The Official DOOM 3 [H]ardware Guide thread.

Great, informative article. Kudos to everyone.

If I had to quibble, however, my question would be, "Why no coverage of a GF FX 5900XT?"

It's a pretty popular mid-range card which many people may have been picking up with this game in mind.
 
Chris_B said:
Got a reply from jc

All of the shadows are pixel accurate projections from the light source to all the geometry in the world. However, the shadows do not bend around bump maps on a single surface, which is what this case shows -- a flat surface with a fairly "deep" bump map on it.

John Carmack
Click to expand...

Cool how he responds like that :)
 
Dosomo said:
Great guide guys! Awesome info! I do have a question though.

I know 5.1 sound is the best way to go, but i currently have a Klipsch 4.1 surround system. I was just wondering, did you guys try out a 4.1 system? Or do you know how much of a difference a 4.1 vs a 5.1 system will have in terms of sound quality? Just curious.
Click to expand...


I have the exact same question. I have Klipsch Promedia 4.1 system and I'm curious if Doom3 will configure okay for 4 channel surround. Unfortunately, the sub doesn't have a seperate feed, and takes it's signal from a combination of the left and right channel with a low pass filter.. :(

edit: Using an Audigy 2 plat pro
 
BearThing said:
Great, informative article. Kudos to everyone.

If I had to quibble, however, my question would be, "Why no coverage of a GF FX 5900XT?"

It's a pretty popular mid-range card which many people may have been picking up with this game in mind.
Click to expand...
They did a 5900U and I would think that you'd have your XT OCed to that anyways. :rolleyes: :D
 
This partnership between id, NewEgg and [H]ardOCP was a good one.

Benefits for the consumer (early guide), benefits the Egg (customers for their bundled systems), the [H] gets HUGE publicity because it's the ONLY source for info (plus people clicking on ads), and finally benefits id to get their name and product out all over the place.

Great shit, keep it up. I'm also under the impression this guide was meant to "unify" the nVidia and ATi people.. could be my perception but it sure seemed like it.
 
Thanks for the guide, you guys did a great job!

turdhat said:
Anyone know if the game will support custom widescreen resolutions for us hdtv gamers out there through an ini edit or other means? If possible I plan to play in 864x648 or 1152x648 as I do with most games. On the big screen it is going to be a blast !
Click to expand...

I also intend to play this game in my home theater on my HTPC. Does D3 support HDTV resolutions 1920x1080i or 1280x720p?
 
lopoetve said:
Cool how he responds like that :)
Click to expand...

Yeah him and the id guys are pretty open and communicative with the gaming community, some firms like ea could take massive hints from this.
 
I know you cannot test every hardware combo out there but, I was kind of disappointed that you didnt try to run on a system below the requirements.

I am an avid gamer and until now I have been able to play everything. Here are my specs (try not to laugh):

1.4Ghz Celeron (Tualatin) @ 1.54Ghz
Geforce4 ti4200 64MB@ 275/520
384MB PC133
Audigy 2 ZS
WD HDD 7200RPM, 8MB
WinXP Pro

I know I barely, if at all meet the requirements. Do you think this will be playable at all? I do not have enough money to upgrade at all right now as I would need motherboard, cpu, ram. It will be at least christmas before I get a chance to upgrade, if even by then. This could be torture not being able to play.

Oh yeah, I'll have 512MB of RAM by next week if that will help.

thanks
 
I cant wait to see how my PC stacks up.

New Dell Computer:
Intel Pentium 4 560 (3.6Ghz)
Intel 925 motherboard
2GB Ram DDR2 at 533 Mhz
256 MB Radeon X800XT PCI-E
Soundblaster Audigy 2ZS soundcard
19 inch Flatpanel Ultrasharp Monitor
5.1 Dolby surround sound Speakers
$3,785
DOOM 3
$54.99
Not talking to my wife for two straight weeks while playing
Priceless!
 
adamx_prv said:
Thanks again! The board that i am using now has 64 mb ram. I am looking forward to get paid to grab a graphics card in the $100 price range. What would you suggest?
I like strategy and racing and fps games!
Thanks :)
Click to expand...
The non-LE version of the 5700 has a pretty good bang for the buck ($89 shipped, 350MHz core, 700MHz memory): http://www.imagestore.us/product.asp?pf_id=SA5700B2-128D-CC7A Overclock the core and memory and you nearly have a 5700Ultra (or half-way between the two).

Those are becoming rare and most places only have the cheesy 5700LE models now (250MHz core, 500MHz memory).
 
jamesrb said:
I have a problem. I am an avid gamer and until now I have been able to play everything. Here are my specs:

1.4Ghz Celeron @ 1.54Ghz
Geforce4 ti4200 64MB@ 275/520
384MB PC133
Audigy 2 ZS
WD HDD 7200RPM, 8MB
WinXP Pro

I know I barely, if at all meet the requirements. Do you think this will be playable at all? I do not have enough money to upgrade at all right now as I would need motherboard, cpu, ram. It will be at least christmas before I get a chance to upgrade, if even by then. This could be torture.
Click to expand...

