# Graphics card question for PC!!!!!



## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

Alright, so when I built my PC (first time builder) I built it to withstand making music. Everything I went well on besides the video card. I didn't expect to turn my PC into a gaming computer but being I sold my xbox and these new and cool games are coming out I must compromise and build anew.

With that said, I know pretty much nothing about video cards in general. I ran a test to see if my computer met Battlefield 3 requirements and it failed_ (see next posts).

_As you can see, my CPU is top of the line and I actually have 8gigs ram but only running windows 32bit so it only shows as 3gigs. Obviously, as stated in the test, my video card sucks for gaming, and this is where you guys need to give me your expertise in this field.

*Can you give me a video card for dummies briefing? I'm going to buy one so I can play this game, but I'd like to know the basics of what I'm looking for in a good video card. You can start anywhere but please keep it genius proof. Thanks.*

My computer specs:_
Asus P8P67-MPro motherboard
i7-2600k CPU
__ATI Radeon HD 4350 video card
3TB Ram

_


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

CPU * Minimum: * 2 GHz DUAL CORE (Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or Athlon X2 2.7 GHz) *You Have: * Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2600K CPU @ 3.40GHz








RAM * Minimum: * 2 GB *You Have: * 3.0 GB








OS * Minimum: * Windows Vista (SERVICE PACK 2) 32-BIT *You Have: * Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Edition Service Pack 1 (build 7601), 32-bit








Video Card * Minimum: * (AMD): DirectX 10.1 compatible with 512 MB RAM (ATI Radeon 3000, 4000, 5000 or 6000 series, with ATI Radeon HD 3870 or higher performance)(NVIDIA): DirectX 10.0 compatible with 512 MB RAM (NVIDIA GeForce 8, 9, 200, 300, 400 or 500 series, with NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT or higher performance)  *You Have: * ATI Radeon HD 4350


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

*Features:* Minimum attributes of your Video Card

 Required You Have







Video RAM 512 MB 1.7 GB







 Pixel Shader version 4.0 (ATI 4.1) 4.1







Vertex Shader version 4.0 (ATI 4.1) 4.1


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## GunnyHighway (Sep 28, 2010)

First of all I just want to make sure you understand correctly, while you may have 8GB of RAM and Windows reports 3GB, you can only use that 3GB. You may actually notice wanting more RAM while playing BF3, so looking at 64 bit would be a good idea in my opinion.

The problem with video cards is there's no way to look at raw numbers in the specs and compare cards between ATI and NVIDIA. Best thing to do is to look at reviews and gauge performance that way. 

With that said, what's your price range and your monitor's resolution? I could give you a recommendtion based on that.


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

what price range am i looking at to place this game on ultra everything with everything at max?

i'm willing to shell out some bucks. i need to understand what i'm dealing with.


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## GunnyHighway (Sep 28, 2010)

It all depends on your resolution. I'm at 2048x1152 and can max everything out besides HBAO and stay around 50FPS on my GTX580. Also, what power supply do you have? That limits what you can do.


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

I have a Corsair TX 750watt power supply.


Once again, I know NOTHING about video cards so what you said makes no sense. I need an -everything-related-to-graphic card breakdown basically. I'd like to know what kind of card can I run with battlefield 3 with max everything I guess and how much that'd cost me?


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## GunnyHighway (Sep 28, 2010)

FPS = Frames per second. For first person shooter games, you generally want to stay around 60FPS for a completely smooth experience. (Although coming from an Xbox you're probably more used to 30FPS) HBAO is a setting that (in my opinion) does just about nothing to graphics quality, but eats a huge chunk of performance. I always turn it off.

The TX750 will handle pretty much everything out right now so that's not a worry at all. The number one thing left to know is your monitor's native resolution. Is it 1680x1050? 1920x1080? etc, etc. If you don't know that, right click on your desktop and go to resolution. (Assuming you're on Windows 7) It'll tell you there.


