Fabulous Crysis 2

I decided to treat my new graphics card to something that would show its abilities. The relatively new Crysis 2 game was on offer at GAME for just £15. Also, they had just released the DX11 graphics update with the High Resolution Texture Pack. Worth a look at, I thought.

I was amazed at the graphics quality and performance. Even when zoomed in. Motion blur too. Impressive stuff! The latest in computer gaming and virtual reality. Watch New York crumble.

What I didn't expect was the gameplay. As I was drawn into yet another impressive scene, I was learning about the suit and tactical visor and finding out the best way to dispose of each enemy. As you ran, the graphics display kept up with you. Even on Ultimate quality settings there didn't appear to be any lag.

I'm going to enjoy this game. I already know it.

Moving up to mid-range graphics

For the last 18 months I've been enjoying my £55 ATi Radeon HD 4770 graphics card which has served me faithfully during that time displaying any game I wanted, though some of the latest ones at reduced detail.

However, as it was my 60th birthday last weekend I decide to treat myself to a new DX11 mid-range graphics card.

I did my research and decided that the new AMD Radeon HD 6850 was what I wanted. Amazingly, a deal for a XFX Radeon HD 6870 at about the same price (£127) was on offer so I took that instead. By coincidence I'd already upgraded my PSU last month to a Be Quiet 530W so I had the extra power to drive it. I was worried though that the extra heat generated would mean more noise but luckily the new card is as silent as the old one, especially at idle.

After my history of problems with XFX video cards, I swore I wouldn't buy another one, but this card seems to be the real deal. Even without any overclocking, it does 17,166 3Dmark06 and 3,826 3Dmark11. This is a major improvement over my old card and takes me into the mid-range of modern gaming cards.