PC Gaming

Bazlovejoy

I want to start using my PC to play games, but im not sure my PC is good enough to play the new games. Below ive listed the system requirements for Rainbow Six:Vegas, which i know my computer wont play. Im not sure what graphics card i have or how to find out, but im assuming this is one of the reasons the game wont play

System Requirements
Windows XP (only) with DirectX 9.0c
Pentium 4 3GHz or AMD equivalent
1GB RAM
128MB Graphics Card with Shader Model 3 (DirectX 9.0c compatible)
Sound Card (DirectX 9.0c compatible)
4x DVD-ROM Drive
Peripherals Supported: Mouse, keyboard, headsets, Xbox360 Controller, etc.
Multiplay: Local area network (LAN) and/or 128kbit Cable/DSL connection for online play
Supported Video Cards:
NVIDIA GeForce GeForce 6600GT / 6800 / 7300 / 7600 / 7800 / 7900
ATI Radeon X1600 / X1800 / X1900 families

Will this be a case of updating my graphics card or will i have to buy a better PC if i want to play games?

Cheers,

B

fwor

As you don't give any information about the spec of your current PC, that's impossible to answer!

You can get quite of lot of information within WinXP using "System Information" (Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Information). The graphics card should be shown under "components, display". Only thing I'm not sure is whether that tool only gets shipped with XP Pro.

You can also get some info in Control Panel, System, Device Manager, though it's not as detailed.

Or there are several PC scanning websites/tools out there that will scan your PC and tell you what you've got.

Bazlovejoy

Hi

Thanks for the reply. This is all the info under display. Is the graphics card included. As you can probably tell im not exactly an expert when it comes to computers!!

Name SiS 760
PNP Device ID PCI\VEN_1039&DEV_6330&SUBSYS_2A06103C&REV_00\4&1C526AC9&0&0008
Adapter Type SiS 760 Rev 00, SiS compatible
Adapter Description SiS 760
Adapter RAM 64.00 MB (67,108,864 bytes)
Installed Drivers sisgrv.dll
Driver Version 6.14.10.3671
INF File oem14.inf (Xabre660 section)
Color Planes 1
Color Table Entries 4294967296
Resolution 1024 x 768 x 60 hertz
Bits/Pixel 32
Memory Address 0xE0000000-0xE7FFFFFF
Memory Address 0xED000000-0xED0FFFFF
I/O Port 0x00009000-0x00009FFF
IRQ Channel IRQ 16
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF
I/O Port 0x000003B0-0x000003BB
I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF
Driver c:\windows\system32\drivers\sisgrp.sys (6.14.10.3671, 241.50 KB (247,296 bytes), 01/01/2005 14:34)

fwor

Before you focus on the graphics, you need to figure out whether the basic spec of your PC is good enough. The opening page of "System Information" will tell you CPU type, clock speed, amount of memory, etc.

I'm not well up on graphics chipsets, but it's possible that the SIS chipset is your motherboard's on-board graphics (you can tell if so, because the monitor does not connect to a dedicated card, but plugs directly into the motherboard). If so, you probably will need to upgrade to a dedicated graphics card.

Bazlovejoy

"it's possible that the SIS chipset is your motherboard's on-board graphics (you can tell if so, because the monitor does not connect to a dedicated card, but plugs directly into the motherboard)"

Does that mean i have an inbuild graphics card? How am i able to tell if the monitor plugs directly into the motherboard?

This is my system information:
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 12 Stepping 0 AuthenticAMD ~2210 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Phoenix Technologies, LTD 3.12, 20/04/2005
SMBIOS Version 2.4
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume2
Locale United Kingdom
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)"
User Name YOUR-447023AE6B\Compaq_Owner
Time Zone GMT Standard Time
Total Physical Memory 512.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 147.86 MB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 1.03 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

sidthesexist

You could always download cpuz to find out what cpu ect you have fitted? (its free)

http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

Blacksheep1979

for a start you only have 512mb of ram - how old is the computer?

fwor

From the BIOS date it looks to be a bit over 2 years old. I'm not too familiar with CPU families, etc, but it looks as though it's probably a 2.2Ghz AMD Athlon - not shabby at all...

~But~ neither the CPU speed nor the amount of memory you have meet the game's spec.

If you look at the back of your PC, you will see a row of slots, most (probably) with metal blanking plates. If your monitor plugs into a card in one of those slots, you have a dedicated graphics card. If not, you're almost certainly using on-board graphics.

Bazlovejoy

Ive been chatting to a few people on some other forums, ive given them my computer spec and they've all said get a new one. Most of them said build one to save on cost, but theres absolutely no way i can do that. So i think im just gonna try and put together a checklist of all the things i need a computer to have to play the modern games and go into a shop with the list and say i need this, this and this whats your best price

bigspenda_3

Bazlovejoy wrote: »

Ive been chatting to a few people on some other forums, ive given them my computer spec and they've all said get a new one. Most of them said build one to save on cost, but theres absolutely no way i can do that. So i think im just gonna try and put together a checklist of all the things i need a computer to have to play the modern games and go into a shop with the list and say i need this, this and this whats your best price

Have a look at some of the pre built bundles you can buy online. you could save yourself quite a bit this way anf the kit to buy will be tested and fully guaranteed too.

You can get these with pre loaded operating sytems too
your're best off sticking with Windows XP for now

Vista is the new kid on the block and there are still some compatability issues with hardware drivers.

you add a monitor keyboard mouse etc and you'll be away to go

here are couple of places for you to look at :

www.overclockers.co.uk
www.scan.co.uk
www.ebuyer.com
www.novatech.co.uk
www.aria.co.uk
www.komplett.co.uk


Some of these sites will have their forums, you should be able to get guidance on what type of kit you need and how much you'll be looking at paying.

Drop me a PM if you want any more info I'm on old hand at this and should be able to offer some guidance

Cheers

Mike

armasravi

I have the perfect link for you
http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest

It matches your hardware with the game of your choice.
Ofcourse they only list minimum req's, but it should be able to show you where you are lacking power