Help Please

[MusicFreak247]

This has to do with the recommended requirements to play FFXI on Windows XP. Here are my questions:

1. How can you find out your CD-ROM drive speed? (I want to make sure I have 32x or faster, since that's the recommended speed.)

2. I also want to know if I have a good enough processor. It says Intel Pentium 4 Processor, but that's just a brand.



Please Reply

[Caspian]

Re: Help Please

When did you buy your computer? If it was within the last couple years, unless you just scrimped and saved on stuff it should be fine. You can check your processor's capabilities using the FFXI Benchmark tests. Just do a search for it on the forums and you'll pull it up. I'd check all the booklets and stuff that came with your pc. Unless your cd-rom drive is just archaic, then it should easily be 32x. Do you have a dvdrom drive? If so you can buy the Vanadiel Collection. Its the game plus both expansions on dvd. Its only like 20 or 30 bucks last time I checked at Best Buy.

EDIT: found a benchmark, if its not the newest one (I think they are up to three) then just look around the POL site and it should have the latest one.
http://www.playonline.com/ff11us/benchmark_02.html

[MusicFreak247]

Re: Help Please

Uhm...I have a 'HP Pavilion MX70'...I bought it in June of 2002. And wow, thanks for spending all this time on me, lol...that is unbelievably nice.

[Caspian]

Re: Help Please

Lol, np. I'm at work and incredibly bored atm. I also checked your pc model (not sure if I had the right year) and the specs I found for the MX70 are more than adequate.

[MusicFreak247]

Re: Help Please

Thank you very much! I highly appreciate it. One more thing: I also need to get a graphic card and sound card. The recommended graphic card is NVIDIA GeForceFX series graphics processing unit (AGP) with 64MB of VRAM.... I am completely confused, lol. I have no idea what this means. Is this the graphics card I should get for MY computer? And what does 64MB of VRAM mean? Same with the sound card, should I get DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card for my computer?

And anything else that I might need to know/buy? (Also..if there is a better graphic or sound card let me know...I want to buy the best graphic and sound card for FFXI.)


Lol...wow I need help. Soo confused!



-Thanks

[Caspian]

Re: Help Please

Well, theoretically you should have a decent sound card which should easily handle the current directx. As for vid card, yeah, if I were to upgrade anything on my pc (got it about a year and a half ago) it would definately be the vid card. You'll find yourself in heavily crowded areas getting abysmal fps ratings unless you have a really good card. If you've got the cash to spend on a new one I'd definately get one of the better ones out right now. It will severely help. VRAM is basically the video memory. I'm not huge into computers so kuu, Macht, or countless others could explain it better than myself.
You've got a good processor, if you run the benchmark and dont like the score, I'd first get a new vid card. That will most likely make everything better.

[Macht]

Re: Help Please

As far as the Benchmark goes you could always just go to FINAL FANTASY XI's Offical Website.

In there you should find a link that takes you too FINAL FANTASY XI Vana'diel Bench3.

Would like to explain more with the Video Card but time is restricted for me right now, I got to get going.

[MusicFreak247]

Re: Help Please

Awesome...(once again) thank you very much for the help. I hope I end up getting FFXI for Christmas (which I am 95% sure I will).



EDIT: Thank you too Macht.

Double Post Edited:
Do you think the 'GeForce FX 5950 Ultra' graphics card is good enough? The specifications/performance of it is found on this URL-http://www.nvidia.com/page/fx_5700.html

[Caspian]

Re: Help Please

Do you think the 'GeForce FX 5950 Ultra' graphics card is good enough? The specifications/performance of it is found on this URL-http://www.nvidia.com/page/fx_5700.html

I'll leave that one to someone a little more computer savvy than myself. My motto has always just been to get the one with biggest number.

[MusicFreak247]

Re: Help Please

Lol...good motto...okay, np...hopefully Macht will see my question and be able to answer.


(When I do play I want to level up all the jobs...which class should I be then? Im guessing hume, but I dont know for sure.)

[Caspian]

Re: Help Please

When I do play I want to level up all the jobs...which class should I be then? Im guessing hume, but I dont know for sure.

Well, leveling all the jobs is quite an undertaking. For the most part, race is virtually moot. (Only exceptions I know of Galkan mages, and thats only very early on, more gear quickly makes it moot there too.) You should pick whatever race looks most appealing to you, and which one you could stand to look at everyday for years on end.

[MusicFreak247]

Re: Help Please

Ugh...the prices for these graphic cards are ridiculous, lol...well the one I just asked about...on a site it said it was $525!! I hope I can get a half decent one for a reasonable price- like $50, lol.

[Kittyneko]

Re: Help Please

True, but also try to see what jobs you would level most. You also could try to make different characters. If you dont want to pay extra, make 1 character, level it a bit and remake another one. You wont regret it, since it will be the thing that creates the biggest structure in your whole FFXI playing.. o.o

[MusicFreak247]

Help Please*Read if you know alot about computers.

Okay...I need somebody who knows quite a bit about computers. Could somebody please give me the name (and direct me to the URL that sells them if possible) of the recommended graphic AND sound card. Again, the recommended graphic card is 'NVIDIA GeForce FX series graphics processing unit (AGP) with 64MB of VRAM'. And the recommended sound card is 'DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card'.


*Thanks


(Also, thank you Sweetkitty for the awesome advice.)

[Kittyneko]

Re: Help Please

*blushes* ..how you like mithra.. *wink wink* We handle tails better then anyone..

Anyways. I am deffinately not a computer expert, but i know enough to tell you what you gotta choose, or atleast explain some things. The brand of the recommended Video Card is nVidia GeForce yes, which is just the brandname. So that isnt hard to find. FX Series means the FX type of cards they provide.. yea.. just go to a PC-shop and youll see. The other information.. (64MB of VRAM) Thats not too hard to explain either. Forget the words "AGP" and "VRAM". The 64MB means is the room that the videocard to process its graphics rendering in. Like showing big areas costs lost of rendering. So more MB, the better. I suggest to get atleast 128MB, but 256MB is kinda like the best(good enough) to get for a decent price..

To advice you on which graphics cards to use, here you go:

-nVidea GeForce FX series (Any.)
-Ati Radeon 9550 Series or 9600 Series or higher. (Also very good)
Amount of MB is something that is kinda important..

This isnt the best help you can get.. but either of these are probably the best choices.

DirectX is software that you can download. It improves 3D graphics. And dont worry.. if you do choose any of these 2 videocards, it will be DirectX8.1 compatible.. Any videocard that is max 2-3 years old most probably will be.
www.directx.com