Another "how much will it help" thread...

[deathbybeanbag]

I know there are ton of these, but i also wanted to ask a couple of other questions too....

Firstly, i have a Dimension C520 - not great, but its all we could get.

Spec:

Athlon 3500
512 DDR
128 (i think) integrated!!!!!! card....
80gb HD


1: If i buy a 1gb DDR Stick and put it in the extra slot, how much of a difference will that actually make compared to buying a better card etc. I've heard bf2 is very ram heavy, so i would hope a big difference....

2: You can get pretty horrible pci-e cards for not alot of money 256-512 for under £50 in some places.... with that be any better than my current card?

Now, bf2 always ran slow on this pc, usually picked up after a few minutes though. However, now, its started to lag really badly.... probably because i changed the video card settings, so i'll change them back....

Now, another question, a friend of mine has an alienware lappy, about 3 yrs old and it seems to load bf2 maps (online) in about 1 minute and a bit... my computer will often take 10 minutes to get playing.... is this just another ram thing, or do i need to do something else?

And lastly, the common "Problem with connection..." message. I've turned of my firewall and installed all the things listed in the huge topic.... im still getting it once or twice a minute at least... I can't wire my computer up yet, so is there ANYTHING else that could cause it? Or is it just a wire thing, i have a medium quality connection where the computer is....

Erm... i *think* thats all, but i will probably be back to ask more questions in a bit....

Ah, one more thing, is the athlon 64 3500+ a dual core? I couldnt find a reference to one or the other, sorry for the n00by q's

[cloakster]

Re: Another "how much will it help" thread...

1st, if your graphics card is integrated then upograding that is your first priority then your RAM. No matter what, I would still suggest to upgrade both.

2nd, the 3500+ is single core.

3rd, the long loading times is from only having 512mb of RAM.

[deathbybeanbag]

Re: Another "how much will it help" thread...

excellent, thats exactly what i wanted to hear.... i hoped the slow loading time was just the ram....

so, even a card like THIS is good enough for someone who is on a tight budget?

[camper.]

Re: Another "how much will it help" thread...

Get one of those and volt mod it.

[cloakster]

Re: Another "how much will it help" thread...

Get one of those and volt mod it.

That is a horrible suggestion. Voltmodding can damage the card if not done properly. Also the 7300GS is a LOW-end card and will not perform well. If you want the performance you will need to spend money.

[megawhompertoo]

Re: Another "how much will it help" thread...

BF2 loves the 7600gt. You can set the game mostly on medium with high geometries and max view with something like this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/256MB-GeForce-...QQcmdZViewItem

better yet, here's an oem with a 7-day guarantee:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PNY-7600GT-256...QQcmdZViewItem

or, from a store:

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/125163

Another 512mb of RAM is absolutely necessary to make the game smooth and more enjoyable.

[abtomat74]

Re: Another "how much will it help" thread...

nVidia 8600 series should be available later this month, or early May. They should be priced below the $250 range, and as low as $150.

Wait until these 8600's arrive before you buy a video card...if you decide not to buy an 8600(any model), then the current video cards will still go down in price.

Make NO decision until these cards arrive!...unless you're buying another stick or ram, that you can do now.

[ConscriptVirus]

Re: Another "how much will it help" thread...

if u get a 7600gt, get another gig of ram to ur 512mb. it will help with the higher settings

since idk wat u were doing when u were trying to fix ur connection to server problem, have u tried updating PB or maybe turning off voip?

and since u were changing video settings all around, did u remember to clear ur cache files found in C:\Documents and Settings\NAME\My Documents\Battlefield 2\mods\bf2\cache

btw wat is the name of ur video card? im just curious

[WNx Makka99]

Re: Another "how much will it help" thread...

im suprised bf2 actually ran on your system

[deathbybeanbag]

Re: Another "how much will it help" thread...

BF2 loves the 7600gt. You can set the game mostly on medium with high geometries and max view with something like this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/256MB-GeForce-...QQcmdZViewItem

better yet, here's an oem with a 7-day guarantee:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PNY-7600GT-256...QQcmdZViewItem

or, from a store:

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/125163

Another 512mb of RAM is absolutely necessary to make the game smooth and more enjoyable.

Thanks for your help - I don't really have that much cash, but i'll see if i can stretch to the OEM one, that doesn't seem a bad idea.

I hadn't cleared my cache, so i'll do that next. VOIP is turned off and i've updated pb - i even lose my connection when i play on a server without pb, i'll have to see if i can wire my pc up at some point.

Thanks All.

[Death Merchant]

Re: Another "how much will it help" thread...

get the RAM upgrade first - If your settings are on low then it should run fine on that Pc

then upgrade your graphics card - 7600-x1600 will do or you can wait till summer for next generation Nvidia and ATI cards to be released, but TBH i wouldnt wait

I wouldnt even think of upgrading your processor until youve upgraded those two sure its not the best but its a solid processor for games like bf2 capable of running high settings in a pc with good Ram and graphics card

[[GCA]Tim270]

Re: Another "how much will it help" thread...

Get an Nvid gforce 6800 like i have , its a great card for how old it is , runs bf2 high ( but due to my 1gb of RAM this is not desirable ) so it runs great on medium , have a look at that card , but i would stay away from the 7300 .

[camper.]

Re: Another "how much will it help" thread...

That is a horrible suggestion. Voltmodding can damage the card if not done properly. Also the 7300GS is a LOW-end card and will not perform well. If you want the performance you will need to spend money.

But the 7300 can be overclocked like crazy, which is the only reason I suggested it. If you're going to be cheap, you have to make a few sacrifices...

[deathbybeanbag]

Re: Another "how much will it help" thread...

well, im very strapped for cash as i cant get a job until ive done my GCSE's in may/june.... my dad said he's be willing to get the card hopefully, so i probably have a budget of 50/60, i will buy the ram myself....

The 6800 sounds good, but if i overclocked the 7300 would it perform better than 6800 without become unstable?

[cloakster]

Re: Another "how much will it help" thread...

well, im very strapped for cash as i cant get a job until ive done my GCSE's in may/june.... my dad said he's be willing to get the card hopefully, so i probably have a budget of 50/60, i will buy the ram myself....

The 6800 sounds good, but if i overclocked the 7300 would it perform better than 6800 without become unstable?

Even if overclocked through voltmodding the 7300 will not even come close to the 6800.