do I need to upgrade to play HL2?

[Rickyohead]

hi all. i've been looking forward to hl2 for years now...not a serious gamer, but I like to play major titles.

I know my comp meets the minimum requirements, but how enjoyable will my experience be?

athlon xp 1800+
1gb pc2100 ram
GeForce 2 Ti 64mb

I definitely want a new video card, I think my mobo is max 4x AGP. Will a 9800 pro be overkill on my sytstem? I'm not obsessed with detail or resolution, I just want to get playable FPS and have a smooth gaming experience.

if I had the money, i'd upgrade the MB, processor, and RAM in a heartbeat...any advice would be great. thanks.

 

[Kristafon]

No your fine to go
Get hl2 and put it straight up to max

 

[Rickyohead]

No your fine to go
Get hl2 and put it straight up to max

:upstare:
can someone give me a serious answer?

i know i definitely need a new GPU, is the 9800pro overkill for my PC?

 

[Hectic Glenn]

You'll pass HL2 with that processor and ram fine. That gfx card needs the most attention. 9800 pro would be great, what power supply wattage do you have? If its not 300 or so, then perhaps a 9600XT is better, thats what i did cos im only 250w. Both cards are relatively dirt cheap now considering they'll do a good job. Both within the £100 mark!

 

[blahblahblah]

I definitely want a new video card, I think my mobo is max 4x AGP. Will a 9800 pro be overkill on my sytstem? I'm not obsessed with detail or resolution, I just want to get playable FPS and have a smooth gaming experience.

if I had the money, i'd upgrade the MB, processor, and RAM in a heartbeat...any advice would be great. thanks.

Sounds like you are a casual gamer. A gamer who wants to enjoy games, but doesn't want to spend the money on a top of the line system.

I would recommend buying a ATI Radeon 9600 Pro (120 USD) or 9600 XT (140 USD). Either of those cards will play HL2 at good detail settings. The 9600XT is 10% faster than the 9600 Pro. Those cards are targeting towards people who want to game, but are not obsessed with performance/detail/resolution.

For $200, a 9800 Pro would provide you with better performance (30% faster than the 9600XT). This will give you better future proofing if you plan to play more games in the future and wish to upgrade your computer.

 

[JimmyPage]

I dont think you'll see the full performance of the 9800 with that processor tbh, not that its a terrible setup.

So in that sense the 9800 might be 'overkill', yeah.

Reckon you could get a faster processor + the card for pretty cheap at the moment. If you're in the US I hear newegg.com run some pretty good deals if you wanna take a look at that

 

[Rickyohead]

thanks so much for all the advice. i can't wait to play this darn game, even if i'm down to 256 colors and 640x480.

i have to double check on my power supply...right now the 9600xt might be the best option considering my current setup.

 

[h4vvok]

Bah, get a 9700 pro off ebay...equal performance to a 9800 regular non-pro (actually a bit better according to tom's hardware site) and you can get a nice 9700 pro for about 140$ USD shipping included (mine came with ram heatsinks )

 

[Eg.]

be like me

comp at time of hl2 annouced;
1.8 gig p4
512 SDram
gforce 4 4200

sept30 03
3ghz p4
512 drr ram
9800pro 128meg

now:

in the mail amd 64 bit 3500 90nm
1 gig ram
x800 xtpe

 

[bryanf445]

be like me

comp at time of hl2 annouced;
1.8 gig p4
512 SDram
gforce 4 4200

sept30 03
3ghz p4
512 drr ram
9800pro 128meg

now:

in the mail amd 64 bit 3500 90nm
1 gig ram
x800 xtpe

haha nice

 

[Eg.]

mind u i have no money for food or games, but my bragging rights are hueg like t3h Xbox

 

[Navy Man]

to give you a indication of what it might be like i'll compare it to my comp.

Athlon 1800XP
512 DDR266
Radeon 9600XT Bravo edition

Now in the video stress test i get 50fps with medium texture and models, 1024x768. Tbh its very playable in CS:S, so yer thats what you might expect from a Radeon 9600XT

GL shopping

 

[Rickyohead]

to give you a indication of what it might be like i'll compare it to my comp.

Athlon 1800XP
512 DDR266
Radeon 9600XT Bravo edition

Now in the video stress test i get 50fps with medium texture and models, 1024x768. Tbh its very playable in CS:S, so yer thats what you might expect from a Radeon 9600XT

GL shopping

thanks for the comparison, looks like we have very similar setups. I'm going to choose a 9600 or 9800 very soon.

 

[BIG]

I've got an Athlon 1800Xp, 512 ramp (266), and a 9800 Pro. CS source is very playable at 1024x768 with medium everything and high shadows. The gfx card is a bit limited by my system, but hey - it'll be a nice piece in a future upgrade pc.

I say get the 9800 pro. You won't be disappointed...but you won't be able to jack everything to high either.

 

[Ecthe|ioN]

I had a P4 1.8GHz, 512MB pc2100 ram, GF3 Ti200 64MB, and CS:S ran fine. I got around 50+ fps at medium detail 1024x768. Just get yourself a new GPU and you'll be ready to roll.

 

[asdasd12345]

Ecthe|ioN, i have a system similar to yours . exactly the same apart from mine is an athlon 2400 with a geforce 3 ti200 64mb. you reckon i should be able to run source ok? because im probably gonna buy it off steam today.

 

[Rickyohead]

You'll pass HL2 with that processor and ram fine. That gfx card needs the most attention. 9800 pro would be great, what power supply wattage do you have? If its not 300 or so, then perhaps a 9600XT is better, thats what i did cos im only 250w. Both cards are relatively dirt cheap now considering they'll do a good job. Both within the £100 mark!

what would happen if I run a 9800pro with less than 300w power supply?

and

where are you guys getting your low prices? (I can't find an ati radeon 9800 pro (retail box) anywhere for $200 USD. most are around $250. I don't mind shopping online, but I want to avoid e-bay.

 

[Rickyohead]

any suggestions? (i'm cutting it close!)

 

[spin03]

dont get the 9800 pro with a 250W power supply. little things called artifacts will start to appear on your computer. they are little colored spots that come up on your monitor. also you could burn out your processor. i reccomend that you get a brand 300-350W powersupply, or at least a 400W generic power supply just to be safe, because if you cheap out on the power supply, not only will you ruin your computer, you will ruin your video card.