gcribbs

I am wondering how much any one who bought this new PC game is enjoying it.

I have to say in spite of the problems many are having with it- so far it seems to be working great for me. It is a nice looking game. and as i am getting used to the system it is getting easier to navigate my party thru the world.

What are your thoughts if you have installed and played it a bit?

Goblincat

I still can't play it. I have the choppy echo with the sound that slows the whole game down. I hope they hurry with the 1.03 patch.

Trout

The game is buggy huh? I wish game companies did more checks on their games. Other than the bugs how does the game look?

gcribbs

it is a very nice looking game if it plays for you.

Goblincat what type of system do you have?

Goblincat

800 MHZ P3
384 MB RAM
Asus P3V4X Motherboard
Voodoo5 5500
SB Live!

The sound is choppy while playing some internet sound files too, all starting right after I installed the game. I re-installed the sound card and drivers, re-assigned the IRQ, set all of the sound effects modes to "none"... I tried it all. I was able to somehow make it stop once while playing with the effects, but after reboot it came back.

In the forums at www.poolofradiance.com there are lots of other people reporting the same problem.

gcribbs

not sure if this would help you or not. my SB live plays this one fine however I did need to disable the creative SB16 emulation in the control panel to correct a DMA issue i was having. maybe this is why i do not have this problem??

I guess i could try to install this on my second computer since it has the same motherboard, 320 MB ram, same sound card and I even have a V4 4500 video card which is close to your setup . maybe then I could at least see the problem first hand.

I will see if i have time to do this tomorrow. I am not sure yet.

Shuki

Sorry to be a bit off topic but I've a quick question concerning the amount of RAM and RPG gameplay. I notice you guys both have like 300+ meg of RAM and I'm sitting back here with the old 64 mb chip. My question is, would investing the $$'s into more RAM make a noticable difference in my RPG gaming?? Just curious.... and THANKS!

gcribbs

up to 256 MB of Ram you will see performance increases in windows overall. this should include Rpg's also although the video card also makes a huge difference in games of course. after that you will see a small increase if you go up to 512 MB of Ram. however this would also depend on how you use your computer.

what type of computer do you have? cpu, speed, motherboard, brand??
The reason I ask is that if you computer is a slow and older computer it might not be worth much to buy a bunch of Ram for it when you cpu might be the limiting factor in newer games.

if you do order Ram use this link
http://www.crucial.com/evguide for a 15 % discount on good memory with free shipping also i believe.

Shuki

I can't remember what brand of mother board I have....
What I do know is that it's a Pentium 3 550 mhz with a Voodoo 3 video card and Soundblaster sound card (audioPCI or something to that effect) The computer itself is about 16 months old but did only come with 64 mb RAM. I'm playing through BG2 now and as I move the screen with the mouse (if you've played it you know what I mean by that) it is far from smooth scrolling. Maybe that's my video card? or maybe some additional RAM would help?? Or maybe that's just the way it is? what'd ya think?

gcribbs

it could be the video card , but I would think it more likely to be the ram. why not order another pc133 128 MB cas 2 SDram dimm from crucial and see if it helps. that should be plenty of ram for Baldur's Gate 2

Shuki

Thanks a lot for the help and guidance master G. Your young padiwan has maybe one or two other questions for your advice but would not want to tie up this thread with my babbling. Therefore, if you have the time drop me a quick line [email protected] and I'll e-mail ya. Unless you prefer to use the thread. Just trying to be considerate of other viewers looking for info on PoR and getting my schpeel about ram and video cards

But while you're here and I've already posted again I might as well pose the questions and you can reply via e-mail if you prefer. Would you recommend putting some $$'s into upgrading this P3 550 mhz with new video and sound cards or would you put that money toward an entirely new system including the motherboard?

If you would upgrade the current P3, which is your preferred video and sound card for overall gaming? Well even if you suggest starting over I would still like to know your thoughts on which cards to get..... Thanks again for helping out G! I'm reminded once again of how nice it is to belong to the ever growing dvdtalk family

Tuan Jim

You guys better be careful. POR2 is the game that can delete some of your windows registry files when you uninstall. I'll try and dig up some links.

Tuan Jim

Goblincat

They have a patch for that now.

Shuki

G.C.R.I.B.B.S - Great Counsellor Reaching Ignorant Beer Bellied Surfers (like me )

picked up an additional 128 meg ram chip today and can see a WORLD of difference. Man how did I ever manage before?? I did order an additional 256 meg chip from crucial to replace the 64 meg "junker" I have been using. Thanks a lot for the counsel G.!

I would still like your input on the above upgrade questions too - if it's not too much trouble. Thankx again....

gcribbs

since any video card you buy can be used in a newer system why not get one if the money is not an issue. when you get a new system then pull it out and put it in the new system. Same with a new sound card. that is what i do all the time.
heck www.newegg.com had a SB Live 5.1 for 32 bucks the other day. It was OEM but came with the drivers. I am sure they have some deals on video cards also.


glad the new memory helped

pop over to the PC hardware forum and see the real masters. alas I am not one yet I just play one online

I almost missed that you wanted to know what video cards and audio cards I like. I like SB Live cards. You can have problems with them also , but since so many people use them the chances are increased to finding solutions also.

Video cards- Nvidia for some of the same reasons plus they are good gaming cards with frequent driver updates.

I am using an Nvidia GTS 32 MB card right now. It works fine for me although the Geforce 3 64 MB cards are tempting. I just do not like spending much over 100 dollars on a video card. Since I get very good performance on mine I am sticking with it.

Shuki

cool! and thanks again... Shuki