Going to get back into SC4(RH), need advise on computer specs.

[ed_diaz 10]

Havent been on here in over 5yrs but I've wanted to get back into SC4!. i use to run SC4+RH on my old computer with Windows XP home, Intel Celeron 1.7Ghz, 256MB ram with a Intel 845G graphic chip(64mb video ram). I know horrible specs, but the game was playable to a certain extent, i had almost everything on high and it looked great (i would just avoid scrolling and would point and click to where i wanted to go)

My question now is I am going to get a new computer (finally) and im aiming at a Laptop. Im wondering how well SC4 will run on a Gateway with Windows 7 Home Prem, AMD Athlon 2 dual core M300 2.0Ghz, 4GB ram with a Mobility ATI Radeon HD 4200 (256MB delicated video ram). ... these specs are well beyond the required specs for SC4, HOWEVER i tried running SC4 on my wifes laptop the other day (applied all upates to game, windows and drivers) and it was almost unplayable, somewhat worst then what i remember from my older 1.7ghz celeron computer. Her laptop specs are: Windows Vista Home basic, 1GB ram, Intel Celeron M 1.6Ghz, Intel 945G graphic chip, i would have thought with her laptop the game would have run smoother then my older computer but it wasnt the case. I posted this over at techical but didnt get much help.

Please help. thanks

[Nuclear550 3]

Well I'm playing sc4 deluxe on my brand new laptop.

Here's the specs:

Intel i3- 2.13ghz

4gb RAM DDR3

ATI Radeon Mobility 4330 512mb dedicated memory

It works perfectly fine. Its just that i suggest you put your shadow graphic settings on low. When i used it on high it would always crash. Otherwise its perfectly fine.

[ed_diaz 10]

how would a AMD athlon II dual core M300 2.0Ghz compare to the Intel i3 2.13Ghz?

[SC4BOY 21]

Here's a quote from another thread on this topic (needless to say this subject comes  up often)

The CPU does almost all the work (GPU only does special effects like explosions and clouds etc). I believe all are agreed that the best computer FOR

SC4

ONLY would be a VERY FAST single CPU unit (

SC4

is single threaded and has its scheduler built into the code rather than passed off to the CPU scheduliing hardware). The most primitive GPU (video processor) would work fine for

SC4

as it was designed for video in approximately 2000, however the MEMORY of the GPU still acts as the "picture window" for

SC4

so it would be nice if you had a video card with a large amount (at least 1 Gb) of fast (DDR5 perhaps) memory. Otherwise the video processor plays almost no part in running

SC4

  Of course as far as I know, no one makes a computer like that

.. But the closer you get to that, the better it will run

SC4

.. Will it be best for the rest of your general computing needs? Probably not..

 

And here is a link to the topic if you wish to read it.. It includes notes on a POTENT sc4 machine processor (Dual Core E8600?) which clocks on air to over 5GHz ..

Also some have reported good luck on the AMD Phenom II X2 550 BE (the black edition "BE" is required to get the unlocked clocks). That person used a mobo (ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO, which has an integrated ATI Radeon 4200 HD with 128 MB dedicated graphics memory) quite successfully as the graphics chip really isn't of much use for SC4.

[ed_diaz 10]

big help, thanks!... maybe that would explain why, my old computer was a Intel Celeron 1.7Ghz.... the wifes laptop is a Intel Celeron "M" 1.6Ghz.. not sure what the "M" is for (maybe celeron "mini" LoL) however i would have thought with 4x the amount of ram on the laptop it would have helped.

Should i be right to assume SC4 will run even better then my old computer and the laptop on a AMD athlon II dualcore 2Ghz M300? i understand and have read issues with running SC4 on a dual core.

[SC4BOY 21]

Originally posted by: ed_diaz

big help, thanks!... maybe that would explain why, my old computer was a Intel Celeron 1.7Ghz.... the wifes laptop is a Intel Celeron "M" 1.6Ghz.. not sure what the "M" is for (maybe celeron "mini" LoL) however i would have thought with 4x the amount of ram on the laptop it would have helped.

Should i be right to assume SC4 will run even better then my old computer and the laptop on a AMD athlon II dualcore 2Ghz M300? i understand and have read issues with running SC4 on a dual core.quote>

Assuming you have no video processor driver problem (far and away the major cause of SC4 operational problems with respect to hardware) it may run a bit better, but I'd more expect it to be about the same. The dual core won't help a bit, but the 2Ghz speed may.

Oh, and the "M" stands for "mobile".. ie portables.. it usually means (other than a form factor difference) that it is "power conserving" in various fashions. 

