Curse

Nigy · Aug 23, 2005, 03:52 AM // 03:52

ok, im playing GW now wiht intel intergrated graphics; it works OK using direct 3d software, but...its not great

i found this PCI card (my dimention 2400 has no agp slot)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814143032

and am wondering how well it'l work.

thanks for any help in advance

1337haXXor · Aug 23, 2005, 05:24 AM // 05:24

well i run a 5700 LE, probably the same speed (or mines slower), so i would say with a 2.4 ghz computer (mine) u can run 1024/768 highest details no antialiasing

Nigy · Aug 23, 2005, 08:05 AM // 08:05

OK....do you know about other games....like dunno. age of empires 3??

Marc Grahamsworth · Aug 23, 2005, 08:09 AM // 08:09

I recommend you get a new computer - considering your computer doesnt even have an AGP slot, I would guess that it's at least 5 years old (which is quite old in PC gaming terms). I'm actually surprised that GW runs fine on your on-board GPU since the minimum specs as stated on the Guild Wars site are:

"ATI Radeon 8500 or GeForce 3 or 4 MX Series Video Card with 32MB of VRAM"

and often on-board GPUs are the equivalent to TNT2s, which are considerably weaker than a GeForce 4MX.

PCI-E video cards are the next best thing atm so if you could get a new computer with one of those, you should be fine (and judging by AOE3 screenshots I've seen, it's going to need some beefy hardware)!

Oh and anything would be better than on-board graphics. The card you recommended looks pretty good although I'm not sure of the performance gap between PCI and AGP cards.

Old Dood · Aug 23, 2005, 11:28 AM // 11:28

Marc Grahamsworth, Dell 2400's are not that old.

These computers are really scaled down 4700's. They are build without a video card slot on purpose. But you are right they are not built for real gaming. They are Business Machines. (Dell Optipex systems are the same computer) But this guy just wants to beef his 2400 up so to add a PCI video card is the next best thing. The Nvidia 5700 is a pretty good card. Even the 5500 is better then on-board graphics. Just make sure you have at least 512 megs of ram with or without a added video card. Windows XP will use up almost all of a 256 meg chip just to run XP.

After all that, I would not put any more money into a 2400 system. People tend to buy these little boxes thinking they are getting a great deal. If they would only check out the Dell 4700's and watch they can get a deal almost as cheap as a 2400. You can buy a Dell 4700 without any video card. It will come with its on-board active. You can purchase your own video card afterwords and turn off the on-board graphics in the BIOs when you need to. You can do the same for ram too, just be aware that any old stick of ram will not work in a Dell. Don't think you can go to Best Buy and pick up extra ram and expect it to work...it will not. Dell Computers are FUSSY about that.

Now if anyone really wants to know about how to tweak their Dell systems they should go to the Dell Community Forums at Dell's website. There are people there that have answered these questions a zillion times. This is how I learned how to tweak my Dell box. Be forwarned though. You think people here get upset if you do not use the SEARCH FUNCTION...they are real anal about it there at Dell Community Forums.

EDIT: Also the Mods at Dell are ALLOT less forgiving then any of the Mods here. I had a good friend there that was very well educated on all systems. He got so tired of reading the same posts about Dell 2XXX systems that he wrote funny sarcastic answers after while. He got baned for life from Dell for answering to a person that lacked understanding anything that was told to him in a long thread on his 2400. The OP just could not understand why his Dell 2400 would not work well for gaming. So my friend said: "You bought a business machine ya DORK..." Ka-boom he was baned.

Algren Cole · Aug 23, 2005, 02:18 PM // 14:18

tweaking a dell computer is like putting an exhuast on a honda....in the end you still have a piece of crap.

Nigy · Aug 23, 2005, 04:23 PM // 16:23

I understand that the 2400 is crap, ive had that rubbed in to me a thousand times.

its a "family computer" and at the momont im currently saving some money so when i do get my own computer it will last for a while.

I'm not buying the card since it's for my birthday and hhonestly, i need THE BEST DARN PCI CARD YOU CAN GET.

thanks

Algren Cole · Aug 23, 2005, 07:09 PM // 19:09

Nigy: That comment was more geared towards "don't waste your time upgrading...the computer is what it is and upgrading it won't make it any better".

as far as video cards go a Jaton FX5700 is gonna be one of the best PCI cards you can get. I've heard wonderful things about these cards from people moving over from ATI cards and I've heard the world changes from people stepping up from an integrated card. It's not gonna get you optimal performance from Guild Wars but it's gonna get you some pretty nice performance for less than 100 bucks.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814139166

Nigy · Aug 24, 2005, 02:19 AM // 02:19

OK thanks a lot.

ive talked with a computer guru friend, and he says for 550 dollars i can get myself a competent computer, of my own in my case....so i might go that direction

thanks everyone for their help

Max Taco · Aug 24, 2005, 03:08 AM // 03:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigy

OK thanks a lot.

ive talked with a computer guru friend, and he says for 550 dollars i can get myself a competent computer, of my own in my case....so i might go that direction

thanks everyone for their help

Thats cutting it close, I generally alot 350 for mobo/cpu/ram and that gets somewhere near enough. Assume 100 for the hard drive (brand name, decent size), and 200 for the video card.

Now that's 550, now all you need is cdrom, psu, case, soundcard (maybe).

If you get an a7n8x-e deluxe with an athlon xp 3200+, a gig of ddr, 100gig sata drive, raddy 9800XT (i think its the best AGP card at this point), cd-rw and dvd, antec psu, generic case (don't skimp on psu, ever). that should be ~$700 and will get you a resonably fast system that can perform much faster than nearly any dell you can get for under $1500

Searching around newegg should yield all those parts.

Nigy · Aug 24, 2005, 04:55 PM // 16:55

well what im at is 550 for all parts using athlon xp 2800+ and geforce 6600Gt.

including drives and a wireless keyboard/mouse combo for 20.

i need to set up a router etc for internet, since the cable router is in a distant part of the house, and im gonna buy a used monitor for hopefully about 40 bucks.