After watching several youtube videos of ToD raids

[Chauncey1]

I have determined that my computer is pure garbage.

Apparently on a high end rig, DDO looks like a totally different game.

This will not do.

[Eleia]

lol yeah me too. I'm going to jump into a raid one day and have to lower the settings so much it'll look as if Im playing in a Monet painting instead of ddo.

[phillymiket]

I was amazed when I upgraded 'puters and saw what the game looks like in fully high graphics.
Great shadows and light reflections.
Even extra layers of foliage on the ground.

It's a pretty good looking game.
.

[Desdemonte]

In case you're looking at building one and may want to see some options, here's what I built last year and I've been really happy with it (other than the SSD- it's a love/hate relationship. Super fast, but it has died already, Apparently this is common for SSDs). I put it into a Home Theater comp box and the monitor sits on top of it. Nice small rig with plenty of airflow. Not at all noisy (but I didn't connect one of the fans- doesn't need it). Bit tight to build in, but the only thing that gave any problems to speak of was getting the MOBO in place. The monitor was super cheap and I am very impressed with how well it performs for the $.

Mainboard Gigabyte H55M-S2V mATX LGA1156 H55 DDR3 1PCI-E16 2PCI 6SATA Sound Video GBLAN
CPU Intel Core i5 760 Quad Core Processor Lynnfield LGA1156 2.8GHZ 8MB Cache Retail Box
CPU fan onboard
RAM Mushkin Enhanced Silverline Stiletto 8GB 2X4GB PC3-10666 DDR3-1333 9-9-9-24 Dual Channel
Harddrive OCZ Vertex 2 80GB Sandforce 2.5IN SATA2 Solid State Disk Flash Drive
Harddrive Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB 3.5IN SATA 6GB/S With NCQ Internal Hard Drive OEM
Video Gigabyte GeForce GTS 450 Fermi 930MHZ 1GB 4.0GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI Mini-HDMI PCI-E DX11
Sound onboard
DVD-RW Samsung SH-S243D/BEBE 24X Black DVD Writer SATA
NIC ASUS PCE-N13 Wireless Network Adapter 802.11B/G/N Up to 300MBPS PCI-EXPRESS
Tower Silverstone Grandia GD05B Black HTPC mATX Desktop Case 1X5.25 2X3.5INT 1X2.5INT 3X120MM Fan No PS
Power supply OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W ATX 20/24PIN SLI Ready Modular Cables 135mm Fan Active PFC
Case fans incl w case
Keyboard Microsoft Digital Media Keyboard 3000 USB W/ Media Controls
Monitor BenQ GL2030 20IN LED LCD Monitor 1600X900 12000000:1DC 5ms VGA DVI Black
OS Win7 OEM 64 bit


I should point out (in case it isn't obvious) that this is not my main Desktop where my modem is plugged in, so I put a wireless one in and it can be placed anywhere in the house (haven't tried the basement though LOL).

Des

[grayham]

Yeah I spent big a year ago on a sweet sandybridge unit and haven't looked back, DX11 etc is truly lovely. Just to keep my feet on the ground however, I have to use the laptop periodically, I took a screenshot below so you could see......



http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa324/grayhamp/DDOonmylaptop.png

[MattiG]

Yeah I spent big a year ago on a sweet sandybridge unit and haven't looked back, DX11 etc is truly lovely. Just to keep my feet on the ground however, I have to use the laptop periodically, I took a screenshot below so you could see......



http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa324/grayhamp/DDOonmylaptop.png

+1.... (+2 if I could, lol).

[CheeseMilk]

Yeah I spent big a year ago on a sweet sandybridge unit and haven't looked back, DX11 etc is truly lovely. Just to keep my feet on the ground however, I have to use the laptop periodically, I took a screenshot below so you could see......



http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa324/grayhamp/DDOonmylaptop.png

:D

If you turn off textured shadows, you won't get that ghost wang you have hanging down there.

[Rhysem]

With ivy bridge just around the corner, now is not (yet) the time to build/buy a new machine. Just saying.

[Ryiah]

With ivy bridge just around the corner, now is not (yet) the time to build/buy a new machine. Just saying.

New computer technology is always around the corner. You can try to keep putting it off but eventually you just have to accept that your system might get totally outdated before the parts arrive. From what I've seen, DDO would benefit the most from getting a fast GPU and SSD than it would from getting a better model of CPU.

[Gkar]

I have determined that my computer is pure garbage.

Apparently on a high end rig, DDO looks like a totally different game.

This will not do.

lol

I started playing in 2006 with a reasonably good machine - but designed for office work (since they bought it for me). I thought the game had pretty good graphics.

