I am desparate for computer help for FFXI to work, please...

[n8236]

I have a pretty old computer, here are the specs:

MB: Asus p3v4x ( no support for 8x agp, 4x agp, 3 yr old mb )
CPU: PIII Slot1 700mhz oc'ed to 847
Memory: ~860 MB of 133mhz SDRAM
HD: 2 stripped IBMs - ata66
Video: Ati 9600 XT
OS: Win XP ( 100% updated )

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When I first bought FFXI, i was running it off a ATI 9600SE and the graphics sucked really bad still, and i still had lag, but bearable with my POS computer. But it is NOTHING, literally, NOTHING like any of the pictures I have seen from ppl etc. Perhaps that is because I turned off all detail options in the FFXI Config.

So today I went out exchanged my 9600SE to a 9600XT. I slap the bitch in, boot it, run the game and crashes out. I go do a clean install of the drivers from ATI again, update my chipset drivers for my MB, check my direct X version 9, etc. Still it does not work.

I've played with all the possible settings, clocked my CPU back to normal, etc, and it still just crashes out back to Windows.

Here is exactly what happens. I turn up all my detail settings for FFXI, enter the game, and the graphic still looks like it has no details turned on, while smoother, i can walk around for about 10-20 seconds and the game freezes, screen does a quick flicker and I see all the details which were suppose to be on (while still frozen), then jumps out to windows and ATI gives me this msg that my game is in a "deadlock" restart etc. That's it.

I know I need a new computer, I am getting one soon. But please, if anyone can give me any possible solutions, please please help me. My finals are ending and I really want to enjoy this game I love so much.

Thank you SO much!

[The Chemist]

lock up idea

Well the first thing I would do is get DDR ram (512MB) backed up with your current video card should help out. I would also increase my prcessor speed above a 2 Gig (2.8 Gig or more with Hyperthreading technology). What speed does you HD run at (normal 7200)? I would look into getting 35-40 Gig HD at 10k. Increasing any one of these without the others will not do as much as getting them at the same time. They all complement and aid each other to help maximize your comps potential.

You did say that you increased your processor speed and that is when you started having the massive gaming system problems. Try going back to your old Processor and see if you can run the game. If so then increasing your processor speed without increasing other aspects of your comp might be causing the failure.

Let me know how this works out



Q

[Kaickul]

Before you spend a lot of cash you can try a few drastic steps that might allow you to play the game at a more degraded level. First, since you mentioned that you uninstalled your drivers a few times you should realize that uninstalling anything doesn’t mean it’s gone from your system, it’s just be removed from system use. If you reboot after uninstalling the driver the system might use the same driver again even thought you install the newer one. Make sure that you remove all control panels and files related to ATI. The system should prompt you with the location of the drivers or disk.
A minor change might be tweaking some settings in the control panel for the ATI driver.
Also worth noting is, since you just added a newer card to an older MB, should you update your BIOS?
Next, since your machine is older I'm taking a wild guess, but when was the last time you did a clean install of the OS? After many months of use, and installing and uninstalling games etc, files build up in the registry and can cause a lot of conflicts. A clean install is a good way to alleviate these sorts of problems.
Considering checking your background apps running in Windows. Goto Start>Run>type in msconfig, look at what startup services you have. Modify these at your own discretion.
A few side notes, overclocking your processor can cause problems with your system over all. There is nothing wrong with overclocking, but if all else fails it could be the culprit. Consider something as minor as reseating all your hardware to make sure there is a good connection.

[Siber]

I agree with netdrifter, but instead of re-installing to clean the registry use RegClean (http://download.com.com/3000-2094-88...ml?tag=lst-0-5). Make sure not only your startup processes are to a minimum, but overall processes. Also, (even though this probably won't help lol) defrag because it makes the system run abit faster overall since it doesn't have to check non-consecutive sectors for files.

Now with wut Chemist said, do upgrade to DDR, the CPU doesn't have to be over 2 GHZ and don't bother w/ HTT (it's crap). Hard Drive speed won't matter since games run out of memory and store any needed files in HD cache if it really needs 'em.

Now, my thoughts. Is it properly cooled ? Also, is your power supply large enough to support the new graphics card? I think that comp would need a 350-400 power supply IMHO

[The Chemist]

clarify

It wouldnt be the video cooling system (well at least not at the time frame he gives). He said that it stays up for 20 secs then freezes. Which leads me to think that cooling wouldnt really come into play that soon (maybe later it will cause a problem).

Why would the comp work with the slower video card and not with the faster one. Only a few explenations would make sense. Processor might not be able to handle the new upgrade? I dont use that type of processor or video card myself, so can you tell me how close to top of the line they are for their brand? And if there are any know compatibility problems with the new video card and the processor?

The mods listed by net, and siber are definetly worth a try.

[Siber]

The 9600 SE is only 'bout a year old (the 9600 line was released just over a year ago.) The 9600 XT was just released several months ago. It is the 2nd best card by ATI (3rd best card overall out. Arguebly 4th though). The P3 700 is also pretty old considering how the highest out right now is a P4 3.2 GHz. I think it also is like 3 years old. So it might be a compatability issue as you say, but I don't see why 1 year would make a difference. Hmm... And the cooling thing might be not only his vid card though, but the overall case might be too hot inside. Idk for sure, but it was just a suggestion.

[n8236]

Chemist, I have tried clocking my computer back to normal speed and that has not relieved the problems, thanks for the input.

net.drifter, i really rather not take the easy way out and just reformat whenever I encounter a problem, but at this point, I'm really considering that. As for bios updates, etc, yes, everything is up to date as possible.

Siber, I would love a new computer and will be getting one soon, but as for this computer, I'm just wondering if anything would relieve me of my problems with the game. I'm sure with a new computer, it should work like a charm.

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Should I try a geforce instead? The card I got could be a lemon?