Need expert computer hardware advice

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Jesse

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Hello Everyone,

I'm brand new to these forums and wanted to ask a question for all you computer hardware geeks, (I mean that in a good way).

I want to upgrade my PC to run FFXI better, but only have enough money to upgrade one component. I know the game is a little old now and anything state-of-the-art won't make a huge difference in performance. I just want to know what will make the biggest difference in how the game runs.

Here's what I've got right now:

2.4GHz Pentium 4 processor
512MB RAM
256MB ATI Radeon 9600XT
200GB 7200RPM Hard Disk Drive

I'm guessing these are the things that make the biggest impact on performance, (I know a little about it). My question is, would it be better for me to upgrade my RAM to 2GB, HDD to a 10,000RPM, better GFX card or better CPU? I'm guessing there is only so much you can get out of FFXI since it is so old now. I just want whatever will make the biggest impact in game performance.

Thanks for reading!

Jesse :cool:
 
Memory would be the best bang for your buck.
FFXI relies heavily on the processor and memory; graphics card is nowhere near as utilized as it could be.
 
Kyle said:
Graphics card will definately give you the biggest boost.
Click to expand...

Incorrect, sir. RAM will, 512 is just too little to be playing an MMO these days. It was fine back during EQ in it's prime, but that was 6 years ago.
 
Eh guess my setup was a little different. I got 3.0 Ghz, 1GB Ram, and had an old radeon 9200 I think and when I upgraded to the 9700 made a world of difference.
 
The CPU and RAM will make the biggest difference in your case, because you aren't currently using a gimpy graphics card like GP was before his upgrade. ^_~
 
Oh yeah, forgot to mention that increasing HDD speed will show negligible results, compared to increasing something else.
 
In my experience, memory will do you more justice than replacing that 9600XT. Just don't be like me and get memory with a 3:5 timing -.-0.

if you search newegg.com or tigerdirect.com you should be able to see advanced specs. Try getting a 3:4 timing on your memory, and get the highest frequency your motherboard will support.
 
Thanks everyone!

Lots of good info here, I knew I could count on you guys. This community is huge. The moderators need to find a better way to advertise this site.

Anyway, I was guessing my RAM was gimp. I didn't want to replace my video card as I just bought it not too long ago. :wink:

I have an older Dell, so I can only get the memory so fast, (3200). Cas latency is what you are talking about when you say timing, right? I think I can get the cas latency at 2, that would be the fastest I presume.

Great feedback, I'll shop newegg and tigerdirect unless someone has another suggestion.

Jesse :cool:
 
don't replace a 9600 XT for FFXI, you won't see any increase in performance at all

CPU (Which directly affects your framerate, you'll see gains in performance in heavily populated areas like Dynamis, and close proximity to Jeuno/Whitegate Auction Houses)

RAM (Affects how quickly your game will load, the more RAM you have, the lower the "stuttering" you'll see moving from area to area, as it allows more game to be stored electronically, making for faster access to game data, as opposed to going directly to your HDD for information, which is slower)

Videocard (In FFXI, it's basically used only for very basic DX8.1 functions, namely mipmapping, texture compression, and *very* slight bump mapping. Fortunately, any cheapo DX8/9 videocard can do any of these things easily. Where FFXI loses a lot of performance are when you enable Weather Effects, Full Shadows, or are surrounded by many PC's/NPC's. These things are affected by CPU Speed, which is why CPU speed is so important in this game)

hope that helps
 
Last edited:
Jesse said:
2.4GHz Pentium 4 processor
512MB RAM
256MB ATI Radeon 9600XT
200GB 7200RPM Hard Disk Drive
Click to expand...

Hello, from your specs, I will say it's good. However, there's only 1 way to increase significant FFXI performance. Your graphic card is absolutely fine. Your hard disk is also fine. However, there are 2 components that is not fine.

FFXI is very very dependable on processor speed because of it's crappy programming. So, if you like to have a significant performance change, I sugges you changing your processor. Your only problem is, budget. Changing processors (to the latest ones) often require a new motherboard by itself. So that's going to be somewhere between USD250-450 depending on what processor and motherboard you are going to choose.

There's also the RAM problem. If your RAM is only DDR and not DDR2, you might have to change that too if you're upgrading to the latest processor. RAM like the post post said, will increase your loading time, but won't affect the speed of your FFXI in Dynamis, AH or any of the other crowded areas.
 
Save your money.

Read about shutting down unused running programs to make your computer faster.

If you really feel the need to buy something, buy 512 more megs ram.
 
CAS timings yes. try for one that is 3,3,3,12 and not 5,5,5,15
 
Darkdante said:
Save your money.

Read about shutting down unused running programs to make your computer faster.

If you really feel the need to buy something, buy 512 more megs ram.
Click to expand...

Only goes so far, I used to play with 512.
 
3200 is the highest ram atm. Even if you get a brand new PCI-e comp, top of the line everything, DDR 3200 is the best ram. If you have the money, i would recommend getting a gig of corsair or any other good ram (2x 512), not only will more ram help in ffxi but it will help with everything on your comp.
 
RaiderX said:
3200 is the highest ram atm. Even if you get a brand new PCI-e comp, top of the line everything, DDR 3200 is the best ram. If you have the money, i would recommend getting a gig of corsair or any other good ram (2x 512), not only will more ram help in ffxi but it will help with everything on your comp.
Click to expand...

No, DDR2 goes well above DDR400/PC3200 speed, including DDR533.
 
Thanks all for the advice. After a quick look on newegg.com, one can see RAM speed can be much faster than PC3200. Too bad my motherboard won't support it. :mad:

Since the general consensus is upgrading my RAM, I found some sticks from OCZ with timings of 2-3-2-5. Not too bad, plus they seem to be flexible if I wanted to change timings/speed. Here's the link:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227210

Newegg.com customers seemed to like them, albeit the screwy rebate offer. I'll be buying these soon unless someone has seen something better.

As far as the CPU goes, how fast can your processor be before you don't see a difference in FFXI? Although 2.4GHz P4 isn't the fastest, it's not slow either. I would think a processor upgrade wouldn't produce much for me. Any other thoughts are encouraged.

Jesse :cool:
 
a max clocked P4/Athlon XP will perform average in populated areas

my athlon xp 2500+ (1.8Ghz) gives me about the same framerates with Full Shadows / Weather Effects as it does at 3200+ speeds (2.2Ghz)

what you need is to upgrade your actual CPU architecture/motherboard if you wanna see an actual NOTICABLE difference from what you have right now

what I mean by an architecture upgrade is.. going from P4 to Core 2 Duo or Athlon 64 or Athlon 64 FX, which have more on-die memory and faster bus speeds than the old P4's & Athlon XP's
 
As Reality suggested you would have to upgrade to a new/latest mobo and cpu architecture to notice a big difference. I went from a P4 3.0C to a AMD X2 4400+ (socket 939) and things went more smoothly. Graphics card will not do much to this game as I went from a 9600pro to a x850 xt and didn't noticed any major difference. I want Core 2 Duo sooo badly... even their lowest line of Core 2 Duo is impressive.

Upgrading RAM will probably your best bet if you're not able to afford a new rig. Since you have an ATI card try using that function in the ATI Control Panel, SMARTGART and I believe it'll optimize your video card settings automatically.
 
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