Help! Sims 2 choppy. Need HW advice.

[SuperVisor]

I bought my wife Sims 2 for xmas as well as a new Dell Dimension 3000. It has a P4 2.8Ghz upgraded with 512MB of RAM. Sims 2 is choppy and freezes for 5 seconds every minute or so. The Dell has a built-in Intel Extreme 2 graphics card which I believe is the weak point. I need advice in a budget video card capable of running Sims 2 properly. The Dell does not have an AGP port so the card must be PCI.

I did a search and read some recomendations for the Radeon 9200 or 9600 as well as Nvidia FX line. That thread was a couple of months old. I am looking for current recomendations, if different. We are not gamers other than this game. I'm looking to spend about $75 but will go to $100 if absolutely needed. I will also add another stick of 512MB if I need to. Thanks to all and Happy New Year.

 

[daveybrat]

This should be more than adequate for your needs...... good price, retail boxed, and free shipping:

ZipZoomFly

Good Luck!

 

[mwmorph]

the new dell dosnet have a AGP port? Are you sure? Radeon 9250 256mb is the best i can find at newegg.(around $100) or a 128mb 128bit fx5200 for $68. just avoid SE or LE models if you can because, at pci all you can get are low end cards and se and le they are crippled versions, of these which are pretty the lowest end modern cards you can buy.

 

[DusterAZ]

You will definitely need to get another 512 MB stick like you mentioned. I noticed the game would still thrash on the hard drive after I upgraded to a BFG 6800. I then went to 1 GB and that cleared it right up.

 

[mwmorph]

is sims2 really that much of a hardware hog? i mean there really arent any real complex effects like sm3.0 and stuff. whhy do you need 1gb ram just to run it right?

 

[DusterAZ]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
is sims2 really that much of a hardware hog? i mean there really arent any real complex effects like sm3.0 and stuff. whhy do you need 1gb ram just to run it right?

Yes, surprised me too. I don't play it but my wife does ... HL2 and Doom 3 run better I think Sims 2 is very dependent on your disk subsystem as it is always loading stuff from the hard drive ... so more memory + faster hard disks (raid) would help more than throwing CPU and video card at it.

 

[2Xtreme21]

Originally posted by: DusterAZ

Originally posted by: mwmorph
is sims2 really that much of a hardware hog? i mean there really arent any real complex effects like sm3.0 and stuff. whhy do you need 1gb ram just to run it right?

Yes, surprised me too. I don't play it but my wife does ... HL2 and Doom 3 run better I think Sims 2 is very dependent on your disk subsystem as it is always loading stuff from the hard drive ... so more memory + faster hard disks (raid) would help more than throwing CPU and video card at it.

Yeah but anything to get that graphics load off the processor...

You need to check again for that AGP slot. I don't see why they'd make a new Dell without one.

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
is sims2 really that much of a hardware hog? i mean there really arent any real complex effects like sm3.0 and stuff. whhy do you need 1gb ram just to run it right?

Yes, EA can't code for their lives, at least for the PC. Forget Far Cry, HL2, and Doom3 - Sims 2 is probably the most demanding game out there at this point.

 

[mwmorph]

yeah, i remember now, no card seemed to run sims2 at or above 50fps. seemed weird to me. i thought it might have had a frame limiter installed. wow, maxis, what happened?

 

[RalphTheCow]

I'm in the same boat - I was shocked that the 3000 has no AGP port, since I always remember seeing one previously in Dells. I suspect this will be a hot topic post-Christmas! If only I had known, the next model up is only a little more. Poor marketing/advertising on their part, since Sims was also my main reason for buying. Silly me, the 3 GHz and DDR seemed to do almost nothing for it!

I agree that Sims is a total hog - it has always given me headaches. While the Intel graphics are certainly a problem, my symptoms also seem more like a memory problem (I have 512 MB), since loading anything takes FOREVER, and it crashes or refuses to load the biggest house in Pleasantview. I hope there is at least room for more memory. The way things are going, probably not! If I had to predict, I would say they supplied two 256 sticks and there are only two slots. I hope I'm wrong; going to open her up now.

So I need to figure out if a PCI card will be enough of an improvement over integrated to bother with. Damn, I also would have been happy to pay a little more for PCI express slots. Darn the Christmas rush! I had planned to build in January/February, but the wife and kids made me buy prebuilt, and I obviously didn't do enough research.

Edit: Yup, those creeps filled both available slots, so now a memory upgrade will be VERY pricey. Man, I am done with Dell over this one. I guess for a "free" memory upgrade, I couldn't expect anything different, but the two slots is what pisses me off. Do memory sticks have to be the same? If not I could try just one 512 and an existing 256, but once again, you probably can't do that, right?

 

[McArra]

6800Ultra SLI rig LOL

 

[DusterAZ]

How long ago did you buy this system from Dell ?

"Total Satisfaction Policy"

You may return your new system up to 21 days from the date of invoice.1 Any refurbished systems can be returned up to 14 days from the date of invoice.
It is important that you return everything on your order, and that it is in its original packaging.
We will credit your account for the price of the system (minus initial shipping and handling).

