Does a better Graphics Card give you and advantage?

[aircadet]

Re: Does a better Graphics Card give you and advantage?

A better gfx card is needed only if you are a frequent flyer, like me. Effects set to high will enable u to see the contrails easier and more distinctly.

[JarEme]

Re: Does a better Graphics Card give you and advantage?

Regardless of your card, you should run effects on high. It performance hit is pretty low and all of the various smoke trails it adds are extremely useful.

[Hu.Z_of_PLA]

Re: Does a better Graphics Card give you and advantage?

IF he uses an LCD, he is an utter moron. If he uses a CRT only capable of 60hz, he is also a moron. If he uses a CRT that goes up to 100hz, he is doing the right thing.
I turn all my settings except for geometry on low in order to have a silky smooth game most of the time. For me, its performance over quality in BF2.

the only setting that affects your ability to kil is

lighting (lower = better because interiors lights up)
geometry (higher = better for you can see things further)

[Frogatron]

Re: Does a better Graphics Card give you and advantage?

Having recently switched from a radeon 128 9800 AIW, to a X800Pro, just get the better card crank up the settings. Make your surroundings as realistic as possible, play fair and have a good time, enjoy the shadows and the rest of the eye candy and don't worry about 12 yr old billy stupid, his shadows off frantically bunny hopping his way to the veteran knife badge, billy just graduated from pokemon.

[dirtylarryuk]

Re: Does a better Graphics Card give you and advantage?

That's a given.





I just want to make sure I didn't miss anything but did anyone mention a monitor yet?
I use a 20" Dell LCD and have no issues running all over people. To generalize LCD's as bad performers is a foolish statement when they have response times in the 2ms range with high native resolutions.
This is a good example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824116375
Not saying everyone should run out and buy one but they are on par with some of the high-end CRT's.

I totally agree im on a LG HDTV LCD 32" and sniping is now so easy! I can see people in a bush 150m's with ease and pick them off. One of the best upgrades is a big screen 19" or above. Lots of people seem to spend £2k on a PC and then run a tiny monitor.

Using the APC or TAnk on 28" or above is like lifesize when you look out of the turret view. Since I got big screen a few weeks back I have been getting 2x the score per round i used to. And I'm running a naff PC and meduim card 6800GT.

[unrealforms]

Re: Does a better Graphics Card give you and advantage?

it makes a BIG difference!
i had the fx5500 which did the job, setting 1024x768 os. view 100%. everything ok. but i bought a 6600GT for a good deal and everything is smoother. Seems more 3D(cant explain). almost every setting on high, still can put more on high, still experimenting. But killing seems easier somehow

[rtgbs7k]

Re: Does a better Graphics Card give you and advantage?

When I get my new card this weekend I expect to be busy looking at all pretty stuff I havesn't seen before, and thus getting killed a bit before getting used to it:)

[Sir. Shpox]

Re: Does a better Graphics Card give you and advantage?

Yes it will. Nough said.

Better FPS
People are more visible amongst bushes ect.
It will look nicer.

Thats all.

[Flares]

Re: Does a better Graphics Card give you and advantage?

A fast gfx card and good system overall does enhance a player's ability. If you have a big monitor, play in a higher resolution, have smooth gameplay all the time, with no slow downs in for instance, smoke or densely populated areas, you have an advantage over a player who doesn't have the equivalent equipment and these problems.
There's a rich/poor divide in online gaming, although it's becoming less apparent as hardware is slowly becoming more affordable.

Okay, let me straighten this out:
I know lcd's are bad for games - but that has nothign to do with response time or anything else. Most LCD's only support 60hz refresh rate, some 75. Running a game at 100 - even with a crt, though not as bad - will cause terrible tearing and stuttering. What's the use of running 100fps when your monitor can only draw 60 of them?
Even a 2ms one will do it, and so will a 50ms one. CRTs will do it to, but because of how they work, it doens't look as bad.

Hmm. My LCD is great, better than any CRT I've had or used. It's very bright, the colours are lively and I wouldn't swap it for another CRT.
Regarding fps, I can run around less populated areas of maps at 60-80fps and regularly hit 100fps when flying jets at 1280x960@70hz. With no tearing, stuttering, ghosting or blurring? Am I hallucinating, or is my LCD not really good for games? Should I go back to CRT and stop kidding myself?

