9600pro & P3 1.4ghz, will doom 3 be playable?

N

nando

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I seriously haven't upgraded my computers much since the days of quake 3 (I'm still using a Voodoo5 in my main PC lol). I don't really play too many games these days, but if I can I'd like to play Doom 3 and HL2. there's a 9600pro at my work on clearance for $75 (plus I get a 10% discount), I've been thinking of picking it up, but I'm afraid Doom and HL2 will be slide shows on this computer, unless I make the games extremely ugly.

if not, I'll probably just skip it for a while until I can build a new PC..
 
I've got a 1.0 with a 9500 non-pro and windows 98. Pray for me :D.

I'm upgrading real soon, might wait until after the upgrade to get it.
 
i dont doubt that it will be playable guys...but i think it will have to be at fairly low settings...from what i have been reading the game is highly scalable from low'ish end systems so you should be ok...just turn some of the settings down...

the CPU will come into play when chunking through the AI and physics...wait till the game is out...get it and try it out...if its all laggy then consider upgrading.
 
I can't just try it out, a Voodoo5 isn't going to run any of these games even at 1fps ;)
 
ah sorry...i didnt see that bit in ur original post...try and pick up a 128MB 9800Pro if you can that is going to be miles better than the 9600...
 
For 75 minus 10% that is a hell of a deal. A 9600 Pro will definitely play Doom 3 fairly well. Your processor will bottleneck it. But I think Doom 3 is more gpu dependant then cpu. And yeah you can get a 9800 Pro about 50% more powerful for around 195 from newegg. But that card would be overkill unless you upgraded the cpu. For 200 though, you could buy the 9600Pro on sale at your work and buy a cheap AMD combo from Fry's. I think last week I saw like an XP2600 with motherboard for under 100. Not sure if your memory is compatible ?
 
naw, I've only got SDRAM. I'd need another gig of memory, mobo and CPU.. and if I'm going to do that, I'd probably go all out :p

I'm going to see if the card is still there, if it is I think I'll pick it up. if anything, it can go into a second computer later on so I can have people over and play DX9 games, which I can't right now.
 
That setup will <cough> RUN Doom 3. Thats about it. You can turn down all the settings and should be able to move ok through the game. Don't expect eye candy and smooth sailing, at all.

Compare ... try FarCry on that setup.. then imagine that times 5. Publishers always say oh this will run it, and oh this will run it 'ok'.. but what they really mean is ...

Please buy our game, you will conviently find you will need to spend $500-700 in upgrades to get the gameplay you desire. Running your game on required or medium settings is like racing the Tour de France on a unicycle. Thank you for buying our product.

I'd save and upgrade to a Doom 3 ready pc.

2.0ghz + processor
Radeon 9800pro/FX5950 + card
1gb 2700 + ram

Other options include ...

1. Ignore my post
2. Upgrade to what you said and see what happens.

Just wanted to not BS like most people would. Happy Hunting...
 
I would skip it and save up for a new PC. A PIII 1.4 will really bottleneck you even with a good video card.
 
upgrade with your orignal idea, the 9600. Get doom 3 see how it fares, if it sux you can sell the 9600 pro for more than you bought it most likely and put that money to a better upgrade
 
I got the 9600pro, I paid $73.01 including taxes. the card has dual head, s-video out and I can use it to play DVDs.. I think I'll keep the card since it was such a good deal, overclock the snot out of it and just use it until next year when I can spend the money on a real upgrade. it'll play a lot of other games I'd like to try but never had the hardware to, aside from Doom3/HL2 etc.

now to see if the posted 9600pro voltmod guide will work on my card ;)
 
If you have a Tualatin P3 1.4 with 512k of L2, those are actually pretty damned fast. I'd definitely give DOOM 3 a shot on it. Especially with that 9600pro, I have a hunch it'd run pretty damned well.
 
I'd pick it up. It's only $75 Hell, it's a nice upgrade. Even if the rest of your rig can't handle Doom 3, once you do get a new rig it'll make stuff run a lot better on your old machine if you want to have a friend over & play games.
P3s are a good slice faster per clock than P4s. That Tulatin chip can probably keep up with a 1600-1700+ AMD or so.
Personally I think Doom 3 will be ok if you get a new graphics card. It won't be as pretty as on the 6800GT I'm about to buy, but it'll run & probably look pretty good.
 
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