NEWS: Stream Crysis to your netbook or TV with OnLive

Don't have the best PC? Don't even HAVE a PC? You can still play the latest, most cutting-edge games like Crysis and F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, at maxed out settings.

Click the image above to learn more at Gizmodo.

A new service from a company called OnLive will allow PC users to download a simple client, and then stream games from a remote server. You don't need to have a great PC, or even have a video card at all. All of the video rendering is done on OnLive's servers, and the result is sent to you. The basic requirement is simply a fast broadband connection. You can play at standard definition with a 1.5mbps line, or at 720p HD with 5mbps.

Click the image above to learn more at Gizmodo.

The big concern here is obviously lag, and it will be interesting to see if OnLive's servers will be able to handle the load. I know I'm intrigued to see where this service can go, and will definitely be keeping my eye on it. Video card upgrades could eventually be a thing of the past.

Screenshots

As promised, here are some screenshots of games running on the Saphhire 4850 1gb. Click any of the images to see them at their full resolution. As I've stated in the past, my CRT monitor more or less restricts me to lowly 4:3 resolutions like 1024x768.

Hitman: Blood Money

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Mirror's Edge

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Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

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UPDATE! (03/04/09)

Here's a picture of my Rosewill power supply running. If you're in the market for a new PSU, definitely check this one out.

Screenshots coming soon

Sometime in the next couple days I'm going to post an update with some screenshots of games running on the Sapphire 4850. Expect some from Hitman: Bloody Money, Mirror's Edge, and COD4.

Crysis, Supreme Commander, Spore, and Soldier of Fortune: Payback are possibilities as well, I just need to figure out how to get screenshots to work in them.

On a side note, Mirror's Edge maxed out has some of the best visuals that I have ever seen in a video game. On PS3, 360, or PC, I've never quite seen anything like it. I hear that later levels in Crysis are also supposed to look great, I'll have to check that out as soon as I can.

I also might post a picture of the leds in my new Rosewill power supply; they look make the back of my PC case look great.

I'll update this post once I have everything ready. Check back soon.

REVIEW: Sapphire Radeon 4850 1GB

Ok, so I sat down and installed my new Sapphire Radeon 4850 1Gb video card (100258-1GL). This is a PCI-Express x 16 2.0 card, but the slot in my system is only 1.0. This is OK! PCI-E 2.0 cards are backwards-compatible with 1.0 systems. Now since my rig only has a 300w power supply, I also needed to buy a new power supply. The installation of both were actually surprisingly simply, I'll post guides at a later time.

Once my new, updated system was up and running, I started testing the games that flat out refused to run on my Intel GMA3100 integrated graphics. have been able to play EVERY game that I have tried. So far, I ran the Crysis SP Demo with every setting maxed (including AA), flawlessly. My old CRT monitor more or less limits me to 1024x768, so I can only speak for that resolution.

Games that I tested (and ran perfectly at maxed out settings):

- Crysis SP Demo
- COD4 SP Demo
- Hitman Blood Money Demo
- Team Fortress 2 (also Episode 1, HL2, and Portal, but I hear that most Source games run more or less the same on any given setup)
- Doom 3
- Far Cry
- F.E.A.R.

So far, everything that I have tried has run at max settings, without a hiccup. I'm also impressed with all the included adapters -- this card allows for connections to HDMI, VGA, DVI, s-video, composite, and component. Basically everything out there. The HDMI even allows for passthrough of 7.1 channel audio, and has two DVI ports so you can run dual monitors.

In Short:
Buy it. The card is $161 at Newegg, and it can run any game currently on the market. This is definetly a mid-range card in terms of price, and from some other reviews I've seen, some people saw slightly lower frame-rates when running Crysis at 1080p at max settings (who would have thought?). Installation is easy, it can handle anything, and you won't regret it.

Update: (03/04/09)
I thought it was worth mentioning that my Vista Experience scores skyrocketed after installing this card. My 'Graphics' and Gaming Graphics' scores went from lowly 3.4's with my integrated Intel GMA 3100 graphics to 5.9 each (the maximum possible).

My computer

OK, so before I post future reviews about hardware and my new Sapphire Radeon 4850 1GB video card, I should talk a little bit about my PC. It's a few weeks old, and I love it. It has 64-bit Vista Premium, which I hear a lot of people gripe about, but I haven't had a single problem. I encode video in AutoGK 3x faster with this PC then my old P4 3.0ghz that eventually died on me.

Video editing and such has been great on this PC, better than I could have hoped for. Games are another matter. I don't have a lot of time for gaming, but I like to be able to pull up a quick game of Hitman or an emulator when I have a free moment.

My new PC is a Gateway DX4710-05. Let's take a look at the specs:

The Good:

- Intel Core Quad Q6600 2.40ghz
- 6GB ram
- 640GB HD

The Bad:

- Intel GMA 3100 integrated graphics
- 300w power supply.

With my factory setup, games like Hitman: Blood Money, Crysis, Supreme Commander, or Soldier of Fortune: Payback won't even load. I think that has to do with the fact that most of these games requier Vertex Shader 2.o, and my integrated graphics weren't up to the task.

Games like HL1, Hitman 2, etc load fine. That pretty much limits me to games that came out in the 1990's. Considering the raw power of this computer's quad core processor and ram, I'm amazed how bad the integrated graphics cripple any attempt at gaming.

To remedy this issue, I bought a Rosewill 550w power supply and a Sapphire Radeon 4850 1gb video card, both from Newegg. These were my first purchases from Newegg, and I was really happy with the service. Fast shipping, the best prices I could find anywhere, and the items were well packed.

Stay tuned for the in depth Sapphire Radeon 4850 1GB review...