Will my PC be able to play MTW 2 properly?

[Aurelius Ambosius Ventidius]

Hello,

I'am thinking about buying a new PC that is able to play MTW2 properly. I have found one and these are the specifications:

-Intel Pentium 820 Dual Core
-2.80 GHz
-1024 MB RAM
-nVidia® GeForce™ GE 7300 SE PCI-Express + TV-out (composiet)
-512 MB Turbo Cache
-320 GB SERIAL ATA, 7200 rpm

What do you say?, can I play it properly?. I know it meets the minimal system requirements, but im not sure if the graphics are all right. Thanks in advance.!

Aurelius Ambosius Ventidius

[Master_Thief]

Not convinced by the graphics card. The rest seems fine. Make sure you look around a bit before committing yourself.

[Aurelius Ambosius Ventidius]

Oh I see, but will it handle MTW2 with low settings?

Or could this one be better:

Intel P4 D 820 (Dual Core) Processor
1024 MB RAM
250 GB HDD
ATI RADEON® XPRESS 1100 videokaart

[Dutch_guy]

Oh I see, but will it handle MTW2 with low settings?

Or could this one be better:

Intel P4 D 820 (Dual Core) Processor
1024 MB RAM
250 GB HDD
ATI RADEON® XPRESS 1100 videokaart

This one seems to have a worse videocard than the first Computer you posted, such an Xpress card reminds me of a standard laptop integrated card - and that's not necessarily a good thing...

[Aurelius Ambosius Ventidius]

Thanks for responsing.

What kind of videocard do you recommand for proper use of MTW2?

[Husar]

I would recommend a 7600GT as many others here seem to have.
And for the CPU, you might want to look at a Core 2 Duo E6300, not expensive and superior to what you selected concerning heat and speed.

[Aurelius Ambosius Ventidius]

What about this one:
-AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-core
-2200 MHz
-2048 MB RAM
-ATI X1600SE, 256 mb

[Husar]

What about this one:
-AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-core
-2200 MHz
-2048 MB RAM
-ATI X1600SE, 256 mb

The Athlon isn't bad either though I'd still recommend the Core 2 Duo, but on that one the graphicscard is a weak one.
2GB RAM are nice, but the X1600SE won't help you much.

[sapi]

I'd like to second what's been said about the core 2 cpus - they really are the way to go these days

[Aurelius Ambosius Ventidius]

The Athlon isn't bad either though I'd still recommend the Core 2 Duo, but on that one the graphicscard is a weak one.
2GB RAM are nice, but the X1600SE won't help you much.

I see, do you think it wil run MTW2 with low/medium settings?

Thanks for helping me out.

[Husar]

I'm not an expert on the X1600SE, not even ATI in general, I'd just recommend at least a 1600Pro or XT or if it's NVidia a 7600GT. You may also not want to buy a complete system but go into the next city and walk into a smaller computer shop. Ask them about an offer for a good gaming computer and you may get a better one for less money than if you buy Dell or wherever you may be looking. I'm saying offer because you can then post the offer here and people can tell you whether they made a good offer or not.

[sapi]

^^
Agreed. It's almost always better to buy a custom-built pc than a branded one, and we can help ensure that you get exactly what you want at a decent price.

[Aurelius Ambosius Ventidius]

Thanks for the help Husar and sapi!.
I have another question concerning the graphics card: does how higher the number means its better?
Like a nVidia GeForce 7500 is better then a nVidia GeForce 7300?, because I have found a good system with a nVidia GeForce 7500 LE TurboCache 512 MB. This one should be alright compared to the MTW2 recommanded system requirements.
What's your opinion?

[sapi]

I wouldnt' go for that one, simply because it's a turbocache card and that leads me to doubt that the 512mb of ram advertised is actual onboard memory (turbocache cards use system ram).

You're better off with a 'real' gaming graphics cards, but there are others more qualified to talk about mid-range cards then me, so i'll leave that to them.

[Husar]

It says LE(like "light edition) and Turbo Cache(like "uses your system memory and it's bandwidth") which is very bad. Some guide gave a good explanation saying the first number is usually the generation of the card, 7th generation in this case and the second number shows the relative performance group, in this case 5, good 7th generation GeForce cards start at 6, which means you will want a 7600GT or higher. Don't go for LE or anything else like that, if it's cheaper than 100EUR/$, you can almost bet it can't be that good to play Medieval 2.

[Aurelius Ambosius Ventidius]

Okay thanks, I'll go and search for a 7600 GT then. And another question what's the difference between AMD Athlon x2 dual core and Intel Dual Core 2?, which one is better?

[Husar]

The Core 2 is better usually, for the price of a good X2 you can get a better Core 2.

[Aurelius Ambosius Ventidius]

Right, I think im going for the AMD as my budget won't alow a good Core 2. And when MTW2 wont play properly on low/medium setting I can always buy a better graphics card.
I hope it will run RTW and other games alright, don't you?