Agreed maggamuffin. Everyone ought to realize that GS is purposely filtering their reviews and having companies like Eidos "BUY" reviews. Read the story on 1up.com. I am also going to be boycotting GS and CNET (the parent company) for this. We don't need paid reviews. Who cares if Eidos was a big client of GS, we want honest reviews.
I'm running P4 3.0Ghz 2gig RAM 8800 GTS 640MB Runs nice and smooth, averaging mid 40s FPS with everything on high or ultra. I've noticed no major slow downs. I get high end frames of mid 60s, and have dipped as low as high 20s. But I'd say its mostly somewhere in the 40s, those dips must be few and far between, I haven't noticed anything, certainly nothing that affects gameplay. And yes, this game is beautiful! Oh ya, and the resolution I'm running it at is1024x768.
I'm curious to know what kind of performance I'd get with this game: P4 3.0Ghz 2 gig RAM 8800 GTS 640MB I'm a bit worried about the CPU being a bottleneck. Any ideas what sort of performance I'd get? Playable at least on medium settings?
grablinux4000: There's no way you should be getting such low performance; I'd be pissed too. There a few possibilities that I can see. 1. One of your components is seriously flawed (RAM, CPU, HDD, GPU, or something else?) 2. Bios is not set right 3. Your harddrive is extremely full (although not sure it would make the kind of difference you're identifying) 4. You have installed and uninstalled many many programs. The last one is one that few people think of. If you have a lot of programs that you've installed then uninstalled, then wipe that hardrive completely clean and re-install your OS, drivers, etc... Installing and uninstalling programs really drags down your computer's performance. After a complete system re-installation, your comp. should leap in performance. maybe it's none of those, just a thought
I agree, the tech guy at Dell should know what he is talking about. chances are you'll be fine to replace it. It's a new dell so it probably is standard PSU. But if you're really worried about this, pay Bestbuy or future shop $30 to install it and put all your fears away. That way, it won't get screwed up at all. They'll test it there and if it works, then awesome, no damage. if it fries, then they get to replace your computer for breaking it with incompetance. It's a win-win situation, really.
No, 305W is not the max output of your computer, it can go higher, I think something like 400W, but buying a new pSU is the safest thing to do for sure. I don't know what type your PSU is, but i've read horror stories of people replacing their Dell PSU's with regular ones and completely frying their computers. I'd get someone to just confirm the PSU you are buying is compatible. Or go to Future shop and let them install one for like $30 (so that if it fries, it's all their fault!!! ahhaha, no seriously, that's an option)
airwalk_102: Hang on a sec. Don't go rushing out to buy a new power supply. Dell's power supplies are NOT rated the same as other PSUs, they are purposely rated less than others because they are NOT rating their max output, which others that you'd buy in a store do. I have a Dell Demension 8400 with a Dell rated PSU @ 350W, but Dell rates things differently. 305W is closer to 400W, 350W is even higher. Go onto the Dell community boards on dell.com and look at the threads. Even a Dell tech will tell you the rating is very different, it's not the same as others rate them. I'm actually running a 8800GTS 640MB on my Dell (350W); I am doing this on the advice I found at Dell.com, and it purrrs like a kitten, runs without a hitch. And it's all because the PSU can handle much more than 350W. From the thread on Dell.com, you'll find out that Dell underrates their PSU's by roughly 30%. So don't replace that PSU just yet!!!! Go look on the threads at Dell first, or call and talk to a tech there and see if they'll tell you what your max W is for your PSU. The rating is just different from other companies; other companies tend to list the MAX output for marketing purposes where Dell doesn't do this (cause they aren't selling PSUs I suppose). So ya, hold off on that for now until you find out (and again, i'm running a 8800GTS on a 350W dell system and it runs perfectly). But if you happen to decide to upgrade your PSU, then be careful. SOME, not all, but SOME dell PSUs (older models i'm told) are proprietary and require special replacement PSUs and not the standard ATX ones (even though they LOOK like standard PSUs!!!!) hope that helps
ummm, crack open your case and see if there's enough room, another pci express slot. if not, then no. and your power unit needs to be able to support it too. Saying it's an intel motherboard really doesn't say much at all. It really depends on the specific motherboard.
Just bought an 8800 GTS, Kicks ass; i highly recommend it. I'm running: P4 3gighz, 2gig Ram, 8800 GTS 640MB. All is smooth. And I bumped that card up from and x300, what a huge leap. And despite owning a Dell, i've been able to upgrade with minimal to no hassle.
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