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would be nice if they gave a dx9,10,11 option the biggest vfps gain has to be running it in dx9 (apart from using a stupidly low resolution)

there is a option..go into my docs, bfbc2 folder...settings.ini where it says dxlevel=auto change to dxlevel=9...big frame boost

The medic need the score ticks from healing toned down JUST A TAD. I was 1k above everyone else on my team only reviving and healing people. I was seeing a score of 10, 10, 10, 10 with the total going up to 340 before it stopped! I was expecting to see a God of War multiplier in the corner saying "NURSE! DOCTOR! S-S-S-SURGEON!" I must have killed all of... 6 people in a 30 min round. :p

I like the unlock system though. A lot of life in the game if the unlocks take this long to acquire. I'm only rank 4! Talking of unlocks. The Semi auto sniper rifle is awesome with the lag. If you miss keep tapping and you'll end up dropping them. :p

Servers were really laggy for me, and gameplay was bad due to having issues with fps like Larry. I tried everything from different resolutions to setting everything to low, etc.. Still was choppy.

I guess I am going to ahve to really play with the advanced video options to get the right setting.

I had to drop down to medium settings to get my fps decent enough to play on a core I7 940/4GB Ram with an ATi 4890. Other than that issue I'm loving it, no other complaints except the FOV should be slightly bigger.

All in all I give it a (Y)

I managed to get in a really good server last night and my opinion of the game has changed if they iron all the bugs out before release then il be happy I bought it.

also does anyone know if they will patch the beta at all? iv been in other beta's where they have patched them quite abit.

Servers were really laggy for me, and gameplay was bad due to having issues with fps like Larry. I tried everything from different resolutions to setting everything to low, etc.. Still was choppy.

I guess I am going to ahve to really play with the advanced video options to get the right setting.

I really played around with things for a good 30 minutes yesterday, and also because I was suck a stickler with BF2, I can tell you the following options are the ones you need to play around with the most...

Level Of Detail

Shadow Quality

Effects Quality

HBAO

And of course the AA & AF, although honestly when I had them from 1x to 8x the difference was negligible, but I have what i think is a pretty damn good card that can handle AA & AF well, but they are definitely worth playing around with as well.

Level Of Detail was definitely the biggest thing I saw though, Medium to High meant 25-30 fps for me. Unfortunately that is the setting that also affects how it looks, but I am more about performance then looks in a MP game, and it still looks good for me.

Now it runs like an absolute dream for me. last night it literally ran perfect, I have not tried it yet today so do not know about the lag, etc. but a few pages back is what I wound up settling on. May still tweak some stuff here and there, but it ran really, really well for me last night.

I have to say, I think it was Spookie, but someone mentioned the "fog" and or the "smoke" whatever the hell it is, being overdone, and I absolutely agree. Would be great if they just turned that down a notch.

I thought you just change the value to 9? According to this forum thread anyways: http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/battlefield-bad-company-2-pc-beta/880491-bad-game-performance-fps.html

Please let us know whether it improves the framerate dramatically. I'm still at work

Sorry for the late response. You've probably had a chance to try it out by now, but I'll let you know how it worked out for me.

Changing the value to 9 did make a difference and made the game much more playable on my system.

They need to tweak the controls a bit, it really feels like it is not native to the PC. Graphics performance with the 4870 is butter smooth at medium graphics. Much beyond that, it is horrible, rumor is if you run it in DX11 mode it is quick.

First off, HBAO is an FPS killer - I switched that off yesterday and my FPS shot up tenfold, went from "fairly smooth" to above-60-FPS-smooth.

Not to mention, the visible difference between on and off are pretty insignificant from what I can tell.

As for the mentioning of the fog, I have to say, I disagree. I believe we're talking about that heavy icy / smoke effect that seems to cover everything at times?

I say that's a god send gift. I hate games where there's nothing to obstruct the view, giving campers and snipers alike a chance to pick you off constantly during an attack.

With this, you can actually use that natural masking to your advantage, helps with the attacks and helps you sneak up and past enemy lines.

