d_dgjdhh
20th Dec 2011, 06:37 AM
Hello. Didn't know if this is the appropriate forum to post my query, but hopefully it's the correct place. I'm hoping that someone can help me on whether or not I can improve my game's graphic performance. The following are some of my computer specs (with more specs to be provided, on request), as reported by 'EVEREST Ultimate Edition':
- OS: Windows XP Home Edition, Service Pack 3 (32-bit)
- CPU: DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo E7200, 2533 MHz (9.5 x 267)
- Motherboard: Asus P5QL Pro (3 PCI, 2 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN)
- Motherboard Chipset: Intel Eaglelake P43
- System Memory: 3072 MB (DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM)
- Disk Drive: Seagate ST380815AS (80 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)
- DirectX 9.0c
GPU:
- nVidia ZOTAC GeForce GT 240
- PCI Express 2.0 x16 @ x16
- Memory Size: 1 GB
- Bus Type: GDDR5
The computer is a tower, with seperate monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc. (e.g. not a laptop, or a Mac with hardware imbedded inside the screen, not a tablet, etc.)
So, here's the scenario.
From what I understand, Sims 2 doesn't process with dual-cores with any more improvement, and that as expansion packs were added, gameplay coding was sloppy and the game's performance decreased since the plain, original base game. Adding custom content can also decrease performance, or add loading times too.
I play the game in 1920x1200 resolution, windowed mode. The game usually runs around 800,000kb to 1,300,000kb of RAM on one core. After 1,300,000kb, it crashes/terminates (I'm guessing because it ran out of RAM to use up). In regards to crashing in this instance, I've set the paging file to 0 Mb for the computer to send as much processing resources to the RAM, in order to take advantage of all its space, which I rarely use expect for the Sims 2. I could increase the paging file as much as 4 GB, since space isn't an issue for the moment (about 15 GB of free space before paging file increases).
I haven't been having too many crashes/glitches in Sims 2 gameplay. The game runs fine, it's just...slow. Mainly I play on big lots with 5 people in the lot, and lots of decorations, few to no trees, and some potentially high poly-count objects. Shadows, lighting, graphic effects, and reflections are off, while Sim/Object detail, texture detail, and smooth edges are high.
I've been using nVidia's Zotac's Firestorm program to overclock the GPU. It's ordinary setting is as follows:
Engine Clock: 550 MHz
Memory Clock: 3400 MHz
Shader Clock: 1340 MHz
I've try looking around the Internet regarding what overclocking using Firestorm can do, and some people say that the Shader Clock increases performance, while the other options do not necessarily increase performance. I've overclocked it to the following:
Engine Clock 550 MHz
Memory Clock: 3350 MHz
Shader Clock: 1675 MHz
There's been an increase in performance, but it's still somewhat slow, and occasionally the Sims (while walking) skip a "frame" or two in their walking animation. The temperature of the video card incidentally hovers around 50 degrees when running the game with overclocking, so overheating hasn't been an issue yet.
The computer is well ventilated, and every 4-6 months, I clean the computer tower's interior to remove dust.
I'd like some advice on how to improve gameplay performance in regards to making the game smoother at 1x speed.
1) What would be your recommendation in regards to overclocking?
Is there a ratio to how much Engine-to-Memory-to-Shader is needed to overclock properly? Is there a program you would recommend that could suggest what overclocking values to input? Is it entirely a trial-and-error process to find the correct/closest values? Would you say, based on my computer specs, that overclocking should be adjusted upwards/downwards to certain values?
2) What would be your recommendation in regards to a new video graphics cards?
If overclocking isn't the answer, what graphics cards would you recommend works for a computer set-up as this? I also have an ATI Radeon Sapphire HD 3650 graphics card (512 MB, DDR2 memory) available in storage (as I "upgraded" that graphics card to nVidia's GT 240 card). It was able to read 3.25 Gb of RAM, instead of the 3.00 Gb of RAM for the nVidia card, although performance didn't strike me as anything different.
3) What would be your reccomendation in regards to any new software/hardware to replace/compliment my existing computer specs?
For example, should I purchase a new motherboard, and if so, which brand and model? Should I change OS because there's a significant performance difference from Windows XP to Windows 7 (or to another OS)? Would Windows XP 64-bit be any better in changing performance?
4) Is all this slow down normal, and nothing more can be done to improve performance?
Is this the best I can do to improve gameplay, even if upgrading to a new graphics cards/operating system/etc.?
