Are my computer's specs good for HL2?

[vsaravia]

I know on the box it says that the recommeded cpu speed is 2.4 GHz. But, I have a 2.2 GHz (Altholon 64), and was wondering if the 200Mhz really makes a difference in game play?

The rest of the specs are as follows:

RAM: Currently 512MB, but going to upgrade to 1GB
Video: Nvidia 5200 FX Asylum 256MB (should I upgrade this?)
HD: 40GB, but I want to add a seperate HD specifically for gaming.

As far as game play goes for now, everything runs well and fast, but the loading takes a few seconds to load. Probably like 30 seconds or so.

Thanks!

 

[Malfunction]

Your CPU is fine, A64s are great, but your HD, video card, and RAM could all use some upgrading. I'd upgrade them in that order too, HD, GPU, RAM. Man, 40gb, small.

 

[bosox188]

Oh forget that, when they say 2.4ghz they pretty much mean a 2.4ghz P4 or AthlonXP 2400+. An Athlon 64 is way better even though the clock speed is 2.2ghz, don't worry Athlon 64's are the best. The thing you really need to upgrade is the video card definitely, the RAM can wait 512 is still good. But yes definitely upgrade the video card. I don't know how much you can spend but just give your budget.

 

[vsaravia]

I guess for the video card, somewhere around $100 would be okay for me. Most of my paycheck goes to my computer anyway, so as long as it works and doesn't give problems I'll spend the money on it.

Also, about a new Hard Drive. I have been using the IDE Hard Drives for a while now, but I'm kind of curious about the newer SATA Hard Drives and if they are better than the IDE drives, speed wise and ease of configuration. If I do get a new hard drive, I'll probably go with 120GB, because I plan on adding lots of games. What hard drive manufactuers would you recommend?

Thanks.

 

[Subatomic]

Save for a 9600XT, $140. Any 120GB HDD with a 8MB cache should be fine, IDE or SATA

 

[Malfunction]

Either buy a 9600XT, but preferrably, if you can afford it, a 9800 Pro.

Try to get a HD made by Western Digital, Maxtor, Hitachi, or Seagate. All fine manufacturers.

 

[destrukt]

you really don't need to upgrade your ram, unless you plan on doing heavy video-editing or playing everquest 2.

unless, your ram is a slower speed. what is it ?

 

[[Matt]]

I would say all you need is a video card upgrade.

 

[Bullseye]

yeah the vid card...
i got a 1.6 GHZ CPU and can run the game on medium graphics... with around.. 25 fps or so..witch is pretty good for my pc specs

 

[vsaravia]

Okay, thanks everyone for the information. I'll just be upgrading the video card for now. I'll probably go with the 9800 Pro.