I rely on a gaming laptop for all of my needs, but have had serious issues w/ it. The motherboard is being replaced as we speak. I obviously need access, so I built a computer with stuff from around the house. My setup is below + a log / file of specifics... from AIDA64 (benchmarking.) Log: http://www.mediafire.com/?esm0y9fdd26arrb PROBLEM: Lag, obbvious lack of VRAM, L4D2 maps load very very slowly... Video: NVIDIA GeForce 9500GT @ 512MB RAM Mobo: Socket 775 / ASUS P5Q Premium Processor: Intel Core2 Quad CPU @ 2.40GHz Memory: 2x 4GB (8GB) DDR2 HDD: 2x Western Digital "Caviar" WD10EARS-00Y5B1/WD10EADS-00L5B1 Case: Thermaltake M9 Power: Antec ATX12V v2.2 CD/DVD: ASUS DRW-22B1ST 22x Monitor: (VGA/DVI) ASUS VH-202 19" OS: Vista Ultimate x64 Should I replace the mobo and the whole thing-down, or can I just UPGRADE THE VIDEO CARD and enjoy some performance? What card do you recommend? I am looking for cost-effective solutions atm...
Strange. I've had a similar setup few weeks ago until I upgraded everything. I too had Core2Duo, a 8800GTS 512Mb, 3GB RAM and a WD Blue HDD and it ran L4D2 reasonably. I think it would be best to build a new computer since I know most of the components are out of date (DDR2 RAM, Socket 775, SATA2, etc...). If you currently can't afford to replace the whole computer then most important parts would be the HDD, CPU, RAM, and video card. If you want to speed up load times get a new HDD. I see that you have two "green" drives. These are WD's eco friendly drives and have the least performance of their HDDs. Green < Blue < Black < Velociraptor. I would recommend getting an SSD though. Currently there have been many prices drops on reliable SSDs. If you choose to get an SSD make sure it's from a reputable company (Intel, SanDisk, Plextor, Crucial etc...). If you can't afford a new SSD or HDD then the only other options is to do Disk Clean-up and remove any unnecessary programs and then defrag after. If that still doesn't work you can get radical and format the whole drive and do a fresh install of Windows. If you want more FPS then I think you need to upgrade 3 things; CPU, RAM, and Video Card. When the game gets very intensive when there are many explosions and particles flying around you want a good CPU to handle all of that. When the resolution and texture details are high you want a good Video Card with atleast 512MB (I recommend atleast 1GB for today's games). LONG STORY SHORT: For your situation I recommend just good ol' cleaning first. Remove unwanted programs and files and do a defrag. If that doesn't work you could reformat your HDD and do a fresh install of Windows (remember to copy your steamapps folder to an external HDD so you don't have to download/update all your games again). If that still doesn't work I'd upgrade your HDD to an SSD or a WD Black series. Personally I think your CPU, RAM, and Video Card are still good enough for L4D2. *phew* That took awhile. I get geeky when it comes to computers.
Hey Erik At a minimum I recommend the following: Ati Radeon HD3850, HD3870, HD4850??, HD4870 or HD4890. Nvidia 8800 GT, 9800 GT, GTS 250, GTS 260. If you have the financial means: Ati HD5850, HD5970, HD6870, HD6950, HD6970 Nvidia GTX 460, 470, 560, 570. The secret of the accelerators is in the data bus, which must be at least 256 bits and the memory model to be DDR3 as minimun. From minor feature creates the famous bottleneck which directly affects the FPS. The current video accelerators are high enough price. The 7000 series of Ati and 600 of Nvidia are through the roof. Up! Good luck!
Your CPU is good, your 8GB of DDR2 is good, basically everything is good except the 9500 GT. Try upgrading to a GTX 560 or GTX 560Ti. Even a GTX 460 is great (my computer has it). The GTX 560Ti can be found between $212 to $250 at umart.com.au... and they should be even cheaper in America. With that you should be able to easily run L4D2 @ 1080p or higher, max settings, 8x csaa, 16af, etc. with 70+ FPS. You only need to upgrade the motherboard if you want DDR3 RAM, the latest generation Core i7 CPU, etc. but that isn't necessary for L4D2.
Thank you, everyone, for all of your awesome*** input! I was ready to make some selections. Unfortunately, I lost the whole thing in a storm recently... hardware fried, I mean. I went ahead and bought a new computer altogether.
LOL It was the storm in 1 case, unidentified mobo errors in the first case (ASUS laptop,) a faulty mobo right out of the box yesterday, then finally a decent laptop yesterday. I agree, though, not having much luck lately.
