Would you PLEASE help me with a question...
- Thread starter 123joanna321
- Start date
It'll run like crap. So no, it will not run.
1. Your processor is far too slow. Minimum is 500mhz for SC4.
2. Your RAM meets minimum specs, but it's not enough really if you want to play for a long while. I recommend at least 320 MB of ram for that game.
You need a new processor and motherboard with more RAM. You can get all those things for roughly 300 dollars for a not-so-top-of-the-line system.
1. Your processor is far too slow. Minimum is 500mhz for SC4.
2. Your RAM meets minimum specs, but it's not enough really if you want to play for a long while. I recommend at least 320 MB of ram for that game.
You need a new processor and motherboard with more RAM. You can get all those things for roughly 300 dollars for a not-so-top-of-the-line system.
Excuting the motherboard, how much? (and can't I set it to minimum detail?)
Sodapop
Teh pop in teh can
Hmmmm, actually, you have to convert to Canadian dollar...
And SimCity runs like crap on my Athlon 900 (256 Mb of RAM). Well, maybe not like crap, but it's not what I would call perfect... I wouldn't suggest going under 1 Ghz, and going to something > 256 Mb of RAM.
As for the new parts, if you search a bit, you'll probably be able to find some store in your area that still sells old athlon-tbird or duron (which are around 50-60 bucks nowaday), and with a motherboard that goes with it, you can expect to pay at least 120$ with the taxes total (I just looked at a local store that normally has quite cheap prices, and the cheapest socket A mobo I've seen is sold at around 65$)... And then you'll probably need some more ram, as SimCity is not that much of a CPU drain, but is definitely hard on the RAM (a 256MB stick is around 50$, and a 512MB around 100$).
Also, before upgrading, tell us what your video card is, because if it is not recent enough, you might have a problem there too...
And SimCity runs like crap on my Athlon 900 (256 Mb of RAM). Well, maybe not like crap, but it's not what I would call perfect... I wouldn't suggest going under 1 Ghz, and going to something > 256 Mb of RAM.
As for the new parts, if you search a bit, you'll probably be able to find some store in your area that still sells old athlon-tbird or duron (which are around 50-60 bucks nowaday), and with a motherboard that goes with it, you can expect to pay at least 120$ with the taxes total (I just looked at a local store that normally has quite cheap prices, and the cheapest socket A mobo I've seen is sold at around 65$)... And then you'll probably need some more ram, as SimCity is not that much of a CPU drain, but is definitely hard on the RAM (a 256MB stick is around 50$, and a 512MB around 100$).
Also, before upgrading, tell us what your video card is, because if it is not recent enough, you might have a problem there too...
Sodapop
Teh pop in teh can
Hmmm, 4 MB is definitely not enough... After looking a bit on EA's tech support...
So that means that after the mobo, the cpu, and the RAM you need a new video card too :s The cheapest supported card I could still find on the above mentionned store are Geforce 2 MX, which are around 40 bucks... There's also a Geforce 4 MX at 50$ and a radeon 7000 at 50$ too...
So if we add everything
CPU -- 50$
Mobo - 65$
RAM -- 50$
GeForce2 Mx -- 40$
So that makes more or less 200 bucks, plus taxes... But this is probably one of the cheapest upgrade you will be able to gather to get the game working. Oh, and I'm not familiar with dells, but make sure that you can actually remove the parts and replace them, as I recall that my old IBM was made in a way you couldn't remove anything in the box...
So that means that after the mobo, the cpu, and the RAM you need a new video card too :s The cheapest supported card I could still find on the above mentionned store are Geforce 2 MX, which are around 40 bucks... There's also a Geforce 4 MX at 50$ and a radeon 7000 at 50$ too...
So if we add everything
CPU -- 50$
Mobo - 65$
RAM -- 50$
GeForce2 Mx -- 40$
So that makes more or less 200 bucks, plus taxes... But this is probably one of the cheapest upgrade you will be able to gather to get the game working. Oh, and I'm not familiar with dells, but make sure that you can actually remove the parts and replace them, as I recall that my old IBM was made in a way you couldn't remove anything in the box...
A video card will only help when you're scrolling, it will not help with performance. The only two performance boosters would be a CPU and RAM.
I am running SC4 on a 1 gig Pentium III and 320MB of SDRAM with a GEForce 3 Ti200 video card. When I play, I play with every setting at low because it runs horribly choppy in large cities. The game is not graphics intensive, but it is definately a memory hog. I recommend buying a Pentium 4 processor (preferredly one that supports hyperthreading) and a motherboard that takes either RD or DDR RAM. Buy at the very least 512MB of that RAM, and then you could play without having to worry about performance too much. I don't recommend sticking with SDRAM because it's slower than both DDR and RD RAM. RD is the better of the three, followed by DDR and then SDRAM.