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

The highest it will go is 1920 x 1080, and that is where I have it on now.


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## GunnyHighway (Sep 28, 2010)

Okay then, to max it (minus the HBAO) you need a GTX580. Currently the most powerful single GPU card right now. Gonna cost you a pretty penny. $400ish I believe.


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

So I take it your monitor has a higher resolution than mine and thus can handle higher gaming resolutions? Because mine is maxed at 1920x1080 it will not go higher?


What is xbox's graphic settings you think? If I get the GTX580 with 1920x1080, will it be better than an xbox per say?

I didn't even know they had higher resolution than 1920x1080 till today!? Does going up resolution from 1920x1080 to higher really make a difference?

What's the highest resolution you can go? Does resolution have anything to do with FPS?


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## GunnyHighway (Sep 28, 2010)

Well as monitors get larger, typically resolutions get higher. 1920x1080 has become pretty common for monitors from 22" to ~25" I believe. 30" monitors sit around 2560x1600 I believe for resolution. To be honest you won't notice a differene between most resolutions while in game. 1920x1080 is a pretty good resolution.

Xbox sits at just slightly under 720p for BF3 (1280x768 if I recall correctly), although I'm not sure what the FPS is set at in BF3 for consoles. If I had to guess the graphical settings for the Xbox in PC terms, probably somewhere around low-medium. The GTX580 will blow away both consoles.


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## Syndacus (Aug 9, 2011)

Xbox cards are equivalent to an NVIDIA 8800 series, but they run on a totally different architecture. Lot of cores running at the same time to push out those graphics. 

Just wondering, how many PCI-E x16 slots you have? Should say in the motherboard manual. If you have 2 slots, you can buy two graphic cards and bridge them together to function as one, so you get more video memory and processing power. It'll enable you to play at higher resolutions.


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

Syndacus said:


> Just wondering, how many PCI-E x16 slots you have? Should say in the motherboard manual. If you have 2 slots, you can buy two graphic cards and bridge them together to function as one, so you get more video memory and processing power. It'll enable you to play at higher resolutions.


It says, 
"Three 16x PCI-E 2.0 slots (one 16x and one 4x or two 8x and one 4x), one 1x PCI-E"


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## GunnyHighway (Sep 28, 2010)

SLI is a bad idea seeing as a single card can perform to his needs. It's better to get a single card as it causes far less headaches. Also, for example, while you have two cards in SLI and they have 1GB each for RAM, only 1GB is usable. You don't get 2GB of memory for the cards to work with. I wish I could back that up with a link but I'm stuck at work right now.


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## Syndacus (Aug 9, 2011)

OK so, yeah a single GTX 580 will be good to play BF3, Skyrim, and all the latest and greatest games for 2 years. Secondly, these cards are big and long, what kind of computer case are you using? Are you able to take a picture of your computer case and the innards that you have set up?


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

Any other video card recommendations for battlefield 3 MAXED out? Do I really need to spend 400+ just to make that happen?


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

Syndacus said:


> OK so, yeah a single GTX 580 will be good to play BF3, Skyrim, and all the latest and greatest games for 2 years. Secondly, these cards are big and long, what kind of computer case are you using? Are you able to take a picture of your computer case and the innards that you have set up?


it's a mid tower with the motherboard being uATX Form Factor 
9.6 inch x 9.6 inch ( 24.4 cm x 24.4 cm )


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## GunnyHighway (Sep 28, 2010)

bwidger85 said:


> Any other video card recommendations for battlefield 3 MAXED out? Do I really need to spend 400+ just to make that happen?


Yup. That's the cheapest card that will max it out at that resolution to my knowledge. The Radeon 6970 might be able to get close, but I'm not sure.

Syndacus made a good point. Your case needs to be able to physically accept this card. It's HUGE. Can you get us a name for the case?


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

GunnyHighway said:


> Syndacus made a good point. Your case needs to be able to physically accept this card. It's HUGE. Can you get us a name for the case?


