Old Guys And Games

[SageOfTheWabash]

OK, I'm an old guy. I do enjoy gaming, however the shooters and war games are a little too fast paced for my tried reflexes. I enjoy the RPG's. My favorite is "Morrowind". I also have played, "God Father The Game", "Knights Of The Old Republic" series and one strategy game "Tropico 2". I am going to purchase Oblivion but I have concerns that my rig will run it well.

ibuybuypower
P4 3.06ghz HT
ATI All-In-Wonder 128mem
1 gig ram


Should I get a new rig with one of the blazing video cards plus upgrades and install a TV tuner as a pci card? Also, are these new graphics accelerators helpful? If I simply add an accelerator to my present rig will that do the trick?

 

[howard_hopkinso]

Take a look at this thread HERE. It may help.

Regards Howard

 

[SageOfTheWabash]

howard, thanx for your interest I saw this link the other day. I would love to run it but Oblivion is not in the drop-down box as "Oblivion" or Elder Scrolls III?

Perhaps I am just over looking something? I know that you will help if you can.

 

[N1Hawk]

Maybe try a game called World of Warcraft! Nice game like Oblivion!

 

[SageOfTheWabash]

WoW intrigues me. Can this game be played single-off line? I am not sure that my gaming skills are up to world class competition.

 

[Cpt_Subtext]

As far as im aware, ive not actually played it, WoW is another MMORPG like StarWars: Galaxies, Dark and Light etc etc and as so can not be played offline by one user. However try not to think of these games as an online competition. Sure Powergamers compete for the best items and or badges in these games from the hardest missions or quests etc. But alot of players also tend to use the games as a massive 3D Chatroom or to mereley explore a universe they have grown up imagining eg. Tatooine in Star Wars. Id highly recomend atleast trying the games via the free trials often on the websites but which one you go for is completley up to you.

 

[SageOfTheWabash]

Thanx Cpt, You have given me additional understanding and I will check out this class of game. Do you have any experience with any of the strategy/History games?

 

[Cpt_Subtext]

As For strategy games im as a rule not a big fan... the only exception being the Total War series of Games. Truly Epic battles, coupled with Diplomacy and Empire building etc... Personally Id Highly recomend Rome: Total War its been very well researched and thought out and can be highly addictive

 

[seemab123]

try guild wars its online but u dont have to play with others this game can be played by urself and no monthly fee!

 

[SageOfTheWabash]

You have all given me some very interesting advice. I am still unsure however, if I should upgrade what I have, or buy a new rig.
regardless of which I decide to do, how much memory on the video card, how much system ram, what mobo, and so on? Thanx for all the help. This appears to be a very helpful and friendly place.

Purchased from ibuypower.com late in '02
Here are some specs on the system in question:
MOBO-INTEL D845PEBT2 DDR333
PS-ENERMAX EG465P-VE 430
CPU-INTEL 3.O6GHZ P4 HT
MEM-CORSAIR 512MB PC2700 HEAD X2
WD 180GB 7200 8MB JB
WD 120 7200 8MB WD120JB
VC- RADEON 9700PRO A-I-W 128MB
OPT DR-SONY 16X DVD
OPT DR-PIONEER DVDRW 8X4X2X1
SC-CREATIVE AUDIGY 2 PLATINUM
OS-XP PRO

 

[Cpt_Subtext]

It all depends on how much you want to spend I suppose... as far as I can tell there is not much wrong with the current set up you have.... maybe upgrade to 2 gig of ram and a new graphics card.... nvidia Geforce 6600 XFX or so but you will probably need a more powerfull PSU but the rest of the guys here can probably help you out in that department more than I can.

Personally I would prefer to get a new rig however id advise you not to buy one until Windows Vista is released at the end of January and to do alot of research depending on wether you are going to buy or build.

Hope this helps

 

[SageOfTheWabash]

That all sounds like good advice Cpt.
Now that you have brought up Vista, I must say that I am not sure that I will use Vista. I would like to upgrade to 64 bit. However a friend has been using the beta and he says that he doesn't like it. He says that it takes away functionality. That is to say Microsoft is moving in the direction of the Mac OS. Fewer user choices but more stable and understandable operation. If this is true I don't think that I will like it. I may take a look at XP 64 Pro.

