Very Slight Upgrade

[MilitantB0B]

My current system specs are as follows:
1.2 GHz athalon XP
256 PC2100
GeForcMX 200

As it stands now, I can play decently well as a combat engineer or an infiltrator, but whenever I try to play a grunt, or something else more twitch based, the lag really kills me. I play with the graphics settings as low as they go. I figured, out of all the things I could upgrade, memory would be the best. My plan is to slap another 512 PC2100 in there, boosting it to 768 of the good stuff. With that, do you guys think I would be able to play with the lowest graphics at a decent frame rate? Thanks in advance.

[�io]

Wow i thought i was the only one with teh sux0rz hardware lag.

I got nearly the same thing as you.
1.4 Athlon
256 PC2100
GFMX 400

I too know the foul stench of the hardware lag and i too will be getting a nice 512 stick too help. :)

Wish i could get a new VPU instead but that will have to wait for the monay. :(

[AimHere]

Hate to break the bad news to you guys but adding system memory will do little to nothing to improve this game performance-wise with your current setup. I was running an:
XP2100+
Epox 8RDA+
1GB PC2700
GeForce4 MX440 64mb
WinXP Pro
3DMARK2001SE score in the 4500 range

The game still "lagged" in intense fighting. I picked up a GeForce4 Ti4200 8X AGP 128mb and problem solved. 3DMARK2001SE score in the 11000 range. Invest in a video card first. =)

[powdahound]

While it's true that a video card upgrade helped you more AimHere, it would not solve their problems because the ram/cpu are also very weak components. :) You guys should consider a full upgrade if you really want to have good performance.

PS: All GeForce MX cards are total crap. :p

[OmnipotentKiwi]

You'll probably have to upgrade your RAM and Video card to see a performance increase, but on the plus side you can probably get away with that processor. ;)

[AimHere]

I'm just speaking from experience. I work with computers daily. The computer I use at my store is similar to what they're running.
Athlon 1.2GHZ
512mb PC133
GeForce4 Ti4200
ASUS A7A266

The game runs fine even on "default" settings. The problem is most likely the video card. Although I have absolutely no problem with people buying new computers to play a new game (it brings me lots of business) I don't think it's really necessary in this case.;)

[OmnipotentKiwi]

256MBs will mean the game will need a pagefile though, which will most likely cause lag on a system that old. If he had 512, and kept everything on default, there would most likely be no pagefile, but the vid card still wouldn't be able to handle it, so he needs to upgrade that as well, unfortunately.

[Trebor95]

Originally posted by --->AimHere<---
I'm just speaking from experience. I work with computers daily. The computer I use at my store is similar to what they're running.
Athlon 1.2GHZ
512mb PC133
GeForce4 Ti4200
ASUS A7A266

The game runs fine even on "default" settings. The problem is most likely the video card. Although I have absolutely no problem with people buying new computers to play a new game (it brings me lots of business) I don't think it's really necessary in this case.;)

I have to agree with you, my Ti4200 is woefully lacking in punch when playing this game on any decent settings, I am now saving for some serious hardware

[MilitantB0B]

Thanks for all the input, guys. That being said, you don't know how sad you guys have just made me. I am currently playing this game on my familys computer and I don't really want to upgrade it with my own money (saving my money for buying my computer). I was able to convince my dad that memory would help the computer surf faster and run work programs faster (not to mention it keeps the H4xx0rz from stoling teh Megahurts!!!!!1 :D) but I don't think I could get a graphics card out of him. :( If thats what I need, I guess I will pony up the dough. Whats a good budget graphics card for someone who wants to run PS at the lowest graphics settings without lag (or at least without enough lag to keep me from killing)? Thanks in advance.


P.S.: Here is the specs of teh computer I will be buying for myself after the first month of summer.
2.0 Athalon XP 2400+
1gig PC3200
Radeon 9500 Pro

That shoold be better then a slight upgrade. :D

[OmnipotentKiwi]

Just buy the 9500 Pro now, put his video card safely away in the 9500 Pro box, and then when you have the card, switch it back again.

[MilitantB0B]

Originally posted by OmnipotentKiwi
Just buy the 9500 Pro now, put his video card safely away in the 9500 Pro box, and then when you have the card, switch it back again.

Ding!! Ding!! Ding!! We have a winner!! Great idea. Still gonna try to see if I can't get him to buy it but if not, that is a good idea. While I am on the subject:
Does anybody know if the 9500 Pro is the best graphics card for that price range? Thanks in advance. :D

[OmnipotentKiwi]

I would say so. You can get it for $165 before taxes here (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=14-102-271).

[CDL Full Otto]

Some of the earlier ATI 9500 Pro's where bios updateable to run as a 9700 pro. (We have one here at work that we did it to) runs almost the same as my 9700 pro at half the cost!

There where a few websites devoted to how to do it but I would have to dig to see if I could find them again.


The 9500 is a good card for a modest price.

Otto

[OmnipotentKiwi]

The upgrade you are talking about is just a bios flash. Nothing complicated really. It isn't hard either, nor does it really strain the card much more.

[MilitantB0B]

Originally posted by OmnipotentKiwi
The upgrade you are talking about is just a bios flash. Nothing complicated really. It isn't hard either, nor does it really strain the card much more.

Hmmm, can you do this too all 9500 Pros, or just certain brands?
And do you know of any sites that can tell me how (I am searching for them too, but just in case you can give me a link before google does. :D)
Thanks for your replies, if I could get it to run like a 9700 Pro, I will mail you all a slice of pie, with your choice of fillings :D.

[OmnipotentKiwi]

Yeah, let me see if I can dig up that info again. Give me a few minutes.

[OmnipotentKiwi]

UPDATE:
1. The tool is the Warp11 Bios Flash. It can be found here. (http://www.3dchipset.com/bios/ati/warp11/index.php)

2. Warp11's thread on it can be found here (http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=33654157).

3. And the base site for a lot of great Radeon tweaking stuff can be found here (http://www.rage3d.com/).

NOTE: Please be wary of any third party tweak. Having a good knowledge of what you are doing is the first step towards keeping your card in good condition. Neither 3DChipset nor Warp11 is responsbile for what happends when using these files. You have been warned!!

[MilitantB0B]

You deserve some kinda award or something. You beat google in finding me a good site. :D
I just have one question for you, what pie filling do you want. :) Thank you very much, you have really helped me out on this whole upgrade thing.

[OmnipotentKiwi]

Warm Cinnamon Apple � la mode :D