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Currently I have the nVidia Geforce 4 Ti 4200 128MB card and that is no good to run the game smoothly as it crashes sometimes.
I am obtaining the nVidia Geforce PX 7300GS video card (256MB) which is above the 128 minimum requirement to run the game.
Does anyone know if there will be problems with running medieval 2 on this card with its default drivers.
Is it an agp card?
Sorry I am not sure.
The full title is nVidia geforce PX7300GS PCIe
The specs are
memory interface - 64 bit
memory bandwidth - 6.5GB/s
fill rate - 2.2 billion pixels per second
vertics - 413 million per second
RAMDACS - 400Mhz
Graphics bus technology - PCI Express
It Suppots Microsoft® DirectX® 9.0 Shader Model 3.0 and true high dynamic-range (HDR) lighting
that is all I have on it.
I hope I will be able to run Medieval 2 smoothly.
Anyone know?
I'm afraid that that's not going to work with your computer :(
That's a pci-e card (the new format for video cards) and no computer running a geforce 4 has a pci-e slot, so the card won't fit.
You're best off not getting that one and looking for a good agp card (which is really not my area of expertise)
sorry I should make myself more clearer next time. I am getting a new computer and the geforce PX7300GS PCIe comes installed as standard with that computer.
Ah - my mistake - i assumed too much :embarassed:
That's a pretty good card, but a computer also relies on other things, so do you have the full specs available?
Thanks for all your help.
Yeah the computer will be Intel E6400 core 2 duo processor
1GB DDR667 RAM (2 x 512MB)
160G SATA2 Seagate harddrive
MBDQ965GFEKR motherboard
I think the computer should be ok to run the game. It was the video card i was worried about.
Hopefully it will all be ok.
I'm not sure how smooth would that be for you.. It is not that good a card am afraid, but sure it will run the game.
I'm no expert but you should be fine with what you listed.
My system's not a whole lot different, I have the 7800GTO vid card and 1 gig of RAM on my sys with an amd duel core and I can run it at High to Highest settings across the board at the higher rez with huge units and get almost no noticable lag or problems.
Looks fine to me.
It'll be fine. I haven't figured out a way to put the processor load over 60% on my 6400. That and it'll over clock to silly speeds.
If you can, assemble a machine yourself. More RAM would help and a 7600GS even would be a better for not much more.
However, your setup should be fine for running the game.
I would definitely recommend going up to the 7600 series card. The 7300 has lots of memory, but not a lot of power or bandwidth. The 7600 GS or GT cards have 128 bit memory interface, twice the size. Judging strictly by benchmarks from older cards, the half-size memory bandwidth is absolutely crippling. Back during the Geforce FX series cards, the suffix LX (if I remember correctly) denoted one with the lower memory interface, and they performed terribly. You would be better off buying to highest of the lower range cards or the lowest of the higher range cards than you would be buying the LX, and there were similar problems with the ATI cards designed the same way.
Do NOT get a card with a 64 bit memory interface. Assuming you can afford it, I'd recommend going with a 7900 series card, which will have a 256 bit memory interface. You can get a 7900 GS with 256 megs of memory for about $160 online. I don't know if that's within your budget, or if the company building the computer will give you that option even.
In rough order, 7600GS ~$100, 7600GT ~$130, 7900GS ~$160 are your best bets. Great bang for the buck deals. Consider a SLI motherboard for easy upgrading later.
I have that video card, with a similar system. Campaign map runs perfectly (even w/ shadows), Battle map runs well but the settings have to be low.
I just bought the 7600GS 512MB, and the game cannot run with 10,000 soldiers on 8XAS and 16XAA.
If you want top end performance that card won't do it, that system won't actually. But I think, like the 7600GS that one will run much better than your current one.
From my brief experience with the 7600GS 512MB it's a GREAT value for money, but it isn't top end.
If you are a hardcore gamer, you should consider a better card.
