Graphics Card for Fallout 3?

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brfitzp1337

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 18, 2007
Messages
267
Hey guys i was just looking at trailers for fallout 3 and now i'm really excited for it. I cant seem to find any kind of performance review for it and i know it comes out in the next 2 weeks.

@ 1440x900 would my 3850 256MB do the job well? or should i try and get a 4850 for it?
 
I believe it uses the same or an upgraded engine based on the one used for Oblivion.

So I would imagine that you could get some sense of it's performance with various cards by looking at scores for oblivion.
 
It runs on the Oblivion engine and a 3850 handles that just fine so I think you will be ok at 1440x900. Might not be able to crank up everything to max though.
 
The 360 version's graphics SUCK hard.. especially the textures. Guess it all depends on how much work they put into the port, but Oblivion actually looks better.
 
Orangey said:
The 360 version's graphics SUCK hard.. especially the textures. Guess it all depends on how much work they put into the port, but Oblivion actually looks better.
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I dont know they used the 360 version in a lot of those demo gameplay vids and it looked pretty good.
 
Doesn't appear to be too overly demanding. System Requirements are up on the website

Minimum System Requirements:

* Windows XP/Vista
* 1GB System RAM (XP)/ 2GB System RAM (Vista)
* 2.4 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
* Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 256MB RAM (NVIDIA 6800 or better/ATI X850 or better)

Recommended System Requirements:

* Intel Core 2 Duo processor
* 2 GB System RAM
* Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 512MB RAM (NVIDIA 8800 series, ATI 3800 series)
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Um a 4850 would help. There will be improved textures to worry about and your 256mb will struggle with any eye candy.
 
I´m gonna overclock the heck outta my old and trusty Riva 128!! those 4MB would really make the difference!!! ;)
 
Doesn't look like an overly demanding game (DX9 only?), but 512MB VRAM would definitely help.
 
JimmiG said:
Doesn't look like an overly demanding game (DX9 only?), but 512MB VRAM would definitely help.
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well it all depends on the texture resolution, i have some mod for Oblivion that made my old 8800 cry!!! :eek: :p
 
JimmiG said:
Doesn't look like an overly demanding game (DX9 only?), but 512MB VRAM would definitely help.
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Yeah, it lacks the performance sapping ability of DX10 :p The amount of VRAM it uses is pretty dependant on the textures and stuff they use. I'd certainly want 512mb or more, oblivion hits a wall with only 320mb.

Using Oblivion as a guide for Fallout 3 performance doesn't really work though... just because they have the same engine doesn't really mean much. Though I hope they optimise the engine, Oblivion maxed out with a texture pack still runs pretty average even on a 4870.

The silly thing about Oblivion was the grass... performance was directly proportional to the amount of grass. It was probably the largest defining factor for performance. Turn off the grass and it'd run silky smooth with everything maxed out and filters turned on. Turn the grass density up and suddenly it runs like arse even on modern hardware.
 
I played Oblivion on near max settings with my 9800GTX. I'll bet Fallout 3 will run great on anything at 260GT/4850 level and higher.
 
To the OP:
I'd actually be very interested in the kind of performance you get with your current 3850 in Fallout3. If you need to pull the trigger on a 4850 afterwards so be it. But maybe see what your midrange card can do first. Not everyone out there is running the latest and greatest. I'm certain a lot of 8xxx and 9xxx guys will be trying Fallout3 on their current rigs too.
 
well it all depends on the texture resolution, i have some mod for Oblivion that made my old 8800 cry!!!
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The good news for the OP is that ATI cards are much better at handling situations where a scene uses more than the available VRAM. The current version of the Qarl's texture mod (version 3) frequently uses over 800MB of VRAM but it still works fine with my 512MB 4850. There's a tiny bit of stuttering when shifting the view quickly but nothing that interferes with gameplay. A 256MB card probably wouldn't handle it at all, though.

The silly thing about Oblivion was the grass... performance was directly proportional to the amount of grass. It was probably the largest defining factor for performance. Turn off the grass and it'd run silky smooth with everything maxed out and filters turned on. Turn the grass density up and suddenly it runs like arse even on modern hardware.
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No kidding..I got about 10 FPS with the grass on Full with my X800XT while it was very smooth with the slider turned down to like 1/10th. With my 4850 I can max out all settings and it's still super smooth, though. The game engine was not very optimized - hidden surface removal was also non-existent which was one of the reasons cities had to be treated as separate cells.

But maybe see what your midrange card can do first.
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Agreed. Unless there's some other game that gives you problems, wait with the upgrade until after the game is out and you've tried it with your current config. Computer hardware prices will only continue to fall while faster products are launched, so the longer you hold off upgrading the better.
 
JimmiG said:
Agreed. Unless there's some other game that gives you problems, wait with the upgrade until after the game is out and you've tried it with your current config. Computer hardware prices will only continue to fall while faster products are launched, so the longer you hold off upgrading the better.
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Exactly, with the holiday shopping season coming up you know someone somewhere will be selling a 4850 for $99 or a 260 for $149
 
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