Fastest PCs Just Not Fast Enough For Today's Computer Games!

SkyeHack · February 10th, 2003, 23:43

When is a computer with a 1.5-GHz processor and 1 GB of RAM just not good enough? Apparently, when you're trying to play the latest version of SimCity.

PC gamer Nicolai Fuhrman is among a growing number of people who feel cheated after having purchased software titles that don't work as advertised on their high-performance home computers.

"Maybe I am being too picky," said Fuhrman, "but I spent good money to get a fairly top-notch system, and I don't think it's too much to ask for a game to run smoothly with high detail."

Scott Evans agreed. The Dallas-based IT manager recently purchased SimCity 4 thinking that his Athlon 1900 with 1.5 GB of memory would be more than adequate. Instead, he found that after playing for a while, the game ran so sluggishly he could no longer enjoy it.

"I have no problems at all until my cities got up around 5,000-plus people," wrote Evans on SimCity Central. "However, from 5,000 and up it's laggy, even right after I load it."

Like most game publishers, SimCity 4's maker, Electronic Arts, regularly prints minimum and recommended system requirements on each software package to help users select games that will work on their computers. But industry experts admit that such specifications are often unrealistic.

"In my experience, the minimum system requirements stated by the developer or publisher are too low to run a game adequately," said Brian Clair, publisher of The Adrenaline Vault, a popular game site.

Clair found that SimCity 4 had poor performance on his 933-MHz system with 512 MB of RAM, despite the fact that Electronic Arts' minimum system requirements for the game call for a 500-MHz processor with 128 MB of memory.

Aaron Erickson, a longtime SimCity fan, had similar trouble running the game on a computer that met the recommended requirement of 1 GHz and 256 MB of memory, leading him to wonder how companies select the specs in the first place.

"It's a matter of trying to hit the sweet spot," said SimCity executive producer Lucy Bradshaw. "Of course we want to provide our customers with the best possible game play on their machines, and we try to balance that with the new features that they expect from us."

Although Bradshaw admitted that the game is "heavy on memory," she stood by the published system requirements, noting that SimCity 4 has received a "tremendously favorable response" so far.

Jennifer Olsen, editor-in-chief of Game Developer magazine, said game publishers aren't necessarily at fault.

"Given the infinite combination of PC hardware and software components available and the unfeasibility of testing for every theoretical configuration, printed system requirements can't and shouldn't be taken as gospel," Olsen said.

But this explanation isn't likely to satisfy gamers who shell out $50 for a much-hyped title that runs at a snail's pace.

"Electronic Arts should absolutely be held accountable for putting up minimum RAM requirements that in no way would allow any substantial use of the game," Erickson said.

Indeed, EA does offer dissatisfied users a way to get their money back, by trading opened software boxes for unopened ones by mail. They can then return the unopened game where they originally bought it.

Evans has a different plan. He says he'll put up with SimCity 4's poky performance -- at least until he upgrades his system in time for the release of Doom III.

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almighty bob · February 11th, 2003, 04:38

they didnt mention anything about video cards. my 2.26ghz with 256mb ram has a geforce2mx400. i dont think the slow performance on silent hill 2 at resolutions higher than 640x480 is a problem with my cpu and ram...

**Kane** · February 11th, 2003, 04:44

Well Sim City 4 runs a little sluggish on my machine too, even with the details right down.

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Player-X · February 11th, 2003, 15:12

Slow......even right here

Marko · February 11th, 2003, 15:26

take it C&C: Generals for example.

_E_ · February 11th, 2003, 16:00

hmm,...I run UT2k3 with no speed downs on my AMD Athlon 1800+ , 256 RAM and integrated Geforce II 100/200 MX card. details set at high and resolution set at 800x600 , 32 bit colours. The only thing slow is the loading times, other that, i have no problem.

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wolfmaster · February 11th, 2003, 20:29

I run RTCW and Command and conquer red alert yuri revenge both at the same time so and mine is wiin 2000 and 256ram no problem

**OK-OK** · February 11th, 2003, 21:11

Simcity shouldnt take much rams... I wonder why...

