can't play game

[bighoops]

this set up doesnt work.
amd xp 1800+
512 2100 ram.
nvidea something 32mb...

looking to upgrade ,, how does this sound from tigerdirect.com
chaintech valari 256 MB(supports directx 9)
45 BUCKS
AMD ATHLON 64 3000+
CHAINTECH VIA 754 ATX MOBO
170 BUCKS (AFTER REBATES)
ULTRA 512MB PC 3200 400 MHZ MEM..
30 BUCKS (AFTER REBATES)

SOUND OK... IS THIS GONNA DO OK,, OR WOULD THIS BE A PRETTY GOOD GAMING SYSTEM. dON'T PLAY MANY GAMES,. BUT i'M A SUBMARINER, AND this game looks really cool.. thoughts .. suggestions.? thanks

[quillan]

Ditch the Volari, you don't want it. If you want to completely rebuild your system, the rest is fine. However, you could play SH3, quite well, with two simple upgrades: another 512 megs of RAM, and a new video card. I'm running on an Athlon XP 2000+, with 1 gig of PC2100 DDR, and it runs great.

The Volari card uses a chipset by another manufacturer, XGI. They are the company that used to be SIS, and Xabre. It's probably not a bad card, but the features that ATI have for theirs, and nVidia has for theirs, don't work on XGI chipsets, so you'll be missing a lot. I'd recommend taking the money you'd be spending on that video card, processor, and motherboard (200 bucks from what you said), and putting all that towards a good video card. For that money you can grab a 9800 Pro/9800 XT from the older generation, or a 6600GT from the current generation. Personally, I'd recommend the 6600GT. You get full DirectX 9 capability, including support for Shader Model 3.0, and loads of power to process with.

[Hyper_Fish]

The athlon 1800 is what's slowing my game down I think, or else it's the mix of ddr ram I've got (normal and new something). I've got a gig of ram, and it's still a bit iffy and jerky with the athlon. And that's with a 256 mb vid card.

[quillan]

The 256 megs of memory on the video card won't matter at all if it's an entry level card like a Geforce FX5200. The GPU chip on the card is so weak, the memory doesn't help. That's sort of like putting a Radeon X800XT on an old PIII 500 mhz motherboard.

The 1800+ is a bottleneck, don't get me wrong. I don't use 1024x time compression on mine because it gets jittery, even with no other ships in the area, but as long as I stick to 512x or less it's fine. I just think he'll do better grabbing a bit more memory and a much better video card than he would buying an Athlon 64 processor/motherboard and sticking that Volari in it.

[Aragorn87]

so my geforce 5200 is **** with all its 128mb ? http://forums.ubi.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_frown.gif

[quillan]

Compared to a 5700 or 5900, yes. Even the older Ti4200 outperforms it, though it only supports DirectX 8 instead of 9.

[Aragorn87]

****, i remember when i got it it was around 80 bucks, how much for one of the ones you mentioned you think? ~$120?

[quillan]

That depends on where you're buying. Personally, I do all my buying online, at newegg since I live in the US, and their prices are really good. I just checked a couple of things. Right now, they've got a 9800 Pro for $127, and an AGP 6600GT for $159 after a $30 mail in rebate.

The video card companies now seem to be making cards in 4 levels: entry, midrange, high end, and enthusiast flavors. Entry level is concerned with one thing: CHEAP. Usually entry level cards go for around $100 or less when they first come out. They're weak, missing features, or woefully underpowered for what they support. Midrange cards usually target the $200 mark at release. They normally try to balance price with performance. This is where your bang-for-the-buck people buy. The high end cards used to be the top line cards produced, and started out at the $300 mark, but now they seem to be going more for the $349 and $399 level. They are powerful cards, fully featured, with lots of extras. And finally, the enthusiast level cards are for people who want the most powerful card they can buy no matter what it costs. Typically, then run $499 or higher. For a while there, if you wanted an X850XT-PE, you might have to pay as much as $800 due to limited availability. When shopping for a new video card, entry level cards are fine if you're using a computer for business, word processing, and such, but DON'T plan on playing games on one. You might be able to muddle by on low resolutions and detail settings, but the more complex games bog them down even there.

And Aragorn, if you do decide to upgrade that 5200 to a better card, wait until you see the difference. You'll be amazed. I know I was with my last two upgrades.

[Aragorn87]

Well, im not sure if you heard of battlefield two. IT comes out in fall and when it does i will likley need a new processor and maybe motherboard and everything that goes with it. That will be alot of money for me so im not sure if i want to upgrade yet. The card performs okay, it lags up a bit in port and when theres alot of things exploding (http://forums.ubi.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif) but it could also be my processor? its a 1.5 Amd athlon xp 1700+ which i think just meets the min requirments of the game but the gig or ddr ram is helping me out. But if the 5700/5900 is cheap enough do you think it would be worth it? Maybe i could sell the 5200 on ebay or something but as i said i think it may be my processor and a couple of months down the road its going to need to go :-\

[[]_---_[] KITT]

You don't need 1G of RAM. 512RAM is sufficient.
Yea what you need is a new grahics card.Tke ATI Radeon 9600XT 128Mb as minimum. At least that is what i heard.......1 year ago http://forums.ubi.com/images/smilies/16x16_smiley-very-happy.gif