I have an Athlon XP2500+ with 768MB on an MSI KT3-Ultra 2 motherboard. Current video is an Asus V8420 GF4 Ti4200 128MB using VGA and Dvi->VGA adapter to run dual VGA monitors. Nvidia drivers v40.72, with nothing overclocked. I'm running Win XP, currently the latest DX 8.1 only with all upgrades and patches except for DX9.
I often play Dark Age of Camelot. It runs fine in windowed mode, but only on the primary monitor. I can even run two instances on the primary monitor, with no problems but switching back and forth is a hassle at times. Simultaneously, I can also run other programs on the secondary monitor, like Outlook, Explorer, etc, also with no problems.
The problem is that the second even a fraction of a DAoC game window is put on the secondary monitor, the whole game and system lag down heavily. That is true even if only one instance is running. I usually run 1280x1024 in 32 bit on both monitors, but also tried a lower resolution in 16 bit with no change.
So, the question is what upgrade do I need?
Do I simply need more video memory, so something like a FX5600 256MB card for under $200 would be OK, even though the power is not much better than my Ti4200? These also have somewhat faster RAMDACs if that matters.
Or, maybe it's the Nvidia drivers and an ATI Radeon card, say a 9600Pro, with similar power and 128MB would do the trick, also saving a lot of money?
Or, do I really need a lot more power to run two monitors at once? I don't think a 9800Pro 256MB is going to appear in the near future, but if this is the only likely solution I can wait for the prices to come down on the next generation maybe...
Any input appreciated, especially if you really know the solution and it will save me some bucks! Thanks!
I often play Dark Age of Camelot. It runs fine in windowed mode, but only on the primary monitor. I can even run two instances on the primary monitor, with no problems but switching back and forth is a hassle at times. Simultaneously, I can also run other programs on the secondary monitor, like Outlook, Explorer, etc, also with no problems.
The problem is that the second even a fraction of a DAoC game window is put on the secondary monitor, the whole game and system lag down heavily. That is true even if only one instance is running. I usually run 1280x1024 in 32 bit on both monitors, but also tried a lower resolution in 16 bit with no change.
So, the question is what upgrade do I need?
Do I simply need more video memory, so something like a FX5600 256MB card for under $200 would be OK, even though the power is not much better than my Ti4200? These also have somewhat faster RAMDACs if that matters.
Or, maybe it's the Nvidia drivers and an ATI Radeon card, say a 9600Pro, with similar power and 128MB would do the trick, also saving a lot of money?
Or, do I really need a lot more power to run two monitors at once? I don't think a 9800Pro 256MB is going to appear in the near future, but if this is the only likely solution I can wait for the prices to come down on the next generation maybe...
Any input appreciated, especially if you really know the solution and it will save me some bucks! Thanks!
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