Question from a PC noob...

[V da Mighty Taco]

I just recently installed TF2, and after updating the graphics drivers and setting the game's resolution down to 600 x 480 I find that the game runs smooth enough until I come across a group of 3 or more (friendlies included). As you probably expect me to say, the game starts stuttering pretty badly and makes it difficult to play (especially with the Sniper or Spy. Heavy can be tolerable). I looked up the specs and here's what I came across...

OS: Windows Vista Home Basic (6.0, Build 6000)
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3800+, ~2.4GHz
RAM: 1406MB RAM (though I thought I seen it say 512MB earlier)
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
DirectX 10

So I'm wondering, what do I need to upgrade to get this running properly? Or is there something I can do with my current specs to get this running smoother? I don't care about graphical quality that much and I don't have that much to spend, so please don't just tell me to go out and buy the latest stuff or to completely rebuild the computer. I just want the minimum that'll allow me to actually play this game without me feeling like I'm watching a slideshow. Also, thanks everypony for any advice you guys do give me.

 

[kebab4you]

Hmm, I would suggest upgrading RAM, 4GB isn't that expensive around $80 or so.

And just to be sure about your specs, open up the start menu and type in "DxDiag" and run the check.

 

[V da Mighty Taco]

Hmm, I would suggest upgrading RAM, 4GB isn't that expensive around $80 or so.

And just to be sure about your specs, open up the start menu and type in "DxDiag" and run the check.

That's what I did to see my specs. Anyway's $80 is more than I can afford right now, but thanks for the info anyways. Any other tips?

 

[kebab4you]

Hmm, I would suggest upgrading RAM, 4GB isn't that expensive around $80 or so.

And just to be sure about your specs, open up the start menu and type in "DxDiag" and run the check.

That's what I did to see my specs. Anyway's $80 is more than I can afford right now, but thanks for the info anyways. Any other tips?

Um it might help if you get a program like game booster(free version exists, and what it does is that it´s shut down a couple of windows program that doesn't need to be running while gaming)

 

[mocruz1200]

Hmm, I would suggest upgrading RAM, 4GB isn't that expensive around $80 or so.

And just to be sure about your specs, open up the start menu and type in "DxDiag" and run the check.

That's what I did to see my specs. Anyway's $80 is more than I can afford right now, but thanks for the info anyways. Any other tips?

dont PC game. it never stops getting expensive. save your money, buy upgrades.

or buy TFC for 2.99. i think its better than TF2 anyway

 

[Nargleblarg]

Hmm, I would suggest upgrading RAM, 4GB isn't that expensive around $80 or so.

And just to be sure about your specs, open up the start menu and type in "DxDiag" and run the check.

That's what I did to see my specs. Anyway's $80 is more than I can afford right now, but thanks for the info anyways. Any other tips?

Can't think of much really; you are running it as efficientally as possible for what you have. I think your RAM is really all that needs upgrading to increase the speed.

 

[synobal]

Get rid of Vista if you can, Windows 7 is actually better performance wise and it's what everyone codes for these days. Also I'd suggest getting at least a dual core processor if not a quadcore.

 

[JimmyC99]

The best thing i can see for you is to get more RAM (Ram's pritty cheap and 2-4gb will sort you perfectly)

and maby eventually get a new GFX card. you can get a nVidea GTX 550Ti for like £150. also if that processor doesnt fit (its a PCI-E card) then you can find some nice AGP cards out there.

 

[TheEggplant]

Echoing what others have said. An integrated gfx chip just isn't going to cut it even for TF2. Upgrading that will be more expensive than $80, but you don't need a modern one because, as already said, it won't do much good with that processor. It depends on the kind of slots you have available. There really isn't anything you can do with software to make it run better.

 

[Mariena]

Wow. That graphics chip you have is ancient. That thing is.. what.. 7 years old? The CPU is from the same era..

You definitely want some more memory as well, as Vista (and Win7) like to eat their share of memory.

Well, what can I say? Your computer is pretty dang old. It's all from 2004/2005. In your position I would throw the whole thing away and start from scratch, but a memory and GPU upgrade will do .. I suppose.

 

[V da Mighty Taco]

Where's a good place to get RAM for cheap? I'd prefer it if it wasn't an online store, since I'm not a fan of credit cards and avoid using them whenever possible.

Hmm, I would suggest upgrading RAM, 4GB isn't that expensive around $80 or so.

And just to be sure about your specs, open up the start menu and type in "DxDiag" and run the check.

