The M2TW hardware thread: please post all hardware queries here

[sbroadbent]

like I said the game seems almost unplayable at present even with the setting turned right down so I'm looking at an upgrade.

Any ideas?

Without further details, it'd be hard to make a recommendation.

What is your budget? Where are you located? When do you plan to build?

The reason these questions are important is because the budget determines whether we recommend a completly new machine, or maybe recommend a specific upgrade. Your location would determine how expensive particular components might be. As to when you plan to build, I might make a different recommendation if it was necessary NOW, as opposed to in several months.

For instance, AMD is set to finally release their DX10 video cards some time in May. When these come out, expect prices across the board for video cards to drop. Nvidia will probably release additional models to compete therefore holding off for that may allow you to get a better card for less. If it's within budget, I'd definately recommend a DX10 card, though it's not essential, particularly because you'd need Vista and there aren't much in the way of games yet. If that were not enough, AMD may also bring out their quad cores, which will likely reduce CPU prices, though I don't believe that will be for several more months.

[craziii]

what do I need if I want to play this game on the following settings:

huge unit size, max all graphics - except the following : I don't need AA or bloom or hdr, with 3 full armies fighting a siege battle in a huge city without lag?

what do I need hardware wise? I been holding off on my upgrades since ati still haven't come out with their dx10 gpu. I don't want the best there is, I just want the hardware that allows me to play the game at the above settings.