30 replies to this topic

[Hunson Abadeer]

I am not a PC gamer, but I don't want to miss the chance to get back into BattleTech. I have an all-in-one that is a few years old, and I am lost when it comes to figuring out whether or not it will work. I am pretty sure that I can upgrade the processor, but I cannot upgrade the video card. Here are my specs:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo T5850 @ 2.16 GHz
GPU: Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS 256MB DDR2
RAM: 4 GB
OS: Windows 7 64-bit
DirectX: DirectX 11

Thanks.

[Grugore]

I think the video card is the clincher. I'm no expert but I don't think it has a prayer. You might want to put a new computer on layaway so it's ready to go on game launch. They are pretty cheap. You could probably find a used one that can handle the game pretty cheap. My two cents, for what it's worth.

Edited by Grugore, 30 June 2012 - 04:40 PM.

[imdrunkontea]

Unfortunately I believe Grugore is correct. If you really want to enjoy the game I think it's time to get a new computer altogether.

If you can find something with a Core i5 processor, 4gb RAM and a gtx 460 gpu, you could probably run the game pretty well at decent settings without breaking the bank (I'd estimate it would cost about $500-600 at today's prices).

edit: in case you're apprehensive about building your own computer, it's actually pretty simple nowadays. Windows 7 handles most of the drivers automatically (with the exception of the GPU) and many of the cords are simple plug-in-play within the case itself. There are also many guides online on how to assemble it.

Edited by imdrunkontea, 30 June 2012 - 04:47 PM.

[Himeki]

you're fine on RAM, and the processor could use an upgrade to around 3ghz (which is more standard, little less is still fine.) but might still do alright on lower settings. But Grugore is right, that graphics card is likely to be the issue for nearly any game.

Edited by Himeki, 30 June 2012 - 04:51 PM.

[Stray Ion]

Too Lazy to type this out again.

Stray Ion, on 30 June 2012 - 01:45 PM, said:

MechWarrior Online Minimum System Spec:

CPU:
Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66GHz
Athlon II X2 245e

GPU:
GeForce 8800GT
Radeon HD 5600/5700

RAM:
4 GB

OS:
Windows XP 32-bit SP3

DirectX:
DX9

HDD Space:
4 GB


MechWarrior Online Recommended System Spec:

CPU:
Core i3-2500
AMD Athlon II X4 650

GPU:
GeForce GTX 285
Radeon HD 5830

RAM:
8 GB

OS:
Windows 7 SP-1 64-Bit

DirectX:
DX9

HDD Space:
4 GB

This is not so much for you but for other who are checking this thread for information.

CPU:
Is your computer atleast a dual core at 2.6ghz, if so your at minimum. Devs also stated that a true quadcore is better and the recommended AMD CPU is a 3.2ghz. So if your CPU is at least a dual core and 2.6ghz or above, you are good to go.

GPU/video card:
The easiest thing to do is go here http://www.hwcompare...radeon-hd-5830/ and compare what you have against the minimum/recommended brand you have (there are two boxes to select most cards too compare). Higher number GPU name does not always mean a better card.

RAM:
If you have 4gigs or more you are good to go. If you are running a 64-bit system and use an onboard GPU you WILL need more ram than 4gigs. Just enough to offset how much your OB GPU uses.

OS/operating system:
If you running Windows XP 32-bit(x86) you're good to go, anything Vista and Windos7 and 8 will work too.

If you are still running Win XP and do not have the money to upgrade I understand, however if you think "It is the best OS ever" you have been limiting what developers can do due to an outdated OS which will finally be dropped in a few years (then your SOL). EVERYTHING YOU CAN DO WITH XP YOU CAN DO WITH VISTA AND WIN7, it just may not be as easy (if you think I am flaming, it is fact, prove me wrong). Hell when I was running Vista I had a working serial port before MS released a hotfix.

Not to confuse people, I find the 4gig requirement odd as WIN XP 32bit can not recognize 4gigs even with 4gigs installed you only have 3.5gig usable.

DirectX: DX9, with out even knowing, I can say if you made it this far you can definitely handle DX9. You also can have DX9, DX10, DX11 all working perfectly on the same computer. So if you know you have DX11, you are good to go and just may need to install it (which is free).

Harddrive space:
All you have to do is open "computer" and see if you have at least 4gigs free. If you don't, these days it is not hard to free up 4gigs of space either deleting junk or compressing a bunch of it to make space.

I would say you need a new CPU and GPU

[Grugore]

Himeki, on 30 June 2012 - 04:45 PM, said:

you're fine on RAM, and the processor could use an upgrade to around 3ghz (which is more standard, little less is still fine.) but might still do alright on lower settings. But Grugore is right, that graphics card is likely to be the issue for nearly any game.

