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Tiazmat

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  1. Like
    Tiazmat got a reaction from Arcanekitten in Morrowind/Skyrim Modding   
    Well, sorry I cannot help you with modding Morrowind (I've done it before, but I'm sure there are people who can do it far better than I), but I have spent a lot of time modding skyrim, so I'll give you what I can.
     
    Firstly, we need to get the boring stuff out of the way that will make the game playable.
     
    SKSE
    http://skse.silverlock.org/
    ENBoost
    http://enbdev.com/download_mod_tesskyrim.htm
    http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/38649/?
    SSME
    http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/50305/?
    The Unofficial Patches
    http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/19/?
    http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/23491/?
    http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/31083/?
    http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/25127/?
     
    These mods are basically essential to playing the game correctly with stability. I'm sure you could find information about why these are necessary, but yeah, moving on...
     
    If you want the BEST experience with textures, then the Mod Combiner is the way go about it, but it isn't exactly quick, so I'll be giving you the best of the more basic mods.
    Mod Combiner: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/51467/?
     
    Skyrim 2k: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/607/?
    That is basically the all-encompassing pack (It doesn't actually touch nearly anything, but it does do a lot). Most popular. Good.
     
    Skyrim Flora Overhaul: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/141/?
    The predominate flora mod, very good, highly recommended.
     
    Ruins Clutter Improved: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/14227/?
    Retex/remodel of dungeon stuff, looks great.
     
    Static Mesh Improvement Mod: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/8655/?
    Remeshes of lots of the bad looking meshes in the game. Very highly recommended.
     
    Realistic Water Two: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/41076/?
    Essentially the best water mod right now, makes the water look incredible.
     
    Enhanced Blood Textures: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/60/?
    Does exactly what you would expect it to do. Looks great.
     
    Ultimate HD Fire Effects: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/28642/?
    I can't remember if there has been a better fire mod since, but this one is good and has been around for a long time.
     
    Detailed Rugs: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/29608/?
     
    A Book of Silence: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/24909/?
    Retex of armours and weapons. Fantastic mod.
     
    Skyrim Realistic Texture Overhaul Series:
    http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/38539/?
    http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/56137/?
    http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/58461/?
    http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/59563/?
    http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/59469/?
    Nice textures for the Landscapes, Caves, Clouds, Mountains, and Dragons
     
    Audio Overhaul for Skyrim 2: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/43773/?
    Great audio mod that makes the game feel much more realistic.
     
    Vivid Landscapes: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/49344/?
    Has great textures for all sorts of things, most of which include Parallax maps.
     
    This is certainly a good start to a mod list, but I'm sure there's a lot missing here. If you want me to go on, then I could go on, but this stuff is the most important to getting the best looking game possible.
  2. Like
    Tiazmat got a reaction from Nup in Samsung U28D590D and LG 34UM95-P; My thoughts on 4K vs 21:9   
    Samsung U28D590D
     
    28 Inches, 3840x2160, TN Panel.
     
    Let's talk about the panel first. For all of the non-believers out there, you CAN have a good looking TN panel (HTC One, anyone?). No, it doesn't look as good as IPS usually does, but it does look miles ahead of my other sub-par TN panels. The 1 billion colors doesn't mean that it's going to be a photo-editors dream, but instead it starts to make up for the fact that it's a TN panel. The viewing angles are, as expected, TN quality. Again, it gets a lot worse, but there is a color shift.
     
    The response times are actually very good. There is very little 'motion blur' as a result (not what it's technically called, I know. But you get the point). You can't expect it to be 120hz quality, but you won't be disappointed. The input lag is another story, though. According to those who've measured it, the input lag is about 40ms. That is not great. This monitor should not be used by a gamer that feels they need exceptionally low input lag. In practice, it doesn't feel quite so awful, but I won't say that it isn't noticeable. It's there.
     
    While not a huge deal, there does seem to be a slight amount of backlight bleed. So the blacks are slightly blue-ish. It isn't 'bad', but it's an LCD. What did you expect?
     
    Ergonomics? Pretty awful. The stand looks good, (as does the rest of the monitor) but the construction is absolute trash. If the ASUS model with the same panel is a similar price, it's a no-brainer: get the ASUS. But if it isn't, then the Samsung is fine. The worst part is the exclusion of a vesa mount, but I'll live. Among other things, I with there was a USB hub. But the monitor just has its DisplayPort 1.2, 2xHDMI 1.4, and 1/8 inch headphone jack.
     
