# Graphics Cards/Speed



## KUguy808 (Aug 22, 2003)

This subject has undoubtedly been covered several times regarding specific games, but I want a general viewpoint here. I want to buy a new graphics card for my iMac G4 1 ghz 17" because Warcraft III, Sim City 4, Tropico, AND Unreal Tournament 2003 all run choppy if I play it long where a lot is going on. I've got two questions: what's the best graphics card out there available for gaming and what's the best out there available at a reasonable price (preferably around 200 dollars or less)? Oh, and would getting a better graphics card even improve the speed at which these games play? Or do I just need more video memory or RAM? I'm a little clueless when it comes to improving your gaming speed, so any help here would be appreciated.

(at least StarCraft plays flawlessly)


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## Krevinek (Aug 22, 2003)

Hmm, get your RAM to 512MB or higher before looking elsewhere. With an iMac, that is about the best you can do since the video card cannot be removed or replaced. (It is part of the motherboard in the dome)

To improve speed, increase your RAM, quit any extra apps, and turn down the detail in the game. (I find that texture detail has less of an impact on speed than model detail)

If that doesn't bring it up to acceptable levels... *shrug*


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## Arden (Aug 22, 2003)

Turning down the resolution you play the games at will help, as will decreasing the details as Krevinek said.  Definitely max out your RAM, and try some of the tips mentioned elsewhere to generally improve the performance of OS X.


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## ex2bot (Aug 22, 2003)

KUguy808,

I'm really surprised that you're having performance problems with your iMac.

Here's why:

1. Yours has 64mb graphics memory. That's enough for ANY Mac game out there.
2. You have a GeForce4mx. True, it's not the fastest thing out there. But it should chew through Warcraft III, etc.
3. 1 gig is nothing to sneeze at.

So . . . 

--- Check (as Krevinek and arden mentioned) your RAM. You need at least 512 mB for serious gaming.

--- CLOSE other applications, especially the big ones. Sometimes they use processor time when idle.

--- TURN OFF Classic. Go to System Preferences and click on Classic. Shut it down. By the way, don't run any OS 9 games in Classic mode if there is an OS X version.

--- Check your hard drive space (yes, really). Is it down below a gigabyte? If so, throw stuff out!! Not enough hd space will REALLY cause problems.

--- Turn down graphics detail if necessary. This may be necessary with Unreal Tourn.  2003. Either turn it all the way down and work up or turn stuff down little by little. 

Having enough system RAM is the biggie, though.

Good luck!
Doug


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## i am yujin (Aug 30, 2003)

> _Originally posted by dktrickey _
> *KUguy808,
> 
> I'm really surprised that you're having performance problems with your iMac.*


I, for one, am not.  I dont know about the other games but War3 runs utter crap on my iMac and Powerbook G4.  It's all because of the OS.  

I mean, my friends Athlon 1ghz with 32 Intel card runs a LOT better than the Powerbook when it has a Geforce4 MX.  I can't stand how crappy it runs.  2v2s are barely playable on everything low but anything above that, just forget it.  And no, don't complain to me about how clean my HD or what programs I have, I just reformatted and it still runs the same utter crap quality.

The only way to run smoothly is to boot into OS 9 mode.  It's runs pretty smooth in that mode but nothing up to a PC's par.


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## Arden (Aug 30, 2003)

> _Originally posted by i am yujin _
> * And no, don't complain to me about how clean my HD or what programs I have, I just reformatted and it still runs the same utter crap quality.*


 It sounds to me like you're the only one complaining.

There may not be much you can do here, the Windows version of WC3 is probably better optimized than the Mac version.


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## i am yujin (Aug 30, 2003)

> _Originally posted by arden _
> *It sounds to me like you're the only one complaining.
> 
> There may not be much you can do here, the Windows version of WC3 is probably better optimized than the Mac version. *


No, I'm sure someone here and there will say "Optimize your HD" or "Rebuild with DW" or something along those lines.


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## ex2bot (Aug 31, 2003)

In all honesty the only experience I have had with WCIII is running the demo. It seemed to run fine, even in widescreen. But, as battles become more complex, there may very well be a problem.

The first thing I'd do would be to look at the graphics detail options in WCIII and experiment around with them.

Incidentally, reformatting a hard drive doesn't guarantee that it isn't fragmented. That's not the first place to look, though. How about RAM?

i am yujin: How much memory are you using? Your sig says your iMac only has 128 meg. Adding another 256 or 512 megs (I paid $75 recently for 512) will make a HUGE difference in speed.

Doug


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## a2daj (Aug 31, 2003)

> _Originally posted by i am yujin _
> *I, for one, am not.  I dont know about the other games but War3 runs utter crap on my iMac and Powerbook G4.  It's all because of the OS.
> 
> I mean, my friends Athlon 1ghz with 32 Intel card runs a LOT better than the Powerbook when it has a Geforce4 MX.  I can't stand how crappy it runs.  2v2s are barely playable on everything low but anything above that, just forget it.  And no, don't complain to me about how clean my HD or what programs I have, I just reformatted and it still runs the same utter crap quality.
> ...



Running OS X with only 128 MB of RAM is pushing it (according to your sig, that's how much RAM you have in your iMac).  Trying to actually run games with only 128 MB of RAM is just asking for trouble.  IMO, 512 MB is the bare minimum for OS X if you want to run any games.  Preferably at least 768.


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## i am yujin (Aug 31, 2003)

As I mentioned before, I was using a an iMac *and* Powerbook G4 with Geforce 4.

It runs pretty smoothly on the iMac in OS 9 but crap with the Powerbook which has 384RAM.


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## i am yujin (Aug 31, 2003)

> _Originally posted by dktrickey _
> *
> Incidentally, reformatting a hard drive doesn't guarantee that it isn't fragmented. That's not the first place to look, though. How about RAM?
> *


Okay, maybe not reformatting but how about getting a whole new HD, does that count?


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## mdnky (Aug 31, 2003)

No, because you're going to fragment it when you install programs.  

Your HD isn't likely your problem, I do alot of graphics/design work on my computer and it's never been defragmented since I formatted and installed X 10.0 a long time ago...

The issue with yours definately has to be ram related.  X requires 256mb min. to run smoothly, regardless of what Apple says.  You can tell a big difference bewteen 128 and 256, and that's just running the OS.  When you throw a big program ontop of the OS, it really loads it.  Get you a 512mb chip and see how it works.  You can find em cheap, and it's something you're going to need anyways.

If it fixes the problem, then great.  If not, then maybe consider placing the iMac in the classifieds and looking for a PMac.  Last I remember the new iMacs couldn't have the vcard upgraded.


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## Stridder44 (Aug 31, 2003)

Well, I have a 17inch iMac (but at 800mhz) and gaming can suck sometimes because the graphics card is at 2x speed (where as yours is at 4x...which is the norm., and is about 200mhz faster). But oh well, it still gets the job done.


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