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You are here: Experts > 3D Graphics/Virtual Reality > Internet Gaming Graphincs Slow
Expert: Olaf Piesche
Date: 9/15/2004
Subject: Internet Gaming Graphincs Slow
Question
I recently bought a brand new Radion 9600 128mb AGP video card for my computer. I notice that my game play is really slow when other players are around me. I have a 100Mbps connection with a 10/100 dlink nic card. My mother board is a Shuttle AS45GT. I have tried other video cards and i have the same problem with a really slow graphics and movement. My question, is my AGP slot bad and should i buy a new motherboard. thanks
Answer
While the 9600 is on the lower budget end of ATI's video cards, it should still deliver plenty of power for all but the most demanding games. I don't believe that your internet connection has anything to do with the slowdowns (it's a common misconception that a faster internet connection will make your computer or the software running on it faster, or the other way around).
Gaming performance usually depends on two major factors: The performance of the video card and the performance of the computer and its subsystems itself. Even running the latest model high-end video card won't help you much if you plug it into a 400MHz Pentium 3 system. Other factors that can play a part are the amount of RAM available, the performance of the memory subsystem of your computer, and many others.
Lastly, it also matters what game you are playing, and what subsystems of your computer it puts the highest stress on.
Since you have the same problem with other video cards, I would assume that your computer is too slow to handle physics simulation, collision detection, and animation (all things that are run on the CPU for most games) if many other players are on screen. I would consider upgrading my CPU (in many cases an existing motherboard can handle a newer CPU with a higher clock rate) or CPU, motherboard and RAM. If you're a little hardware-savvy you should be able to buy the parts for under $250 to get a fairly recent model (say, a 2.4GHz to 3Ghz Pentium 4 or an AthlonXP2400 to AthlonXP 3200, depending on how much money you are willing to spend). I recommend Fry's electronics if there's one in your area.
If you do upgrade your CPU, motherboard and RAM, please make sure your power supply is sufficient to handle the new parts.
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