posted
I have two computers, one that is about 4 years-old and one that is about 6 months old. The older one has 512mb of RAM, an AMD Athlon 2600+ processor, and a Radeon 9800 All-in-Wonder video card.
The newer one has 1022mb of RAM, an Intel Celeron 3.06ghz, and a GeForce FX 5500 video card.
My wife and I just bought Elder Scrolls Oblivion for the PC, and it can't run at all on my new comp because the FX video card series can't handle it due to pixel shading issues. So, we installed it on my older computer, since it still has a pretty good video card.
The game runs decently with the graphics set in the middle, but load times are long and there is lag here and there. I am wondering if switching the higher RAM and CPU from my new comp to my old one would help performance?
I would switch my Radeon card to the other computer, except that my wife does video editing for a living, and to make a long story short, it would be a huge hassle to transnfer all of her projects to a new computer, since she needs the capture abilities on the Radeon card.
I have never built a computer, so I don't know the ins and outs of installing CPUs or the differences between types of RAM. Can you just swap CPUs, or are there problems that could arise, or compatibility issues? Can you even uninstall a CPU without damaging the motherboard? As long as the RAM fits in the other computer, does that mean it will run okay on that motherboard? Any advice would be appreciated. Posts: 684 | Registered: Aug 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
You're not going to be able to swap the processors across motherboards. The sockets aren't the same, so they just won't fit. I also wouldn't move the RAM. I really doubt it would be compatible. There have been a lot of improvements to RAM over the last four years. If you want to upgrade the older computer's RAM, that would be a good option, but make sure you buy exactly the right kind.
Loading times could be affected by your hard drive speed. Do you have a 5400rpm drive instead of a 7200? Is your drive really full?
The game should support the GeForce FX series (At least the developers claim it does). Is your DirectX up to date? Could you disable some options and make it work?
Posts: 1592 | Registered: Jan 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
When I want to upgrade my RAM (twice, two different computers, so far), I check Crucial.com to find out what my computer needs. It's got dropdown menus that eventually lead you to the right configuration. If you do that for both computers and it leads you to the same information, perhaps the RAM is compatible.
On the video game issue, I've got the Sims2 on my one-year-old Compaq with the Intel® Extreme Graphics controller that's low-end to run the game. The instructions for the expansion packs, at least, say to close antivirus programs and any non-essential programs to run the game. So, I shut off my DSL modem and go through ctrl-alt-del, click on processes and shut down most of the processes listed under my ID. Mine happens to say Compaq owner - my husband's would have his name. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is try shutting down non-essential programs and see if that helps. We just added more RAM - a 256 which doubled what we had, and it's running better.
Disclaimer: although we've had PCs at home for 10 years, I do not consider myself an expert - this is just what works in my case. I'm sure that real experts will reply, and probably have in the time it took me to enter my reply. Posts: 2034 | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
How much is a new vid card for the new computer?
And...just wondering if your wife backs up her work somewhere safe.
It took me FAR less than a day to back up all the stuff from my old computer to my new one. I'd rather make backups than mess with hardware. Especially old hardware that's been in service a long time...
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
In your scenario, Marlozhan, there is no solution that will not cost you money. You'll either wind up needing to buy more RAM for the old machine or a better video card for the new machine. I prefer the first solution, as it will also speed up your wife's video editing.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
If you don't mind putting a *little* bit of money into this problem, it ought to be possible to switch the Radeon card with the GeForce card and then install a seperate video capture card in the GeForce computer. Video capture cards (or even USB devices) are considerably cheaper than mid-to-high end video cards these days. Froogle lists some for under $40.
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
She uses firewire also. She does all kinds of stuff. And the RAM is not compatible between the two comps, I checked. She does her work on the side, not full-time. The computer is sufficient for what she does, so I have decided to probably just get a new video card for my new computer, since it already has more RAM and a faster CPU. It is an AGP motherboard, so I am thinking about getting the GeForce 7800gs 256mb.
That, along with 3 ghz and 1gb RAM should be enough to run Oblivion smoothly, hopefully. It is a pretty graphics-intensive game.
By the way, thanks for your input. Posts: 684 | Registered: Aug 2001
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Primal Curve: Your wife is doing professional video editing on an ATI all in wonder?
Have you ever heard of Firewire?
Might want to elaborate.
Now for my 2c...
Oblivion is a very GPU (read: video card) intensive game, so while upgrading ram and processor speeds will help LOAD times, actual performance will be greatly increased if you spent the money on a new video card.
If you've seen any of the videos that show the game running etc, realize that those were being played on computers that had just about the latest bleeding edge graphics cards ($500+) and computer equipment.
