Notebook Consultant

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    What's Xenos?
     
  11. Tony_A

    Tony_A Notebook Evangelist

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    The 360's GPU.
     
  12. nonya24

    nonya24 Notebook Consultant

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    Okay.... 360's GPU only has 11Mb onboard !!!!
     
  13. Tony_A

    Tony_A Notebook Evangelist

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    NO NO NO. Xenos has a small amount of EDRAM on a daughter board that is VERY fast---several hundred GB/sec of bandwidth!


    The 360 also has 512 MB of unified (shared) memory @ about 22.4GB/sec that either the GPU or CPU can access.

    So Xenos has up to 512MB of memory (technically 480MB, but that's a minor point) + that incredible EDRAM.
     
  14. adinu

    adinu I pwn teh n00bs.

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    It has a 7800GTX
     
  15. nonya24

    nonya24 Notebook Consultant

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    sure...............
     
  16. nonya24

    nonya24 Notebook Consultant

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    Sure..............
     
  17. Tony_A

    Tony_A Notebook Evangelist

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    You're thinking of the RSX (the PS3's GPU) which basically is a 7800GTX with a crippled memory architecture.

    The 360's GPU is a whole other thing.
     
  18. nonya24

    nonya24 Notebook Consultant

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    No post got merged Tony A
     
  19. Lithus

    Lithus NBR Janitor

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    It's actually the result of threads being merged and everything being out of order. Adinu's answer was to the question: "does my computer have a 6800 or 7800".

    Crazy mods.
     
  20. Tony_A

    Tony_A Notebook Evangelist

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    DOH!! Sorry.
     
  21. nonya24

    nonya24 Notebook Consultant

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    These Mods are alot better than other sites... *Bungie.net comes to mind*
     
  22. XPS1330

    XPS1330 Notebook Deity

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    I have a 360 :p

    You must understand 360 can produce resolutions up to 1920x1080p without any Framerate loss, with very GPU-intensive games such as Gears of War, Rainbow Six:Vegas,Halo 3 :)P),COD 4, Assassin's Creed,etc. at a steady 60+FPS.

    So if you want that on a notebook, consider at least a dual 8700mGT or a minimum 7950GTX, but that still won't be able to play some of the games at a steady 60FPS, but on a notebook, that's the best you'll get. :)
     
  23. Lithus

    Lithus NBR Janitor

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    Not really though. Most of it is just 720, some less, and upscaled. There are only a few games that are true 1080.
     
  24. nizzy1115

    nizzy1115 Notebook Prophet

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    halo 3 doesnt even run at 720p what are you talking about?
     
  25. XPS1330

    XPS1330 Notebook Deity

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    upscaled,downscaled,whatever, it looks HD, and it looks better than anything i've seen on a notebook :p
     
  26. XPS1330

    XPS1330 Notebook Deity

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    it pwns anything your Vostro can do ;)
     
  27. Lithus

    Lithus NBR Janitor

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    It's pretty much general consensus that a good computer can provide much higher graphical detail than any console. There's a huge difference in processing power needed to do 720 versus 1080.

    I like how you turn to criticism after someone makes a counterpoint.
     
  28. XPS1330

    XPS1330 Notebook Deity

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    I like it too. :D
     
  29. CalebSchmerge

    CalebSchmerge Woof NBR Reviewer

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    I know this is slightly off topic, but I just want to throw this out there. The 360 will produce graphics that are on par with PC games for quite a few years, you would have to constantly upgrade PC hardware to keep up with it, so even if a computer CAN produce nicer graphics, thats only if your wallet can keep up with it.
     
  30. Ahmed_p800

    Ahmed_p800 Notebook Evangelist

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    HI

    i have both xbox360 and 8600m-GT

    after trying many games

    All at 720p

    Most of them worked much much better on the 360

    While games like gears of war i was able to play on my laptop at highest (no vsync + no aa) at 720p also and i can tell you now it looks better on the laptop (more colors,effects...etc)

    the reason i think is that they worked on the pc version for longer time

    but remember most of the games run better on the 360 (NFS pro street which runs like s*** on my laptop)

    So for me 360 > 8600m-gt

    what about the 8700mgt....dont know

    But i think the coming 8800m-GTS + 8800m-GTX will be able to take the 360 any time when they come out.....and i will get one (collecting money)
     
  31. Wu Jen

    Wu Jen Some old nobody

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    Back on topic....

