Current System or New One w/ Vista

Archon of SFL · Post by **Archon of SFL** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 8:45 pm

I've waited to buy Oblivion until the price came down, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen any time soon, so I've decided to take the plunge. However, before I plunk down my hard earned coin, I'd like some expert opinion about the ability of my current system to reasonably run the game.

I've got:
Intel Pentium 4 2.66 GHz
1.0 GB of Ram
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200
Creative SB Audigy LS

So what's the verdict? Can I run with what I've got, or do I have to upgrade to a new system (not very likely in the foreseeable future) that will no doubt come with Windows Vista?

Thanks for your help.

Siberys · Post by **Siberys** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 9:11 pm

Nope, everything but your video card is good to go, but your card will only run oblivion on a program known as "Oldblivion," and even if graphics aren't usually that important, the way it looks with forced lower graphics makes it REALLY awful looking. Purple water, no lighting effects (So every dungeon or cave you go into will be brightly white colored, no shading at all).

I'd concentrate on upgrading your system or other things for now.

Siberys · Post by **Siberys** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 12:04 pm

Archon of SFL wrote:Also, do you have any recomendations on what graphics card I should get? Thanks again.

No problem, and as for a recommendation, it really depends on your financial situation.

Though here's a general price range-

75 to 100 bucks, you could get something that could run oblivion at low/POSSIBLY medium graphics, it'll bring out a decent look (way better than oldblivion anyways) but it's not the greatest look. Something like an Nvidia 6200 or 6800 would do that for specific names, not sure about ATI as I've only ever had one card from them. Maybe an X200 or X300?

Or if you're willing to spend more just for the graphics, I recently got a "GeCube Radeon X1300 512Mb" for 120-130 bucks IIRC (I forget the shipping), and if I had the ram and processor for it, I could go all out high graphics with it.

@ThePunisher, that makes absolutely no sense. "If you Can't afford something, buy it anyways so you can smash it," you do realize what you said right?

Please stay on topic.

Archon of SFL · Post by **Archon of SFL** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 9:05 pm

Thanks for the help Siberys. I searched for your recommended card and found it on Ebay for about $87 and Newegg.com for $71.

On Newegg, I found two cards with the same name; the difference between the two being the "Interface". I assume this is referring to the interface with my motherboard. One is for a PCI Express X16 and the other is for a AGP 4X/8X (this one costs $23 more for some reason).

How do I find out what interface I've got in my system? I've checked the Device Manager, and I see "Intel 82801EB PCI Bridge - 244E" and "PCI bus". Is it safe to assume that I've got the PCI Express X16 interface?

My other concern is my power supply. Newegg says that I've got to have a 300-Watt power supply or greater. How do I check my power supply?

Once again, thanks for the advice. I wouldn't trust the guys at Best Buy or CompUSA to give me a straight answer since they're just trying to move a product. The folks on the Gamebanshee forums are very helpful and just an all around great bunch of folks.

Siberys · Post by **Siberys** » Sat Apr 07, 2007 9:17 pm

Power supply is easy to check. Turn off your PC, open one of the sides and unscrew the powersupply from it's bay. You don't need to unhook it, you just need to have the box in your hand so you can look at the labels, which you'll be able to find 300W or something like that somewhere on the box.

Your motherboard, I can't tell you how to check as I don't know what PCI slots and stuff. If no one else responds to answer that, I would just trust AGP, as most every motheboard will come with an AGP slot (And don't be concerened if some cards have three of those little things that slide in the slot or two of them, it really doesn't make a difference if your motherboard is at least from the year 2002 or so).

AGP is more expensive because it's becoming harder to advance technology on that sort of slot, which is why PCI was invented, as well as SLI, just to simplify it any way a company can. Even so, I wouldn't expect AGP slots to stop appearing on motherboards till the year 2010 or so, so it's safe to assume your motherboard has a slot. And the AGP 4x and AGP 8x makes really no difference either. It's kind of like a DVD Drive x8 or DVD Drive x16, it just makes it easier to handle and a slight bit faster.

Archon of SFL · Post by **Archon of SFL** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 3:14 pm

One last question and then we'll declare this horse officially beaten.

Will this new graphics card (say the GeCube Radeon X1300 512Mb) give me any problems when I try to run SW:KotOR? My daughter will have a cow if she's not able to play and I'd hate to loose the option as well.

Thanks again for all your help.