video card question Hi! I'm really with all the video cards out there and would like to know which video card is "good", "better" , and "best" for the sims 2 game. Thanks!
System restarts itself while playing Sims 2 Hi, my system restarts itself while im playing sims2. Can anybody help? Is it possible its because my ram thats not enough? But i read the minimum specs is 256mb Ram. Anybody? Intel P4 2.4ghz Win Xp Home Edition SP2 Geforce FX5200 128mb DDR266 Ram 256mb DirectX 9.0c
Um, well, generally, the higher the number, the better the card is... The absolute top-of-the-line cards are the nVidia GF6800 and the ATI Radeon X800. A midrange card right now would be something like a GF5700 or Radeon 9600. However, nVida and ATI are planning to release new lines of cards in the $150-$250 price range sometime in the next month or so, the GF6600 and the Radeon X700, which should offer MUCH better performance than midrange cards right now.
The most common cause of computers restarting themselves is due to processor overheating. Either clean it yourself, or take it to a shop to get it cleaned, and make sure that the heatsink is sufficient to cool the processor. Look at adding another fan to the case also, this can really help to keep the temperatures inside the case down to a comfortable level for the processor.
Thanks for ur reply. Actually my system never restarts itself before, only when i was playing sims2, the system restarts itself. So is it really becoz of processor overheating? Im not good at this, so pardon me if i sound stupid. :ermm:
stick with the GeForce GF6 6600 and GF6 6800... the ATI X800 performed horribly against the 6800 in Doom 3 benchmarks.
The reason for that is because nVidia >>> ATI in OpenGL. In D3D the playing field is much more level. I'd still go with nVidia given the choice tho.
actually, it still probably is. TS2 is requiring a lot more work from your processor than you have probably ever had it do before. This is due to the graphics processing. In fact, in benchmark tests comparing TS2 to Doom 3, TS2 required more system resources than Doom did on my computer. So more than likely, your system hasnt been pushed graphically the way the sims is pushing it. You can always open up your case yourself and look to see how dusty it is inside, thats usually a good indication of how bad it is. If you take off the side panel and see dust on everything, then check the processor cooling fan, if it is caked with dirt, it needs cleaned badly. I have repaired computers that were so filthy inside, that the fins on the processor heatsink were literally clogged with dirt to the point that no airflow was getting through it, and it burned not only the processor, but the motherboard as well. I am not suggesting your computer is this bad by any means, but it doesnt hurt at all to look at it.
Ok, thanks i will gladly try that. But is it still possible because of my ram? Im using a DDR266 ram Kingston 256mb. Seems a bit backward. Ok, i have done the cleaning up, i took out the fan, clean up the cake of dust on the metal plate and the fins. But it still restarts itself. Only my ram is the one who is on borderline with the minimum specs. Is it tis reason?
Nah, too little RAM is seldom (if ever) the cause of a system restart. In fact, CPU overheating only restarts the computer if the CMOS/BIOS enables auto-shutdown once the processor core reaches a specific temperature (which I happen to have on at the moment - auto-restart @ 85 C). It could be disabled, or simply not supported by the motherboard, in which case spontaneous shutdown would NOT be because of CPU overheat. The most common cause of sudden and unexplained shutdowns, in my experience with several different computers over the years, are because of video card problems. It usually results when the video card does something like encounter an infinite loop or a drawing failure or whatnot.
I see, so could it be becoz my driver doesnt match with Win XP, coz while i was installing my graphics card drivers, there tis window that says my driver does not pass the Win Xp test, but i chose to carry on anyway. Could tis be the problem?
