If Tom's is correct... I'm screwed

[red1776]

Tom's has done calculations on the cost of Graphic cards electrical usage

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-consumption-graphics-cards,2849-9.html

So this is why the lights dim when I crank up a game of Dirt 2 ..

Its actually not to bad for all the caterwauling that goes on from the querimonious fanboy base.

 

[Arris]

Ah, saw the image in the picture gallery but not this post. Going to have some huge electricity bills in the future?

 

[dividebyzero]

Whats the fifth one for?....a spare?

My own, albeit basic, calculations came out to be:
PART I.......
For 4 hrs idle, 4hrs 2D, 4hrs high load (probably a little generous)
Original card (GTX570SC) = 3.852 kw/h
New config (Giga GTX580UD)= 5.112 kw/h
versus...
slow torture (HD5450) = 0.360 kw/h
(All consumption figures from TPU-small factory OC's not taken into account)

Fun times (GTX580) - Slow torture = 4.752kw/h x $0.24/kw (av.) = $NZ 1.14/day ($US 0.86)
Config change (GTX580 from 570) = 1.260kw/h x $0.24/kw = $NZ 0.30/day

PART II....
A list of meaningful hobbies/pastimes that can be maintained on $NZ1.14/$US0.86 per day that offer a viable alternative to watching a HD 5450 sweat it out with Metro 2033 at 1920x1080...

1.............





Actually.....$1.14 a day doesn't seem to bad...I may be tempted (just a little bit) to overclock, as is my wont (on occasion)...that should ensure that my carbon footprint gets a good case of gout.

 

[red1776]

Whats the fifth one for?....a spare?

yes it is

I'm not a huge gamer believe it or not. I do more benching...although I do like STALKER. I wonder what all 4 of my 5850's OC'd @ 1020Mhz @ 1.28v on a gamers schedule would be a year....yikes

 

[dividebyzero]

I'm not a huge gamer either- very few hold my interest for any length of time.
Like you, I'm a STALKER fan(atic). The game ecosystem and quirky nature (horror/survival + humour as well as the gameplay/game engine itelf) have made the series with loved or loathed. Being an avid reader of Russian literature and watcher of Russian/Soviet cinema was always going to put me into the former category.

Personally the costs I don't see as a problem. The dollar value attached to a pastime seldom makes any great sense. Running (and updating) an enthusiast system is probably no more economically viable than restoring or rodding a car, or fishing for marlin (tag and release) -two of my other pastimes- sometimes the expense has to play second fiddle to the enjoyment.

 

[Arris]

I have to say, the extra expense of running a second 5850 for me is well worth it. Getting 60-70fps with one card in Battlefield 2:Bad Company 2 @ 1920x1200, over 120fps with 2. Plenty of horsepower to up the IQ.

I've only really got the original Stalker game which I hadn't gotten all the way through. Think I had a reinstall or something that caused me to lose save games. Are the follow ups really good? Would I suffer storyline-wise if I didn't finish the original and went on to play the others?

 

[red1776]

I have to say, the extra expense of running a second 5850 for me is well worth it. Getting 60-70fps with one card in Battlefield 2:Bad Company 2 @ 1920x1200, over 120fps with 2. Plenty of horsepower to up the IQ.

I've only really got the original Stalker game which I hadn't gotten all the way through. Think I had a reinstall or something that caused me to lose save games. Are the follow ups really good? Would I suffer storyline-wise if I didn't finish the original and went on to play the others?

You can jump into the other two installments, they set them up nicely in the beginning. You go around and chat with the other characters, and if you're like me, wander around the most open and interesting environment in any game ever.
If you like the first, I would encourage you to get the other two. They are very reasonably priced at Steam.

...and besides, This guy puts out some tremendous MODS for the STALKER series. The COP mod is nearly done, and they are really great.
http://artistpavel.blogspot.com/

@ Chef,
Well stated. I miss my money pit Chevy II 396 ....578 HP ya know

 

[dividebyzero]

I've only really got the original Stalker game which I hadn't gotten all the way through. Think I had a reinstall or something that caused me to lose save games. The follow ups really good? Would I suffer storyline-wise if I didn't finish the original and went on to play the others?

The First STALKER game (Shadow of Chernobyl) is the pick of the litter. Clear Sky -which is actually a prequel to the ShoC- suffers in comparison, both in storyline and in overall gameplay. Still an interesting game but is overly reliant upon the faction play. Call of Pripyat is closer to the original -the storyline follows on directly after the events of ShoC (and shares much of the same mechanics/gameplay), and is visually more lush.Call of Pripyat is more compact (smaller/fewer game maps) and lacks some of the tension factor that ShoC provides- mainly due to a vastly decreased amount of underground levels, and of course, the familiarity with the in-game mutants.

Personally I would recommend re-playing ShoC (make sure it's fully patched to 1.0006), if the gameplay doesn't appeal, then CS and CoP certainly wont either. The value with the game comes from the huge modding base that its devotees have built up, so if you get through ShoC there are some very good mods available for replayability:
Priboi Story (Full game mod, where you play as a military man- preempts CoP)
STALKER:Complete ( Basically the vanilla game with a few add-ons but much better textures and models)
Oblivion Lost (also based on the vanilla game but with more options in game and additional quests)
Nardonaya Soljanka ( Combines maps from all three STALKER games in addition to the original maps that were left out. Somewhat buggy, still not completely translated from Russian, a massive amount of quests added- but requires a different attitude to the original games since quests and storylines involve EVERY faction including your enemies in the vanilla games- a high level of lateral thinking required. My first play through took three months -66 days in game time..the mod is still being added to and the next expansion-with the three CoP maps- is due for release very soon. It is also the only STALKER mod that I know of that has female characters integral to the plot lines).
Lost Alpha (Potential to be the best mod of STALKER since it supposedly adheres to the original story/game maps. Closer to the Strugatskie's novel "Roadside Picnic" and Tarkovsky's "Stalker" film- the original inspiration for the game before it morphed into what we now know as the STALKER series. Mod due for release either late this year or early 2012)

 

[Ritwik7]

Shadow Of Chernobyl is one of the best games I've ever played. STALKER takes a little getting used to in the beginning as it's not your run-of-the-mill shooter. I finished Clear Sky as well but did not get too far into Call Of Pripyat.

Look for the mods here.

 

[Route44]

LOL G I just read this! You are the only person I know whose system probably produces it's own electrical field.

 

[captaincranky]

Don't Try This at Home....Er...at Least not First.

LOL G I just read this! You are the only person I know whose system probably produces it's own electrical field.

Indeed! With one or two generations of upgrade in the video cards and a 3D digital scanner, you should be able to hook Red's contraption up to a particle accelerator and teleport with it. Just be sure to test it first with unwanted pets and red headed step children.

 

[red1776]

you should be able to hook Red's contraption

Thats exactly what my wife calls it....tell me Cap, do you like your ice cream all melty...and long walks at sunset...?:haha::wave: