So far I've only played 2.6 hours on my work PC, a
Lenovo Tiny, which is rather limited and not meant for gaming:
i9 9900T CPU, RX 560 GPU, 32GB memory running at 2666 MHz, Samsung Pro 980 NVME m.2 SSD, NEC P212 LCD 1600x1200 resolution, stereo speakers (
AudioEngine A5+)
The game was choppy (low FPS, even at lowest settings), yet I was thoroughly impressed/amazed (zero bugs detected). I've since uninstalled until I can have a proper setup to optimally enjoy this masterpiece. By watching gameplay videos on my HT setup, I've experienced what this game is capable of, and the sound is half the experience. The barbarian's frenzy roar, the spell sound effects, cutscenes, all 1st class Hollywood production quality. It seems the devs aren't cutting corners and insist on making the most beautiful experience for us, so I don't want to cut corners either. In preparation, I need to know how this game is coded for audio. I plan to output audio from
this PC by SPDIF to
this receiver, that feeds these
surround speakers and a pair of
JL Gotham v2s for the subs.
Question #1 (sound): Any benefit if I add rear surround to be 7.2 setup? Any atmos support for ceiling speakers: 7.2.2? My surround setup is only 5.2 currently. If surround back is supported, I'll add
Salon2s for the fronts and move the
Studio2s to the rear.
Question #2 (display): Tentatively, I plan to buy
Alienware's 34" QD-OLED, when it's launched in the USA on March 29th (video output from the 3090 Ti by displayport directly to the display instead of passthrough from the AVR). Unless there's a better display to consider, when BG3 is the only game of concern. I'm wondering if ultrawide (21:9 ratio 3440x1440 resolution) will be too cumbersome for interacting with the the character profiles, mini map, and the user interface, when they are spread so far apart. I've never used a curved display, nor ultrawide, but this is the only display option we have for QD-OLED, and I've seen from youtube videos that BG3 seamlessly supports ultrawide for both cutscenes and gameplay.
Another display consideration is
LG's 27" (3840 x 2160) OLED because it's a smaller size (less head turning), higher resolution, flat, and available now. It's refresh rate is locked at 60Hz, but BG3 isn't a FPS, it's turn based, and a 3090 won't always achieve 60 FPS on BG3 in 4k ultra settings (hence the need for a 3090 Ti or greater). MicroLED would be best tech for a gaming display, but it took a ridiculous 15 years before anyone released a derivative of an OLED gaming display (Sony released the 1st OLED TV, the XEL-1, in 2007, and Alienware's QD-OLED gaming monitor was released in China yesterday, March 3rd of 2022). Manufacturers probably feared burn-in from our static UI so they skipped OLED gaming displays completely, until the tech fully matured.
My concern is that Alienware's 32" QD-OLED is likely entry level (low production quality) in regards to OLEDs based on it's bargain $1,299 pricing and
this critical review. While LG's 27" OLED @ $2,999.99 is intended to be professional/reference quality, and yet there's
this Linus video warning us with
Do NOT Buy This For Gaming! Quite the conundrum.
Also posted on
r/BaldursGate3