    I still stand behind the 8700M GT , a core2duo 2.0ghz, 2+gb ram + Vista and you'll be fairly close to a 360.
     
  32. Lithus

    Lithus NBR Janitor

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    With that setup, you'll be above on some games and below on others. It's all about coding, and how optimized a game is. It's hard to cross compare between a console and a notebook GPU.
     
  33. XPS1330

    XPS1330 Notebook Deity

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    I'd say you need at least :

    Intel Xtreme processor(notebook), Dual 8700M/Dual 7950GTX's and 2GB of RAM to be on par with a 360.
     
  34. Tony_A

    Tony_A Notebook Evangelist

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    Totally agree. That setup kills the 360 (from a CPU, GPU, and RAM perspective) but play a poorly coded title on it, and you'll wonder why it doesn't look better than the 360 version.

    Furthermore, 360 titles are 100% optimized for the 360's hardware....no more, no less. PC titles have to have the ability to scale across multiple hardware configs, amounts of RAM, different operating systems, versions of DX, etc. Not easy to compare directly.
     
  35. CalebSchmerge

    CalebSchmerge Woof NBR Reviewer

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    Also remember that the console itself is more optimized for gaming. Especially with the operating system and such, it is running the game, while your computer is running a lot of things in the background. Consoles don't need as much hardware because they are designed with hardware to make up for it, just like the higher memory speeds and such talked about before.
     
  36. Lithus

    Lithus NBR Janitor

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    Umm, no. That would be able to run modern games at high or very high settings, absolutely killing what a 360 can muster up.
     
  37. XPS1330

    XPS1330 Notebook Deity

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    lol. Why do you think it's called a next-gen console. It plays all modern and future games at veryhigh settings, so have fun replacing your PC every 9months or so to keep up.
     
  38. Tony_A

    Tony_A Notebook Evangelist

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    Umm...no. Just no. Wrong in so many ways. When will the 360 run Crysis like a high end PC? Or ANY game using geometry shaders?---never. And it's only going to slide further down as time goes on.
     
  39. XPS1330

    XPS1330 Notebook Deity

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    So you're gonna pay 10x the price of the 360 just for a PC that'll play the one exclusive(for now) game for PC?
    Pfft. Have fun with that.
     
  40. Tony_A

    Tony_A Notebook Evangelist

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    There's lots of things PCs do besides games. Besides, name the game that runs better on 360 than my gaming PC (which wasn't nearly 10X the price)....heck even my laptop spanks it.
     
  41. The Forerunner

    The Forerunner Notebook Virtuoso

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    Wow what year is it? PC vs consoles arguments still exist?
     
  42. XPS1330

    XPS1330 Notebook Deity

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    We're talking graphics here... Everyone has another PC that can do PC stuff.
    I'm gonna assume you're laptop costs more than your PC... And with that configuration at Dell atm, that is over 10X the price.

    Oh, one game? I'll name three cause you can't even get them:

    Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, Halo 3.
     
  43. Tony_A

    Tony_A Notebook Evangelist

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    I wouldn't try to bring up exclusives if I were you, as the PC's game library goes back over 20 years and has probably 100X more exclusives than the 360 has games......

    Since we're talking graphics, my 8800GT was $250---running at 715 core, 1000/2000 memory.

    A laptop is portable, comes with a screen, etc, etc---not really a fair or even relevant to compare and argue costs. For example, a 360 would cost well over $5300 if you include the TV, stereo and speakers I use for my consoles (among them yes, a 360, surprise surprise.) Value is highly relative.

    All that aside, you said a ".....a next-gen console. It plays all modern and future games at veryhigh settings....." That's just not true.

    If you want to argue in favor of consoles, argue their best strongpoint: simplicity. If you try to argue raw power, or exclusives, you'll lose.
     
  44. XPS1330

    XPS1330 Notebook Deity

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    The 360 has only been out for 2 years, it'd be unfair to compare, but if you wanted to, it's quite obvious that the 360 has a much larger variety of games to choose from.

    Next year, you're gonna have to get yourself a 9800 if you want to stay in front, and that'll set you back a cool $700 or more.

