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Gaming Hacks
book

Gaming Hacks

by Simon Carless
October 2004
Beginner
464 pages
13h 42m
English
O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Content preview from Gaming Hacks

Optimize PC Video Performance

Run the best PC video you possibly can.

In 2003, there was a vacuum in the PC power versus gaming software performance race due to delays in the release dates of games such as Half-Life 2 and DOOM III. You could sit back and relax with PCs that ran everything that the software developers threw at you with ease; current PC graphics cards were much more capable than anything the emerging crop of games could challenge them with.

Games in 2004 push the limits again (Far Cry!). With the current lineup of consoles already showing their age, developers who want to use radical physics engines, advanced AI, and revolutionary graphic effects must target the PC market. Graphic resolution in games isn’t merely upscaled from standard resolutions like VGA (800 600) as in years past. Instead, developers are taking advantage of today’s powerful hardware to support resolutions all the way up to UXGA (1600 1200). This amount of screen resolution represents a six-fold increase over an Xbox running at 480p. Consoles are inexpensive for a reason: they are yesterday’s technology.

True, you can purchase all three consoles and a game or two for the price of a single top-end graphics card, but the experience is different for the first person shooter, real-time strategy, or flight simulator fan. Combining the right game and a powerful gaming PC makes any console look like a foofy pocket calculator. As your graphics card and display capabilities become more advanced, your experience ...

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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 0596007140Catalog PageErrata