source mods seem to have high sys requierments

[BackBreaker]

I remember playing half life 2 when it first came out on this current rig years ago, and I have a 3000+ amd anthlon, 2 gigs of ram, and a radeon 9800 pro agp and it played great. But now I recently bought half life 2 deathmatch and downloaded a couple of mods like age of chivalry, and the downloaded portal demo, and at first I thought my computer had some problems because it would get so slow at the beginning of starting a map and would restart it couldnt even handle it after a couple of seconds. Later when i changed the settings down it stopped doing it but I cant play the majority of these mods on a setting above 640 x 480, even 800 x 600 dips to 20 fps at times so it's unreliable. It almost looks as bad as the original half life imo this way. I just dont get it. Even the hl 2 deathmatch is slow and would restart on normal resolutions and settings. Did the sys requierments magically grow over the years or is something wrong with my computer cause I can play games like flatout 2 on very high settings.

[nightelph]

Did the sys requierments magically grow over the years or is something wrong with my computer cause I can play games like flatout 2 on very high settings.

They have grown over the years. ;) Valve has continually modified and updated the Source engine to keep pace with modern games. Even their latest; Left for Dead introduces new things.

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_engine)

[Mr.Guvernment]

welcome to progress, your video card in computer years is a relic, literally, time to move on!

[BackBreaker]

well most of the time when you download/buy a 5 year old game you expect it to work on 4 year old computers with 4 year old graphic cards. Unless you download say the official valve mods/games like teamf ortress 2 Id expect the fan mods and reg half life 2 deathmatch to play on those specs. Every other game does that. Heck many games like rockstars ports dont even get updated once.

[BackBreaker]

and actually I got the 9800 pro not that long ago to this rig:
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=522785

[ziggo0]

My 9800PRO -> XT ran HL2 @ 1024x768, max settings 2xAA/4xAF back in the day just fine...age of chivalry is only a month or so old...many things are different in mods compared to what valve released.

[Satsumomo]

Portal uses the newer source engine, with HDR, Motion Blur and even dynamic shadows I think. (Ep2 and Left 4 Dead)

Disable HDR and Motion blur if possible, the 9800PRO can't handle those too well if I remember well.

[Mr.Guvernment]

also newer mods = high polly count textures and such, which require alot more power to handle.

[Shelnutt2]

also newer mods = high polly count textures and such, which require alot more power to handle.

You got that, mods don't always offer different texture levels, so unlike valve who for HL2 made it work on just about any card made since 2000, mods don't. Also with Portal, it has more physics than most, turn down the portal depth view try 1 or maybe 2. On my rig If I went over 9 it would lag like crazy, and that is when I had this thing clocked at 3.6Ghz. If you get portal and play through with the commentary they talk about how they had to do crazy physics games to get the portals to work and act like you think they should. Especially when you throw something through.

[BackBreaker]

My 9800PRO -> XT ran HL2 @ 1024x768, max settings 2xAA/4xAF back in the day just fine...age of chivalry is only a month or so old...many things are different in mods compared to what valve released.

but hl2 deathmatch updated also runs ****ty.

[ziggo0]

What CPU do you have? And what is it clocked at?

[BackBreaker]

I already awnsered this question at my initial post. amd anthlon 32 bit 3000+ 2 gigs of ram and a radeon 9800 pro. It ran hl2 back in the day just fine.

[Mr.Guvernment]

your cpu is being pushed, it is barely enough these days for updated engine unfortuantly :( got to turn down your game settings.

as said, it isnt back in the day any more, the HL2 game has had many MANY updates since it first came out, it isnt the same engine it was 4 years ago.

[BackBreaker]

your cpu is being pushed, it is barely enough these days for updated engine unfortuantly :( got to turn down your game settings.

as said, it isnt back in the day any more, the HL2 game has had many MANY updates since it first came out, it isnt the same engine it was 4 years ago.

Its kind of funny but I have to turn the settings to 720 or 640 x 480 and it looks very similar to the original half-life that way, but its still worth it for unqiue mods like age of chivalry.

[Tumnus]

Don't really know what to tell you.

Your processor is too outdated to run newer mods/games, and your video card is too weak.

[Essenar]

The bad thing is that even though this game ran great on hardware like yours in 2004, as the game engine matures, new features are added and the requirements are boosted.

The good thing is that this game, which is very rare of an accomplishment, can grow with new hardware based on new code being added.