Like I said, it's a mid tower case. The case was from the Emachines W885. I don't even have the side opposite to which the motherboard is attached. In other words, one side of the case is completely open, which means the card's width shouldn't be problem. And once again, it's a mid tower size case. I'm pretty confident it can hold the card.

I can buy 2 xboxs or ps3s for the price of that one video card! Is it worth it in your opinion?


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## GunnyHighway (Sep 28, 2010)

eMachines case? Highly doubt it will fit, as well it will severly lack the airflow it needs. It's the length I'm worried about, not the width. I believe the GTX580 is 10.5" long. (Not having access to Wikipedia is annoying me.)


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## Syndacus (Aug 9, 2011)

I'm currently playing BF3 with a GTX 460 card on High settings, with a few areas maxed out, on SSAO settings. Currently avg. about 40-50fps on a 1600x900 screen. Cause I don't have anything bigger at the moment.


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## Ohhai (Oct 15, 2010)

Looks like the Radeon HD 6950 might be a good bet. $230 card.









Consoles usually aim for get 30FPS, as long as your game stays above 40 you shouldn't have any trouble.


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## Ratatat (Sep 8, 2010)

bwidger85 said:


> I can buy 2 xboxs or ps3s for the price of that one video card! Is it worth it in your opinion?


If you have to ask it's probably not worth it. The 580 GTX is an enthusiast card just like with all high end graphics cards. Most people will be able to get by on 30+ frames and just good graphics (hence why consoles are so popular).

I bought the 5870 when it was new (it was a 500$ card at the time) and I'm pretty happy with the card but I do feel like I spent too much on it. I bought it originally for Fallout New Vegas though and I played the hell out of that game.

Just be warned you will feel cheated when the next generation of cards come out.


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## GunnyHighway (Sep 28, 2010)

I've only been answering this in response to you wanting to max it out, ultra settings. You can easily get away with a cheaper card if you don't mind dropping the settings a bit.

Spending that much money on a single graphics card is indeed a crazy amount. However, you are paying for the best of the best. It is an investment into your computer. I can justify it to myself as this is my main hobby, computer hardware is my thing. You need to ask yourself what you really want and what you're willing to sacrifice. Either spend a lot and get the 580 to max it, or drop the graphics down a notch and settle with something like a GTX570 or a Radeon 6950.


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## Some Russian Guy (Mar 20, 2009)

I suggest you wait till nvidia rolls out their new line of video cards, like GTX 600 or som' like that
it'll be soon enough
and they say it'll be like twice as faster


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

So I thought about it and I'll probably get a high-end card like the GTX570 simply because I saw what it can do compared to other cards and the difference is day and night; making a dull scene texture into something spectacular and breathtaking. To me, it's worth it, and I'll be playing a lot of BF3 and MW3 for sure.

I want to do some more research first though. It's a lot of money. I want to know the ins and outs of video cards. I'd like to know that before I make any concrete decisions, but it looks like I'm going for the high-end.


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## TheExplosionist (Apr 13, 2009)

First off get Windows x64 because you have to. BF3 needs 2Gb of VRAM which means only 2Gb accessible RAM in Windows 32-bit which is no good at all.

Get 1 x HD6950 2Gb @ 1920x1080 or 2x HD6950s 2Gb @ 2560x1440

If you get the 570GTX, get the 2.5Gb version. BF3 needs a lot of VRAM.

The HD7000 series should be released by Q1 2012 if you can wait.


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

I found another good video card comparison:

http://graphics-cards-review.toptenreviews.com/


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

My choices have been between the GTX580 or the HD 6970.

Here is a great comparison:


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

I'm about ot order the GTX 580....will a corsair 750watt PSU be good to use?
*
Just bought the GTX 580! God help us all *


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## GunnyHighway (Sep 28, 2010)

That PSU will handle it 100% fine. Could you give us the link to which card you bought?