WOW! Someone agrees with me. That's a first. I may hang around the forums a bit longer. lol

[Stray Ion]

Grugore, on 30 June 2012 - 04:47 PM, said:

WOW! Someone agrees with me. That's a first. I may hang around the forums a bit longer. lol

Himeki is not the only one

[Himeki]

Stray Ion, on 30 June 2012 - 04:47 PM, said:

Too Lazy to type this out again.




I would say you need a new CPU and GPU

I agree, your cpu might have a chance to make it, but being below the minimum makes it less likely. Though it does say "Minimum" there tends to be a small amount of leway in that from most companies. However the GPU upgrade is basically required.
Thanks for the specs quote Stray Ion.

Grugore, on 30 June 2012 - 04:47 PM, said:

WOW! Someone agrees with me. That's a first. I may hang around the forums a bit longer. lol

Glad to see someone trying to be helpful (and accurate while doing so) plans to stay around a bit.

[Son of Jaak]

Using the PassMark Benchmarks page as a comparison:


CPU
Yours (Intel Core 2 Duo T5850 @ 2.16 GHz) scored 1202

Minimum
Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66GHz scored 1675
Athlon II X2 245e scored 1827

CPU Summary: A tight squeeze, but if the minimum specifications mean "play well" and not "eventualy load" then it should work at absoulte minimum settings.



GRAPHICS CARD
Yours (Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS 256MB DDR2) scored 154

Minimum
GeForce 8800GT scored 949
Radeon HD 5600/5700 scored 1048

Graphics card summary: Not even close. The game might load but you will not be able to run at 15 frames per second, which is the bare minimim frame rate before the video chop makes the game unplayable.


Everything else is withing minimum specifications but upgrading your CPU will not help you. You need a video card upgrade at the minimum but seeing as you have a mobile version of the 9300 it means it is permanently attached to your mainboard so you are correct in assuming it can not be changed. It may be possible to add a new video card. What is the make and model of your computer? If you can't figure it out then take a picture of the mainboard and post it here. We will be able to tell you can put a video card in it.

[Makaveli]

Yup, upgrade that video card and your in business. Should be around 100 to do a decent upgrade.

[Hunson Abadeer]

Jaak, I have an HP IQ506 TouchSmart.

Son Of Jaak, on 30 June 2012 - 05:46 PM, said:

Using the PassMark Benchmarks page as a comparison:


CPU
Yours (Intel Core 2 Duo T5850 @ 2.16 GHz) scored 1202

Minimum
Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66GHz scored 1675
Athlon II X2 245e scored 1827

CPU Summary: A tight squeeze, but if the minimum specifications mean "play well" and not "eventualy load" then it should work at absoulte minimum settings.



GRAPHICS CARD
Yours (Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS 256MB DDR2) scored 154

Minimum
GeForce 8800GT scored 949
Radeon HD 5600/5700 scored 1048

Graphics card summary: Not even close. The game might load but you will not be able to run at 15 frames per second, which is the bare minimim frame rate before the video chop makes the game unplayable.


Everything else is withing minimum specifications but upgrading your CPU will not help you. You need a video card upgrade at the minimum but seeing as you have a mobile version of the 9300 it means it is permanently attached to your mainboard so you are correct in assuming it can not be changed. It may be possible to add a new video card. What is the make and model of your computer? If you can't figure it out then take a picture of the mainboard and post it here. We will be able to tell you can put a video card in it.

[Catamount]

He's running a laptop guys; there isn't going to be any upgrading of video cards going on.

I'm afraid there really isn't any other option here; it's time for a new PC.

[Son of Jaak]

I took a look at the detail listed on the HP website and unfortunately there is no way to upgrade your video card with out a chop job of Frankensteinian proportions. It looks like you need a whole new setup to play this game.

[Vileus]

Upgrading laptops is not usually worth it at all, since your pretty much restricted to memory only. A CPU can be upgraded but it's pricey for laptops. Depending on your situation if your computer needs to be mobile then a laptop is your only option. If you don't need the mobility I would suggest a desktop since they are cheaper and can be upgraded much more easily then a laptop.

[Felicitatem Parco]

I really hate to say this... but you have a Socket P motherboard, and that will not let you upgrade to actual minimum spec.

The absolute best chip you could possibly put on a Socket P board is a Core 2 Duo T7800 – 2.60 GHz (4 MB L2, 800 MHz FSB), which is almost as good as the minspec, but the T7800 has a much slower frontside bus, which means it's not really up to min spec.

The graphics card will not handle the game... and there's not much to do about that.

