A Graphics Card for MW

Rookierookie · Post by **Rookierookie** » Fri Jun 04, 2004 2:34 am

I have lag in Sadrith Mora with 512MB RAM, 2.4Ghz and R9800SE.

But then I did turn on full AA and AF.

Adahn · Post by **Adahn** » Sat Jun 05, 2004 5:35 pm

Originally posted by fable
I'm using a Radeon 9600

That's what i'm using

fable · Post by **fable** » Sat Jun 05, 2004 5:40 pm

Originally posted by Adahn
That's what i'm using

Maybe we're related.

But with any luck--plus the upgrades we're getting, here--I'll be able to run MW with so many mods that I won't surface again for another 50 years.

Or, at least, until Bethsoft issues their next major release.

Danbacksli · Post by **Danbacksli** » Sat Jun 05, 2004 5:50 pm

Originally posted by Fallowmar
Friend of mine just bought a emachine with a celeron 2.8 gig and 512 megs of DDR for $450 with a $100 mail in rebate. It also had a DVD burner and a 40gig HD. No monitor though and the video card was onboard, but still $350 after rebate isn't bad. I personally just build my systems, but if you want something that has a warranty past 90 days, I would suggest a prebuilt.

Emachines stands for Error Machines. I hate mine it doesnt play half the games that it should be able it so thats why Im just going to completely start over with a brand new one I am building myself. On my error machine I have had at least 20 viruses in the last month.

fable · Post by **fable** » Sat Jun 05, 2004 5:56 pm

What's wrong with having either a sound or video card on the motherboard? I'm not advocating a position, just seeking information.

Adahn · Post by **Adahn** » Sun Jun 06, 2004 4:02 am

Originally posted by fable
Maybe we're related.

Very funny

. Anyway... what kind of card would one need, in order to play Morrowind with maximum view distance without getting a single second of lag?

Dark Master · Post by **Dark Master** » Sun Jun 06, 2004 5:53 am

I have the same graphics card as both of you, the Radeon 9600, and I don't get any lag with everything on maximum unless I'm in Soltsheim (there its a whole different story). I have 512MB DDR RAM, but thats pretty much standard nowadays right? I've got an AMD Athlon 1800XP+ processor, but my hard drive is quite full and I havent' defragged in a while - there isn't too much spyware and stuff since very little gets through Norton, so in answer to your question, you already have the graphics card you need, maybe a bit of tweaking or upgrading other parts of the machine will help.

fable · Post by **fable** » Sun Jun 06, 2004 7:56 am

512 MB RAM still isn't standard; if you go to Dell's or Gateway's site (and they're the two biggest prebuilt computer sites on the Web), then you'll find nearly all units offered with 256 MB RAM. I suspect 512 will be the standard, though, in about a year.

The difference between the two is very noticeable in a poorly optimized game like Morrowind, especially when you add in many mods. 512 MB RAM would seem to be a threshhold. While my 1.3 GHz Athlon isn't bad (in fact, when I bought it 3 1/2 years ago, it was top of the line), but it's far from the best. I'm not worried about the video card, but to get the best performance out of MW, I definitely think a fast CPU and 1 GB RAM are necessary, today.

Rookierookie · Post by **Rookierookie** » Sun Jun 06, 2004 9:11 pm

What's wrong with having either a sound or video card on the motherboard? I'm not advocating a position, just seeking information.

They take up system resources, and on-board video, including the ATI 9200SE IGP, does not run any recent games half well.

a 4 GHz, 64-bit Athlon CPU,

That, IIRC, does not exist. Yet.

Anyone who is running Windows XP or any 3D games with anything less than 512MB has no right to complain about poor performance.