You don't have to stick with just nvidia either you know. ATI makes cards too. It might be worth checking them out also. I guess it would be easier for us to lead you in the right direction if you give us a price range that you want to spend on the card. Oh, the 7300 is the lowest of the 7 series cards. My Go6800 in my laptop will beat it, although mine doesn't support shader model 3, it will still out perform the 7300 in shader 2. Just because the card supports something doesn't mean that it has the horsepower to perform well while using that feature. I just got a x1950pro agp 512mb for one of my agp systems and it runs GREAT. The x1900 series cards are really nice. Give me a price range and I will be able to help you out better.
How about 250 US Dollars ? Am asking for myself (if nobody minds).
Where are you located, Sinan? A $250 USD limitation on price won't take you as far if you're in Europe or Australia as it will in the US; prices seem to be lower here. In the US, you can get a 7950GT or an X1950XT for that much.
I'm in Europe. It's much more expensive here. but I'm not willing to pay more than that. Unless I spend outright for a top end gaming machine. Not sure I want to do that, just some inbetween price-value fix. Make it 300 then.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102067
If I had only $250 and I wanted to get a card, that would be it right there. Go with the x1950xt. It out performs and out classes the 7950gt anyday. Right now the x1900 series cards will beat the 7900 series cards, mostly. You can ask in any hardware forum and that is what they will tell you. I'm no ATI fanboy by any means. I am gaming on a Go6800 right now. I just hate to see people spend money on one thing when for the same price they can get something much better. I'm in the US so sorry for the non-Europe link. x1950xt is the way to go for that price range.
Cool. Thanks. It's no problem I found it on amazon.de: http://www.amazon.de/GeCube-X1950XT-...e=UTF8&s=ce-de
So this is better than 7600GS 512 MB yeah ?
Memory size has little to do with it. Don't even worry about 256 vs 512 unless you are comparing very similar cards at the same price. x1950xt will wipe the floor with a 7600GS... x1950xt will own the 7950gt for that matter. The new x1900 cards are better than the 7xxx cards. It would be crazy to choose a 7 series card over the x1900 series cards. The one you chose should be good.
* One note *
Make sure you have a power supply that will be able to handle the new card! This is very important because the new cards are quite power hungry. Just make sure you have a good power supply with a good amount of amps on the 12v rail.
Better? Yes. An order of magnitude better? Close. The X1950XT effectively has 48 pixel shaders, while the 7600 GS has 12. It will drastically outperform that 7600 card.
OK great ! Thanks for the tips.
Last question: can that card run a full 4vs4 M2:TW (maybe 7500 soldiers or more) with a P4 2.6 and 2 GiGs RAM on max hardware AA and AS ?
I don't know. If it can't, no single card can. I expect with that number of soldiers on the map the limiting factor would be the CPU anyway. Quad-core Kentsfield and 4 gigs of ram plus that card, perhaps.
Ok. Thanks for the help.
Hi!
I have Nvidia GeForce 7300 Gt, and it is good enough for MTW2. I have a PIV 3,0 64 bit with HT, Asrock DULA-VSTA Motherboard and 1 GB DDR400 RAM. And the runs smooth with medium prefs on huge unit size. But if you have some more money Iw ould recommend the 7600 GT or Radeon X1600PRO.
Hey I just noticed something important probably. My power supply is 350W maximum, whereas on the box of the GS7600 512 is says minimum 400W power supply required.
Should I continue to run on the current power supply ? Will that do any damage ?
NO NO NO!Quote:
Originally Posted by Sinan
You, as a rule, want to exceed minimum requirements of your card by a safe margin, just to play it safe. For example, if you require 400 watts, go for at least 450 watts, and probably 500 watts. See, you card may draw X amount of power, but you also have to account for the other things you might have plugged into your PC.
Watt rating isn't actually the big deal that everyone makes it out to be. What you really need to be concerned with is the Amp rating on the 12V rail.
If you look at a power supply on newegg, for example, (I know that you're Europe, but bear with me), you'll see output ratings listed in specifications. Look at the 12V output rating, and figure that you need at least a total of 35-40 amps on the 12V line for a good graphics card (7900 range). See, the graphics card will draw off of the 12V line, and will probably require something around 20 Amps. But the Motherboard will also draw off of the 12V line, and will probably consume around 10-12 amps. If you don't want either of those components to crap out any time soon, then you need sufficient Amp rating on the 12V line.
In the mail for me is a E-POWER ZU 550W power supply. It supplies a total of 550 watts, but it also has two 12V lines rated for 20 amps each. This will be enough to cover my 7900 GS that I ordered as well, and my motherboard. I'm replacing my old parts not just because I want an upgrade, but because my current power supply didn't have the amps needed to run my X800 GTO and my mobo (motherboard) at the same time. I got lucky, and only my graphics card is frying to death. My mobo appears fine so far, but it might have also suffered significant damage. Unless you want to pay anywhere around 400 Euro for a new motherboard and a new graphics card, you should shell out the 45-50 Euro on a sufficient power supply.
Not all power supplies are the same, either. Try and check for reviews before you purchase one, and make sure that your motherboard and power supply use the same connections. For example, if your power supply is ATX and your mobo is BTX, you'd need an adaptor. These are easy things to check as far as specs go when you're buying new products, but don't forget about them when you see a great deal and want to impulsively buy something.
So key points ordered by importance-
1) Proper compatability between PSU and mobo.
2) Sufficient Amp rating on the 12V rails.
3) User reviews. If the product is crap, then someone else has probably seen it and fried their system. Let them suffer the crap and you learn from it.
4)sufficient watt rating, about .2 - .3 over what you require as minimum.
Now for graphics cards, for anyone interested. I don't know where everyone lives, but newegg currently sells a 7600GT OC from BFG Tech. for 143 dollars. eVga sells a 7900 GS KO for 175 dollars on newegg. Keep in mind, both of these graphics cards are factory overclocked with lifetime warranties from the manufacturers, but they both require 20 Amps to the 12V rail. That means that you'll need a sufficient power supply that provides at least 30-35 Amps on the 12V rail.
If anyone needs any help because they are making a purchase and aren't sure about campatability, you can either PM me on here or E-mail me at VeryLowSodium89@hotmail.com
I'm no expert, but I have learned quite a lot while recently making my own purchases and spending a week studying this stuff. I'll try and help you, but I am not a final authority.
Great. Thanks a lot. Shutting down straight away.
For surfing/checking email you should be fine. It doesn't draw that much power idling. I just wouldn't play any games on that 350w.
A 7600GT card will run the game on high settings @ 1280x1024. So if you can try to get at least a 7600 series card but you dont need anything more than a 7600 series just for M2TW.
My M2TW Rig:
Intel E6400 Proc
P5W DH mobo
2Gb PC6400C4 Corsair RAM
7600GT KO Video card
BenQ 1655 DvD Burner
X-Fi XtremeMusic Sound Card
Seagate 7200.10 250GB Hard Drive
19" CRT Monitor @ 1280x1024
This setup runs M2TW smooth as silk.
Hardly surprisingQuote:
Originally Posted by Skott
......Orda
Well there sure are other things to take into consideration. If you put the 7600 in a PC with only a gig of RAM and a 2.4 gig processor, then it probably wouldn't run "as smooth as silk".
Also realize that at this point, running Windows XP you really can't use any thing over 2gigs of RAM. Windows Vista in 64 bit mode, which is how it should be installed, will access huge amounts of RAM, but XP is severely crippled in this regard.
I was merely showing my rig as an example. The OP is getting a E6400 system and the only thing he was lacking compared to what I have (other than the video card) is the RAM. Yes, a extra GB of RAM can mkae big differences in some games but again I was showing him an example with a 7600GT KO card. Any plain 7600GT can be overclocked up to a KO so he could match my card in performance if he got one and overclocked it.
Thats assuming he knows how to overclock and even wants to overclock.
True that but overclocking a video card is pretty easy to do if he so desires.:yes:
Sinan, a few points.
