Could this run Oblivion efficiently?

[Illiad86]

:) That's what I'm here for, don't worry :thumbsup:

 

No, you don't need drivers for a CPU. The only thing you need drivers for are LAN, Audio, and Graphics. Yeah, it's a whole new copy of Windows. I have Windows XP Pro 64 bit. What I've seen is, well you get the 4GB of RAM :) And everything seems to run a little bit better. Getting 64 bit OS makes your processor use it's full potential.

 

As for the dual core lasting you a few years, yes it could but yes it couldn't. With how video games are coming about graphically, quad cores will be essential. But the dual core could last you a few years if you don't really care if you can play the latest game with perfect frames per second.

 

450W PSU is sufficient if you don't get a crazy $400 graphics card :biggrin:

 

Streamline will purge cell buffers with one of it's options.

 

Well, I've had to explain this to my cousin. A computer will never be like a console in terms of gaming. A console is made to run that game perfectly. Computers are made to do a variety of things. There will always be slight jerks, glitches, etc. It just happens lol Oblivion runs nicely on mine, but smooth on a 3870. It still jerks a little bit though.

 

Heheh, no matter what, the PC graphics look better than the Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 was built off the R590 (may be mistaken on that...might be the R580) which is basically a 2900XT...lol that's pretty old :whistling: Techincally, the card you have now is faster :P

 

To run QTP3, you would need atleast a 4870 or better IMHO. Even better if you get one with 1GB of GDDR. You need a decently powerful computer to run Oblivion with QTP3 perfectly, even then it's asking for a lot.

 

 

Hehe, if you went AMD you could save even more. I built my dad an AMD system with a dual core processor and 4 GB of RAM for about $400 :D minus an OS, but Windows 7 evaluation copy is available to test out, and Oblivion runs fine on that and it's a free 64 bit operating system until May.

 

A basic AMD system

 

AMD dual core Athlon II $80

AM2+ Gigabyte motherboard $85

4GB DDR2 1066 RAM $45

DVD drive $20

250GB SATA HDD $50

(for QTP3) 4870 1GB $165

 

If you get an 8800GT, it would run really nice. It should run pretty decent on the 8500GT. I go for last year's models because they are cheap and still damn nice. My card is old, 7950GT, but it still runs all the new games at high or medium high :thumbsup:

 

 

 

Get Everest and tell me if your motherboard is Socket 775. My boyfriend said the motherboard may be new but it also may be the old Socket, 478. That would save you some bucks if the motherboard is 775. Intel is pricey, but their processors are made better. But you can get an equivalent AMD processor for half or sometimes even 3/4 of the price of the equivalent Intel processor. I've had nothing but praise for AMD, they make a decent product and are a good competitor for Intel. I have mine overclocked 30% :D I have the best and the brightest from 2 years ago, but it still pwns :P

 

Yes get Everest :) Install it and click on computer, then Summary and it will tell you everything :) Also go to Motherboard and then click on Motherboard again and it will tell you the full details of it :)

[demon69120]

Haha, thanks! I'm becoming a little less confused with your help.

 

What exactly is overclocking..? And how would I overclock my graphics card? I keep hearing it :wallbash: . Also "BIOS settings" are not in my mind.

 

What exactly do I need to check and what is it under on Everest? I only have the trial version.

 

Wow, $400 is great! Since basicly the computer probably has nothing I need to use besides the disk drives, shell, and power suply, I might try to buy some of the parts you said. Basicly, now I'm determined to getting as close as possible to maxing oblivion with graphic improvement. I probably have close to $250 right now, and could deffiantly get something like $500. Thinking about all that with a little higher Geforce. So, old one already has the hardive, disk drives, mouse and keyboard. The motherboard, graphics card, RAM, and CPU are probably trash. All those pieces could be ~400?

 

AMD seems to be a better price. And I don't see why it would function worse than Intel anyways.

 

Also, if my system is 32-bit, how would I change it to 64-bit? I don't really get why a lot of people say it's impossible to change even if you change every part in your computer. But since I want it to last, 3GB being fast won't last another couple years with technology. And I had no idea they already use quad-cores, when I am trying to get a dual-core haha. A quad-core is even twice that?

 

What is the (for QTP3) 4870 1GB $165? Some kind of graphics card... and not too energy-eating for 450W? I think that's something equivilent to the new GeForce Series. I'll also need a lot of pricey fans huh?

 

Kind of looking at a new processor mainly, a graphics card second, and upgrading to 64-bit if that's even possible.