 

[RalphTheCow]

"How long ago did you buy this system from Dell ? "

12/22/04 - Does anyone know how much they charge for handling? They're out till Monday.

 

[Fardringle]

The Dimension 3000 series is Dell's budget PC line, and yes, it does not include an AGP port. I was disappointed with that myself, but Dell support confirmed that no Dimension 3000's are being shipped with AGP slots on the motherboard.

 

[SuperVisor]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
Radeon 9250 256mb is the best i can find at newegg.(around $100) or a 128mb 128bit fx5200 for $68. just avoid SE or LE models if you can because, at pci all you can get are low end cards and se and le they are crippled versions, of these which are pretty the lowest end modern cards you can buy.

Thanks for the info.

Originally posted by: DusterAZ
You will definitely need to get another 512 MB stick like you mentioned. I noticed the game would still thrash on the hard drive after I upgraded to a BFG 6800. I then went to 1 GB and that cleared it right up.

I do not notice the drive activity you mentioned, I am looking into getting another stick of 512MB.

Originally posted by: mwmorph
yeah, i remember now, no card seemed to run sims2 at or above 50fps. seemed weird to me. i thought it might have had a frame limiter installed. wow, maxis, what happened?

Originally posted by: DusterAZ
Yes, surprised me too. I don't play it but my wife does ... HL2 and Doom 3 run better I think Sims 2 is very dependent on your disk subsystem as it is always loading stuff from the hard drive ... so more memory + faster hard disks (raid) would help more than throwing CPU and video card at it.

So you guys think it's better to add another 512 stick before trying another video card?

Originally posted by: RalphTheCow
...So I need to figure out if a PCI card will be enough of an improvement over integrated to bother with. Damn, I also would have been happy to pay a little more for PCI express slots. Darn the Christmas rush! I had planned to build in January/February, but the wife and kids made me buy prebuilt, and I obviously didn't do enough research.

Edit: Yup, those creeps filled both available slots, so now a memory upgrade will be VERY pricey. Man, I am done with Dell over this one. I guess for a "free" memory upgrade, I couldn't expect anything different, but the two slots is what pisses me off. Do memory sticks have to be the same? If not I could try just one 512 and an existing 256, but once again, you probably can't do that, right?

That's the problem I have. I would like to find out for sure if a pci card will make enough of a difference before I plunk down more money. i.e. run Sims 2 properly...with the details set to high...too much to hope for? anyone know?
...And yes, I believe you can put a 512stick with a 256 stick. Just won't be running in dual channel, but shouldn't be a big deal.

 

[imported_Computer MAn]

Originally posted by: mwmorph

...And yes, I believe you can put a 512stick with a 256 stick. Just won't be running in dual channel, but shouldn't be a big deal.

Yes it should work just fine and I would be suprised if that board had dual channel support so don't worry about that

 

[RalphTheCow]

I don't understand this dual channel stuff - guess I need to read the DDR memory guide. Is that the same as DDR-II?

Oh, and Supervisor, log into the Dell forums. Someone there added a PCI card and has 768 memory and they say Sims works fine even on a 2400, which I think is just a Celeron. So I may go that route. I better verify that it is Sims 2 they are referring to, though.

 

[happy medium]

My system pent 4 3.o6 ran sims 2 with a nvidia mx42o 64 meg at 800x600 with high detail just fine. I have 512megs of pc2700 ram. I would say that a 9200 or 9250 far more powerfull than a mx 420 with only 64 megs of memory.
Go for the video card upgrade first is my opinion. Hope this helps.

 

[RalphTheCow]

But was it a PCI video card, Ultramags?

 

[happy medium]

no, but do you think with these mx cards does it make a difference?There slow!
Anything pci or agp will destroy that integrated graphics sh!t. Would you not agree?
One more thing integrated graphics does use your system memory thats where you will see that stuttering. Someone once told me that system memory is slower than video memory correct?

 

[SneakyStuff]

Originally posted by: Ultramags
no, but do you think with these mx cards does it make a difference?There slow!
Anything pci or agp will destroy that integrated graphics sh!t. Would you not agree?
One more thing integrated graphics does use your system memory thats where you will see that stuttering. Someone once told me that system memory is slower than video memory correct?

It is slower, but the situation in which it is used in is different. If he wants a cheap PCI card, he should get something like this. newegg.com

 

[happy medium]

Sneaky I totally agree

 

[imported_Computer MAn]

Originally posted by: Ultramags
Someone once told me that system memory is slower than video memory correct?

On some of the older cards it might be slower than PC3200 but most cards memory is faster. I know my 6800GT is at 1ghz effective and my memory is around 400mhz.

 

[pol II]

I threw a VisionTek Xtasy Radeon 9100 64MB card into a Dimension 2350 and it runs Sims 2 at 800 x 600 just fine with 768 RAM and 2.4GHz P4.

 

[gwag]

5700LE or 9000 PCI even 8500 are out there are the best options usually faster clocks that 9200's 5700le would be the most advanced if you want to try to use AA/AF to make games look better using lower resolutions in any case all of these cards are made in 64/128 bit versions opt for the latter.
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=14-139-166&depa=0