lagging,freezes and crashes!!

[wraithking]

i've had sacred 2 patched to v2.34 and theres still lagging,freezes and crashes so just a warning of these issues to all,look for advice
on settings,patches etc before playing/buying this game,in my eyes
a HUGE!!!!!!! let down by ascaron,i was SO!!!!!!!!!looking forward to s2fa but before i carry on playing i will wait to get more hard drive space eating patches,hopefully these issues will be addressed.

[fleet]

Hmm, I have some lags, but no crashes. Do you have the problem in SP mode, or on-line? Run DXDIAG and give us your system specs, and tell us what in-game graphics settings you are running. Perhaps someone can give you advice.

[wraithking]

pc specs are-

cpu-intel pentium 4 3.06ghz
graphics-nvidia geforce 8500gt super +1gb
ram-1gb
os-windows xp home ed.

ingame settings all on lowest,other people have had problems too
with better graphics cards on official sacred 2 forum aswell.

any help very much appreciated on this subject.

[fleet]

Hi. Update graphics card drivers. Turn off any program running in the background. Run DXDIAG, select the Display tab, and disable acceleration. Run DXDIAG, select the Sound 1 tab, and reduce Hardware Sound Acceleration to Basic Acceleration.
If none of that helps, consider increasing RAM to 2 Gig; you are running at the minimum level.

[wraithking]

well i've just bought a 2 gig stick of memory so i'll put that in and leave one of my 512 sticks in for luck,im looking at new graphics card
but dont know what to get so any suggestions would be grateful thanks for tips fleet,im a noob when it comes to hardware.

[fleet]

Before you buy another graphics card, try the other techniques I mentioned and see if they help.
Then, if you deceide to buy a graphics card, check the rating on the power supply of your computer, and see how much space you have in the case. If the power supply can handle it, and you have enough space, get a really good graphics card (Nvidia 8800 GTX or better). Even if you don't intend to play the elite texture, don't invest in a graphics card I have a Nvidia 8800 GTS, and I'm happy with it.

[wraithking]

thanks fleet,i turned off the graphics acceleration(but wouldn't load game) so i turned down sound acceleration and plays a bit smoother now,when i put in the extra memory should be running great i would say,thanks for the help fleet your one in a million.

[AREA666]

How did you buy the memory you got? Like did you just get a single 2 gig stick? If so then you may not notice a huge increase in performance. What it sounds like you had before was 2 512 meg sticks, and while that was only 1 gig of space, you also had it in a dual channel mode. So if it is possible I would say get two 1 gig sticks of memory so you can retain the dual channel, as well as have 2 gigs.

Another possibility is that if you have gotten newer drivers for your card, then it is likely that you have Physx turned on since Nvidia has it on by default. This is fine for some of their cards, but I would say to not have it enabled on your card.

So get this driver from Nvidia and install it,
www.nvidia.com/object/nvidia_system_tools_6.03.html

When it is installed there will be a panel on the left side and one should say something like enable physx/sli, then you just go in there and disable it. If you need more in depth info then I can go get you a step by step on one of my other computers.

Lastly is, how long has it been since you installed Windows? If it has been a year or more, then that could be the root of much of your issues, but it is more of a last resort.

[wraithking]

hey area,i've got 2x512mb sticks in at moment,the memory i've just bought is a single 2gb stick,i've downloaded the nvidia tool like you said,havn't installed yet but i will asap,what if i put in the 2gb stick and leave one of the 512 sticks in?

[wraithking]

i've put in my new 2gb memory stick and left one of my 512mb sticks in,now the game starts to load then crashes back to desktop,so im gonna buy another 2gb stick for the other slot and hope this gets me back on track,i've installed nvidia tools and turned of physx as area666 suggested, so dont know what else i can do.

[fleet]

Windows XP (unless you are running 64 bit) will only recognize just over 3 Gig of RAM. It's not a bad investment if your rig is capable of running Vista Ultimate, and you plan to upgrade. If money is tight (money for hardware upgrades is alweays tight at my place), before you buy that second stick, you might want to try seeing if the game will run on just the 2 Gig stick, with the other memory slot empty.

[AREA666]

As fleet was saying if you get another 2 gigs you will not see all 4 gigs, but this is fine. You will still have the dual channel speed and all that fun stuff and since memory is so cheap anyway it it not a loss and if you get a 64 bit OS in the future then you can use it all.

Also like fleet said try and run with just the 2 gig stick. It is possible your older memory is bad.

[wraithking]

i've bought a second 2gb stick just waiting for it to be delivered,i put in the first and left in a 512mb and the ingame graphics turned some patches of land etc blue,so i'll try just the 2gb stick in untill my second one comes,i take by 64bit os you mean vista? yeah money for hardware upgrades is tight with me but i'll get there in the end,

thanks for the help so far fleet,area i really needed it.

[AREA666]

You can get the 64 bit OS with Vista or XP. I have used both and in my personal experience Vista was much better, but I know a lot of people do not like Vista since it has higher system requirements to run well. In either case though I would say do not bother with thinking about going to 64 bit since in a year or so a new version of Windows will be out called Windows 7, so you would be using something outdated when it came out.

[wraithking]

ok area,i'll wait till windows 7 then,on that note i tried just putting my single 2gb stick of memory in and holy heaven sacred 2 runs smooth so basicly im in s2fa heaven now,but i'll put in the other 2gb stick when it comes just for the sake of it,

a BIGGGGGG THANKS to area and fleet for solving my problems.