EsahC Posted August 30, 2003 Share Posted August 30, 2003 The previous post was a good one but little more incite would be good for a lot of non technical people. This is what the game REQUIRES to RUN. 100% DirectX 9.0 compatible computer This means that your computer needs to have directX 9.0 installed on the computer. It comes with the disk so do not worry about that. Windows 98 SE, Millennium, 2000, and XP Make sure you have one of those operating systems, if you have a version of Linux nothing is guaranteed, 95 is not supported. CPU Minimum: Intel PIII 933 MHz or AMD Athlon 900 MHz Recommended: Intel P4 1.5+ GHz or AMD Athlon XP 1500+ The MINIMUM that this game will run with is telling you that it will run with those speeds, but it will run POORLY, it will not be able to support high draw distances, reflections, or high graphics. If you HAVE the minimum requirements, skip to the bottom of this post. The recommendation is what you want to shoot for, I wouldn't go for anything less than a 1.6GHz, as stated in the previous post. However prices for CPUs are low right now, so go for the 2GHz. If you are a Athlon user see if your board supports 333-400mhz FSB and upgrade to a barton chip (the new XP Athlons). Memory Minimum: 256 MB RAM Recommended: 512 MB RAM I personally think anything less than 256mbs of ram is to little even if you don't play games. If you HAVE 256Mbs, you need to upgrade. There are things you need to know before you can upgrade however, Simply put those things would be ram types. Does your computer take DDR, Sd, RIMMs? Also keep in mind that it is possible depending on the machine that your ram MAY or MAY NOT be proprietary. Meaning that in order for new ram to be functional you may need to get the same brand of ram. They recommend 512mbs (As do I for everything) Many people will argue that you will NEVER use 512mbs of ram. Don't listen to them. This games stores a MASSIVE amount of information into ram, those of you who don't know, ram (random access memory) is used like water buckets, each MB is like an empty bucket, your operating system may store things in these buckets and come back to them when ever it needs (meshes, textures, sprites ect ect) If you do not have enough ram the computer is force to use your Swap file. A swap file is a file stored on your local hard drive that acts as 'virtual memory', meaning its using hard drive space to act as RAM. This is Much slow and if you have two hard drive you should add your swap file to the hard drive that your operating system is not using. Ram is VERY cheap right now. I would recommend getting around 1gb if your computer can hold it, or hold tight at 768mbs. 512 works great but if your demanding a lot from the graphics and your computer, the more the better. **Note** Ram does NOT make your computer faster. Ram allows your computer to perform at the speed at which it was meant to perform at. It in no way makes it FASTER. It will improve your performance and make it seem faster, when in reality it is only helping your computer run at its designed speeds. Video Card Required: 32 MB 3D Graphics card with Hardware Transform and Lighting (T&L) Capability Recommended: 64 MB 3D Graphics card with Vertex Shader and Pixel Shader (VS/PS) Capability 32mb with T&L is basically a late Geforce 2 or Geforce 3 (ATi Radeon 9000) If you do not meet these requirements DO NOT order a card that will meet the minimum requirements. Why? It is a waste of money to spend 40$ on a video card that is not Directx 9 compliant. I would say get a new card, even if your 32MB card works fine. It will be worth it in the long run, 64Mb is your recommendation, Geforce MX series however may not run well . There are many important things to think about when you think video cards. How many MB's generally isn't as important. Memory and clock speeds are two of the most important things to think of. The faster those two are, the faster the card can process the data coming into it. Any 256mb card is a waste of money right now. None of them perform at the speeds they should be performing at and the extra 128mbs are not utilized enough to justify the cost of the card. Look for reviews before you buy a card, see what others had to say, it will be worth your time and your money to know what your getting and how it performs on benchmarks. If you are on a budget (120$ or less) Radeon 9500+ and Geforce TI/FX are good cards to look at. Visit http://www.pricewatch.com and http://www.tomshardware.com these will help you on decsions. **Note**Your motherboard is also something you might want to think about, tons of ram, fast processor, great video card, all of this doesn't mean jack unless you have a good motherboard and your operating system is configured correctly. Sound Card: PCI, USB or Onboard Audio Device Not really much to say about this, sound cards are not equal, the better the card the better the sound. Some people are not picky. As long as you have sound and your drivers are updated you shouldn't have sound problems. The rest isn't worth mentioning. I hope this makes since to you guys. Remember to keep your drivers updated for all your hardware and your operating system. http://www.nvidia.com http://www.ati.com http://www.windowsupdate.com Take a look at these sites and browse through things to see if you can find anything you like. http://www.pricewatch.com http://www.tomshardware.com http://www.overclockercafe.com I hope this helps alot fo you understand what some of these things mean and what they are. If you need advice on anything just post a thread asking for it and I will help you. All of my information is 100% correct, but it can vary from computer to computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waffleman Posted August 30, 2003 Share Posted August 30, 2003 Dont forget newegg.