Mimimum requirements

[bistekka]

Hallo to everyone.

I'm writing from Italy and I've not bought SHIII yet (. I don't know how does it will work on my PC and I don't want to waste my money in a game wich will not work properly or with a very low FPS).
My PC details are the following:

intel pentium 4 3.0 Ghz
Ram: 512 Mb ddr
Chipset: SIS si 648
SK video: ATI RADEON 9200 - 128 Mb

Could someone tell me how does the game will work on such configuration?
Many Thanks

Bistekka

[Gizzmoe]

Welcome aboard!

SH3 will run ok on your system. Just make sure that you close all unneeded programs (Firewall, Antivirus, ICQ, ...) before you start it, SH3 likes to have a lot of memory.

[The Avon Lady]

Recommended: another 512MB of RAM. :yep:

[Crop-Duster]

The game will run fine on 512 MB of ram if he has nothing running in the background

The minimum required is 256 MB so 512 MB is fine

[sik1977]

Welcome aboard!

SH3 will run ok on your system. Just make sure that you close all unneeded programs (Firewall, Antivirus, ICQ, ...) before you start it, SH3 likes to have a lot of memory.

I am not sure its a great idea advising people to turn off any security programs on their PCs to play SH3, atleast such should not be advised without due caution. Many may turn off Anti-virus while still connected to the internet (as many have 24hr cable/internet connection), or may forget to turn the Anti-Virus back on before connecting to the net.

I feel its better to advise people to play on low settings or get more ram (as advised above) or better graphics card if they can afford it.

On bistekka setup the game will run, but on low settings ofcourse. I don't think it will make a huge diffrence even if he turns off the Anti-Virus, as the loading will take time nevertheless, and once he starts playing, the graphics card is more relevent then RAM. For example 512MB Ram works fine on my Dell Laptop with SH3 once its loaded with Anti-Virus on, and the Laptop has P4 3 Ghz. It does have a better graphics card (ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 128 MB) which allows me to run the game on high settings without AA or AF. My Desktop PC has 1GB Ram and a faster CPU & GPU and ofcourse the game loads faster, runs faster and looks better (due to 4xAA & 16xAF at 1280x1024) but its not the minimum requirement for this game.

So my advice to bistekka is that he will be able to run the game on low settings with his current setup. If possible, 512Mb more Ram would help, or a better graphics card if he feels SH3 is worth the upgrade later on. Don't turn off your security software, and make sure you occasionally run anti-spyware to keep your system resources un-occupied by such crap and available to SH3. I would advise not to run any other unnecessary programs, specially memory heavy ones like Bittorrent while also playing Sh3.

[Emcon]

intel pentium 4 3.0 Ghz
Ram: 512 Mb ddr
Chipset: SIS si 648
SK video: ATI RADEON 9200 - 128 Mb

I used to play SHIII on an even lesser system.

[Wolfram]

:ahoy: Welcome aboard Herr Kaleun bistekka,

The system sounds fine but more RAM always a good thing no matter the game or program...

Sound card? I found running a PCI sound card can free up resources/cycles for more enjoyable gaming. I have an Audigy 2Zs that made improvement for me.

And updated drivers for all hardware seem to help a lot of people also.

Do not be afraid to play the game start with lower settings at first then gradual increases - but you should do fine with this system....

:lurk:

[bistekka]

Dear friends,

(let me call you in this way).
first of all many thanks to everybody. You were not only kind to answer my question, but very competent and gave me very useful advices.
I understand the game will run on my pc (but I'm afraid in a low res).
I only hope it will be enoughly playble.
Regarding softwares to turn off, usually I turn them off all of them when I play to other games (GTR for example), also because at home I'm not connected by cable.
And I was going to buy more ram, but it is not easy to fine the right RAM type to install.
However this weekend I will go to buy the game and... let's hope

Hallo

[Dantenoc]

My advice would be to get more RAM.

You can really feel a drop in computer performance when the RAM fills up. My computer had 1GB of RAM when I bought the game and I found myself upgrading to 2GB of RAM in order to play the game better. I monitored my computer while playing to see if I could do something to make it run better and it would allways slow down considerably once the RAM started running short.

