I picked up Left 4 Dead for the PC

[axlish]

and my PC performance is poor :(

I've ordered more RAM to bring from 1GB to 2GB, hopefully that'll be enough to get it up to snuff.

Is a Pentium 4 3.2 GHz enough to play it? It says it needs a P4 3.0 or better... :mad:

[clanglee]

It's really all about the video card man, That's the main concern when playing newer games. But more memory always helps.

[krakenslayer]

and my PC performance is poor :(

I've ordered more RAM to bring from 1GB to 2GB, hopefully that'll be enough to get it up to snuff.

Is a Pentium 4 3.2 GHz enough to play it? It says it needs a P4 3.0 or better... :mad:

That should all be okay - you could do with a dual core processor, but a single core @ 3.2GHz will suffice for most games for another year or so - the real bottleneck (as clanglee said) in this case is gonna be your graphics card.

Now since you didn't mention your graphics card in the original post, I'm assuming your using either a graphics card that came with the PC or an on-board (built into the motherboard) GPU chipset. The latter is really just aimed at people who want to be able to play DVDs and run old games now and then, and computer manufacturers usually cut corners with the former (because they know most people don't know much about graphics cards).

Let us know what graphics card you're using. If you're not sure, go to Start, "Run...", type in "dxdiag", then click the display tab. It should tell you the device's name, chip type and memory - post it here.

[axlish]

I'm not at home, but I know it is a 128MB Intel GL something or other. I'm sure it is weak as hell. Someone point me in the direction of a decent card for a decent price. Thanks for the advice krakenslayer

[krakenslayer]

I'm not at home, but I know it is a 128MB Intel GL something or other. I'm sure it is weak as hell. Someone point me in the direction of a decent card for a decent price. Thanks for the advice krakenslayer

Okiedokie, that's definitely a built-in on-board chipset. The Intel ones are notoriously bad at running games too.

Now, what you need to do before we can point you in the direction of a card is find out whether your motherboard takes either AGP or PCI-Express graphics cards. As a guide, if your computer was bought after 2004 it will probably take PCI-Express cards, and it is pre-2004 (and post-1998) it's definitely AGP.

However, it pays to be sure, and you don't want to spend money on a GFX card you can't use, so we'll need to find out what model your motherboard is - if you still have the manual it should give you the name and model number (and also, whether it's a PCI or AGP motherboard).

If you can't do that (because you've lost the manual or whatever), then if your computer is a pre-built company machine (made by Dell or Packard Bell or one of those big computer companies) post your computer's model - e.g. Dell Optiplex 760 - and I'll find out for you.

And if it's not a company machine - for example, someone built it for you from scratch or you bought it from an independent computer store - and you don't have the manual, let me know and I'll put on my detective hat. :cool:

Oh, and let us know how much you're willing to spend on the card.

[axlish]

It is a Dimention E310, I got it in December of 2005. I do not want to spend over $100.

[Thorn]

I play it almost every night. Look me up and add me on steam. Thorn... of course. My icon right now is from Desperado you can't miss me.

[axlish]

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim3100/en/sm/specs0.htm#wp1052310

Here is the link krakenslayer, thanks

Thorn, I am axlish on there, I'll look you up as soon as I can get it running smoothly.

[3pidemiC]

Ouch, I just looked up the specs for it. The biggest problem with this system is that the motherboard lacks any graphics card expansion slot. The only thing in your system is a measly PCI slot. Honestly, you're not going to get much performance out of that.

Something like this would be ok to add into your system: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130451

...but I'm not sure how much it'll help. If you do not currrently have any video card in your system (integrated video), then there should be a noticible difference. But don't expect to run L4D on anything close to high graphics settings.

Also, this card and any higher-end graphics card is going to require you to upgrade your power supply inside of your system in order to get the full performance out of the card. Currently, you should have a 230Watt PSU and this card requires at least a 350Watt.

[axlish]

How do I go about increasing the power?

[krakenslayer]

Ouch, I just looked up the specs for it. The biggest problem with this system is that the motherboard lacks any graphics card expansion slot. The only thing in your system is a measly PCI slot. Honestly, you're not going to get much performance out of that.
.

Actually that's incorrect (thankfully).

I just had a look at the documentation axlish linked to, and it says there's a PCI-Express slot - which is very good news.

