Performance Problems in RCT3

I know this has probly been talked about before, but here goes:

Computer Specs:

AMD Athlon 64 Processor @ 2.40GHz

512MB DDR RAM

Intergrated SIS Miragre2 Graphics card w/ 128mb shared video memory

Well, I seem to be having a major problem with RCT3... The main deal is that when I run a rollercoaster, the cars stutter on the track very badly. Also if you build to much stuff in one location the whole game starts to stutter.

I did a test w/ Fraps, and this is what I got:

Graphics Level: HIGH, Empty Sandbox Park: 10-13FPS, Closeup on moving coaster train: 9-11FPS...

Graphics Level: VERY LOW, Empty Sandbox Park: 12-15FPS, Closeup on moving coaster train: 12FPS...

That seems also low, seeing as how you need 24FPS to make the motion look fluid.

So I'm thinking its my system, but 2.40GHz and 512mb ram ain't bad, so I'm guessing its more the fault of the cheap video card (sis miage), which I hear only bad things about.

Do you think buying a new AGP Graphics card (in the $1,000+ range) would cure this problem? If so, what card would you suggest?

Thanks,

Landon

AGP Card $1,000+ Range should fix the problem, but I would purchase one between $100 and $300 range and beg Atari to fix the problems with game first.

Most high end video cards nowadays run for about $500-600 bucks at most. Might I reccommend the Nvidia GeForce 6800 Ultra or the ATi Radeon x850. Both the top of the line cards. Your processor is plently fast, and the RAM is fine, but bumping it up to 1 gig wouldn't hurt, either.

As coasterguts said, Atari needs to fix the studdering problem, too.

Good luck.

A new card will solve alot of your problems. You main problem with the low frame rate and the "studdering" can probably be found in this sentence..

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512MB DDR RAM

Intergrated SIS Miragre2 Graphics card w/ 128mb shared video memory

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You may have 512 but with a video share, you're cutting it in half and intergrated video tends not to render nearly as fast as a dedicated card.

a AGP card is definatly the answer...the problem is your integrated graphics with shared memory, meaning that it shares among other recources such as sound, CPU, cahe, and anything else thats in your computer. With an AGP card they contain their on GPU (Graphics Processor Unit) I beleive thats what it is, with its own memory, so it doesn't have to share. Follow Advice above, you should notice a huge differance.

Yeah, I had a feeling the graphics card was the big problem. Cause I also have trouble running such games as The sims 2 and even Zoo tycoon 2 wont lewt me get past 15 large exibits before it slows to a crawl...

I didn't realize your graphics were integrated with your motherboard. In that case, yeah, your going to have problems. I would upgrade your RAM 1 gb, and I believe there should be a setting in your bios that controls how much RAM your computer uses for video, check the manual for your motherboard. You might want to check with the manufacturer of your motherboard as well and make sure your running the latest motherboard drivers, especially the graphic drivers. If your motherboard is fairly new, you may not have a AGP port, you may have a PCI-Express slot (PCI-E) for a graphics card. The last thing you might want to do, is read the reviews on newegg.com or search Google Groups for the make and model of your motherboard and see if others report similar video problems.

Good Luck!

The video memory has nothing to do with it. You're talking about a $3 graphics chip, that's the problem.

I have a 6800GT and I'm such an ass for buying it since I do little more than use it to play Doom 3 and show people eye candy in No Limits.

just mae sure that your motherboard has a free AGP slot. Some boards with integrated video leave off AGP expansion slots.

You also don't need to go with a high end card(unless you plan of doing alot of gaming), a mid ranged card will work just fine

Or wheter you are a perfomanace person and want good perfomance, its more of a preferance type of thing.

Upgrade to 1GB of RAM and get a $300 graphics card of the X8 series Radeon or 6 series GeForce.

There's no need to buy a $ 1000 graphics card, that's absurd. For that, you can buy a complete system (by Dell or something) that will run the game smoothly.

What I don't understand is why Atari gives these recommended specs that will not run the game in the desired fashion. I'm sure that it would barely run at all if one uses the required specs (733mhz processor, 32mb video card, 256mb RAM for XP) and the recommended specs are all pretty much double those specs, which still leads to choppy gaming. Maybe they wanted to sell more units and make it seem like everyone can play?

If the problems are performance related maybe we should wait for atari to release Roller Coaster Tycoon 3: Viagra..;)

-Jimvy!

OH I get to increase performance our size issues in FPS...to make everything bigger than it should be. ;)