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**Kane** · February 12th, 2003, 04:03

SimCity is the only game that ccurrently brung my machine to it's knees. I think it's simply a poorly designed engine.

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Drack · February 12th, 2003, 07:23

Yeah because Generals runs great on my system. I can run it at high detail @ 800X600 without any fps problems.

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Player-X · February 13th, 2003, 13:12

The SC4 engine simulates every variable of every sim as well as every other variable in real time so it's accurate but slow

felinusz · February 13th, 2003, 14:50

If the game won't run smoothly on that kind of system then it is simply a very poorly made game!!

I have a decent system with a garbage video card and I have found no problems with most new games, my RAM and CPU carry my system (untill my GeForce2 MX400 burns out

)

Violineb · February 14th, 2003, 10:18

IIRC when the game "Outcast" was released it didn't run on anything either

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Chinoz · February 14th, 2003, 12:40

P4 1.8GHz, 512 sdR, radeon 9500pro,
all smooth on generals maxed out
lags in ut2003 when maxed out
hoping to borrow han's simcity4 some time later to see speed

Player-X · February 14th, 2003, 13:12

The P4 will choke,I assure you(My AMD choked)

neversurrender · February 14th, 2003, 20:34

i used to run OUTCAST on 300 mhz celeron with 64mb ram and 4mb s3virge video card.it ran fine.by the way OUTCAST was one of the best games i have played.

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Sampah · February 15th, 2003, 07:11

Quote:

Originally posted by drack300
Yeah because Generals runs great on my system. I can run it at high detail @ 800X600 without any fps problems.

Cause you have Geforce3 ti 500 with directX8 supported, Generals will be no problem for you to run but a card with only DirectX7 have to be patient of the slow frame rate.

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GSDragoon · February 16th, 2003, 01:01

SimCity 4 runs fine on my comp, max detail 1024x768. But all I do is load premade cities and destroy them. Volcanos are cool.

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Unicron · February 17th, 2003, 07:22

I get pretty annoying slowdowns playing mafia & UT2k3

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-Senator Zell Miller

February 10th, 2003, 23:43	#1
SkyeHack Cpl in U.S. Marine Corps Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Camp Lejeune, NC Posts: 2,179	Fastest PCs Just Not Fast Enough For Today's Computer Games! When is a computer with a 1.5-GHz processor and 1 GB of RAM just not good enough? Apparently, when you're trying to play the latest version of SimCity. PC gamer Nicolai Fuhrman is among a growing number of people who feel cheated after having purchased software titles that don't work as advertised on their high-performance home computers. "Maybe I am being too picky," said Fuhrman, "but I spent good money to get a fairly top-notch system, and I don't think it's too much to ask for a game to run smoothly with high detail." Scott Evans agreed. The Dallas-based IT manager recently purchased SimCity 4 thinking that his Athlon 1900 with 1.5 GB of memory would be more than adequate. Instead, he found that after playing for a while, the game ran so sluggishly he could no longer enjoy it. "I have no problems at all until my cities got up around 5,000-plus people," wrote Evans on SimCity Central. "However, from 5,000 and up it's laggy, even right after I load it." Like most game publishers, SimCity 4's maker, Electronic Arts, regularly prints minimum and recommended system requirements on each software package to help users select games that will work on their computers. But industry experts admit that such specifications are often unrealistic. "In my experience, the minimum system requirements stated by the developer or publisher are too low to run a game adequately," said Brian Clair, publisher of The Adrenaline Vault, a popular game site. Clair found that SimCity 4 had poor performance on his 933-MHz system with 512 MB of RAM, despite the fact that Electronic Arts' minimum system requirements for the game call for a 500-MHz processor with 128 MB of memory. Aaron Erickson, a longtime SimCity fan, had similar trouble running the game on a computer that met the recommended requirement of 1 GHz and 256 MB of memory, leading him to wonder how companies select the specs in the first place. "It's a matter of trying to hit the sweet spot," said SimCity executive producer Lucy Bradshaw. "Of course we want to provide our customers with the best possible game play on their machines, and we try to balance that with the new features that they expect from us." Although Bradshaw admitted that the game is "heavy on memory," she stood by the published system requirements, noting that SimCity 4 has received a "tremendously favorable response" so far. Jennifer Olsen, editor-in-chief of Game Developer magazine, said game publishers aren't necessarily at fault. "Given the infinite combination of PC hardware and software components available and the unfeasibility of testing for every theoretical configuration, printed system requirements can't and shouldn't be taken as gospel," Olsen said. But this explanation isn't likely to satisfy gamers who shell out $50 for a much-hyped title that runs at a snail's pace. "Electronic Arts should absolutely be held accountable for putting up minimum RAM requirements that in no way would allow any substantial use of the game," Erickson said. Indeed, EA does offer dissatisfied users a way to get their money back, by trading opened software boxes for unopened ones by mail. They can then return the unopened game where they originally bought it. Evans has a different plan. He says he'll put up with SimCity 4's poky performance -- at least until he upgrades his system in time for the release of Doom III. __________________ Click To View My Blog Alienware Area-51m Saucer Silver 16.1" UltraXGA 1600x1200 LCD Display * Pentium 4 HT 3.4GHz 800MHz FSB w/ 512KB Cache ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9700 Module 128MB DDR * 1GB DDR PC-3200 @ 400MHz * Hitachi 60GB 7200 RPM ATA100 8MB Cache 4x2x8x DVD+/-RW / 16x10x24x CD-RW Combo * Windows XP Home Edition SP2

