Hardware upgrade recommendations?

[Zo Kath Ra]

I just bought & installed LoG.
Problem: even at the lowest settings, it's barely playable.

My computer is from 2009, but maybe it can be upgraded:

Code: Select all

------------------
System Information
------------------
   Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.111025-1629)
           Language: German (Regional Setting: German)
System Manufacturer: MSI
       System Model: MS-7309
               BIOS: Default System BIOS
          Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+,  MMX,  3DNow (2 CPUs), ~3.1GHz
             Memory: 1792MB RAM
          Page File: 392MB used, 3294MB available
        Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
    DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
     DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.5512 32bit Unicode

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
        Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 7025 / NVIDIA nForce 630a
     Manufacturer: NVIDIA
        Chip type: GeForce 7025 / nForce 630a
         DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
       Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_03D6&SUBSYS_73091462&REV_A2
   Display Memory: 512.0 MB
     Current Mode: 1680 x 1050 (32 bit) (60Hz)
          Monitor: Plug und Play-Monitor
  Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200
      Driver Name: nv4_disp.dll
   Driver Version: 6.14.0012.9610 (English)
      DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
 Driver Date/Size: 3/1/2012 01:58:00, 4309760 bytes
      WHQL Logo'd: n/a
  WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
              VDD: Nicht zutreffend
         Mini VDD: nv4_mini.sys
    Mini VDD Date: 3/1/2012 01:58:00, 13417632 bytes
Device Identifier: {D7B71E3E-4096-11CF-5852-055303C2CB35}
        Vendor ID: 0x10DE
        Device ID: 0x03D6
        SubSys ID: 0x73091462
      Revision ID: 0x00A2
      Revision ID: 0x00A2
      Video Accel: 

The biggest problem is probably that I have an on-board graphics chip instead of a separate graphics card.
Or is it true that "this game is CPU-intensive and barely utilizes the GPU at all"?

[Darklord]

Yes it sounds like you could do with a graphics card.

Graphics: ATI Radeon X1600 or NVIDIA GeForce 7600 or better (512MB graphics memory or more. Shader Model 3.0 needs to be supported). Minimum supported

You should be able to get a reasonably cheap one which would improve games generally for you.

Daniel.

[Zo Kath Ra]

Yes it sounds like you could do with a graphics card.

Graphics: ATI Radeon X1600 or NVIDIA GeForce 7600 or better (512MB graphics memory or more. Shader Model 3.0 needs to be supported). Minimum supported

You should be able to get a reasonably cheap one which would improve games generally for you.

Daniel.

Can you recommend a video card?
And what price range are we talking about?

[Bees]

What's your price limit? You can find something like a GTS 450 for $70 after a $20 rebate (on Newegg). For something cheaper you probably need to shop used in order to get your money's worth. (Note that the GTS 450 requires a 6-pin power connector.)