That's what I did to see my specs. Anyway's $80 is more than I can afford right now, but thanks for the info anyways. Any other tips?

dont PC game. it never stops getting expensive. save your money, buy upgrades.

or buy TFC for 2.99. i think its better than TF2 anyway

TF2's support is atrocious on consoles, is still very fun, is a few years old (not a technical powerhouse by today's standards, which makes it more managable on older PCs), has pony mods, and is f2p. I definitely want in.

 

[Thamous]

There really isn't a whole lot you can do to improve performance as it is. You would see the a massive performance increase with a discrete video card however given your budget and your current build that simply isn't feasible. Assuming your motherboard has a PCI Express slot, which is required for modern GPUs, the rest of your build would end up severly limiting its performance. If your motherboard is as old as your processor you can't really update your processor as nothing modern will work. I don't know the state of your motherboard so I can't say for sure. You could get some less than modern parts that would work better with your system but they will be just as outdated as what you have now not too long from now and you would just be replacing them very soon. In all honesty, you're better off just completely rebuilding that system than upgrading anyone part. I know that wasn't the advice but rebuilding it is about the minimum you can do.

 

[StBishop]

Wow. That graphics chip you have is ancient. That thing is.. what.. 7 years old? The CPU is from the same era..

You definitely want some more memory as well, as Vista (and Win7) like to eat their share of memory.

Well, what can I say? Your computer is pretty dang old. It's all from 2004/2005. In your position I would throw the whole thing away and start from scratch, but a memory and GPU upgrade will do .. I suppose.

This. Play it as is for now and save up $500.00 or local equivalent and build a new one.

 

[Sub_par]

to run that game on vista you need at minimum 2 gigs of ram, i run TF2 on my 6 y.o. with the same ram as you at 1920x1080. I do, however, have an nvidia 9800+ (1 gig), by no means a great chip anymore, but it gets the job done and I got it for about $110 about a year and a half ago. RAM and GPU and I would say you are set.


EDIT:
just looked up that processor, and it is a single core (I thought it was a dual-core), that could be a big part of the problem. with that CPU you can run it but you will probably need to set some of the CPU dependent effects down

 

[RicoADF]

I just recently installed TF2, and after updating the graphics drivers and setting the game's resolution down to 600 x 480 I find that the game runs smooth enough until I come across a group of 3 or more (friendlies included). As you probably expect me to say, the game starts stuttering pretty badly and makes it difficult to play (especially with the Sniper or Spy. Heavy can be tolerable). I looked up the specs and here's what I came across...

OS: Windows Vista Home Basic (6.0, Build 6000)
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3800+, ~2.4GHz
RAM: 1406MB RAM (though I thought I seen it say 512MB earlier)
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
DirectX 10

So I'm wondering, what do I need to upgrade to get this running properly? Or is there something I can do with my current specs to get this running smoother? I don't care about graphical quality that much and I don't have that much to spend, so please don't just tell me to go out and buy the latest stuff or to completely rebuild the computer. I just want the minimum that'll allow me to actually play this game without me feeling like I'm watching a slideshow. Also, thanks everypony for any advice you guys do give me.

Roll back to Windows XP, Windows Vista requires a more powerful pc than you have to run efficiently. Thats the only way a computer that old could be improved. RAM etc being sold now would be far too powerful for that machine and either wont work at all or will overload and fry the older parts.

Obviously the best option is to get a new computer (their not that expensive, even a standard PC with a video card added in will run fine). But I'm guessing funds are tight so rolling back to XP is your only option until you can save up for a new machine.

 

[V da Mighty Taco]

I just recently installed TF2, and after updating the graphics drivers and setting the game's resolution down to 600 x 480 I find that the game runs smooth enough until I come across a group of 3 or more (friendlies included). As you probably expect me to say, the game starts stuttering pretty badly and makes it difficult to play (especially with the Sniper or Spy. Heavy can be tolerable). I looked up the specs and here's what I came across...

OS: Windows Vista Home Basic (6.0, Build 6000)
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3800+, ~2.4GHz
RAM: 1406MB RAM (though I thought I seen it say 512MB earlier)
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
DirectX 10

So I'm wondering, what do I need to upgrade to get this running properly? Or is there something I can do with my current specs to get this running smoother? I don't care about graphical quality that much and I don't have that much to spend, so please don't just tell me to go out and buy the latest stuff or to completely rebuild the computer. I just want the minimum that'll allow me to actually play this game without me feeling like I'm watching a slideshow. Also, thanks everypony for any advice you guys do give me.