    If you want 4k, then this is the sensible budget option, depending on the price. If it's lower than about $500, then it's probably the monitor you want, assuming you're on a budget. But it just depends on current prices; I recently saw the Dell IPS for only $30 more. If you have some more money and are a bit more serious about gaming, then the Acer G-sync with the same panel as this works. If you want IPS, then the Dell P2715q or ASUS PB279Q are great options. But at this point I'm basically naming all of the 4K monitors out right now. If you care that much, I'm sure you can decide for yourself or research elsewhere. I personally wanted the new ASUS PG27AQ, but I decided to spend the money I got back on a second 970 and an AIO liquid cooler. I will be waiting so I can get a DisplayPort 1.3 compatible GPU and a 5K monitor (Hopefully by the end of this year!).
     
    LG 34UM95-P
     
    34 Inches, 3440x1440, IPS Panel. This thing is beautiful.
     
    This thing reinvigorated my love for IPS. It is absolutely gorgeous. Fantastic contrast, too. 
     
    The backlight bleed is bad. Really, really bad. Plenty to warrant sending the monitor back. But luckily it isn't horribly noticeable when you aren't looking at a black screen. This is a known issue with this monitor, but that doesn't make it excusable. Normally that would strike disaster when watching a movie, since it is letterboxed, but this little devil alleviates that issue entirely!
     
    Movies are what this is really made for (at least in my opinion). This thing is unreal when you are watching something it the monitor's native aspect ratio. 
     
    The productivity is also fantastic. The 110 PPI over 34 inches means that you can easily see and deal with a lot of content on the screen at a time. Putting two things side-by-side at 1720x1440 each is great. I installed LG's Screen Split software, but I got it from their website and it does not seem to work.
     
    Motion blur is prevalent, but not ridiculous. As a gamer, you will easily notice it. I have dealt with much worse, though, and this isn't terrible. Unless you're an FPS player, you shouldn't be concerned (but if you play FPS games, are you really considering this monitor? Really?). The input lag is very tolerable. Not nearly as bad as the Samsung 4k.
     
    The stand is a disappointment, but there is a VESA mount included. Plenty of ports, with a USB hub and an interesting inclusion of thunderbolt. Cool!
     
    The "UM95" does not have a curve, so I do not have experience with that. But I can say that it would probably have a small, but in most cases, positive effect. Sadly, in many cases, the UC97 is significantly more expensive, so I probably would not recommend it for that reason and that reason only.
     
    Gaming is pretty cool on this. There are games that don't exactly support it (Dota 2, one of my favorites, does not like it very much). Third person games are great though. Racing games are also excellent. But I would recommend either anti-aliasing or DSR (When I was playing Fallout New Vegas at 5880x2880 (which was butter-smooth, by the way), there was still noticeable aliasing, but that game tends to be an aliasing nightmare).
     
    The Insightful Conclusion
     
    Coming from using a number of 23 inch 1080p monitors, using 4k for the first time was an unforgettable experience. The desktop at this resolution is daunting, since there is an insane amount of space and the icons are so much smaller than you've come to know them. It doesn't feel like you're using a PC anymore; it's as if you've ascended past the PC into something more unfamiliar, but extremely more exciting. 157 pixels per inch. Stunning. It creates an experience that is so much different from the 23"-1080p experience with about 96 PPI. And the 110 PPI 27 inch 1440p feels more like "Enhanced 1080p". 4K is absolutely unbelievable.
     
    When I plugged in the LG 34UM95 for the first time, I was hoping for this experience once again, but in a different way. Unfortunately, That didn't happen. It was cool. It was beautiful. It was a different experience. But it wasn't unforgettable, or stunning, or all that exciting. It was good, and functional, but that's it.
     
    But obviously my view of this is not the only one. Linus obviously cares less about the PPI and much more about readability. I won't lie, 28" 4k is difficult to see. Not painful, especially if you keep it close to you, but it's not easy.
     
    But I still have shortcomings with the 3440x1440 monitors. I feel like the aspect ratio is either too narrow or too broad for gaming. I think 21:10 would be better (I might be wrong, it just feels like it's just slightly too narrow). But eyefinity or surround intrigue me greatly, and having that solution in a single monitor would be great. But I don't feel that it is a solution to this either. 
     
    When it comes down to it, I feel that if I spend an exorbitant amount of money on a monitor (In this case, about $700 USD because I got a refurbished unit), I expect to be blown away. And an, in my opinion, unexceptional pixel density. I thought I would love this monitor. But now I've discovered that I care far more about pixel density than about other things such as differing aspect ratios that many people care about. If this monitor were, say, 5880x2880, then I would absolutely love this monitor. But it looks like I'll have to wait for that.\
     
    At this point, I have returned the LG 34UM95-P. I believe I might buy another 21:9 in the near future. But I am not willing to spend a large amount of money on a monitor I am not willing to use as my main display due to low pixel density. I am currently looking at the 29" crossover because it would be perfect for movies and good for productivity. I don't mind 96 PPI for auxiliary monitors.
     