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February 11th, 2003, 04:38	#2
almighty bob Destroying Angel Join Date: May 2001 Location: PoMo BC Posts: 280	they didnt mention anything about video cards. my 2.26ghz with 256mb ram has a geforce2mx400. i dont think the slow performance on silent hill 2 at resolutions higher than 640x480 is a problem with my cpu and ram...

February 11th, 2003, 04:44	#3
Kane 邪魔ゎ指せない Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Gosport, England Posts: 26,303	Well Sim City 4 runs a little sluggish on my machine too, even with the details right down. __________________ >Site Live< Pop over to my site for help with setting up PSX emulators. Help for the Final Fantasies and other RPGs avalaible Celes: (Desktop) Phenom II X4, 4Gb DDR2, GeForce 8800 GTS 320Mb, 32Gb OCZ Vertex SSD, 500Gb RAID HDD, Windows 7 Home Premium Erika: (MCPC) Revo3610, Windows 7 Home Premium Kimiko: (Craptop) HP Mini 210

February 11th, 2003, 15:12	#4
Player-X Banned Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: From Kuching in Malaysia now stuck in Houston Texas Posts: 9,111	Slow......even right here

February 11th, 2003, 15:26	#5
Marko Registered User Join Date: May 2002 Location: Phil Posts: 20	take it C&C: Generals for example.

February 11th, 2003, 16:00	#6
_E_ Lurking Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Gone Posts: 9,354	hmm,...I run UT2k3 with no speed downs on my AMD Athlon 1800+ , 256 RAM and integrated Geforce II 100/200 MX card. details set at high and resolution set at 800x600 , 32 bit colours. The only thing slow is the loading times, other that, i have no problem. __________________ -= Moral cowardice that keeps us from speaking our minds is as dangerous to this country as irresponsible talk. The right way is not always =- the popular and easy way. Standing for right when it is unpopular is a true test of moral character. Margaret C. Smith

February 11th, 2003, 20:29	#7
wolfmaster Banned Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: 1000 at last all this time yay Posts: 1,028	I run RTCW and Command and conquer red alert yuri revenge both at the same time so and mine is wiin 2000 and 256ram no problem

February 11th, 2003, 21:11	#8
OK-OK I'm back... Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Montreal Posts: 1,507	Simcity shouldnt take much rams... I wonder why... __________________ Don't let the beautiful eyes trick you before they eat you alive.