I think a motherboard, chip, gfx, RAM, pwrspply, hdd/OS upgrade is in order... which is a new computer, basically.

Edited by Prosperity Park, 30 June 2012 - 08:09 PM.

[Hunson Abadeer]

It's actually an all-in-one desktop, but I figured that I wouldn't be able to swap the video card.

I priced a computer at cyberpowerpc.com for $747:

CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 3.10 GHz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 SE 1GB
RAM: 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/1333MHz
OS: Windows 7 64-bit
HDD: 500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM
Motherboard: Biostar H61MH Intel H61 Chipset DDR3

For an extra $60, I could swap the GTX 560 SE for an AMD Radeon HD 6950 2GB.

Catamount, on 30 June 2012 - 07:51 PM, said:

He's running a laptop guys; there isn't going to be any upgrading of video cards going on.

I'm afraid there really isn't any other option here; it's time for a new PC.

[Felicitatem Parco]

Hunson Abadeer, on 30 June 2012 - 08:07 PM, said:

It's actually an all-in-one desktop, but I figured that I wouldn't be able to swap the video card.

I priced a computer at cyberpowerpc.com for $747:

CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 3.10 GHz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 SE 1GB
RAM: 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/1333MHz
OS: Windows 7 64-bit
HDD: 500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM
Motherboard: Biostar H61MH Intel H61 Chipset DDR3

For an extra $60, I could swap the GTX 560 SE for an AMD Radeon HD 6950 2GB.

You would have to pull ot the Intel Core i3-2100 dual core CPU that comes with it and swap with some kind of quad core if you're gonna do it right. You could expect to get about $80 for the 2100 on ebay.

That board has a LGA1155 socket that takes 2nd Generation core i3, 5, & 7's. Here are your choices for i5 sandybridge quad cores that fit that board (as per wikipedia):

Variants

• i5-2390T - 2.7 GHz/3.5 GHz Turbo Boost (35 W max TDP)
  
• i5-2500T - 2.3 GHz/3.3 GHz Turbo Boost (45 W max TDP)
  
• i5-2400S - 2.5 GHz/3.3 GHz Turbo Boost
  
• i5-2405S - 2.5 GHz/3.3 GHz Turbo Boost
  
• i5-2500S - 2.7 GHz/3.7 GHz Turbo Boost
  
• i5-2300 - 2.8 GHz/3.1 GHz Turbo Boost
  
• i5-2310 - 2.9 GHz/3.2 GHz Turbo Boost
  
• i5-2320 - 3.0 GHz/3.3 GHz Turbo Boost
  
• i5-2380P - 3.1 GHz/3.4 GHz Turbo Boost
  
• i5-2400 - 3.1 GHz/3.4 GHz Turbo Boost
  
• i5-2450P - 3.2 GHz/3.5 GHz Turbo Boost
  
• i5-2500 - 3.3 GHz/3.7 GHz Turbo Boost
  
• i5-2500K - 3.3 GHz/3.7 GHz Turbo Boost
  
• i5-2550K - 3.4 GHz/3.8 GHz Turbo Boost

I've seen these ranging from $170-250 on ebay.

Edited by Prosperity Park, 30 June 2012 - 08:23 PM.

[Hunson Abadeer]

I played around with it some and ended up with this for $700:

CPU: AMD FX-4100 3.60 GHz Quad-Core
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 SE 1GB
RAM: 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/1333MHz
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-970A-D3

[MC Hammer]

Try it but keep in mind, we wont know for sure till you download the game.

I play Wot and EVE on mine so i am just crossing my fingers till aug 7th (or sooner, maybe) to see if it will work, i can deal with lag because atlases are slow targets anyway.

[superepicgecko]

Hunson Abadeer, on 30 June 2012 - 04:35 PM, said:

I am not a PC gamer, but I don't want to miss the chance to get back into BattleTech. I have an all-in-one that is a few years old, and I am lost when it comes to figuring out whether or not it will work. I am pretty sure that I can upgrade the processor, but I cannot upgrade the video card. Here are my specs:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo T5850 @ 2.16 GHz
GPU: Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS 256MB DDR2
RAM: 4 GB
OS: Windows 7 64-bit
DirectX: DirectX 11

Thanks.

With an aging laptop All-in-one like that, your probably better off buying a new laptop, or building a desktop. You might be able to upgrade the CPU, but that won't help much because your graphics card will still bottleneck. And even if you did, there could be complications. The CPU cooler might not be able to handle the higher temperatures, the new CPU might pull more power than the battery can provide, ect. Again, you would be better off building or buying a new system.

Edited by superepicgecko, 30 June 2012 - 08:41 PM.