If the games are 4-5 year old games, the issue might be software related .... specifically incompatibility with Vista.
By the same token, you can't overlook the hardware, but this is all guess work since your post is not nearly as explicit for anyone to offer the best possible advice.
I have realised that most new pc games are appropriate for windows vista.
Well i have a hp pavillion, 512 mb ram nvidia video card. 2.00 GHZ processor, i know for a fact my specs arn't good for gaming but it should be able to handle a 4 - 5 year old game when it can hande rome total war withou lagging. In addition why is it when ever i start playing most games it laggs for 5 - 10 minutes and after it stops lagging, does that suggest anything, could it mean my processor speed is poor or memory????
Vista requires a lot of CPU Power and Memory FYI, 2 gig of RAM is their recommended requirement. Your computer is probably fast enough for those old games, but not good enough for the OS so that would probably explain the lag.
And yes you might've noticed but, a LOT of programs aren't compatible with Vista anymore. A 4 - 5 year old game that was based on 2k/XP would probably not work on Vista, UNLESS the game has new patches that adds compatability for Vista. So look for the games that you want to play on google, and see if theres an updated patch or hotfix for them.
MSI P35 Platinum Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 HiS Radeon 2900 Pro 512mb Crucial DDR2 800 2gb
You didn't tell us which "nvidia video card" you have. Are you sure it's not onboard video such as the Geforce 6100 or 6150? If it is, it's using a portion of the system RAM for graphics...that makes an already weak spec'd Vista system even weaker.
If you have an actual video card, which model is it?
Regardless of what you have, you'd be doing yourself a big favor if you'd install more RAM.
Thank you people, i still cannot believe my eyes, i was adviced this computer for a gaming machine and there was another computer which had 1Gb memory, the guy said that is shared well so id this, i was influenced upon becasue i have no knowledge on computers untill now i do have a bit.
Thank you for your advices jam, sabertooth and everyone.
As I suspected...Geforce 6100 onboard graphics with "shared RAM". That makes matters worse. Vista runs bad enough with just 512MB but your system only has 448MB RAM because 64MB is being allocated to the graphics. IMO you should not be running Vista with that hardware...you should be running XP. And even then, 448MB isn't enough for good gaming.
Increase your RAM amount to at least 1GB (2GB would be better) & get a dedicated PCI-e x16 video card.
DDR2 RAM is really cheap these days. You can easily find 2GB DDR2-800 for less than $50. For example:
I have 150 pounds in budget hopefully that would be ok for the video and the DDR2 RAM.
Is it hard to upgrade the computer manually by yourself, or would it be better for me to call someone, if it is possible can you tell me how i can upgrade my pc manually.
Since you mentioned 150 pounds, I take it you're not from the US. That makes those RAM links useless, but at least it gives you an idea.
Upgrading RAM is easy. Simply open the case, find the DIMM slots, put the new RAM into the slots & push downward until the retaining clips 'click' in place. RAM slots are 'keyed' & RAM modules have a small notch on the bottom that has to correspond to that key...that way, the RAM can't be installed backwards.
Installing a video card isn't much more difficult. A PCI-e video card will only fit in a PCI-e slot, so it's just a matter of opening the case, finding the slot & determining which 'blank' will have to be removed from the rear of the case. Once that's out of the way, simply install the card in the slot & secure it with a single screw. Then all you have to do is bootup, access the BIOS to disable the onboard video, then reboot & install the drivers for the new card.
Thanks a lot, sorry man im 16 years old, you have a very brilliant and clear knowledge on computers. I better call someone to input the memory etc instead of me tampering and harming the whole system.
Thanks a lot jam
tesekuler.
Do you play ccs? rise of nations? runescape? rome total war? warcraft 3 (edge of chaos?
"Thank you people, i still cannot believe my eyes, i was adviced this computer for a gaming machine and there was another computer which had 1Gb memory, the guy said that is shared well so id this, i was influenced upon becasue i have no knowledge on computers untill now i do have a bit."
This is not a shot at the original poster but these salesmen at some of these places like the big box computer/electronic stores see someone coming and they can tell if they don't have much computer knowledge.
Any salesman who sells a Sempron based computer with 512 meg of ram, onboard video, running vista and calls it a "gaming machine" is out and out a downright liar. This salesperson lied in the face of the original poster and if I were him I'd demand a full refund and an apology from the salesperson. Frankly, he/she should be fired for blatant BS'ing like that.
Asus P5N-E SLI Intel Dual Core E6750 2.66Ghz Asus EN8600GTS 256Meg 2 gig Crucial 800Mhz DDR2 WD 320 gig SATA 2 Lite On 20x20 DVD-RW CoolerMaster Mystique case w/500 watt PSU
Ok, just for future reference, a gaming machine requires a fast cpu and dual core is the current way to go, not a Sempron which is a stripped down bare bones chip, get at least 2 gigs of ram, especially running vista and most importantly, onboard video is a game graveyard. You need a dedicated video card, the faster the better if you have any hope at all of playing games.
I still say that saleman needs a beating though.
Asus P5N-E SLI Intel Dual Core E6750 2.66Ghz Asus EN8600GTS 256Meg 2 gig Crucial 800Mhz DDR2 WD 320 gig SATA 2 Lite On 20x20 DVD-RW CoolerMaster Mystique case w/500 watt PSU
First of all all salesman try to sell crappy machines for high prices cause thats the reason that they were hired but i also agree with atarileaf he or she's a "!@#@!"... But anyway truth if your gonna be even a latant gamer you'll need 4 G. of RAM and at the veerrrryyy least a 512 mb dedicated video card with the latest CPU to run any game that comes out in the immidate future or for after even higher specs basiclly I would buy a gamer's dream computer every 2 years to stay on top of things make sure that they're not Computers that a salesman says is a great deal buy something better than what he or she says but I think you're from the UK so i can't tell you what your immidate options are. Hope i helped.
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