Those were my custom ultra quality shadows. I replaced the 'low' preset so I could compare them against 'ultra'.
Those were my custom ultra quality shadows. I replaced the 'low' preset so I could compare them against 'ultra'.
Oh, well that explains it! So do the default low settings on PC look as bad as what I have on PS4?
They are pretty bad, but even the default ultra shadows are pretty terrible in some places.
I fixed almost all the flickering, much of the disconnected/hovering shadows, and cleaned up the transistions, but there are still some situations where they don't look like they should...which will probably never be fixed without a major geometry cleanup pass and/or a whole new shadow renderer.
On my old setup with the 970m I can recall seeing shadows like that, it's pretty bad, however it's hard to compare other games to ED because we don't know how much this is caused by extremely distant light sources. While Sky rim is an open world game there are many methods devs can use to reduce the lighting demand in a game not based on an entire solar system, bounding boxes and exclusion areas, fog of distance etc, that sort of things is a bit harder in s pace, so creating great shadows in many other games may be easier, but that's a may since I don't know what techniques are available to the devs in ED.
The biggest problem with laptops is the limits on how far you can upgrade the graphics and replacing cooling fans (that they won't make any more when you need them). If it can't cool itself it dies. Planned obsolescence is the bane of laptops. I designed, ordered and took delivery on an Alienware M1 laptop when they came out, even got an extra power supply and battery on the order. $5000.00 and its dual nvidia 280-M graphics cards running in SLI configuration was insufficient spec to support ED:Horizons. It refused to launch under such primitive conditions. No upgrade options remain for the model. The whole thing just sits on the side now unused in new condition. Wanna buy it? I still have the box.
The need to constantly upgrade a PC to play the latest game (or in ED's case, the latest update) is one of the many reasons I left PC gaming some years back. On a console, games get better over time for the same piece of hardware, as developers learn tricks to maximize that hardware. ED is the glaring exception to this, as it has gotten progressively worse, graphics-wise, on PS4. This is because many PC developers just throw more MIPS and FLOPS and RAM at inefficient code to in order to make better looking games. Now obviously hardware has limits, but I can buy and play Red Dead Redemption 2 (which looks amazing BTW) on my 'old' hardware without any fuss. On PC, it seemed like every time a new game came out, I had to get a new video card or more RAM to handle it. And considering that the PS5 will likely cost less than many video cards on the market, I'll be sticking with the console for the vast majority of my gaming.
And this is why the thread is titled "A laptop for ED" rather than "A gaming laptop". My only major worry is that New Era will come out with ridiculous new hardware demands that my laptop can't handle. But by then the PS5 will be out, so as long as Frontier doesn't abandon the console market entirely, I'd rather just get the PS5 than a new video card.
If buying new - then anything MSI that fit's your budget - All my gaming laptops have been MSI for more than 15 years now and they've lasted well (still have a gx660r that I won't part with - beast of a thing and I can still hook up an external card to it if I feel like it).
If you feel adventurous and want to go for a cheaper DIY route - Lenovo x220 or x230 second hand then add one of these https://www.banggood.com/Expresscar...deo-Card-Dock-p-1009976.html?cur_warehouse=CN and a budget video card- Nvidia 1050 ti maybe.
A bit of a departure from consoles - but I have several of those external docks (both mini-pcie and express card) and have found them to be pretty neat - I've run a RTX 2070 in one with a dell DA-2 psu providing the power (£12 of e-bay) on both the gx660r and an x220 with no problem.
Oh and ex business workstations with xeons and a budget card leather games as well - this sort of thing - https://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/p...AM-500GB-HDD-1GB-NVIDIA-QUADRO-Windows-7-Pro/ - i'd toss in a £30 ssd as a boot drive and possibly even just game on the quadro (not ED though - 1050 or a second hand 960\970m would be lowest i'd go for it).
If you feel adventurous and want to go for a cheaper DIY route - Lenovo x220 or x230 second hand then add one of these https://www.banggood.com/Expresscar...deo-Card-Dock-p-1009976.html?cur_warehouse=CN and a budget video card- Nvidia 1050 ti maybe.
A bit of a departure from consoles - but I have several of those external docks (both mini-pcie and express card) and have found them to be pretty neat - I've run a RTX 2070 in one with a dell DA-2 psu providing the power (£12 of e-bay) on both the gx660r and an x220 with no problem.
Oh and ex business workstations with xeons and a budget card leather games as well - this sort of thing - https://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/p...AM-500GB-HDD-1GB-NVIDIA-QUADRO-Windows-7-Pro/ - i'd toss in a £30 ssd as a boot drive and possibly even just game on the quadro (not ED though - 1050 or a second hand 960\970m would be lowest i'd go for it).
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It's a pity Steam os pc's haven't really taken off - a good idea - but most were way too expensive - in fact prebuilt "Mini-pc's" for home entertainment seem to have gotten silly expensive in general.
Especially as they can be built for very little and if using second hand parts it gets even cheaper.
ps - just recalled, did you mention you use the thrustmaster HOTAS on the PS 4 ? - if so it's also useable on the pc - I have the older ps3\pc one - I think the xbox one is "switchable" as well.