 

[Cpt_Subtext]

Hmmmmm from what I have read Vista will be shipped with both a 32bit and 64bit version on the same disk..... the leaked beta is apparantly the 64bit version and so has the limited drivers etc as does xp64 pro.... Im sure the 32bit version will be pretty good

 

[TimeParadoX]

Take a look at this thread HERE. It may help.

Regards Howard

I feel all special now because howard linked my link

howard, thanx for your interest I saw this link the other day. I would love to run it but Oblivion is not in the drop-down box as "Oblivion" or Elder Scrolls III?

Perhaps I am just over looking something? I know that you will help if you can.

Go to "The Elderscrolls: Oblivion" I believe


And to answer your question about getting a new rig, If I was you I would build one for pretty cheap, You can go to the front page of Techspot and on the top there is a thing that says "Build a affordable AM2 gaming system" or the "Mid-range gaming system" and they both are cheap priced builds that will run any game you wish


Mid-range system link:
https://www.techspot.com/guides/29-midrange-pc-buying-guide-200611/

AM2 system link:
https://www.techspot.com/article/25-affordable-am2-gaming-system/

Hope I helped

 

[SageOfTheWabash]

Thanx all, this help will save me hours of shopping.

 

[Sharkfood]

hi Sage,
You can play Oblivion QUITE well on your existing system.

You may not be able to max out all the setting, but you will have a great deal of eye candy you can enable and play the game as-is.

You have a 9700 Pro AIW which is the same as a standard 9700 Pro. There are LOTS of folks playing Oblivion on 9600 or lesser cards, which yours is roughly 2x more powerful.

I'm playing Oblivion QUITE well on an old, Rambus P4-2.0ghz, 1 gig of ram and AIW 9700 Pro right now (old server I've been futzing with). It plays great at 1024x768 with medium to high settings.

Here you can see a LESSER system than yours with Oblivion shots + framerates to give you some idea. This is on a 9600 series card! (4 pipelines versus your 8, and lesser memory bandwidth):
http://oblivion.brashendeavors.net/9600_mid/

I'd stretch your current PC as long as you can then look into a totally new system around Vista/DX10. You still have a very decent gaming PC with the 3.0ghz, 1 gig and 9700 Pro.

For strategy games us old-timers like: Total War as mentioned prior. Civilizations 3 and 4 are great as well. The Heroes of Might and Magic (especially #3!) are great as well.

I'm a bigtime Civilizations and Heroes of Might and Magic fan.. can sink weeks into either lol.

RPG's- yes WoW rocks but it is online with a monthly fee. I'd say pick up Guild Wars as previously mentioned (your system will play both WoW and GuildWars well if it's configured right/has no major system problems). Guild Wars is a great online game that you can group or play solo (even hire computer group mates that take a share of the exp/coin) and no fee.. but needs a good internet connection (solid dial-up works but broadband preferred).

 

[lemri]

I'd say pick up Guild Wars as previously mentioned (your system will play both WoW and GuildWars well if it's configured right/has no major system problems). Guild Wars is a great online game that you can group or play solo (even hire computer group mates that take a share of the exp/coin) and no fee.. but needs a good internet connection (solid dial-up works but broadband preferred).

I love Guild Wars. I own all three games. (They are not expansions, they are stand-a-lone games that integrate very well together.) However, of all the MMORGS, GW is the fastest. You can have intense battles for 5 minutes and leave satisfied, but managing your skills takes reflexes and timing--as well as strategy.

I love the strategy in building your skill base. That being said, I don't think this is a game that SageofTheWabash would appreciate. If you are looking for good strategy then I highly recommend Civ IV. If you have any questions about it just ask. If you like the slow RPGs like Morrowind then I would stick with Morrowind.

Of all the paid subscription MMORGS (yeah for GW which is better and has no monthly fee!!), I like Dark Age of Camelot the best. Just my 2 cents.

You may also like the submarine simulation games. They have all the tension and intrigue of other simulation games, but you are not overwhelmed by flashy maneuvers and split second decisions.