My retirement.

Ironcomatose · Post by **Ironcomatose** » 2008-04-02 23:28

I am officially giving up on PR.

I simply can no longer play it without my FPS dropping to ****. This never used to happen and its really annoying. Today i thought i fixed the problem but after a half an hour of golden game play the FPS drop came out of no where and ended my fun. I have no idea to fix it and im sure some of you have seen my topics asking for help but im still screwed. So without further ado.....BYE MY PR BUDDIES!!

I will still hang around the forums though and maybe one day i will get a fresh new PC and return to PR.

Now im off to buy an Xbox 360 to fill my gaming needs.

Dylan · Post by **Dylan** » 2008-04-02 23:46

Sorry you werent able to find a solution. I would like it if you stayed and keep your spirits up. Im sure you will be back.

Eric · Post by **Eric** » 2008-04-02 23:59

Tried reformatting your computer and re-installing everything?

Anyway, hope to see you come back!

Post by **Cheeseman** » 2008-04-03 00:06

Why not spent the money you're planning to spend on a Xbox360 on a new graphics card? I own an Xbox360, Wii, PS2, and a few more consoles, but I find PC gaming to be the most fulfilling. I usually play around with the console when I have friends invited and we all want to play something or there's a singleplayer game which needs playing on a bigger screen.

Last time I remember your computer could only take AGP cards, so why not invest in one of these options:

Newegg.com - GECUBE GC-RX26PGA2-E3R Radeon HD 2600PRO 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 AGP 4X/8X HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail
Radeon HD 2600PRO 512MB AGP for $92.99. Will run most of todays games fairly well, while maxing out PR.

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100228L Radeon HD 3850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail
Radeon HD 3850 512MB AGP for $214.99. This is the most powerful AGP card you'll find. It's part of ATI's newest line-up of cards and the only Directx10.1 series of cards available. Will run most of the games today at high settings and will kill PR dead in its tracks.

So what will it be; $349.99 US on a Xbox360 or $92.99 US on a good graphics card that will run what you throw at it?

Eric · Post by **Eric** » 2008-04-03 00:08

Don't spend money on a AGP card..It's better to save up your money and buy a whole new computer instead of a x360. AGP is out of date!

blud · Post by **blud** » 2008-04-03 00:14

iron, you need to format

Post by **Cheeseman** » 2008-04-03 00:19

Agree, you might at least give formatting a chance before even upgrading or totally giving up. If you don't know how to do this, just post a new thread in PR Help and Hardware Issues and I'm sure lots of people will be glad to help you out.

Eric wrote:Don't spend money on a AGP card..It's better to save up your money and buy a whole new computer instead of a x360. AGP is out of date!

We are all aware that AGP is out of date, but if he's giving up on PR, because it doesn't run well on his system then I'm sure it's not that easy for him to invest in a whole new computer to simiply play PR, while his needs can be temporary relieved with a simple GPU upgrade for less in price than a Xbox360.

Ironcomatose · Post by **Ironcomatose** » 2008-04-03 00:19

If i bought a modern card i would need a new PSU and it would also be wise to get a new motherboard to take full advantage of it.

Hmmmm...re-formating. Sure is a tempting solution. I have never done that before but i remember my brother did it last year after we caught a bad virus. Problem is my brother is away at college and he would most likely throw a titty fit if he found out i did that.

At any rate tell me how to re format and how you guys think it will help me.

Eddiereyes909 · Post by **Eddiereyes909** » 2008-04-03 00:23

Iron, do what cheeseman and blud are telling you.

Its great having you in my squad.

Ryan3215 · Post by **Ryan3215** » 2008-04-03 00:26

My machine (if you want to call it that...) only runs AGP too, also my card is 4 years old which doesnt help. However I have my settings customized exactly for my needs and I usually run 25 FPS or so. IT isnt great but the game is still fun.

PFunk · Post by **PFunk** » 2008-04-03 00:29

Totally forgo the 360 and invest that money in a PC! I mean the 360 is pretty cool but if it costs you around $500 to get set up and good games cost like 40 to 60 bucks then you'd probably end up spending the cost of a new computer just making gaming on the 360 possible!