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dish Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 Well, I played this game at my friends house and I will tell you what, this is like the sweetest game I have ever played!!! The Downside: My computer sucks, so I have to upgrade, which in my case my mom is freaking out about it because she is not very computer literate. So, I have to pay for half the upgrade and we have to take it to a "professional" when I believe I could do it myself. ARG! Anyway what I got now: P3 533Mhz 128 MB RAM 11Mb Integrated Video (AHHH!!!) 20GB HD I looked at newegg.com, ewiz.com, pricewatch.com, and I found tigerdirect.com to be the best! What I should be getting soon: P3 1.2GHz (I got this so I wouldnt have to upgrade my motherboard...let me know if you guys think I should go higher) 512MB RAM PC 133 SDRAM 133Mhz Ge Force 4 MX 440 128MB DDR 8x Well I would like to go higher, but it wont be too easy because I don't have too much money, but my mom is willing to pay for half, so if you really think its necessary to change the processor or videocard, please let me know. I would really appreciate it, Thanks in Advance! ------------------ That was my original post in the hardware problems post, but since then have found a Wintergreen Systems PC on tigerdirect.com for $594.97: SPECS: Intel Pentium® 4 2.4GHz Processor Learn More 512MB PC133 Memory Learn More 40GB Hard Drive 24x10x40x CD-RW Drive 3.5" 1.44MB Floppy Drive NVIDIA GeForce 64MB Video With TV-Out 56K V.90 Modem 10/100Mbps Ethernet NIC 16-Channel Sound PS/2 2-button Wheel Mouse PS/2 Windows Keyboard Microsoft® Windows® XP Home 1 Year Limited Warranty Monitor Sold Separately Let me know what you think, I am really in a tight spot right now I want to get my upgrade/computer soon so I can play Galaxies!! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EsahC Posted September 2, 2003 Author Share Posted September 2, 2003 Ok here we go, [][][][] That was my original post in the hardware problems post, but since then have found a Wintergreen Systems PC on tigerdirect.com for $594.97: SPECS: Intel Pentium® 4 2.4GHz Processor Good speed, Im sure it has a fairly fast Frontsidebus 512MB PC133 512 is good, but you might want to try to get a board that has ddr ram, Pc133 is good an all but since your upgrading you mine as well get the new stuff so you dont have to do it again for awhile right? DDR would be a better choice, but if you cant afford it this is perfect. 40GB Hard Drive Nice size, what brand? 24x10x40x CD-RW Drive Sweet 3.5" 1.44MB Floppy Drive I dont even use a floppy drive, I dont have one installed. ;-) NVIDIA GeForce 64MB Video With TV-Out Might want to get an upgrade on this, what KIND of geforce is it? If it is intergrated dont get it, onboard video is normally crap. A MX series card is also not a card you should get unless you cant afford the extra 20$ for a TI or FX series. 56K V.90 Modem A modems a modem. Microsoft® Windows® XP Home I would get pro, but I do alot more than the average user. Monitor Sold Separately You already have a monitor anyway. Unfortunatly I dont believe that system right there is worth 600$ (add in shipping) I would build the computer peice by peice, It may turn out to be a little bit more but it would blow that computer away, My specs=- Asus A7N8x Deluxe 1.5gbs kingston DDR 3200 ram 120Gb western digital 40Gb W.G Athlon XP 3000 400fsb 128mb Nvidia Geforce 4 MX440 (buget card) All this together ran me about 550$, all you have to do is shop for the best prices and you can put together a beast for a cheap price. if you need further advice or help on anything email me, simpleoownage@hotmail.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dish Posted September 7, 2003 Share Posted September 7, 2003 I went to this expo mart yesterday, and got this sweet new system that cost less than if i would have upgraded my comp to match it. Specs: P4 2.4Ghz 400Mhz FSB 512 MB RAM 128 MB ATI RADEON 9000 Pro 80 GB HD Windows XP Pro Keyboard Optical Mouse 24x-52x-i think 24x CD-RW 8x DVD-ROM 64Bit Soundcard upgraded to S.B Live And a sweet silver ATX case* Total: $661.78 And then my Mom bought a 17 inch LCD monitor a Gateway for $200, Total w/ Monitor: $881.78 (Both price totals include tax) *sidenote about the case when i got it home and plugged it in, it has a window on the side so u can see into it and it has this fan that has a blue neon light that lights up the whole inside of the case, its awesome!! So what do you think good deal, bad deal, ugly deal? Let me know, I thought it was a good deal and they kept throwing in free stuff becuz we were there first customers of the day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EsahC Posted September 7, 2003 Author Share Posted September 7, 2003 Fot that price you must have DDR ram now, you must also have a good board. (atleast I would hope) If you have top of the line motherboard and ram then I guess, anyway you could link me to this site? I just cant see a system like that beeing 800$. My system is more powerfull and cost way less than that. Does it have a warenty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfgame Posted September 8, 2003 Share Posted September 8, 2003 coudl this computer ru ngalaxies http://www.cyberpowerinc.com/highendsystem/gforce4_lightningREBATE.htm please tell me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EsahC Posted September 8, 2003 Author Share Posted September 8, 2003 Yes it can, easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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