Roll back to Windows XP, Windows Vista requires a more powerful pc than you have to run efficiently. Thats the only way a computer that old could be improved. RAM etc being sold now would be far too powerful for that machine and either wont work at all or will overload and fry the older parts.

Obviously the best option is to get a new computer (their not that expensive, even a standard PC with a video card added in will run fine). But I'm guessing funds are tight so rolling back to XP is your only option until you can save up for a new machine.

How would I go about doing that? The computer came with Vista (got it used). Do I need to buy XP? Anyways I probably will flat-out get a new system eventually, but that'll take some time.

 

[Inconspicuous Trenchcoat]

The main problem is your ancient graphics card. 512MB of RAM is way too low especially using Vista. And a single core processor. Considering your budget is small, I'd advise you to just wait it out and buy a new system. That one is not worth putting money into at this point in my opinion.

Newegg.com does still sell AGP graphics cards. However, you gotta figure out if you have an AGP or PCI-e slot. There's guides out there, simply google it.

As a basic reference: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-6950-1gb-geforce-gtx-560-ti-gaming-graphics-card,2857-7.html

That's a good list of the relative power of newer and older graphics cards. There's more recent versions of that list too, if you look for it. See how far down your 6150 is? It's only a chunk better than the freakin' TNT cards. Your card is OLD hehe.

Even if you upgrade both your RAM and video card, 32 player servers may still give you trouble with that processor. Once upon a time I had: Win XP, 3.1GHZ Xeon (built when Pentium 4s were awesome, not a newer Xeon), 2GB RAM and a Nvidia 7800GS and 32 player servers lagged too much for me on 1280x1024 resolution. So there's that as a point of reference.

 

[Thamous]

I just recently installed TF2, and after updating the graphics drivers and setting the game's resolution down to 600 x 480 I find that the game runs smooth enough until I come across a group of 3 or more (friendlies included). As you probably expect me to say, the game starts stuttering pretty badly and makes it difficult to play (especially with the Sniper or Spy. Heavy can be tolerable). I looked up the specs and here's what I came across...

OS: Windows Vista Home Basic (6.0, Build 6000)
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3800+, ~2.4GHz
RAM: 1406MB RAM (though I thought I seen it say 512MB earlier)
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
DirectX 10

So I'm wondering, what do I need to upgrade to get this running properly? Or is there something I can do with my current specs to get this running smoother? I don't care about graphical quality that much and I don't have that much to spend, so please don't just tell me to go out and buy the latest stuff or to completely rebuild the computer. I just want the minimum that'll allow me to actually play this game without me feeling like I'm watching a slideshow. Also, thanks everypony for any advice you guys do give me.

Roll back to Windows XP, Windows Vista requires a more powerful pc than you have to run efficiently. Thats the only way a computer that old could be improved. RAM etc being sold now would be far too powerful for that machine and either wont work at all or will overload and fry the older parts.

Obviously the best option is to get a new computer (their not that expensive, even a standard PC with a video card added in will run fine). But I'm guessing funds are tight so rolling back to XP is your only option until you can save up for a new machine.

How would I go about doing that? The computer came with Vista (got it used). Do I need to buy XP? Anyways I probably will flat-out get a new system eventually, but that'll take some time.

Yes, you would need to buy XP again, as far as I know. The cheapest you will be able to get it is 100$ but the performance increase in terms of gaming will be minuscule if any increase occurs at all. It certainly will not justify the 100$ price tag. You really are better off just completely rebuilding or buying a new system.

 

[Rawne1980]

dont PC game. it never stops getting expensive.

I'll have to agree with this comment here.

From your specs listed you have a basic, bog standard PC. It will run some games on low settings but you will encounter quite a bit of lag/frame rate stutter.

To run on decent settings you need at least a 3.1ghz processor and a minimum of 4gig ram.

Your graphics also need a bit of a bump. To get a mid range card will set you back close to $150"ish" (i'm assuming here I don't know how prices work in America I just know mid range cards are around £100 here).

If I remember rightly the 430 is integrated so "not very good for gaming" would be my view.

As I said in another thread, PC gaming can be costly if you want to run at a decent setting.

You could try running Game Booster as someone said above. You don't have "fantastic" specs but it may just give you enough of a boost to play TF2. Just don't play Crysis or your PC will cry.