Seeking some advice.

ReefBreak · 13-10-2003 11:17am #1

Hi all,

I need some advice. I bought Total War - Medieval last thursday. I installed it and found to my dismay that it runs like a dog. On the readme file it states that the ideal setup is 1.2ghz, 128MB RAM and at least a 64MB Graphics Card. However, my machine is 2.0Ghz, 256RAM but only a 32MB Grapics Card (a Creative TNT2 Ultra Gamer). Should I expect the game to run like a dream by simply upgrading to a 64MB card? Is it work the risk?

Of course, I might bring back the game (I have 10 days to decide) - and I'd like to maybe buy a similar unit-based wargame (I already have Total War - Shogun). Any recommendations?

Thanks.

Naar · 13-10-2003 11:27am

The engine is fundamentally the same as Shogun, so it should be working fine. You really should try to get it working, because it's a top-notch game. I'd suggest Google/installing patches.

tman · 13-10-2003 12:16pm

depends on the 64mb card tbh, something like a radeon 9000 should do the job nicely.
you'd want a 128mb+ card (9700+ or ti4200+) to get much more life out of your rig tho.
my mate had a tnt2 & that performed as well as the piece of crap onboard card on this pc, sticking in a geforce4mx440 made an incredible difference in all games.

Shinji · 13-10-2003 1:19pm

You really need to upgrade that graphics card. Grab one of the low-end Radeon cards (something like a 9000) if you're strapped for cash - they're dirt cheap and give a good performance boost over what you've got now.

The other best upgrade you could make would be an extra 256mb of RAM, that's also pretty cheap these days.

ReefBreak · 13-10-2003 1:24pm

Cool, thinking of investing in a new card. 'Nother question: Anyone know of a good, reliable website to buy said graphics card where the price will be cheaper than in Dublin? (Like Play.com, but for Graphics Cards).

Falgorn · 13-10-2003 1:32pm

www.komplett.ie

excellent & VERY cheap.

ReefBreak · 13-10-2003 4:22pm

Originally posted by Comic store Guy
www.komplett.ie

excellent & VERY cheap.

Crikey, great site. I genuinely feel like an idiot for not discovering it sooner. CompactFlash cards are unbelievably cheap - €65 on amazon for 128MB, €52 on Komplett.

ReefBreak · 14-10-2003 4:27pm

Looks like I'll go ahead and get a new graphics card...so I'm hoping to get some more advice:

My choices at the moment are:
Sapphire Radeon 9600 Atlantis 256MB DDR - €180.47

Sapphire Radeon 9600 Atlantis PRO 128MB - €143.68

or maybe...

Sapphire Radeon 9200 Atlantis 256MB DDR - €92.25

Is the 9600 PRO 128MB card that much better than a 9600 256MB card?

Giblet · 14-10-2003 4:37pm

Yes the Pro is better, ram sizes don't matter as much as clocks speed.

Eg: a 64mb card with 400Mhz Ramdac, out performs a 128 one with a 350Mhz one.

Get this one SKU: 117826

Sapphire Radeon 9600 Atlantis PRO 128MB
AGP,"Fireblade Edition"

tman · 14-10-2003 4:38pm

hmmm, 256mb won't be much use for a good while, i'd go for the 128mb pro version myself.

just be sure that your agp slot is 8x before you buy...

superfly · 14-10-2003 4:44pm

thats surprising that it doesnt run on your system well
i was running this until recently on a 500mhz system with 384mb ram and a 32mb card and i had no slowdown at all
i also was running warcraft 3 as well on this system and it plays just as well as on my 2700+ Athlon with 1 gb ram and a 9700 pro card

ReefBreak · 14-10-2003 5:15pm

It may have something to do with the fact that DirectX 9.0 does not work well with nVidia cards, such as my one.

ReefBreak · 15-10-2003 10:33am

I downloaded the lasted nVidia TNT2 drivers last night and there was a huge improvement in performance - TW-Medieval now plays quite well at 800x600. But I still think I'll get a new card.

Originally posted by tman
hmmm, 256mb won't be much use for a good while, i'd go for the 128mb pro version myself.
just be sure that your agp slot is 8x before you buy...

Are you sure my AGP slot has to be 8x in order to run a 8x card.
This link seems to state that recent AGP cards are compatible with 2x, 4x and 8x (although there's no mention of the 9600 card in the chart).

BTW: my AGP specs are:
AGP Bus(es) on Hub 1
Version : 2.00
Speed : 2x 66MHz (132MHz data rate)
Maximum Data Transfer Rate : 4x
Multiplier : 1/2x
Fast-Writes Enabled : No
Fast-Writes Support : Yes
Side Band Enabled : No
Side Band Support : Yes
Aperture Size : 64MB

Wolf · 15-10-2003 11:46am

TBH as you have found out tweaking the drivers can have a hugh effect.

Unfortunatly the main point is that you can have a shoit hot PC but for game you really must have a very powersfull GFX card if you want to run the vast majority of games about atm.

Indeed you can actaully skimp in other areas if you have a good GFX card.

2 Cents.

Falgorn · 15-10-2003 1:25pm

You dont need 8x AGP to run an 8x Agp card.. I have a Radeon 9800 pro and the specifications are 8x Agp but it runs fine on my 4x. Obviously performance will vary between the two, as such im upgrading my mother board this summer (expect future posts for assistance) but you should have no problem. As for the above mentioned cards, you can pick up a Saphire 9800 Atlantis Pro for €350 or so ex vat + Del. I have to say, its really really worth it.. IF for no other reason than in Unreal Tournament when you set everything to highest a voice comes on and says 'HOLY ****'... its exactly how i felt...

Deadwing · 16-10-2003 12:49am

While were talking about cards, anyone care to recommend a good card for upcoming stuff like HL2, doom 3?
Im thinking of upgrading my cpu to an AMD 2600+ (as thats the max my board can support), and maybe a sapphire atlantis pro 128? ATI are selling HL2 with both the 9800 pro and the 9600 pro tho, so maybe one of those...i mean if theyre SELLIN the game with them then it must run on them fairly well!!

Seeking some advice.

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