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

GunnyHighway said:


> That PSU will handle it 100% fine. Could you give us the link to which card you bought?


http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclocked-Mini-HDMI-Lifetime-015-P3-1582-AR/dp/B004BDOR6U


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## GunnyHighway (Sep 28, 2010)

Very fine choice. I personally wouldn't have paid extra for the SC edition, but I'm sure you'll be happy with it.


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

GunnyHighway said:


> Very fine choice. I personally wouldn't have paid extra for the SC edition, but I'm sure you'll be happy with it.


Haha, whoops, didn't even realize the super clocked part! I was trying to find one with a certain name brand and also a good price with free shipping. This one was one of those so I went with it (plus, lifetime warranty).

Thanks for helping me out. I was about to get the HD 6970 but looked at comparisons and thought I might as well go with the GTX 580.

I also measured the length of the inside of my mid case tower and it measures about 13 inches from the pci-e slot to the front of the case which should give me 2.5inch clearance length-wse, and the width is no problem at 4 inches. I'll monitor the temp it plays at and if it gets too hot I'll take it out and buy a new case or cooler, but for now I just want to see if it works OK in the case I have.

My comp is gonna be a hell of a beast:

i7-2600k 
GTX 580
8gigs DDR3 ram
Asus P8P67-MPRO

That's beastly! :clap


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## nster (Oct 19, 2011)

Paid way too much IMO... You don't seem to be the person who will actually fully enjoy a 580... a 560 Ti or 570 or 6950 1GB/2GB should have done more than enough for you

I also hope you are going 64-Bit and I Hope for the love of god that you will OC the i7 2600K to at least 4.4Ghz. I also don't understand why you have an i7 2600K instead of an i5 2500K.

Hopefully you also have adequate cooling. *sigh*


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## lazy (Nov 19, 2008)

overclocking ain't worth the headaches if it's not a hobby


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## Ohhai (Oct 15, 2010)

lazy said:


> overclocking ain't worth the headaches if it's not a hobby


Overclocking is easy as anything now a days.



nster said:


> Paid way too much IMO... You don't seem to be the person who will actually fully enjoy a 580... a 560 Ti or 570 or 6950 1GB/2GB should have done more than enough for you
> 
> I also hope you are going 64-Bit and I Hope for the love of god that you  will OC the i7 2600K to at least 4.4Ghz. I also don't understand why you have an i7 2600K instead of an i5 2500K.
> 
> Hopefully you also have adequate cooling. *sigh*


Looks like we've got another person in the geek section who actually knows what they're talking about, although I'd be willing to argue 4.4GHz won't matter too much currently, I mean I've currently got my 2500k on 3.3GHz (More than likely will raise it to 3.6GHz again) because I couldn't really feel too much of a difference on 4GHz. (Also bad company 2 kept crashing my PC for no real reason, and is STILL the only game that does that.)


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

nster said:


> Paid way too much IMO... You don't seem to be the person who will actually fully enjoy a 580... a 560 Ti or 570 or 6950 1GB/2GB should have done more than enough for you
> 
> I also hope you are going 64-Bit and I Hope for the love of god that you will OC the i7 2600K to at least 4.4Ghz. I also don't understand why you have an i7 2600K instead of an i5 2500K.
> 
> Hopefully you also have adequate cooling. *sigh*


Why? Because I can afford it and I don't have to worry about it not being good enough. I originally bought the i7 for music purposes, which may of been high even for that but who cares?

Thanks for the tip for the cooling. I'm aware it may be too hot. Like I said, I'll keep an eye on it. I'll also make sure to enjoy the 580, thanks.

Btw, no need to OC **** if I don't need to, right? Right. I already know about the 64 bit windows with the ram. I can get that easy.


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## nster (Oct 19, 2011)

Sorry if I sounded a bit rough

Why did you get the K version if it weren't for OCing? Why get a P67 mobo?

