Kettenkrad Posted March 19, 2001 Share Posted March 19, 2001 I realize that these questions may be very hard to answer, but I would appreciate any input that you have on the subject I've played CM on three different computers comp 1: 400 or so, no extra video card. 64 ram. this is my own computer This produces practically no tracer fire, no shockwaves and small explosions. This only supports the first video setting. The game is playable, but only until you've seen it on a better computer. comp 2: newer Dell machine (550-600), with standard onboard video. 128 ram This produces a much more playable game, but still dont see fully 3d modeled (like hexagonal shockwaves rather than spherical ones) explosions. This computer supports the second video setting (800x600?) comp 3: custom made 1000 with 32 bit video, 512 ram This computer produces a satisfiyingly playable game where you can see every squad firing at every other squad and there are air and ground mortar bursts, fully modeled explosions, grenades, etc. This computer supports the third video mode (1024x800) So, I want to buy a computer that produces the same kind of quality game as my friend's (#3) (cost 6 mos. ago $2700) custom made computer, but for less than $1000. I already have the quote, here is what I have planned (ill only tell you what matters for playing games, not the peripherals) 128 meg ram 17" kds .27 monitor Athlon Iwill 900 proc. ATI 2000 32 bit video (cost only $79) My questions: Will this computer that i've designed support the third (1024x800) video mode? If you don't know, How can i find out? Is support of that video mode (1024x800) the only qualification needed to produce the best quality graphic rendering, or are there other qualities that i need to consider besides what i've set out? If I play THIS GAME with the ATI video card/KDS monitor will it fall FAR SHORT of what I can expect from a 19" .25 monitor or a much more high end video card? What would you choose to spend more money on first? Which other specific card (keep $ very much in mind plz) would you suggest? I realize that these questions are very subjective and difficult to answer, but if you guys could help me build my ECONOMY SUPER-CM PLATFORM i would appreciate it. (Has anyone else bought a new computer just to play this game at the highest quality video? ? ------------------ This is difference between the American and the Japanese point of view in World War II Japanese: "We'll kill you even if we have to run into you to do it" Americans: "We'll kill you, and we don't even have to run into you to do it." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
argie Posted March 19, 2001 Share Posted March 19, 2001 Originally posted by Kettenkrad: I realize that these questions may be very hard to answer, but I would appreciate any input that you have on the subject I've played CM on three different computers comp 1: 400 or so, no extra video card. 64 ram. this is my own computer This produces practically no tracer fire, no shockwaves and small explosions. This only supports the first video setting. The game is playable, but only until you've seen it on a better computer. comp 2: newer Dell machine (550-600), with standard onboard video. 128 ram This produces a much more playable game, but still dont see fully 3d modeled (like hexagonal shockwaves rather than spherical ones) explosions. This computer supports the second video setting (800x600?) comp 3: custom made 1000 with 32 bit video, 512 ram This computer produces a satisfiyingly playable game where you can see every squad firing at every other squad and there are air and ground mortar bursts, fully modeled explosions, grenades, etc. This computer supports the third video mode (1024x800) So, I want to buy a computer that produces the same kind of quality game as my friend's (#3) (cost 6 mos. ago $2700) custom made computer, but for less than $1000. I already have the quote, here is what I have planned (ill only tell you what matters for playing games, not the peripherals) 128 meg ram 17" kds .27 monitor Athlon Iwill 900 proc. ATI 2000 32 bit video (cost only $79) My questions: Will this computer that i've designed support the third (1024x800) video mode? If you don't know, How can i find out? Is support of that video mode (1024x800) the only qualification needed to produce the best quality graphic rendering, or are there other qualities that i need to consider besides what i've set out? If I play THIS GAME with the ATI video card/KDS monitor will it fall FAR SHORT of what I can expect from a 19" .25 monitor or a much more high end video card? What would you choose to spend more money on first? Which other specific card (keep $ very much in mind plz) would you suggest? I realize that these questions are very subjective and difficult to answer, but if you guys could help me build my ECONOMY SUPER-CM PLATFORM i would appreciate it. (Has anyone else bought a new computer just to play this game at the highest quality video? ? Well, I purchased my Mac G4/400 when the Demo was released (the very next day). I swear that it was a coincidence... Hehehe... Ariel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GriffinCheng+ Posted March 19, 2001 Share Posted March 19, 2001 Since you do not provide the details of the 3 configurations, I am going in a generalized manner. View the threads on AMD CPUs below. Currently, Durons processors give you the best bang of the buck. For video cards, nVidia is