Can I get any faster?

[shenmueguru]

Hello,

I've been wondering if I can churn out anymore umph from my computer, since I seem to be getting low framerates even on some low settings. I purchased a Radeon 9250 a few months back, and a trusted computer assistant I know said I could play just about any game on medium settings (maybe a few lows) and up. However, even with medium settings I can only get to about 35 fps in my fastest game (Call of Duty). Further, in Rome: Total War, I recieve max 30 fps with no more than 3500 men on screen; even less with a Lord of the Rings mod (between 4-20 fps for that, all low settings). I was wondering if there is any way to get more out of my games? Specs wise, I have a standard Dell PC, Windows XP. I'm guessing a standard motherboard (I have no AGP slots) and not sure of the power supply, though I what I know is:

Celeron CPU 2.60 GHz
2.59 GHz, 512 MB Ram
Radeon 9250

I have used the following guide, which claims to raise you 20 fps...to no avail. http://www.stratcommandcenter.com/rtw/maximizepc.php

Thanks,
shenmueguru

[casecutter]

Re: Can I get any faster?

ATI made a 9550 PCI video card, you should look for one of those. It is your only hope. Other than that, sell the dell and get a non branded PC. No AGP or PCI-E slot really puts a huge damper on your video card choices. ANd a Celeron processor hurts too. That low L2 cache makes it difficult for games to run well.

[ANZAC_ELITE]

Re: Can I get any faster?

512mb of ram aint gonna help either

[Yawgm0th]

Re: Can I get any faster?

With that system? I'd say 512MB isn't holding him back in anything.

[shenmueguru]

Re: Can I get any faster?

Actually, I purchased the Radeon 9550 (AGP, accidentally) and the only thing different between that and the 9250 was the highest resolution...which the 9250 had. So, the 9250 was in fact better. Should I go into system BIOS and try to set things to their highest? That's the only thing I can think of now.

[AsianBatman]

Re: Can I get any faster?

What do you mean highest resolution? are you talking about the desktop resolution...and what are you talking about in the bios, i doubt there is any option from a dell in the bios that would let you adjust anything with the video card.

[shenmueguru]

Re: Can I get any faster?

Yea, I was thinking Dell may not have anything to tweak. For the 9550, the highest resolution was 1027 by 728, while the 9250 has 1027 by 728 by 32. Small difference, but it still places the 9250 above.

[Yawgm0th]

Re: Can I get any faster?

Actually, I purchased the Radeon 9550 (AGP, accidentally) and the only thing different between that and the 9250 was the highest resolution...which the 9250 had. So, the 9250 was in fact better.

That doesn't make any sense. Every card in the last three generations of both ATI and nVidia has supported 2048x1536. The only difference is some support it at higher refresh rates, which is irrelevent because there aren't any monitors capable of supporting that resolution above 60Hz.

[shenmueguru]

Re: Can I get any faster?

Okay, I'll have to check again. How much of a difference would going to 1g ram have? Are there many other solutions other than getting another videocard?

[Yawgm0th]

Re: Can I get any faster?

It'll make a big difference in loading times. It will also help actual performance in a couple games (particularly Battlefield 2), but that's it.

You can always overclock, but it will only take you to pretty slow from really slow.

[shenmueguru]

Re: Can I get any faster?

I see. Besides the 9550 PCI, are there many other PCI cards better than the 9250?

[Yawgm0th]

Re: Can I get any faster?

There are a couple of nVidia cards, but you'll have trouble finding them.