What kind of performance can I expect?

[Holymoly]

OK......my ageing rig is as follows:

P4 2.8Ghz
2gb of memory (plain vanilla chipset)
ATI 9800 pro 256MB AGP

What can I expect as far as graphics quality is concerned? It runs EQ2 at acceptable quality.

Seriously considering replacing one of my pcs though. What is the main thing I need to spend the cash on? Processor? What is the best way to go at the moment? Intel or AMD? Single or dual core? Is there much worth in going to 4gb of memory? What about the quality of it? Finally...graphics...GeForce or ATI?

My son bought a laptop from Alienware over the summer and although it is by no means top of the range he is able to run EQ2 with everything maxxed out. How does the hardware expectations of VSOH compare with EQ2?

Thanks in advance...

[Lana]

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[Ayeshala]

You will not enjoy VG (graphically speaking) to it's fullest with your current system.

Lana's recommendations are good, but keep in mind the size of the monitor you are using. On a monitor smaller than 1600X1200, a 8800GTS should be fine. VG is a lot more demanding than EQ2 on a system.

[rabb1t]

If money is not an issue eVGA nVidia Geforce 8800 GTX.

Won’t happen. The OP is on AGP.

Additionally, unless they are running in 1920x1200 a GTS would do just fine, as Ayeshala pointed out.

In this peeps case, there isn’t a lot that can be done due to the AGP limitation. A 7800 GS or x1950 Pro is about the highest they can go.

Then in one to two years when it's cheap grab another and put it in SLI.

In two years time the 9 series will likely be out and there will be a GPU that outperforms 8800 GTX in SLI. (Much like the 8800 GTX beats out dual 7900 GTX and the 7900 GTX beats out dual 6800 Ultras.)

You will not enjoy VG (graphically speaking) to it's fullest with your current system.

Not to the fullest, no, but low settings in something like 1024x768 would be entirely possible.

I highly recommend peeps not spend money on a system until they are sure they enjoy a game. Particularly if said game has a recurring fee, like MOGs do.

[Holymoly]

I highly recommend peeps not spend money on a system until they are sure they enjoy a game. Particularly if said game has a recurring fee, like MOGs do.

Not looking to "upgrade" my existing system but rather substitute my pc for another one on my home network that needs replacing and buying another for myself.

MY existing 19" monitor is fine and only recently acquired so the suggestions were great guys thanks. Was interested to hear the arguments of Intel over AMD.

[rabb1t]

Ah, may have missed that.

For a new system you may want to peep Fozzik's hardware recommendations (up top, hardware button), visit us in Foz's section, read my sig, um... or just have peeps ramble at you.

There really isn't any argument between Intel and AMD if cost isn't an issue (or you are passing the $1000+ range for just the system). The C2D simply is better for roughly the same money. However, if cost is an issue, then you probably want to go AMD cause you can go 'lower' priced than an Intel build and still do fairly well in terms of performance.

Building a system requires a balance - you can't just say spend x on A and y on B. In order to give you a recommendation we'd need to know what kind of target $ amount you'd have to spend.

[Lana]

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[rabb1t]

However VG will not really need the new technology to perform because the older cheaper technology is more than enough.

If VG won't need the new tech it won't need a 2nd card running in dual card config. :rolleyes:

I hate to say it though, in 1-2 years the GTX will still not be "cheap". Now, if you went with a GTS, which will do just fine at res below 1920x1200, that will be "cheap" in a few years time. (As example, the 7900 GTX is $400-500 on NewEgg now and a single 8800 GTS, at ~$380 post rebate, will out-perform dual 7900 GTX in many cases.)

But again, you will still have a greater benefit by moving to a newer more powerful architecture, as it will offer newer features and more power, and you can sell your "old card" into the secondary market and recover a lot of the cost.

Trust me, we have gone over this a lot in the hardware section. It makes a lot more sense to go with what you need compared to overextending yourself, and upgrading to a new single GPU instead of going dual old GPU.

[Holymoly]

Thanks Rabbit, I really certainly run my ideas past you in your forum once I have had a chance to see just how short my current rig is falling when I load up VSOH :)

[Faite]

Thanks Rabbit, I really certainly run my ideas past you in your forum once I have had a chance to see just how short my current rig is falling when I load up VSOH :)

if you need a bandaid before you can totally upgrade a lot of people are saying the 7600gs and gt are great for Vanguard. Its around 139.00 usually for agp (maybe a bit more) but that is the one card I see complimented over and over for Vanguard.