Advice

[Stevietee]

Hi guys.

First of, I am new to this forum and if this topic is in the wrong place, apologies, feel free to move it.

Anyways, I have an old laptop with poor specs. I bought Silent Hunter 5 today, thinking I could maybe chance it and see if it works...nope, it didn't. I am keen on playing the game so my question is;

What PC or laptop do you guys recommend me getting that will run the game smoothly, but not excessive in price?

I know this isn't a computer website, but I thought the best place to ask would be this forum, seeing people here play the game and would like to know what people at their home use?I am not good with computer stuff, only good at putting a disk in and playing the game.

Thanks.

[Aktungbby]

Stevietee! hang tough, tech assist will arrive ...shortly!

[Sailor Steve]

Welcome aboard!

Originally Posted by Stevietee

First of, I am new to this forum and if this topic is in the wrong place, apologies, feel free to move it.

Nope, this is the perfect place. We do have a computer forum attached to our General Topics section, but you're asking about running SH5, so this is the place.

Anyways, I have an old laptop with poor specs. I bought Silent Hunter 5 today, thinking I could maybe chance it and see if it works...nope, it didn't. I am keen on playing the game so my question is;

I too have a very old (9-1/2 years now) desktop, and it won't run SH5 either, so I feel your pain very literally. In fact I stopped playing my beloved SH3 because my PC won't run the latest greatest mods for that old gem.

What PC or laptop do you guys recommend me getting that will run the game smoothly, but not excessive in price?

Unfortunately any computer that will run SH5 at all is going to cost a bit, and any one that will run it well is going to cost a lot.

I know this isn't a computer website, but I thought the best place to ask would be this forum, seeing people here play the game and would like to know what people at their home use?I am not good with computer stuff, only good at putting a disk in and playing the game.

There will be others along who run SH5 quite well and will be glad to show you how they do it. Meanwhile have a look around and see what Subsim does have to offer. While we may not be a dedicated computer site, we do like to talk about anything and everything, including computers.

[Jimbuna]

Minimum system specs to run SH5:

https://support.ubi.com/en-US/FAQ.as...0000000eSFMCA2

Welcome to SubSim

[Stevietee]

Thanks guys.

Yeah I did think it will cost a bit, but if it is, then so be it. Going to buy a new PC anyways, so may as well buy a good one.

Any ideas then?

[Stevietee]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

Minimum system specs to run SH5:

https://support.ubi.com/en-US/FAQ.as...0000000eSFMCA2

Welcome to SubSim

Thanks for that, but to be honest, none of that makes sense to me

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Stevietee

Thanks for that, but to be honest, none of that makes sense to me

When your shopping for your new pc show it to whoever is doing the selling and explain you want specs no lower than that.

[Stevietee]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

When your shopping for your new pc show it to whoever is doing the selling and explain you want specs no lower than that.

Anyway this can be done online?

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Stevietee

Anyway this can be done online?

Most definitely:

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourc...%20pc%20online

[Sailor Steve]

I'm no expert, but everything is relative. I'll try to explain in simple terms even I can understand.

Supported OS: Windows XP (SP3) / Windows Vista (SP2) / Windows 7

This is your computer's operating system - the program that makes it work. You shouldn't have to worry about this because new computers come with Windows 8.1.

Processor: 2 GHz Intel Core2 Duo E4400 or 2.1 GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ (2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 or 2.6 GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ or higher recommended)

This is the actual machine inside the box that runs everything. The 'GHz' rating is the Clock Speed, or how fast the computer runs. The 'Intel Core2 Duo' and 'AMD Athlon' are the brand names of the two biggest companies making processors. The rest is the model number. As you can see they say that one level (4400) is required as the absolute minimum and another level (6600) is recommended. Of course the "recommended" costs more than the "required", and you can be sure that you will need the higher level to run any major mods.

RAM: 1 GB Windows XP / 2 GB Windows Vista, Windows 7 (2 GB / 4 GB recommended)

This is the computer's memory storage. Any new computer is going to come with at least 500 GB and space to put in a backup drive which may hold as much as 3 TB. The '2 GB required / 4 GB recommended' is how much space you'll have to have free to store the game itself. This shouldn't be a problem.*

Video Card: 512 MB DirectX 9.0c–compliant video card (1 GB recommended)

This is the machine that makes all the pretty graphics work. Having a separate dedicated card is better than having a built-in graphic system that the computer itself runs. Sometimes it's hard to tell from reading the descriptions, so it's always good to ask.

Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c–compliant sound card

Same as the Video Card, but for sound. Again, having a separate card dedicated to running the audio is better than "onboard" sound run by the computer.

DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c

This is the program that runs the video. The higher the better. You should be okay, as new computers come with DirectX 10 (or maybe even better - I don't know what the latest greatest is).

DVD-ROM: 4x Dual-layer DVD-ROM drive

This is the disc drive. Any new PC should have one this good or better.

Peripherals Supported: Mouse, keyboard

If you don't know what those are you shouldn't be doing this.