[evilzucchini]

Re: Does a better Graphics Card give you and advantage?

Here's the deal. FPS = Frames Per Second.

The human eye refreshes at about 15 FPS (it's more complicated than that because our eyes do some funky things with edges of objects and motion and difference response to light and dark, but for practical purposes and for games, 15 fps makes sense), so you need AT LEAST 30 FPS to see smoothly in a video game.

There are also other factors like draw distance and geometry (as someone mentioned above) and lighting, etc.

So, if you put all the important factors to their maximum settings and you don't get over 30 fps all the time (I prefer over 50) then, yes, getting a better graphics card does help as it will help you get the FPS you need.

However, I had a problem with memory as well because I would stutter all the time. . . getting it smooth certainly helped me out a lot.

[=DNC=BongSquad]

Re: Does a better Graphics Card give you and advantage?

Yes a good vid card and a decent CRT is the way to go. Vertical sync is always something to strive for. I generally turn all textures and static lighting down all the way, but leave basic dynamic lighting and shadows. They hurt fps potential but help in more important ways: If someone is shooting out of a window a long ways away, the dynamic lighting will show the muzzle flash. I can't begin to count how many times (as a chopper pilot) that the shadows are projected through walls and give away a hidden enemy.

The low textures help moving enemies stand out. With static lighting down all the way it's easy to see indoors.

I play at 1280 and am generally vsynced at 75Hz (about 80% of the time), which is not too bad. I have an amd64-3200/x800xl/2GB. for desert combat I used to run at 1600 vsynced @ 85 HZ. That was just butter.

LCD's are getting more and more competitive, but hardcore twitch gamers still will do better with a nice crt system. The lcd response time is a bit of marketing BS....the fact is that changing from blue to brown to green takes MMUUCCHH longer than black to white to black. With moving colors there is still going to be some tracing....and in a fast paced game like bf2 it will get you killed.

EDIT: people are different from one another...I have been gaming fps'es for years and I can tell when my frame rates drop from 75Hz to 50....the average joe used to watching a TV screen may not beable to notice. Persoanlly I can't stand watching action scenes on TV or in the movie theatre. 30 fps is soooooo LLAAAGGGYYY. I pay 10 bucks to see the new star wars movie and I get to watch a spaceship go blipblipblipblipblipblip....slowly jumping across the screen.

[evogre3n]

Re: Does a better Graphics Card give you and advantage?

ermm.. you are all slightly wrong..

if your frame rate was locked to 40fps and DID NOT dip lower than that.. someone with 60-70fps wouldnt have any advantage... you only need 12fps to see animation... but thats only with a movie where there if blur, in a game where there are jagged edges, anything over 30 (as long as it CONSTANTLY stays that way) will be fine.

[imported_Psycho]

Re: Does a better Graphics Card give you and advantage?

To an extent it does, but not enough to be really affective, if a good player with low graphics comes up again a not so good player with better graphics the better player will win.
However there are time you will get the advantage like if you are flying you will be able to see the vehicles from further and on planes you will get more smoke and lines off the edge of the wings from the vapour, and i get none of that as my graphics are on low.
If you can't manage full draw distance this will affect alot of aspects of the game though.

[WrAth2110]

Re: Does a better Graphics Card give you and advantage?

Yes it does. Here are just some of the many reasons:

-Better FPS
-Better detail (goes along with "Better Viewing Distance")
-Better viewing distance (which means they can see you before you see them)
-Less chances of bullet laggg.
-They are enjoying the game while your just ****ed off about your ****ty graphics.

[WrAth2110]

Re: Does a better Graphics Card give you and advantage?

I don't notice much of a size change in people between 1280x1024 and 1600x1200. Text changes. Alot. Almost illegible at higher res. Technically though, I've heard people say lower settings gives you an advantage because when you turn off some of the eye candy you get simplier more distinct shapes and movement is easier to pick up. I wouldn't say that graphics make the skill level change. It's more about immersion.

The only reason the text is so small is because your resalution is too high for your monitor size. The 1600X1200 is meant for a 21 incher.