ES 4 Oblivion (hardware question)

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whiternoise

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This is not a 'when is it out' thread... :)

I, and i'm sure many other gamers, am really looking forward to the launch of Oblivion. I was wondering about my PC specs. My rig is soon to have 2gb ram and a geforce 6800 gs card. However, my processor is only 1.6ghz athlon 64 2800+. So, will my other hardware compensate or do i have a problem? I heard that processor speed doesn't have much to do with it, mainly RAM, gfx and your HDD.
 
I have heard the opposite, apparently there will be benefits to be had by having a system with multiple cores, as well as higher clock speeds...

I don't think you'll have any trouble running it with all the settings cranked, especially now that they've removed some of the soft shadowing effects. But you may have problems with physics and other calculations that are cpu intensive, due to the relative slowness of your cpu...

I'm only running an a64 3200, and already have begun saving for an fx-60 if my processor turns out to be insufficient.
 
your 6800GS will not be fully maximized by visual programs since the CPU is not..."up to par" in calculation power.
 
I would think you'd be able to run it fine. I think the graphics card and ram will take a lot of the pressure of the cpu.

I'm hoping my system will run this game well as I've been looking forward to it for a long time! I've only played Morrowind before this but I loved it.
 
I have to say the opposite. I think you will have some major problems with your CPU.

There is a whole AI system that is unprecedented in any game on the market. And all of those detailed AI decisions are going to put a huge stress on your CPU.

I am not saying that it will not run, im just not so sure if i would be so confident.
 
oops! :confused:

I'd go with him ^ as he probably knows more.

Would you think that I would be able to run it? I obviously am not a good judge of these things!
 
Yes, i see your CPU running the game just fine.


I would however recommend investing in another gig of RAM, as I see this game being very RAM dependent.

BUt no matter how much RAM you have, or how nice your Video Card is, there is no way that you can get around big time CPU calculations, which this game is going to need.


If you would like to read a nice article about the game...and its needs, it can be found here

Here is just a blip on radiant AI
Radiant AI runs by giving NPC's lists of goals. Nothing else is scripted. They must decide how to achieve these goals by themselves. EXAMPLE: In a test performed by Bethesda: One character was given a rake and the goal "rake leaves", another was given a broom and the goal "broom paths" and this worked smoothly, then they swapped the items, so the raker was given a broom and the broomer was given the rake. In the end, one of them killed the other so he could get the proper item. Another early issue was NPC's killing others off, or committing crimes, which ruined the game's economy. EXAMPLE: One test had an NPC Guard on duty become hungry. The Guard went into the forest to hunt for food. The other guards left to arrest the truent Guard, leaving the town unprotected. The Villager NPC's then looted all of the shops, due to the lack of law enforcement. Bethesda has been hard at work to fix these issues.
Click to expand...
 
Wow! I read the article and that part you posted is amazing. It's true that in morrowind you would know exactly where characters would be standing, or the walking path that they took. It will make the player a lot more involved if it feels like the other characters in the game have needs as well.
 
Ok then, i'll bear it in mind. I just read somewhere that a 2800+ 'beat' quite a few 3.0ghz Intel processors in some tests.

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=33

Forgive me if i'm just being dim, but surely if it can outstrip some of the relatively new Intel procs. that should run OB fine, then i should be alright...Again, i might just be being n00by about this..:)

EDIT: by the way, is Corsair the best RAM on the market. Just wondering which brand i should opt for (out of Corsair, Mushkin or G skill (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Memory_8.html)
 
corsair, mushkin, kingston, they're all good brands...depends on which ones ppl feel more comfortable with. Corsair has 2 brands though the value select and the XMS series...granted the XMS are preferred by games because.....they look cool i suppose
 
I agree an 2800+ can often out perform a 3ghz p4 in gaming. BUt with huge amount of crunching needed for the AI system (which is much like coding a movie or CD) may put intel on the plus side of the battle. (this is just speculation)

I own Corsair XMS ram, and it is very very stable, and you push the timings very tight.
 
Well, i'm not bothered too much about running everything on superhigh settings, so long as i can play the game and make mods on the construction set, i'm happy. Thanks for all the help :)
 
i'm eagerly waiting for oblivion to be realeased too.
however i need some help with hardware issues..

i'm running on a p4 3.2ghz
gfx: radeon x800pro 256mb
ram: 1 gb ddr400

my question is, does the performance of my gpu actually match my monitor refresh rate? as in, does my frame rate get significantly affected by my monitor refresh rate?

*the monitor i'm using is a 17" lcd, not sure of the response time, however max refresh rate is only 75hz..
 
Does the AI work like in Falcon 4.0, where the AI functions only in a "bubble" around the player, not everywhere all the time?

Having all NPCs working in the whole Morrowind world all the time would require a lot of CPU power indeed.
 
The game is organised into a series of cells (interior and exterior), each exterior is a certain sized square (quite big) i assume that the AI runs in whichever cell you are in. This is partially the reason why ES3 Morrowind modders were advised to make lots of small 'room' interiors rather than one huge interior because of AI and rendering.

Oh.. and in regards to the GFX/Monitor question - you should be able to run the game fine, unless you intended to run the game at max graphics (unlikely with your rig) the frame rate won't be affected.
 
whiternoise said:
The game is organised into a series of cells (interior and exterior), each exterior is a certain sized square (quite big) i assume that the AI runs in whichever cell you are in. This is partially the reason why ES3 Morrowind modders were advised to make lots of small 'room' interiors rather than one huge interior because of AI and rendering.

Oh.. and in regards to the GFX/Monitor question - you should be able to run the game fine, unless you intended to run the game at max graphics (unlikely with your rig) the frame rate won't be affected.
Click to expand...

hmm.. well i really appreciate games with the best possible graphics.. well who doesn't ;)
what would you suggest if i were to intend to do so? as in run in at max graphics..
 
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