what do i need for M2TW to run better?

[kkbob33]

my rig:

fx-55 single core 939 slot OCed from 2.6 to 2.86, 1mb cache
1 GB kingston ram with heat spreaders, 440 , 10-5-5-5(i think those are the timings i could be wrong)
1 radeon x1900GT 256mbDDR3
150 gig IDE drive
Asus motherboard nforce 4 chipset
450w PSU


i like the game to look good so i run everything on high, 2x AA, 4x AF, 1400x900 res, large units

i get about 20-30 fps with 2 full stacks facing each other in a pitched battle(no castle)


is it true that total war games utilize processor and ram more than GPU?

also, would one more gig of ram help my fps and if not what would?

note: i plan on getting an E6600 with new MoBo and 2 gigs of DDR2 in the summer. just looking for the cheapest solution for a fps boost in the meantime.

thnx in advance

[Incinerate_IV]

Don't worry about the FPS and just enjoy your game. A lot of people are playing M2TW with much worse frame rates and they don't mind.

[kkbob33]

workin on my computer is a hobby. im always trying to get better results. just asking if anyone has an opinion on more ram for better fps.

[Plutarch]

workin on my computer is a hobby. im always trying to get better results. just asking if anyone has an opinion on more ram for better fps.

more ram certainly cant hurt, though im sure just how much it will help. i run 2 gigs and still get some bad FPS

[Incinerate_IV]

M2TW isn't designed for FPS in mind, even if you have the best processor with the best graphics card with the fastest memory, you're still going to be getting around 35-45FPS.

Your graphics card and processor are probably holding you back. 1 gig of ram is enough for any games out now, you won't see any difference with 2 gigs.

[Citizen]

you won't see any difference with 2 gigs.

Well you might... once you've taken background processes into consideration 2 gigs may give a significant boost in performance. I mean, I have 2 gigs DDR2 and I always run M2TW with Photoshop, Outlook AIM/MSN and a bunch of other apps running along with all the other background processes running and I never get any slowdowns. My page file is off the system drive, but I don't think I'd be able to do this with only 1 gig of ram.

[Town Watch]

Yea 2 gigs or Ram definately becomes useful for multi-tasking, photoshop, videos, other things, like back ground processes. Maybe even FRAPS or GameCam will not slow your game down when you record some nifty total war videos

The main point of these FPS inquiries is really: "How big battles can I fight with good looking graphical settings with a smooth Frame rate?"
It's teh smoothness, it doesn't really matter whether your fps is 30, 50 or 40 or 60, as long as it's fluent most of the time. Oh yeah, and Huge Battles too. And nice graphics.

I was kinda worried about the fps, when I was thinking about buying a new comp. With my current set-up, m2tw is totally un-enjoyable, I get huge lag spikes, 10 sec freezes during all my siege battles, and the fps is generally low. You will notice the difference between 15 and about 30 fps, mine is usually on the worse side

And i'm only playing on normal unit scale, I'd like to play some bigger siege battles for a change, like 1 stack versus 3 enemy stacks or something.
But Ive heard that multiplayer usually has less slowdowns, because the computer doesn't have to count the enemy A.I anymore?

Then again I do have pretty outdated comuter though. Still kinda wondering about the new comp, since it's newer gonna be a good time to buy one

My best friend advised me to wait until the new ATi card, but he's kinda ATi fanboy to tell the truth. Should I wait and see, or just dish the bucks(actually euros) for that nifty gf8800gtx? What intel processor would be good for that card, are there any new ones coming soon?

But Road to jerusalem mod still kinda makes the game interesting for me, while it still isn't very epic, to play these damn 800 men vs 800men skirmishes.

[Garnier]

I have the same FX-55 though I havent overclocked it, 2 GB corsair ram and an X850 XT OCed to 550 mhz

I run normal unit sizes now because it makes a HUGE difference to FPS. I am going to be getting an X1900 XT hand-me-down eventually. I would suggest getting another gig of ram and overclocking your graphics card if you havent already.