Supplementary Post, courtesy of Nottheking (That's me! :D)
First, if you want to post here, it's generally a GOOD IDEA to find out as much information as you can about your system. A good way to do this would be to install and run a free analysis program like Lavalys Everest. You can find it here:
http://www.lavalys.hu/products/overview.php?pid=1?=en. Take a look at what the program gives you once you run it, especially information on your CPU, (processor) RAM, motherboard, and video card.
Here is the standard set of specs used in what appears to be the "standard" dev machine, according to the German magazine GameStar:
* AMD AthlonXP 2500+ or 2600+ (Barton Core, 333MHz FSB)
* 1024MB (1GB) RAM
* ATi Radeon 9800pro, AGP with 256MB video RAM
The above settings would likely run the game at a fairly decent clip, and more importantly, if such machines are in use for development, they obviously run the games with all the settings "turned on."
Note that there are MANY different types of PC in use at the BethSoft HQ. From what I understand, the PC used to render that mind-blowing trailer used a pair of GeForce 6800 (GT or ultra) cards in SLi-mode. Also, the machines have varied processors; a dev (Steve Meister, a.k.a. MSFD, if I remember correctly) noted that Dell is the company's main supplier of PCs.
Additionally, here are my own specs. I know I can't really brag about these online, but they are fairly acceptable nonetheless, and pretty good for a college student's budget:
* AMD Athlon64 2800+
* 1024MB (1GB) PC3200 400MHz DDR RAM
* ATi Radeon X800XT, AGP with 256MB video RAM
I would suspect that my machine will run Oblivion excellently.
Additionally, when it comes to the question of video cards, I think we could take a look at a poll made by Pete Hines, director of PR and marketing, (Link to the poll) you can see that he refers to a card such as the Radeon 9800pro as "mid level" while calling a card like the Radeon X800XT or GeForce 6800GT as "the latest."
Anyway, for the convenience of those that DO think, or find out, that they need to upgrade, I have thrown together a list of "recommended" video cards for AGP. I also have one for PCI-express cards. For now:
* $119US: Radeon 9800pro, AGP with 128MB video RAM - This card is quite possibly the best performance per dollar you can get. However, it may fall slightly below what you'll want for upcoming years.
* $139US: GeForce 6600GT, AGP with 128MB video RAM - This card is considered the current "sweet spot" card. A bit more powerful than the 9800pro, it also supports shader model 3.0; this will help ease some "laggy" shader- and lighting-intensive scenes in games. (think flashlight in foggy corridors)
* $164US: GeForce 6800, AGP with 128MB video RAM - This is also a fairly decent price/power ratio, though at this level, you may want a 256MB card; they're all more expensive than this, though.
* $175US: Radeon 9800pro, AGP with 256MB video RAM - This is the LEAST card with 256MB that I would recommend getting at all. Any less, and you're wasting money on going from 128MB to 256MB, as the card will be too weak to handle games that can use that memory anyways.
* $189US: GeForce 6600GT, AGP with 256MB video RAM - This might be a way to get the best of both worlds for a mid-range card; the 6600GT IS the best performing mid-range card, and this is one of the few 256MB versions, and it's actually reasonably priced here. At this level, though, you may simply want to jump to a high-end card, like the Radeon X800 listed below.
* $229US: Radeon X800pro, AGP with 256MB video RAM - This card is perhaps a better buy for 256MB of video RAM than any lesser card, as it’s powerful enough to at least be in league with most top-of-the-line cards today, though it only sports 12 instead of 16 pipelines.
* $255US: Radeon X800XL, AGP with 256MB video RAM - This card is quite possibly the best deal there is, the best "bang for your buck," so to speak. Although it doesn't support shader model 3.0, it does out-perform all of nVidia's offerings save for the 6800Ultra and 7800 series. This will last a long time, and better cards are actually worse "deals."
* $305US: GeForce 6800GT, AGP with 256MB video RAM - This is now a worse price : performance ratio than the Radeon X800XL, and isn’t all that good a deal anymore. However, it still has an advantage of supporting shader model 3.0. Pick this if you want shader model 3.0, otherwise go with the X800XL, and this card is simply listed here to prevent flames.
* $362US: Radeon X850XT Platinum Edition, AGP with 256MB video RAM - This is unquestionably the best card availible for AGP. Until recently, it seemed like this would be the most powerful card that AGP would EVER be able to use; it would be PCI-express ONLY past this. However, some claim nVidia has reversed their previous claims, so you might see an AGP version of the GeForce 7800GTX, but I wouldn't expect to see them befroe the holiday season, perhaps even later. (such turnaround decisions take a while to implement) At any rate, I have NOT been able to verify this; anyone with a link should post here or PM me with the link.
I have also compiled a list of decent PCI-express video cards, complete with prices and some sort of summary on them, for those looking to upgrade their PCI-express video card.
