Does your game run fairly fast (sims2)?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

I've switched back to sims 1 because I'm so tired of looking at the
hourglass. For those of you whose game runs fairly quickly, at least
enjoyable enough to play regularly, what do you consider minimum in
motherboard, speed, ram and especially does the video card make a diff and
what is yours? Thanks!

--

·.·´¨ ¨)) -:¦:- ¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
Kristy
((¸¸.·´ ..·´-:¦:- ((¸¸ ·.·

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

Kristy wrote:
> I've switched back to sims 1 because I'm so tired of looking at the
> hourglass. For those of you whose game runs fairly quickly, at least
> enjoyable enough to play regularly, what do you consider minimum in
> motherboard, speed, ram and especially does the video card make a
> diff and what is yours? Thanks!

I have no idea what kind of motherboard I have. I'm using a Dell Dimension
8200, with a P4 2.8Mhz processor, with 768MB of RDRAM. My video card is a
Nvidia GeForce4 MX 420 with 64MB of video RAM. The game runs fine on my
computer. It takes it a while to load each neighborhood and house because
I've got a lot of downloads. I'd like to upgrade my hard drive (which is
only 40GB with about 11GB left on it) and get a better video card. Some
day!

I really think you need at least 512MB of RAM to run this game properly with
at least 64MB on your video card, regardless of what the system requirements
on the game box says.


Jeanie

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

Thanks! When I save up the money I'm getting my PC upgraded.

"Jeanie" <Nobody@home.com> wrote in message
news:Fv6pe.29697$nG6.10350@attbi_s22...
> Kristy wrote:
>> I've switched back to sims 1 because I'm so tired of looking at the
>> hourglass. For those of you whose game runs fairly quickly, at least
>> enjoyable enough to play regularly, what do you consider minimum in
>> motherboard, speed, ram and especially does the video card make a
>> diff and what is yours? Thanks!
>
> I have no idea what kind of motherboard I have. I'm using a Dell
> Dimension
> 8200, with a P4 2.8Mhz processor, with 768MB of RDRAM. My video card is a
> Nvidia GeForce4 MX 420 with 64MB of video RAM. The game runs fine on my
> computer. It takes it a while to load each neighborhood and house because
> I've got a lot of downloads. I'd like to upgrade my hard drive (which is
> only 40GB with about 11GB left on it) and get a better video card. Some
> day!
>
> I really think you need at least 512MB of RAM to run this game properly
> with
> at least 64MB on your video card, regardless of what the system
> requirements
> on the game box says.
>
>
> Jeanie
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

Kristy wrote:
> I've switched back to sims 1 because I'm so tired of looking at the
> hourglass. For those of you whose game runs fairly quickly, at least
> enjoyable enough to play regularly, what do you consider minimum in
> motherboard, speed, ram and especially does the video card make a
> diff and what is yours? Thanks!

I have an Athlon XP 1.67GHz, 1GB DDR333, MSI KT6 Delta, Radeon 9200SE 128MB
DDR, 69 downloads and University.

I would say as a minimum you need a good Athlon or low P4, 512MB DDR or 1GB
SD (I'd sugets against SD as DDR is better and SD is dying), there's
millions of motherboards so just get one that will support everything else,
and Radeon 9200 128MB, I don't know about a Nvidia equivalent.

It currently takes about 30 secs to load the game, a neighbourhood or a
house. For some reason I found that installing university spead it up.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

On Mon, 6 Jun 2005 15:13:57 -0700, "Kristy" <Wembeley@noneayobiz.com>
wrote:

>I've switched back to sims 1 because I'm so tired of looking at the
>hourglass. For those of you whose game runs fairly quickly, at least

What hourglass? I only get the hourglass for about 10 secs after I
ALT+TAB into windows.

>enjoyable enough to play regularly, what do you consider minimum in
>motherboard, speed, ram and especially does the video card make a diff and
>what is yours? Thanks!

Well... what are your specs, currently? Have you tried turning down
the graphical options to a minimum?

Truth be told you can get more powerful computers than mine now,
cheaper, because the older components are in short supply.

Have you ever built a computer before? Or do you know someone
qualified? Do you have an LCD monitor? What is it's native resolution?

