graphic settings reccomendation

[Garnier]

I'm wondering what settings I should use to get the best visual presentation without lagging bad (<16 fps is lagging bad for me.)

I have
AMD Athlon 64 FX-55, 2.4 Ghz I think.
ATI Radeon X850 series
2GB ram

These are my current settings and it runs ok with 2 full stacks in battle, but what I want to know if anything is hogging FPS that isnt extremely important, so I can turn other things on. (like grass... I want grass.)
USE_TRIPLE_BUFFER:TRUE
SMOKE:TRUE
DESYNC:TRUE
SPLASHES:FALSE
GLINTS:FALSE
REFLECTIONS:FALSE
SHADOWS:FALSE
VEGETATION:FALSE
DETAILED_UNIT_SHADOWS:FALSE
GLOSS_MAPPING:TRUE
STENCIL_SHADOWS:FALSE
MULTI_TEXTURE:TRUE
SHOW_BANNERS:FALSE
UNIT_EXPERIENCE_UPGRADE_EFFECT:FALSE
UNIT_SIZE:140
DISABLE_ARROW_MARKERS:TRUE
CLOUD_TRANSITIONS:FALSE
GRASS_DISTANCE:0
AA_QUALITY:AA_LOW
STRATEGY_RESOLUTION:1280x1024
STRATEGY_32_BIT:TRUE
BATTLE_RESOLUTION:1280x1024
BATTLE_32_BIT:TRUE
UNIT_DETAIL:HIGH
BUILDING_DETAIL:LOW
MINIMAL_UI:TRUE
UNIT_USE_SHADERS:TRUE
TERRAIN_QUALITY:HIGH
EFFECT_QUALITY:LOWEST
VEGETATION_QUALITY:LOW

[Hadrian]

The only things left for you to do other than lowering your resolution is to turn off smoke, and you will still have it, turn off AA, and lower unit detail to medium. Try smoke and unit detail first, if that doesn't help enough then turn off AA. If it's still not good enough then lower the resolution to 1024X768...hope that helps. If you lower the resolution you should be able to up some of the other settings to compensate for picture quality.

[Garnier]

ok thanks. I just followed robinhood's ati card tweak guide, and was surprised at how smooth it was running. Now I can play with grass and shadows on as well, just turned off dust. It looks so much better with grass and shadows...

[Hadrian]

@Garnier

I have played SPQR on my Dell 8400 that's armed with a Sapphire Radeon X850XT , on the same resolution as you, and I was surprised at the poor performance you were experiencing. Turn the shadows off though. You should still have shadows even with them off, I know, it doesn't make sense but it's true. You should also be able to turn up the special effects and the look of your buildings, vegetation, etc.

SPQR is so visually superior to RTW that you want every little bit of eye candy it has to offer, Lol.

If you OCed that FX-55 to about 2.8Ghz, that would improve your performance immensely.

[Garnier]

Could you tell me just where to overclock my processor?

I'm pretty techy and could probably figure it out but it would be good to know what I'm doing so I dont accidentally fry it or anything.

[jegui]

@Garnier

Turn the shadows off though. You should still have shadows even with them off, I know, it doesn't make sense but it's true. You should also be able to turn up the special effects and the look of your buildings, vegetation, etc.

SPQR is so visually superior to RTW that you want every little bit of eye candy it has to offer, Lol.

If you OCed that FX-55 to about 2.8Ghz, that would improve your performance immensely.

u r write... turning off shadows and lowering resolution is most u need to improve SPQR performance with low spec graphic cards... I had my FX5200 running SPQR for almost year and half... and u know how I struggled

@Garnier
if u want to overclock ur system there are plenty of tutorials and links in the Basement section... however I would start by simply OC'ing the processor (FSB) with an application (mobo or other) in intervals of .5 Ghz until you find a stable value... make sure u have good heatsink/fan and case ventilation though!!! there is no risk with burning ur processor since it will reset/shutdown in case it overheats... There is plenty of other considerations when OC'ing but this will give u a headstart and don´t be scared... the most it can happen is u getting blue screens and resetting ur PC ;-)

[Garnier]

I went into my BIOS and looked everywhere but couldnt find where to overclock the cpu. Any help would be appreciated.

However, I HAVE improved performance a lot, by taking apart my radeon X850 and cleaning the dust out of it, setting my fans to run full blast all the time, turning off the heat in my room and wearing a sweater, and the overclocking that X850. It runs normally below 60c now, whereas it used to do 80c all the time. Also, I can play with all settings maxed except AA and no detailed shadows, and dont get lag very often.

But if OCing my processor is possible, I assume I could eliminate the remaining lag which would be wonderful.

[Hadrian]

@Garnier

Is your system store bought? If so what's the make, or was it custom built? We'll need to know this to see if your BIOs is locked. Also, OCing voids the warranty on all CPU's, so....

Also, 60C is about right for an X850XT under load. 80C is too hot and will eventually wear your VC out sooner than later. ATI cards don't like SPQR when they are running hot as they tend to become unstable during large battles and usually lead to a CTD near the end of the battle. An X850XT should idle at about 40-44C....

[Garnier]

Its not store bought, my brother built it for me, and theres no warranty. However, as I dont think my cooling system is very good, im not going to bother overclocking the processor atm.

Thanks for your advice and input about my video card. Its surprising how much you can do to make your stuff run faster... when all this time I was running it so hot and with lag...