As a forewarning note, I am not one to truly recommend any new video card that costs notably less than $100US; going below that amount, you will get FAR less performance, and only save a little money; you'll ultimately wind up dissatisfied. Additionally, I base my performance comparisons on the VGA charts available at Tom's Hardware Guide, (Link) as well as other sources.
* $96US: GeForce 6600, PCI-e with 128MB video RAM - This is perhaps the lowest card that I can truly recommend. Anything cheaper has some fairly serious issues with it. Cheapest card that supports shader model 3.0.
* $99US: GeForce 6600, PCI-e with 256MB video RAM - This is the least video card with 256MB video RAM that I can recommend. Otherwise, it's just as powerful as the 128MB version.
* $119US: Radeon X700pro, PCI-e with 128MB video RAM - For the price, it's fairly powerful, and will run any game out today quite nicely; it compares in performance roughly to a Radeon 9800pro. It only has 128MB of video RAM, though.
* $135US: Radeon X700pro, PCI-express with 256MB video RAM – This is both a solid mid-range card, as well as having a full 256MB of video RAM.
* $139US: GeForce 6600GT, PCI-e with 128MB video RAM - Quite possibly the best "bang for your buck," it will provide plenty of gaming performance for a few years to come. Some people might have problems with such a powerful card only coming with 128MB video RAM, though.
* $200US: Radeon X800GTO², PCI-express with 256MB video RAM – this may both be OEM and currently out-of-stock, and they’re a bit more expensive elsewhere, but this is indisputably a tweaker’s dream; just unlock the 4 unused pipelines, and you’ve got a really cheap 16-pipeline card that didn’t cost much at all. Although I don’t recommend overclocking a card, I hear that this one is fairly stable to do it with; Sapphire is rumored to be using straight, non-“reject” r480 cores, which would mean it would be possible to simply clock it up and have an X850XTP for $200US.
* $230US: Radeon X800XL, PCI-e with 256MB video RAM - This IS a slight "fluke" in prices. However, this easily takes the cake for the best deal, providing nearly twice the punch of the GeForce 6600GT. More normal prices are around $270-280US.
* $283US: GeForce 6800GT, PCI-e with 256MB video RAM - In the face of even the NORMALLY-priced X800XL, I don't truly recommend this card for PCI-e. (I highly recommend it for AGP, though, where it's notably cheaper) This card is primarily listed here so I don't have a huge gap between $230US and $379US. Also included so I don't get immediately flamed for excluding the 6800GT. It does support SM 3.0, though compared to SM 2.0 extended, the advantages are much more diminished.
* $379US: Radeon X800XL, PCI-e with 512MB video RAM – this is the cheapest 512MB video card available, and the only one that can merit my reccomendations. Take it only if you MUST have 512MB to play Doom3 on ultra, or a similar circumstance; you'd otherwise be better off spending the money on a higher-performance 256MB card. (better wait for the X1800XT for a 512MB card)
* $349US: GeForce 7800GT, PCI-e with 256MB video RAM - This is a good deal, and a good bit cheaper than the 7800GTX. However, it seems to be ~15% slower, a problem that can be remedied in most cards.
* $464US: GeForce 7800GTX, PCI-e with 256MB video RAM - Take this card if you absolutely must have the best of the best. Currently, no other card can challenge this one's power.
* $550US+: Radeon X1800XT, PCI-express with 512MB video RAM – this card has been announced, and from the benchmarks I’ve seen, it’s now finally time to move on to 512MB of video RAM at this level; watch it kick the butt of any other 256MB card that gets loaded down in games like F.E.A.R. when you max textures and anisotropic filtering, making 512MB of video RAM a virtual requirement. It also appears to be FAR more efficient with anisotropic filtering and anti-aliasing as well, where at maxed settings there seems to be a distinct gap between it and the 7800GTX. Of course, these are based on preliminary tests with beta drivers, so it’s an open question how well the performance will be when BOTH are using drivers that will actually work with everything. (ATi and nVidia are notorious for releasing specialized drivers that don’t look good at all, but get high framerates in benchmarks like 3Dmark05 and F.E.A.R., so beware of them)
Note that this list is most likely NOT perfect, as the lineup of PCI-express cards IS rather confusing to ANYBODY.
