Who's got a really good computer for SWBF2?

[Jaspo]

Hi, I was just wondering what kind of system would work excellently for running SWBF2. I'm thinking that by now, some of the newer systems won't be particularly backward compatible and may not run bf2 as well as some of the older (and now much cheaper) computer models from the 2005-2006 time period. I could be wrong, but as it currently stands, my computer is a mac laptop with bootcamp, which means it has 2 problems: (1) it gets warmer than a desktop computer would and (2) water in the game almost always causes CTDs. Therefore, among other things, I can't complete the Dark Times campaign because I can't play the Dantooine mission, as well as a number of others beyond it.

So, I'm wondering, if you have an older computer that runs SWBF2 exceptionally well, what model is it? I might have to go looking for one.

[MercuryNoodles]

Are you looking for a laptop, or a desktop? I don't know much about laptops. I'm a desktop person, and I guess I should mention I build my own systems, which is why I list the component specs rather than naming an overall brand or system model. Both my current (just over a month old) and previous (appx. 3 years old) systems work well with SWBF2.

my old system from 2007, or so:
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium x86
mobo: L1N64-SLI WS
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 FX-74 (dual core) @ 3.0 GHz
Graphics card: ATI Radeon HD3870
RAM: 4Gb DDR2 800
HDD: Westen Digital Caviar 500Gb (SATA 2.0 - 3 GB/s)

my current system:
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium x64
mobo: M4A89GTD Pro
CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 955 Black Edition (quad core) @ 3.2 GHz
Graphics card: ATI Radeon HD5970
RAM: 4Gb DDR3 2000 (@ 1744 MHz)
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1Tb (SATA 3.0 - 6Gb/s)


Also, SWBF2 is a DX9 game, but DX10 and 11 are more or less backward compatible, from what I've read, though you may need the current DirectX9.0c Redistibutable package (June 2010 as of now), because DX10/11 don't have all of the necessary libraries. In fact, this package just fixed my out of range issues when using a higher desktop resolution, which is currently 1920x1080 @ 60 Hz.

[poop]

@MercuryNoodles Holy Cow! You must play other games than Battlefront II.

You really don't need anything that special to run battlefront II well. My home computer has an Intel Pentium 4 HT 3 GHZ processor, 1GB of ram, and an NVIDIA 8300 GS
(Videocard Sounds impressive but is not compared to newer stuff, and the game worked well with the integrated mobo graphics before the new gpu anyway.) Oh and Windows XP SP3 is my operating system.

If you have plenty of money to spend you could try CyberPowerPC, they have high end systems for decent prices (last time I checked) and Caleb1117 had one.

For Laptops, I have a Toshiba Satellite that runs the game just fine.

[501st_commander]

Really, just find a good pc that meets the requirements, and you are good to go.

[Jaspo]

I'd be looking for a desktop.

Now, SWBF2 was designed for use with a single core processor, right? I think it was released right around the time they started going to dual core processors, but I could be wrong. Anyway, my cousin once made it sound like the game doesn't use both cores like a newer game would, and therefore instead of, say, getting 2.4 ghz out of a dual core 1.2, you'd have 1.2 to work with as far as SWBF2 is concerned.

What I'm really worried about is the graphics card, of course. I wouldn't want to buy a different computer just to have it have the same problems with water that my current one has.

[SilvaDalek]

If you want an XP desktop, get it with 4 gigs DDR2 RAM, and a dual-core processor because I think that's the most XP can handle, and some Nvidia 6600+ graphics card and you have a comp that will more than be able to handle SWBF2. If possible, you may just want to get a new comp and put XP on it.

[501st_commander]

Dont bother with xp. Support is gone in two years.

its best to keep whats on it.

[poop]

Dont bother with xp. Support is gone in two years.

its best to keep whats on it.

Actually it will be supported until 2014. Windows XP was still the main Microsoft operating system in 2005, because Vista was released in 2006.

[Teancum]

I still run a single-core P4 3.4GHZ processor, a 512MB ATI graphics card and 4GB RAM and I can run most new games, even though I "fail" the hardware requirements. If you're not looking to spend tons of money, don't bother buying a new PC or new components, go used and install XP. The footprint is less than 1/4 that of Vista or Win7, meaning more resources to run a game, and you're not missing out on much in the way of new functionality. As someone else said, it's supported through 2014, too. (see link below)

http://www.informationweek.com/news/win ... =208800494

And if you're wondering whether to go single, dual, quad or hexacore - don't bother with anything above dual core, as that's all SWBF2 was "optimized" for. And may I say I even use that term very loosely. My single core can still run SWBF2 better than a comparable dual core.

