Plz Help Lan game Issue.

Dont know where to post this so if it needs to be moved feel free.

To start things off. i have a dell xps 410. 2.1 core 2 duo 2 gigs memory 256 geforce 7900 gs video. my friend has a dell 4700 2.8 H/T pentium 4. 256 ati x1950 pro. 3 gigs memory. My question is after we start playing a lan game. supreme commander to be exact. Only after 15 mins of play do the game slow down? Im the one hosting the game. i have a crossover wire linking both computers. We have the latest video drivers installed. Any help would be welcomed.

 

Supreme commander needs a Beefy CPU to run well, a 2.8Ghz P4 isn't going to cut it. Your friend's CPU is what's causing the lag.

 

are you sure that could be the issue. i mean he can play the game just fine on mid settings. single player. i dont see why it such a big difference on the lan. could it be the intel pro 10/100 connection? i dont know im new to this kinda stuff. i just want to know if it could be that.

 

100Mbps LAN could cause an issue, but I know for a fact someone with a high spec PC (except for having a single core CPU) caused huge lag in network games at a LAN party I visit. it may run the single player well, but over LAN you really need a powerful machine for it. Gigabit LAN is also recommended.
Onboard Networking uses loads of CPU usage, so if Supreme commander wants all of it well, something's going to end up slowing down...

 

so then its the processor that slowing down the game play? ok so do i need to update the processor or buy a new nic card? i dont want to spend money on something i dont need.

 

Ideally both, but the CPU first. That should have far more of an impact.

 

any ideas on whats the highest processor that can be put in the dell 4700? i know of the bios update to support newer processors but dont say which ones. could you help me with that plz?

 

It'll be a new motherboard if you want a decent dual core CPU, and possibly new RAM as well.

 

one more question. could it be the video cards that are slowing it down too?

 

Both video cards are perfectly adequate for Supreme Commander. I only run an X1900XT, not much more powerful than your cards, and I can run the game at 1920x1200 Max with no issues. 2560x1600 works alright, but with lots of units gets a little choppy.

 

well i ordered a xfx 256mb 8600 gts xxx edition and a intel pro gigabit NIC card. if that doesnt fix it then well ill just build a new computer and get rid of the dell 4700 for good.

 

You do realise the 8600GT is actually much slower than the graphics card you've already got?

 

well im building my own system on the side. all i need is just the motherboard and cpu. im buying two of those cards and running them sli mood. i dont understand when you say there alot slower. the one i got has a core clock of 620 and the one that i have right now is clocked at 540 i believe. well the xfx has dx10 graphic and by the reviews that ive read is a pretty good card.

 

The corespeed isn't a good indication of speed. You'll need two 8600GTs in SLI to actually get the same level of performance as the old X1950 pro, and it won't always even be equal anyway.

 

thanks for all the help you have provided me with. none the less i still purchased the video card and well ill see what happens when i put it in the new system. ill give you an update on what i think of it. regardless im still a lil confused but i guess trial and error is whats going to get everything straightend out. thanks for all your time.i will be asking more questions later. hope you can join and help out.

 

by the way you were right. i purchased the wrong card. i got the gt xxx edition. i should of gotten the gts one. i'll be returning it. thanks i looked into it. thanks

 

The 8600GTS is still not as powerful as the X1950 Pro, but it's much closer to it, and will beat it most of the time if you get two of them in SLI.

 

are you sure about that? i dont mean to doubt your words but from checking each of the cards specs. the 8600 gts is alot faster then the x1950 pro. the x1950 pro is a 256 as well but its an old card.

 

There's a 512MB version of the X1950 Pro, and you're still only looking at clock speeds. The clock speed of graphics cards is almost irrelevant, it's primarily the architecture underneath that matters. Whilst the 8600GTS is newer, it does not mean it has a better architecture (hence why a 1.6Ghz P4 was trounced by a 1.2Ghz P3, the P3 architecture was simply better).

 

ok yes i know theres a 512 out also but i own a 256. i aint only looking at the clock speed. im looking at everything else too. ill see if i could post the specs of both cards