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I haven't done much, turning off HBAO gave me a massive boost.

Spookie recommended me adding +fullproc to my launch options, it's supposed to be an option that allows full utilization of Dual / Quad core CPUs but the game

was running quite smooth before that as well.

That is basically what I've done tweak wise, I also turned of bloom but that's only visual; didn't give me any noticeable FPS boost either.

I've decided I won't be getting this on 360. The graphics are ****-poor, but that's only a part of the reason. Online just feels like such an effort to do anything. It's got the usual Battlefield lag symptoms where you keep on moving/your aim moves around by itself while it tries to catch up with the rest of the game. I love the menus/scoreboards and the progress system, but I just don't enjoy the gameplay.

The last Bad Company also seemed like it was too big of a mouthful for the Consoles, a bit sluggish, a bit cumbersome and lacked the snappiness of other shooters. Also the reason I went for the PC version this time around - Really feels spot on (Y)

I decided to run a quick FRAPS based Benchmark, 60 seconds from the time I drop from the Parachute, run up to the nearby cliff where most snipers hang out and overlook the area to get as much action as possible in screen and here's the result;

2010-01-31 15:33:06 - BFBC2Game

Frames: 4084 - Time: 60000ms - Avg: 71.067 - Min: 61 - Max: 102

That's running 1920 x 1200, Everything High, HBAO Off and AA / AF at 4x ( Haven't toyed with these so much, could probably crank up on both but I doubt I'll see a difference )

Normally I would never get these sort of results with AA running in a game like this, so I'd say the engine is very impressive.

Frames, Time (ms), Min, Max, Avg

2543, 60000, 32, 53, 42.383

at 1920x1080 with all settings on and at max except AA which is left at 1x

I haven't done much, turning off HBAO gave me a massive boost.

Spookie recommended me adding +fullproc to my launch options, it's supposed to be an option that allows full utilization of Dual / Quad core CPUs but the game

was running quite smooth before that as well.

That is basically what I've done tweak wise, I also turned of bloom but that's only visual; didn't give me any noticeable FPS boost either.

THanks for that. WTF is HBAO anyway? It doubled my fps turning it off!

I can see why there could and should be discussion about taking prone out but I do believe ultimately it is for the benefit of everyone involved. Simple fact is prone snipers are that much harder to find and take out, even with the destructible environments.

So although I do understand how and why it is a questionable decision, I do ultimately believe it is the correct one.

Totally OT but this is my first post ever from my Droid, really liking the new mobile version.

I am so glad prone is gone. I mean I am a sniper myself and definitely agree it was the correct decision. On top of stopping those prone/jump shooters.

So I unlocked some extra scopes for the sniper rifle, how do I attach them? I can see the stats within the menus but no way to attach and there's no indication of it in-game either?

EDIT: Nevermind, it does show up on weapon selection but it just didn't for me, happens bit too often you need to wait until your unlocks show up.

You know I do not like the way they are handling this, and now that I have unlocked quite better items, I have to reselect them everytime I join a new server. Is there something I am missing here? Is there a weapons/gadgets setup somewhere, where I can set up what I want to use for each class and it use those automatically until I choose something different?

Friends list is working like others say. Once you get them added to your friends list it will show them online/offline but not in a game, you just have to know they are in a game and click on the arrow to join them. Add me to your friends lists guys on PC, my buddy I always play with just had to go out of town on unexpected business and will not be back until next week and I want someone to play with. My name is SMELTN. Also how long is the beta suppose to be?

If I buy the game in the stores, will I be able to add the key to steam so it will load it as a "steam game" and will be able to join my friends on steam?

Crap there was something else I wanted to say but forgot.. lol

You know I do not like the way they are handling this, and now that I have unlocked quite better items, I have to reselect them everytime I join a new server. Is there something I am missing here? Is there a weapons/gadgets setup somewhere, where I can set up what I want to use for each class and it use those automatically until I choose something different?

