# How to make games run smoother???



## Warmonster (Jun 17, 2002)

Ok, I got max payne a while back and i've beat it like 15 times, 
but it's hard because when alot of enemys or alot of action gets on the screen it starts slowing down and I end up in a pool of blood, and having to start over!! But i recently played max payne on the 
Xbox and it was WAY BETTER, the game ran way smoother and it had better graphics (mostly because I cant turn everything up on mine.

So, My system now is, Pentium II 355 mhz, voodoo 4 4500, 256 mb ram
20gb hard drive, and 3gb hard drive. I was thinking of getting a new cpu like a pentium III 600 to 800 mhz, bu ti didn't know if that would make a big diff or not, and sometime getting a voodoo 5 off ebay. But i noticed that the cooler it is in my room, the better the game/s run!! So i dunno what to do!


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## Jason (Dec 30, 2001)

A faster cpu will help. As for the voodoo 5 I would stay away. 3DFX no longer makes video cards for computers. I would go more towards a Geforce or TNT card for games. The Geforce is supposed to be one of the best for games. The heat can also play a part. Make sure you have enough fans to keep it cool in there.


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## Warmonster (Jun 17, 2002)

i was thinking about a geforce 3 64mb, but do you think i should get a cpu first??


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## Midnight Tech (Dec 31, 2001)

If your current system has an AGP slot I'd try a new video card - one of the Geforce or TNT models will do nicely. If no AGP slot then I'd look into a new CPU and motherboard.


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## JAMMAN (Apr 27, 2002)

Welcome to the forum, Warmonster. I have only recently been thrown into the realm of gaming, but I have set up a couple gaming systems.

AT LEAST a P3 800. With an Abit VA6 for 40.00 on ebay you can push a P3 600 to 800 with the stock fan and not over heat.

I don't personally like the Vodoo, but it will do.
If you can get something with a geforce 256 chipset and use nvidia detonator 3 drivers.

Ram is sufficient in amount. if it is only pc66 you will notice a big difference with PC133 cas2, and ram is still cheap.

Hard drive is the least of your worries with gaming. A 20 gig ATA66 should do. 

Use win98SE for your OS. Do not use NT or 2000.


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## JAMMAN (Apr 27, 2002)

I type so slow, there were no replies to this thread when I started!!!!


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## Jason (Dec 30, 2001)

To go with a faster cpu you may need to change your motherboard. That would be the first thing I would check. The P2 was a slot motherboard, where the P3 is a socket. Also check your memory. You may be able to switch it over, depeding on the motherboard you go with. 

The way I would look at it how much are you looking to spend? If you don't want to spend that much, a new graphics card will help to a point. But, the new graphics card can always be switched to a new motherboard. 

I'm not real familar with your video card. But with that, your cpu does seem a little slow for playing games. Its kinda a catch 22. You can go with a new cpu/mb and possible memory and keep your video card until you can upgrade later. That will help out some. Or you can get a new video card and wait to upgrade the rest later. That will also help out some. But to get the full benifit of either one, they will need the other.


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## JAMMAN (Apr 27, 2002)

Danrak, I set up a P3 600-oc800 TODAY, slot 1. i think the 800 natural was offered in slot AND socket but was the last slot.


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## Warmonster (Jun 17, 2002)

hmmm, well so far, thanks for all the help!! And My motherboard is slot, I think.... I'm not very good with motherboards but my cpu is a big long black thing with a built in fan. And I will be buying what i need off ebay. But isn't putting in a new mother board a REAL pain in the ***?? I mean I've installed a bunch of diff hardware, but I dunno about a motherboard. and If i do get a new motherboard what should I get???

As for the 3d accelerator, I do have and AGP slot and I think i'm gonna get a geforce 3 64 mb AGP, and I'm gonna go look on ebay and tell you guys EXACTLY what i think i'm gonna get and see what you think!! Thanks again for all the help!


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## JAMMAN (Apr 27, 2002)

> If i do get a new motherboard what should I get???



OOH, open the can!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Look in your wallet and tell us how much you can spend without getting evicted, kicked out or divorced- whatever your life case might be.


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## Warmonster (Jun 17, 2002)

haha, well, i dunno how much i can spend i guess it just depends on how good of a deal it is. On the motherboard i want a slot, and what exactly does the motherboard do, i mean, if i get a new motherboard what will it enhance?


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## Warmonster (Jun 17, 2002)

ok, heres the 3d accelerator i want. 
VisionTek nVIDIA GeFORCE 3 TV-Out 64 MB DDR

Details:
256-bit Graphics Architecture 
AGP 4X 
200 MHz Core Clock 
460 MHz Memory Clock 
57 Million Transistors 
800 Billion Operations per Second 
3.2 Billion Samples per Second FSAA Fill Rate 
76 GFLOPS 
7.4 GB/sec memory bandwidth 
TV-Out 
Supports Windows 9x, 2000, ME, NT, XP

Do you think this will be good??? Its only 60.00 at ebay, I'm not going to bid on this exact one.


