| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Older- OMO |
Posted - Dec 12 2005 : 11:01:26 I am still not getting everything I want in the performance of the game so I have ordered a set of memory modules that will boost me from 1 GB to 2 GB of DDR2 533mHz memory. I hope this helps remove the last bits of jitter so I can max out all of my setting with no penalty. I have P4 3.4 GHz, 256 MB Nvidia GeForce 6800, a Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS and 7200 RPM SATA drives.
I haven't gone down the road of overclocking since I don't want to void my warranty, my computer cabinet couldn't ventilate the extra heat, and more importantly, I don't know what I am doing. I will post a review after I install the memory and play a bit tomorrow.
BTW if you need memory, I am still a firm believer in www.crucial.com They have excellent prices (they are having a 10% off sale and free shipping), high quality/reputation and have a good warranty/guarantee. Note, their high performance memory (Ballistix) is highly rated, but won't offer any value to you unless you are overclocking. It is also a lot more expensive. With DDR2, buy in pairs (can't install 1 module at a time) and keep the density (memory module size) consistent, i.e. don't mix 512MB modules with 256MB or 1GB. |
| 19 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Dirtbag-OMO |
Posted - Dec 15 2005 : 16:21:57 I prefer 2 Swigs of Jack. Even smoooother! |
| Specimen-OMO |
Posted - Dec 15 2005 : 14:01:04 I'm running a AMD 3200 with 1.5Gigs and it's smooth (9600 ATI W/256M of RAM) |
| Petrified-OMO |
Posted - Dec 14 2005 : 18:33:56 I used to BBS a lot starting in '85 when I got my first laptop computer (the deciding factor between the LCD being backlit or not was $1k - I was 15 so it went without). Had loads of fun with some of the early online chats, games, and live get-togethers.
Rogue and 3Demon were my favorite PC games back then too. |
| Bedpan-OMO |
Posted - Dec 14 2005 : 06:53:41 Now defrag your hard drive (nothing personal) and it will be even faster. I did some of those tweaks from http://www.tweakguides.com/BF2_1.html and it helped even more! Especially the audio OpenDl driver thang because I have an Audigy 4! (now I can hear you sneaking up on me) |
| Catheter-OMO |
Posted - Dec 13 2005 : 14:58:20 Hey I'm glad it worked like you wanted. By the way nice Avatar :)
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| Older- OMO |
Posted - Dec 13 2005 : 14:41:27 OK, the early verdict is in and I can say that it sure feels like it makes a big difference . I have no lag at the beginning of rounds, the verification of client data seems faster, no jitter or in game lag that I have seen so far, looks sharper and smoother (if that makes any sense), game shuts down instantly (music doesn't keep playing after exit), did I say no jitter or in game lag, no jitter and in game lag. I have only played on 3 servers so far and have found that I am the first to spawn every map, every round. I haven't played on a totally full 40+player server yet.
Note, this is with 1280X1024 resolution, all high settings on video, 4X anti-aliasing (thats as high as my settings will allow), high audio, etc. I have everything maxed out and I am lag free. So far, this was a great investment. It turns out that Dell uses the Micron memory, so the new modules appeared to be sympatico if not exactly the same.
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| BoltzDude |
Posted - Dec 13 2005 : 10:19:10 Ok, so how many of you will admit to using bulletin board systems (BBS)?
www.bbsdocumentary.com |
| Bedpan-OMO |
Posted - Dec 13 2005 : 10:07:08 You won't believe it but I played WinTrek over the weekend. I was rumaging through my disk and came upon it. IT STILL RUNS! What a blast. Phasers, torps, starbase reloads, fun! 
Download Attachment: WINTRK.zip 567.79 KB |
| Older- OMO |
Posted - Dec 13 2005 : 09:56:15 Not even 11 years ago, I used to envy the nerds that had Sun portable (oxymoron) workstations. As with the old stuff, it was hardly portable or powerful.
Yes, memories, I have owned or played every major console and started on mainframe terminals and playing PC games on the apple. My dad even brought home HP calculators that had some really strange games that loaded via magnetic strip. I remember shaking and manipulating the freaking floppies hoping it would load up for more games like Adventure (started on the mainframe), Zork (I hated getting stuck in the maze), Star Trek (ah the photon torpedoes), Star Wars (shooting Tie Fighters pre-Lucas Arts crap), dungeon crawls (can't remember the names, but the first graphical RPGs)...I even remember playing really lame artillary games on Tektronic workstations/terminals. About 10 years ago, I bought a collection of text based RPGs (Zorks and others of that ilk) that brought back all sorts of memories. They were fun in that you had to use your imagination, not your eyes. How times have changed as I sit in front of my computer anxiously awaiting the UPS guy to give me my memory upgrade so I can max out the eye candy in BF 2. |
| HEARTBURN-OMO |
Posted - Dec 12 2005 : 18:14:36 lol, I remember 18 years ago some yahoo from the home office walked into my office for an audit and had one of those new "portables." I think it was a Texas Instruments, came in a suitcase and weighed about 45 pounds. Man I was impressed. I still have my first IBM laptop from about 1989 or 90. That thing is so slow it will make you fall asleep! But, it still runs.... |
| Rigormortis-OMO |
Posted - Dec 12 2005 : 16:54:54 Boltz, I had a fairly high end system but noticed a marked improvement in overall performance with an additional gig of ram. I would recommend it. |
| BoltzDude |
Posted - Dec 12 2005 : 16:19:25 Yes, please post your results Older. I'd like to know if having 2GBs of RAM really makes a difference.
Talking about older games... I thought playing Sabotage and Zork used to be fun!
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| Dirtbag-OMO |
Posted - Dec 12 2005 : 14:29:31 quote: Originally posted by FuddyDud-OMO
When I was a lad, I could play any game with just 8K of RAM 
Yea, I remember Doom being a much better game with 4 megs. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA Those were the days. |
| Older- OMO |
Posted - Dec 12 2005 : 14:17:24 quote: Originally posted by Catheter-OMO
Another thing in memory is to have all sticks the same brands. The speed/frequency varies from manufacturer to manufacturer even though all meet certain specifications.
I ordered Crucial 533MHz to go with my Dell 533MHz. I hope I don't encounter any issues. |
| FuddyDud-OMO |
Posted - Dec 12 2005 : 14:10:43 When I was a lad, I could play any game with just 8K of RAM  |
| Decrepit-OMO |
Posted - Dec 12 2005 : 13:19:57 BF2 was the driving force for me jumping to 2GB (DDR 3200) as well. Noticed better load times and I was able to boost my settings a bit. I have over clocked my 2.4GHZ to 2.8 and it has been stable. You won't regret going to 2GB. |
| Catheter-OMO |
Posted - Dec 12 2005 : 12:26:30 Yep I noticed a big difference when I went from 1 to 2GBs. Another thing in memory is to have all sticks the same brands. The speed/frequency varies from manufacturer to manufacturer even though all meet certain specifications. I screwed up once when I went to Best Buy to get memory. They didn't have the Kingston that the other sticks were so I got another brand. When you set them to run in duel channel mode they should show 400 Mhz but mine shows 333 cus they default to the slowest of the modules installed. I was told this probably wont make any difference but I would have rather had it at 400. |
| Target |
Posted - Dec 12 2005 : 12:19:04 Cool, saw a nice little performance jump going from 1 gig to 2 gigs of ram.
Still remeber playing Doom and Duke Nukem on 4 mbs of ram.
CFH:Target |
| HEARTBURN-OMO |
Posted - Dec 12 2005 : 12:00:50 2 gigs will bring a new face to BF2. You'll love it. |