City of Heroes: Live Forum Archive

Need Help Upgrading Computer

Hyperstrike

By Hyperstrike,
Posted on: 2011-09-26 24:42 in ALL ACCESS Gameplay Technical Issues Bugs

 

Posted

I've been trying to buy a laptop that would efficiently play CoX but at this point, it's no longer possible, so I'm forced to keep my desktop and upgrade it. I come to you all:

I own a Compaq Presario SR5510F desktop. Here are the specs, courtesy of cnet: http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/hp-...=mncolBtm;rnav

I would like to start upgrading my computer, only cuz it seems that I can longer play the game as much as I'd like to. I can't open chat boxes more than a couple times during the game before it crashes. Character customization at any tailor freezes my game. Raids and Invasions slow me down enough to keep me from attacking, moving, etc. In short, my computer's crap. I've lowered my settings as low as they will go and the game still runs amazingly slow.

For example, I started doing missions from Twinshot in Atlas Park and everything seemed fine at first. I got my first mission, went to the base, confronted the computer and Twinshot again in the base, game ran "smoothly". When I confronted Proton, the game froze. I force closed the game, booted up again, and ran her first mission again. I was able to talk to Proton and Flambeaux just fine but when I got up to speak with Dillo, the game froze again. Chat boxes always cause this issue.

But that's just 1 issue, maps are something different. Sewers, science labs (Labs like in the Lambda Incarnate trial), the Underground in Praetoria, and warehouses (Again, like the warehouses in the Lambda trial) all slow my computer down and increase lag. I keep telling myself that since the maps are so busy, it increases the lag but I've finally accepted that it's my computer.

Is there anything I can do to upgrade the computer? Prices are no longer an issue. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading! Figured I'd let you know the situation before replies started coming in

 

Posted

least amount of work...

upgrade RAM to 4gigs..

and

look for a GFX card that is better and fairly priced for your budget.

Anything more than that, you may need to rip out the motherboard.

Member: Mutant Force Five, Chaos Legion & Team Awesome

 

Posted

also keep in mind when upgrading a video card is the amount of power your current power supply has. most oem systems are about 250 watt to 300 watt. most newer better cards require a 400watt power supply and above. at 250 or 300 watt you could probably get a nvidia gt430, gt520, or gt440. anything better than that will require more then what your pc has.

 

Posted

Yup, Video card and memory is all you can do with that setup.

 

Posted

So what's the best I can do with this computer? What would be the best graphics/video card I can buy without endangering the power supply?

 

Posted

Now are there any Nvidia or ATI cards that are equal in performance to those 2 or would those be my best bet?

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Polypro Ninja View Post
I've been trying to buy a laptop that would efficiently play CoX but at this point, it's no longer possible, so I'm forced to keep my desktop and upgrade it. I come to you all:
If you don't mind the question, WHY is it no longer possible?
  • Budgetary reasons?
  • You can't find something you'd trust to run?
  • You have a screeching girlfriend/boyfriend who's trying to de-nerd you and will pitch a fit if you buy any more of that "computer crap"?


Quote:
I own a Compaq Presario SR5510F desktop. Here are the specs, courtesy of cnet: http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/hp-...=mncolBtm;rnav

I would like to start upgrading my computer, only cuz it seems that I can longer play the game as much as I'd like to. I can't open chat boxes more than a couple times during the game before it crashes. Character customization at any tailor freezes my game. Raids and Invasions slow me down enough to keep me from attacking, moving, etc. In short, my computer's crap. I've lowered my settings as low as they will go and the game still runs amazingly slow.
Okay, you're boned on the CPU. It's several generations old and you're NOT going to be able to find anything socket-compatible anymore. And even if you did, your performance boost would be dismal.

If you're not ALREADY at 4GB of RAM, I'd suggest going up to 4GB. It'd be a relatively cheap upgrade.

You might see some benefit from an SSD if you have a spare SATA port available to you. It's only SATA 1.0, so you won't see PHENOMENAL throughput, but you'll notice a definite improvement in zone-load times. That's a not-so-cheap upgrade ($180 or so). And you may have compatibility issues with your motherboard if you want to turn it into your boot disk (even my 2 year old motherboard needed a BIOS update before it let me install the OS to my SSD RAID).



Quote:
For example, I started doing missions from Twinshot in Atlas Park and everything seemed fine at first. I got my first mission, went to the base, confronted the computer and Twinshot again in the base, game ran "smoothly". When I confronted Proton, the game froze. I force closed the game, booted up again, and ran her first mission again. I was able to talk to Proton and Flambeaux just fine but when I got up to speak with Dillo, the game froze again. Chat boxes always cause this issue.
Can you toss a CoH Helper and HijackThis log at us? It may be you have other things exacerbating your problems.

Quote:
But that's just 1 issue, maps are something different. Sewers, science labs (Labs like in the Lambda Incarnate trial), the Underground in Praetoria, and warehouses (Again, like the warehouses in the Lambda trial) all slow my computer down and increase lag. I keep telling myself that since the maps are so busy, it increases the lag but I've finally accepted that it's my computer.
In this case, unfortunately, you're probably right.

Quote:
Is there anything I can do to upgrade the computer? Prices are no longer an issue. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading! Figured I'd let you know the situation before replies started coming in
Honestly, if price isn't an issue, a new computer would be your best bet. Especially if you're not afraid of building one.


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