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2006-01-30 14:59:34
Teamsreth
Complete Tanker
+17|7064|England
Hi all,

Going to be getting a new computer later this year, (am waiting to see developments in new AM2 stuff), and it should be a good one. But, at the moment I have a rather old, cheap machine. I will list some specs. I am thinking of upgrading bits of this one, as everything looks rubbish, and the graphics card isn't even listed on most sites anymore, let alone on the supported list. It will be the other halfs when I get my new one.
Is it beyond hope? Do I give in, and leave it as it is? Can I get anything make it better? (Without spending too much).

AMD Athlon XP 2000+
768mb Ram
Excalibur Radeon 9000 pro

Mobo will only support up to 4x AGP. Some cards on some sites show compatible with 4x and 8x. But others say voltage issues can make a mess? Could I use a 8x, or only a 4x.
Also it will only support up to 2GB Ram. That would need to be two 1GB sticks.

Is there any cost effective way to make it better? Or should I just grin and bear it?
If you need any further specs, I will have a look.
Thanks in advance!!

P.S. It plays BF2 and SF fine, just looks rubbish and takes forever to verify, load maps and lags for about 60-90 secs when starting a new map!

Last edited by Teamsreth (2006-01-30 15:01:33)

2006-01-30 16:20:05
oberst_enzian
Member
+234|6963|melb.au
you can get a good agp card that is set for either 4x or 8x. the voltage issue results if you put a card that is rated for 4 or 8 into an agp slot that is actually 1x or 2x. one of my friends has a system similar to yours, and he just got himself a 4x-8x 6600, whacked it into his 4x agp port - runs fine. just make sure you have at least a 350w power supply.
2006-01-30 16:20:05
jnick
Member
+22|7003
Well, AM2 is NOT going to be cheap, ESPECIALLY at launch. If money is an issue, start saving, and just wait it out, though there're rumors that's in been pushed back to Q3 . . . It's your call . . .
2006-01-31 00:44:37
Teamsreth
Complete Tanker
+17|7064|England
Thanks for replying

In reference to AM2, I have asked the other half very nicely for about 9 months, and was going to buy something high end now. But due to money, if I spend loads, it needs to last a few years before not being able to run things. I have decided to put up with this old one, and wait, as I feel that its better to get the new one, than get the last of something.

Why does everthing I want to wait for get blody delayed??
2006-02-04 10:42:16
monkeyboy
Member
+8|6885
2 gb of ram would make a fair difference to loading times I reckon. I'm guessing your board has either 2-3 ram slots,  so you'd have to go with 2x1gb. 4x512 doesn't perform as well and is only worthwhile if you're upgrading from 2x512 (I'm assuming you have 3x256 or 1x512 +1x256).

The "bf2 needs 2gb of ram" thing applies to pretty much all setups. It probably won't allow you to bump up the graphics much, if at all (cpu and gpu make all the difference there)....but it will give you much better loading times.

Even with everything set on low.... bf2+windows= more than 1gb of ram usage.

As a result things get loaded onto the page file on your hard disk, causing slow loading times. Once it's loading it spends 60-90 seconds working out what should be on the pagefile and what should be on the ram, and the game lags like a bitch for this period till it's all sorted out.

Of course...... it's all down to whether you can afford a £100+ stopgap. The ram won't be the best thing for your future m2 system, as that's going to support ddr2.

 

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