Axlish, this is just two dollars over your budget and I'd highly recommend it:
http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Radeon-HD4830-PCI-Express-Graphics/dp/B001JVNRY0/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1234293473&sr=8-2

If you really want to say under $100, then this is pretty much the same card I own and its does the job admirably (though considering the minimal price difference between this one and the one above, you might want to pay the extra few bucks on the above one to futureproof it a little):
http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Radeon-HD3850-PCI-Express-Graphics/dp/B000YNUX3W/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1234293644&sr=8-1

Both of these cards will allow you to set the game to approximately Xbox 360-level graphics with decent framerates, provided the rest of your system can keep up with them.

[axlish]

krakenslayer, what abou the power issue?

[krakenslayer]

I've just done a bit of research, and I've seen a couple of reviews of your system that complain about the lack of a PCI-Express slot, which is odd because the documentation you showed us is definitely for that system and quite clearly states that it's got a PCI-Express expansion port... very, very strange. :confused:

Looks like Dell might have been lying about some of those specs. You may have to go with a PCI (not PCI-Express) card after all.


krakenslayer, what abou the power issue?

The PSU is the Power Supply Unit that is screwed into the back of your case and supplies the motherboard with juice; it's where the power cord joins up to the back of the machine.

Dell often use modified motherboards that won't let you use a regular, off-the-shelf PSU in their system (an attempt to force you into paying them for all future upgrades). You can, however, buy Dell-compatible PSUs online that will work in your machine. I'll have a look online and see what I can find... But you might want to consider contacting Dell about upgrading...

[EDIT:] Here you go, never bought anything from this company before, but it looks like just what you need: http://www.cputopia.com/hp-400w-dell-dimension-e310.html

[clanglee]

Well now I'm curious if I could actually play it. I've got an old HP a350n

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&objectID=c00041542

I have increased the Memory to 2.5 Gigs. But that is the only upgrade my PC has had.

[krakenslayer]

Well now I'm curious if I could actually play it. I've got an old HP a350n

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&objectID=c00041542

I have increased the Memory to 2.5 Gigs. But that is the only upgrade my PC has had.

'fraid not, you'll need:

* OS: Windows Vista, Vista 64, XP,
* CPU: 3.0GHz P4, Dual Core 2.0 or AMD64X2 (or higher)
* RAM: 1 GB for XP / 2 GB for Vista
* Disc Drive: DVD-ROM Drive
* Hard Drive: At least 7.5 GB of free space
* Video: DirectX 9 compatible video card (Video card must be 128 MB or more and should be a DirectX 9 compatible with support for pixel shader 2.0)
* Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card

Sorry clang :(

[3pidemiC]

It's a PCI-Express 1x slot, not the 16x. These were intended to replace the old PCI slots but have not fully done so yet. Video cards use the 16x slot only. Sorry for the bad news.

Also, about the power issue...

Thankfully, Dell stopped using proprietary power supplys a few years back and any of their standard ATX motherboards use industry standard power supplys. You should be able to pick up one anyplace that sells PSUs. You will have to upgrade to get the full performance out of a new video card.

[krakenslayer]

It's a PCI-Express 1x slot, not the 16x. These were intended to replace the old PCI slots but have not fully done so yet. Video cards use the 16x slot only. Sorry for the bad news.


Oh yeah, my mistake, I read that as being 1x PCI Express slot (as in, a single PCI Express 16 slot) :rolleyes:

[axlish]

I am now eyeballing an XBOX 360 :(

[krakenslayer]

I am now eyeballing an XBOX 360 :(

In all honesty, it will probably be cheaper to buy an Xbox than upgrade your old PC. :(

[clanglee]

'fraid not, you'll need:

* OS: Windows Vista, Vista 64, XP,
* CPU: 3.0GHz P4, Dual Core 2.0 or AMD64X2 (or higher)
* RAM: 1 GB for XP / 2 GB for Vista
* Disc Drive: DVD-ROM Drive
* Hard Drive: At least 7.5 GB of free space
* Video: DirectX 9 compatible video card (Video card must be 128 MB or more and should be a DirectX 9 compatible with support for pixel shader 2.0)
* Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card

Sorry clang :(

The 3.0 or higher cpu is the only thing out of the list that I DON'T have. Alas. .that's the big one.:(

[krakenslayer]

The 3.0 or higher cpu is the only thing out of the list that I DON'T have. Alas. .that's the big one.:(

Graphics card is probably more important. I read somewhere that your computer has a GeForce4 64MB, is that correct? That card wouldn't stand a chance, but if that's not the case..

If your graphics card is a lot better than the minimum, you still stand a decent chance of running the game regardless of if your processor is a few cycles under the minimum, as most games these days rely on the GPU more than the CPU.