Star Wars: KOTOR PC - Requirement help please

[goatdan]

After really, really enjoying Star Wars KOTOR myself, I decided to purchase the game for my dad for Christmas -- someone that doesn't much play video games but LOVES Star Wars.

When I checked online, it said that the game would run on any NVidea GeForce 2/3/4 or FX cards. Upon purchasing the game however, I see that it recommends at least a NVidea GeForce 4 Ti. Here is what my parents are currently running (I'm rebuilding now, actually:)

Intel Celeron 2.53 GHz 533 MHz bus
256 MBs of RAM
NVideo GeForce 2 (I forgot what type)

Basically, will the system handle the game? If not, would upgrading the RAM to 512 help? I don't think I'll be able to convince them to spend a bunch on a graphics card, but I really want my dad to be able to play this game... Has anyone run it on a system like this?

[SoulBlazer]

You have to keep in mind that with PC games there are two levels of preformance -- Required and Recomonded.

Games will run on the Required benchmark -- and sometimes below that -- but won't be the best in the world. If your systems meets all of the Recomonded levels, you'll enjoy the game to it's fullest.

I have a GeForce 3 on my system, and ran KOTOR just fine, so I can't vouch for that card. As long as that card is at least listed on the REQUIRED list, though, the game will run. JUst make sure you patch the game, grab the newest driver for the video card, and run the newest DirectX. You may also need to turn down some of the graphical settings from the main menu.

I prefer the PC version of KOTOR to the XBox one, really. :)

[calthaer]

I also prefer the PC version. It's way easier to navigate the menus and do all that sort of stuff with a mouse.

I have:
GeForce3 Ti200
Athlon XP 1600+
756Mb RAM

and it runs DECENTLY at 800x600. It's certainly not exceptional and there is some lag from time to time; I guess I'm just used to 60FPS which is what I get on games that are about 2 years old.

Your GeForce 2 and your 256Mb RAM may possibly manage to scribble the graphics and all on the screen for you, but I would expect some real choppiness. Your processor is fine, but that alone won't do it for you, I don't think. The 512 will probably help significantly. You should be able to pick up a GeForce 3 of some stripe for a very reasonable cost at this point, although since even that is somewhat outdated at this point the question is "why bother" since it's only a step up for you.

The real concern for you is to get a video card that has support for T&L (Transform & Lighting, or something) effects. This is what produces the glow in TRON 2.0, what makes the light sabres glow, etc. If your card does not support it (and those cheapie "MX" versions of the 2 and 4 fall in this category), you will not be able to run the game.

[Zing]

In my experience, a Geforce2 is only slightly slower than a Geforce3. I did extensive testing back when the Geforce3 was released and ended up returning the GF3 because it was only a few FPS faster than my GF2. The main thing a GF3 or higher has over a GF2 is pixel shaders, which Bioware used in Neverwinter Nights, but I'm not sure how often it is used in KOTOR. Since we have it running reasonably on a GF3, I'm sure a GF2 would be fine, especially if you can run it at 640x480.

By the way, the GF2 does support hardware transform & lighting. This was introduced with the Geforce 256 (Geforce 1).

If anything, go to 512MB of RAM, especially if you are using Windows 2000 or XP. However, If your dad is anything like the parents that I know, he probably won't even notice the difference. :)

[Ed Oscuro]

Everybody I know seems to have problems running this game (on laptops or old PCs, though)...specs are definitely a bit on the high side.

[XxMe2NiKxX]

You will have problems. Don't get me started on celerons...

RAM: If you're on 2k/XP, that won't suffice, at LEAST get up to 384. Other then that, you're fine.

Graphics card: You're really pushing it here. You'd have to run it at minimal settings, and, if you're lucky, you'll only have to update drivers and directX (note that the GF2 does NOT support directX9). Keep in mind that you can get a G4Ti for less then $75.

[XxMe2NiKxX]

You will have problems. Don't get me started on celerons...

RAM: If you're on 2k/XP, that won't suffice, at LEAST get up to 384. Other then that, you're fine.

Graphics card: You're really pushing it here. You'd have to run it at minimal settings, and, if you're lucky, you'll only have to update drivers and directX (note that the GF2 does NOT support directX9). Keep in mind that you can get a G4Ti for less then $75.

[DStriemer]

Ram would help, but ultimately you should get at least a gforce 4ti. If you are running a gforce 2ti, then you should be able to run the game, just not really well. If it is not a ti......good luck. If you are deciding what to spend your money on first....get ram, then devote some of it to video processing under your graphics driver software. This will not help things dramatically, but it will help out an overworked graphics card trying to keep up to polygon algrorithms.

Best solution is to get both as a 256 stick of ram and a "servicable" vid card shouldn't break the bank.

[suppafly]

depends what kind of gf2 you have. if its a regular gf2 or ultra, then youre fine. if its a MX then its the cheap-o version, and i recommend you get another card

[goatdan]

This is my parents computer, not mine. My dad probably won't much care as long as the game runs halfway decently, and I am rebuilding the computer right now, as I had an AMD in it that decided to die.

I have a little leeway with what I can get for it, but I don't have too much money. Would it be smart to upgrade them to a used GeForce 4 ti card? I used to have one of those, and I adored it until my power supply overheated and fried it...

[calthaer]

You need at least a 350-400w power supply to feed the beast once you give it new claws. I believe that the game CANNOT run in 640x480 - 800x600 and 1024x768 are your only options, along with options to turn off shadows, anisotropic filtering, etc. I have only shadows enabled and am running at 800x600 on a GF3Ti200 and, like I said, I get acceptable performance. When I start to chop up the bad guys with my lightsabre, though, it begins to get slightly choppy.

You will probably be best off with a new GF4Ti + some more RAM, especially if you're running WinXP / 2000 / ME. Those things are resource hogs.

EDIT: Something I also just found out - the PC version of KOTOR has some quests, planets, and powerful / unique items (like crystals for your light sabre) that are not available in the Xbox version. Very cool - this is the version to own if you're a fan.

[Zing]

A Geforce4 Ti4200 would have the best price/performance ratio.

[goatdan]

Okay, I have been looking into upgrading the graphics card a little. They were running a GeForce 2MX, so... Even with more memory, that won't do.

Now again -- this is my dad that is going to be playing this game, so I am not looking for a card that will have great gaming performance. I already have one of those for myself. I am looking for something that will make this game run pretty okay on an otherwise decent system.

I could get a GeForce 4 MX4000 or a Radeon 9200SE, both with 64MB of DDR RAM for $40.00.

I could get a Radeon 9200SE with 128 MB of RAM for $50.00.

I could get an NVidea GeForce FX5200 card with 128 MB of RAM for $55.00.

I don't think I could convince my parents to spend more than $55.00 on a graphics card, no matter what. The lower I can get it, the better so if it works on either of the $40.00 cards, I'll happily get one of those.

Can anyone tell me if you have run it on any of these cards and how the results were? Does anyone have any of these cards that they were particularly pleased or displeased with?

Thanks!

[calthaer]

The Raedeon is probably the best bang for your buck. I may be repeating myself, but do not get that GeForce 4 MX 4000 - anything with "MX" in the title is a no-go.