New and NEED SERIOUS GUIDENCE

[Invalidplayer85@hotm]

The Computer:

i have a 1.8 AMD

8.15 gigs of free space left (it's a 14 gig hd)

384 sd ram

graphics card-Prowler MX 440-SE 64 (says better than the ati radeon 7000) PCI(i can use agp though)

a 15 inch older moniter (like a 99')

laser mouse

obvious a keyboard up to date


and ok speakers (i mean hey can't complain)


The playstation 2:

i have the keyboard for it

the ps2 controler it came with

(have had a bad history with ps2's (had 5 brake on me internal problems)

NOW is my ps2 better than my computer, GIVE ME every reason to get one or the other, also i DO NOT have the modem.

SO all in all it's $160 for the ps2 version
and $39.99 for the pc version new now!

would it be better to get on my pc and mabye upgrade my graphics card? or is it enough (or a better moniter )

also don't forget about my current space, is it enough to hold the game and the patches and upgrades???

[Invalidplayer85@hotm]

where is the stupid edit button MAN i hate double posting

anyway if you are wondering i have COX cable internet connection. for the speed of my connection, thats all

[folken001]

The Computer:

i have a 1.8 AMD

8.15 gigs of free space left (it's a 14 gig hd)

384 sd ram

graphics card-Prowler MX 440-SE 64 (says better than the ati radeon 7000) PCI(i can use agp though)

a 15 inch older moniter (like a 99')

laser mouse

obvious a keyboard up to date


and ok speakers (i mean hey can't complain)


The playstation 2:

i have the keyboard for it

the ps2 controler it came with

(have had a bad history with ps2's (had 5 brake on me internal problems)

NOW is my ps2 better than my computer, GIVE ME every reason to get one or the other, also i DO NOT have the modem.

SO all in all it's $160 for the ps2 version
and $39.99 for the pc version new now!

would it be better to get on my pc and mabye upgrade my graphics card? or is it enough (or a better moniter )

also don't forget about my current space, is it enough to hold the game and the patches and upgrades???
Your PC is better I think. But, you need to do something about the video card. It is not much to have radeon 7000. But, if you want to get a decent card to play, then you'll spend like 200 plus bucks. But the visual is way better than what you can get with pS2.

[Tappy_Tibbons]

sell your PC and PS2, get a Dreamcast with broadband adapter, kb and mouse, and web browser, then get Xbox with LIVE.

JK, keep the PC, dump the PS2, Xbox is 1000x better

[Invalidplayer85@hotm]

mabye if i was on crack i would do that....LOL the game has one good game HALO and i have that on pc already! haha it comes out next year for the Xbox and if it flops then XBOX will die. Like the dreamcast did LOL

anyhow another person said it best to tell me what to do ..here was his reply on http://www.ffxi.ogaming.com/forum/forumdisplay.php

Alright overall, if you upgraded your comp (which you'd need to upgrade a lot more than your graphics card and monitor) it'll still play slow.

right now I run a p4 2.8 ghz 800 fsb HT processor
my monitor is a 17" lcd, my vid card is an ati radeon 9600 all in wonder, and my system memory is 1024 mb, my harddrives in total have 160 space max and I'm using about 120 of that right now

I have the graphics in the game usually on 1024x1024 background res (how many pixels are put in. I.e. how small the details go) on 1280x1024 screen resolution... when I have weather effects on and there's a dust storm... I GET LAG. seriously. I still get lag from not having enough graphics power. I highly suggest you go ps2, and if your ps2 has had problems in the past related to power issues put it on a battery backup thing or a surge protector, if it's ventilation.... use that air can thing you can get for pc's to clean it out. Anyway.

overall the cheaper and better route is to go with your ps2.

Pros and cons for going ps2:
PROS
1. cheaper
2. zero lag when running the game due to ps2's setup being for games ONLY
3. internet really isn't a problem once you get the network adapter, and once you do it works with tons of other games so it isn't like a one game cost.
CONS
1. less flexibility (i.e. you're unable to push the graphics to 2048x2048 background res like really high end pc users)
2. you have to get a network adapter.
3. if you have an old tv the display won't be as sharp/pretty as it would be on an comp monitor, (though the lack of sharpness would afflict an old comp monitor as well.)

All in all, go with the ps2 version. Cause to run the game smoothly at the graphics settings that make the game actually worth getting you'd probably need to spend somewhere around 600$ on your pc. unless of course you know how to tweak your pc like an ub3r 1337 haxor. (yeah I know... I wanna kill me too for that one) either way, you get to play on the same servers as the rest of us and I hope to see you online no matter what the result!

thank god he told me exactly what i needed to here.

[Renzatic Gear]

If you wanna take the upgrade route you need is a new graphics card, like Folken said, and a bit more ram.

