Help needed with upgrade

Peter Lane · Tue May 20, 2008 7:53 am

Having bought the game I can't play it on my existing computer as it's too old (the computer that is). I need to increase the RAM from 224 to 512 and upgrade my video card from 32 MB of RAM to 64 MB.

There appears to be a lot of these things on ebay but can anyone recommend what I need (I'm not a Teccy ! - I've just bought a video card of ebay and it wasn't compatible with my computer )

Any advice would be appreciated

Best Wishes

Peter

Carnium · Tue May 20, 2008 8:36 am

Could you please tell me what is your computer specification (motherboard, processor..). Is it an Intel or AMD computer ?
If the computer is quite old then you need to pay special attention to really buy the things that will fit into it - that is why I/we need more informations about your computer.
Upgrading old computers is not a really smart idea as you can probably get a new low end computer for quite a bargain if you look hard enough. And for AGEOD games you really don't need a "supermachine" as they don't need good graphic card.
New parts in your old computer is like buying new tires for an obsolete car.
Its an upgrade, but it will still be the same old thing.

arsan · Tue May 20, 2008 9:26 am

Hi!
As Carnium says, to play AGEOD games you don't need a very fast PC. But still, yours seem to be very outdated. How old is it?
Bear in mind that if you upgrade to 512 Mb RAM and 64 MB graphic card, you probably will be able to play the game... but just barely

leure:
My four years old PC has 128 mb graphics card and 1 GB RAM and plays the games just OK. But sure i will like it to do it faster and smoother. I will not recommend playing with less than this.
Maybe you should think about buying a a new PC. Even a basic and cheap new PC should be able to play AACW very good. Or a second hand PC less that 4 years old...
Regards!

Peter Lane · Tue May 20, 2008 11:52 am

It's Windows XP with intel processor.

What do people think is the best requirements with regard to RAM and video card ?

Peter

Carnium · Tue May 20, 2008 12:04 pm

Peter Lane wrote:It's Windows XP with intel processor.

What do people think is the best requirements with regard to RAM and video card ?

Peter

It all depends on how much are you preparing or able to spend and your "computer habits".
Could you please go to your "my computer" , right click on it, choose properties and write here your configuration (its under computer)

Peter Lane · Tue May 20, 2008 12:23 pm

If I knew I was buying the right thing in terms of RAM and graphics/video card I wouldn't mind spending out (not lots of course !)

I'm actually accessing the forum at work at the moment but I'll look at the configuration when I get home and post in through.

Any help would be appreciated...I bought the game over a month ago and can't wait to play it !!

Peter Lane · Tue May 20, 2008 5:50 pm

I hope this is what you wanted. It sayes Windows XP Professional Version 2002
Intel (R) Celeron (R) CPU 240GHz 241 GHz 224 MB of RAM

Carnium · Tue May 20, 2008 8:00 pm

Peter Lane wrote:I hope this is what you wanted. It sayes Windows XP Professional Version 2002
Intel (R) Celeron (R) CPU 240GHz 241 GHz 224 MB of RAM

Yes unfortunately this is what I was looking for. The sad news is that your computer is really old and the Celerons are considered a "stripped" version of "normal" pentium computers : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celeron
I used to have it at my office in 2002 and had to replace it after a year or two.
Please do not upgrade this computer as you are only throwing away your money.
Take a good look for used computers (2-3 year old computers are really cheap) and if you can afford it- buy it.

Sorry for the bad news... hopefully someone here can give you a more optimistic answer.

arsan · Tue May 20, 2008 8:19 pm

Carnium wrote:Yes unfortunately this is what I was looking for. The sad news is that your computer is really old and the Celerons are considered a "stripped" version of "normal" pentium computers : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celeron
I used to have it at my office in 2002 and had to replace it after a year or two.
Please do not upgrade this computer as you are only throwing away your money.
Take a good look for used computers (2-3 year old computers are really cheap) and if you can afford it- buy it.

Sorry for the bad news... hopefully someone here can give you a more optimistic answer.

I agree with Carnium... i don't think its worth the effort or the money to try to upgrade this PC. It can be OK to surf the internet and work with Microsoft Office. But to play any modern game (even one with requirements as modest as the AGEOD ones) is too old and slow

leure:

I don't know the prices on UK, but i will bet you could get a second hand PC many times faster than your actual computer for 200 pound or less...
And a much faster basic new PC for less than 400 pounds.
Don't you have a little tech savy relative or friend to advice you on the buy?
Regards!

Brochgale · Tue May 20, 2008 8:30 pm

arsan wrote:I agree with Carnium... i don't think its worth the effort or the money to try to upgrade this PC. It can be OK to surf the internet and work with Microsoft Office. But to play any modern game (even one with requirements as modest as the AGEOD ones) is too old and slow leure:

I don't know the prices on UK, but i will bet you could get a second had PC many times faster than your actual computer for 200 pound or less...
And a much faster basic new PC for less than 400 pounds.
Don't you have a little tech savy relative or friend to advice you on the buy?
Regards!

People selling Celerons should be shot - especially as you could probably build your own with a proper pentium - cheaper.

Peter Lane · Wed May 21, 2008 7:30 am

Thanks for the advice guys.

Best Wishes

Peter

Carnium · Wed May 21, 2008 8:33 am

Peter Lane wrote:Thanks for the advice guys.

Best Wishes

Peter

Good luck to you too. Let us know when and how the things will be solved.

GShock · Wed May 21, 2008 8:54 am

Best policy with computers is to start searching only when u have the money at hand.

According to how much you wanna spend all of us can give you tips on what (and where) u could find the best possible equipment. It all depends on how much you have and what exactly you wanna do with the computer/upgrades.

Generally, hitting the second or third best is always the most paying choice with regards of price/quality comparison. This is true for all the 4 main categories (cpu/mobo/vid card/ram).

Start by forgetting the branded PCs...unbranded costs less, is the same quality and same hardware but it's unlocked, so you can also overclock.