your RIG

Custom Built

Processor - AMD Athlon X4 640 QUAD CORE 3.0GHz
Memory 4GB - RAM
Hard Drive - 1TB
Video Card - ATI Radeon HD 6850
Monitor 21
Sound Card - ATI Radeon HD 6850
Speakers - Logitech
Headphones - Plantronics Gaming Headset
Keyboard - Microsoft Sidewinder X4 Keyboard
Mouse - Cyborg R.A.T. 7 Gaming Mouse
Operating System - Windows XP Home
Motherboard - MSI K8A2FA
Power Supply - Cooler Master 600W

I have a few hardcore gaming friends, and one of them will argue with someone until they're black and blue that having your settings maxed out on your game (as in AA and AF cranked, all of the flashy effects, etc.), will give you a little disadvantage in your play. Based on the principal that the CPU and GPU's have to do more work to catch up with producing those effects which in theory possibly adding a little extra latency. It may not show on your ping, but he swears by it that when you turn down your settings, his play improves. It can make sense. Think about it... if you have two computers with identical specs, one running everything maxed out at 1920x1080 playing against the other running 800x600 running basic graphics settings? Maybe? Maybe not...

I have no idea if there's any credibility to this, I haven't researched it nor argued it because there's no point in debating it with him (like arguing with a wall)... but it's a valid opinion/argument. He also could be completely crazy, and just reacting negatively to the changes.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the way I always understood online gaming (at least in first person shooters) was that you were sending and receiving co-ordinates, and signals like firing your weapons/jumping/running, whatever you may be doing at any different time, and that it was the servers job, to sync all of every individual players information to well, have a game of shoot em up! This information can't be any bigger than packets you send or receive when you do a ping test on your DOS prompt. So I can't see there being a bandwidth issue with any network card, unless there's something i'm missing. It's not like you're sending information the size of movies or songs or anything like that. I think performance in that respect would just come down to the quality of the network interface itself.

I think someone suggested before that having a better computer would improve your ping to a server... in my recent experience, I have to disagree. I played quite a bit of Call of Duty 4 on my Macbook (with Windows 7 ran from bootcamp, which is basically using the mac hardware to run windows independently, as if it were on a pc), on crappy settings... basically on par with a 3 or 4 year old PC, and I had absolutely no issues with lag, just with hardware not capable of performing up to par. I recently got a new PC, and my connection/ping remained exactly the same, as well timing/latency - even with graphics settings on max (which goes against my buddy's theory).

Anyway. Just some food for thought. Feel free to disagree

Back to the topic at hand:

Got a new Corsair 600T case today, that thing is a monster! I barely fit the box into my trunk!

{FF}dreed129 wrote:

What I am curious about is how do I get a 50-60 ping in the game when mine is usually around 200. If I go one on one with someone with a ping around 50-70 I don't stand a chance. Can I lower my "BFBC2 ping" by building a faster computer?

-- dreed

I think you do a fine job of tuning everyone up on the server with the connection you have now Dreed... haha

LOL, thanks for the compliment.

So I guess a faster computer may just allow you to run the game maxed out (All my settings are on low now). Can you spot the enemy better with maxed out settings? My thinking is that less foilage allows you to see the enemy better.

I am thinking about upgrading and waiting for the new AMD Bulldozer to come out. Hoping it will be as good as they say it will be.

Any comments?

-- dreed

{FF}dreed129 wrote: LOL, thanks for the compliment.

So I guess a faster computer may just allow you to run the game maxed out (All my settings are on low now). Can you spot the enemy better with maxed out settings? My thinking is that less foilage allows you to see the enemy better.

I am thinking about upgrading and waiting for the new AMD Bulldozer to come out. Hoping it will be as good as they say it will be.

Any comments?

-- dreed

I've never played the game on lower settings, so I can't really say for sure how hard it is to spot enemies, but I find it hard enough to find them in distance with everything on max. It's just the nature of the game I guess, and IMO makes it more realistic. It makes you think twice about running like a lunatic out into the open.

I'm an intel/nvidia guy... never looked much into the AMD/ATI stuff... just stuck with those brands over the years.

I bet that it will do the trick though

my rig:
ASUS P8Z68-V PRO
intel core i5 2500K This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
MSI Talon gtx 460 1gb gddr5
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB)RAM
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus w 2 fans (push&pull config)
Antec DF-85 Black ATX Full Tower Computer Case
CORSAIR Professional Series HX750 Modular Active Power Supply
24 inch ViewSonic monitor
saitek keyboard
CORSAIR headphones

running at 1920x1080 with about 50 frames per second. All settings maxed out.
EDIT: Upgraded to SLI 2x gtx 460 (getting ready for BF3)
1920x1080 all setings max, getting about 100-110 fps.