System upgrade question:

[siber]

I question aimed at those familiar with the inner workings of SH3 and GWX:

I'm currently running GWX on my system. This consists of an Intel Celeron 2GHz processor, 1Gb of RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 graphics card with 128Mb RAM. Everything seems to work ok, with the exception that the whole game slows down somewhat when I get spray coming over the bows. If I enable the 16km mod or extra skins packs etc, the whole game slows to a crawl. :down:

If I were to upgrade one thing in my computer to improve game performance, what should I add? (I'm not expert with computers, but I can switch bits, even though I'm not entirely sure how they work.) New graphics card, extra RAM or do I need a new M'board/processor? Given that I'm a poor student (who really ought to be working anyway instead of playing games) and I'm on a budget, what would the minimum specs of my machine be? What systems do you guys run for perfect performance?

Thanks for any advice! :D

[irish1958]

To best upgrade your computer, find a rich girl friend, and be very nice to her.
The best and cheapest upgrade is RAM.

[TarJak]

Two things you probably need to consider. RAM and grfx card. I found to my cost that just upgrading these however meant an upgrade to almost everything because my old motherboard was not up to handling newer grfx cards or RAM.

You can still do the lot for a lot less than you might think. I got a new Intel Core2 Duo CPU, motherboard, an additional 250GB SATA HDD and 2GB of RAM for about AU$1200. The best bit is that the onboard intel sound card blew the doors off the old soundblaster card so I ditched that it had an onboard gigabit ethernet card so I ditched the old network card and modem as well. All up a much better result but not what I'd call a cheap upgrade.

[peterloo]

Unfortunately, you must update your graphics card in order to yield a better performance. Your CPU is nice, RAM is exceeding expectations, unfortunately, the weakest link, Display card, should be updated to 7xxx series to get a better graphics

OR you may try to lower the details of the graphics. That may help

p.s. 7xxx series cards are not that expensive as they are fading out, in favour of the brand new 8 series. Around like $100 dollars nowaday. Give 7800GT a shoot if you want. Your computer also satisfy the requirment to play SH4 once you've updated your graphic card to the 7 series (GeForce)

I'm afraid that I can't make any recommandation on ATi. I'm not a fan of ATi and I'm a muggle on its models.

[bookworm_020]

Some extra RAM and a new graphics card will give you the best bang for your buck. A high end Nvidia series 6 or 7 card will do wonders, try Ebay if you want to keep costs down. I'm guessing you have an AGP graphis slot. Boosting your RAM will help as well. :up:

[ReM]

Buying a good graphics card and some more ram will set you back a substantial amount.
If you do have an AGP motherboard, you might want to consider saving up for a PCI-E motherboard AND a new gfx card and do it right.

You can only upgrade a system so far.....every once in a while you have to spoil yourself.;)

Not only is PCI-E the norm nowadays...these cards are somewhat cheaper than their AGP counterparts and you get improved performance.

If money is a big issue I'd go for the better GFX card....it looks to be the weakest link on your rig.

[siber]

Thanks for all the helpful advice. Sadly, cash is tight at the moment, as I've got to get a new cambelt for my car before the old one snaps (imminently I'm told) and the engine destroys itself. I can't do the work myself as it's so complicated - locking all the engine parts in place - and the garages charge a fortune! :shifty:

As for 'rich girlfriend', the reason I'm considering an upgrade is because the gf wants to order lots of bits to build her own computer for work, so I was going to freeload on the postage costs! Besides, if I'm upgrading in order to play more SH3, I can't see her being very chuffed - no chance of her paying - she already thinks I spend too much time 'ignoring' her. :huh:

Curse (but not really!) GWX and its effect on my social life! :rock: