PC upgrade time?

**red comyn** · 10-02-2005, 13:47

Hope this isnt in the wrong place.

After the posative reviews of RTW:BI i decided ti bite the bullet and buy it. Even though it involved buying RTW again, one disk was used as a coaster, and one in a drunken frisbie comp. Think is it really slow, both in the "loading" screens and when scrolling on the campaign map.

I'm not asuming this is a problem with BI but that my pc is getting on a bit, 3 years old now. So the question is what do I need to do? Would a new graphics card and some extra ram help?

Any other suggestions? thats for the help in advance.

**Akka** · 10-02-2005, 14:01

The most important part in making the game runs smoothly is by far the processor, and NOT, unlike we could think, the graphic card.

Sure, the graphic card DOES help, of course. But the main CPU has a FAR bigger impact.

**red comyn** · 10-02-2005, 14:11

Is that a "Intel celeron 2.00GHz"? and if so does that need tweeked to?

If not where do I find out what ive got?

as the more astute of you may have guessed im not what you would call "technically minded".

**Akka** · 10-02-2005, 14:23

Originally Posted by red comyn

Is that a "Intel celeron 2.00GHz"? and if so does that need tweeked to?

Yep, that is the CPU.
"Intel" is the brand (the two main are "Intel" and "AMD", the former being the most famous, but I personnally much prefer the latter, which has on average slightly more powerful processors for a substancially smaller price ; though the battle between the both groups are fierce and common :D).
"Celeron" is the model. It's crap. Pure crap. No wonder you feel it's time to change :D
2.00 GHz is the frequency of your processor. It means how fast it goes (though it does NOT necessarily imply how powerful it is. It's a bit like the RPM on a car : the faster it goes, the faster the car goes, but a different car with a different engine can go much faster with a more powerful engine, even at lower RPM).

As for today, it's quite low frequency, though not completely obsolete.

**red comyn** · 10-02-2005, 14:27

See folks explaining things in easy terms works when talking to stupid people

So then what should i be looking for and how much will it cost approx in UKP?

**Crusader4thepeople** · 10-02-2005, 15:35

Well the System requirements for RTW is 1.0 GHZ so there should be no problem with rome working, But i wonder what are the requirements for BI?

**Mikeus Caesar** · 10-02-2005, 17:18

Originally Posted by red comyn

Think is it really slow, both in the "loading" screens and when scrolling on the campaign map.

That's not because you need to upgrade. There's this odd copy-protection program that starts up when you play RTW, called ~e5.0001, which slows down the campaign map significantly, and there's nothing you can do about it. Turning it off while your playing RTW crashes the PC.

**Slug For A Butt** · 10-02-2005, 18:13

Weird. I didn't know that, seems bizarre they use an anti copy program which restricts the performance of their game.

**red comyn** · 10-04-2005, 05:09

So how does this anti copy thing work and how do I stop it turing every pre and post battle screen into a "off to make a brew" time.

**TinCow** · 10-04-2005, 14:05

Hehe, if you want to talk about slowdown you should try fighting a five stack battle in a large town on huge unit settings and high graphics. I have a pretty beefy machine, but even that brings it to its knees. I can't live without my massive man battles though. Anything less than Huge doesn't seem like a real war to me.