What do I need to upgrade?

[Hobgoblin11]

Well, I bought Battlefield 2 and BF2:Special forces yesterda, as they looked pretty good. When I run them on my PC though (in Single player - haven't managed to connect to a srever yet as my net connection sucks cabbage), I can only play it in Low detail mode, otherwise the sound and picture is 'broken', the frame rate is about 0.5 hertz!! I was wondering what I needed to upgrade in order to play it at a decent quality. I also get messages telling me my virtual memory has run out, and that windows is increasing the size of my paging memory (or something like that). Here are my tech specs:

 

 

 

Processor: 3.0 GHz Pentium 4,

 

OS: XP Home SP2

 

RAM: 512 MB DDR

 

Graphics Card: nVidia GeForce FX 5200

 

HDD: 80 GB with additional 80GB external HDD

 

 

 

If you need any more info give me a shout. If you recommend an upgrade, please say what I should be considering upgrading it to, as I'm not as technically savvy about hardware as I'd like to be :

 

 

 

Thanks a lot

[blade995]

To start, frames per second are not measured in hertz. They are measured in fps or frames per second. To measure it you can use a built in program (some games have it) or use a program called fraps.

 

 

 

You will need to increase your virtual memory if you are getting that message. I can't give you advice on how to do that since I'm currently on Vista.

 

 

 

For upgrade you will need to upgrade your ram to atleast 1GB for BF2. 2GB would be the recommended for BF2 because it's a giant ram hog.

 

 

 

A graphics card would be needed also. Depending on your budget there are many to choose from. Tell us how much you are looking to spend.

 

 

 

Also make sure your game or any system files are NOT on the removable drive. This will greatly slow down performance. Make sure your drivers are up to date and the games are fully patched.

[Cruiser]

Virtual memory size on XP is changed in Control Panel > System > Advanced Tab > Performance "Settings" button > Advanced Tab. Virtual Memory settings are at the bottom. Changing this won't help much because it's effectively using your hard drive as RAM, which is slow as hell and won't help your game performance.

 

 

 

As blade said, a RAM and video card upgrade are a must if you want to play either game at decent settings. A RAM upgrade will also make your virtual memory issues go away because it will no longer have to swap as much memory to disc.

[Hobgoblin11]

Ah, sorry bout the fps, it was only meant to indicate the effect of running the game at Medium/High detail. I'm into physics so we usually call things measured in (/s), Hz.

 

 

 

If I upgrade my RAM, I read somewhere it is best to install RAM chips in pairs of the same size. Is this really necessary? I was thinking of buying a 1GB chip, and then buying more when I can afford it. I have a maximum RAM capacity of 4 GB, with 4 ports to plug it into, so is it the case that more is better, or does setup have a large effect as well?

 

 

 

I don't install anything on my external HD, as it goes through USB and I know that that ain't exactly the quickest way to transfer information!! I only keep music and videos on it. I'll increase my virtual memory though, thanks. I was getting messages like that a while ago when I was handling large photoshop images, so thanks a lot for sorting that.

 

 

 

I dunno about a grapchis card, I don't really know what a reasonable price is. Are there any cards that are good value for what they are? I guess the absolute maximum I would want to pay would be around ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã150, but if I dont have to spend that much I'd rather not.

 

 

 

So, on a budget of around ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã250, to include RAM and a replacement graphics card, what would be the best setup I could get?

[blade995]

If I upgrade my RAM, I read somewhere it is best to install RAM chips in pairs of the same size. Is this really necessary? I was thinking of buying a 1GB chip, and then buying more when I can afford it. I have a maximum RAM capacity of 4 GB, with 4 ports to plug it into, so is it the case that more is better, or does setup have a large effect as well?

 

 

 

Well ram should be installed in pairs to make it run in dual channel. Although if the choice is more ram or running in dual channel, more ram would be better.

 

 

 

A 2GB ram kit is fairly cheap now a days, so thats well within your budget. For a graphics card you can get a 7900GS or x1950pro for dx9. If you want to be more future proof you could go with the 8600gts which is slower and may be out of your price range with the ram.

[Hobgoblin11]

If I upgrade my RAM, I read somewhere it is best to install RAM chips in pairs of the same size. Is this really necessary? I was thinking of buying a 1GB chip, and then buying more when I can afford it. I have a maximum RAM capacity of 4 GB, with 4 ports to plug it into, so is it the case that more is better, or does setup have a large effect as well?

 

 

 

Well ram should be installed in pairs to make it run in dual channel. Although if the choice is more ram or running in dual channel, more ram would be better.

 

 

 

A 2GB ram kit is fairly cheap now a days, so thats well within your budget. For a graphics card you can get a 7900GS or x1950pro for dx9. If you want to be more future proof you could go with the 8600gts which is slower and may be out of your price range with the ram.

 

 

 

Thanks. How do you mean, future proof? Why would I want it to be slower? Sorry, I don't know a lot about graphcis cards...

 

 

 

EDIT: Just read about the 8600, do you mean it is future proof, insofar as it supports dx10?

[Nadril]

I would probably get a gig of ram for starters, and perhaps a new video card (7900GS is an amazing budget card for $150, just make sure if you have a PCI-E slot or not).

 

 

 

In all honesty most of the PC could be upgraded, but for BF2 I would just go for the ram and maybe a card.

[das1330]

If I upgrade my RAM, I read somewhere it is best to install RAM chips in pairs of the same size. Is this really necessary? I was thinking of buying a 1GB chip, and then buying more when I can afford it. I have a maximum RAM capacity of 4 GB, with 4 ports to plug it into, so is it the case that more is better, or does setup have a large effect as well?

