Very Important Question

[MasteroftheMelee]

Alright, I bought my computer a few months ago, and I decided to purposefully leave it unfinished so that some of the parts would become cheaper and I would buy them then. I am doing without a second gig of RAM, for instance.

 

Well, its been three months and the price on the RAM I'm buying has dropped a full dollar. And it doesn't look like its going to start falling any faster.

 

To make a long story short, Star Wars: War Lords is the first game I have tested this machine with that it cannot handle flawlessly.

 

I have an Athlon 64 3700 that has been overclocked and one gig of DDR 400 (2-3-2-5-T1). I want to play six player with the population limit on high. From people that have more powerful machines than me, I would like to ask wether or not buying that second gig will solve my problem. I can currently play four player. Its choppy but I can play and that's all I'm asking.

 

Also, does anyone think that buying a sound card for my machine would improve performance (I'm on integrated right now)? I can't think of any other performance issues. My 6800 GT doesn't seem to be having problems.

[MasteroftheMelee]

Ah, crap, I thought I posted this in the War Lords forum.

 

Oh well, could somebody move it?

[BadSamaritan]

First of all, overclocking is for gnubs. With todays processors, overclocking is pointless, unless you like ruining your warrenty.

 

Secondly, invest in a decent sound card. Just about anything by Creative works wonders. It will pull tons of of stress off of your processor, and the difference will be astounding.

 

Finally, get the second gig of RAM. I'm running two right now, and I find that with some of my games, it isn't enough. I'll be running four gigs by the end of next month.

[MasteroftheMelee]

I overclocked on the principal that it costs less for a high quality processor. My CPU is more powerful than a $500 CPU (at the time) and cost me $250. I have experience in overclocking, and I'm not stupid enough to use the stock cooling unit.

 

And, no offense, but I'm looking for people who have played War Lords, simply because they will understand what I mean when I say "playable". I consider a game based on the Homeworld 2 engine to be unplayable when you click the mouse, try to drag a box, and it doesn't register the click for a while. In order to create attack/selection boxes I would have to pause the game, and because of that I consider it unplayable.

[bobandrubert]

Problembly overheating. BTW VERY nice computer.

[Defender_16]

My computer has always lagged when playing Homeworld 2. That was nothing compared to when I tried out the Warlords mod.

Insane.

[BadSamaritan]

I overclocked on the principal that it costs less for a high quality processor. My CPU is more powerful than a $500 CPU (at the time) and cost me $250. I have experience in overclocking, and I'm not stupid enough to use the stock cooling unit.

 

With a 3700, you have a decent enough processor for most average high-end users. If you have the RAM and video card to go with it, overclocking is as pointless as a freezer in the arctic. (And frankly, it is hard to do better than the 6800 GT)

 

Also, the stock cooling fan that comes with most processors is better than people think, if you are smart and get the thermal grease, assuming your tower has decent cooling fans. (I find anything less than three, not counting the PCU fans, is asking for problems.)

 

Also, your problem stems from the fact you only have 1 gig of RAM. Get that second gig, even if it hurts the checkbook. Along with a sound card. Sound cards are a must. Even a cheap 30 dollar sound card will make a world of difference.

 

Also cocks.

[MasteroftheMelee]

Four 80 mm fans and one 120 mm. I got lucky and they happen to not make a lot of noise. My cooling unit also has a 120 mm which I removed and put a more powerful 120 mm on.

 

And I don't think you realize how demanding Warlords is on a computer.

[Evaders99]

Warlords will lag on every system - it even lags on the creator's system. It is not because you don't have a good system, it is because of the AI required to control all these details cannot keep up with so many ships, weapons, effects, etc. Warlords goes so far beyond the original Homeworld 2

[Admiral_Daala]

I'm running a Pentium 4HT, w/ a 6800Gt and i have absolutely no problems running Warlords on max Ai's. Don't know what you guys are all talking about . . .