Ranger Archive
Thread: Ranger Sightseeing?
Nemo0
Sat Mar 26, 2005 3:49 pm
#14
Owen-Lars wrote:
Yeah youll have to make sure your agp slot is the optimum rate for the gfx card to realy make the difference. If you have pci express (which you wont because your system is over 3 years old) you wouldnt have a problem.
All the new gfx cards run on AGPx8 so make sure your motherboard supports it.
Ram makes a hell of a difference in this game though.
AGP is backwards compatible--I run an AGP 8x card in my AGP 4x slot (and that is the only reason I get decent system performance right now--my CPU is 4 years old [as is my RAM] but I still can run any game out there at quite high quality settings). PCI Express requires a new slot and new cards, though. An unbalanced system is not the best way to go but upgrades can really extend the lifetime of a system. If I had my old graphics card, I wouldn't even be able to run most games today but my CPU is still mostly capable (well, it's technically below system requirements but it still has no trouble--a good graphics card can make a big difference). If you have to choose, get a slightly slower CPU and spend the extra on a graphics card (but make sure you get at least 1 GB of RAM if you can). If you don't have to choose, then more power to you.
KaiRaene
Sat Mar 26, 2005 5:00 pm
#15
Yeah, I thought about building a new system total but I really dont have the funds. My system.. 1 gig pc3200 ram, XP2400+ cpu and a Nvidia A7N8X Deluxe seeems pretty up to par. Just wish I could get a high end cpu... 3200+ or something. For the most part I got no complaints so far. Except that SWG still looks the same(lil better 
) but I want something else to play/test with. Tried out the HL2 and Doom3 demos. Really nice graphics. Half tempted to get HL2 but replay ability is what I wonder about....
Also, tried the SW Lego wars demo. Would have been interesting if it hadnt defaulted to using my joystick as the only form of movement... lol. Talk about frustrating... Heh
) but I want something else to play/test with. Tried out the HL2 and Doom3 demos. Really nice graphics. Half tempted to get HL2 but replay ability is what I wonder about.... Also, tried the SW Lego wars demo. Would have been interesting if it hadnt defaulted to using my joystick as the only form of movement... lol. Talk about frustrating... Heh
Owen-Lars
Sat Mar 26, 2005 5:24 pm
#16
Yeah nemo, but i was talking about youll have to make sure your motherboard is AGPx8 to get "Optimal" performance out of it. Yes its backwards compatible but the bandwidth is serverly lacking in the older (1-7x) agp slot motherboard. Bandwidth means everything heh. I know, i had to run my old 9600pro on a agp 4x for week before i could bang it in an agp 8 board. The difference was massive.
Nemo0
Sat Mar 26, 2005 8:27 pm
#17
Owen-Lars wrote:
Yeah nemo, but i was talking about youll have to make sure your motherboard is AGPx8 to get "Optimal" performance out of it. Yes its backwards compatible but the bandwidth is serverly lacking in the older (1-7x) agp slot motherboard. Bandwidth means everything heh. I know, i had to run my old 9600pro on a agp 4x for week before i could bang it in an agp 8 board. The difference was massive.
I'm guessing the difference was more related to the other stuff that came with the AGP 8x board (as I'm guessing you replaced more than just that). While there is an increase in bandwith, I know that there was no significant performance jump between the same card running at 4x and 8x when 8x was first released (according to the benchmarks I saw, although newer games or cards could benefit a bit more from this but I haven't personally seen any benchmarks on this front).
And, just so you know, AGP only comes in 1x, 2x, 4x, and 8x (i.e. no 7x and such).
Although I'm personally running a quite crappy system:
AMD Athlon (Thunderbird core) 1.33GHz
512MB DDR RAM (first generation DDR [quite literally--I ordered this stuff within a month of the first DDR board I could find], i.e. slow)
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro (got the first one to be put on the shelf at my computer store, this was one of the upgrades to this system, replaced a 64MB GeForce 2)
Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum EX (another upgrade, replaced a Aureal 2.0 based card [mainly because of driver support--I loved my old Aureal])
160GB RAID 0 hard drives (supplements my old 6GB drive, WD Caviars if anyone is wondering)
lots of other stuff that would probably bore most people to death
And I still can get 30FPS in SWG with the settings as full as it lets me (terrain seems to give me a cap) with 1280x1024 resolution with 2x AA and 16x Anisotropic Filtering (although it does stutter a lot when entering cities and such [swap file usage stuff]). Although part of that might be my "special modifications" (but no overclocking).
Phenix1050
Sat Mar 26, 2005 8:50 pm
#18
I'm realizing more and more how little i know about computers...
however I did fix my X-Box! = ) but then it broke again. =(
Basically, it looks like there's something very small caught inbetween the mirror and the laser lens. I disassembled the DVD drive, but i can't bring myself to try and disasemble the optics entirely. I blasted the space with a bit of compressed air, but that didn't help. (yes, I'm still goinig to get a new one). I just really don't like the idea of breaking something I know i can't fix.