... ick.

Avid gamer and Celeron just really don't go well together...

You'll be ~fine~ on video for low quality, but that cpu is gonna stutter like something mad, by my guess. And that ram is bad as well, but you've got an ok amount...

Good luck, buddy. Get a job.
 
pxc said:
The non-LE version of the 5700 has a pretty good bang for the buck ($89 shipped, 350MHz core, 700MHz memory): http://www.imagestore.us/product.asp?pf_id=SA5700B2-128D-CC7A Overclock the core and memory and you nearly have a 5700Ultra (or half-way between the two).

Those are becoming rare and most places only have the cheesy 5700LE models now (250MHz core, 500MHz memory).
Click to expand...

What's the 5700U running now?
 
Great guide, should be published in a magazine. I hope to see a similar one when HL2 is released in 2 years. :eek:
 
lopoetve said:
... ick.

Avid gamer and Celeron just really don't go well together...
Click to expand...
That's a Tualatin Celeron with 256KB L2 cache. It runs about as fast as a Coppermine P3 of the same speed, definitely not slow. Like all P3s, as long as the benchmark isn't FSB limited (i.e. limited by memory bandwidth), a 1.54GHz Tualatin Celeron equals a faster P4 in overall performance.

See http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/print/celeron1a-oc.html

IOW, there's nothing wrong with a Celeron @ 1.5GHz for Doom3.
 
This is odd:

GPU/CPU/MEMORY.............VideoSize/Quality.........MinFPS...MaxFPS...AveFPS
6800GT/Intel 3.0/1gig...............1600x1200 HQ..................35............60...........56.5

GPU/CPU/MEMORY.............VideoSize/Quality.........MinFPS...MaxFPS...AveFP
6800GT/Intel 3.4EE/1gig..........1600x1200 HQ..............27............60...........55.3

notice the minFPS...
 
A guide like this would never work in a print magazine, first because it would take up far too many pages. Second because of editing, proofing, printing, and delivery it would take about two months from the time they finished the benchmarks to the time it was in a magazine you could buy.

BTW - great guide. [H]ard|OCP definitely raised the bar a notch or two with this.
 
TangledThorns said:
Great guide, should be published in a magazine. I hope to see a similar one when HL2 is released in 2 years. :eek:
Click to expand...

Word is Half-Life 2 will be released this September. Based on Gabe's comments and the general Web buzz I believe it.
 
Low Roller said:
Thanks for the guide, you guys did a great job!



I also intend to play this game in my home theater on my HTPC. Does D3 support HDTV resolutions 1920x1080i or 1280x720p?
Click to expand...
Some one earlier mentioned it suppots comands to set a custom res, so you should be fine.
 
splooger said:
Word is Half-Life 2 will be released this September. Based on Gabe's comments and the general Web buzz I believe it.
Click to expand...
Half Life..what? Seriously though by September I'll still being playing D3 too much to notice (mostly anyways). Now if it was STALKER...... :D
 
Nice guide, I enjoyed reading it.

It looks like my Gf4 Ti4400 will live a little longer :)
 
So when are you guys spilling the beans on 6900U SLI 2048x1536 set-up? ;p
 
pxc said:
That's a Tualatin Celeron with 256KB L2 cache. It runs about as fast as a Coppermine P3 of the same speed, definitely not slow. Like all P3s, as long as the benchmark isn't FSB limited (i.e. limited by memory bandwidth), a 1.54GHz Tualatin Celeron equals a faster P4 in overall performance.

See http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/print/celeron1a-oc.html

IOW, there's nothing wrong with a Celeron @ 1.5GHz for Doom3.
Click to expand...

My bad. I forgot that they made the Tully celerons. Damn fine cpu, that :p

Sorry. I'm just on a roll today with forgetting my old info.

Yeah, he's fine. I'm a dumbass... you all can point and throw shit now. :(
 
Gotta hand it to [H]ardOCP, that hardware guide is a friggin nice piece of work. I knew Carmack would make another great game, and your tests backed up some of my assumptions. I always figured it would run on a wide range of specs given when it was first announced and demoed when the geforce3 and 4's were as good as it got. Granted, Carmack gets all the newest hardware for free, but still lol. What I wasn't expecting was the simple beauty of the game on the lower end systems. I remember hearing that when Carmack saw the scene in the game when the marine is piloting the ship over the surface Mars, even he was impressed. That's when I really started looking forward to this game.
Thanks again and cudos on the tech guide, great job.
 
CrimandEvil said:
They did a 5900U and I would think that you'd have your XT OCed to that anyways. :rolleyes: :D
Click to expand...

