What Type of Computer do I Need?

**Tajir** · November 06, 2006, 05:57 PM

Hello,

I'm a new user to TW Center, and I'm sweating bullets reading the previews for Medieval 2!!

It looks good, firstly -- but that's not a worry for strategy games, its the detail that I love. The last and current Total War game that I'm playing is Shogun: Mongol Invasion - which says a lot about the [LOW] value of my computer.

Don't laugh, but, TEMPORARILY, I have a 9GB Dell OptiPlex GX110, Intel Pentium THREE processor!

This is like torture for me, because the game has a fair price at $50, but my biggest obstacle is getting a better computer, which I'll have to shell out at least $600 or $700 for a competent laptop!

Can you tell me what I need, in these specific departments:

Hard Drive (at least 11GB, blah blah, I know, but add on)
Processor Speed (512MB as far as I know)
Video Card
Etc...

-THANK YOU!!

**Trajan** · November 06, 2006, 06:01 PM

Welcome to TWC. Your thread is better suited to our tech forum, The Basement.

**Tajir** · November 06, 2006, 06:02 PM

Can you move my thread? Thanks.

**Shazbot** · November 06, 2006, 06:30 PM

Your best bet

I'm not very computer savvy, but this thread will help a lot.

**Erik** · November 06, 2006, 06:37 PM

Medieval 2 needs both a fast processor and a fast graphics card.
Those are the two components that make the biggest difference.
You should also buy at least 1 GB of RAM.
The rest is pretty much up to you (and your budget of course).

I highly recommend intel Core 2 Duo processors.
They provide very good performance for the money.

Choosing a videocard is much harder, but expect to pay at least $200, and possibly more than $300.

**Tajir** · November 06, 2006, 07:09 PM

Guys! Thanks a lot for all of your replies! This helps a lot in my computer search.

Recommending parts is a bit of a stretch, because my budget is pretty thin.

So, if you could, I'd like you to point me to computers and laptops from $400 to $900. Please, don't refer me to eBay - ANYTHING but eBay!

If you can post complete computers and laptops that'll run this game just OKAY - remember, I'm on a budget - that would be much-appreciated.

-THANKS!!

**AlfonsoVIII** · November 06, 2006, 07:20 PM

Where do you live, that will affect our choices.

**Tajir** · November 06, 2006, 07:47 PM

Originally Posted by AlfonsoVIII

Where do you live, that will affect our choices.

I live in Minnesota.

**Incinerate_IV** · November 06, 2006, 07:52 PM

If you build you will save a bunch of money and get a much better computer. If you really don't want to build, I say your best bet is a Dell with a decent graphics card.

**Tajir** · November 06, 2006, 08:05 PM

Originally Posted by Incinerate_IV

If you build you will save a bunch of money and get a much better computer. If you really don't want to build, I say your best bet is a Dell with a decent graphics card.

Sounds excellent. See, my PC is a bargain, its got Intell Pentium THREE processor, and its probably from 2002/2003-era.

My best guess is any standard $700 Dell laptop would do good for me.

**Incinerate_IV** · November 06, 2006, 08:08 PM

Originally Posted by Dahir

Sounds excellent. See, my PC is a bargain, its got Intell Pentium THREE processor, and its probably from 2002/2003-era.

My best guess is any standard $700 Dell laptop would do good for me.

A laptop is not going to cut it for gaming, a $700 prebuilt desktop hardly cut it. If you actually want to run the game smoothly with at least some decent settings, go for a desktop. You need a $1000+ laptop to be able to run any new games smoothly.

**Animosity** · November 06, 2006, 08:23 PM

as a laptop gamer, i can tell you that you won't be able to play MTW 2 on that budget.
You can however, on a desktop.

I use dell for all my computers. They are the best quality/power for your money available because of their cutting out of the middle man (retail stores) and selling their product straight to the consumer.

For my dell laptop, which i bought 3 months ago, to play MTW 2 on huge with decent framerate, i spent over $2000 Canadian (roughly $1800 American) A desktop computer of the same specifications would have been much much cheaper.

**UnderdawgIV** · November 06, 2006, 09:08 PM

Originally Posted by Animosity

as a laptop gamer, i can tell you that you won't be able to play MTW 2 on that budget.
You can however, on a desktop.

I use dell for all my computers. They are the best quality/power for your money available because of their cutting out of the middle man (retail stores) and selling their product straight to the consumer.

For my dell laptop, which i bought 3 months ago, to play MTW 2 on huge with decent framerate, i spent over $2000 Canadian (roughly $1800 American) A desktop computer of the same specifications would have been much much cheaper.

If you want a pre-build desktop, go to one of the following sites:

www.ibuypower.com
www.buyxg.com

I recommend not getting a desktop from Dell. Really only their laptops are nice deals.

However, I heartily recommend building it yourself, better choice and better prices and experience too.

**AlfonsoVIII** · November 06, 2006, 10:28 PM

Well I live in Kansas, so I can build it and ship to you if you dont mind paying the shipping. If you want to built it yourself, I can do some shopping for you.

**Selahedîn** · November 07, 2006, 09:04 AM

I agree with Underdawg, Xtreme Gear is a great site (or buyxg) and they sell a lot cheaper than Dell, the prices on their pre-built AMD Systems are great.
I suggest you click here and take a look at the XG Xion 7000, it's aprox. 900$ and it's more than enough to play MTW2 quite well.

We can always help you change a couple of things to make the price go down a bit, but if you feel you're spending a lot more than you want to you can always settle for the XG Gaming Elite 4000, I would probably change that 7600GS to a 7600GT though.