    Well, I hope I have given people a different perspective on this issue. It all just comes down to what YOU want in an expensive monitor. 

    (The first time I posted this, it was in the wrong section. Whoops! Hopefully here it will get more attention)
  3. Like
    Tiazmat got a reaction from Stagea in 4k with lower settings or 1440p on Ultra?   
    4k. Undoubtedly. Speaking from experience. 

    I love my new 4k monitor. Heck, I only have a 7950, but you just have to be realistic. I KNOW that I can't run anything on ultra, and most things I can't run great unless they're fairly low, but man it looks absolutely STUNNING. So many people are still stuck on recommending 1440p monitors since 4k isn't easy to drive, but if you have realistic expectations, then it truly is a fantastic experience. And it honestly surprises me that I can run some things very well. Dark Souls 2 is a consistent 60 fps at 4k. Heavily texture modded Fallout New Vegas (not able to handle ENB, sadly) runs at 60 all day. Even Bioshock infinite runs from 40-50 if you turn down SSAO and leave everything else at ultra.

    And you guys who claim that just because a panel is TN means it's complete rubbish really need to see the panel that the samsung and asus 4k monitors use. Yes, it's TN. Yes, it has color shift. But it actually looks incredible for a TN panel. I would say that it's on-par with my Asus PB238Q, except the samsung 4k I have now has almost no motion blur, whereas the PB238Q wasn't the prettiest choice for gaming because it was distracting when you turned.
     
    The benefits of having 8 million pixels compared to a measly 3.5 million is hugely noticeable. The thought of playing something at 1080p or 1440p is just shocking. It honestly feels like games were meant to be played at 4k. It is a completely different graphical experience.
  4. Like
    Tiazmat got a reaction from Najuno in 4k with lower settings or 1440p on Ultra?   
    4k. Undoubtedly. Speaking from experience. 

    I love my new 4k monitor. Heck, I only have a 7950, but you just have to be realistic. I KNOW that I can't run anything on ultra, and most things I can't run great unless they're fairly low, but man it looks absolutely STUNNING. So many people are still stuck on recommending 1440p monitors since 4k isn't easy to drive, but if you have realistic expectations, then it truly is a fantastic experience. And it honestly surprises me that I can run some things very well. Dark Souls 2 is a consistent 60 fps at 4k. Heavily texture modded Fallout New Vegas (not able to handle ENB, sadly) runs at 60 all day. Even Bioshock infinite runs from 40-50 if you turn down SSAO and leave everything else at ultra.

    And you guys who claim that just because a panel is TN means it's complete rubbish really need to see the panel that the samsung and asus 4k monitors use. Yes, it's TN. Yes, it has color shift. But it actually looks incredible for a TN panel. I would say that it's on-par with my Asus PB238Q, except the samsung 4k I have now has almost no motion blur, whereas the PB238Q wasn't the prettiest choice for gaming because it was distracting when you turned.
     
    The benefits of having 8 million pixels compared to a measly 3.5 million is hugely noticeable. The thought of playing something at 1080p or 1440p is just shocking. It honestly feels like games were meant to be played at 4k. It is a completely different graphical experience.
  5. Like
    Tiazmat got a reaction from MegaDave91 in 4k with lower settings or 1440p on Ultra?   
    4k. Undoubtedly. Speaking from experience. 

    I love my new 4k monitor. Heck, I only have a 7950, but you just have to be realistic. I KNOW that I can't run anything on ultra, and most things I can't run great unless they're fairly low, but man it looks absolutely STUNNING. So many people are still stuck on recommending 1440p monitors since 4k isn't easy to drive, but if you have realistic expectations, then it truly is a fantastic experience. And it honestly surprises me that I can run some things very well. Dark Souls 2 is a consistent 60 fps at 4k. Heavily texture modded Fallout New Vegas (not able to handle ENB, sadly) runs at 60 all day. Even Bioshock infinite runs from 40-50 if you turn down SSAO and leave everything else at ultra.

    And you guys who claim that just because a panel is TN means it's complete rubbish really need to see the panel that the samsung and asus 4k monitors use. Yes, it's TN. Yes, it has color shift. But it actually looks incredible for a TN panel. I would say that it's on-par with my Asus PB238Q, except the samsung 4k I have now has almost no motion blur, whereas the PB238Q wasn't the prettiest choice for gaming because it was distracting when you turned.
     
    The benefits of having 8 million pixels compared to a measly 3.5 million is hugely noticeable. The thought of playing something at 1080p or 1440p is just shocking. It honestly feels like games were meant to be played at 4k. It is a completely different graphical experience.
  6. Like
    Tiazmat reacted to h264 in Advantage of a sound card?   
    If you can afford the 600Ohm version, get that.  More Ohms the better on the STX.  It's got wayyyy too much power for just about any headphone or earspeaker.
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