[ed_diaz 10]

so heres a quickly. which would be better

Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 2.2Ghz

Intel Pentium T4400 2.2Ghz

AMD Athlon II 2Ghz M300

or did i just put them in the correct order (guessed it).... these are all sitting on 15" laptops in the sub $599 range with the AMD being the lowest right now at $499. both Intels are using a GMA 4500MHD integrated graphics chip with no dedicated memory and the AMD is using the Radeon HD 4200 integrated graphics chip with 256mb dedicated memory. All 3 laptops are running Win 7 premim64-bit with 4GB ram

[edman2012 33]

the problem anout your wife's laptopis that it runs the basic package. Yours willl be better and it should run well, although perhaps you should try to get a slightly faster processor at at least 2.ghz to be safer

[kingdiz_55 12]

I'd suggest getting at least a 3.0 Ghz processor. I currently have a 2.3 Ghz one and it isn't going well. Specially if you have a lot of plugins and a big city. I'd suggest getting the new AMD Phenom II X4 3.4 Ghz (if you can afford it) it'd really be a great experience for you.

[SC4BOY 21]

Originally posted by: ed_diaz
so heres a quickly. which would be better

Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 2.2Ghz
Intel Pentium T4400 2.2Ghz
AMD Athlon II 2Ghz M300

or did i just put them in the correct order (guessed it).... these are all sitting on 15" laptops in the sub $599 range with the AMD being the lowest right now at $499. both Intels are using a GMA 4500MHD integrated graphics chip with no dedicated memory and the AMD is using the Radeon HD 4200 integrated graphics chip with 256mb dedicated memory. All 3 laptops are running Win 7 premim64-bit with 4GB ram
quote>

 

I doubt you will notice a huge difference among them. I'd suggest the AMD only because, though it may run SC4 SLIGHTLY slower than the other two, the dedicated graphic memory will be a plus and the 100 bucks savings is nice too. In absolute SC4 performance I expect they would be 2, 1, 3 in terms of speed though as I say I doubt it will be a big difference.

 

[ed_diaz 10]

Originally posted by: kingdiz_55
I'd suggest getting at least a 3.0 Ghz processor. I currently have a 2.3 Ghz one and it isn't going well. Specially if you have a lot of plugins and a big city. I'd suggest getting the new AMD Phenom II X4 3.4 Ghz (if you can afford it) it'd really be a great experience for you.quote>

really!? wow, you must be playing on a higher resolution, 32bit color with all settings at high, on a large size map. LoL. i plan on playing mostly on small maps and maybe one or two medium size maps, if i play on a large map it'll be my "farmville" town. i also play on low resolution, 16bit color with medium-high settings. I find the one main setting that has a HUGE! impact when i play is the shadow details. when set to medium or high and if i have A LOT! of trees, i scroll at like 2fps hahahha.. but as soon as i put shadow details to low, its like 27fps when scrolling.. its insane the difference, which leads me to believe that the shadow details has something to do with the GPU and not the CPU.

im going to pick up the gateway(AMD) laptop today, futureshop has it on sale for $499 and its too good of a price for what it has, im super cheap and i wanted to stay in the sub $500 range and i think this is the best computer for that price. I cant afford a $700 or $900 laptop and like you said SC4BOY, the AMD has the delicated 256mb video memory (and can still share it with the main 4GB ram too! if the video memory runs out)

[ed_diaz 10]

dude, holy crap!!! i picked up the AMD gateway last night, stayed up until 4am doing all updates on everything!! defrags and system scans and the whole nine basically, uninstall certain things etc..etc..etc..

i installed SC4, updated it, installed RH, updated it and ran that baby, wow!!! the difference between this and my wifes laptop is MASSIVE! ... i opened up one of the tutorial cities and just started using god tool to plop as many trees as i could, scrolling WAS SMOOTH!!!!, im running it on the 3rd resolution with all settings at high except for shadows(med) and building draw speed(med).. i cant believe how well its running, i mean yea its only amedium size map but it still had a small city in it and i had tons of trees with the shadows on, at this setting my wifes computer was given me 2 frames per second when scrolling. very pleased with this computer.. now to spend the next 2 days downloading add-ons and modds LOL.

[SC4BOY 21]

Glad it's working for you.. you'll probably run into a wall sooner or later as you add and expand, but in the meantime you can have a lot of fun..

[ed_diaz 10]

you mean as i add modds and fill my plug ins folder? lol. i already know which ones to download and its not that many. i'll have a total of about 25 add ons in my plug in folder. but dont jinx it

[SC4BOY 21]

That and city size.. you mentioned that you keep them small, but that is also a limiting factor