From what I've read in the official forums everybody has been scrambling to upgrade their rigs just to make this game look good.
So here are some recommendations: 1) For about $140 you can buy one of the newer generation ATI Radeon cards, the X1600 which will allow you to run the game with most if not all the graphical goodies set high (the screen resolution may still have to be set fairly low). Put THAT card with your new Celeron system, and you should have pretty good load times and good performance.
2) Like what the other guy said, you could pay to upgrade your older computer's RAM. That way, your wife's editing and your loading should speed up. You could probably get another GIG for about $70 bucks. With this route you just wouldn't get all the "PIXEL SHADER GRAPHIXXX"
Hope this helps, and if you need more help PM me.
EDIT: I just saw your reply, and yeah if you have the money, go ahead and get the 7800GS.
Posts: 1236 | Registered: Mar 2002
| IP: Logged |
quote:The computer is sufficient for what she does, so I have decided to probably just get a new video card for my new computer, since it already has more RAM and a faster CPU.
I would not be confident, by the way, that a 3Ghz Celeron is actually faster than an Athlon 2600+ at games. My own Athlon 3000+ has been able to play everything I've thrown at it -- including Half Life 2, but not yet Oblivion (because I'm on a budget) -- with only 2GB of RAM and an ATI AIW9800. With full detail.
Of course, I play at 1024x768 due to the maximum resolution of my TV, but it's really made upgrades feel far less essential.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
| IP: Logged |
quote:The computer is sufficient for what she does, so I have decided to probably just get a new video card for my new computer, since it already has more RAM and a faster CPU.
I would not be confident, by the way, that a 3Ghz Celeron is actually faster than an Athlon 2600+ at games. My own Athlon 3000+ has been able to play everything I've thrown at it -- including Half Life 2, but not yet Oblivion (because I'm on a budget) -- with only 2GB of RAM and an ATI AIW9800. With full detail.
Of course, I play at 1024x768 due to the maximum resolution of my TV, but it's really made upgrades feel far less essential.
Honestly 1024x768 is all you need for this game. I really don't understand these people complaining that they can "only" get 1280x1024 w/4xAA. After a few .ini file tweaks my lil'9600 Radeon can offer water reflections for objects, land, actors, distand buildings etc, a good measure of "purty grass", tree canopy shadows, a 20 mile draw distance (with heavy tradeoff)...
Textures look like crap but for the 2nd to bare-minimum chipset that's also 4 generations behind in GPU architecture, it's not too bad. (grammar==0)
If the Athlon and Celeron were equal speeds yeah the Athlon would do better. I'm just not sure how big a performance difference is between those two cpus. Hmm
And then there's differences between game engines...
posted
There's not a huge difference between the CPUs on my computers, but I'm expecting that having double the RAM should help, so that my computer won't have to keep use paging file memory to help play the game.
Posts: 684 | Registered: Aug 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
I could tell the difference quite a bit before I put the second 512mb stick in my system. It came the day after I got Oblivion.
Posts: 5422 | Registered: Dec 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
I haven't used a PC with less than 1GB of RAM in four years. I don't know how you people do it. Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
It's never been a problem for me to run on 512mb, until Oblivion came along. Of course, the most demanding games I have played on it are Battle for Middle Earth, World of Warcraft, and Guild Wars. I would probably already have a gig of RAM if I were more into some of the more graphics-intensive games.
Posts: 684 | Registered: Aug 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Honestly, I don't see how waiting up to (gasp) 10 seconds to load a level is horrendous and a deal breaker with some folks.
In other news my lil'9600 just died a HORRIBLe death, and so I'm getting a stopgap agp solution (the x1600) until I get employed again (tomorrow). Then beware...muahaha...
posted
Yup. They just released the 7800 GS (the AGP version) a month or so ago. They're around $300 at the moment.
Posts: 9945 | Registered: Sep 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
CaiSedai, thanks for linking to Crutial...I just went there for thefirst time and it answered my questions about my system and memory right away.
I think I am getting another 512 soon, for about $60. Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
it seems like cheating to use them but not buy from them, but my older computer needed RAM and the person who bought it for me got it from there. We just doubled the RAM on our newer (1 year old) computer last Friday and I checked the needs on Crucial.com. I have to admit, their prices were better than what we paid, but we don't have a credit card, and had to shop locally.
Posts: 2034 | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
So I just got this Radeon X1600Pro 256mb up and running and it's running Oblivion on full settings @ 1024x768 resolution. I think the main FPS hog that people are suffering from is the amount of shadows being displayed at the same time. Put the slider at 1, and you'll be fine.
Purrrty, and for $120 bucks you can't go wrong with the x1600.
Posts: 1236 | Registered: Mar 2002
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
