Curse

Tacofarm · May 07, 2005, 06:44 PM // 18:44

Well I bought the game and installed it. When it came to disk 2 I was alerted that 845 is not supported by guild wars so I went and got this http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scri...io n&lang=eng.

It seemed to make my gameplay a bit better but I'm still really choppy and things can really slow down at times. Also, I have experienced one crash with the game. It only happened once so I'm thinking it probably won't be that much of an issue. Are there any things I can do to make my gameplay better?

TheFever · May 07, 2005, 07:00 PM // 19:00

Tacofarm, your computer is using an integrated graphics solution. While fine for non-3d games, it is probably the worst solution for 3D Games. If you want to continue using the Intel Integrated graphics, then you're going to have to play the game at the lowest graphics settings, and even then, I bet you will still have experience choppy graphics. The best solution? Get a Video Card. To get one that will play Guild Wars decently, I would say you would have to spend about $120-$150.

When you purchase a new video card, you're going to have to know a couple of things before you purchase one. First, what type of slots do you have on your system open? Theres three types out now that will support Video Cards - PCI, AGP, and PCI-X. To find this out, do this:

Start -> Run -> type "dxdiag" -> click on "Display" tab.

Somewhere near the middle you will see "AGP" Support. If it says Yes, then you need to get an AGP graphics card. If it doesn't, you need a PCI graphics card. I haven't really messed with PCI-X (which is not compatible with PCI), so I'm not sure how to find out if you need a PCI-X Card.

Once you purchase and install your card, you will need to disable the onboard graphics. Again ,this is System Dependent, but you will need to go into the BIOS and you have to search through them to disable "Integrated Graphics", and the BIOS will change from Manufacturer to Manufacturer. They're usually under something along the lines of "MotherBoard Features", but again, I can't tell you exactly what to do here. If you call your computer's tech support, they can help you disable it. Then you will have to set primary display to "AGP". Once its disabled and Primary is on AGP, save and exit, and then turn off the computer. Move the monitor cable over to the graphics card and you're almost done. If you're using WinXP, you'll be using a generic driver, and your screen will look all sorts of funny (small resolution, 16-bit color). This is when you're going to need to install the graphics card drivers (best to download the newest ones from nVidia or ATi's website, dependign on which type of vid card you got. In a pinch, the drivers that came on the CD will work, but you'll need to update as soon as possible). Install the new drivers, reboot, and you'll be ready to rock.