February 12th, 2003, 04:03	#9
Kane 邪魔ゎ指せない Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Gosport, England Posts: 26,303	SimCity is the only game that ccurrently brung my machine to it's knees. I think it's simply a poorly designed engine. __________________ >Site Live< Pop over to my site for help with setting up PSX emulators. Help for the Final Fantasies and other RPGs avalaible Celes: (Desktop) Phenom II X4, 4Gb DDR2, GeForce 8800 GTS 320Mb, 32Gb OCZ Vertex SSD, 500Gb RAID HDD, Windows 7 Home Premium Erika: (MCPC) Revo3610, Windows 7 Home Premium Kimiko: (Craptop) HP Mini 210

February 12th, 2003, 07:23	#10
Drack Registered User Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: PDX, USA Posts: 1,187	Yeah because Generals runs great on my system. I can run it at high detail @ 800X600 without any fps problems. __________________ Athlon64 +3200, GeForceFX 5900, 1024 MB DDR 400, nForce3 250Gb chipset 80 GB SATA Seagate , 80 GB 7200 RPM Seagate, 120 GB 7200 Seagate Lite-on SOHD-167T and Pioneer DVR-A06D Running XP Professional and SuSe 9.1

February 13th, 2003, 13:12	#11
Player-X Banned Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: From Kuching in Malaysia now stuck in Houston Texas Posts: 9,111	The SC4 engine simulates every variable of every sim as well as every other variable in real time so it's accurate but slow

February 13th, 2003, 14:50	#12
felinusz overclocking magus Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,372	If the game won't run smoothly on that kind of system then it is simply a very poorly made game!! I have a decent system with a garbage video card and I have found no problems with most new games, my RAM and CPU carry my system (untill my GeForce2 MX400 burns out )

February 14th, 2003, 10:18	#13
Violineb Study>Bton/Live>Bmore Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Bloomington, IN/Baltimore MD Posts: 1,353	IIRC when the game "Outcast" was released it didn't run on anything either __________________ PC1: CPU: Pentium 4 3.06 ghz - GeForce 4200 ti - 2x 256MB PC 1066 RDRAM - 120+160GB Western Digital JB PC2: Abit NF7-S -AMD Athlon XP 1700+- 2x 256MB PC2700 Kingston HyperX BH-5 chips!!!! Western Digital 120GB JB GeForce3 Laptop: Sony Vaio VGN-S360 :guitar: 3DFX Voodoo 5500 PCI-Sega Dreamcast May 1999

February 14th, 2003, 12:40	#14
Chinoz ... Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Desa Park, Key Ell, Malaysia Posts: 2,307	P4 1.8GHz, 512 sdR, radeon 9500pro, all smooth on generals maxed out lags in ut2003 when maxed out hoping to borrow han's simcity4 some time later to see speed __________________ System specs P4 2.6c \| Abit AI7 \| Radeon 9800pro \| 1024mb kingston ddr400 \| 120gb seagate sata \| 40mb wd \| And all the minor bits and pieces 3dMark2001SE

February 14th, 2003, 13:12	#15
Player-X Banned Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: From Kuching in Malaysia now stuck in Houston Texas Posts: 9,111	The P4 will choke,I assure you(My AMD choked)

February 14th, 2003, 20:34	#16
neversurrender Registered User Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: pakistan Posts: 301	i used to run OUTCAST on 300 mhz celeron with 64mb ram and 4mb s3virge video card.it ran fine.by the way OUTCAST was one of the best games i have played. __________________ silence is golden Amd athlon xp 2700+,256mb ddr 2700 ram,geforce4 mx440 64mb,Gigabyte 7V via kt400 chipset,samsung 52x cdrom,win98 se.

February 16th, 2003, 01:01	#18
GSDragoon Registered User Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,969	SimCity 4 runs fine on my comp, max detail 1024x768. But all I do is load premade cities and destroy them. Volcanos are cool. __________________ Athlon64 3400+ @10.5x250MHz, 2.625GHz \| DFI NF3 250GB 2x512 Corsair pc3200 \| BFG FX6800 OC 128MB \| X-Fi XtremeGamer

February 17th, 2003, 07:22	#19
Unicron Git er done Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Raleigh, NC USA GO us! Posts: 2,829	I get pretty annoying slowdowns playing mafia & UT2k3 __________________ It is the soldier, not the court, that has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the agitator, who has given us the freedom to protest. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who gives that protestor the freedom he abuses to burn that flag. -Senator Zell Miller