Upgrades?....

[Katonis]

Greetings,

A while back before DX9 I used to play a friends healer and my beastlord on one comp and switch between the two using EQW.  I could run both with relatively no lag or reduction in frame rate.  When DX9 came along it really put a strain on my machine and made it almost impossible to multi anymore.  

I have recently tried using EQ Playnice and WinEQ so I can multi again.  The first window I boot up with run fine but the second will have a much reduced framerate almost to the point of uselessness.  Sometimes both windows will freeze for several seconds before I can do anything again.  

I am thinking I need to go ahead and upgrade what I can to multi again and just help the game run better in general. =P  I guess I am looking for any suggestions/tweaks I can do to run better or what/where I can get the parts to help.  Thanks!

Kat

[Katonis]

For my current instances I have turned down just about everything I can think of to help.  Each instance is running in its own complete directory.  I have sound and animations off in both.  I am running the lowest quality settings with the clip plane turned down and spell effects turned off.  I have the simple sky turned on in the first instance and no sky in the other.  The only Luclin models I have turned on in each account are horses, Vah Shir male and Wood Elf male.

My current comp has the following.  Let me know what I need to add to help.

Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 1
System Manufacturer: Dell Computer Corporation
System Model: Dimension 4550
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.53GHz
Memory: 512MB RAM
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0b (4.09.0000.0902)

Video card name: NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 420
Display Memory: 64.0 MB
Monitor: Relisys RE451

Sound Description: Creative SB Live! Series

Kat

[Shambler]

I assume you have tried eliminating any unecesary processes that are runing. How much Ram is actualy available before you start up eq?

I can 2 box useing just eqwindows, with all models on, low spell particle density, sound off and a medium clip plane. I think I have my texture quality set to medium (done in the setup portion where you select models).


My current machine, Home built by me
P4 1.7GHz
~1GB Ram (I think its PC 2700 DDR)
Geforce 4 128MB (TI series)


So first off, I think we can eliminate the processor as being a bottleneck.

I am fairly certain you can 2 box with 512MB of system ram... I upgraded to 1GB and it didn't help much.

My video card is a little bit better than yours and has more video ram. The MX series were not as powerfull as the TI's.

The worst piece of equipment in your machine (and mine) is the video card.


I am planing on geting a 9800 pro 128MB sometime this summer (not an Alantis because they are 128bit gimped versions of the 256bit card). Right now you can get them online for around $200.  I am kicking myself that I missed a sale at Fry's .. they were selling a 9800 pro for $150.. So.. the price may be dropping soon. The Nvidia 6800's and ATI x800 pro (this generation) can be found for around $350-$450. To me.. I don't think it will be worth it to pay twice as much for this generation, when in 6-12 months they will be half the price.. So I stay a card or two behind the curve.

[danaconda]

Your bottleneck has to be the video card. 64MB vid card is old now. I bought an FX5200 128MB video card off TigerDirect for $50 after the rebate. I don't think they have the sale for it at the moment, but they almost always have that card for $50 after rebate. Upgrade and you will notice a huge difference.

I also stay one card behind the curve if I can. In late September I have about $1000 or so that I save up each year to splurge on myself. Thinking I might build myself a new computer.  :D

[Zashir Swiftpaw]

Couple of questions: are you in tile mode?  And are you using reduced frame rate settings for eqplaynice?

In general, unless you use minimum settings, you're going to have a tough time running 2 instances.  Your video card is AGP, so it will use main memory when it runs out of its own onboard memory.  I recommend increasing system ram to 1Gb and increasing your video card to 128Mb if possible.  You should be able to run 2 instances very well then.

[Katonis]

Thanks for the great feedback so far.  I figured I would need to upgrade some hardware no matter what, with the video card being first and then the ram.

I have not been using the tile mode of WinEQ.  Old EQW logic told me stacking the windows might be better on my comp.  When I tried to tinker with it WinEQ did not seem very willing to go to tile on my comp as well.  As far as I know EQ Playnice is doing its default thing.  The version I have does not seem to want me to edit any settings.  So I just have the integrated setting on in WinEQ.

As far as replacing hardware I can understand most of the specs and compatibility.  What gets me is trying to get what would work best with EQ but not break my budget in the process. (Gotta love college)

I have been looking at vid cards on the net.  I tend to trust Nvidia more but I get an ATI if it would work best in the long run.  While looking I have run into ones like this and ones like this this.  It looks like I could get a really good one for about 80 bucks but I was wondering what others though.  

