[atomic tofu]

not much of a gamer...but curious because of how all or most of you are harping either for or against So I figure I give them a shot.

I search for some demos yesterday, dl both, both roughly 1.8 gigs or so. Bring them home and install:

Vista 32bit Ultimate
e6600
ati 1800 xtx 512
intel 975xbx
2gb ram (basic speed ram)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS

stock settings no oc

Upon installing and running both of these game demos, I can't help but notice each have the nvidia - how it's meant to be played thing. I notice some posts where nvidia releases new drivers to make nvidia owners happy...lucky bums

I run both games at 1280x960, my desktop res for my trusty old 19" CRT...yes crt

Bioshock runs pretty darn well...away from my home pc I can't quite remember the settings.

Crysis...that thing demands quite a bit, but I'm able to get it to run smoothly with medium settings at the above res.

I notice some people not thinking Crysis is all that, or that it demands way too much for how it looks...to me I don't think so. I notice all the foliage and what it renders. Perhaps some people wish it could hide a lot more foliage....I think that in itself would easily allow the game to run much smoother, but the game is trying to replicate a jungle environment. That extreme foliage density is a part of the game and requires a large chunk of processing power.

Both games are great in their level of detail. You can get drunk in Bioshock, have fun turning on the water in the sinks and flush the toilets. Bioshock reminds me of the game "bad day at the midway". Constantly, I found myself trying to peer into the shadowy darkness, trying to see if I could make out any figures. I'm sure all of us have enjoyed bashing the corpses.

Crysis, the game looked like Final Fantasy the Spirits Within, at the opening sequence of the demo. Then you para jump out and I loved the effect. Once landed, I am amazed at the detail in the game. I love the moonlit beach lighting. I found myself trying to get a closer look at the crabs after sniping that one guy on the ledge, then taking out his 2 buddies. Grab that flare, flip it in the water and notice how it reacts. Of course, I have to fast forward and tag along...running with my mate as we get to our dead comrade...and notice how the lightsource looks as it filters through the foliage onto him.

So, I have a mediocre rig...I can only imagine how it looks for you who have more "modern" systems Me and my old DX9 card on a DX10 os.