Specifications

JANUARY 2005 MAXIMUMPC 43
Take the per-pixel lighting and shadowing of the
Doom 3 engine, add a sprinkle of the fancy-
schmancy materials processing from Valve’s
Source engine, and combine them with art
that’s so rich with polygons it will bring a Ge-
Force 6800 SLI rig to its knees, and you have
almost reached the level of detail that Epic’s
third-generation Unreal engine can deliver.
Of course, stunning good looks are useless
to an engine if creating the art takes an inordi-
nate amount of time. With this in mind, Epic has
spent time making sure the content creation
tools are top-class.
One of our favorite tricks is the engine’s
capacity for procedural vegetation. When you
sculpt a landscape in the Unreal 3 editor, the
texture that’s applied to the ground changes
automatically. This means that if you create
a steep cliff, the texture will automatically
mimic a rock wall. Create a gently sloping hill,
and the texture will be green grass. Once the
texture is applied, the engine will automati-
cally fi ll in the trees and
shrubs appropriate for
that type of surface.
Given the rising
costs—in both dollars
and days—of high-
end game design,
this streamlined con-
tent creation will be a
boon for developers.
With Epic’s consistent
embrace of the game-
modding community,
streamlined content
creation could also re-
sult in a new wave of
creative 3D games, and maybe even the next
big 3D experience.
What this means in terms of commercial
game design is largely unknown because
game design studios still have to use the Un-
real 3 engine and tools to craft entertaining
games. But this much we can count on: By re-
leasing an engine that boasts quality levels up
to and perhaps even beyond the Doom 3 and
Source engines, Epic has ensured a healthy
dose of competition—and a slew of terrifi c
advances in graphics quality.
Unreal 3
Epic makes it easier to make good games
When game designers and artists dream, they dream of
easy-to-use content creation tools and increased polygon
counts. The Unreal 3 engine should deliver both in spades.
After dragging its feet for months in 2005, Microsoft will
fi nally release Windows XP 64-bit Edition, which will
enable the 64-bit extensions in CPUs. The 64-bit Edition
will support both AMD’s Athlon 64/FX and Opteron, as
well as Xeon and Pentium 4 CPUs that have Intel’s im-
plementation of AMD64. AMD has already stated that
certain applications should see a healthy performance
bump going from 32-bit to 64-bit, but that other appli-
cations will not improve. While most 32-bit code will be
easy to adapt to 64-bit, Microsoft is apparently dumping
all support for 16-bit code in this version of Windows.
One huge challenge Microsoft is facing is driver sup-
port. The 64-bit Edition requires driver revisions for
hardware and software apps. Mainstream hardware will
likely be successfully prepped for the transition, but
older peripherals and add-in cards may simply break
and remain broken given how long it takes many hard-
ware vendors to issue new drivers.
What isn’t clear is how well 64-bit Windows will be
received, nor how it will be distributed. Early rumors
indicate that Microsoft may limit the distribution to
OEMs, which means you may only get it with a new
machine. This could make obtaining a legal copy of
the OS a challenge for those of us who already have
64-bit-ready boxes.
n
Windows XP
64-bit edition
64-bit support from Microsoft
could make it an Athlon 64 year
BYE-BYE, AGP MOBOS. PCI Express graphics should become the de facto
standard for both Intel and AMD machines this year, so we recommend
by-passing AGP motherboards.
DDR2 IS STILL IFFY. This is because of higher costs. But we still expect the
spec to gain traction as higher speeds and lower-latency RAM gets intro-
duced. Still, it’s not a make or break deal yet. We recommend a cautious
plunge.
SLI = A MUST-BUY. SLI has us hot and bothered. Given the performance boost,
it’s easy to see why. The promise of doubling your graphics performance is a
no-brainer; consider SLI (and SLI mobos) a must-buy if you’re a gamer. But
do it now—by mid-2005, both companies will have released their next next-
gen parts.
PLAN FOR DUAL-CORE. Dual-core procs won’t appear until the second half
of this year, but do you want to drop $150 on a motherboard that won’t be
compatible? Most mobo makers don’t want to commit to dual-core support
this early, but if you spot a board that claims it, put a big giant check-mark in
its column.
SATA 2 IS A NO-BRAINER. SATA 2 is standard with the nForce4 Ultra and SLI
chipset. Make sure your chipset supports this standard if you plan on buying
a SATA 2 drive.
DO YOU HAVE MORE UPGRADING QUESTIONS? SEND ‘EM OUR WAY AT
[e-mail]! WE’LL RUN THE BEST QUESTIONS—AND OUR
ANSWERS—IN THE LETTERS SECTION OF THE FEBRUARY ISSUE.
WHAT TO BUY —AND WHAT TO AVOID
Maximum PC’s Lab experts present fi ve upgrading
tips that will help you master the upgrading curve