I run an AMD 2400+ overclocked to 3200+ and a Radeon 9800 PRO slightly
overclocked, and a gig of DDR1 memory, and the game runs pretty much
smooth, at 1024x768 with full graphics settings, lighting, shadows, UI
translucensy, and FULL edge smoothing (antialiasing, which EATS GPU
power)

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 01:12:05 GMT, "Jeanie" <Nobody@home.com> wrote:

>I have no idea what kind of motherboard I have. I'm using a Dell Dimension
>8200, with a P4 2.8Mhz processor, with 768MB of RDRAM. My video card is a
>Nvidia GeForce4 MX 420 with 64MB of video RAM. The game runs fine on my

Wow, you actually have RAMBUS memory!? hehehe

>computer. It takes it a while to load each neighborhood and house because
>I've got a lot of downloads. I'd like to upgrade my hard drive (which is

It takes a good long time for me too, and I don't have that many. I
haven't noticed a significant increase in time after adding in a bunch
either.

>only 40GB with about 11GB left on it) and get a better video card. Some
>day!

Pop in a 200GB harddrive and a decent videocard and you're set for
several years more.

>I really think you need at least 512MB of RAM to run this game properly with
>at least 64MB on your video card, regardless of what the system requirements
>on the game box says.

I'd have to agree. Sims 2 really enjoys memory. 768MB of Rambus should
be plenty though.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

Guardian Pegasus wrote:
> On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 01:12:05 GMT, "Jeanie" <Nobody@home.com> wrote:
>
>> I have no idea what kind of motherboard I have. I'm using a Dell
>> Dimension 8200, with a P4 2.8Mhz processor, with 768MB of RDRAM. My
>> video card is a Nvidia GeForce4 MX 420 with 64MB of video RAM. The
>> game runs fine on my
>
> Wow, you actually have RAMBUS memory!? hehehe

It certainly wasn't by choice, I can tell you. If I'd known how much the
dang stuff costs when I was computer shopping I'd have passed this one by.
But, I didn't, and now I've got it. The motherboard supports 2 GB of the
stuff, with four 512Mb mimms, but that would cost me about $1000 so forget
it!

>
>> computer. It takes it a while to load each neighborhood and house
>> because I've got a lot of downloads. I'd like to upgrade my hard
>> drive (which is
>
> It takes a good long time for me too, and I don't have that many. I
> haven't noticed a significant increase in time after adding in a bunch
> either.

I tend to download in marathon binges. I've been on one now all day long
and haven't stopped to install anything yet. *sigh* Why do I keep doing
this?!?

>
>> only 40GB with about 11GB left on it) and get a better video card.
>> Some day!
>
> Pop in a 200GB harddrive and a decent videocard and you're set for
> several years more.

That's my plan, though the HD is more likely to be a bit smaller than that.
I'm trying to decide on which video card to go for.

>
>> I really think you need at least 512MB of RAM to run this game
>> properly with at least 64MB on your video card, regardless of what
>> the system requirements on the game box says.
>
> I'd have to agree. Sims 2 really enjoys memory. 768MB of Rambus should
> be plenty though.

It seems to be. When I use the intProp maxNumOfVisitingSims 50 in the
neighborhood screen, I can invite every sim the party thrower knows and
still have my computer run without lagging, though it is impossible to keep
an eye on all of them during the party. I tend to play in marathon binges,
too, and after I've been at it for hours, I have to reboot the computer in
order to do anything else, though. It's impossible to get anything to open
after a bout like that.

Jeanie

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

Have you tried turning down
> the graphical options to a minimum?
>
I haven't tried that but I will, thx!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 07:32:44 GMT, "Will Bradshaw"
<spam@beasolutions.com> wrote:

>I would say as a minimum you need a good Athlon or low P4, 512MB DDR or 1GB
>SD (I'd sugets against SD as DDR is better and SD is dying), there's
>millions of motherboards so just get one that will support everything else,
>and Radeon 9200 128MB, I don't know about a Nvidia equivalent.

SD has been dead a while. Rambus is dead too. And DDR is old. You can
buy DDR2 and 3 memory now.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

"Kristy" <Wembeley@noneayobiz.com> wrote in message
news:Y_SdnRqg_ZlHVznfRVn-sw@adelphia.com...
> I've switched back to sims 1 because I'm so tired of looking at the
> hourglass. For those of you whose game runs fairly quickly, at least
> enjoyable enough to play regularly, what do you consider minimum in
> motherboard, speed, ram and especially does the video card make a diff and
> what is yours? Thanks!
>

A few months ago, I upgraded to a Radeon 9550 256MB video card, and got a
HUGE boost over the 64MB built in video card my homemade machine had. I had
a P4 1.8GHZ with 1GB of RAM. I found that the video card made a heck of a
lot more difference than most anything else I did.

I decided to build a new machine anyway, but I kept the 9550 video card I
just bought. I built an AMD 3200+ with 1 GB of RAM, and 160 GB of hard disc
space on the main drive. I have a 120 GB secondary drive, but I use it for
video editing.