Especially in the map they provided because jesus, the combat progression is so pathetic - There's no room for movement and flanking, the corridors are so narrow

and your basically fighting across a tiny stretch of road up to a checkpoint in a certain area.

Few tips to get a more FPS:

C:\Users\[name]\Documents\BFBC2Beta and open settings.ini.

Where it says: 'bloom=true'. Type 'bloom=false'. That gives a performance boost as well as giving your eyes a rest! You can also change: 'DxVersion=auto' to 'DxVersion=9' if you're having real trouble with FPS. Anyone who is on the 200 series of cards the latest beta drivers have REALLY gave me a performance boost in this game as well. Give em a shot. :)

Especially in the map they provided because jesus, the combat progression is so pathetic - There's no room for movement and flanking, the corridors are so narrow

and your basically fighting across a tiny stretch of road up to a checkpoint in a certain area.

It's easy, punch through on a bike, get your squad to die and respawn on you. Flank the defenders and everyone will rush up! Failing that run round reviving everyone. :x

It's easy, punch through on a bike, get your squad to die and respawn on you. Flank the defenders and everyone will rush up! Failing that run round reviving everyone. :x

Yeah and I have a feeling I'll hop on a quad, drive through, get killed in a heartbeat and wonder why the hell I even bothered trying it.

Bah, cant say im impressed by how the game performs. Doesnt matter what are the settings - it stills feel laggy and slow. And from what i can gather, not only for me. Optimization my ass. Its almost like crysis all over again... Except Crysis had visuals. Im not saying bc2 doesnt look great, but cmon!

Also from what it seems its utilizing only one core (that leads me to believe cpu might be bottleneck... @ 3.6 ghz somehow). Jeez, even Source has multicore support.

Heres me hoping that theres some driver issue to be worked out or something to be done, but i doubt.

I'm sure the game's performance will improve. The Frostbite engine is fairly new on the PC and they definitely need to work on optimizing it.

Anyway, this is the kinda score you get when you're a professional Medic:

Pwnage.jpg

My combat score is low but I definitely helped out my team in terms of healing, reviving, and getting headshots. At least, I tried to. :p

It's also the most useful class. :)

I think they are god damn useless, especially with the new healing system - I hate being revived in the middle of a fight makes me become really disorientated,

also because revives happens rarely on standard servers in my experience. So right now I just see it as an "easy points" class for people who like that sort of stuff.

It just annoys me they are the only class able to use LMGs, as they are fun weapons to use.

However a re-arm box, now that's actually useful.

It just annoys me they are the only class able to use LMGs

The LMGs are awful and just spray everywhere! :(

Right just hit cap (rank 11). In all you get 3 unlocks for each class a couple of perks - pouches for ammo, nades and C4/Rockets, faster run and something else I think. You also get

The thompson and the dart gun! rank 10 and 11 respectively.

