Performance issue, should i get more ram?

[Kenmurikumo]

My system specs:

 

Windws Xp media center edition

2X 3.0 gh processors (yes, two)

PCI card: PNY GeForgce 8400 512 mb (regular pci)

 

but only 1 gig of ram...

 

I can hardly run at LOWEST settings, and in the cities i get like .01 fps (yeah, bad) :wallbash:

 

Would more ram fix this?

 

Im poor and cant shovel out $1000 for a brand spanking new pc so cheapest suggestions thanks.

[Qwaxalot]

My system specs:

 

Windws Xp media center edition

2X 3.0 gh processors (yes, two)

PCI card: PNY GeForgce 8400 512 mb (regular pci)

 

but only 1 gig of ram...

 

I can hardly run at LOWEST settings, and in the cities i get like .01 fps (yeah, bad) :wallbash:

 

Would more ram fix this?

 

Im poor and cant shovel out $1000 for a brand spanking new pc so cheapest suggestions thanks.

 

Another gigabyte of ram would be of marginal benefit, the real problem is your video card. The 8400 cards were not meant for gaming, and Oblivion needs all the graphics horsepower it can get.

 

8600GT series (or better) run this game fine, however you must make sure that your Power Supply can handle the extra load.

 

:wallbash:

[Kenmurikumo]

<sharp whistle> Fast response, i appreciate it, but those are pci express cards whilest i have regular archaic PCI

 

Any other suggestions... ^Thanks to above^

[dezdimona]

add to 3megs ram,also turn off save on fast travel and save on rest,will cause corrupted saves

[BossDweebe]

I think you will find that if the 8400 card works the 8800 will also

as they are both from the same series.

The PCI-e 1 & 2 issue is what I think you are referring to. Some of

the PCI-e 2 cards may not work, but most are backward compatible.

 

I use a Gainward 8800GT on a 939 motherboard. If in doubt contact the

card manufacture and ask if their card is compatible with PCI-e, NOT PCI

which is the other slot which goes back to before AGP, and is still used for

sound cards modems etc.

 

2Gigs of Ram will work well with XP.

EDIT: This applies if you are on a budget and live in a country like Oz. where

components are expensive. Even more so if you have DDR RAM.

Dez is quite right that more is better as Oblivion, especially modded, is a memory hungry beast.

[dezdimona]

had three gigs in my old PC,now have 4 in my newone..get at least three for optimom performance with XP

[Kenmurikumo]

Ok more ram = good... but with the video cards, I do NOT have pci express on my motherboard

[Deleted269910User]

You're in a pinch to be quite honest. You do need to upgrade your mobo, if you intend to get a graphics card upgrade(Which is almost 100% necessary to get a decent FPS boost.) and that can get a bit expensive.(Half-decent gaming PC's cost around 650-900€ here, some of them with monitors and some without. Usually cheaper & easier to find a new PC than upgrading your mobo, while looking out for compatibility issues. It is possible to simply find a new mobo, but you need to be careful with checking that it's compatible with whatever you intend to buy/use and currently have.) Basically what you need/are willing to upgrade and what advice we can give, depends on your budget, throw around some figures and we might be able to find something suitable for your needs.

 

All the other advice I can give is that shut down all programs in the background that aren't 100% necessary, that possibly including you temporarily disconnecting your PC from the internet and shutting down your firewall/virus protection for the time you're playing, to maximize all the gain from RAM upgrades.

[Kenmurikumo]

Well i appreciate the comments and answers, i really do. I think for now I'll have to yield to the unbearably ridiculous demands from oblivion.

 

on a lighter note and slightly off topic, new pc!

anybody got a good website?

 

and if i built one from scratch, would i be able to salvage my 2 processors? 2X 3.0 gh is quite a bit, and thats the only thing making my pc worth while

[nosisab]

Well i appreciate the comments and answers, i really do. I think for now I'll have to yield to the unbearably ridiculous demands from oblivion.

 

on a lighter note and slightly off topic, new pc!

anybody got a good website?

 

and if i built one from scratch, would i be able to salvage my 2 processors? 2X 3.0 gh is quite a bit, and thats the only thing making my pc worth while

 

PS: ughh, disregard my original post, I understood everything wrong. I thought you had a 6400 nvidia. And so the above replies are correct, you can run a pci-e2 card on a pci-e mobo's slot.

 

I think you have AGP slot for the videocard. Although there are AGP videocards with enough horsepower to run Oblivion, like the 6800 or 7600 from NVIDIA (sorry I don't know the AMD/ATI likes, but I know they must exist too), they will be more expensive than a nowadays, much more powerful one and in the long run you will be unsatisfied. Yet, they are the alternative for changing almost the whole system and with at least one more gigabyte of RAM will run most games in existence with decent gameplay experience. As already pointed... these are cards with hunger for power and you may need to change the PSU too.