A good card I'd recommend is the Radeon 9600 series or a Geforce FX5600, the 9600 is faster, has better image quality, but the Geforce has more stable drivers and is far more user friendly, You can grab em in the $150-180 range..I wouldn't go below that unless you intend on upgrading in the very near future. But if you want to spend a little more and get the best bang for the buck the 9800 Pro is dropping in price big time, just 4 months ago they were $399...now they're in the $220 range and will soon be sub-$200.

For ram...well, since you can only support SDRAM that'll always be a bottleneck for you until you decide to take the new mobo pluge, but you can lessen the pain by at least upping to 512 meg. Actually, considering how cheap SD is I'd probably go for a full gig or more depending on how much you're willing to spend.

So basically you're looking at about $250-300ish getting your comp up to specs...compared to the $99 you'll spend getting FFXI for the PS2. The PC version will look better, but the game itself is exactly the same. It's your call.

[Nissian X]

If you wanna take the upgrade route you need is a new graphics card, like Folken said, and a bit more ram.

A good card I'd recommend is the Radeon 9600 series or a Geforce FX5600, the 9600 is faster, has better image quality, but the Geforce has more stable drivers and is far more user friendly, You can grab em in the $150-180 range..I wouldn't go below that unless you intend on upgrading in the very near future. But if you want to spend a little more and get the best bang for the buck the 9800 Pro is dropping in price big time, just 4 months ago they were $399...now they're in the $220 range and will soon be sub-$200.

For ram...well, since you can only support SDRAM that'll always be a bottleneck for you until you decide to take the new mobo pluge, but you can lessen the pain by at least upping to 512 meg. Actually, considering how cheap SD is I'd probably go for a full gig or more depending on how much you're willing to spend.

So basically you're looking at about $250-300ish getting your comp up to specs...compared to the $99 you'll spend getting FFXI for the PS2. The PC version will look better, but the game itself is exactly the same. It's your call.\

Some advice, listen to Renzatic Gear, he pretty much built my PC which is, to say the least, top-o-the-line. And didn't cost too much either. He'll set you straight.;)

[Tappy_Tibbons]

Dude, are you stupid? Halo came out on Xbox first almost 2 years before the PC version and Halo 2 will put Half Life 2 and Doom 3 to shame and will only be on Xbox for another almost 2 years probably/

PS2 online is a joke...a bad joke.

[Nissian X]

Dude, are you stupid? Halo came out on Xbox first almost 2 years before the PC version and Halo 2 will put Half Life 2 and Doom 3 to shame and will only be on Xbox for another almost 2 years probably/

PS2 online is a joke...a bad joke.
LOL!
Tappy, who are you responding to? no one said anything about Halo here.

[Invalidplayer85@hotm]

i did and i don't care that it came out on the xbox first. I KNOW THAT all i am saying is that is their only ONLY halfwaf decent title, and if halo 2 fails then they are fudged

by the way doom and half life do suck....they are ****ty games lol

[Renzatic Gear]

Man, 5 posts and you already fit in here like a...well...can't get dirty, but what I was gonna say was pretty funny. Too bad you have to miss out cuz I don't wanna get banned.

Needless to say...WELCOME TO THE BOARDS, MANG! Go flame Game!

[Deathstroke]

Welcome, and ignore Tappy. He just likes to post random stuff about X-box in threads that have nothing to do with his precious system of choice.

[Invalidplayer85@hotm]

thanks everyone for the help! i REALLY appreciate it. Money is an issue with me. Now that i have all the info i am going PS2 and next week i will take my money and upgrade my graphics card then my moniter (i still am getting the ps2 version but i think these things need to be upgraded!

i hope to see some of you online thursday the 24th! (paycheck day)

email me and mabye we can play together online sometime i would really like a guide person!!!

invalidplayer85@hotmail.com

[Invalidplayer85@hotm]

i went to this site to see if my machine was up to par

http://www.ffshrine.org/ffxi/ffxi_benchmark.php

i got an 1892 on the low end and an 1100 on high. Now i know that sucks but think the games graphics were SMOOTH as heck but they were very choppy with multiple people in the picture. Now think if i spent the money and got a 128, think those results would be double right??

[Daman_He_Hate_Me]

The question nobody asked was what kind of games do you plan on playing? You mention the PC or the PS2, you know they really don't have a lot of games in common. Then you totally throw me for a loop by saying you hate Half Life and Doom, so it sounds like you aren't too big on the PC franchises. I think you need to figure out what upcoming games you want to play, and then choose the system accordingly.

[folken001]

The question nobody asked was what kind of games do you plan on playing? You mention the PC or the PS2, you know they really don't have a lot of games in common. Then you totally throw me for a loop by saying you hate Half Life and Doom, so it sounds like you aren't too big on the PC franchises. I think you need to figure out what upcoming games you want to play, and then choose the system accordingly.
I think he is thinking about playing FFXI.