 

 

 

Well ram should be installed in pairs to make it run in dual channel. Although if the choice is more ram or running in dual channel, more ram would be better.

 

 

 

A 2GB ram kit is fairly cheap now a days, so thats well within your budget. For a graphics card you can get a 7900GS or x1950pro for dx9. If you want to be more future proof you could go with the 8600gts which is slower and may be out of your price range with the ram.

 

 

 

Thanks. How do you mean, future proof? Why would I want it to be slower? Sorry, I don't know a lot about graphcis cards...

 

 

 

EDIT: Just read about the 8600, do you mean it is future proof, insofar as it supports dx10?

 

 

 

He refers to it being "future proof" because while the 7900GS can run current games In dx9 faster then an 8600gts can, the 8600gts natively supports dx10, so when new games come out that require dx10, a 8600 gts will run faster then a 7900GS will. However, before we can recommend a card, we will need to know if you have an AGP or PCI-E slot, so (This is assuming your running windows xp) open the command prompt and type "dxdiag" without the quotes. Copy that info here. As far as memory goes, I would also recommend and upgrade to a gig or two. While it is not absolutely essential that you upgrade ram in matched sticks, they run together, effectively doubling the speed of the RAM when used together, hence duel data rate. So if you do not upgrade in matched pairs, you effectively halve the speed of your memory I.E 400 mhz becomes 200 mhz etc.

[zonda]

I ran BF2 on a 5700 (an AGP card like yours) with 512 MB of RAM and it stuttered quite a bit. After running it on the same card with 4 gigs of RAM I had no troubles... I obviously couldn't play on the highest settings but not only did my FPS greatly improve, so did my lat. in multiplayer games. The easiest and cheapest way to upgrade pretty much any PC is generally tossing in a stick or two of RAM.

[Hobgoblin11]

When adding RAM, how exactly do I do it in pairs? Do I just have to match up the stick sizes, or is there more to it than that? For example, I already have a 512MB stick, if I added one 512 MB and a pair of 1GB sticks, would that be ok?

 

 

 

Here is the Diagnostic you asked for:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JoeDaStudd]

Ok, I've just done some research into your pc.

 

 

 

The HP Pavilion supports up to 2 gb of DDR ram (400mhz) and sports a AGP graphics socket.

 

 

 

Ok, I'll start on the possible graphics cards;

 

The X1950Pro is nearly the best AGP card around, money wise its best high end AGP card (bang for buck).

 

X1950Pro - $122

 

The 1650Pro is a mid range, but for the price its definitely worth looking at

 

X1650Pro -$59.99

 

 

 

RAM

 

1gb stick $45

 

Now if you want to max your pc out you can buy 2 of those sticks

[Hobgoblin11]

Cheers Joe

 

I was damn sure that my PC had 4 RAM banks and supported up to 4GB....Just ran the Crucial System scanner and apparently not :-(

 

 

 

One thing I was reading about the X1950Pro is that it needs at least a 450W PSU. How can I find out what my PC has already? Also, I'm fairly comfortable with installing RAM and graphics cards, but I've never done a PSU before, is it particularly difficult?

 

 

 

Would it not be possible to use the nVidia 7900 instead with my system?

 

 

 

Also, I'm English

[Qw3rt]

its really easy to install a psu u just take out the plugs, unscrew old unit and take it out and then just the opposite with the new psu

[blade995]

Cheers Joe

 

I was damn sure that my PC had 4 RAM banks and supported up to 4GB....Just ran the Crucial System scanner and apparently not :-(

 

 

 

One thing I was reading about the X1950Pro is that it needs at least a 450W PSU. How can I find out what my PC has already? Also, I'm fairly comfortable with installing RAM and graphics cards, but I've never done a PSU before, is it particularly difficult?

 

 

 

Would it not be possible to use the nVidia 7900 instead with my system?

 

 

 

Also, I'm English

 

 

 

The 7900 you may be able to use if there is an AGP model. You will need to search.

 

 

 

The x1950pro is a really good card, I say you should go with that.

 

 

 

The ram that Joe recommended is fine, but I have one thing that may be a problem. If you have 4ram banks and Joe said you can have 2GB max, thats 512mb a bank, and he suggested a 1gb stick. I would look into that.

 

 

 

Yes you will defently need a psu if you get the x1950pro. The pre-builts use the minimum wattage just for the stuff in there. You may be able to get by with the same psu if you get the x1650XT but those aren't too good.

[Hobgoblin11]

OK, thanks for that. I thought I had 4 banks but according to Crucial I don't, I only have 2. I'll open it up and have a butchers though, best make sure. Is there a way to increase the total amount of RAM I can install, short of replacing my motherboard?

[blade995]

OK, thanks for that. I thought I had 4 banks but according to Crucial I don't, I only have 2. I'll open it up and have a butchers though, best make sure. Is there a way to increase the total amount of RAM I can install, short of replacing my motherboard?

 

 

 

You may be able to increase that with a bios upgrade, if not, it's a hardware limitation. You would need to google your motherboard model number to find out. Most likely it's a hardware limitation with no way to increase the maximum.

[Hobgoblin11]

Hmm, damn, thats what I was afraid of. I opened up my sisters computer (which is the same as mine - just with a hell of a lot less peripherals attached!!), and it turns out we do only have 2 RAM banks, which is a little irritating. Ordered a couple of 1 GB RAM modules earlier, one for her one for me, so hopefully that should improve things a little. I'll buy a new graphics card when I've saved up the money, but being a broke student, that might be while.... maybe I should ask Santa :

 

 

 

Thanks for all your help guys, you lot never cease to amaze me with your bountiful knowledge!!