Heh, I don't have one --- just curious. ;)

I'm thinking some of those overclocked 5900XT's are going to have to be pulled back from the brink since the game is going to be exercising parts of the chip that have never been used before. Also, since the 5900U has 256Mb vs. the 128Mb on the 5900XT's they're not really comparable in that respect, either. Both factors might make a difference when you're trying to reach the 1024x768, HQ sweet spot.
 
el rolio said:
oh wow, newegg making bundles for this now. that makes me a VERY happy panda. cha ching for id and newegg. that was a good idea man.
Click to expand...
Yep, just too bad they don't have the 6800 Ultra's in stock to complete the bundle. I paid above retail to get mine, and don't regret it at all.
 
lopoetve said:
What's the 5700U running now?
Click to expand...
5700LE = 250/500 (4ns memory)
5700NU = 350/700 (2.8ns memory)
5700U = 475/950 (2.2ns memory)

I'd be surprised to not get at least 425/800 out of a 5700NU.
 
pxc said:
The non-LE version of the 5700 has a pretty good bang for the buck ($89 shipped, 350MHz core, 700MHz memory): http://www.imagestore.us/product.asp?pf_id=SA5700B2-128D-CC7A Overclock the core and memory and you nearly have a 5700Ultra (or half-way between the two).

Those are becoming rare and most places only have the cheesy 5700LE models now (250MHz core, 500MHz memory).
Click to expand...
Hey thanks! I need a nice card to upgrade to from my old POS GF2 MX (all just for D3). :D
 
pxc said:
5700LE = 250/500 (4ns memory)
5700NU = 350/700 (2.8ns memory)
5700U = 475/950 (2.2ns memory)

I'd be surprised to not get at least 425/800 out of a 5700NU.
Click to expand...

Cute. Good spread there...

What's pricing like on those?
 
worship.gif

Thank you, Kyle and id, for working together to produce this excellent guide!

I will now hold off on buying another 512MB of RAM. Looks like it will run beautifully on my current system. :D
 
lopoetve said:
Cute. Good spread there...

What's pricing like on those?
Click to expand...
The LE goes for around $90, don't know about the NU, and the Ultras seem to be around $170 and up.
I guess that good thing about the LE is that a 5200 Ultra goes for around $120. LOL
 
Im new to this forum so, first off, GREAT article (id love to see the bandwitdh your servers handled today). really showed a nice range of systems and performance across the board was outstanding. but now for my question.

heres my system:
Proc: 2.53ghz P4 northwood (533fsb)
mobo: Asus p4s533 (4xagp)
mem: 1GB corsair XMS DDR333
HDD: 120GB West Dig 7200rpm 8MB cache
Vid: eVGA GeForce 6800 nu (im getting this tomorrow and figure i can OC it to at least 350/800 and still be fine)

my goal is one of these options:
1) 1024x768 @ high quality, NO AA
2)1280x1024 @ hit quality (maybe bumping down AF if need be) NO AA

with my setup (my main cocern in the 4x agp) be able to get acceptable frame rates? ie: stay above 30fps for 90% to 95% of the time?
 
Thanks for the article.

So far there has been a lot of talk about the 5.1 sound, but it has not become clear which soundcards are supported. As far as I know, real-time Dolby Digital encoding can be done using onboard sound with certain nVidia mainboards. About Creative's cards I don't know.

I have a home theater setup but I guess just having an SPDIF pass-through for DVD movies is not enough? Can I use Dolby Pro Logic instead?

I have a DirectX compatible sound card with outputs for four speakers, will this work?

edit:
now I understand -- they are simply using 5.1 analog outputs. duh. I think that there was some discussion earlier about Dolby Digital support though.
 
CrimandEvil said:
The LE goes for around $90, don't know about the NU, and the Ultras seem to be around $170 and up.
I guess that good thing about the LE is that a 5200 Ultra goes for around $120. LOL
Click to expand...

Worthless card...
 
RickyJ said:
worship.gif

Thank you, Kyle and id, for working together to produce this excellent guide!

I will now hold off on buying another 512MB of RAM. Looks like it will run beautifully on my current system. :D
Click to expand...


time will tell...methinks you better get it...
 
palladium said:
Thanks for the article.

So far there has been a lot of talk about the 5.1 sound, but it has not become clear which soundcards are supported. As far as I know, real-time Dolby Digital encoding can be done using onboard sound with certain nVidia mainboards. About Creative's cards I don't know.

I have a home theater setup but I guess just having an SPDIF pass-through for DVD movies is not enough? Can I use Dolby Pro Logic instead?

I have a DirectX compatible sound card with outputs for four speakers, will this work?
Click to expand...

I believe that ID has their own DirectSound method of doing it, so any would work. :confused:
 
CrimandEvil said:
The LE goes for around $90, don't know about the NU, and the Ultras seem to be around $170 and up.
I guess that good thing about the LE is that a 5200 Ultra goes for around $120. LOL
Click to expand...
The 5700NU is pretty rare now, but it goes for $90-$100 when I see it pop up at various places. The link I put in a post from the last page shows one of those (OEM Chaintech 5700NU) for $89 shipped. $89 for that card is a pretty good deal.

Fry's had the BFG 5700U for $129 the last time I saw some in stock a few weeks ago. All gone now. :( The BFG 5200 Ultras were going for $99 at Fry's while they lasted.

9600 Pros are inching towards $100, but I still think the best card for the money under $100 is the 5700NU. It's hard to find full 5700NU reviews... all in a google search are the 5700LE models. :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top