OT: Deciding on a new graphics card

[Kana]

The only problem with the get another vid card and do the SLI thing in a couple of years, is dependent on finding an exact match for your same card that you already have. In a couple of years whatever 8800GTS you may have, may not be the 8800GTS they are building. If your are going to do the SLI thing either do it from the start, or within 6 months or so.

[luke_slovakian]

True. WoW i'm stumped with that, i don't know if the new series would be capable or not. I think they should be BUT would not trust myself on that one. I can ask my friend and let you know.

[Fyron]

SLI is a bad investment all around. Really expensive, for just a few percent performance gains.. Plus its still problematic with most (all?) games.

[PvK]

So Fyron, do you have any link(s) to offer that give what you consider relatively accurate summaries of what's been going on with built-in digital copy protection?

[Fyron]

I don't care to do an exhaustive search, but here are a few:

On Windows Vista, DRM, and new monitors - August 21, 2005

Talks about AACS protections dealing with "old" monitors and such.

"Any device—whether it be a PC or consumer electronic device—will need to ensure compliance with the specified policies otherwise they risk being unable to access the next-gen DVD content. Clearly we think that offering next-gen DVD content on the PC is much preferable to having the PC excluded from accessing this premium content.." (Marcus Matthias, product manager of Windows Digital Media at Microsoft)

The truth behind HDCP and video card support - February 14, 2006

References to problems with the ever-changing AACS spec while companies trying to make products to support it were coming out.

Blu-ray and HD DVD support in Vista out of Microsoft's hands - August 24, 2006

"The companies backing both HD DVD and Blu-ray are insistent on iron-clad copy protection. That means Microsoft, Apple, and anyone else that wants to be able to play high-definition Blu-ray or HD DVD video will need to support the kind of copy protection mandated by the studios: AACS+ and HDCP."

AACS DRM tentacles reach far into operating systems - August 12, 2007

"So, when thinking about this issue, we have to ask ourselves: is a company like Microsoft or Apple likely to tell Hollywood to jump off a cliff? No, because both companies know that users will want to play HD DVD or Blu-ray discs on their computers. Microsoft didn't tell AACS LA to stuff it, and Apple won't tell them to, either."

[Ragnarok-X]

Fyron, would you suggest me to upgrade from my 7900 GT to a 8800 ? (2 gb of ram, e6600).

[Kana]

I guess it would depend on what games you want to play, and what detail level you want to play at.

I had an ATI X300SE, which barely ran CoD4 at the lowest settings. Bought an 8800GT, and now I run it maxed out.

[Ragnarok-X]

Currently im running Stalker and CoD at 1280 * 1024 with max details, though no anti-aliasing at all. I dont really have the need for a better GFX since i dont even own Crysis (and i believe CoD 4 is already high-end) but who knows ?

[PvK]

Thanks Fyron.

[PvK]

Ok, I read these. They are indeed blaming the media corps and acting like M$ (and Apple) has no choice but to design their OS so that it supports this wacked-out DRM design (HDMI/HDCP) that requires computers not to have full control over their audio/visual devices.

Still seems to me that this is unacceptable to me. I don't want to run a so-called Operating System that doesn't let me control my computer, nor do I want hardware that is wired to turn itself off or degrade its performance unless it is obeying some such protocol. My word for that remains sabotage, and it applies to Vista.