TheAllPurposeNothing

I've been on the fence regarding picking up this title.

Since I have an XBox, and have no intention of picking up a PS2 (if I go for a second console, I'll be going the Gamecube route..gotta have SMB!!), this would be the only way to play the game.

However, my cheap-ass PC only has a Celeron 565 in it. Minimum system requirements for the game mention at least a 450 mHz PIII to run the game. Somehow, I don't think my specs will work.

Given the motherboard I work with, I have two choices. I can upgrade to a higher Celeron (up to 1.1) or to a PIII (up to 1.3). But since Xmas has largely drained my free spending account, I'd rather go the Celeron route (1/3 to 1/2 the cost of the PIII).

Does this game need the extra 128k of cache to run even half smoothly at mimium specs, or will just a faster Celeron serve the bill here? Or has someone actually been able to run the game even minimally on a similar CPU to the one I currently have? I have enough RAM (256 MB) and 32 MB video card, so the processor will be my only issue. Gameplay is more of the issue to me than how pretty the game is.

Until now, my computer has served me well enough. I'm just afraid that I've hit the wall of obsolesence. Between GTA3 and Battlefield 1942, I'm getting the idea its time might be up.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

BizRodian

Yeah, you're not going to get it playing nicely on your current PC... espically if you want to boost the resolution and have it looking nicer then the PS2 version.

I'd personally go with a new mobo and processor, but if you want to keep costs down... well, it's your choice.

Ginsu

I dont even think your vid card can handle it. It is a hog on pc's. I have an Athlon 2200+ and a Geforce 4600 and it is smooth but not perfect.

You can get a Geforce 4200 or a newer ATI card to run it though for fairly cheap.

If that is all you want to play on your PC you could buy a PS2 for less.


Game does play much better on the PC though. Control and aiming are waaaay better.

If you do upgrade, check out Mafia also. Plays similar and has amazing atmosphere.

ipkevin

I think you should upgrade your processor. Get the Celeron, but use the remaining money to buy a decent video card. Min 64 megs, but 128 would be better. You can grab 128 meg Radeon 9000 Pro or 8500 regular (both about same performance) for around $96 or less on Ebay. Built by ATI, too, not just OEMs.

That said, on an old first gen Radeon 32MB, PIII 1.8 gHz, and 512 RAM the game was fully playable if not silky smooth.

BizRodian

Yes, Mafia is excellent.

TheAllPurposeNothing

Thanks for the info.

Like I said, how pretty it is makes no difference to me. If it ends up looking PS2 quality, fine. As long is it is playable. So a new video card is not a necessity.

I'll pick up the Celeron processor for now (only $40 or so + heatsink/fan) and see how I manage. As long as its not an issue of cache, I should be okay. Just don't want too much slow down.

I'm just one of those kids (the 34 year old ones) who doesn't care how the game looks..as long as it plays good. For instance, Halo might be pretty but I also find it pretty boring. Still had a lot more fun with a game like Doom or Serious Sam. Hell, Tetris still blows most new games out of the water and still holds my attention for longer. And the Atari 2600 could have handled that nicely. I'd even take Pong over Splinter Cell any day.

mikehunt

I have a P3 500mhz, 256mb ram, SB Live value, geforce 2 Ti 64mb on win98se and GTA3 plays absolutely fine at 1024x768 with most if not all of the little bells and whistles for sound and graphics turned on

warcp

I have an Athlon 1700, 256mb sdram, radeon 7500 and sb live value, and the game gets choppy during the driving parts at 1024 resolution.