Sticking with your current motherboard probably wont help you much in performance/ upgradability.
I am running SC4 on a 1 gig Pentium III and 320MB of SDRAM with a GEForce 3 Ti200 video card. When I play, I play with every setting at low because it runs horribly choppy in large cities. The game is not graphics intensive, but it is definately a memory hog. I recommend buying a Pentium 4 processor (preferredly one that supports hyperthreading) and a motherboard that takes either RD or DDR RAM. Buy at the very least 512MB of that RAM, and then you could play without having to worry about performance too much. I don't recommend sticking with SDRAM because it's slower than both DDR and RD RAM. RD is the better of the three, followed by DDR and then SDRAM.
Sticking with your current motherboard probably wont help you much in performance/ upgradability.
Sodapop
Teh pop in teh can
Well, you have to admit that on a 4 Mb card that doesn't have 3D acceleration, the graphics are going to be quite... Ugh... The card memory keeps the textures, so err, 4 MBs won't keep much...
And I would have suggested a 3.2 Ghz Pentium 4 too, with hyper-threading and all... But considering john is looking for a cheap upgrade, going with an old duron/athlon is probably the cheapest way to play the game.
And as for the RAM, DDR and Rambus are almost the same (it all depends on DDR frequency), only that Rambus is dirty expensive (which is why intel dropped them after the first few pentium 4)...
And his current motherboard won't be able to hold anything more than a Pentium 2 anyway, as the new CPU won't fit in the socket anyway...
P.S. Just by saying the word hyperthreading, the CPU goes well over the maximum cost of 200 dollars
So, all I need is $205+Game price+taxes to get it runing? Another thing, does it matter if its used or not?
*Staring to think it would be easier to a a ps2 with game than upgrade computer*
Sodapop
Teh pop in teh can
Well depending on the prices you find I'd say yes...
And uh, no it doesn't matter wheter the hardware is second hand or not... Actually, if you can get your things second hand, you'll either be able to save or get something even better...
And the cost isn't that much. Keep in mind that the best video card on the market right now cost almost 700$, so it's not THAT bad
Oh, and as I said, check if there's
A) enough place for the motherboard, as I'm not sure about old cases
B) computer components are replaceable (often a problem that comes with brand-name)
C) your power-supply can handle the new parts
And uh, no it doesn't matter wheter the hardware is second hand or not... Actually, if you can get your things second hand, you'll either be able to save or get something even better...
And the cost isn't that much. Keep in mind that the best video card on the market right now cost almost 700$, so it's not THAT bad
Oh, and as I said, check if there's
A) enough place for the motherboard, as I'm not sure about old cases
B) computer components are replaceable (often a problem that comes with brand-name)
C) your power-supply can handle the new parts
Originally posted by Unknown soldier
Well depending on the prices you find I'd say yes...
And uh, no it doesn't matter wheter the hardware is second hand or not... Actually, if you can get your things second hand, you'll either be able to save or get something even better...
And the cost isn't that much. Keep in mind that the best video card on the market right now cost almost 700$, so it's not THAT bad
Oh, and as I said, check if there's
A) enough place for the motherboard, as I'm not sure about old cases
B) computer components are replaceable (often a problem that comes with brand-name)
C) your power-supply can handle the new parts
Well another thing, its custom build, so... I guess it would it would fill a,b, & c.
Yeah you're right on a lot of that Unknown Soldier - I mentioned that the video card wont help much meaning that he doesn't need to go get a high end video card to make the game run faster, but he definately does need a new card.
Another thing U.S. mentioned was that your case will need to handle the motherboard - that is key. Pentium 4s and the motherboards take up more power than your standard P II case may have, so you may need a new power supply altogether. (Personally I'd just buy a new case with the power supply rather than the power supply itself, but its your perogative.)
Seriously though, if you want to upgrade it's probably going to run you a few bucks. Your specifications say that the computer is a Dell. If it's a Dell then IIRC you can call them and say you want to send in your old computer and upgrade to a new one for a discount. You can always try that as well.
Anyhow, good luck to you
Another thing U.S. mentioned was that your case will need to handle the motherboard - that is key. Pentium 4s and the motherboards take up more power than your standard P II case may have, so you may need a new power supply altogether. (Personally I'd just buy a new case with the power supply rather than the power supply itself, but its your perogative.)
Seriously though, if you want to upgrade it's probably going to run you a few bucks. Your specifications say that the computer is a Dell. If it's a Dell then IIRC you can call them and say you want to send in your old computer and upgrade to a new one for a discount. You can always try that as well.
Anyhow, good luck to you
Thanks for all the help guys!
Similar threads