[folken001]

i went to this site to see if my machine was up to par

http://www.ffshrine.org/ffxi/ffxi_benchmark.php

i got an 1892 on the low end and an 1100 on high. Now i know that sucks but think the games graphics were SMOOTH as heck but they were very choppy with multiple people in the picture. Now think if i spent the money and got a 128, think those results would be double right??
in theory, yes. A stronger vid card or more ram will definitely help. My friend's computer got 3000 plus for his benchmark, but he has a geforce 4 and 2 gig of DDR. My laptop ran about 1500 and it's a XP2400 (1.7 ghz) with 512 DDR.

[Renzatic Gear]

What Folken said...nowadays a graphics card is the heart of a good PC, without a good one even the fastest CPU you could buy wouldn't help you out.

Right now I'd say getting a good framerate is 70% dependent on your card and 30% dependent on your CPU, and of course the more ram the merrier, but I wouldn't go over a gig if you intend on using your comp just to play games, you won't notice any performance boosts going above that.

Also, going from a 64 meg card to a 128 won't give you double the performance. It's all dependant on the make and model of your card and what it can do. Like a 64 meg Geforce 3 would absolutely kill a Geforce 4 MX 128 meg performancewise. If you wanna know the easiest way to tell which card is faster just look at the price..generally the more you pay the more you get....uh...generally.

[Renzatic Gear]

Bragging like a bish addendum..I got 4768 in high detail and 5122 on low.

[folken001]

Also, going from a 64 meg card to a 128 won't give you double the performance. It's all dependant on the make and model of your card and what it can do. Like a 64 meg Geforce 3 would absolutely kill a Geforce 4 MX 128 meg performancewise. If you wanna know the easiest way to tell which card is faster just look at the price..generally the more you pay the more you get....uh...generally.

Thanks man. These just flied right through my head because I dont' normally don't pay attention to cards like Geforce MX or Radeon 7000 or 9000. They are cheap but they suck most of the time.

Your comment about looking at the price is very true.

[Invalidplayer85@hotm]

damn thanks for that info. So an ati radeon 9800 128mb for $150 won't more than likely be a huge thing in the help department for the game? compared to my 64? i kinda figured it was ok though.....hmm i mean i got an 1800 on low and an 1100 in the high but the game came in beautifully but it was only choppy.....not much but deffinetly the word was choppy, but beautiful display and smoothness of the graphics. hmm weird

[Renzatic Gear]

No, a Radeon 9800 would give you a HUGE boost..probably up to the 3000-3500 mark I'd say. The $150 range is where most of the really good midgrade cards sit, from $250 are the high end cards...anything above that is only good for bragging about on techgeek forums.

[Invalidplayer85@hotm]

i can get that radeon for 89.99 this week at fry's electronics so i will get that this thursday...but i am still getting the game for the ps2....i don't have enough space on my hardrive and i am NOT formatting another one and changin info to the new one. it just takes to damn long....and another cheap hardrive for 40 gigs is like 50 bucks...not in the check this week...lol but this comp is deff getting upgraded now...

[Renzatic Gear]

Hell man..you have 8 gig free on your harddrive. That's plenty of space for a game that, at most, would probably only take up maybe 2.

Oh, and another word of advice since you're still taking the upgrade plunge...never get cheap off brand computer parts, it'll only cause you a world of hurt later on down the line. You'll more than likely end up having to pay more, but it'll be alot easier than having to go to another tech forum asking why such and such is causing you so many problems.

[folken001]

I think FFXI is 4 gig. I am not 100 percent sure.

[folken001]

I think FFXI is 4 gig. I am not 100 percent sure. But 8 gig is definitely enough for any game.

[Invalidplayer85@hotm]

nah i found out the game is 6 gigs and after the most recent of patches and such it comes to around 9.7 gigs.

[Renzatic Gear]

Whoa..3 gig worth of patches? There's no way...

[Invalidplayer85@hotm]

thats what i have been told...and read as well.

[T.Tashi]

thats what i have been told...and read as well.Wow... that means the PS2HDD has 25% of its space gone out the box. :eek: Not that there's not plenty left, but still... :eek: Also Xbox could not handle FFXI. :p

[Deathstroke]

Also Xbox could not handle FFXI. :p

LOL!!!!!!

[Renzatic Gear]

I hope those patches come on a disc, cuz there's no way in hell even a tenth of the playerbase could swing downloading 3 gigs...

I just don't see it happening..unless the patch includes alot of new playable space or something. I mean 3 gigs is half the size of UT2004...and that's just for patches...that's HUGE!

[Invalidplayer85@hotm]

remember those are what i have read off of unoficial sites! But anyway yeah ...from what i am told now though (came out today) it comes with the patches up to pretty recent. So thats good. or mabye it didn't man i need to find some sure facts...i am gonna email sqaure now. or i will wait till tomorrow (thursday) when i will get it and check it out then