The latter is ****ING AWESOME as you'd imagine. :D

I love this game even when my team is being wiitarded and no one works together.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Nope. That lack of surround sound capability (analog) won't fly with me. Sure, I use headphones most of the time, but still.
    • Creative Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe review: your headphones will love it by Steven Parker If you have been reading Neowin for any length of time, you may remember that I reviewed the Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro back in April. I found it to be an excellent budget sound card, even though it lacked support for formats such as DTS over the included SPDIF port. Anyway, Creative reached out to me again asking if I was interested in reviewing the Sound Blaster AE-X. It is a card mainly targeted at headphone wearers, which I'll get into a bit later. Before we get underway, here is a disclaimer: Creative Labs provided a free sample without any review pre-approval. Here are the full specs of it: Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Dimensions: 179 x 126 x 18 mm Weight: 263g / 9.28 oz Platform: PCI-e DAC: ESS ES9039Q2M Connectivity Options Side: Rear: 1 x HD Audio Front Panel Connector, 1 x ⅛“ Headphone port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Left) port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Right) port, 1 x Coaxial SPDIF-out port, 1 x ⅛“ Mic in/Line-in port, 1 x TOSLINK SPDIF-in port Surround: No DNR / SNR: THD+N: 0.0001% Dynamic Range 130 dB Recording Resolution: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Direct Mode: Line Out (Stereo): PCM up to 32-bit  384 kHz Coaxial SPDIF Out: PCM up to 24-bit 192.0 kHz Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 384kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 Output Impedance: 1Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 8–600Ω, IEM: 0.5Vrms, Low: 1.5Vrms, Mid: 3Vrms, High: 6Vrms, Maximum output power: 350mW @ 32Ω (High), Maximum output voltage: 6Vrms (High) Front Panel Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128 Output Impedance: 10Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 32–300Ω, Maximum output power: 40mW @ 32Ω, Maximum output voltage: 1.9Vrms ASIO: ASIO 2.3 Total Harmonic Distortion: THD+N: 0.0006% Dynamic Range: 114 dB Scout Mode: Yes EMI shielding: No (but it passed all the FCC emission tests) Operating temperature: 0–45°C Input Power: 12V⎓0.5A Warranty: 1 Year (MSRP) Price: $179.99 / £169.99 The Sound Blaster AE-X was announced at the end of May, and it becomes clear that it is mainly for headphone wearers. I should also note that the card does not support DDL/DTS encoding technology, but it is said to support decoding through the coaxial SPDIF port. I was able to test this working with the classic Windows Sound properties, but I could not get a DTS (decode) signal through my Logitech Z906, it defaulted to 3D sound whenever I played DTS content through Plex or Emby. In addition, this card only supports two channels (stereo) over the speakers. The surround support is limited to the Headphone Amp, so before I get underway, what we have here is a card mostly intended for headphone use, especially with its SPDIF In (Toslink) port where you could connect another device like a console. So what about the highlights of this card? The AE-X is powered by the ESS SABRE DAC (ES9039Q2M), which is capable of a 130 dB dynamic range. In addition, it supports 32-bit/384 kHz playback for deeper detail and clarity. The headphone amplifier delivers up to 350 mW @ 32Ω, which admittedly far surpasses standard onboard audio, offering support for studio-grade headphones. DSD256 and ASIO 2.3 are also supported. What doesn't it have? No support for What-U-Hear, Super X-Fi, or the SmartComms Kit No EMI shielding, but it passed all the FCC emission tests (from the FAQ) I also want to make it clear that I am no audiophile. For me, it's purely subjective and it should just "work" out of the box. First impressions As I said in the introduction, I was a bit sad to see that the AE-X only supports stereo output, meaning it would not be on par with my ALC1220 over my speakers, as I mentioned it seems like this card is marketed toward headphone users. Since I am not an avid gamer that would rule me out as a potential customer, but I can still test its capabilities! The card arrived in a nice-looking box, as shown above. It's quite a bit larger than the Audify FX Pro that I reviewed back in April, and at first I thought the covering meant that it was EMI shielded, but it isn't as mentioned above in the highlights section. What's in the box: 1 x Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe card 1 x 3.5 mm CTIA TRRS to Dual TRS Headset Splitter Cable 1 x Quick Start Guide Aside from the Quick Start Guide, which someone at my age (I guess) needs a magnifying glass to read thanks to the tiny fonts, Creative Labs also has the manual online, which first requires you to prove that you're human in order to access it (so I can't direct link it). Anyway, the box is mostly made up of cardboard, and the only plastic in it is the anti-static bag for the card itself. Design Top Bottom The card itself looks pretty cool and actually wouldn't look out of place in an all-white build. There's only one connector, and for some reason it is awkwardly placed on the side (front-facing) that is for the front panel audio connector, which will let you use the headphones through the front PC audio jack. Since the front panel Headphone Amp has fewer capabilities than the rear headphone port, I decided not to use it. Rear of card PCI-e interface The rear of the card is completely open and is normally where you would find the front panel connector. The PCIe interface side is completely covered, which initially made me think it was EMI shielded. I/O panel Side (front-facing) with Front panel connector On the outer rear bracket side we have the TOSLINK SPDIF in, Coaxial SPDIF out, RCA line out (Right), RCA line out (Left), Headphone out, and Mic/Line in ports. On the front facing portion of the card itself is the F-panel connector. Usage Test System Our test system consists of the following: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER (BIOS F12) Corsair RM1000x (2024) Thermal Grizzly Kyronaut (33x33x0,2mm) 2x 32GB Kingston Fury Beast RGB DDR5 6000MT/s CL36-38-38-80 T-Force Z540 2TB (PCIe Gen5) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition (NVIDIA) Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Windows 11 25H2 Pro I installed the card into the Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER which includes the RealTek ALC1220 onboard audio. For our subjective listening tests, I used the Coaxial SPDIF port to my Logitech Z906 speakers. For headphone tests I used the OneOdio Studio Max 2 Wireless DJ Headphones that I reviewed last month. After installing the audio driver, I installed Creative Nexus, which is a relatively new app designed for the latest Sound Blaster cards. Then I discovered the AE-X needed both a driver update from 1.00.15.0001 to 1.01.09.000 and a firmware update from 1.00.06.0000 to 1.00.06.0002, then I was set to go. It should be noted that the card did not work without the driver (not Plug and Play). As you can see above, you can manage the firmware, driver, and inputs via Advanced Settings on the Device tab. By default Nexus enabled "Direct Mode". Upon clicking on Acoustic Engine, the Equalizer can be enabled and set to four different presets, which are: Gaming Music Movies Footsteps Enhancer There's also a dedicated Scout Mode for gamers. I mainly used Tidal and Spotify in the past week to listen to some of my Liked Songs (which now total over 700) in Shuffle mode; there were no pops or interference that I could hear. I also found a 5.1 Surround Music playlist on Tidal that sounded really great over Studio Max 2 headphones. When I reviewed the Audigy FX Pro, I went out and purchased a Logitech Z906 set second-hand for €100 specifically to use with the card, but in this instance all I could get on the AE-X was the 3D output of surround sound through Coaxial SPDIF and although it still sounded great, it isn't quite as good as DTS Interactive via my onboard Realtek ALC1220. Conclusion So what have I learned? The AE-X lacks multi-channel support for 5.1/7.1 setups and drops support for modern surround technologies like Dolby or DTS, functioning strictly as a stereo output device. So to really benefit, you will need Studio-grade headphones to "hear" the benefits of this card. With that being said, I can imagine it will appeal to gamers who are switching between console and PC. By utilizing the SPDIF in port, you could just plug your headphones into the AE-X (front or rear port) and then switch between PC and Console without having to move the headphones to a different port. As I said in the Sound Blaster Audigy review, the EQ in the Creative Nexus app offers safe presets, which allows a user to further tweak the lows, mids, and highs for a personal listening experience. Of course it all depends on the headphones you hook up to it. Speaking of headphones, I kind of wish I had higher-quality Studio-grade headphones to really test this card with; I'm not usually wearing headphones in my day to day duties. The only time I will wear them is if I want to listen to music very late at night and I don't want to disturb my neighbors, so my rating (verdict) is based on this fact. Someone with a PC/Console setup and wears headphone religiously to game, and consume media will benefit much more than I from the high-quality Headphone Amps that are included in the AE-X. Once again, I do feel like Creative could have gone the extra mile to support the S/PDIF port a bit more. Why include it if you're not supporting the main popular digital formats? It seems like the decision was more of a legacy-based one, offering uncompressed 2-channel PCM audio, for users with high-fidelity audio systems and external DACs. Maybe I will be lucky enough to review a card that truly includes all these features in the future. I am sure readers with far more knowledge on audio systems than me will correct me in the comments below. I'll just say I am happy to learn what I don't know! Where to buy The Sound Blaster AE-X is available to purchase now in preorder for $179.99 on the U.S. Creative website, or for £169.99 on the Creative UK website and will start shipping to customers from June 25.
    • $80 or 90%, anything else would be financial suicide one way or another.
    • Or... just use Bitwarden. Free, and has on-prem option as well. Works both on desktop and mobile, wherever you are. The age of local password files is over.
    • Thanks
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