I'm getting a new fan/heat sink for the CPU fan I busted. Went with an all coppersink this time, and a slightly more powerful fan. Apparently, the bearing was busted on my old fan, which was causing the rattling which loosened the screw which gang-banged my fan. Lovely how a two cent piece of metal can mess up a whole system, isn't it?
Nemo0
Sat Mar 26, 2005 11:27 pm
#19
Phenix1050 wrote:
I'm realizing more and more how little i know about computers...
however I did fix my X-Box! = ) but then it broke again. =(
Basically, it looks like there's something very small caught inbetween the mirror and the laser lens. I disassembled the DVD drive, but i can't bring myself to try and disasemble the optics entirely. I blasted the space with a bit of compressed air, but that didn't help. (yes, I'm still goinig to get a new one). I just really don't like the idea of breaking something I know i can't fix.
I'm getting a new fan/heat sink for the CPU fan I busted. Went with an all coppersink this time, and a slightly more powerful fan. Apparently, the bearing was busted on my old fan, which was causing the rattling which loosened the screw which gang-banged my fan. Lovely how a two cent piece of metal can mess up a whole system, isn't it?
Have you tried the sledgehammer approach? It never fails (well, never fails to relieve some stress
).
).
Phenix1050
Sat Mar 26, 2005 11:33 pm
#20
Nemo0 wrote:
Have you tried the sledgehammer approach? It never fails (well, never fails to relieve some stress
Oh, I'm saving my old Fan/Sink for a little "sacrifice" with some high-powered fireworks.
Nemo0
Sun Mar 27, 2005 12:07 am
#21
Phenix1050 wrote:
Nemo0 wrote:
Have you tried the sledgehammer approach? It never fails (well, never fails to relieve some stress
Oh, I'm saving my old Fan/Sink for a little "sacrifice" with some high-powered fireworks.
Be careful if it is made of aluminum. If it gets too hot, aluminum will start to burn (think thermite or magnesium). It's really cool but it is quite dangerous if you are not expecting it. It's a lot of fun to burn aluminum ladders.
Phenix1050
Sun Mar 27, 2005 12:29 am
#22
Nemo0 wrote:
Be careful if it is made of aluminum. If it gets too hot, aluminum will start to burn (think thermite or magnesium). It's really cool but it is quite dangerous if you are not expecting it. It's a lot of fun to burn aluminum ladders.
oh, I know (about aluminum burning, anyway). Used to make home-made fireworks out of model rockets with booster engines, gunpowder (from shotgun shells), and small balled up pieces of alluminum foil. Quite fun, actually. Though,I will say...it's freaking LOUD. Even 1000 feet up.
Nemo0
Sun Mar 27, 2005 12:42 am
#23
Phenix1050 wrote:
Nemo0 wrote:
Be careful if it is made of aluminum. If it gets too hot, aluminum will start to burn (think thermite or magnesium). It's really cool but it is quite dangerous if you are not expecting it. It's a lot of fun to burn aluminum ladders.
oh, I know (about aluminum burning, anyway). Used to make home-made fireworks out of model rockets with booster engines, gunpowder (from shotgun shells), and small balled up pieces of alluminum foil. Quite fun, actually. Though,I will say...it's freaking LOUD. Even 1000 feet up.
Ah, cool. Then just use the normal precautions and have some fun. Especially if it is not going to be 1000 feet up in the air and not small (on both counts).
Phenix1050
Sun Mar 27, 2005 1:04 pm
#24
oh, i fully intend to pull the old rocket launcher equipment outta the attic and set this thing off remotely. I have a remote-control launch mechanism set up on it from the old firework days. We quickly learned that loud explosions at 2am tend to draw the attention of the cops. We'd set the thing off from a safe spot pretty far from where we were. After the locals stopped gawking and went inside to call the cops, we'd grab the equipment and skee-dadle. As for this particular display of pyro-technical prowness...there's an abandoned quarry a mile and a half from my house. Should be a good place to go pound a few brews and blow this fan to heck. From a safe perch at the top of the quarry, that is. I'm not a fan of shrapnel in the eye.
Phenix1050
Sun Mar 27, 2005 2:16 pm
#25
Ohhhh nonono....NEVER videotape your crimes. First rule.
Nemo0 wrote:
Lol, take a video. This I want to see.
WildBil2Me
Sun Mar 27, 2005 2:37 pm
#26
Phenix1050 wrote:
Ohhhh nonono....NEVER videotape your crimes. First rule.
Nemo0 wrote:
Lol, take a video. This I want to see.
Correction:
Videotaping your crime: OK
Videotaping yourself commiting the crime: Bad
-the leaky faucet bandit.