Set aside overclocking for the moment. What are the specs of the RAM and CPU?

specs are:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual core processor 4200+ 2.2GHz

2 GB Ram

That's not too bad, right? Definitely enough to support a better card. If you want to enjoy SH4 properly (or should I say visually), IMO a graphics upgrade is in order.

If you don't want to upgrade just for SH4, or don't have the money, stick with SH3. A lot of people feel that it is more immersive anyway. Biggest bonus from SH4 is (arguably) the updated graphics. ;)

thanks a lot, really appreciate your help

I will probably buy a better card since prices are not that bad for 9 series or equivalents

Just don't go lower then a x4xx card, geforce 9400 for example. That is if you're a casual gamer. For more enjoyment (smooth gameplay, good quality) I'd suggest 9600 or better. Do your homework and do a little research on which card to get. Ask some questions on forums with people who have some hands-on experience. Those cards are expensive and it sucks to realize you made the wrong choice afterwards. ;)

Good luck. :salute:

I found out that my power supply was not good enough for my graphics card. You need at least 500 watts of power to drive any of the decent cards. You should also think about your computer chip as part of the package. I run a AMD5000+ chip, 550 watt power supply, And a Nvidia 8800gt OC. The graphics card comes overclocked from the factory, But I used their Ntune software to push it to the limit. The game runs with all the bells and whistles at 1280x1024 resolution. Has not failed yet. captziggy:salute:

Just one more thought on computer building. I forgot (Too much beer!) to say you should have at least 4 gigs of ram and a decent LCD flatscreen to go with the system.:88)

I agree with arclight. There's a lot of good cards out there that aren't that expensive. Look around these forums and review each card before you buy. The first card I got was an impulse buy and it was crap. Second card was a Geforce 9400 - lower end but I can run SHIV full out w/o my casual use eyes being offended.

I have 2GB and run all the latest games with it, 4GB is not strictly nescesary but advisable if you have Vista. Something to keep in mind when you purchase 4GB RAM is that you need a 64-bit OS to support it (and a 64-bit system, but that goes without saying).

*oh, and my old CRT is perfect for gaming. Fast respons, high natural contrast and colour true. But I agree that on a LCD you need to do some research as well. Look for the 3 things I mentioned and pay attention to it's native resolution; an LCD looks crappy on any res other then that. If you buy a 1600x1200 LCD and plug it into a geforce 6200 it's not gonna perform (card can't handle the high res). Try to "match" your screen and card: High native res needs a high-end card.

i used to run sh4 with a pentium 4 single core 2.8ghz cpu, 2gb ddr400 ram and a gs7600 and it did ok most of the time except things like the midway mission where AI stuff was going on everywhere, then it got real slow.

just make sure you keep the event window turned off because that will relly drop fps to nothing. :salute:

Anyone having any problems with missing dll files for the nvidia task tray with the latest 182.50 drivers?

Keith.

Tried them briefly on Win7, no issues that I can remember. :hmmm:

Went back to 182.06 which gave better performance.

nvidia gForce 6200 crashes system
 

Has anyone been able to get the Nvidia gForce 6200 card to work with SH4? So far I have uninstalled/reinstalled drivers, updated drivers, disabled the Intro video and searched the help forums at Nvidia. No joy. Right now the game loads and i get to the office at base just fine. I click on the map and get a mission assignment. After the mission loads and I select 'Start' it gets to the Command Room then the game crashes and locks the system and I have to force a reboot. I am trying to upgrade from a gForce 5500 which ran ok if sluggish on some views.

I am running SH4 with U-Boat add-on and no other mods.

Thanks
Tony

Tony I think you are just short of being able to run the game there. I would go for the best deal on an x600 card you can get. I have a 7600GT and run the graphics settings wide open at about 20 fps. You can check out my in-game movies and tell I'm not doing too shabby.

Found some 7600 gt AGP cards on Ebay. Think one of those will work?

CPU- AMD Athlon 1.7 gig operating at 2.1 gig (quite stable)
RAM- 3 gig
MB- Asus A7v8X-X (does not support PCI-E)

BTW, reinstalled the geForce 5500 and back to playing the game would just like the graphics to be better. :)

Tony

No,
When I installed the 182.50m Beta, I increased my frame rate by at least 25%, and in some applications, 100%
I have a "desktop" replacement with a mobile video card, however.

:oops::oops: someone enlighten me wich keys to show framerate SH3. Im curious about my old 7900gtx card. Has made a profile for sh3 in video settings.

Ehr, think it was ctrl+F7, not sure though. :hmmm:

hey guys,

i finally ordered sh4 after being an avid sh3 fan since release. I have a dell xps1540 with 4gb ram, a duo core 8100 and nvidia 8600m gt card on vista sp1... do you think i will run sh4 decently? For me its all about the playability rather than the graphics, though some eye candy never hurts!

cheers :salute:

Should definitely be enough to run the game, but the 8600M being a mobile graphics chip, you most likely will have to sacrifice a bit of visual splendor. No biggie, it's about the gameplay anyway, right? ;)