For example, if you lived near a Microcenter, you could have gotten an i5 2400 + H61 board for 149.99$, 180 for an i5 2500K, 250 for an i7 2600 and 280 for an i7 2600K. Guess what? you wouldn't have known the difference performance-wise compared to the 150$ option. You probably paid 400+$ on your CPU+mobo  You see where I am coming from?

The OCing to 4.4Ghz was to mention that if you didn't do that, it was a total waste of buying an i7 2600K, and you want to have a balanced system, someone with a GTX 580 usually won't fully take advantage of it on a stock i7 2600K, you'd need something like 4Ghz. Plus someone who would actually enjoy a GTX 580 is also someone who would OC their CPU, you have to be an enthusiast.

Yes I know what I talk about (Thanks Ohhai for the comment)... I go to forums.techpowerup.com every day and for at least 1~2 hours, and I have 7100+ posts over there. Computers are my passion

Again sorry for how negative I sounded and probably still do sound, I don't have the best social skills. Anyone who needs help with these kinds of things or wants advice or whatnot, PM me I'll be super excited to help 



lazy said:


> overclocking ain't worth the headaches if it's not a hobby (I'm guessing you mean enthusiast)


I would argue against that, but look at my points above. Why buy an K processor? Why buy a P67 mobo? Why buy a GTX 580 if you are not an enthousiast?


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

nster said:


> Sorry if I sounded a bit rough
> 
> Why did you get the K version if it weren't for OCing? Why get a P67 mobo?
> 
> ...


It's cool. I wish you were around sooner! oh well


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## nster (Oct 19, 2011)

I'm glad you liked my advice, albeit being too late lol

My apologies, I got the Microcenter deal wrong... You can get an i5 2500K + P67 board for 210$

Still a great deal lol, and if you OC, it is the BEST deal EVER


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## Some Russian Guy (Mar 20, 2009)




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## nster (Oct 19, 2011)

you didn't put the youtube thing right


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

nster said:


> Hopefully you also have adequate cooling.


While we are on the subject, what cooling would you recommend? Do I even need it or will proper air flow work without a cooling apparatus?


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## nster (Oct 19, 2011)

Your i7 2600K should work OK without extra cooling, but the GTX 580 is probably another story. If you wanna go the free way, you will NEED to leave your side panel open IMO.

Else you actually need to buy a case with good air cooling. If you want to go the extra mile and be a real enthusiast, water cooling is the best cooling for the average user.

For the i7 2600K, if you overclock, you could get a nice tower cooler (or a small all-in-one water cooling solution if space is an issue). The cheapest ones would be the like of the CM 212+, but you would need to add a fan to that.

I personally would buy a case as that is the only non-custom PC thing that is left is I'm not mistaken? Then it depends on what you want, and how important quality is too you and if you like flashy stuff etc etc


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

Yes, I've been using my i7 for very intensive music projects with no problem with heat temps nowhere near too high. I was very cautious of that when I first got it and tested thoroughly. I may test it again if I'm switching to playing games though...

I leave my side panel off all the time. I would guess there is a program I can use to gauge my card's temp? I'll make sure to find one and watch it very carefully.

I have heard and seen water cooling apparatuses. I haven't looked up the prices yet though, but if it's needed to cool my units then I will definitely get one. Firstly, like you've mentioned, I think a PC case is in order, but I'll check out the performance of the card first with the side panel open to see if it's OK or not. Appearance doesn't matter to me when buying a case. I just want efficiency and reliability.


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## nster (Oct 19, 2011)

No Watercooling is FAR from needed, it's just fun and efficient and quieter etc. Much more expensive also.

TBH, should be fine with side panel open, but I'd still suggest you get a good case as for the long term you will be worry free and it will actually look good (you underestimate beauty )

Buy a new case when you got the extra money to spend... Perhaps wait until black Friday sales and get yourself a good case for cheaper than usual


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

cool man..thanks for your help


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## GunnyHighway (Sep 28, 2010)

Hyper 212+ for sure for a novice overclocker (Check out the Evo model as well, not sure on the temperature difference though) For cases I'd highly recommend looking at Cooler Master. If you can stand the looks of the HAF series, I can tell you now those cases are a dream to work in.


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## nster (Oct 19, 2011)

I especially liked my Lian-Li K62, and the tool-less design is very noob friendly


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

Wow, talk about fast delivery! I got free shipping and got the card on my doorstep today! Wow, that was fast!


Going to hook it up then and test it out. Btw, I downloaded a trial of battlefield 3 and tried to play it with my old card but it was super lagging on low settings. I'm sure this will fix it right up 

If you guys are curious I'll test the heat on this thing messing around. I ordered BF3 but it wont come in for a week I think. Till then I can play the demo.


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

Ok, got everything up and running.

On idle my gtx580 looks at about 48-54 degrees Celsius (it's lowering as we speak). On battlefield 3 with ultra settings it's running about 84 degrees Celsius.


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## nster (Oct 19, 2011)

Great  Cooling is not a problem, but I'd still buy a case for the long term... Dust will go down and resale value will go up  Also the beauty of the case and the e-peen can always help...

I'd experiment with small OCs for your CPU to be able to take full advantage of the GTX 580  Start with 3.6Ghz on stock voltages and work you way up to perhaps 3.8Ghz, might need a slight voltage bump... After that maybe a small/medium voltage bump for 4~4. and you can stay there


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## companioncube (Sep 7, 2008)

my new GTX 580 3GB with my GTX 560ti 1GB next to it, its a beast


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## Some Russian Guy (Mar 20, 2009)

bwidger85 said:


> Ok, got everything up and running.
> 
> On idle my gtx580 looks at about 48-54 degrees Celsius (it's lowering as we speak). On battlefield 3 with ultra settings it's running about 84 degrees Celsius.


... but, have you tried installing rivatuner, to make cooling fans spin faster ?


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## GPU (Nov 5, 2011)

> I can buy 2 xboxs or ps3s for the price of that one video card! Is it worth it in your opinion?


lol, i just bought an expensive alienware computer to play BF3... so i went to best buy to buy the game... then i tried to install it and come to find out that i needed to download the gam,e 12GBs plus of it lol.... that shyt never happened to me before in my PS3 or wii... i feel dumb now that i have 2 DVDs but i have to download the game.. plus i had to make an account to "origin"... lol a frustrating day spent i could have spent playing instead of getting headaches and trying to figure this out while getting mad too... to me that is not worth it... next time i will get pirated games from them to get back at them or buy PC games that don't require such crap... again, i never had this problem with consoles... forced to have internet... 1MB/s minimum.

but yeah, this is a great tutorial that helped me... read up. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/battlefield-3-graphics-performance,3063.html


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## Some Russian Guy (Mar 20, 2009)

GPU said:


> next time i will get pirated games from them to get back at them


But... Pirating is wrong and dangerous... didn't you know ? Besides... You won't be able to play pirated BF3 online, as well as Call of Duty, and any other online game, if you pirate it.

But if you really want to get into that, you have to know how to block a program, in a firewall, from getting online . If you want to play pirated, but in single player...
Because if they catch you pirating... I have a feeling that you will most definitely not like it...

I use windows 7 firewall control... it's free and blocks anything from going online...






with that, you don't even need those resource hogging all-in-one "protection" suites


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## Ohhai (Oct 15, 2010)

Some Russian Guy said:


> But if you really want to get into that, you have to know how to block a program, in a firewall, from getting online . If you want to play pirated, but in single player...
> Because if they catch you pirating... I have a feeling that you will most definitely not like it...


You actually have more chance of getting caught while torrenting the game, than being caught once it's installed, although I really SHOULD block games with my firewall, I never bother, and it's never come back to haunt me.