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## Warmonster (Jun 17, 2002)

and... 
Heres a CPU i found, 
Price:115.00
NEW Intel Pentium III 700MHZ Slot 1 CPU

100MHZ FSB – 256k L2 Cache

With a NEW Heatsink!

Details:
- 700MHz
- SECC 2 Package
- Slot 1
- S1 Core
- 100MHz Bus Speed
- 256KB L2 Cache
- 1.65v


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## Warmonster (Jun 17, 2002)

and the motherboard i'll leave up to you guys, Just as long as its a reasonable price, because like i said, i know nothing about motherboards, but they seem like they would be hard to install, are they??? thanks alot!!


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## JAMMAN (Apr 27, 2002)

You want to get a motherboard AND a processor. Replacing one or the other will not improve things much. You can move into the 800mhz range for 120 bucks or less on Ebay. A little higher and you might be able to go 1G, and all of your stuff should work fine on the new board.

Hey I just read your post (latest). AGP4X will be useless in your current machine.

Buy your mobo from a lowprice.com auction. They will stand behind the purchase, and I have never recieved a bad board from Darin and Michelle.


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## JAMMAN (Apr 27, 2002)

Price is a little high on the p3700. Pass it up.

If you can find a p3 600 eb it will overclock to 800 with the stock fan and never breathe hard. Look for an Abit VA6 mobo. Rock stable, but only supports agp2x.


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## Warmonster (Jun 17, 2002)

lol, welll... just tell me exactly what i need to do and exactly what i need to get, for my computer to handle almost any game on the market at full capacity!!! I'm up for ne suggestions, caus ei don't want to go spending a bunch of money when i didn't need to. thanks!


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## Warmonster (Jun 17, 2002)

ok... thank god, i just found a motherboard!!
ABIT VA6 Pentium III and II Slot 1 Motherboard

Details:
Manufacturer: ABIT 
Model: VA6 
Slot 1, supports Intel Pentium III, Pentium II and Celeron processors. 
VIA Apollo Pro 133 AGP chipset. 
Supports 66, 100 and 133MHz FSB speeds. 
Supports 768 MB Max. memory 
Supports Ultra DMA 33/66 
Integrated hardware Sound Blaster Pro AC '97 digital audio controller. 
(3) 168-pin DIMM, 1 AGP, 4 PCI, 1 ISA and 1 shared PCI/ISA slots. 
1 PS/2 Mouse & 1 PS/2 Keyboard, 2 USB, 2 COM & 1 LPT external connectors. 
2 Ultra DMA/66 IDE & 1 floppy connectors. 
Audio and game connectors. 
Includes CPU retention bracket. 
Guaranteed working 

hows that sound???


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## JAMMAN (Apr 27, 2002)

I've bought 2 VA6's for under 45.00 each. Bid within the last two minutes of the auction, the last 30 seconds if you have high speed internet.



> for my computer to handle almost any game on the market at full capacity!!!


C'mon guy, that is asking too much. You will get decent performance but the only way to be on top is spend the money.

If you don't mind AMD, you can move in to that for a little less.
Don't rush in. Look at your wallet first, then shop wisely.

I have an AMD slot A 800 in an Aopen AK72 mobo that supports 4x agp that I have been so impressed with it is now my favorite computer. I put the whole thing together for under 400. (minus monitor)


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## hightechredneck (Jun 18, 2002)

May I suggest an AMD Athlon for gaming? I'm a die hard Pentium fan but during my last upgrade(this tower has had 6 motherboards in it!) I was talked into the Athlon, what a difference! I run an Abit board with raid, 256 mgs of DDR ram and an ATI All In Wonder Radeon card. Yop that with IMSI virtual cd drive and this machine is awsome for gaming. I play alot of Empire Earth and with all the sounds turned on and the video set to high I can run the game to max pop limit and when running full scale assaults against two comp opponents I get very little bog. Beats any P3 that I had in here! and this upgrade was not all that expensive, i forget the dollar amount but it was way worth it!


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## Laffctx (May 24, 2002)

I think you should try a new video card first. Reason is, your going to have to eventually get a new card anyway. So, I would get the card first and see how much difference it makes. It might be that the card alone would allow your current system to handle the game better and you could wait to fork out the money for the new cpu and everything else. You might find that the card would make your current system good enough for some time for you depending on what you like to do with it.

Good luck,

Laffctx


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