EDIT: Oh.. this might help lol.

Motherboard Name MSI G31M3 V2 (MS-7529) (2 PCI, 1 PCI-E x16, 2 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Video, LAN)

[TheTerminator2004]

Theres absolutely no need to upgrade your cpu to play Oblivion. I have a system which has the same cpu, and the same gfx card (assuming you have the 512mb 8500GT, anyway), but only 1 gig of RAM, and I can play Oblivion at max settings, with QTP3, at perfectly acceptable framerates.

 

Of course, a cpu upgrade is still a good idea, I'm looking into one myself, but its not needed for Oblivion. :)

[Illiad86]

"Motherboard Name MSI G31M3 V2 (MS-7529) (2 PCI, 1 PCI-E x16, 2 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Video, LAN)"

 

Ah not too bad there :) It supports a Core 2 Quad even :) That's nice. I would not suggest it for overclocking because it's M-ATX. Overclocking is pretty much...turning up the CPU's or GPU's MHz. Overclocking a GPU, IMHO, isn't totally necessary. I had to overclock mine just because I like to do that kinda stuff :P My CPU is stock 2.6GHz but I overclocked it to 3.2GHz. Overclocking also requires adequate cooling, which means buying an aftermarket cooler for the GPU or CPU. It also requires a mid to high end motherboard.

 

The way you overclock a graphics card is to get either Riva Tuner or ATI Tray Tools. There are options to turn up the core clock and memory clock. But I DO NOT recommend overclocking anything to anybody if they don't know how to do it already. You can fry your graphics card, you can fry you CPU, or you can fry the motherboard if it's not done correctly. The only way you could fry any of those is if you crank the voltage up to high for them or turn up the core clock at too large of an interval, which many people have done their first time and well lol :wallbash:

 

A motherboard, graphics card, RAM, and CPU will cost a little bit more if you go Intel. Their motherboards and CPUs are about double the price of the equivalent AMD system. AMD's CPUs are good :) I've had no problem with them. Intel's processors are made slightly different and they are better for overclocking, but that's only what I've heard. I've only had experience overclocking AMD systems.

 

Switching to 64 bit is easy :) You just reformat the HDD, and install Windows XP or Vista 64-bit. I don't know if you've ever had to reinstall Windows, but that's how you do it. When you get drivers for your audio, LAN, and graphics card, you get 64 bit drivers, which are always available :)

 

Yeah, they have had Quad cores for awhile now. Yes, it's 4 CPUs. My friend has an AMD quad core with Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit, 8GB of DDR3 1066, and a 4870. His system is godly :thumbsup: but very very expensive lol. I try to give people the option of a reasonably priced upgrade :) Quad core are still kind of pricey.

 

Yeah, 4870 is an ATI graphics card. A good Geforce one would be like a 9800GT or a GTS 250 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150357) Nvidia's cards are better in some ways, they seem to process Anti Aliasing better than ATI's cards. The GTS 250 would not require any overclocking of any sort, it's a pretty nice card :)

 

450W is enough power if you want to get a GTS 250 and a Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon II x2.

 

Hehe, I didn't know jack all about this stuff until my boyfriend taught me. He's real good at getting good parts for a good deal. Newegg is the place to go :) Never EVER buy computer stuff at Best Buy :blink: They tried to charge like $150 for RAM that you can get on newegg for $35.

 

Hope this helps :)

 

oh this is a nice texture upgrade for mid-range systems :)

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=18430

Everything looks more detailed, with barely any hit in performance

[demon69120]

Ahh okay :biggrin:

I was looking through New Egg at the CPUs, and at the GPUs from Nvidia. I'm half wanting to buy a quad-core so I won't have to replace it for TES 5 :blink: . Only problem is they're like $300 lol. All I really understand when looking at the cpus is if it's i7 or not, the GHz, and how many cores... so I don't really know why some quad cores are a thousand dollars, some are only $150, ect. The one you linked is probably the best I could buy for around $100 right? With all of you're advice ( :thanks: ) really leaning towards a nice CPU and GPU. But the lower amount I spend (haha, you're good at that), the more of the chance I can convince my family to let me order it :unsure: .

 

Ha, ok. Over-clocking is ramping it up... and I don't have much knowledge about this stuff :whistling: . Might try to ask my dad's friend adice before attemping this. But how much preformance is boosted generally in this circumstance? If it's not a huge deal I won't bother.