I just think the system is severely bugged, sometimes it'll remember choices, sometimes it remembers half of them, sometimes unlocked weapons won't show up, sometimes it doesn't actually pick what you selected etc. and it's a huge pain in the ass. The number of times I selected Mortar Strike on the sniper class only to discover I still have the C4 are numerous - It's a real pain in the ...

No yeah when I did try to play yesterday, I could not (way to much lag), but I noticed it kept going from I was a Level 2 with unlocks (which I am) to Level 1 with none, for no reason at all. So I would say the system is definitely buggered.

@ Anaron - I had my FPS issues sorted out ages ago, I posted all about it awhile back and shared my settings in case people had a similar set up. I use a mixture of Medium and High, mostly medium.

No yeah when I did try to play yesterday, I could not (way to much lag), but I noticed it kept going from I was a Level 2 with unlocks (which I am) to Level 1 with none, for no reason at all. So I would say the system is definitely buggered.

Just a solution for that, keep going back and forth through the different kits on the kit selection menu - It's an issue with your unlocks not being "loaded" so to speak. Had it happen to me loads of times now and basically just waited it out.

Just a solution for that, keep going back and forth through the different kits on the kit selection menu - It's an issue with your unlocks not being "loaded" so to speak. Had it happen to me loads of times now and basically just waited it out.

Ahhh okay thanks, I will try that for sure. (Y)

And also I read your benchmark, and I think you need to go smack dab in the middle of that first little "town" then come back to us. I am not disputing your numbers, I very much believe them, but when I dropped out of the plane I was getting upwards of 80-90 fps (on high) and even on the sprint towards "town" where the first two crates are kept between 60-80, but once I got in town among the true thick of things, it dropped to as low as 25-30.

So just wanted to point that out, you may not have a true benchmark as I know that sequence pretty well that you talk about, and you snipers stop well before I would say the true action is happening. Even if you are on the far eastern ledge pretty close in, just some fences on that side that can first be destroyed. It is much different seeing the action in this game and being right among it, frames per second gets hammered big time when you are among it. If you are a sniper I guess it does not matter much and you are still technically a part of it, but seeing a side of a building come off from a slight distance and being inside it are two very different graphical experiences from what I have seen in my tests, and I was obsessed with performance for the better part of the first two days.

Just wanted to point that out for other people as well. Your Frames Per Second experience definitely will vary depending on the type of role you play. Snipers tend to get up and then lay back, as they are snipers. I always play Assault so I am the people jumping in a tank or a quad and zooming right into the thick of things, and based on what I saw that is where the big performance hits come in. I am not an expert on the whole matter but my guess would be the destructible environments really require some heavy processing.

With that said I also did the +fullproc command to my shortcut, and it could have been a placebo affect but it definitely seemed to help performance out, even just things like signing in right at the beginning seemed speedier, so I definitely recommend that to others if you have a dual or quad core CPU. It does not break anything, and although I did research it a bit and the opinions are mixed on if it actually helps, I felt like it did for sure.

Oh yeah, I'm 100% sure the numbers will go down even further by going into town and seeing more smoke / explosions on screen but not once when I'm playing, whether it be Assault, Sniper or whatever have I felt a drop in FPS and it genuinely feels like I'm going 60 FPS steady throughout the entire map. I also know what I'm looking for and how a true FPS drop feels as I've been a manic performance craving guy ever since my young Counter-strike days where we tweaked and discussed how to get past the 100 FPS mark :laugh: Back then, I could feel the difference between 60 and 100 very clearly despite few of my friends and online buddies saying that was a lie.

I'll try and do a benchmark when entering town next time I'm playing, which should be very soon ( Read: After this post ) and see the difference but I'm fairly certain the numbers won't change because the experience is very similar in town as well as in the drop-zone for me (Y)

EDIT: I'm on the edge of snapping completely, whenever I post, the new system removes formatting and takes random sentences and puts 'em down

to the next line, forcing me to edit and move them back up where they initially were.