[Crop-Duster]

Dantenoc it should run fine at the standard res of 1024x768

[bistekka]

Dear Friends

From today my PC is 1 Gb Ram powered.
Now the last step:
Buying SHIII

[Dantenoc]

Dantenoc it should run fine at the standard res of 1024x768

It did... untill I started installing mods like harbour traffic and stuff.

[Wolfram]

Dantenoc have you tried removing the mods one at time to determine which might be the suspect that reduces your resolution so much.

I am fortunate to have good/plenty RAM, CPU and GPU to support SH3 - but I am only using SH3commander and IUb but thus far no troubles at 1024x768 (refresh 85mhz).

I will guess that you have the mode enabler? If so it is best tool out there to isolate things for me in SH3 - I can add/remove at will with this tool. Consider removing/adding the mods 1 by 1 to isolate the troublemaker.

Just a question and not a commentary.

g/l

:lurk:

[kiwi_2005]

Your card. Get a new one. The ATI 9200 or nVidia 5200 are pretty slow.

[bistekka]

what video card would you suggest?

Tnx

[Gizzmoe]

How much money are you willing to spend?

[bistekka]

euros 200 - dollars 230

[JSLTIGER]

Hey folks, thinking about picking up SHIII...I'm thinking about upgrading Aquarius (specs in sig) to a PCI-e motherboard and ATI X1900XT or nVidia 7800GT...if I choose not to upgrade just yet though, will my venerable ol' 9700 Pro be able to handle this with everything turned up (detail wise, not necessarily w/ filtering)?

[Gizzmoe]

euros 200 - dollars 230

ATI Radeon X800XL or Nvidia GeForce 6800GS. Here´s a review that compares those cards:
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=505

[bistekka]

Do you think with this card SH III will work in a good way?
Do you think 128 Mb will be enough?

(sorry to chase you with my doubts but I don't trust computer dealers)

[Gizzmoe]

Do you think with this card SH III will work in a good way?

Absolutely! I have the X800XL and it´s a very good card.

Do you think 128 Mb will be enough?

Both cards have 256MB.

[Gizzmoe]

will my venerable ol' 9700 Pro be able to handle this with everything turned up (detail wise, not necessarily w/ filtering)?

Yes, some people have much slower cards and are not totally unhappy with the performance.

[GT182]

Bistekka, I'm running SHIII with a GF FX5600Ultra 256mb card and SHIII looks and runs just fine.

I know it's a older graphics card but if money is tight, it's still a good one to get.... under $100.00 now. Try PriceWatch.com, many good deals there.

[bistekka]

Dear friends

I',m leaving office to get a new video card and SHIII (of course from tomorrow I'll begin to break your ###@@ with every kind of question).
Regards to everyone

Enrico

[Crop-Duster]

So lets guess which card he's getting while we wait...

:rotfl:

BTW minimum specs for SH3 video when it came out last spring are:

"Video Card: 64 MB (128 MB recommended) DirectX® 9 compatible graphics card (see supported list*)

*Currently Supported Video Cards
NVIDIA® Geforce™ 3/4/FX series with the exception of MX series cards
ATI® Radeon 8500/9000 family cards or newer

It runs great on my Ti4200 128 MB card :|\

[THE_MASK]

In my opinium the recommended specs are the minimum specs . Does anyone agree .

[Crash Dive]

I'm guessing he gets the ATI x800 :hmm:

[Crop-Duster]

I'm guessing he gets the ATI x800 :hmm:

I don't think his motherboard/chipset supports PCI-Express :hmm:

[Gizzmoe]

I don't think his motherboard/chipset supports PCI-Express :hmm:

The card is available for both AGP and PCI-Express.

[bistekka]

Infact my motherboard support only AGP videocard so yesterday I was compelled to buy an ATI radeon 9550 256 Mb. It was told to me wich it was the best AGB video card I can find nowadays. However I tried to play with my (just until I will play SHIII) preferite game (GTR Get real by simbin) wich is a driving simulation enoghly complex and yesterday I played in full res with full special FX (truly I was just watching such beautifull replays I was not able to see before).
For me this is much more than I could hope, and let's hope SHIII will work in such way.