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## lazy (Nov 19, 2008)

amateur pirate leeching sloths have 2 computers with a KVM switch, and DBAN after each file transfer

the pros i guess probably have 1 PC with wizard knowledge of networking


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## Some Russian Guy (Mar 20, 2009)

Ohhai said:


> You actually have more chance of getting caught while torrenting the game, than being caught once it's installed, although I really SHOULD block games with my firewall, I never bother, and it's never come back to haunt me.


well, there are... ways, of how not to get caught while torrenting... they cost money though


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## GunnyHighway (Sep 28, 2010)

Some Russian Guy said:


> well, there are... ways, of how not to get caught while torrenting... they cost money though


Or you could use Usenet (Can use SSL) and not rely on P2P.


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## Ohhai (Oct 15, 2010)

Some Russian Guy said:


> well, there are... ways, of how not to get caught while torrenting... they cost money though


Pretty sure PeerGuardian is free, not to mention private trackers are free and alot harder to get caught on.


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## Some Russian Guy (Mar 20, 2009)

GunnyHighway said:


> Or you could use Usenet (Can use SSL) and not rely on P2P.


But does it cost money ?


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## Some Russian Guy (Mar 20, 2009)

Ohhai said:


> Pretty sure PeerGuardian is free, not to mention private trackers are free and alot harder to get caught on.


but they still see your ip, when they see a list of peers


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## bsd3355 (Nov 30, 2005)

i got bf3 int he mail yesterday and have been playing it on multiplayer... i recorded some games on fraps but the files were humongous so i used avs video converter to small it down to about 170 or 60 mbs.....

sucks though because even though it says it will convert in HD i try to upload it on youtube and it comes out in like 240...so frustrating...spent a lot of time trying to figure it out and finally just gave up last night..


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## Ohhai (Oct 15, 2010)

Fraps makes lossless videos that's why the file size will be so huge.
http://lparchive.org/meatsupport/FrapsToMeGUI/
That would be your best solution for great quality video, but smaller file size.



Some Russian Guy said:


> But does it cost money ?


Usenet can be free.



Some Russian Guy said:


> but they still see your ip, when they see a list of peers


It blacklists alot of company IPs, so they won't be able to see your connection.


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## GPU (Nov 5, 2011)

> I use windows 7 firewall control... it's free and blocks anything from going online..


mind giving the link... i hate resource hogging firewalls.


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## Some Russian Guy (Mar 20, 2009)

GPU said:


> mind giving the link... i hate resource hogging firewalls.


it's here
http://www.sphinx-soft.com/Vista/order.html

look under windows 7/vista

in the left hand column where it says free
look to the bottom, and download 32-bit for windows 32
or 64-bit for windows 64

but this thing should be running without other firewalls
like, if you, for example, have norton 360, try to disable norton's firewall

and then enable windows firewall, if it was disabled, because 360 was taking over that function

this program is actually just a simplified user-friendly control for build-in windows firewall
i find it very simple to use, without giving me headaches, like those expensive firewalls, etc


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## Some Russian Guy (Mar 20, 2009)

Ohhai said:


> It blacklists alot of company IPs, so they won't be able to see your connection.


but is it still around? I used to run it, but then, it just stopped working... it seems they don't make new ones anymore, and don't support it entirely

they develop this thingy now
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PeerBlock


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## Ohhai (Oct 15, 2010)

Some Russian Guy said:


> but is it still around? I used to run it, but then, it just stopped working... it seems they don't make new ones anymore, and don't support it entirely
> 
> they develop this thingy now
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PeerBlock


Indeed PeerGuardian is now PeerBlock.


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## Uranium (Jun 14, 2011)

Wow a gtx 580. I'm stuck with a 470, but i can barely max bf3. 

BTW I don't know what you guys use to monitor GPU temps but MSI afterburner is an amazing program. It Shows fps and everything.


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