Fallout 3 for Christmas - Vid Card Upgrade?

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Sean

[H] for Life
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OK, so right now I have a 8600 GTS. I really want to play Fallout 3, but I am not sure on what video card to get. This will be for Christmas, as we are limiting our spending until then.

I want to pay at 1680X1050 full settings. Best bang for my buck what card should I be looking at? Nvidia 260, 280 or something from ATI?

P35, C2D6750, 4GB of DDR2 800

Thanks.
 
Max settings...what AA level? I play with a 9800GTX at 1680x1050, all settings max, 2xAA and its perfect for me. Maybe a hitch or two, but im really picky. I need 50+ FPS all the time. 9800GTX is more or less equivalent to an ATI4850. By Christmas, i expect the 192sp GTX260 to be around 200 or less, so i would guess that the GTX260 is gonna remain the best bang for your buck, after the ATI4850.
 
I'd like smooth, maybe 2xAA or higher if possible.
 
Sounds about right 4850 would save you a few bucks. The GTX260 is a bit more but definitely higher on the food chain especially if you're going to be turning the AA up
 
4850 would save you some bucks and would still haul ass at that resolution, even with AA.

Otherwise the 4870
 
From what you said the best bang for your money would be the 4850.
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I second Fallout 3 works decently with a 4850. I game at 1920x1200 always above 40 here
 
a 4850 should laugh at fallout at anything under 19x12

I am running mine silk smooth at 16x12.

the graphics engine is nothing more then a marginal upgrade from oblivions
 
i went from a 9800gtx to a 4850 at 1920x1200, definitely seeing MUCH smoother gameplay.
FYI, running both AF and AA maxed, all settings maxed as well.
 
Using a GTX260 216 at 1920x1200 here with high settings, and running pretty smooth and graphics look sweet.
 
4850 would be the best bang for buck card for sure. if you go with a 4850 or especially a 4870 then you need to oc your cpu a bit to get the most out of it in some games.
 
My x1950pro runs this game at 1280x960 4xAA 8xAF Ultra High settings 30+fps, limited by my A64 3000+ no doubt.

The graphics for Fallout 3 are pretty bad. I feel sorry for people who went out and bought a beefy PC just for this game :D
 
nissanztt90 said:
Max settings...what AA level? I play with a 9800GTX at 1680x1050, all settings max, 2xAA and its perfect for me. Maybe a hitch or two, but im really picky. I need 50+ FPS all the time. 9800GTX is more or less equivalent to an ATI4850. By Christmas, i expect the 192sp GTX260 to be around 200 or less, so i would guess that the GTX260 is gonna remain the best bang for your buck, after the ATI4850.
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9800gtx as well here, Playing @ 1280x1024, on ultra high with 2xaa with 60fps and lowest is 40fps. Ocd my card alittle bit past 9800gtx+ speeds and its perfect

even more with newegg having the card for under 150 shipped
 
I'm playing on an 8800 GTS 640mb, 1600x1050 with 6x AA and 8x AF and its f**king gorgeous and very smooth.

Great game by the way, some things weren't implemented that I would've loved to see here and there, but still its pretty well done.
 
i went from a 4850 to a 9800gtx+ now fall out gives me a steady 60 fps,wheras the 450 was all over the place,
 
Casper312 said:
9800gtx as well here, Playing @ 1280x1024, on ultra high with 2xaa with 60fps and lowest is 40fps. Ocd my card alittle bit past 9800gtx+ speeds and its perfect

even more with newegg having the card for under 150 shipped
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your cpu is holding that 9800gtx back. maybe not too much in Fallout 3 but other games like Far Cry 2 for sure it would.
 
cannondale06 said:
your cpu is holding that 9800gtx back. maybe not too much in Fallout 3 but other games like Far Cry 2 for sure it would.
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Yup, which surprises me cause im getting awesome frames in every game i own, Brothers in arms, Gears, Call of duty 1-4, Farcry 2, Crysis, Crysis Warhead, Wow, Fallout 3, World in Conflict, Etc all on high-max settings.

You gotta remember, im running on 1280x1024. So no surprise there. The card is a beast, Performance wise, esp like u said since my outdated 939 system is holding it back.
 
Running it completely maxed at 1680x1050 on a G92 8800 gts and an outdated CPU. Doesn't seem to taxing at all, perfectly smooth so far. Crysis this isn't.
 
Any reason to "believe" the Fallout 3 auto settings to be ultra high @ 1280x800 for 3.2ghz quad and HD4870? Should I increase resolution and/or lower graphics settings?
 
bfellow said:
Any reason to "believe" the Fallout 3 auto settings to be ultra high @ 1280x800 for 3.2ghz quad and HD4870? Should I increase resolution and/or lower graphics settings?
Click to expand...

Its a conservative guess, actually. I play at Ultra High w. 4xAA at 1280x1024 (native res) on my 4850 and AthlonX2 @3ghz - its completely smooth. With a 4870 and 3.2ghz C2Q, you can easily up the resolution
 
enlightenedby42 said:
Running it completely maxed at 1680x1050 on a G92 8800 gts and an outdated CPU. Doesn't seem to taxing at all, perfectly smooth so far. Crysis this isn't.
Click to expand...

Crysis this isn't for sure. Much easier on the system than Crysis even FC2
 
I have a 4870 and sometimes the FPS in fallout drops really bad. I'll go from the 60fps vsync cap to like constant 20-30...it's really freaking weird. It happens alot at night time for some reason.

I would say 70% of the areas I have a constant 60fps but there are a few weird spots where my FPS just plummets...notably around rivet city.
 
I run my GTX260 vanilla @ 1920x1080 ultra 4xFSAA and usually its sold at 60fps. I only see very quick spikes of slow downs.

I think its a great deal at $200.
 
Personally I'd go with the GTX260. Lately there's been a lot of great sales on them. If you can grab one for $200 it's a great deal for the performance.
 
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