AH III

[mathjac]

I have downloaded the AH III version. When I try to open it all I get is ahbeta.exec has stopped working. I have been unable to open the program. At Roy's advice I disabled my antivirus but this did not help. I have a Dell OptiPlex 755 computer (2.7 GHz, 32 bit, 30,720 MB RAM). It has onboard graphic with 250MB memory. With AH II I generally get anywhere from 30 to 60 frame rate. The more terrain and players does affect it. Any suggestions on video card upgrade that is compatible to my pc or pc upgrade that will give me optimal performance with AH. Any help is appreciated.

[Skuzzy]

The onboard Intel GMA (graphic media accelerator) 3100 (circa 2007) video chip does not support Shader Model 3.0.  It only supports Shader Model 2.0.  It will not work with AH3.

You would need to add a video card to the computer.

[Chilli]

With that particular rig, Dell Optiplex 755, the power supply as well as the size of the video card are also limitations, IIRC.

[nrshida]

The onboard Intel GMA (graphic media accelerator) 3100 (circa 2007) video chip does not support Shader Model 3.0.  It only supports Shader Model 2.0.  It will not work with AH3.

How about a NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics processor with 512MB of GDDR3 memory?

[Bizman]

How about a NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics processor with 512MB of GDDR3 memory? (Image removed from quote.)

That'd be the absolute minimum. One word: don't.

[Skuzzy]

How about a NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics processor with 512MB of GDDR3 memory? (Image removed from quote.)

That 8 year old video card is probably not going to fare well running AH3.  It is slower than the baseline 9800GTX we are recommending.  You are welcome to try it, but you will need to make sure everything is disabled and the texture size is at a minimum and hopefully lower resolution than 1920x1080.

[nrshida]

It's a chip, it's soldered on! Macbook Pro, ha ha ha. Oh well, I suspected so. I might try to download next week. Thanks.

[Skuzzy]

It's a chip, it's soldered on! Macbook Pro, ha ha ha. Oh well, I suspected so. I might try to download next week. Thanks.

Oh,..well that makes a difference.  The 9600M is even more handicapped in the Macbook Pro than when it is on a card.  Not looking good.

[nrshida]

Oh,..well that makes a difference.  The 9600M is even more handicapped in the Macbook Pro than when it is on a card.  Not looking good.

No worries Skuzzy, I suspected as much. If I decide I still like playing I'll be only able to play after the update next year I think. When I've got the dosh together for a new desktop computer.

Good luck with the new release!

[Drane]

Mathjac upgrade options are very limited for your Dell 755 and you may be disappointed with the results.

Here's a link to Tom's Hardware from 2013 showing how.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/299280-32-dell-optiplex-upgrade

Best low-profile single-wide video cards available now appear to be the NVidia GTX740 2GB GDDR5 or AMD R7-250 2GB GDDR5. Most of these are sold out.

If you have the extra money to spend, a new computer is your best option. There are several good detailed posts in the Hardware and Software section about buying new computers.

[Bizman]

Mathjac, Drane is right in suggesting a new computer.

If your budget is limited, beefing up the old one might be a start for a new build. However, instead of being restricted by a low profile card and an inadequate power supply, get a standard tower case. Even good quality new ones can be quite inexpensive. Your Dell motherboard should fit in with ease as well as your hard disk and RAM sticks. The optical drive seems to be of the laptop type, but they cost only $15 or so. Then you'd only need a decent video card and an proper power supply.

Later you can get a new motherboard, CPU and RAM when needed.