 

Yeah for the GPU I want to be in the 9-series I'm thinking. But many of the high-class ones have a minimum power-source requirement even bigger than what I have :wallbash: . 9500 GT might just be the best for my computer.

 

Ok! That's good I can change 32-bit to 64-bit... maybe with my old HD. But what do you think would be the best option to get most of my current HD onto the new one? I don't think it's completely possible, but since the computer I use isn't completely mine, I don't want to loose my sister's pictures, ect.

 

Also, a DVD-RW drive will read Obliion and install it right? Not a DVD-RAM, ROM ect. drive.

 

Also, even just playing WoW maxed, it overheats pretty quickly. We just have a ncie CPU fan, and a fan that just filters aroudn the air. Of course there's one on my GPU too, but a little one... and I don't know how well it works. At 200 F my addon makes my computer shut down so it doesn't ruin anything. Maybe I should just take off the side and gte a big plug in fan lol.

Wih QTP3 Enhanced water, BSBC, and weather, the Frames get really low. What's considered high, and not laggy? Some people can manage all of this.

[Illiad86]

Some cost more because they are faster, the one that's $1000 is the Extreme one that lets you overclock very easily. But meh, lol, I never saw the point in spending $1500 on a CPU. They have unlocked multipliers which makes it pretty much, one thing you have to turn up to overclock. The multipliers are locked on all other CPUs, so you have to turn up the CPU frequency (BIOS stuff if you don't understand :whistling:)

 

Pretty much, you could spend $80 on a CPU and overclock it to the speed of a $125-150 CPU, you get what I'm saying? I've seen a little bit of speed increase in some things when I overclocked mine. But if you don't have a mid-range to high-range motherboard, I don't suggest overclocking. Lower end motherboards are not stable enough to handle overclock. Overclocking also voids your warranty on the GPU and CPU, so if your afraid something might go, don't overclock it.

 

Never ever listen to what the "Minimum PSU requirement" is. You can get a 9800GT or an 8800GT, it will be fine. Unless you have some crap PSU, you'll be fine. And anyways, you can get a 550W one for cheap on newegg...but if you do purchase one...buy one from either Rosewill, Antec, or Thermaltake. There are some really crappy ones out there.

 

Is your HD IDE or SATA? I'm guessing it's probably SATA :) What you can do is backup your family's pictures on a CD or a flash drive or through an image hosting website, then reformat and transfer the pictures back after you install Windows 64 bit. If it's SATA, you don't need to get another HDD, how many GB is it?

 

DVD/CD drives are RAM/ROM/R/RW. They read everything. They are all combination drives now, so they do everything in one neat little package.

 

How big is your case? And you only have one fan in the entire case? If you have space for a fan, get one to put on the side or on the back :)

 

What is getting to 200F? (also you tell the temperatures of computer components in C not F :biggrin:) Your GPU most likely I'm guessing. When you are playing WoW, and it's about to shut down, do you see little red triangles? You need more airflow in your case if it's shutting down on you. Clean the computer out too, get some canned air, and spray the fans and the CPU cooler....

 

Tell me your temperatures...the trial version of Everest will tell you

 

Open Everest, click Computer, then click Sensor and tell me what each of the temperatures are :)

 

I guess it depends on what you consider reasonable. 60FPS is perfect, anywhere from 40-60FPS is reasonable. When you start dipping below 30FPS thats when the jerking and studdering begins :verymad: I run Oblivion at max resolution with max graphics with that normal map texture replacer...average about 45FPS outside :) Perfect 60FPS inside. I tried QTP3 and it killed...but I have an older GPU. The chips are all smaller and faster now compared to my two year old dinosaur lol but it's still godly to me :)

 

My parts may be kinda old, but they do what I want them to do and I'm happy :)

[demon69120]

Haha, ok I won't overclock it with my motherboard >.>. My dad REALLY does not understand computers, so no idea if I can believe this, but supoosedly our motherboard had old CPU socket so we could use our current CPU. He says that we can't even get a dual-core Cpu ha. I know that's no right... How can I know what CPUs will fit mine? Some are like $50. And browsing Newegg I can find a lot. Intel Core 2 Quad, Core 2 Duo, Pentium and Celeron is all it can use I think...? I don't even know how to tell if it's core 2 lol. But would Socket AM3 work?

 

The gpu I might not get and just not use QTP :closedeyes: . Although I've seen how much better it makes the game. If I wanted all of that graphic enhancing I'd need around 9800 GT right? As far as not getting a laggy game. I like close to console-perfect fps :thumbsup: . If I don't get a new gpu I might want to figure out how exactly I can oerclock it without a risk of ruining anything. I want to get closer to max :/. It's actually a Geforce 8500 GT 1024mb so I guess bigger than normal.