If you shop carefully I'm sure you could get a decent machine together for a grand or less. One thing you could do is grandfather out your old machine while building the new one. Get a new Mobo and CPU and use everything in your old rig on it then add to it gradually. Thats what I did with mine since I didn't have the cash to upgrade all at once. Granted it isn't the best way to go and some stuff wont work as well but you have got to get yourself a PCI-E slot.

Cheers

Post by **Rhino** » 2008-04-03 00:31

if you are using XP which you probaly are, its a pretty simple process. I think there are some tutorials on the net on how to do them, let me just see.

ye here looks like a pretty good one just give a brief scan over: EDIT: screw that link saw its for win 95 so its out of date hehe, this is a better one: Clean Installation of Windows XP

make sure you backup your files you want to keep onto CDs or external hard drives etc before formatting. Like for exsamnple I back up all my imporant docs, my map and other PR work, music and other stuff like that all onto a 2nd HDD that I remove, thou i also back up onto DVDs etc.

print it out and then follow it step by step, dont try to memories it and you can recheck it 1/2 way though a format without printing it out, unless you have anouther PC to look at it on

Ironcomatose · Post by **Ironcomatose** » 2008-04-03 00:34

My current graphics runs with PCI express only, so yeah. On that topic i found my original driver disk that came with the graphics card. Maybe starting fresh in that department might help.

Anyway i posted a topic about formatting/reformatting in the tech help section. So if you want to help, take it over there.

This thread is to mourn the loss of one of the greats

EDIT: I do not have a printer. It ran out of ink and then we just didnt feel like we needed it so we sold it

Post by **Cheeseman** » 2008-04-03 00:38

ironcomatose wrote:My current graphics runs with PCI express only, so yeah. On that topic i found my original driver disk that came with the graphics card. Maybe starting fresh in that department might help.

Anyway i posted a topic about formatting/reformatting in the tech help section. So if you want to help, take it over there.

This thread is to mourn the loss of one of the greats

Even better, then your machine is not that outdated. You can build on what you got. PCI express graphics cards aren't that expensive and you don't necessarily need a new PSU with the addition of a new GPU. Depends on what PSU you have at the moment and what GPU you are upgrading to.
Hers a good piece:
XFX - NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT Graphics Card - PV-T84J-UDD3

But again, try formatting first and if no results then move to upgrading.
Hers a simple tutorial on how to format and reinstall Windows:
Tutorial: How to reformat your hard drive and install/reinstall Windows - TechSpot OpenBoards

Ironcomatose · Post by **Ironcomatose** » 2008-04-03 00:51

All these tuts you guys are giving involve having a windows disk. I do not have that disk!! Although i do know its not needed because when my bro reformatted this PC he did not have the disk either.

EDIT: Is reformatting also referred to as "system recovery"??

Post by **Cheeseman** » 2008-04-03 00:59

ironcomatose wrote:All these tuts you guys are giving involve having a windows disk. I do not have that disk!! Although i do know its not needed because when my bro reformatted this PC he did not have the disk either.

EDIT: Is reformatting also referred to as "system recovery"??

Your computer might have a recovery partition then. If so then a fresh reinstall migh be easier than we thought. Boot up your PC and press F2, then check to in the "Boot" column if there is infact a hiden partition available.

Ryan3215 · Post by **Ryan3215** » 2008-04-03 01:00

IF you have a recovery point saved, snoop around the control panel and you will find it

Swe_Olsson · Post by **Swe_Olsson** » 2008-04-03 01:03

Bloody double post, please erease this one mods (( Thanks

Swe_Olsson · Post by **Swe_Olsson** » 2008-04-03 01:05

Its very easiliy done actually, if its a packard bell/dell etc manufactured computer they usually have a backup on the HDD. This is accessable throught the start up of your computer dvs right before the windows xp screen comes up

for dell i think its = ALT F11 using norton ghost
for most other machines = F8/F11 & you have to browse yourself to the restore
Packard bell = F12

I hope this helped, if you told me/us what the manufacturer is it will be a whole lot easier

Post by **Cheeseman** » 2008-04-03 01:06

Before you follow anyones suggestion here and actually format your machine, make sure all of your important files are backed up so you don't lose anything in the process.