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......

[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......

+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......

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 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......

+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......

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 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]

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