I tired of buying "boxed" computers. Building one is more expensive, but
it's not too hard, and doesn't seem to be quite so cranky. They pre-load
most of the "boxed" computers with so much rubbish, and some aren't quite as
easy to upgrade, I just decided to start making my own.

--
Emily E

www.emilyw.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 06:35:28 GMT, "Jeanie" <Nobody@home.com> wrote:

>> Pop in a 200GB harddrive and a decent videocard and you're set for
>> several years more.
>
>That's my plan, though the HD is more likely to be a bit smaller than that.
>I'm trying to decide on which video card to go for.

Samsung Spinpoint! Very quiet, very fast, very cheap, very reliable.
For a vidcard, what's your budget?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

Guardian Pegasus wrote:
> On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 06:35:28 GMT, "Jeanie" <Nobody@home.com> wrote:
>
>>> Pop in a 200GB harddrive and a decent videocard and you're set for
>>> several years more.
>>
>> That's my plan, though the HD is more likely to be a bit smaller
>> than that. I'm trying to decide on which video card to go for.
>
> Samsung Spinpoint! Very quiet, very fast, very cheap, very reliable.
> For a vidcard, what's your budget?

It will depend on whether I've won at bingo lately. <g>
Probably around $200 or less, though.

Jeanie

 

[strider]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

On Mon, 6 Jun 2005 15:13:57 -0700, "Kristy" <Wembeley@noneayobiz.com>
wrote:

>I've switched back to sims 1 because I'm so tired of looking at the
>hourglass. For those of you whose game runs fairly quickly, at least
>enjoyable enough to play regularly, what do you consider minimum in
>motherboard, speed, ram and especially does the video card make a diff and
>what is yours? Thanks!

Mine runs fairly fast on my Athlon 64 3700+ with 2GM memory, 200GB
serial ATA HD and Radeon 9800pro video card. Having tried the game on
variuos systems, I would say that memory and video cards are what make
the biggest difference. 1GB memory and a good video card is what I
would recommend.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

> Mine runs fairly fast on my Athlon 64 3700+ with 2GM memory, 200GB
> serial ATA HD and Radeon 9800pro video card. Having tried the game on
> variuos systems, I would say that memory and video cards are what make
> the biggest difference. 1GB memory and a good video card is what I
> would recommend.

Thanks. I have 2400+ Athlon but only 264 memory and the factory video card.
Sounds like I need more memory and possibly a good video card.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 16:35:27 GMT, "Jeanie" <Nobody@home.com> wrote:

>It will depend on whether I've won at bingo lately. <g>
>Probably around $200 or less, though.

Either spend 120-30$ on a Radeon 9800 PRO or throw in a few more bucks
and buy a 6600GT or Ultra. But no LE, Se or any other designation

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

Guardian Pegasus wrote:
> On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 16:35:27 GMT, "Jeanie" <Nobody@home.com> wrote:
>
>> It will depend on whether I've won at bingo lately. <g>
>> Probably around $200 or less, though.
>
> Either spend 120-30$ on a Radeon 9800 PRO or throw in a few more bucks
> and buy a 6600GT or Ultra. But no LE, Se or any other designation

Thanks. I made a note of that.

Jeanie

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 18:33:53 GMT, "Jeanie" <Nobody@home.com> wrote:

>Thanks. I made a note of that.

And do make sure it's the right slot! hehe AGP and PCI Express do not
physically fit eachother. PCI is also not the same as PCI Express and
to my knowledge do not fit eachother. In your computer you likely have
AGP and ordinary PCI slots.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

Guardian Pegasus wrote:
> And do make sure it's the right slot! hehe AGP and PCI Express do not
> physically fit eachother. PCI is also not the same as PCI Express and
> to my knowledge do not fit eachother.

PCI Express looks exactly the same as PCI, except for the fact that it is
round the other way. IE, the short group of 'contacts' between the card and
socket is closer to the connections (VGA, DVI, etc.) than the long group.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

"Guardian Pegasus"
<Pope.Been-a-Dick.Adolf.Panzer.Rat.Nazinger.Torquemada.II@holysee.va> wrote
in message news:scqba1hqosvn6r8l2ov254n579h0acujje@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 18:33:53 GMT, "Jeanie" <Nobody@home.com> wrote:
>
>>Thanks. I made a note of that.
>
> And do make sure it's the right slot! hehe AGP and PCI Express do not
> physically fit eachother. PCI is also not the same as PCI Express and
> to my knowledge do not fit eachother. In your computer you likely have
> AGP and ordinary PCI slots.

