Major Computer/SimCity4 Performance (Win. XP)

[wbelac 0]

I have a few more tips...

Go to FixYourWindows.com . Give your computer the Low Transfat and Low Carb diet. It will help a lot.

Also, get some anti-spyware and anti-adware tools and run them regurally. You can find them in simcity4crazy's sig.

In response to Screwballl's post, do download the latest drivers, but don't get them from Windows Update. Those drivers are generic, and can sometimes cause problems. Instead, go to the product manufacturer's website and download them from there.

dolphin 66 said that you only need taskmgr.exe and explorer.exe running. This is not true. For games, you do not need explorer.exe running, it will run fine. Taskmgr.exe will close automatically when you close the task manager. For normal computer use, some things should not be closed, as they are for essential processes such as Anti-Virus software, firewalls, etc. Furthermore, some processes cannot be closed, and will give you the following message:


This may be specific to my computer, but when I try to close one of the svchost.exe processes, a box comes up saying something to the following extent: You have ended an essential process. Windows will restart in 60 seconds.
It counts down, and then restarts your computer. It scared me the first time it happpened.

You can also go to Crucial.com and follow the steps on the front page:


That's all I can think of now.

Hope this helps!!

EDIT: 200th post!!

[sloppet 3]

ok i've just changed the performance and i'll try playing sc4... i'll post soon what do i think about it...

[Bookworm 1]

Date: 3/27/2004 1:34:38 PM Author: simcity4crazyguy

I also found out something else. You know when you're done playing simcity because your parents are screaming at you/threating you? Did you notice that your computer is slower than usual? Well, I noticed, that when you press ctrl+alt+delete, go to prossesses, you see that simcity4 is still running in the comp.'s mind. Even when you take the cd out! I just end task it [it uses up more than 200,000 kb of ram (about 200mb of ram if im not mistaken)], and the computer goes back to normal in 2-3 seconds.

That^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

is just another tip

quote>

That happens to me ALL the time.

 

I tried the thing simcity4crazyguy recommended, and it was too ugly to use! Besides, my SC4 runs fine without my doing anything special.

[dustychicken 0]

If your computer has 512MB or more of RAM, you'll do just fine running SimCity alongside the rest of your programs.  I've ran SC4 with forty-five other processes going, and aside from the occasional blip, it runs just peachy.  I've even switched from SC4 to answer some IMs and then gone right back to playing without so much as a hiccup.

Windows XP, while still not being perfect with resource management, is still fairly smart about how to allocate RAM and CPU cycles.  Provided you're not running an old or inadequate system, the majority of games will run smoothly, even with other running processes.

 

You're making a big deal out of a small deal.  Yes, themes do take up RAM, but if you've got 512MB RAM and a fairly decent CPU, you probably wouldn't even notice too much of a slowdown.  If you don't have 512MB of RAM, then go out and get some.  You shouldn't be running with less nowadays anyway.

 

For the record, I'm running an AMD Athlon 64 3000 with 1GB of PC3200 RAM, and loading SC4 off an SATA drive at 10,000 RPM, so I might be a bit spoiled.

[tigress 0]

Well I posted a question in the new person forum but probably people don't read that one as much.

Anyway I see what's said above. I only have 256 MB RAM, but I can't afford more right now. I have 2 GHz, Pentium IV. I don't know enough about computers to be able to tell all the other stuff. I'm going to buy this game soon (haven't played since SC2000 years ago) and I want to make sure that I can run it well enough.

Thanks for any help you can give me! Like what settings should I run the game on, is there anything inexpensive I can do to help it run faster, etc.

[YukiEiriKun 29]

Date: 2/24/2005 10:03:22 AM Author: bobucles 4GB- (WT.F%) Well, you're just planning for the future, or do a lot of video and 3d rendering stuff. Either way, you keep a game of HL2, Doom3, and SC4 running at all times, just to anger your friends. At this point, you've likely broke off all contact with the world, or vice versa. All comptuers will have a different RAM limit that you can not pass. If you have a pre-built computer, check the manual, or go to the company website and check the computer model number for the RAM limit. If your computer is home-assembled, check the motherboard manual, or the motherboard web site. If the RAM limit is too low for a good upgrade, then it's likely you'll need a new computer anyways. You can't go wrong with the upgrade! RAM is the easist thing to upgrade, so I recommend it for any computer, new and old.

Well.. Having 4 gigs of RAM in your system does not actually give you 4 gigs of free RAM.. You'll get 3 gig's of RAM and the last gig goes to the system .. so not for windows but for .. the system   erm.. I don't remember the details even that I should beeing an technical representative, but I'm not very good one! Am not making any sense right now, too tired, need sleep..

[Diablo 0]

Date: 5/27/2005 6:55:01 PM Author: tigress Well I posted a question in the new person forum but probably people don't read that one as much. Anyway I see what's said above. I only have 256 MB RAM, but I can't afford more right now. I have 2 GHz, Pentium IV. I don't know enough about computers to be able to tell all the other stuff. I'm going to buy this game soon (haven't played since SC2000 years ago) and I want to make sure that I can run it well enough. Thanks for any help you can give me! Like what settings should I run the game on, is there anything inexpensive I can do to help it run faster, etc.

quote>

 

It shouldn't be any bigger problems for you to run SC4 on that computer even though 256Mb RAM isn't very much. Buying another 256Mb (or 512Mb) RAM doesn't cost much (actually very little these days) and will speed up the overall performance of your computer quite a bit.

 

[YukiEiriKun 29]

Ok, dug it:  http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=lenovo&lndocid=MIGR-52334

Just if someone is interested.   May be just problem with our mahcines actually.. xD