One further question a little bit OT:
1 hour ago I took SHIII DVD edition. I will install it tonight.
What are the first steps to move? Shall I have to install 1.4 patch? What mods/tools you advice me to install?

Thankyou as usual

[Gizzmoe]

Infact my motherboard support only AGP videocard so yesterday I was compelled to buy an ATI radeon 9550 256 Mb. It was told to me wich it was the best AGB video card I can find nowadays.

Actually it is one of the worst AGP cards you can find nowadays. For todays standards it´s a very low-end card and I hope you didn´t pay too much.

What are the first steps to move? Shall I have to install 1.4 patch?

Yes.

What mods/tools you advice me to install?

Read some of our "Essential Mods" threads:
http://www.subsim.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=47098
http://www.subsim.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=47212
http://www.subsim.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=47281
http://www.subsim.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=47531
http://www.subsim.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=47041

Also visit Avon´s website:
http://www.theavonlady.org/thesh3faq/

[sik1977]

Infact my motherboard support only AGP videocard so yesterday I was compelled to buy an ATI radeon 9550 256 Mb. It was told to me wich it was the best AGB video card I can find nowadays.

Thankyou as usual

Gizzmoe is right, you were misled by the seller/sales person. Thats an entry level AGP graphics card. It is slightly better then integrated graphics processors (IGPs). The 256MB video memory is only for show and a gimmick as the card is a 64/128bit card which cannot make use of a 256 memory buffer.

If possible, as most sellers offer 7 day return policy if you are not satisfied with your purchase, return the card and look for something in the X800 generation. You will have better luck finding a good card, and cheaper, on the internet i.e., from one of the e-tailers. I am not sure where you are residing, but most European countries have decent e-tailers nowadays. I can help with UK ones (as thats where I bought lots of my stuff). I am sure some others can help with other countries.

I just feel bad that even though you came to us for help, we couldn't save you from the crappy graphics cards out there being sold to public with gimmicks such as 256Mb vieo memory and the like. Please check if you can return that card and reinvest your money is something worthwhile.

[bistekka]

Gizzmoe

first of all I'm writing from Italy.
I not explained myself very well.
It was told to me that the are are better viedo cards, but they were not availables in this moment, besides, I don't want to spend big money amounts to purchase a super videocard on a quite old PC.

For me it's ok in this way.

[Gizzmoe]

A PC with a 3 GHz P4 isn´t really old... How much did you pay for the 9550?

[bistekka]

65 euros

[bistekka]

could you advice me about a quite better video card? (I need a model name) not too expensive?

[Gizzmoe]

could you advice me about a quite better video card? (I need a model name) not too expensive?

As I said, for €200 the ATI X800XL or Nvidia 6800GS. For about €120 you can get the still quite good ATI 9800 Pro or Nvidia 6600GT.

[bistekka]

In any case this evening I will try with this new video card and le's Hope.
Something about my further question? (Patch 1.4 and so on)

As I'd like to join frequentely this forum with my stupid questions :), and as I usually use english language only with chinese speakers, could you be so kind to correct my english errors?
I would apprechate it very much

Thankyou

[Gizzmoe]

Something about my further question? (Patch 1.4 and so on)

I gave you a few links, have you already read them?

[bistekka]

yes, I downloaded many utility and mods. Now for me it's time to install IT and let's see

[GT182]

Bistekka, go to this website.... http://www.pricewatch.com/

and then to this section.... Cards - Video
you will see prices in US dollars. If you have a credit card you can purchase what you can afford and I believe they will send it to you in Italy. To get one, click on the card you like in the list. Then when it takes you to another page you ill see BUY in all the different listings of where you buy from. Click on Buy and you will go to that vendors site. Purchase the video card of your choice from there. Make sure you check as sometimes the name will not tell you it's PCI-E or AGP. You need an AGP card.

I'd return the ATI 9250 and get your money back if you get another card. The one that sold it to you had no clue as to what they were saying and were dishonest with you. That alone is reason enough for you to return it.

Good luck.