Oh yeah, I'm 100% sure the numbers will go down even further by going into town and seeing more smoke / explosions on screen but not once when I'm playing, whether it be Assault, Sniper or whatever have I felt a drop in FPS and it genuinely feels like I'm going 60 FPS steady throughout the entire map. I also know what I'm looking for and how a true FPS drop feels as I've been a manic performance craving guy ever since my young Counter-strike days where we tweaked and discussed how to get past the 100 FPS mark :laugh: Back then, I could feel the difference between 60 and 100 very clearly despite few of my friends and online buddies saying that was a lie.

I'll try and do a benchmark when entering town next time I'm playing, which should be very soon ( Read: After this post ) and see the difference but I'm fairly certain the numbers won't change because the experience is very similar in town as well as in the drop-zone for me (Y)

EDIT: I'm on the edge of snapping completely, whenever I post, the new system removes formatting and takes random sentences and puts 'em down

to the next line, forcing me to edit and move them back up where they initially were.

Yeah definitely post back, I am curious to hear if I am talking out of my arse or not. :laugh: I just know from my experience it was not only noticeable but FRAPS told me for sure it was a big difference, but if somehow you are able to still keep the high FPS in town when the crap is hitting the fan, as someone said above please do share the magic, although I am thinking it wont matter much here, as I am pretty sure you have an ATi card right? Could it be ATi's just perform much better?

And what browser you using? I have noticed that with your posts, the line breaks, and it is indeed strange as nothing like that on my end except if I try and copy and paste, as that causes the same line break issues. But just straight typing I have never seen that issue. Weird and it would drive me nuts too.

I started running it at the hill a good throwing distance from the crate labelled "A" at the yellow house on the right side of the first town, I basically ran down the hill and killed someone and follow a tank under heavy fire

shooting up the entire town, so there was plenty of smoke, fire and explosions everywhere and here's the results;

2010-01-31 18:31:39 - BFBC2Game

Frames: 4216 - Time: 60000ms - Avg: 70.267 - Min: 57 - Max: 91

It's not even that much below my first result, which is quite impressive. And yes, I have an ATi card - The 4870X2 to be specific. I haven't heard about any particular ATi praise with this game but every single card has massive artefact / flickering problems :laugh:

So I'm definitely not complaining, the game is butter smooth and looks highly impressive (Y)

By the way, I did a second test during an assault on that large building in the first town after we blew up the crates;

2010-01-31 18:33:11 - BFBC2Game

Frames: 4475 - Time: 60000ms - Avg: 74.583 - Min: 59 - Max: 102

I can't actually believe how consistent it manages to be whether it be a quiet area or a lot of action.

As for the browser Larry, I'm using the very latest version of Chrome ( 5-something )

on default medium settings i've never experienced any texture issues i've got a 3870. I'm enjoying it all besides part that we're locked at sergeant II rank then sergeant III is 100 million points away i mean seriously wtf is with that when ps3 beta got access to all ranks and items ....

My experience so far has been this, who this looks fun. Then I get sniped two seconds after I spawn. Well I figure that won't happen again, but it does over and over again for the next five minutes. Thank you DICE, for having **** spawns right in the middle of the ****ing open where I can get shot in the face over and over again.

Oh I remember what else I was going to ask.. I am trying to decide between BFBC2 and BF3. I mean what will the big difference be between these 2 games? I mean honestly this feels like a BF2 updated game.

Oh I remember what else I was going to ask.. I am trying to decide between BFBC2 and BF3. I mean what will the big difference be between these 2 games? I mean honestly this feels like a BF2 updated game.

... Decide between the two? BF3 haven't even been shown to the public nor behind closed doors and no information have been released O.o

And it feels nothing like BF2 except for the fact it's a battlefield game which is a synonym for huge battles with vehicles and infantry, in my opinion.

... Decide between the two? BF3 haven't even been shown to the public nor behind closed doors and no information have been released O.o

And it feels nothing like BF2 except for the fact it's a battlefield game which is a synonym for huge battles with vehicles and infantry, in my opinion.

yeah but its coming out this year.

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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