Especially as they can be built for very little and if using second hand parts it gets even cheaper.
ps - just recalled, did you mention you use the thrustmaster HOTAS on the PS 4 ? - if so it's also useable on the pc - I have the older ps3\pc one - I think the xbox one is "switchable" as well.
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Never concerned myself with laptop upgradability beyond the ability to add more RAM, or replace the storage and batteries.
A ~$1000 laptop every 2-3 years will result in better mobile gaming experiences than a $5000 one every five years, or trying to find overpriced GPU upgrades instead of just getting a new laptop.
I have no issues upgrading my desktops as necessary...hell, my current primary system is on it's fifth video card and by the time I retire my wife's the board shes using will have had so many GPUs that NVIDA and AMD are already recycling eachothers names for them...but only a tiny fraction of laptops are built to support significant upgrades and the price premium for laptop components almost always destroys any benefit to doing so.
@ MORBAD -
Good logic there and well put. I can't argue any of that. I just wish I wasn't already retired. With nothing coming in any more and full custody of one teen I don't see myself staying in tha game much longer coughing up one grand every couple years.
Good logic there and well put. I can't argue any of that. I just wish I wasn't already retired. With nothing coming in any more and full custody of one teen I don't see myself staying in tha game much longer coughing up one grand every couple years.
No HOTAS, just this:
It doesn't work on PS4 (stupid Sony), but I kept in a closet just in case. Works fine on PC. It's not terribly fancy, but it'll do I think! I also read that PC fully supports DS4, which I'm very much used to. That said, a few more buttons would be nice.
I saw this show up a few days ago and it still appears to be available: https://www.newegg.com/rgb-a-cover-...gb-052-gaming-entertainment/p/N82E16834155074
At $1300 after promo code (EMCTDVW28) and mail-in rebate (which I hate, but for the large rebates it's usually worth the wait and paperwork) it's over your stated budget, but a fast 6c/12t laptop with 16GiB of DDR4, SDD and HDD, as well as an RTX 2070 makes it a pretty good deal.
Ok, you're in the US - nevertheless, here in Germany, Aldi (you might also know it as Trader Joe's) is setting up a couple of gaming laptops that look pretty sweet from the raw specs. Of course, nobody has reviewed them yet, so no information about noise or other possible problems. The websites are in German, but computer specs should translate well (if at all necessary). I had a look at them myself and, compared with the regular offerrs from our usual laptop sellers, they look extremely competetively priced. Had to restrain myself in the end, since I want to upgrade[1] my VR rig beginning of next year (or whenever the HP Reverb and the Intel 10 nm desktop chips become available).
Remember that German prices include 19% VAT.
999.- €, i5-9300H, GTX1660, 512 GB SSD
1699.- €, i7-9750H, RTX2060, 512 GB SSD + 2 TB HDDm 32 GB RAM
So yes, at your price point, you should definitely be able to get something that can play ED.
[1]Yeah, well, probably the only parts I'll re-use will be the display and speakers....
Remember that German prices include 19% VAT.
999.- €, i5-9300H, GTX1660, 512 GB SSD
1699.- €, i7-9750H, RTX2060, 512 GB SSD + 2 TB HDDm 32 GB RAM
So yes, at your price point, you should definitely be able to get something that can play ED.
[1]Yeah, well, probably the only parts I'll re-use will be the display and speakers....
I know this brand sells nearly everything, but in much of the US, Aldi and Trader Joe's are largely known as budget grocery stores. The idea of them stocking high-end laptops is like going to a 7-Eleven to buy RAM. Then again, I probably would have thought the same thing about retailers like Walmart a decade ago.
Oddly enough the MSI ge63 with an RTX 2070 is my current main laptop - paid £1666 for it back in February - tells you a lot about the fall in the value of the pound thanks to Brexit - basically one to one on prices now.
The perfomance is pretty much identical in Elite with my old 2600 ryzen and a desktop RTX 2070 - since upgrading to the Ryzen 3700x the desktop pulls ahead slightly - but, it's not much.
I play at 2560 by 1440 on an Asus XG 32V monitor - framerate is uncapped (monitor is 144hz), on the desktop with everything maxed and using Morbads custom settings - I never see a framerate below 120 - usually north of 150.
The laptop I leave on 1080p (also 144Hz screen) - otherwise as above - similar results to the desktop.
On neither have I seen any dodgy shadows
The perfomance is pretty much identical in Elite with my old 2600 ryzen and a desktop RTX 2070 - since upgrading to the Ryzen 3700x the desktop pulls ahead slightly - but, it's not much.
I play at 2560 by 1440 on an Asus XG 32V monitor - framerate is uncapped (monitor is 144hz), on the desktop with everything maxed and using Morbads custom settings - I never see a framerate below 120 - usually north of 150.
The laptop I leave on 1080p (also 144Hz screen) - otherwise as above - similar results to the desktop.
On neither have I seen any dodgy shadows
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My laptop uses a 1700, and I've been pondering for a while if the 3700x may be worth sticking in it (it uses a socketed desktop AM4 processor) and if my laptop's cooling would be fine with it if I did.