HD Gaming on PC

[TxJudsonRocketTx]

I was wondering, is it possible to game in HD if youre playing on Windows XP? I have my 8800GTX playing fucking Warcraft and CS Source because there are no good games out as of right now, but come October there are going to be a ton of releases and I was wondering if I am going to end up having to "upgrade" to Vista

[DarkReign]

I was wondering, is it possible to game in HD if youre playing on Windows XP? I have my 8800GTX playing fucking Warcraft and CS Source because there are no good games out as of right now, but come October there are going to be a ton of releases and I was wondering if I am going to end up having to "upgrade" to Vista

What do you mean? HD Gaming?

HD, to my knowledge, is just higher resolution. That card you have rocks, as long as your monitor supports native widescreen resolutions above 1920 x 1200, you are HD gaming.

Im confused by the question.

[TxJudsonRocketTx]

What do you mean? HD Gaming?

HD, to my knowledge, is just higher resolution. That card you have rocks, as long as your monitor supports native widescreen resolutions above 1920 x 1200, you are HD gaming.

Im confused by the question.

Theres only a few monitors on the market that support the 1920 x 1200 resolution, the highest mine will go is 1680x1050, which is the case for most monitors I can find. So if you monitor isnt 1920x1200 youre screwed?

[DarkReign]

Theres only a few monitors on the market that support the 1920 x 1200 resolution, the highest mine will go is 1680x1050, which is the case for most monitors I can find. So if you monitor isnt 1920x1200 youre screwed?

Again, I am no expert, so please dont take it at face value.

My point is, when you use the term HD, that usually refers to a televison. I dont know how old you are, but most non-HD televisions could only broadcast at 480p resolution. High Definition, when referring to televisions, is considered (loosely) anything over 720p.

I personally own a 1080i television. The latest and greatest is 1080p.

Computers, on the other hand, eclipsed these standards many, many years ago. Standard computer resolution is 1024 x 768.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_television

Scroll down to the heading "Notation" in the link.

720p on a TV is quite less resolution than a standard computer resolution.

1080p, the next great thing, is only 1920 x 1080. My monitor is 3 years old and has that native resolution (just never had a kick-ass VGA like your 8800GTX).

My point is, HD gaming isnt something new, its more or less been the standard for years. Television has lagged behind, my guess anyway, because the signal input into a television is a broadcast reaching millions in your area. Until the country (by and large) was "hard wired", HD television wasnt a viable standard to use outside of DVDs and other local sources.

So, to sum it up, you are HD-gaming right now. You have been for years. Your CRT monitor, if you look up the model, probably has a kick-ass native resolution well over any 1080p standard. HD though, is equated with widescreen (16:9 ratio). So if youre a standard screen (4:3 ratio), technically, youre not HD.

But dont get down. Every game you play supports the 1600 x 1200 resolution, which is the 4:3 ratio equivalent of "Super HD". That resolution alone beats any television, widescreen or otherwise, by a country mile.

And 1600 x 1200 is becoming the norm for gaming. I keep seeing in the new games (of the last year) with reolutions in the 2000s x 2000s (which is sick! but your card could easily push these numbers).

[dougp]

What you're saying, makes no sense. HD Gaming? Hook it up to an HD-TV for that.

If you're talking about bad-ass graphically intense games? They are out there already, take a look at Company of Heroes & Supreme Commander ... maxxed out, both of those will take your vid card to the floor. Also, you can try DiRT but it will give 8800GTX's in SLi a hard time. In two weeks, Bioshock will come out and that should also give you a run for your money ...

[J.T.]

I have a question thats sort of related to this I guess...

I want to get Grand Theft Auto 4 when it's out, but I can't really afford to drop 5 bills on a PS3, don't own a 360 or really care to own one, but if they release a PC version of it like the other GTAs, would it be in HD or whatever the new console formats run on? And how much would is cost to upgrade my PC to be able to run that kind of game?

If it's going to cost about the same as a PS3 I may as well just bite the bullet.

[dougp]

I have a question thats sort of related to this I guess...

I want to get Grand Theft Auto 4 when it's out, but I can't really afford to drop 5 bills on a PS3, don't own a 360 or really care to own one, but if they release a PC version of it like the other GTAs, would it be in HD or whatever the new console formats run on? And how much would is cost to upgrade my PC to be able to run that kind of game?

If it's going to cost about the same as a PS3 I may as well just bite the bullet.
What kind of PC do you have now?

As for HD gaming - let's get this straight everyone - HD gaming is a non-existant term on the PC. Don't use that phrase! What you're basically saying is - "I'd like GTA4 to look as good on my PC as it does on the 360/PS3." It's very possible - when they actually release GTA4 on the PC, we'll know what the requirements are. Typically, they haven't been very demanding games.

[DarkReign]

What kind of PC do you have now?

As for HD gaming - let's get this straight everyone - HD gaming is a non-existant term on the PC. Don't use that phrase! What you're basically saying is - "I'd like GTA4 to look as good on my PC as it does on the 360/PS3." It's very possible - when they actually release GTA4 on the PC, we'll know what the requirements are. Typically, they haven't been very demanding games.

Yes, I am aware that HD-gaming is not a correct term. Only I chose to explain it in comparison to HD, since he/she seems to be familiar with the term.

No reason to be a dick about it.

[dougp]

Sorry, but it's a pet peeve ... that's how people get talked into buying things they don't need. Walk into a place like CC/BB and those guys will like their chops when you talk about "HD gaming" and try to convince you to buy that Sony 1080p LCD for $2,500.