karlhegna
Warlord
How do you install a graphics card? need help.
Can Your System Handle Civ IV?
- Thread starter Moosebox
- Start date
vStauffenberg
Graf
here's help: http://att.com.com/4520-3118_7-5023982-1.htmlkarlhegna said:
i have a hardware question myself: i've got a pentium M 1.6ghz, ati radeon mobility 9700 and 512mb ram (i passed the test program, but graphic card is only slightly above minimum). from what i've read here, i think i'm going to add some ram. i have one free ram slot.
512 ram (333mhz, 2.5v) is at about 60 euros (1 euro is roughly 1 american dollar). this would make total ram 1024mb
1gig ram (333mhz, 2.5v) is about 150 euros. this would make it 1536mb of total ram.
will it make a difference to have 1536mb instead of 1024mb for playing civ4?
what would you do? i just can'T decide...
Black_Hole
Deity
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2004
- Messages
- 3,424
some newer games require windows xp, however there may be ways around this; however chances are not...Monker said:
@ vStauffenberg - 1024 will be plenty, you may not even notice the difference with more than that. If you get a stick that matches your current one, you may be able to run in dual channel mode if your motherboard handles it. That would be my choice.
I generally recommend 256 for every 1G of processing power. Much more than that is usually overkill. Even 512 would be plenty in your case.
I'll have absolutely no problems with my current setups.
I generally recommend 256 for every 1G of processing power. Much more than that is usually overkill. Even 512 would be plenty in your case.
I'll have absolutely no problems with my current setups.
vStauffenberg
Graf
Lahdoz said:
thanks for the clear advice! i'll buy a 512 stick then...
but what's "dual channel mode"? is that faster? i have an asus a3823glh notebook. it needs ram type SO-DIMM DDR333, PC 2700, CL2.5
can you tell by these specs if it is dual channel compatible?
oldStatesman
Cybernaut
That is not absolutely true. Very general guidelines, mainly for workstations that don't run specialized apps --- such as graphic intensive games ( let's not even go into servers, cpu and RAM requirements...Lahdoz said:
)Very good place to start, but you also need to take into account things like Video shared memory if the card requires it.
I take a different philosophical approach - I reccommend to my customers that they buy as much RAM as they can comfortably afford depending on their usage needs. It DOES make a difference if you are running any apps that page intensively... I have found that XP itself likes 512 the best just for itself...and recomend at least 1 GIG total for a P4 equivalent system - 512 for XP and 512+ for apps. I run 1.5 Gig on a 2 mhz AMD processor XP machine...and I did notice a difference when I added the extra 512 over and beyond a gig.
The key is to buy what you feel comfortable with spending within reason ... and having more allows for easier future upgrades of your processor or OS. (Vista is on the near horizon...). However, take into accout that 64bit mainboards are going to be really affordable and mainstream in about a year or so...so don't overbuy for this reason alone as it will not do you much good because the whole mainboard will need to be upgraded then anyway.
All in all, because of the new 64bit architecture, for the next year or so we are at a tech cusp like the one in the late 80's/early 90's when the 386 architecture went mainstram and revoulutioized the pc...be careful upgrading 32bit machines for the next 18 months or so...(I got caught back then by being an uneducated consumer - talked into buying a 'deal' on a 286 machine...that was totally obsolete the month after I bought it when the 386's first appeared in the marketplace. Never again...)
doronron
King
vStauffenberg said:
Yes you can. "DDR" stands for "Dual Data Rate", or dual channel. I'm assuming you're running a laptop due to the ATI Mobility GPU you've listed. If that's the case, you'll need to be aware that not all laptop RAM is compatible with all laptops. I would suggest you keep handy the exact brand and model laptop you own, along with the type of ram it requires. Do a brand search on laptop RAM from an online store you trust. Once you've got a good list of companies that provide laptop RAM, you can check out their company websites. These sites usually possess a search function that will let you specify the type of RAM you need for a specific model of laptop. That'll tell you what brands and models of RAM is compatible with your machine.
oldStatesman
Cybernaut
And be careful..not all RAM is equal. Good quality gold Ram is much preferred over cheap silver RAM. Make sure you find a good supplier - it's a relationship that can last a lifetime.doronron said:
Always ask the supplier who made their RAM...and google the manufacturer to see if it is a good deal after all.doronron
King
Kingston is among the best, but expensive. I've had good price to quality ratios with PNY. There's another half dozen standard brands on the market, but I can't remember them all.
Dual Channel and DDR (Double Data Rate) are NOT the same. They are independent technologies. Dual Channel works by using identical RAM modules simultaneously in pairs (A and B channels). DDR is the method of reading and writing data to and from the actual chips contained on the modules.