Then in 2010 I bought a new computer. Nothing over the top, but mid level gaming graphics card and a good amount of memory this time.

OMG, it was a different game.

The first thing I noticed was the vale, in particular the water. I had never understood how anyone had originally found the Dust entrance, or all the underwater explorer points, under all that water that was almost completely opaque. And then I saw that it was supposed to be crystal clear :eek: And there were little waves, and trees cast shadows! Unbelievable how much you are missing with a bad video card/rig.

[Gkar]

New computer technology is always around the corner. You can try to keep putting it off but eventually you just have to accept that your system might get totally outdated before the parts arrive. From what I've seen, DDO would benefit the most from getting a fast GPU and SSD than it would from getting a better model of CPU.

Very true. There is hardly a time that you could build a computer without 6 months later being able to buy a new unit that is better in some way.

[Luxgolg]

Yeah I spent big a year ago on a sweet sandybridge unit and haven't looked back, DX11 etc is truly lovely. Just to keep my feet on the ground however, I have to use the laptop periodically, I took a screenshot below so you could see......



http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa324/grayhamp/DDOonmylaptop.png

+1
Best i've seen

[Alrik_Fassbauer]

I'll never have Directx 10 or 11, so I'm just happy with what I have, personally.
And that's why I don't watch DDO videos, too.
And I usually turn shadows off in almost every game I play, or at least reduce them to their minimum. I really don't need many shadows, they imho don't add much to my personal experience. So I can do without them.

[Chauncey1]

Yeah I spent big a year ago on a sweet sandybridge unit and haven't looked back, DX11 etc is truly lovely. Just to keep my feet on the ground however, I have to use the laptop periodically, I took a screenshot below so you could see......



http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa324/grayhamp/DDOonmylaptop.png



Dude, this is hilarious!

Thank you for the much needed laugh!

[WruntJunior]

I'll never have Directx 10 or 11, so I'm just happy with what I have, personally.
And that's why I don't watch DDO videos, too.
And I usually turn shadows off in almost every game I play, or at least reduce them to their minimum. I really don't need many shadows, they imho don't add much to my personal experience. So I can do without them.

I've never gotten to really run DDO in Directx 10 or 11....anything other than DX9 and my chat bugs out (searched it and apparently it was a common issue.) The chat not driving me insane is more important to me than a slight graphics improvement...but going from having a everything-on-minimum computer to a "are you sure this is as high as it'll go" computer....DDO looks awesome.

[Tyrande]

lol

[...]
The first thing I noticed was the vale, in particular the water. I had never understood how anyone had originally found the Dust entrance, or all the underwater explorer points, under all that water that was almost completely opaque. And then I saw that it was supposed to be crystal clear :eek: And there were little waves, and trees cast shadows! Unbelievable how much you are missing with a bad video card/rig.

Yes. And notice the trees with blossoming flowers and grass/trees wavering in the wind; and occasionally the fruits from the trees would drop on the ground; and shadows on the ground moving from the wavering tree leaves.

And people's wearing custom armor kits; they are supposedly having shinning layers.

You can also see a few miles away from a hill top; and attack monsters far far away if you are a ranged type character. In some explorer maps you can see the entire valley like the Vale of Twilight or Searing Heights...

[Chauncey1]

Yes. And notice the trees with blossoming flowers and grass/trees wavering in the wind; and occasionally the fruits from the trees would drop on the ground; and shadows on the ground moving from the wavering tree leaves.

And people's wearing custom armor kits; they are supposedly having shinning layers.

You can also see a few miles away from a hill top; and attack monsters far far away if you are a ranged type character. In some explorer maps you can see the entire valley like the Vale of Twilight or Searing Heights...

That sounds right purty.

[PNellesen]

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa324/grayhamp/DDOonmylaptop.png

I'm sorry, Half-Orc is CLEARLY the wrong race for that situation, and your HP is a little on the lowish side. Also, you should be using Falchion instead of Greataxe...

;)

+1 - got a good chuckle out of that :)

[Curate2]

I'm sorry, Half-Orc is CLEARLY the wrong race for that situation, and your HP is a little on the lowish side. Also, you should be using Falchion instead of Greataxe...

;)

+1 - got a good chuckle out of that :)


That's not a greataxe, it's clearly a heavy repeater. Looks like a repeater and you'll notice the three sets of damage numbers.

Also I want that cosmetic armor kit.

[XiaNYdE]

(other than the SSD- it's a love/hate relationship. Super fast, but it has died already, Apparently this is common for SSDs).