Let's say I have a budget of $1,000 for combined software/hardware purchases, but no more than $300 for a graphics card. The least pricing is good, without sacrificing quality, of course.
- OS: Windows XP Home Edition, Service Pack 3 (32-bit)
- CPU: DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo E7200, 2533 MHz (9.5 x 267)
- Motherboard: Asus P5QL Pro (3 PCI, 2 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN)
- Motherboard Chipset: Intel Eaglelake P43
- System Memory: 3072 MB (DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM)
- Disk Drive: Seagate ST380815AS (80 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)
- DirectX 9.0c
GPU:
- nVidia ZOTAC GeForce GT 240
- PCI Express 2.0 x16 @ x16
- Memory Size: 1 GB
- Bus Type: GDDR5
The computer is a tower, with seperate monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc. (e.g. not a laptop, or a Mac with hardware imbedded inside the screen, not a tablet, etc.)
So, here's the scenario.
From what I understand, Sims 2 doesn't process with dual-cores with any more improvement, and that as expansion packs were added, gameplay coding was sloppy and the game's performance decreased since the plain, original base game. Adding custom content can also decrease performance, or add loading times too.
I play the game in 1920x1200 resolution, windowed mode. The game usually runs around 800,000kb to 1,300,000kb of RAM on one core. After 1,300,000kb, it crashes/terminates (I'm guessing because it ran out of RAM to use up). In regards to crashing in this instance, I've set the paging file to 0 Mb for the computer to send as much processing resources to the RAM, in order to take advantage of all its space, which I rarely use expect for the Sims 2. I could increase the paging file as much as 4 GB, since space isn't an issue for the moment (about 15 GB of free space before paging file increases).
I haven't been having too many crashes/glitches in Sims 2 gameplay. The game runs fine, it's just...slow. Mainly I play on big lots with 5 people in the lot, and lots of decorations, few to no trees, and some potentially high poly-count objects. Shadows, lighting, graphic effects, and reflections are off, while Sim/Object detail, texture detail, and smooth edges are high.
I've been using nVidia's Zotac's Firestorm program to overclock the GPU. It's ordinary setting is as follows:
Engine Clock: 550 MHz
Memory Clock: 3400 MHz
Shader Clock: 1340 MHz
I've try looking around the Internet regarding what overclocking using Firestorm can do, and some people say that the Shader Clock increases performance, while the other options do not necessarily increase performance. I've overclocked it to the following:
Engine Clock 550 MHz
Memory Clock: 3350 MHz
Shader Clock: 1675 MHz
There's been an increase in performance, but it's still somewhat slow, and occasionally the Sims (while walking) skip a "frame" or two in their walking animation. The temperature of the video card incidentally hovers around 50 degrees when running the game with overclocking, so overheating hasn't been an issue yet.
The computer is well ventilated, and every 4-6 months, I clean the computer tower's interior to remove dust.
I'd like some advice on how to improve gameplay performance in regards to making the game smoother at 1x speed.
1) What would be your recommendation in regards to overclocking?
Is there a ratio to how much Engine-to-Memory-to-Shader is needed to overclock properly? Is there a program you would recommend that could suggest what overclocking values to input? Is it entirely a trial-and-error process to find the correct/closest values? Would you say, based on my computer specs, that overclocking should be adjusted upwards/downwards to certain values?
2) What would be your recommendation in regards to a new video graphics cards?
If overclocking isn't the answer, what graphics cards would you recommend works for a computer set-up as this? I also have an ATI Radeon Sapphire HD 3650 graphics card (512 MB, DDR2 memory) available in storage (as I "upgraded" that graphics card to nVidia's GT 240 card). It was able to read 3.25 Gb of RAM, instead of the 3.00 Gb of RAM for the nVidia card, although performance didn't strike me as anything different.
3) What would be your reccomendation in regards to any new software/hardware to replace/compliment my existing computer specs?
For example, should I purchase a new motherboard, and if so, which brand and model? Should I change OS because there's a significant performance difference from Windows XP to Windows 7 (or to another OS)? Would Windows XP 64-bit be any better in changing performance?
4) Is all this slow down normal, and nothing more can be done to improve performance?
Is this the best I can do to improve gameplay, even if upgrading to a new graphics cards/operating system/etc.?
Let's say I have a budget of $1,000 for combined software/hardware purchases, but no more than $300 for a graphics card. The least pricing is good, without sacrificing quality, of course.