Ok....I did it.

[Iggy]

I bit into the "Holiday Sale", and bought the OB. (Why do I think of tampons, whenever I call the Orange Box, OB? Oh, there IS an analagy there....but more on that another time.)

25% off, yeah....I bit.
Portal is amusing, but seems to run slow...and that VOX is REAL annoying. Any way to change that?
TF2.....Yeah....I tried it....and even at a low res it's choppy as hell. I just updated my video drivers, but man.....that choppiness gave me a headache.

Haven't tried HL2:ep2 yet...I'll get to that later.

[zSilver_Fox]

What kind of system do you have right now? TF2 shouldn't run TOO choppy.

I loved Portal .

[StatisticZ]

Portal was over rated IMO, it was a great game, but it wasn't all that 'great'. If that makes any sense.. I think I contradicted myself.

[Iggy]

Originally Posted by zSilver_Fox

What kind of system do you have right now? TF2 shouldn't run TOO choppy.

I loved Portal .

I have a Gateway 812GM....with 1GB RAM, an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ processor @ 2.2 Ghz and GeForce 6200LE video card w/256mb.

[KubeDawg]

Originally Posted by Iggy

I bit into the "Holiday Sale", and bought the OB. (Why do I think of tampons, whenever I call the Orange Box, OB? Oh, there IS an analagy there....but more on that another time.)

25% off, yeah....I bit.
Portal is amusing, but seems to run slow...and that VOX is REAL annoying. Any way to change that?
TF2.....Yeah....I tried it....and even at a low res it's choppy as hell. I just updated my video drivers, but man.....that choppiness gave me a headache.

Haven't tried HL2:ep2 yet...I'll get to that later.

Your not serious are you? The VOX, or Glad0s, is what MAKES the game. I promise it gets better as you start finishing levels..... Hell I even downloaded a GCF thingy so I could get the sounds to play on CS!

[zSilver_Fox]

Depends on what kind of game you like. Logic teasers like Portal, to me, are excellent fun. Then again I don't get off WoW enough to use my brain very much, so I burn more calories that way than anything else.

EDIT: Oh no wonder you're playing so poorly . May want to build yourself a new computer, that thing is a POS. Processor isn't THAT bad, but the video card... *hisses* That thing was designed for basic home use, not gaming.

[Iggy]

Just because Circuit City upped my available credit doesn't mean I can afford to go buy a new computer every couple of years.

However, if a new video card is in order.....start talking. Give me some hints. I have the red connector inside(I don't know which kind of connector you would call that....AGP?)

I have no problems spending a little for more power(video card and/or system memory)....but I can't afford a whole new rig.

[zSilver_Fox]

My computer was new about five years ago. It may be AGP... does it have a notch by the back of the case or farther towards the front? How long is it?

[KubeDawg]

Some PCI-E card slots also have a similar notch... Best thing to do is to get the model number and brand of your motherboard that way you can see what it supports. Otherwise it's trial and error on your part.

[Iggy]

I just noticed that there is a small bit of lettering above the connector that reads: AGP1.

The following is a slightly different version of the same board I have:



The only REAL difference I can see, is the chip(?) above the connector that reads: MSI DDR....reads AGP8X on mine.

(I have my side cover open, to increase airflow...so I could even take a pic myself...but I'm kinda lazy.)

[4est]

A New video card will not really help you.

you need a new CPU... which means a new motherboard

and new ram...


oh.. and then a new vid card....
.
.
.
Maybe a new power supply....

[Crazycarl]

I fell for the 25% off deal too and got the orange box, but I have dial-up. I really hope I can get on broadband somewhere and download this stuff, because at this rate by the time I get to play it the price will have dropped again.

<-has a slower computer than Iggy but at least it's not a Gateway.
<-Currently downloading EP1 at 3.3 KB/s

[BinaryLife]

Originally Posted by 4est

A New video card will not really help you.

you need a new CPU... which means a new motherboard

and new ram...


oh.. and then a new vid card....
.
.
.
Maybe a new power supply....

lol I just went through all that. Soon as ya get one thing it's another.

new Vid Card, new power supply to handle the new vid card, new fans to replace the ones that don't fit because of the new power supply, and now new ram.

[Iggy]

Originally Posted by 4est

A New video card will not really help you.

you need a new CPU... which means a new motherboard

and new ram...


oh.. and then a new vid card....
.
.
.
Maybe a new power supply....

Wait....why do I need a new CPU?

Everything in there works fine. HL2 runs fine....only lags if there is a lot going on at once on the screen. FF runs fine. Why should Portal and TF2 not run the same?

[KubeDawg]

Question, what type of video card do you currently have? If it's halfway decent, get an extra stick of ram, preferably 512-1024mb.

[Iggy]

Aight...one of my [AE] clanmates pointed me to a Steam test that told me that my video drivers were out of date. I've (hopefully) installed the newest.....off to find out if that cures it.

Edit: Kube, look back at an earlier post...I detailed the card I have.

[zSilver_Fox]

You removed the old ones properly right?

And yes, that's AGP. However, I doubt you could get one that your PSU could handle too well. You can probably find an FSP Source PSU for cheap... processor is fine. RAM is fine. That's all you'll need to upgrade.



I've never seen fans being in the way of power supplies... unless you've got a MicroATX case or something... PSU and video card should be fine. I'd recommend building an entirely new system myself just out of spite for the fact that it's a prebuilt, but that'd be stupid.

[Mooga]

Originally Posted by Iggy

I have a Gateway 812GM....with 1GB RAM, an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ processor @ 2.2 Ghz and GeForce 6200LE video card w/256mb.

My processor is a 2.0Ghz also (But Mine is a p4 POS). Run TF2 with DX81. It'll be a LOT better

[A Boojum Snark]

Originally Posted by Iggy

Wait....why do I need a new CPU?

Everything in there works fine. HL2 runs fine....only lags if there is a lot going on at once on the screen. FF runs fine. Why should Portal and TF2 not run the same?

I'm actually wondering about that myself. I know they changed the engine with the Orange Box, but it was all about making it run better... I can run orange box games at a better framerate than HL2, on the next higher screen resolution.

[Suite307]

Originally Posted by A Boojum Snark

I'm actually wondering about that myself. I know they changed the engine with the Orange Box, but it was all about making it run better... I can run orange box games at a better framerate than HL2, on the next higher screen resolution.

New version of Source Engine.