Looking for computer shopping advice
By
Father Xmas,
Posted on: 2009-09-26 17:54 in ALL ACCESS Gameplay Technical Issues Bugs
I'll leave the recommendations to others.
As for how to transfer the game to the new computer? I'd recommend this post for instructions.
If the game spit out 20 dollar bills people would complain that they weren't sequentially numbered. If they were sequentially numbered people would complain that they weren't random enough.
Black Pebble is my new hero.
Well a lot has changed in 7 years.
Hard disk and RAM is relatively cheap and with a 64-bit OS, 4-6GB of memory is becoming the standard along with 500-1000GB hard drives.
Dual core CPUs are a dime a dozen with triple and quad cores starting to become more common in mid range systems. Intel's Core 2 and now Core i5 and i7 CPUs have allowed Intel to catch up and go past AMD's Athlon series of CPUs. AMD has countered with the Athlon II and the Phenom II CPUs but they are now slower clock for clock than Intel's Core 2, Core i5 or Core i7 CPUs. However if you compare by price performance, a $200 AMD processor performs as well as a $200 Intel processor in most things.
Video card power has jumped expodentially in the last 7 years. The relatively modest 9500GT, a $50-60 card online, is on par with the 5 1/2 year old 6800 Ultra, which was $500 when it was introduced. And back then the 6800 Ultra simply outclassed any card from either nVidia or ATI that came before it. Of course nowadays, the 9500GT is considered to be on the low end of the performance scale with the current high end cards being around 8x as powerful. But that power comes with a price, both in money as well as the power needed to run them. Also 512MB is pretty standard for video memory while some cards come equip with as much as 2GB of memory with around 1GB becoming the standard. Whether 1GB is useful or not still depends on the performance of the card and the game settings you are trying to play at.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
Quote:
Um... I paid $685 for my 6800 Ultra when it came out.|
Originally Posted by Father Xmas
the 5 1/2 year old 6800 Ultra, which was $500 when it was introduced. |
Just sayin'.
If the game spit out 20 dollar bills people would complain that they weren't sequentially numbered. If they were sequentially numbered people would complain that they weren't random enough.
Black Pebble is my new hero.
Well I was listing what the reviews at the time of it's debut had as a MSRP. I would imagine that like all hot top end cards, the price rise in the short term due to demand and availability.
Considering it was nearly twice as fast in AA and AF modes as the nVidia FX 5950 or the ATI 9800XT and had support for Dx9 and Pixel Shader 3.0, it was definitely a very sexy card at the time.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
Yes it was. And it has served me quite well since I bought it. Alas, now it is relegated to my test machine.
If the game spit out 20 dollar bills people would complain that they weren't sequentially numbered. If they were sequentially numbered people would complain that they weren't random enough.
Black Pebble is my new hero.
The 7-year-old computer I am making this post from is reaching the end of its lifespan, and I'm now in the market for a new one. I'm mainly looking for a new rig that will run this game more smoothly than the one I have now. As it stands now, the recent memory leaks are enough to easily overwhelm it, slowing me to a crawl and frustrating my teammates.
So basically, I want to know what kinds of specs I should be looking for, what the "recommended system requirements" are for the game as it is now. RAM, Hard Disk Space, Processor, Video Card, that sort of thing. I've done some upgrades to the computer, but it's reached the limits of how much it can be upgraded and I still find myself slowing down in hectic situations, and something like a Mothership or Hamidon raid is out of the question for me.
Also, when I get this new computer, how do I go about transferring the game from the old one? I'm told that there are software programs that take care of transferring important files from one computer to another. At least that's what the people at Dell said when I called them.
So, what do you guys think? What kinds of things should I look for in a new computer to run this game smoothly as it is today?
Currently published Mission Architect arcs:
Arc ID# 70466: From the Abyss.
Arc ID# 403174: The Serpent's Revenge.
Arc ID# 534236: The Clockwork Angel.