[501st_commander]

As someone else said, it's supported through 2014, too. (see link below)

http://www.informationweek.com/news/win ... =208800494

last i heard, which wasnt that long ago, it was 2012.

[Maveritchell]

And if you're wondering whether to go single, dual, quad or hexacore - don't bother with anything above dual core, as that's all SWBF2 was "optimized" for. And may I say I even use that term very loosely. My single core can still run SWBF2 better than a comparable dual core.

Not that individual statistics mean anything, but I've had unmitigated success running SWBF2 without any problems on a single-core (below-specs) XP desktop machine (my modding PC, which has been used the most for it but is currently AWOL), a dual-core Vista laptop (HP stock laptop), and a quad-core Win-7 laptop (in-use, also HP stock laptop). All three run the game beautifully (although the latter two obviously let me max out specs), and I haven't had to do any settings modification, like setting affinity to one core or disabling sound mix.

If you want the DXDiags of those, I can provide, but as I said above, individual statistics are likely useless.

[Teancum]

As someone else said, it's supported through 2014, too. (see link below)

http://www.informationweek.com/news/win ... =208800494

last i heard, which wasnt that long ago, it was 2012.

April 8, 2014 - from Microsoft themselves <---CLICK

[Twilight_Warrior]

And if you're wondering whether to go single, dual, quad or hexacore - don't bother with anything above dual core, as that's all SWBF2 was "optimized" for. And may I say I even use that term very loosely. My single core can still run SWBF2 better than a comparable dual core.

Not that individual statistics mean anything, but I've had unmitigated success running SWBF2 without any problems on a single-core (below-specs) XP desktop machine (my modding PC, which has been used the most for it but is currently AWOL), a dual-core Vista laptop (HP stock laptop), and a quad-core Win-7 laptop (in-use, also HP stock laptop). All three run the game beautifully (although the latter two obviously let me max out specs), and I haven't had to do any settings modification, like setting affinity to one core or disabling sound mix.

If you want the DXDiags of those, I can provide, but as I said above, individual statistics are likely useless.

I can also confirm a quad core Vista desktop (stock Dell Studio XPS) and a quad core Win7 laptop (stock Alienware M15x). Working beautifully with no extra effort other than some firewall settings.

[Teancum]

To be clear, all I was saying is that for SWBF2 multiple cores are totally unnecessary, as they aren't used to their full efficiency.

[Jendo7]

I would agree you install XP for this game, as I've had constant problems with both Vista, and Windows 7. One being the default resolution doesen't fit the screen, and constant CTDs with or without the sound fix. So far the steam version is the only install that doesn't crash. Also the 1.1 patch "Improved stability for computers using Dual-Core CPUs with NVIDIA GeForce 6 or GeForce 7". So either of those cards would be beneficial with a Dual Core.

[SilvaDalek]

I would agree you install XP for this game, as I've had constant problems with both Vista, and Windows 7. One being the default resolution doesen't fit the screen, and constant CTDs with or without the sound fix. So far the steam version is the only install that doesn't crash. Also the 1.1 patch "Improved stability for computers using Dual-Core CPUs with NVIDIA GeForce 6 or GeForce 7". So either of those cards would be beneficial with a Dual Core.

Yeah, installing XP is a pain though, and then getting XP to recognize all the components of the computer is also a challenge, but in the end SWBF2 will run really well.

[Teancum]

How in the world do you figure that? It's definitely not any harder than installing Vista/7.

[Marth8880]

How in the world do you figure that? It's definitely not any harder than installing Vista/7.

If you have Vista or Win7 already installed on a computer, it really is a pain to attempt to install XP.

When I wanted to install XP on another partition, I had to install it first, then install another OS (such as Vista or Ubuntu) on another partition. Due to some sort of bootloader problem from XP, Windows XP wouldn't boot unless another OS replaced XP's bootloader with its own.

[SilvaDalek]

How in the world do you figure that? It's definitely not any harder than installing Vista/7.

If you have Vista or Win7 already installed on a computer, it really is a pain to attempt to install XP.

When I wanted to install XP on another partition, I had to install it first, then install another OS (such as Vista or Ubuntu) on another partition. Due to some sort of bootloader problem from XP, Windows XP wouldn't boot unless another OS replaced XP's bootloader with its own.

Yeah, that's what I was saying, and partitioning HDs and all does get a little complicated.

[Teancum]

Google an app called PartedMagic. It's a boot disc that can take care of partitioning ahead of time.