Xbox to receive "Near Perfect Port" of HL2

[Iason]

sapphire = ATi factory branch or some shizzle

[azz0r]

Julio Caesar wrote..

metal gear 3>all other upcoming xbox games.

If you like watching, and not playing, then yeah.

[Solitude]

that's great....when will the PC receive its port of HL2...2 maybe 3 years from now?

[Coolleroy]

HankPym wrote..

Well I don't know places per se, but for a cheap alternative to the newer ATI cards, I've read that the Sapphire Radeons are virtually identical, with a different sticker slapped on 'em, and they run a great deal cheaper than the ATI brand in some places.



Also, I'm hoping that prices on the 9800 xt are about to drop, once the x800 xt is realeased.

It has been released, I wouldn't expect to see any huge price drops in any of the higher end cards right away.

[Helkite]

Anyway, I've never paid money for games. Or hardware, for that matter. I steal my computers from the local Circuit City by saying "hey, look at that TV over there!" and walking out, new 64" plasma display tucked under my coat. I guess at CD-keys for hours until I get one right, because I have nothing else to do. I also steal all my food from WinCo, live in the shed behind my parents' house, and pirate my electricity from the neighbors' hot tub extension cord. After all, who should have to pay for anything?

*GASP* Nighthawk, I just lost all respect for you.... =P

[SolidSnake75]

metal gear 3>all other upcoming xbox games.



Isn't MGS3 for PS2?

[WooFerPPK]

-:Nighthawk:- wrote..

Okay, so all stupidity aside, I really don't know why people debate this stuff. If the console version is good enough for you, then hey, that's fine. If not, whether you spend enormous amounts of money on top of the line hardware or not, the important matter is just finding the level of performance that you can both afford and be satisfied with.

i believe people debate about topics like this because a lot of the time, usually games that are ported from console to PC are horrible games limited from the hardware from the console (some might not be horrible, like GTA 3 and 4, but if u played it u could really tell the game was limited a lot and could have been much better)

i do believe though hl2 was made for the PC and only for the PC first. Hopefully they don't cut half the game out, and reduce graphics and stuff so it can work on the xbox well. And hopefully they don't try to limit the abilities of the PC because the xbox cant support it.

[HankPym]

Coolleroy wrote..

It has been released, I wouldn't expect to see any huge price drops in any of the higher end cards right away.

Well my rationale for hoping is that ATI's SRP is the same for the 9800XT and the X800XT.



It doesn't make sense to me to sell your 2nd-tier card for the same as your top-o'-the-line model, so I'm hoping for some sort of a drop.



Wishful thinking? Maybe :)

[-:Nighthawk:-]

Well, from ATI you can pick up:

9800SE 128meg -- around $135

9600XT 128meg -- about $145

9800 Pro 128meg -- around $170

9800 Pro 256meg -- about $265

9800XT 256meg -- around $380

X800 Pro 256meg -- at least $415

X800XT 256meg -- seems to be just shy of $600



On the nVidia side of things, you're looking at:

5900XT 128meg -- around $170

5900XT 256meg -- at least $280

5950XT 256meg -- roughly $375

6800GT 256meg -- at least $460

6800XT 256meg -- around $550



That's a limited sample, and prices fluctuate, but it gives you a reference point, anyway. I'll let you do your own research on what performs best with which applications, and all that fun jazz. Give it a few weeks, and hopefully better availability of the very highest end cards will drop the prices of the midrange cards. I doubt those lower end cards will drop much more, rather than just disappearing from the market with time, but who knows?



I personally wouldn't shoot for anything under those $170 cards, as they are already on their way out, and more is better, but it's up to your pocketbook and preference in the end.

[HankPym]

I've got my eye on the 9800XT...the free HL2 voucher makes the deal mighty tempting.

[wolf8218]

duude... 35 bucks more and you got a x800 pro... go for the gold man!



CSN is terrorizing my bick cock "OH YES!"

[MrBo]

n8bowa wrote..

A new console system costs somewhere around $200-$300 and lasts for many years (About four). A decent video card alone costs $300, and are now reaching as high as $400 for the best. Now, to keep up with games, I find myself having to atleast get a new video card ($300), upgrade of RAM ($80), Sound Card ($100), and CD-ROM ($60 -- they go to shit so fast) every 2 years. This is excluding harddrive, mouse and other occassional wear outs. The difference in price is monstrous if you were to compare it to a console. Now every four to five years? Might as well throw a whole new computer in there and check the price difference. Ofcourse you get all of the other stuff with the PC, but to keep up with the latest games alone takes alot of money.

I have built my own computers since I was 10 years old. I never spend more than 200 dollars when I do an upgrade, and I have never been to the point where I go "omg I cant run this game because my computer just cant handle it."



Sure, if you feel like spending 900 bucks to do an upgrade feel free. You'll also deal with all of the issues associated with getting the newest and greatest gear. Me, I'd rather wait four months, buy a vid card for 70 bucks, the one you spent 300 on, 400 for the best, and be glad that the drivers are stable, and any game I play with it runs properly. No game you ever buy is going to need the technology comming out this month to run right. They dont develop game engines starting two years ago, in some games much longer than that, on todays technology. They also understand a very basic concept, not everyone is going to have the latest technology, so to increase their player base they need to keep it moderate.



Or you could get a console, which is essentially a computer with old technology, that runs well, though I've played a lot of console games that crash more often then anything I've run on my computer in the past three years. Dont get me wrong, I used to be a huge fan of consoles, I grew up on em. But I wouldnt go out and buy a console nowadays, especially considering how far the pc has come.



BTW, if you dont know how to build a computer by yourself and make it run well, you probably should have bought a pre-built one. And when you want to upgrade your specs, have the store do it for 20 extra bucks. Otherwise you shouldnt be complaining.

[-:Nighthawk:-]

MrBo wrote..

No game you ever buy is going to need the technology comming out this month to run right.

You have a certain validity to your point, but it ultimately fails. No, you don't have to have the very latest hardware to run any particular game. Sure, there are plenty of games that won't run on my current GeForce 2 video card, but I'm not far from an upgrade.



However, we're talking about gamers here. Especially in the world of FPS games, gamers like the latest and greatest in graphics, but at the same time want incredibly smooth framerates. You just don't find both. Will you be able to play HL2 on a Radeon 9800? Sure. BUT will you be able to play it at 1600x1200 with maximum AA and anisotropic filtering and maxed out detail in every category and not drop below 100fps? Hell no, even your latest and greatest X800 or FX6800 isn't going to let you do that, sadly. But it will get you a lot closer to that goal than that old 9800 will, that's for sure.



I always laugh when people say that there isn't any need for the fastest hardware, because the software isn't advanced enough to use it yet. It might be true when talking about advanced, future-looking feature sets (such as we sometimes see on nVidia cards), but when it comes down to raw speed, you can always use more. If you love top-notch graphics, the only real question is how much power you can afford.

[Mike424]

"If you love top-notch graphics, the only real question is how much power you can afford."



Nothing right now, I'm broke.

[tibi08]

-:Nighthawk:- wrote..

even your latest and greatest X800 or FX6800 isn't going to let you do that, sadly. But it will get you a lot closer to that goal than that old 9800 will, that's for sure.

Why don't people just wait until HL2 actually comes out and then see what technology is on the market and what's affordable?



I'm sure the X800 will come down in price in 3 months time anyway, and who'd really be suprised if something inexplicable happened to delay the HL2 release date anyway.