    $5300??!? wth:

    XBOX 360 Pro(includes 2 games,wireless controller,etc.)- $400
    20inch LCD Monitor-$200
    VGA cable-$50
    some nice 5.1 speakers(which arent neccesary at all)- $200ish

    $650 without the speakers. I use a 2.1 speaker system and it immerses me into the game just as well as a 5.1 system.

    So you paid over $4500 extra just so you can play on the road?(which you probably dont do with that 8.8 pound monster, not to mention the power brick.


    "Thats just not true." Uhh, PS2 developers got smarter over the years, and produced better and finer looking games, 360 developers can definately do the same.

    "Raw power" Ill give you a freebie. As of now, A high-end PC compares with a 360. In a couple of years, the PC will become more technologically advanced, just like with the PS2 and 360, but that doesn't mean you can't compare it. It won't be as much of a difference of something like SNES and PS2 but more like late PS1 and early PS2 at most.

    "Exclusives" you're actually trying to compare?
     
  45. Tony_A

    Tony_A Notebook Evangelist

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    1st thing, there's no NEED to upgrade a PC every year, you can and it's a great option for some, but it's not necessary---my previous videocard was an X800GTO2 bought 2 years ago for $100 less than the $250 I paid for the 8800, for example.

    $5300 was the cost of ""MY" TV, stereo and speakers that I use for console gaming (closer to $5000 + 300 for the 360) My laptop was about 1/2 that---bought from powernotebooks.com in 2006.

    You can buy a basic AMD X2 5000 dual-core PC with 2GB of RAM at Office Depot for $400 after rebates (at least you could 3 weeks ago.) Add 250 for an 8800GT video card and you're only 2X the cost of a 360 (or actually LESS if you count the PC's free online vs $50 per year on 360) and have far more power.

    The 360 has more variety? Are you serious??? The PC has entire GENRES that the 360 lacks. My 2 favorite genres are hard core flight sims (like modded Falcon 4.0 or Lock-on) and wargames (Like Operational Art of War, or Combat Mission) last time I checked, the 360 had exactly 0 titles in each genre---the PC has hundreds.

    Pick any gametype--- MMORPG, RTS, Racing, ROMS/Emulation, Adventure, anything, and the PC has many times the number of titles---and always will.

    Even the 360s strongest genre, spastic action games for the frat-boy demographic, is completely dwarfed by the PC.

    As far as games getting better, the ONLY way to make better 360 games is to better optimize them: use more efficient code; use every scrap of available RAM; every CPU/GPU cycle, etc.....the hardware is fixed, 2005 class console stuff. It can't improve. Software optimizations don't give dramatic results unless your system's libraries are total garbage (like the Saturn or PS2/3) Even then, you only get improvements up to the limit of your hardware. The 360 has basic hardware limitations....even if Albert Einstein is coding the games, the 360's 512MB, Xenon, and Xenos are outclassed today, and every few months it gets worse and worse......

    That said, how did this discussion digress into cost and games? We were comparing hardware I thought----could we get back to that?
     
  46. Tony_A

    Tony_A Notebook Evangelist

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    Forgot to add---you wanted a specific exclusive favorite of mine. I don't really have favorites---they change over the years, but the coolest thing I've been playing lately is a "copy" of the US military's version of the PC wargame: Point of Attack 2 (guess how.) I doubt the 360 has the moxie to run it as certain scenarios in the civilian version require a real 2.5Ghz processor (Not the in-order POS Xenon) and a gig of RAM. It that exclusive enough?

    Link to the civilian version:

    http://www.hpssims.com/Pages/products/POA2/POA2b.html
     
  47. dmacfour

    dmacfour Are you aware...

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    Are you kidding? only a handful of console games aren't ported to PC, not to mention there are many big name games that are exclusive to PC. (think of a few RTS or MMO games). the PC is also a much more friendly environment for independent developers.
     
  48. Burning Balls

    Burning Balls Notebook Evangelist

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    Consoles are cheap, i.e. good value.

    Desktops have the most power and flexibility.

    Laptops have portability, but are the most expensive by far.
     
  49. Lithus

    Lithus NBR Janitor

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    Oh crap. Didn't even realize I turned this into a PC v. Console debate.

    Senior Members - please help me with Unicorns v. Horses.
     
  50. fabarati

    fabarati Frorum Obfuscator

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    Oh, there are horsies here?
     
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