Technical question

Magelord648 · #1 (**permalink**) 03-08-2006, 06:23 AM

I recently got the PC version of morrowind (GOTY) but it is really slow and jumpy. Is there anything I could do to fix this problem. It must be cheap as I don't have a lot of money.

Loredweller · #2 (**permalink**) 03-08-2006, 06:44 AM

First set Real Time Shadows under Options Video tab to 0. See if you couldn't decrease View Distance there without harming the game too much. AI distance under the Prefs tab has an impact on resources. too. Try to make the right guess, where is the problem in first place - is it in the video system or in the computing power (as it's easy see, the first two suggestions are regarding video, the last more address computing). Defragmented disk also helps a bit.

dragon wench · #3 (**permalink**) 03-08-2006, 08:35 AM

I would also suggest turning off the music, lowering the footsteps and situating the master sound slider to the halfway mark or less. Also, turn off any other programmes that don't need to be running. The easiest way to do this is by simultaneously pressing the keys, Ctrl, Alt, Delete.

I would additionally suggest checking out this web page, which has all kinds of tweaking advice:

http://www.tweaktown.com/ttg/ttgdocu...e=guide&dId=17

Red_X · #4 (**permalink**) 03-08-2006, 10:28 AM

Tweak Town Is definatly a good place to go. I went through and tweaked my entire system and It made Morrowind a lot less choppy and the load times are a whole lot faster. Definatly go to tweak town as well as lowering the graphic settings

Magelord648 · #5 (**permalink**) 03-08-2006, 11:41 AM

Thanks Wench and loredweller. I'll go to tweak town. I'll also get my brother to save and close his programs when he comes of the computer. I never keep programs open. @ loredweller. What does defragmenting my drive do and how do I do It. I'm on XP by the way.

dragon wench · #6 (**permalink**) 03-08-2006, 12:01 PM

To open Defrag:

1. Go to Start
2. > All Programs
3. > Accessories
4. > System Tools
5. > Disk Defragmenter

From there it's pretty intuitive

Also..if you have any money at all to spare, I suggest investigating a somewhat upgraded video card. I replaced my ancient card with a NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 for around $60 (Cdn. funds). Given the quality of cards out now, this is quite a low level card. But, it works well with my old Pentium 3, and it made a *huge* difference to gameplay.

Magelord648 · #7 (**permalink**) 03-08-2006, 01:05 PM

Thanks again. Do you have to send your computer away to get the new video card or can you install it yourself as it is my mums computer.

dragon wench · #8 (**permalink**) 03-08-2006, 01:12 PM

You can do it yourself; on some machines it can be tricky though. If you have computer geek friends, I'd definitely suggest getting one of them to help you with the installation.

REal953 · #9 (**permalink**) 03-08-2006, 06:13 PM

[quote=

Also..if you have any money at all to spare, I suggest investigating a somewhat upgraded video card. I replaced my ancient card with a NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 for around $60 (Cdn. funds). Given the quality of cards out now, this is quite a low level card. But, it works well with my old Pentium 3, and it made a *huge* difference to gameplay.[/QUOTE]

My cumputer has an ATI X800 256MB Hyper memory, do you think it will work with Oblivon.

dragon wench · #10 (**permalink**) 03-08-2006, 06:45 PM

@REal,
no idea, I'm not a techie. However, there is at least one thread on system requirements over in the Oblivion forum, if you haven't seen it already.

Magelord648 · #11 (**permalink**) 03-09-2006, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragon wench

You can do it yourself; on some machines it can be tricky though. If you have computer geek friends, I'd definitely suggest getting one of them to help you with the installation.

I have a dell on which I easily installed a floppy disk drive. Would the card be any harder?
By the way real you spelt computer wrong.

dragon wench · #12 (**permalink**) 03-09-2006, 09:21 AM

I have a Dell too, they are quite straightforward to open up and work on. So, given that you easily installed your floppy drive you should be fine.

I'd recommend doing a bit of further research for the card though. I did quite a lot before deciding on the card I selected, and I finally chose that model because I figured it would give me a significant performance boost without blowing my five-year-old machine apart.

Plus, like you, I didn't want to spend much money. This fitted the bill nicely.

As it happened, not only did Morrowind improve, but everything got faster. It was a little like suddenly having a new computer.

btw, another thing you might want to do, which involves no expense at all, is to run to some anti-spyware programmes, if you haven't already. Spyware slows down a machine badly. Microsoft (believe it or not) offers a very good free download which is still in Beta. (http://www.microsoft.com/athome/secu...e/default.mspx) It is a lot better than Spybot and Adaware. Another excellent freebie is Spyware Blaster (http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/index.html) which doesn't run scans but works to keep the spyware off in the first place.

Magelord648 · #13 (**permalink**) 03-09-2006, 10:06 AM

We don't have spyware but mcaffee is constantly running. Does that do any thing? Back to the subject of video cards, do I have to buy it from Dell?

Magelord648 · #14 (**permalink**) 03-09-2006, 10:31 AM

I've just been to dell and couldn't find any video cards. Could somebody give me a link. The site needs to except pound sterling.
Card must run on a DELL dimension 2400 and be cheapish.

dragon wench · #15 (**permalink**) 03-09-2006, 10:38 AM

Mcaffee is an anti-virus programme isn't it? Or do you have a bundled version that comes with a complete protection suite? You might want to find out because anti-virus software does not necessarily protect you from spy ware.

Anyway,
no you don't need to buy the new vid card from Dell. Find a reputable computer shop in your area and ask them about video cards. Try to stay away from places like Futureshop and other big chains. Shops that build no-name computers and also repair them are often a good bet. Tell them your computer specs, explain that you don't want to spend a lot of money, and mention that somebody on a gaming forum suggested "X Card."
You can also purchase vid cards online, though I try to stay away from doing that, I prefer knowing that if I have a problem I can easily go in and speak to a real person.