Quick GFX Card Question:

[Kairasporich]

PNY GeForce 6200 256MB PCI Graphics Card

ive been interested in playing WoW for a while now, and the only thing my CPU needs is a video card. However, i'm on a limited budget, and need to know if this will work for someone who will play 1-2 hours a day (if i like it).
Thanks in Advance..

[Khab]

At a low resolution and with low settings. What's the rest of the PC like?

[Kairasporich]

Microsoft Windows XP Professional (Build Service Pack 22600)
502 MB RAM
Intel Celeron 3.20GHz
3.20 GHz Speed 502.7 MB RAM
Direct X 9.0c
Audio Rear Output
106.8 GB free Disk Space

According to System requirements lab, I can run it with a better video card.

I know its pretty sad, but this is just till I can afford a better computer (one NOT for the family..)

[Khab]

1GB of ram is definitely needed. Is a PCI card the best you can install in that machine? No AGP?

[Kairasporich]

none at all.

[Khab]

I would certainly recommend getting the trial so you can decide if it's playable. I had to use a 6200 over the holidays while I was out of town and it was pretty miserable.

[Twoflower]

it would run. somehow. in major cities it would be a lagfest. but on your own, out in the woods, with nothing but 2 boars keeping you company, it may work somehow. but would you enjoy playing like that ?

[Kairasporich]

So, question:
If I bought 1GB more RAM, what kind of differance would it make?

[IRID1UM]

The difference is, that when it comes to loading data, the game would run much smoother and faster.
When entering a city, you have to load all textures and models and such into the RAM and simultaneously kick old stuff out of the RAM. And the old thing gets stored on the hard disk. Mind that you already are accessing the disk for reading the new data, so there is a huge bottleneck, especially on older disks.
With more RAM you dont have to kick data out of your RAM because most of it will fit in it anyways.
So with more RAM you will benefit every time you are moving fast, especially when mounted, flying or when entering/leaving cities.
Still, if your video card is too weak for the game, tons of RAM will not help alot, since the game will be stuttering anyways.

BUT: I would rather get a gigabyte (or 2) of RAM while having a crappy video card (which meets the minimum requirements), than having only 500 MB of RAM and a mediocre video card.
Cheers

[Kalos]

I'd recommend saving up and getting a computer. Memory is much cheaper on DDR2 motherboards, and the wider selection of graphics cards only works in the favour of the buyer. Not only would it cost money to drag this rig up, it'll still be rather poor, and near unplayable in cities, even with a 6200.

If you have to upgrade this system, put more ram in it. That way the whole machine's operation speeds up as well as WoW, that alone makes it a greater benifit to the user.

[DrScience]

You're running a Celeron with less than a gig of RAM and a PCI video card. Where to begin?

This machine would play WoW, but it would run extremely slow even on lowest settings. You have a Celeron CPU, which is already a budget CPU, and apparently you only have a PCI video card slot. I dont even have any reccomendations for PCI video card upgrades... The technology is that old. While i understand that you're playing on a budget, you shoud still consider buying a new PC. Even a bottom-end system will work better ($400-600) - at least then it would have a viable way to upgrade your video (PCIe). I would reccomend against playing WoW on this system, but if you have to then go for it. Just dont expect any variety of decent performance from it.

Edit: Kalos beat me to the punch D:

[tagkc]

On that card specifially, it sucks. I had to replace my vid card and put in an EVEA Nivdia 6200 and it is horrible. After putting that card in, my FPS went from 55-60 (using an ATI x1300) to 15 at best. Also, I can't say this is due to the card, but I think it is, my lag has been horrible. Trying to play this afternoon and I actually hit 16k ms.

[IRID1UM]

Your network latency is totally independant of the video card you use. The high latency must have been coincidence.