 

Haha ohh about the temperature. My alterter tell's me in farenheit >.< so didn't know that. My case is actually really little I don't know how it is all stuffed in there haha :D. My CPU is around 60 just browsing here.. with anti-virus, and processes. GPu is at 70. What overheats is my GPU graphics card, which gets to 95 C when I'm playing WoW! It takes a half an hour but still. What also would be the problem is my house... I live in Arizona without AC so it's always 90+ :blink: . But I just took off the side so air goes around anyways :mellow: .

 

I could just get a fair-priced CPU and be able to play without lag as long as textures aren't maxed, enhanced and everything too, right? And a GPU then I'm set for QTP.

 

haha btw I know what you mean about being happy with what you got especially if it's your computer ;D

 

What are some of the (not adding new stuff like CPU and graphics card) way to make oblivion preformace better in gerneral? I understand there's some mods, .ini settings (which I actually don't know what they are), nvidia settings ect to make oblivion preform better- graphic and preformance.

 

Haha, I think this is my last question(s) about all of this, :thanks: a lot for all of the help. Also learned a lot lol.

[Illiad86]

Your motherboard is Socket 775, so you look for processors that use Socket 775...which are Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad. Core i7's use the new socket. You'll know it's a core 2 because it says Core 2 lol. ex. Core 2 Duo E7700. Don't get a Celeron, they suck :P.

 

Socket AM3 is AMD. You would have to get a AM3 motherboard.

 

Oh 8500GT 1GB lol, I didn't even know they made those with 1GB. A 9800GT would be perfect :) With a dual core, you're ready to go :)

 

GPU is sitting a little toasty, get another fan for your case. You will need to get more fans if you decide to upgrade to a 9800GT. Hehe my CPU is at 60C on full load :P, but I have an aftermarket cooler. Oh wow, no wonder. Hot house :P Jeez, I can't live without an A/C in summer and I live in Wisconsin haha.

 

With that Core 2 Duo I linked to you, you should be good to go to play Oblivion. I think it might be able to handle max textures and max resolution....but an 8500GT is kinda crap. Even though it's a newer generation and newer RAM and the like, my card is still faster than it. So I say you could play it on medium-high.

 

Yeah mods and .ini tweaking will optimize it. There's a forum post somewhere that can tell you.

 

Yep, no problem :thumbsup: Feel free to PM me if you need anything. You're lucky, I normally charge $8/hour for this advice hahah

[demon69120]

Haha ohh. :wallbash:

In that case I'll stick with Intel CPUs :biggrin:

Gonna order a quad-core 2.77GHz or Dual-core if I can't. And 9800 GT sounds good. I think I got it all figured out now. Thankyou!

[rpsnow]

I not a massive expert but I built my current PC myself, I have a 3.2ghz intel P4 with just 2 gig of Corsair DDR ram, Win XP 32 bit, a 256mb Nvidia 7800GS(factory double clocked) & I can play Oblivion fine at 1024x768 res with most things set at max. NB: My monitor is a small 15in LCD one to fit my limited size desktop, so the max res is quite limited anyway.

 

Yeah I really need to build a new rig!, but I will recommend a few things.

 

1) a Zalman CPU cooler, a dirty great big copper vained fan. It has fittings to suit most CPU sockets AFAIK. NB: Never put to much(or too little) of the thermal paste between your CPU & heatsink, it will just cause more waste heat to get trapped. a thin almost transparent layer spead evenly is ideal IMO

2) Use high grade ram made by either Crucial (Dark0ne uses this) or Corsair, especially if you are planning on overclocking

3)Remember that overclocking one thing usually has the effect of automatically overclocking other components too, based on using an MB built specifically for overclocking. Always overclock in small steps whilst watching the heat increases carefully with the appropriate programs, test sytem stability over a long time at each increment.

4) Always try to have the latest drivers for you GFX card, before I got the latest Nvidia drivers Fallout 3 was virtually unplayable & crashed alot, now it works just fine(using latest patch helped too)

5) I personally like to use 2 small case fans(they are dead cheap), one in the front & one in the rear.

6) My room gets VERY hot (and I live in the UK) so I run with the side panel off my tower case, a freelance network tech friend suggested to me that having desk fan blowing into your PC can help a lot.

 

 

Rich