most worth while pc upgrade?

[zoo_tycoon2]

hi all, i think this should be the right forum to post in...

My game runs really slow, the pc gets real loud and my parents think i'm killing it...
everything i do in the game (aside from starting a new zoo, causes ALOT of lag...
My graphics level is set to low, and i have a Direct X9.0 video card, the recomended minimum.

If anyone knows, what would be the best component i could upgrade to make my game run faster?? (less lag)
Also, if possible, could you post the price in cdn or us dollars (indicate either).

Thanks alot, brett.

[mikaboshi]

First of all, there are some things that need to be known about your PC before it can be "upgraded"

How much RAM do you have?
What is your processor speed?
How large is your harddrive?
How much video RAM is your Graphics card?

We need to see how much of each of those things you have before you can get a good answer.

Kinda like, you cant go to the store and pick up more of something unless you know what you already have at home :laughing:

[csleesburg]

And, I hate to tell you this, but ZA is very careful about NOT recommending hardware. First, we don't want to be accused of favoring any particular maker. Second, if you got what we recommended, and didn't like it, you would blame us. I'm really sorry, but we can't allow this type of question. You'll have to talk to your family and friends about it, and maybe a hardware salesperson.

[Yellowrose]

CSL from what I see of his question he/she is not asking us to recommend a product brand but just asking for general upgrade information.

zoo_tycoon2 - Mikaboshi is right. Knowing what your system has now from his list would make it easier.

But I can give you just a general idea of some upgrades.

First is video - only if you really need it because you have issues. They can be pricy. I live in Canada so for me prices can be even higher then in the US.

I recently upgraded my video card for just over $100 cdn at Staples. Got a good Nvidia card with 256megs ram on sale.

That will allow you to set your graphics settings to med or high.

Next is System Ram - ZT 2 is a ram hungry monster as are other 3D games so more system ram will help somewhat with the lag problem, but even with a good amount of ram you may still have some lag with a large full zoo.

Ram prices can vary al lot because there are so many different types. So for 1 stick of 512 meg ram you can pay anywhere from $85 to $150 cdn depending on the make and other specs needed by your system.

My advice to you is write down what you have in your system according to Mikaboshi's list. go to a computer store that does systems and talk to a computer technician. Future Shop has some pretty good guys or a place that specializes in just computers and ask them what would be best for your system to be able to run 3D games without the lag you have now.

Make sure you add the make of your motherboard to Mikaboshi's list this will help the tech to better give you a price on the type of ram your system needs.

I hope this information is helpful for you and good luck.

If you are unsure of what is in your system there is a little program I highly recommend. It's called Belarc Advisor. Just do a google search and you'll find the site. It's a free program that will show you a report of what is on your system and you can print it out. just cut off the bottom part where it gives you your installed program information and take the top system information section with you to the computer store so the tech can see it. He will be able to understand what is on the system from that better then a list you can write out your self.

[zoo_tycoon2]

wow, thanks Yellowrose, I just did that Belarc thing...

Processor:
2.40 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4
16 kilobyte primary memory cache
256 kilobyte secondary memory cache

Drives:
40.01 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
810 Megabytes Hard Drive Free Space

Memory Modules:
248 Megabytes Installed Memory--Slot '0'

Local Drive Volumes:
c: (FAT32 on drive 0)---39.58 GB---383 MB free
d: (FAT on drive 0)-----427 MB-----427 MB free

the under DirectX it says DX819696
i couldn't find anywhere that said how many RAM it has..sorry

[tazlover]

zoo_tycoon: I just ran belarc on my own system.  Your RAM should equate to the Memory Modules. After looking at what you posted and asking my husband (he works in IT support), you probably have 256 mg RAM installed (it may be shared with your video card) which is the minumum for ZT2 and the free space on your hard drives is low, especially since it is split between 2 drives.

[zoo_tycoon2]

hmm, yea, thanks

i got in touch with our local pc guy (computer Doc) and he says a higher volume video card would help, as well as expanding the hard drive space

[Littlemog]

If your comp is very loud then my first guess would be your RAM - instead of holding data in the RAM, it has to keep swapping from the harddrive, which takes longer than accessing it simply from RAM. If the red light on your comp case is blinking constantly as well, that may well be why. Alt-Tabbing will also be a nightmare, if this is the case.

If you've got Windows XP go to Start>>Run and type "DXDiag" (no quotes) and it should tell you your RAM. It'll also tell you your graphics card. I'm not sure if the same works in other OPs, but if I right-click the desktop>> properties >>settings it has my card listed on there anyway. You may see the RAM etc in the DOS-screens when you start up the comp, though if your comp is quick you may miss it.

RAM'll help with multitasking in general and a few of the newest games are needing 512 minimum. It probably won't help with putting up the quality of your graphics but it may help with your lag.

As far as graphics cards, I believe larger ones may take some of the pressure off lag too but I'm not 100% sure. My worry is you'll get a brilliant video card that can handle reflective water and everything, but your comp won't be able to handle it for the small RAM, or troubles with compatability (I don't think I've ever heard of software compatabilities with RAM, though you do need to make sure it fits your motherboard :laughing: )

edit: one stick of 512 costs about £30 here, so ...50$? but since you already seem to have 256, just another stick of 256 (providing your motherboard has room) should be even cheaper.

My graphics card was ~£40, so 60-70$? It's 256mb and does reflective water and everything (note I have 1gb RAM anyway so that may be a factor) The longer you wait for a graphics card the cheaper they become as new ones come out, so there might be newer ones than mine (Nvidia GeForce 6200, has some trouble coping with the massively resourcey games (like Black and White 2) so in a while there'll probably be a few step ups that are around the same price. It's already almost £10 cheaper than when I bought it ¬_¬)