the king of the hill right now. Mid-priced GeForce 2GTS is of good price and quality. You may wish to invesst into a GeForce 2MX which costs similar to ATI 2000 or a 64MB GeForce 2Ultra if you have a bigger budget. Make sure you have get a mobo which supports ATA-100 HDD. There are a large variety of choices and the price of HDD is cheap. My config (repost): AMD Althon Type B Thunderbird 1.2GHz (o/c to 1356Hz) Asus A7M266 motherboard 2x 128MB Samsung PC2100 DDR RAM IBM Deskpro ATA100 46GB HDD Asus V7700 pure GeForce 2GTS video card w/32MB Asus 4x DVD ROM FOP-38 cooler + fan It costs me a small fortune and I can play CM and fly with very smooth descent frame rate. Griffin. ------------------ "When you find your PBEM opportents too hard to beat, there is always the AI." "Can't get enough Tank?" Come to my Combat Missing Command Post (CMCP) at http://www.angelfire.com/games3/CMCP/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feldgrau Posted March 19, 2001 Share Posted March 19, 2001 Stay away from the ATI video cards.... No fog effects. Period. ATI drivers do not support fog tables, on any of their cards (TTBOMK). Only fog emulaton, which CM does not support. I have two machines at home; one w/ an ATI Rage Fury MAXX, and one w/ a TNT2 card w/ the nVidia chip. I only play CM on the machine w/ the TNT2. Once you've played a QB or one of the scen's w/ fog, and you can see it, it kinda sours you on ATI. Do a search of this board- the discussion regarding ATI vid cards has been brought up before. ------------------ "This is better than cotton candy! It's made out of real cotton!" MM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berlichtingen Posted March 19, 2001 Share Posted March 19, 2001 Originally posted by Feldgrau: Stay away from the ATI video cards.... No fog effects. Period. Uhhh... what are you talking about? Every Mac (until recently) came with an ATI card... never had any problem with fog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kettenkrad Posted March 19, 2001 Author Share Posted March 19, 2001 Thanks for your help, i searched for the ATI connection on the board and found nothing clear. . .but i need to know if this $79 ATI 32 bit is going to be worth it or if i need to spend $200 on a Voodoo 5 or geforce. Could somebody please give me a straight answer???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlh1138 Posted March 19, 2001 Share Posted March 19, 2001 KrettenKrad, You want to get: 128 meg ram 17" kds .27 monitor Athlon Iwill 900 proc. ATI 2000 32 bit video (cost only $79) The ram and the 900 Athlon sound good. You'll like a 19" monitor a lot better than a 17, if you can afford it. But the card isn't the right one, as several here have posted. Plus, you don't say how much ram it has. Get a card with at least 32 meg of ram, with the NVIDIA chip, even if you have to save for a month or two more. It will really make a difference. Good luck ------------------ For Great Justice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurricane Posted March 19, 2001 Share Posted March 19, 2001 Now this made me wonder. Am I only seeing parts of all the game grapical effects? I have an old Voodoo II card. It runs ok unless you start to rotate a large map. Could someone please post a few screenshots of some of the effect you get with the best graphic cars? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skorpion Posted March 19, 2001 Share Posted March 19, 2001 To put things into perspective for the original poster, I'm running the following system and get full graphical effects at 1280x1024: Celeron 450 224MB RAM Win2K Nvidia TNT (the 32MB original one) So basically as long as you get a decent video card (Geforce MX's are very cheap now) you shouldn't have any problems playing at any resolution. Oh, and don't spare on the RAM, go for 192MB minimum (it's so cheap these days anyway). Skorp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andrew Hedges Posted March 19, 2001 Share Posted March 19, 2001 I want to second Skorp's post: the problem with the systems you used before was not the systems themselves, but the poor video card. I play CM in with a AMD K6-2 530 processor, 128M of RAM, and a TNT-2 M64 32M (which is worse than the straight TNT-2 32 BTW), and I play in 768 by 1024 with no difficulty whatsoever. I don't have a perfect set up, of course, but the biggest bottleneck in your system is the video card. You need a good vid card to play games. ------------------ WOOT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feldgrau Posted March 19, 2001 Share Posted March 19, 2001 Originally posted by Berlichtingen: No fog effects. Period. Uhhh... what are you talking about? Every Mac (until recently) came with an ATI card... never had any problem with fog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhduck Posted March 19, 2001 Share Posted March 19, 2001 You may want to consider trying an upgrade to your existing system if finances are an important factor in your decision. Since I could not purchase a new computer to replace my two year old Compaq Pentium II, I made three upgrades which dramatically improved its handling of CM: increased memory to 128 meg RAM, replaced the onboard video with a TNT2 and finally, a new 17 inch monitor. Because of the TNT2, my home computer now handles CM much better than my 5 month old work computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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