1. If you're running at a decent resolution (1280x1024 or over) running with more than 4x aa is a pointless waste of resources
2. The jump from 8x to 16x af is minimal
3. So you're fine with that card if you're even slightly realistic
4. Get a better PSU (500W minimum)
5. Don't overclock your gfx card - a waste of time imo when you could have just turned the settings down a little.
EDIT:
Anything over 2gb is a waste anyway (and xp can address more than you think if you trim the pagefile, which is rarely used once you have a decent amount of ram)Quote:
Also realize that at this point, running Windows XP you really can't use any thing over 2gigs of RAM. Windows Vista in 64 bit mode, which is how it should be installed, will access huge amounts of RAM, but XP is severely crippled in this regard.
4xAA and 4x/8xAF is perfect anything over that isn't noticeable really anyway.
Overclocking has it's benefits. I get nearly double the fps with my card overclocked. There are a lot of variables though when it comes to overlocking though.
Yeah the 7600 is probably sufficient, but if you were looking for the best of the best for $250 the x1950xt is probably the way to go.
Yeah get at least a 500w, but check the amps!!! You can buy some 450w with more amps than some 500w ones have. Just make sure to check the amps.
Much misinformation here...sorry guys!
The 7600GS is a very light card on power...very. Around 28watts peak...that is low....even the GT isnt heavy....less than the 6600 GT.
You wont need a 500watt psu...makers may say min 400 watt as a guideline..but that is a very rough figure indeed..and takes into account poor quality PSU's...which have a higher rating and low efficiency...
Unless you are running an ultra juicy cpu..aka a high GHz dual core Pentium D....then you wont have any issues..
No misinformation. He still only has a 350w and how do you know its not a crappy psu? Regardless, he was wanting a better high end card anyway, which will require a new bigger wattage power supply.
Get a 500W PSU MINIMUM
And i seriously doubt that 28W peak figure....even teh new core 2 cpus peak at 135W and that's an old gfx card so i suspect you mean 280W...
I looked it up. 7600GS peaks out at like 27.4 watts. So yeah 28w. I doubted it too. The 7600GT is like 38 or something.
Here is the link.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/vid...r-noise_6.html
Regardless, get a 500w minimum. It doesn't hurt to have extra for future upgrades.
:o
I stand corrected (but that seems very, very low....)
I thought the same thing... Oh well I guess. I need to get one of those kill-a-watt things and do some testing on my own stuff.
Lol!
Glasket only provided some of the info..but an estimate using the info I have..and a normal setup..soundcard..a few usb devices, 2 DVD drives etc etc....using a 7600GS
Is around 295 watts...max everything full on ramped to the max...
So....depends on the PSU..if it is decent it will cope no problems.
A higher end card could warrant a better psu..though 500 is likely overkill unless a dual card set up is on the cards.
Honestly guys I know my stuff well....
Remember while watts seem to go up..they go down too..the new Core 2 and AM2 Athlons are significantly lower on power than some previous ones. Same for graphics cards...when the Nm process goes down...so does the power consumption.
You need to look at more than just a big number..500 watts sounds good, and it is always advised to have a bit spare..but not all 500 watt PSU's are equal....
For example an Antec 380 watt PSU delivers more efficient stable power than a non name china 450 watt jobbie
Thanks for all your help.
My budget for the card would be US$200 but I am located in Australia.
I am not 100% sure if the company making the computer for me has other cards aprat from nvidia and I cant ask them now as they are closed for new year.
So I guess for my US$200 budget what would be the best graphics card i could get from
1. nVidia
2. other makes (if the computer builders have it).
@barry, i understand that but it's always good to future proof with a good, name-brand 500w psu.
@glasket, check out www.staticice.com.au - it's a godsend for custom builders.
Expect to pay a huge premium for gear over here though - it's just the facts of life unfortunately.
Glasket-
I'm fairly certain that either BFG tech or eVga services Aus. If not, then XFX.
Either one, go with the 7900GS if you're on a 200 USD equivolent budget. Bang for your buck, it's the best card available (I don't want to go into diminishing rate of return right now, so let's just take me as an authority on the subject since I was previously in your same case).
@paulta, i wasn't talking about manufacturer (which matters little, despite what you read) but rather place of purchase - there's a variation of hundreds of dollars over here and using a price comparison engine like staticie allows you to get the best deal.
