Excellent gaming performance in 7

Doom 3:

Playable in that it runs fine but the resolution is off even with the 1.3.1. patch that adds vista compatiblity - if you play at 1920x1080 you know when a game doesn't look right - so it works but even with modifying the config file I uninstalled it.

The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion UPDATE

• Patched to v1.2.0214
• All settings maxed except
• View Distance @ 70%
• AA 2x although HDR needs to be disabled
• 1920x1080
• Running in XP SP2 and as admin

Most of the stuttering is gone although Oblivion has crashed twice - after applying compatibility settings everything seems fine now - still occasional stutter on a horse in some regions, but very playable.

Lens Pirate said:

Frostmourne said:

superjose said:

Lol, you must try playing Crysis at a higher resolution and you'll notice a huge FPS dropoff. Ati's 5970 card can play it at 35 FPS in 1600p mode

No - I've just upgraded to a Full HD panel and I'll expect at least 40fps with all settings on high.

LOL not with Crysis. I run a I7 at 3.8 and Nividia 280s in SLI and I get get Crysis lag and frame drops at Higher resolutions. Seriously Your machine is "OK" but it is not a Crysis killer.

Wrong - the Crysis benchmark reports a stable average framerate of 42FPS with all settings at high and no AA. Your Crysis lags are due to unoptimized SLI performance - nothing here like that.

MyWin7 said:

I find W7 is degrading graphics quality (even on highest settings) to be faster - it's not much but noticeable!

That 4850 is a fine card, I had one, but it's not a 4890 that the OP is using. Also don't know what res your running your games in, but if your trying 1920x1080 with that card on high settings, well...

Frostmourne,

Have you tried that new Windows 7 killer... Fallout 3? I hear Windows 7 can't handle that game

Far Cry 2:

• All settings maxed to Ultra High, Very High, or High
• DirectX 10
• Widescreen enabled
• AA off
• 1920x1080 @ 60Hz
• Patched to 1.03

Excellent performance with FRAPS highlighting FPS from 34-50 on average with higher spikes over a 3hr period. This game even looks better than Crysis in some scenes with dappled sunlight breaking over your rifle among other effects.

Company of Heroes:

• DirectX 10 (I think)
• All settings maxed to Ultra High/Very High/High
• 4x AA
• 1920x1080
• Game of the Year Edition v 2.5000

I haven't patched this to 2.6 yet, so I'll reserve judgement, despite the fact that the game engine crashed, but the game continued playing, so wait for further updates.

Call of Duty: World at War

• Unpatched retail seeing as the patches are huge and mostly for multiplayer.
• All settings maxed to High
• Textures unlocked and maxed to Extra
• Filtering unlocked and set to Trilinear
• Corpse amount set to Insane
• AA off
• AF off
• 1920x1080 widescreen

Smooth here with FRAPS giving FPS of 45+ although the game rarely could stutter for a bare second. Very playable.

Manhunt 2 AO version:

• All settings maxed
• Still fiddling with AA 4x to 8x sample
• 1920x1080

This is the uncut version of Manhunt 2 - everything else is banned and censored. All executions are shown although they have an understandable red tint as you repeatedly stab the hunters in the chest/throat/back etc. The graphics are good enough considering this came out on the PS2 - models are a bit rough but its OK. You also cannot move the camera or your sight up and down and Daniel seems abnormally tall but its worth a play through.


Mass Effect:

• All settings maxed with Ultra High textures etc.
• Filtering set to Linear.
• 1920x1080
• Patched to v1.02
• Includes first DLC - Bring Down the Sky

FRAPS gives smooth performance - over a 3hr period the FPS were pushing 50-60+. A cap seems to exist at 62FPS even with VSync off. There is a bit of stutter, and the game pushes the Phenom to 100% but its easily playable. Only the filtering is lowered as anything higher and the stuttering really increases. The second DVD has extra languages, if you are wondering.

Mass Effect 2:

• All settings maxed (well, turned on)
• 2x AF
• 1920x1080 16:9 widescreen
• First Windows 7 compatible game!

Eclipsing the first, this is the game to buy if you have the first - decisions and freindships in the first carry on and need to be maintained and the graphics look a bit sharper. There are also other numerous improvments. Overall, on the technical side, its a shame there is no DirectX 10 support, only DirectX 9.0c, and no x64 enhancements. Still, a must have if you have the first.

No stutter except for one section on Level 3 of the Normandy SR2, but jacking up the AF to 4x results in hitching. Either way, very smooth. This is also the first Windows 7 compatible game I have!

Hardware Upgrade:

• Installed another 4GB kit for a total of 8GB - 7 is liquid.
• Ran Memtest86+ for just under 3 hours and 2 passes - all clear.
• RAM shown properly in 5 different programs - the Windows Experience Index, Msinfo32.exe, Dxdiag, HWInfo32, Process Explorer.
• Case/PSU still dust free.

Bioshock 2:

• All settings maxed out and turned on.
• 1920 x1080p Widescreen
• VSync Off
• 4x AF forced in CCC

If you have 2GB or less RAM, don't buy this game - the recommendation is 3GB and it supports x64. The graphics are fine although textures are a bit low reolsution until I forced anisotropic filtering. Performance is perfect although I had one crash - and a quick deciphering of Event Viewer showed it was the game's process, not a window's dll or a C++ redistributable issue. That being said, ME2 crashed once (technically twice) so its OK. No game is perfect.