Internet Connection: Broadband Internet connection

To play SH5 you originally needed to be connected to the internet just to play the game. They dropped that after awhile, but you still need to be connected once to start the game the first time. Since we're talking on an internet forum, I assume you are connected.

* If you really don't know this, it's not important but it does help to understand.

1 Bit is the absolute minimum concept for computing. It's like a switch, and only knows to be on or off. It's commonly expressed as '0' and '1', which is why you sometimes see strings of ones and zeroes.

1 Byte is the basic function. It is made up of 8 Bits, so it can express eight zeroes or eight ones, or anything in between. This gives it 255 possible combinations. The computer knows this, so you don't have to. Every letter you type uses 1 byte.

1 Kilobyte (KB) is one thousand bytes. Actually it's 1024, because everything in the computer world doubles (1-2-4-8-16-32-64-128-256-512-1024 etc), but a thousand is much easier to remember.

A thousand Kilobytes (or one million bytes) is a Gigabyte (GB).

A thousand Gigabytes (One million Kilobytes or one billion** bytes) is a Terabyte (TB).

There are words for even more multiples, but a three-Terabyte drive is a lot, so we don't need to worry about that.

** If you're British you will call this a "thousand-million", with "billion" being reserved for the next level up.

[Stevietee]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

I'm no expert, but everything is relative. I'll try to explain in simple terms even I can understand.


This is your computer's operating system - the program that makes it work. You shouldn't have to worry about this because new computers come with Windows 8.1.


This is the actual machine inside the box that runs everything. The 'GHz' rating is the Clock Speed, or how fast the computer runs. The 'Intel Core2 Duo' and 'AMD Athlon' are the brand names of the two biggest companies making processors. The rest is the model number. As you can see they say that one level (4400) is required as the absolute minimum and another level (6600) is recommended. Of course the "recommended" costs more than the "required", and you can be sure that you will need the higher level to run any major mods.


This is the computer's memory storage. Any new computer is going to come with at least 500 GB and space to put in a backup drive which may hold as much as 3 TB. The '2 GB required / 4 GB recommended' is how much space you'll have to have free to store the game itself. This shouldn't be a problem.*


This is the machine that makes all the pretty graphics work. Having a separate dedicated card is better than having a built-in graphic system that the computer itself runs. Sometimes it's hard to tell from reading the descriptions, so it's always good to ask.


Same as the Video Card, but for sound. Again, having a separate card dedicated to running the audio is better than "onboard" sound run by the computer.


This is the program that runs the video. The higher the better. You should be okay, as new computers come with DirectX 10 (or maybe even better - I don't know what the latest greatest is).


This is the disc drive. Any new PC should have one this good or better.

If you don't know what those are you shouldn't be doing this.


To play SH5 you originally needed to be connected to the internet just to play the game. They dropped that after awhile, but you still need to be connected once to start the game the first time. Since we're talking on an internet forum, I assume you are connected.

* If you really don't know this, it's not important but it does help to understand.

1 Bit is the absolute minimum concept for computing. It's like a switch, and only knows to be on or off. It's commonly expressed as '0' and '1', which is why you sometimes see strings of ones and zeroes.

1 Byte is the basic function. It is made up of 8 Bits, so it can express eight zeroes or eight ones, or anything in between. This gives it 255 possible combinations. The computer knows this, so you don't have to. Every letter you type uses 1 byte.

1 Kilobyte (KB) is one thousand bytes. Actually it's 1024, because everything in the computer world doubles (1-2-4-8-16-32-64-128-256-512-1024 etc), but a thousand is much easier to remember.

A thousand Kilobytes (or one million bytes) is a Gigabyte (GB).

A thousand Gigabytes (One million Kilobytes or one billion** bytes) is a Terabyte (TB).

There are words for even more multiples, but a three-Terabyte drive is a lot, so we don't need to worry about that.

** If you're British you will call this a "thousand-million", with "billion" being reserved for the next level up.

Thanks for this. I have been looking online for a PC. Is it possible if I put a link on to what I think will be a good PC for the game, will someone be able to tell me yes or no?

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Stevietee

Is it possible if I put a link on to what I think will be a good PC for the game, will someone be able to tell me yes or no?

Absolutely.

I probably won't be as much help there, still living with my ancient crock, but there are a lot of folks who do know and love to share their knowledge.

[Stevietee]

What about this?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/PILEDRIVER-F...ords=Gaming+PC

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Stevietee

What about this?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/PILEDRIVER-F...ords=Gaming+PC

More than good enough but I don't see a DVD-ROM drive.

Ask them to quote for adding one meeting the specs below.

DVD-ROM: 4x Dual-layer DVD-ROM drive.

[Sailor Steve]

The expanded list says its drive is a 'DVD-Writer'. One of the reviews gives a list of games, all of which he says he plays "maxed out". I think it's probably pretty good. It is also what I consider fairly expensive.

[edit] I just realized I was counting wrong. That's what I get for using my fingers. Actually that price isn't bad at all for what you're getting.

Also, if you use the 'Quick Links' tab at the top right of the page you'll find a link to Amazon. If you use that link to get there Subsim will get a cut at no extra cost to you.