Question about Tribes 2 and CPU power...

[BlvdKing]

Currently I am running Tribes 2 on a Duron 800 (actually 825 on a KT133) w/ 128mb of RAM @ 133mhz and a Radeon 32mb DDR. I am playing at full detail at 800*600 (any less and the game textures are blurred beyond recognition). The game is playable but it does get pretty choppy, esp. when I am trying to steal the flag. I see on PriceWatch that a 1.2ghz TBird is only $101. I would probably run it at 110*12 for 1320. Would I see a noticable difference in Tribes 2?

Thanks

 

[duragezic]

Yeah! My system (see sig) is fairly close to what your upgrade would be and I run T2 at 1024x768x32 all details maxed (1 layer sky though) and it's always smooth.

 

[BlvdKing]

Thanks eagle.
Anyone else with approximately the same setup and some practical experience?

 

[Toro 45]

I was using a C533@920 with a Radeon LE for tribes2. Gameplay was a lot like you described.I upgraded to a P3 933@1010 & saw about a 15-18 fps increase not a lot for some games but on Tribes2 15-18 fps is a lot

It made the gameplay much smoother & kept the minimum frames from dropping down to low. I later upgraded to a Geforce2 GTS Pro 64mb & the combo I have now is very smooth & playable.

If you have'nt tried already OC your Radeon & if possible kick that Duron up higher,I thought most of those would hit 950-1000?Also when you say full detail are you talking every slider? If so your fps is getting eatin up by some wasted settings. I'll take a look at mine & edit this post in about 10 minutes with some settings

Good Luck,Toro

 

[duragezic]

Yeah I maxed all the sliders and I believe I have all the graphics settings on for best quality too.

 

[BlvdKing]

Thanks Toro, much appreciated.

The Duron is actually a 750 @ 825 (7.5*110). I can't overclock any higher because this is a Giga-byte board that has no multiplier contols. I have the Radeon running at 178/178 DDR. I have all the settings on high (except for only two layer sky) and texture compression is hacked on at fastest. The game is playable but sometimes the choppiness can get in the way of me escaping with the flag

This is why I am wonder if Tribes 2 responds to an increase in CPU power. All I have to do is put a 1.2 in and it will probably start it's life at 1320 (if I get an AXIA). I will probably pick up an extra stick of PC133 too since 256mb is around $40!

 

[duragezic]

It'd definitely help. Again, with the cpu upgrade and ram upgrade you'd be almost at the level of my system. Mine would still be a little faster due to a higher fsb and I have a Radeon 64 clocked at 195/195 but you could run 1024x768x32 most details maxed, maybe just get rid of the sky and another thing or two. It's a big performance hit and although a 3 layer max quality sky looks amazing, ya never notice it.