There was a major issue last year with Sandforce Controllers and Corsair actually issued a recall on the 120 GB Force 3 SSD because of it. As someone who owns a pc store, specialising in gaming rigs, i know your pain tenfold lol However the new generation of SSD's are just amazing :)

[grayham]

I'm sorry, Half-Orc is CLEARLY the wrong race for that situation, and your HP is a little on the lowish side. Also, you should be using Falchion instead of Greataxe...

;)

+1 - got a good chuckle out of that :)

Yes, been working on the HP, but that greataxe there is pretty sweet. Look at the detailed rendering, the blurry edges...Glad it's given folks a few laughs! I like it.

[macubrae]

+1.... (+2 if I could, lol).

I needed a good laugh.

[pSINNa]

I upgraded from a quad core with an 8800gt in dx9 and ddr2 memory recently.

I went to the craziest i7 / ddr3 memory and dual gtx 560 ti's sli'd setup with win7 64 and ddo only installed on the new ssd (try saying that in one breath!), i could build, (and watercooled everything just for funsies! xD) just over a month ago, and omgbbqhax!

Dx10/11 is sooo nice, and everything is so much better - collision detection, immersion during quests, sound, everything made a mega-leap in quality.

The rig is way, way overpowered for DDo, but struth! It's such a pretty game if you can run her at absolute max everything.

Just saying.

:)

[Propane]

When I first started playing DDO - I couldn't figure out how anyone could do the puzzles :(

Then I got my new PC.

After the upgrade I could see that those blabs of color were actualy symbols! :eek:

[Jastron]

I remember that, Propane! It used to be nearly impossible to solve puzzles on the lowest video settings.

I run with most everything on in advanced graphics except for Environment Stencil Shadows. That one option has always caused me lag in certain locations such as the Subterrane on all of my PC's so I always recommend folks keep that off.

[Chauncey1]

Yes, been working on the HP, but that greataxe there is pretty sweet. Look at the detailed rendering, the blurry edges...Glad it's given folks a few laughs! I like it.


Totally shopped! I can tell by the pixels, etc.

[Lorichie]

one of my first computers i played ddo on, was an e-machine type from wal-mart, back when game first came out. I was a computer idiot (still am mostly), so making my own was out of the question, and i didn't really understand that like a car, the clock starts ticking on your computer as soon as you plug it in.

for the next few years i'd buy a computer (same type) every year and wonder to myself how folks got their screenshots so good (you tube was unfamiliar to me i think for the most part back then). i'd play on the one just above very low or some such and think that was great, i was completely ignorant.

One year, year three i think, mebbe four, i went out and bought a 1500 dollar computer from best buy...i didn't really know what i was buying, or what 8800 gt meant, or quad something or other meant, but enough folks assured me that it would play ddo very well, and would pretty much last forever, as far as what i wanted it for, (they lied lol).

i think it was durks secret, the first quest i went thru, just happened to be so, and when i went into the last kobalds room, and of course i was drooling and wetting myself the whole time i was in there, i screamed out something like" there's smoke in the fire!!!"...or some such...

The wife comes running in the room to see if i was ok, (i most certainly was) and i made sure i pointed out to her that the flame from the fires had smoke at the top...

Well, i spent the whole weekend, running and jumping everywhere, re-looking at every quest to find more things that i had been missing...

For those that think that the graphics are outdated, be sure to just once find a way to be able to play at it's highest settings, as i think it is really intended to be...a friends house, whatever. It may not have Crysis level clarity etc, but it sure is far and above what most folks (well, i guess i can only speak for myself) think it looks like.

R

[Tyrande]

one of my first computers i played ddo on, was an e-machine [...]

My advice: never buy an e-machine for anything.



One year, year three i think, mebbe four, i went out and bought a 1500 dollar computer from best buy...i didn't really know what i was buying, or what 8800 gt meant, or quad something[...]

8800GT is kind of out dated now. It is at least 7 generations behind the latest NVIDIA GTX 6xx series... prime time is GTX 560 or higher.


[...] i screamed out something like" there's smoke in the fire!!!"...or some such...

If you like smoke, try the quests with big bangs like "Irestone Inlet", "Undermine", "Blown to Bits". Who said there are no PVP when your team mates can blown you to bits using explosives?!

At Irestone Inlet, try to stay close to the ship when it blows up... It emits a fog like view across the map half a mile in radius. Oh yeah, BTW, you cannot experience the view if you're a soul stone (dead)...

[Alrik_Fassbauer]

At Irestone Inlet, try to stay close to the ship when it blows up... It emits a fog like view across the map half a mile in radius.

Yes, that is ..., impressive. At least for the very first time. Everything's blown up. I had honestly thought my character would instantly turn into a soul-stone ...