Optimal Crysis Settings on Summer '09 MBP?

[andrewmc]

Hey all,

My MBP specs are as follows:

17" matte
3.06GHz Core 2 Duo
4GB 1067 DDR3
500GB 7200 RPM
9600M GT
Windows XP via Bootcamp

I've found that I only get playable frame rates with everything on low at 1280x800, or (I'm not sure on these since I'm not booted into Windows right now) everything on high with shaders/shadows on low at 960x600. I do not have AA, vertical sync, or any of that stuff turned on.

I came across this video recently, which shows Crysis running better than I've ever gotten it to, even though this guy is using a less-powerful system:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4jvz7qa-e8


My settings are the same except that I turned shaders/shadows down even lower (that video uses medium, I have low). Is there any way I can get better performance out of this game?

(I have also noticed that when I am not playing anything and I go to My Computer > Properties, it shows my processor as only being 1.53GHz instead of the full 3.06; is there something stopping my system from using both cores in Windows?)

 

[ildondeigiocchi]

You'll probably be able to set it 1024 by 768 or 1280 by 1024 resolution with AA turned off. Most Settings set to medium with perhaps a few at high settings. Make sure to download newest nvidia drivers off their website. Best way to find out how it'll play is to try it by testing the settings yourself with fraps turned ON (download from fraps.com). It'll demonstrate you framerate. If it drops to under 20 for the most of the game you have to lower your settings. Good luck and enjoy Crysis. I loved it

 

[andrewmc]

I haven't had a chance to go in yet and tweak the settings much; I'll post the optimal settings as soon as I figure them out.

What a difference a driver update makes! I haven't run Fraps yet but it seems like I easily gained 5-10 fps by updating the driver and patching the game. I'll download that and start tweaking stuff soon.

 

[ildondeigiocchi]

Hey all,

My MBP specs are as follows:

17" matte
3.06GHz Core 2 Duo
4GB 1067 DDR3
500GB 7200 RPM
9600M GT
Windows XP via Bootcamp

I've found that I only get playable frame rates with everything on low at 1280x800, or (I'm not sure on these since I'm not booted into Windows right now) everything on high with shaders/shadows on low at 960x600. I do not have AA, vertical sync, or any of that stuff turned on.

I came across this video recently, which shows Crysis running better than I've ever gotten it to, even though this guy is using a less-powerful system:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4jvz7qa-e8


My settings are the same except that I turned shaders/shadows down even lower (that video uses medium, I have low). Is there any way I can get better performance out of this game?

(I have also noticed that when I am not playing anything and I go to My Computer > Properties, it shows my processor as only being 1.53GHz instead of the full 3.06; is there something stopping my system from using both cores in Windows?)

Are you running XP Home Edition as I strongly advise you don't. You should really think of XP Pro.

 

[andrewmc]

Yes, I'm running XP Pro SP3. Do you think I'd see any performance gains if I upgrade to Windows 7?

 

[rtrueman]

Win 7 vs. XP

I'm wondering the same thing. I'm currently using Win 7 with the latest NVidia drivers playing Dragon Age Origins. Will I get better framerates switching to XP?

I should mention I'm running a 4GB MBP with the 9600GT. It's pretty good, but better is always... better!

Thoughts?

Rob

 

[andrewmc]

Here are some articles I came across that compare gaming performance in XP to Windows 7:

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/reviews/windows_7_review?page=0,3

http://www.behardware.com/articles/774-5/windows-7-performance-in-games.html

From that, it looks like XP may actually be better for games. However, it seems to usually be a difference of only a few frames per second, so if you're already running 7 you might be better off to just hang on and wait until they release better drivers and all that. Personally, based on this info, I'm just going to wait until such updates are already around before I make the upgrade.