Optimal computer for FO3?

[dtzone46]

After major issues over the last year or so trying to play FO3 GOTY on a top of the line quad core, win 7 64 bit machine, i have decided the only way to fix this is to buy or build an outdated, older computer to play FO3 on.

 

I have tried every fix in the book, every patch, every .ini fix, every compatibility setting, everything including reverting back to vanilla to no avil. I have gotten maybe 1 hour into the game ever.....

 

I am done trying to fix this on my current machine.

 

If anyone out there has a recommendation on a build that will run it at the highest settings i am all ears.

 

Couple of questions i have. (only one really)

Should i stick with a single core CPU? Possibly a socket 775?

 

I am an Intel man, i am not interested in an AMD CPU.

I currently have a older Radeon 5450 64 bit graphics card taken out of an older XP machine that i was told ran FO3 back in the day but would rather step it up a notch to the 256 bit, 1GB Radeon 6870 sitting around not being used atm.

 

I plan on win xp, 32 bit OS, 4 GB DDR2 memory, and a 120 GB SSD.

 

I am not a pro computer builder by any means, but do have experience building a few systems in the past for my personal use. (including this i5 machine i currently use for Skyrim. (and it runs flawlessly.)

 

On a final note, i want to be able to run it at the highest possible settings with a single 256 bit graphics card. (Radeon 6870, Currently running a 6950 on the i5)

Any recommendations are appreciated.

 

Thank you in advance for your time :)

[davycrockett]

your half right in your approach with the older machine angle , back in the day when fo3 came out it gelled as well as any other new program does with existing software ......not very well then they patched it and hey presto it worked again then someone else broke it and so on ... then came new hardware faster bigger stronger with an "S" on its chest ,and that needed new software can you see where this is going . in short its todays software more than it is the hardware a period os would be the way to go but that would be silly setting it free on the internet would kill it in hours from various attacks , by far the safest approach is windows 7 or 8 both have compatibility mode . which does work iv been running fo3 without issue (not including mod issues) for i dont know how long with windows 7 ultimate .

 

an intel man you say yuk gimme an AMD hammer spank the code into shape thats how real men do it ! or people on a budget anyway .

[sychamp]

I tried running it on on my i5 laptop and like you tried every fix in the book to get it to run. Just ended up pulling a duo core desktop out of the closet. I would recommend using Win 7 instead of XP I had Vista loaded and couldn't get Nexus to run. I would also put 4 gig of ram if you don't have it. I haven't tried newer graphic cards the duo core had a Nvidia 7600 and it seems to handle the game fine, I haven't noticed any video issues and have the the graphics turned up to medium on the game, but I also overclocked the CPU a tiny bit to 2.2 GHz.

[FMod]

You most definitely DO NOT need an outdated PC for Fallout 3. Newer is better. It's a demanding game, old hardware struggles with it.

 

Just add to fallout.ini:

iNumHWThreads=2 

 

edit: Also, Fallout 3 runs considerably better on XP, in my experience. You get native directsound, no voice stutter, avoid mouse bugs, and overall get at least as good or better stability.

The only thing more stable on W7 in regards to fallout is alt-tabbing.

Edited October 15, 2012 by FMod

[cyrus224]

I agree with Fmod, I am i7 Quad core, Top of the line everything, tons of mods, and i've not had game crippling issues. I use the simple forcethread ini tweaks like INumHWThreads as stated above, ensure everything is up to date, and it runs fine for me.There must be more behind this problem.

[Freydis]

I run my Fallout 3 GOTY on a five year old Dell Insprion 530 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2 WinXP 32 bit with 3 gig RAM I bought new for my family business in 2007 and any gaming I may want to do.

 

Earlier this year I upgraded its OEM 300 PSU to a 500 to support a later video card upgrade (OEM 8300GS to an EVGA GTS 450) I can't afford to buy a new computer just yet and any hardware upgrades are dictated by what I can stick comfortably into my Dell's mid Tower. What games I want to play can still be supported by what I have...especially with the new card. Even Skyrim will run on it on medium/high settings I found out if I perform some tweaking.

 

Fallout 3 runs considerably better on XP, in my experience. You get native directsound, no voice stutter, avoid mouse bugs, and overall get at least as good or better stability.

 

This what I have found out from reading other posts on the subject. I just watch my mods compatibility and load order whenever installing new ones. Have had very few crashes and only after playing for long periods. Yet expected that.