I mean Left 4 Dead looks great, so does Portal and Episode 2. Yet they're on a nearly 5 year old game engine. Adding motion blur, higher resolution textures, physics, HDR and other features really breathes new life into the Source engine.

I can't wait to see how it looks for Episode 3 and so on.

[ziggo0]

Time to upgrade honestly...you can build a cheap AM2 dual core rig for dirt cheap.

[BackBreaker]

Ok SO Im getting a new pc but it comes with integrated graphics and 2gb of ram only. I am on a tight budget and cant afford to buy games often and usually wait till they are used and/or on sale before purchasing a game. So I can't decide which of these 2 cards to get:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161262
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261030

they both will probably run this and the majority of games currently just fine, and I might never even bother playing crysis so it might be a waste to fork out the extra 20 bucks. Just cant decide at all.

[ziggo0]

Definitely go with the 3870, GDDR3 & 256bit > 4600. The 4670 barely beats a 3870 with AA enabled, and the 4650 has no chance at touching it.

[BackBreaker]

is it power heavy? Meaning does it requre a powerful psu and/or an outside power source? I am getting a stock pc so it might not have a high powered psu.

[BackBreaker]

here is the pc I ordered:
http://www.shop.com/Gateway_GT5435E_Desktop_Computer_AMD_Athlon_64_X2_ 4600%2B_Dual_Core_Processor_with_AMD_64_Technology _2GB_DDR2_320GB_HD_16X_DVD_%2B_RW_Multi_Format_Dua l_Layer_Drive_NVIDIA_GeForce_6150SE_Graphics_Card_ 15_in_1_High_Speed_Digital_Media_Manager_Windows_-132341537-p!.shtml

[Omsion]

here is the pc I ordered:
http://www.shop.com/Gateway_GT5435E_Desktop_Computer_AMD_Athlon_64_X2_ 4600%2B_Dual_Core_Processor_with_AMD_64_Technology _2GB_DDR2_320GB_HD_16X_DVD_%2B_RW_Multi_Format_Dua l_Layer_Drive_NVIDIA_GeForce_6150SE_Graphics_Card_ 15_in_1_High_Speed_Digital_Media_Manager_Windows_-132341537-p!.shtml
http://support.gateway.com/s/PC/R/1009484/1009484cl2.shtml
3 possiable PSUs -
Delta 300 Watt Power Supply
300-Watt Power Supply SATA 20-Pin Non-PFC - HIPRO
BESTEC 300 Watt Power Supply

On power usage (http://www.silentpcreview.com/article811-page5.html) of the 3870 - 225W total with a P4D (your X2 will be cooler, and iirc, your mobo chipset also runs with less power - only your HD is likely to use more power, as they used a 2.5" laptop HD).

It's certainly within range of the default PSU, although I certainly would feel better with a beefier PSU with a known good build quality, even if it's not rated much higher (example: Seasonic 330W, despite being only rated 30W more, is a PSU known for a good build quality). The Delta is likely the most reliable out of the bunch.

[nightelph]

That Gateway may not have the PCIe power connector for the video card, but whichever card you buy will probably have it. The point is, as Omnison stated is that that PSU is going to be working hard.

[BackBreaker]

That Gateway may not have the PCIe power connector for the video card, but whichever card you buy will probably have it. The point is, as Omnison stated is that that PSU is going to be working hard.

the video card comes with accessories like a 4 to 6 pin connector though. And dont all psu's have cables to connect to a video card anyway?

[Omsion]

the video card comes with accessories like a 4 to 6 pin connector though. And dont all psu's have cables to connect to a video card anyway?Not necessarily, but as you said, your VGA should come with one.

If there's any concern over the PSU - one (http://www.newegg.com/Store/BrandSubCategory.aspx?Brand=1516&SubCategory=58&name=Antec-Power-Supplies)of these cheap Antecs (earthwatts 380, 430, or the far-less efficient and noisy Basiq 500) will do you well (I'd go with the 430W - dunno why its currently cheaper than the 380 :shrug:).

[BackBreaker]

Ok I got it in the mail already and it comes with a 6pin connector to the graphic card itself and on the other side are two connectors to the power supply. WHy are there two instead of just one? Do I need to connect both of them?

[nightelph]

Yes you do need to connect both of them, on different 'cable strings'. The video card requires a lot of power.

[BackBreaker]

what if I dont have two diff cable strings?