On ram I get a bit more lost.  I really do not know what type would be best for my machine or what I need to look at for compatibility issues.  Any advice is most welcome.

Thanks!

Kat

[Lizsolo]

My rig is similar to Shamblers and I really would suggest that you upgrade ram first (1GB).  One instance alone (and XP) can eat up most of 512 pretty quick.

If you're not sure what kind of ram you need, just head to crucuial.com and look up your computer brand and model (or mobo if you build your own) and it'll tell you what you're looking for.  Check their price and then scoot over to newegg.com and compare prices.  Adding another 512 shouldn't be all that expensive these days.

[Shambler]

from what I have read the FX5200's ..  performed much worse than the Geforce 4's. To quote a review, comparing a FX5200 to a GeForce4 MX "the performance [is] about the same as that for GeForce4 MX, sometimes much lower". So DON'T get a FX5200.. it would be a non upgrade except for more video memory. FX5200 is a fairly old Video card.

These benchmarks may help you pick out a card thats worth the price.. but unfortunately they don't use EQ as a benchmark anywhere I have looked :)
VGA Charts III
VGA roundup

It gets realy confuseing :p It took me a month to pick the card I wanted :D, and I am even second guessing myself now :p

Sites that are recomended to buy hardware online
newegg.com
zipzoomfly.com
tcwo.com          (I personaly have used them)

In this generation and more recent video cards (6800/x800) it doesn't realy matter if you get the Nvidia or ATI card. However, some of the older Nvidia cards (between the Geforce4 TI's and now) are not as good as performers as their ATI counterparts.

[Zashir Swiftpaw]

On a dissenting note, I have a 5200 in my son's computer -- it plays EQ just fine, and was a noticeable improvement over his GF 4.  I think the best bang for the buck for nvidia video cards is the GF FX 5600 right now, but it's about $10 more than your 5200.

Personally, I'm with Shambler: upgrade memory first.  You'll see a huge performance improvement when you go to 1gb ram.

[Shambler]

I just don't see the point in upgradeing to a card that is going to be out of date again real soon. Geting a card that is only 1 generation newer than the one you already have... when they are old cards is almost as bad as doing the same thing when they are new cards. When you pick a card, you have to factor in how long you will be satisfied with it, into the price.

[Katonis]

Ok..... I have decided to up to 1 GB of ram and replace the video card at the same time.

I am still shopping around for some ram but I am not to worried.  I just need to catch a good sale.  Any suggestions on a good place to get a stick of 512 ram at PC2700? (Older setup so that is the best it will support.)

As far as video card my budget is going to probably be around $130 to $150.  I have decided to stick with Nvidia over ATI.  With that being said a card like this has struck my fancy.  Does anyone know of a better type deal?

Thanks,

Kat

[Kuttykins]

*hugs* Kat!

[danaconda]

TigerDirect has a pretty good deal here. I don't mind using mail-in rebates to get a better price. $59.99 for 512MB of PC2700 RAM. Thats what I'm going to be buying for my new gaming rig that I build in about a month, but the PC3200 version.

[Katonis]

I finally bought the vid card I posted above.  Its working nicely but Im going to have to replace the fan with a heat sink for the noise. 8P  I wonder if the one off the old card will work ......  I am also replacing my monitor and I bought a stick of 512 ram from crucial.com.  It had a 10 dollar rebate but ran 20 bucks more than one dana mentioned.  Its worth it to me to know its compatile.  Thanks much for all the suggestions!

Kat

[ghostryder]

Yup those Nvidea cards are noisy- also they are power hogs-

That's why I stick to ATI- less heat and far less power drain- in fact the x800 actually runs cooler and pulls less power than the 9800 series.

I'd advise not to replace that fan with a heatsink- in fact I'd advise adding another fan or two- That card is going to generate a ton of heat with 2 instances of eq running and removing the fan will most likely fry the card.

If you suddenly start to get crash problems its likely because you have 2 different brands of ram now- yes, it can be that picky, especuially on AMD boxes.

Also glance at your power supply- that new card will probably pull enough power that anything under 350 watts is going to give you problems.