Lastly, for those that're really curious as to how good their video card is, I have sketched out a ROUGH outline of how just about any video card in use today stacks up against each other. It's VERY rough, and not gaurunteed to be accurate. It also ignores, for the most part the suffix (ultra, XT, GT, pro, LE, SE, etc.) that follows the model number. In this case, I'm just ranking the series as a whole; If i measured things for every single differing model in existance, this list would be FAR too long. Also, keep in mind that the ammount of video RAM on the board has NO real impact on performance in and of itself; it merely comes into play in determining how well the card will do on certain detail levels. As a general rule, the lower on the list the card comes, the more powerful it is; all cards in one lower list section ARE more powerful than those of the section above it, and generally, the card at the bottomg of any given section will be the most powerful, and the least powerful at the top of the section. (this comparison was done fairly loosly after looking at enough benchmarks to make one's eyes hurt, and aren't perfect, obviously) Anyway:
Rock Bottom (these cards do NOT support pixel shaders, and as such, won't run Oblivion)
o (Any integrated graphics that's NOT listed elsewhere on here, save for any integrated Radeon or GeForce chips I forgot)
o Radeon 7000 (Radeon VE)
o GeForce 256
o GeForce 2 MX
o Radeon 7200 (ATi Radeon)
o GeForce 2 GTS
o Radeon 7500
o GeForce 4 MX
Outdated (these cards support shader model 1.x, which at the very least won't enable HDR in Oblivion, or may only allow diminished features, or may not even run the game)
o Volari V3
o GeForce 3
o Radeon 8500
o Matrox Parahelia 128
o Radeon 9000
o Radeon 9100
o GeForce 3 Ti
o GeForce FX 5200 (in theory, supports shader model 2.0, though this cannot be fully proven)
o Radeon 9200
o Radeon 9250
o GeForce 4 Ti
Low-end (these cards support shader model 2.0, but are fairly old now)
o Intel GMA 900 Integrated graphics (chipset 915) (much better than the "Intel Extreme," but still somewhat below a GeForce FX 5200, and perform more like the "outdated" group)
o GeForce FX 5200 (in theory, supports shader model 2.0, though this cannot be fully proven)
o GeForce PCX 5300
o GeForce FX 5500
o GeForce FX 5600
o S3 S8 256
o GeForce FX 5700
o GeForce PCX 5750
o Radeon 9550
o Radeon Xpress 200 (integrated graphics)
o Radeon X300 HyperMemory
o GeForce 6200 TurboCache
o Radeon X300SE
o Radeon 9600SE
o Radeon X300
o GeForce 6200
o Volari V8 Duo
o Radeon 9500
o Volari V5 Ultra
o GeForce 6600LE
o Radeon 9600
o Radeon X600
o Radeon 9500pro
Mid-Range (these cards were/could've been considered top-end a few years ago, and are fairly powerful, using 8 pixel pipelines and support for at least shader model 2.0)
o Radeon X1300HyperMemory
o GeForce FX 5800
o Radeon 9700
o GeForce FX 5900XT
o GeForce FX 5900
o GeForce FX 5800ultra (this rare card was a mistake that makes tons of noise)
o GeForce PCX 5900
o Radeon 9800
o Radeon 9700pro (world's first shader model 2.0 card)
o Radeon X1300
o GeForce 6600
o GeForce 5900ultra
o Radeon 9800pro
o GeForce 5950ultra
o Radeon X700
o Radeon X1300pro
o Radeon X700pro
o GeForce 6800LE
o GeForce 6800 (PCI-express version)
o Radeon X800GT
o GeForce 6600GT
o Radeon 9800XT
High-End (some of these cards may be "outdated," but just about any given one is OVERKILL for almost any game out there)
o GeForce 6800 (AGP version)
o Radeon X800
o Radeon X800GTO
o Radeon X800pro
o Radeon X800GTO²
o Radeon X1600pro
o GeForce 6800GT
o Radeon X1600XT
o Radeon X800XL
o GeForce 6800ultra
o Radeon X800XT
o Radeon X850XT
o Radeon X800XT Platinum Edition
o Radeon X850XT Platinum Edition
OMGWTFBBQ! (these cards are outrageous; a new top class all of their own, they are rather expensive, but insanely powerful. Note that I cannot guarantee perfect accuracy of this ranking)
o Radeon X1800pro
o Radeon X1800XL
o GeForce 7800GT
o GeForce 7800GTX
o Radeon X1800XT
(Please note that all italicized cards are not truly final yet, and are likely to not be placed with much of a degree of accuracy. As more reliable benchmarks pour in, their ranking will be revised)
Anyway, if your card is on the "rock bottom" list, please, for the love of Akatosh, upgrade it; those cards don't support shaders at all, and don't even run Morrowind at it's fullest!
For those who have cards in the "outdated" list, start praying. The cards likely won't be enough, given that the game seems to rely on shader model 2.0, whereas these cards only support 1.1.
If your card is in the "low end" list, I can just about assure you Oblivion WILL run on your system; it's just a matter of what your going to wind up sacrificing, be it a part of quality, resolution, or performance.
If you find your card listed as "mid range," don't sweat it. Things will run FINE, and you'll get plenty enough eye candy to satsify you. For those that need to upgrade, I'd reccomend looking at some of these cards first. These ones will last for at least a short while.
If your card makes it to the lofty heights of the "high-end" list, rejoice! You have monstrous gaming power that will certainly eat up Oblivion quite greedily. Just remember to keep your drool bucket handy.
Lastly, if your card makes it into the “OMGWTFBBQ” list, careful there, steady! You were starting to hyperventilate. Please don’t pass out on the forums. And make sure your drool-catching bib is still firmly tied on. You’re going to need it when playing.