Laggy BF1942... videocard or bad netcode?

[Actaeon]

So I decided to pick up the Secret Weapons expansion pack for BF1942. I havn't played BF1942 in a while, so I figured it'd give me a good reason to start playing again. Anyway, I've never really had a major problem with BF1942 before as far as frames per second (or so I thought). Anyway, I was playing today offline, and for the most part, it seemed to be okay. I ran it with 400% bots. But when I decided to go play online, it seemed to be very jerky and very slow. I was getting around 80-120 ping, which is okay (in CS, it never gets that choppy), but we all know BF1942's netcode isn't the best of quality.

I really can't determine what is making it so laggy. There should be no difference between single player and multiplayer as far as actual frame rates is concerned, but my ping isn't that bad to have such choppy play.

System:
Barton 2500+ @ 3200+
1024mb of PC3200
NF7-S V2.0
Geforce 3 Ti200

I run BF1942 in 1024x768x32, with everything on high.

Obviously the videocard is the bottleneck of the system. I have plenty of system memory, and the CPU is fast enough. With Radeon9800's so "cheap" now a days I might pick one up. But it really isn't necessary for me, as BF1942 (and a rare game of CS) is the only game I'm playing on my PC at the moment (gotta love the Xbox), I don't want to fork out $200 for just one game.

So, I am looking for your advice...

Blame it on the card? Blame it on the netcode?

 

[johnjkr1]

I have had the EXACT same problem since 1.6 came out. I never had lag or disconnects before, now it comes up every session. If it was working fine before (like yours and mine was) then it certainly is not the video card. It is the game. I am waiting for the next patch to come out, eventually I will load up 1.5 again and try to find a server to see if 1.6 (and its horrible punkbuster implementation) is the problem.

 

[Actaeon]

Well, I havn't played since 1.4, so its been a while, and my memory could be foggy, but I don't remember any lag problems. I couldn't give you exact details on how well it performed before the 1.6 patch.

I'm just curious to see if my Videocard is at the end of its lifespan, or its just a software problem.

With your experience, it seems to be a software problem. Hopefully a few more replies will help give us an answer.

 

[johnjkr1]

I was playing 1.4/1.5 constantly, then I installed 1.6, immediately got lag and disconnects. If it plays fine solo, then you know it's not your computer, although a geforce3 is getting alittle old. You could pick up a nice 4200 for $50, I just replaced mine and it still plays games great.

 

[styrafoam]

Turn off shadows, reduce texture detail by 1 notch and reduce fog distance to about 80%. See if making those changes eliminates your lag. I played on a ti4200 up until a month ago, having texture detail maxed and shadows turned on caused me hiccups/lag in multiplayer. I am running a 9800pro now with all settings maxed and it runs fine. I am playing on Comcast cable with an average ping of 40-70.

 

[johnjkr1]

All of those are good recommendations, but what is strange is that it was running fine before with the settings the way they are.

 

[johnjkr1]

Wooooo! 1000 posts!!!

 

[Actaeon]

Hrm.. with NV40 launching soon, I might just pick up a 9800/5900 if the price is right.

Thanks guys.