@glasket, depending on where you are, MSY and Umart are great companies to buy though.
Ahh, my apologies. I didn't understand.
On a lighter note, I would love to discuss your comment about manufacturer's not mattering on another thread. I beg to differ.:yes:
I've got to stop making flippant comments like that, you know :P
Yes, it does matter, but, imo, at the low/mid range you've got more important things to worry about. Just grap a card with a decent warranty and with some decent bundled games and begone
I'll let it slide. :laugh4:
Hey errr... so should I use this card right now ? is it safe ? or should I just wait till I upgrade the PSU ? I don't have to play games, actually a few days would do me, and my skillZZZZZZ good.
IMO if you just surf and check e-mail and don't do anything that requires 3D(games) then you should be fine. If it was my computer I would be surfing and checking email and daily stuff like that but I wouldn't game on it.
Others may say different, that my opinion.
Last night before I read this advice I was playing on everything maxed out... laggily along happily. There was no problem, I think this 350W PSU can handle this card but I'm not going to push it.
Also I'm now considering a system upgrade.
Not too sure if I should spend a 1500 bucks on another PC. I'd probably be better off using the money for a week off at some chic resort in Morrocco or Tunisia instead. And what about a trek in Northern Spain, costs like 1000 bucks for a week. Better still I could go to Dubai for a (HOT) week with that !!! Hard to justify.
But I love..... M2:TW... ahh the agony is unbearable.
Well you might not even see results immediately... If you work with an underpowered system, you might be happily playing along when your mobo fries, or your graphics card gives out and you get a blue screen out of nowhere.
I think it's best to wait for the power supply before you start with the 3d apps again, bud. Otherwise, you'd be playing russian rulette with your computer components.
My comp. worked just fine underpowered for a few months actually... It wasn't until one morning that everything started screwing up in succession. I'd wait.
Ok.
My M2TW PC:
AMD Athlon 2x 64 3800+ (2.0ghz)
Gforce 7300 LE 256mb
1Gb RAM
19" CRT Monitor 1280x1024
it runs very nice :yes:
hi im having problems with the battles it really slow even though everything else runs fine i have 2.8ghz 0.99gb of ram and i have a geforce 5200 256mb graphics card i have a dell e310 and i read that it only can take up to a geforce 5500
What sort of settings are you trying to run on?
The 5200 isn't a great card and it'll have a lot of trouble trying to run at high or even medium quality at a decent resolution.
even if everything is on low its still really slow but works fine on the campain map i was wondering if anyone knows if a dell e310 can take a higher graphics card
The campaign map doesn't take much power to run...
My personal opinion is that dropping a better card in may lead to you discovering that the CPU/Ram/Whatever can't take it either...
Well the graphics upgrade depends on multiple factors.
For instance, can your power supply unit handle the upgrade?
Secondly, what sort of slot do you have? (AGP, or PCI-E?)
Lastly, how much do you have to spend?
Just a word of warning about Dells. They use proprietary parts on most of their models, which means that you can't upgrade your system without buying directly from Dell. In a few cases, Dell has parts that appear to be industry standard, use the same looking industry standard connections, but if you drop anything in but a Dell part your motherboard will fry and your PSU will actually catch on fire (literally). Dell is a naughty company that encompasses everything most people hate about capitalism, but that's another discussion. :laugh4:
Check on the Dell forums (www.dell.com) and post your computer model and what you want to upgrade. There are a few folks on there who really know what they're talking about (usually the people with 20,000 plus posts.), and they'll help you figure out what to upgrade and what you can't.
Thanks for all your replies.
I think I am settled on getting Geforce7600GS as I am not a hardcore gamer at all and I had to reconsider my budget a little. The 7600 should serve me well I am sure.
I also would be getting a 19" LCD monitor so to go with my system specs I hope medieval 2 will run OK on at least medium quality if not the best quality.
It sounds like the 7600 is the way to go then, at least for you. I should run m2tw on medium settings just fine. Just keep them shadows turned down, they seem to eat up fps like none other.
I really would advise you to post up on those forums though - dell are notorious for incompatibilities in their products