My sister has a new machine with a PCI Express slot. She upgraded her
videocard from a 128 to a 256MB one, and paid BIG BUCKS because of that
silly slot. She's a big Doom player, so I guess that was worth it to her.
--
Emily E

www.emilyw.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

On Tue, 7 Jun 2005 12:49:06 -0700, "Kristy" <Wembeley@noneayobiz.com>
wrote:

>Thanks. I have 2400+ Athlon but only 264 memory and the factory video card.
>Sounds like I need more memory and possibly a good video card.

Exactly right. A 2400... intriguing... both the older Thoroughbred
24's and the new Barton's were for the most part extremely
overclockable. Mine ran at 3800+ with no problem. You should try
overclocking it. When your computer starts, hit "DEL" look through the
various menues with arrow up/down... see if you can't crank that baby
up. It may quite likely be necessary to set the memory multiplier
lower, since the memory and CPU bus (FSB) are tied into eachother.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

Cool, I'll give it a try.
"Guardian Pegasus"
<Pope.Been-a-Dick.Adolf.Panzer.Rat.Nazinger.Torquemada.II@holysee.va> wrote
in message news:a1vba111gpukgpkemhntb0oci7lu60edu5@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 7 Jun 2005 12:49:06 -0700, "Kristy" <Wembeley@noneayobiz.com>
> wrote:
>
>>Thanks. I have 2400+ Athlon but only 264 memory and the factory video
>>card.
>>Sounds like I need more memory and possibly a good video card.
>
> Exactly right. A 2400... intriguing... both the older Thoroughbred
> 24's and the new Barton's were for the most part extremely
> overclockable. Mine ran at 3800+ with no problem. You should try
> overclocking it. When your computer starts, hit "DEL" look through the
> various menues with arrow up/down... see if you can't crank that baby
> up. It may quite likely be necessary to set the memory multiplier
> lower, since the memory and CPU bus (FSB) are tied into eachother.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 22:00:32 +0200, Guardian Pegasus
<Pope.Been-a-Dick.Adolf.Panzer.Rat.Nazinger.Torquemada.II@holysee.va>
wrote:

>overclockable. Mine ran at 3800+ with no problem. You should try

And by that I mean, the 2400+ which was IIRC a 1.47Ghz CPU ran at
2.4Ghz :-D

 

[Betty]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

"Guardian Pegasus"
<Pope.Been-a-Dick.Adolf.Panzer.Rat.Nazinger.Torquemada.II@holysee.va>
wrote in message news7vba1tc7sejssrj9vl35bsnma7f8rqbaa@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 22:00:32 +0200, Guardian Pegasus
> <Pope.Been-a-Dick.Adolf.Panzer.Rat.Nazinger.Torquemada.II@holysee.va>
> wrote:
>
>>overclockable. Mine ran at 3800+ with no problem. You should try
>
> And by that I mean, the 2400+ which was IIRC a 1.47Ghz CPU ran at
> 2.4Ghz :-D

How do you overclock? Oh dear, I may be getting into something over my
head here. LOL

Betty

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

Kristy wrote:
> I've switched back to sims 1 because I'm so tired of looking at the
> hourglass. For those of you whose game runs fairly quickly, at least
> enjoyable enough to play regularly, what do you consider minimum in
> motherboard, speed, ram and especially does the video card make a
> diff and what is yours? Thanks!

Mine runs fairly fast. My cpu is only 1.53 gHz but I do have 768 of RAM and
a good video card. Speed has not been a problem for me.

Gareeth

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

Guardian Pegasus wrote:
> On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 18:33:53 GMT, "Jeanie" <Nobody@home.com> wrote:
>
>> Thanks. I made a note of that.
>
> And do make sure it's the right slot! hehe AGP and PCI Express do not
> physically fit eachother. PCI is also not the same as PCI Express and
> to my knowledge do not fit eachother. In your computer you likely have
> AGP and ordinary PCI slots.

Thanks for that. I was looking at video cards at Best Buy a couple of
weekends ago and saw those PCI Express ones and wondered if they'd work in
my computer's PCI slot. I'm glad to have this information. I'll likely be
looking for an AGP card. I've been looking online for that one you
mentioned and it's expensive! The Radeon 9800 PRO 256MB DDR AGP card at
Best Buy is $499.99. The ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon 9800 PRO 128 MB DDR AGP
card is $299.99. Both are a bit steep for me, I'm afraid.

I don't want to spend over $200, because that will bite into my hard drive
budget, too.

Jeanie