@ vStauffenberg:
If your motherboard IS Dual Channel compatible you will be able to run both standard DDR and Dual Channel memory just fine. If on the other hand your motherboard is not Dual Channel compatible you will not get any benefit from installing Dual Channel memory, it will be fine but will operate in normal Single Channel mode.
I hope this makes sense.
@ vStauffenberg:
If your motherboard IS Dual Channel compatible you will be able to run both standard DDR and Dual Channel memory just fine. If on the other hand your motherboard is not Dual Channel compatible you will not get any benefit from installing Dual Channel memory, it will be fine but will operate in normal Single Channel mode.
I hope this makes sense.
vStauffenberg
Graf
thanks for all the help on the ram issue, everyone...
i was trying to find out if my laptop has dual channel compatability. i couldn't really find out, but i am guessing no, because: if "DDR" means "normal DDR" and "DDR2" means "Dual Channel DDR" then my laptop doesn't have dual channel. can anyone help out again?
viz said:Dual Channel and DDR (Double Data Rate) are NOT the same. They are independent technologies. Dual Channel works by using identical RAM modules simultaneously in pairs (A and B channels). DDR is the method of reading and writing data to and from the actual chips contained on the modules.
@ vStauffenberg:
If your motherboard IS Dual Channel compatible you will be able to run both standard DDR and Dual Channel memory just fine. If on the other hand your motherboard is not Dual Channel compatible you will not get any benefit from installing Dual Channel memory, it will be fine but will operate in normal Single Channel mode.
I hope this makes sense.
i was trying to find out if my laptop has dual channel compatability. i couldn't really find out, but i am guessing no, because: if "DDR" means "normal DDR" and "DDR2" means "Dual Channel DDR" then my laptop doesn't have dual channel. can anyone help out again?
vStauffenberg said:
DDR2 is also independent from Dual Channel. DDR2 is simply a revised DDR with higher clock speed, it is incompatible with DDR because the module has more pins.
I think what Lahdoz meant was that if you added a further 512Mb module to your existing 512 (that's asuming it is one module you have, it could be two 256 modules) then you would be able to use the two modules in Dual Channel mode as long as your motherboard supports it.
I did a quick search for your system, if this (and this) is your system is does not support Dual Channel mode, I also checked the Intel site for details about the motherboard (here). After browsing the Intel site I can say that the i915PM chipset supports Dual Channel but as in your case, the i855PM chipset does not.
If your 512MB is a single module you will be able to simply pop a new module (SO-DIMM DDR333 512MB) in alongside your existing module with no worries.
vStauffenberg
Graf
viz said:
i really have to thank you for all the useful info! this is exactly my system (asus a3823glh). as i know for sure now that it doesn't support dual channel, at least i don't have to keep searching...
important thing is, thank god there's indeed a single module 512 stick in the system, so there's one free slot, in which i will put another SO-DIMM DDR333 512MB as you advised...
I'm glad to help a fellow civ junkievStauffenberg said:i really have to thank you for all the useful info! this is exactly my system (asus a3823glh). as i know for sure now that it doesn't support dual channel, at least i don't have to keep searching...
important thing is, thank god there's indeed a single module 512 stick in the system, so there's one free slot, in which i will put another SO-DIMM DDR333 512MB as you advised...
vStauffenberg
Graf
@viz, @Junuxx: I actually am a civ junkie, considering I never would have bought a laptop with 3d graphics if I hadn't heard in february that civ4 was going to be 3D! The only thing I need 3D for!
I never play anything else but civ...
btw, in general i can really recommend the asus a3823glh, it is now at only little more than a 1000euros if you look hard enough. especially the fact that only one memory slot is used is nice and of course the display (1400x1050), i hope the radeon 9700 will be fast enough for this resolution for civ4, that would be so cool.... (we'll see...)
for anyone now looking for a laptop able to run civ4, probably more recent graphics should be recommended, like the radeon x700 .. of course, those are a lot more expensive, so as always, it depends on budget...
I never play anything else but civ...
btw, in general i can really recommend the asus a3823glh, it is now at only little more than a 1000euros if you look hard enough. especially the fact that only one memory slot is used is nice and of course the display (1400x1050), i hope the radeon 9700 will be fast enough for this resolution for civ4, that would be so cool.... (we'll see...)
for anyone now looking for a laptop able to run civ4, probably more recent graphics should be recommended, like the radeon x700 .. of course, those are a lot more expensive, so as always, it depends on budget...
