This is what I sent to maddafinga, to have something to compare to:
just something to compare with your new Vid Card:
I use an ASUS EAH HD3870 512 Megg DDR4 card
I use 1280 x 1024 screen res and my monitor screen resolution is set to 70 hz in winXP Pr (32 bit ) and in windows 7 Ult. 64 bit my res is set 1280 x 1024 @ 75mhz
in game I use the hires 1024 texture pkg and have my antialias turned all way up ( maxed out in initial video configure screen at start up clip board ) also have my textures set here to 1024
in game, everything is maxed out completely and shadows is set to 2048 ..all boxes are checked except the smooth shadow........ I see a performace drop when in combat with smooth shadows checked....
my PC is an AMD Athlon 6400+ X2 dual core 3.2 ghz...... I have 4 gigs of PC6400 800 mhz DDR2 ram.....
so , knowing what you built.you should be able to totally max every single setting out completely.......
with no hiccups or problems.... I use the self shadows, I just don't use the smooth shadowing feature....
I can use it but instead of being pegged at 70 FPS in WinXP or 75 fps in windows 7.... it drops down 15 to 20 FPS when in a decent size furball.......
with itoff... I can have 60 planes around and my FPS stays rock solid.....
hope this helps......
Here I am posting how I suggested madda go about setting his card, and have added to it with Help Links:1st - click on the Aces High Icon to bring p the clip board, then click the "Video Settings"
http://www.hitechcreations.com/ahgs/launch.htmlAfter you are satisfied with the settings (you can always come back here and fiddle some more if you like), press the "OK" button. If all went well, you should see ( be back to ) A moment after the splash screen appears, the clipboard will move into view.
2nd - Click the Online Arenas and log into the game, go to the clipboard again, at this time click on Options->Graphic Detail and you will see the following:
http://www.hitechcreations.com/ahhelp/graphics.html3rd - for the basic video settings, on your NEW ATI 5850 1 GIG DDR5 Video Card, you should be able to max every setting out to it's highest setting
then click the Advanced Video Options Button: here you should be able to turn every item on ( check every box ) and you should be able to set a minimal "Shadow Texture Size" of 2084, most likely you probably can even go higher to 4096 with no issues ( just tweak this to your liking )
as I posted in the PM I sent, I can stay rock steady using 2048 Shadow texture Size as long as I leave off Smooth shadowing, Smooth shadowning I see a performance hit 15 to 20 FPS when in a decent sized furball......
Update: ( madda posted while I was typing this )
Smooth Shadowing smooths out the jagged edges of the "Object Self Shadow"! the higher the "Shadow Texture Size" used, the smoother it looks ( on my PC )
then if I turn on Smooth Shadow it takes away any jagged edges completely......
so madda, how was your 1st test run with the new card? if you are using Windows 7 64 bit OS, did you check to see if it increased your options for your Monitor's Refresh Rate?as I posted.... in Windows XP Pro I have a maxed res of 70 hz, but in Windows 7 64 bit it gave me another higher option to 75 hz for the 1280 x 1024 Screen res setting...... just something worth checking...... ( NOTE: I have only sho resolutions/refreshes that my monitor supports, and hide all others.... you do not want to turn on show all resolutions and use something your Monitor is not capable of sustaining, it may damage your monitor.. YMMV )
hope this helps.....
