I can't

[XxLeo05xX]

I can't start a city on CotN, it keeps giving me an error report. What should i do?

[Kiya]

Post your DxDiag file, and our 'technical members' are able to help you.

Welcome to the board!:)

[jpatrickk]

I should probably start a new thread with this but as I was reading through the threads, I thought I would post as a reply to this thread. I've been a member of the forum for over a year or so now and have enjoyed playing COtN. I've upgraded my graphics card to a GForce 5200 (admittedly not the hotest flamer on the market, but better than the old GForce 2 that I had) and updated the drivers so that I can play some of the newer Graphics intensive games. Since I updated my drivers, I can't play COtN anymore because the graphics go weird. I don't want to have to downgrade my drivers to the 61.77 version just to play this game and then have to upgrade my drivers again to play everything else. I guess I don't have a question except for wondering why Tilted Mill hasn't come up with a patch for this problem. Thanks for letting me vent. This is still the best forum for any game on the web. You guys do an excellent job and provide a friendly atmosphere for the players of this great game. Thanx for listening.

[Keith]

... I guess I don't have a question except for wondering why Tilted Mill hasn't come up with a patch for this problem.....

...Because it's not a problem with CotN, its a problem with your card..slash..drivers...slash...system. They can't possibly program for every possible combination of hardware out there.

The fact that Phill can run the game using the same card and new drivers pretty much indicates that there is something specific about your particular system that is causing the problem.

Posting a DXDIAG.TXT file would help us take a peek under the hood of your system.

Another tool you can use is the free copy of Everest Home Edition, which is no longer offered by the company that made it. I have attached a copy of Everest Home Edition to this post for you to download, install and run. It is much more thorough than dxdiag.

And... exactly how do your graphics "go weird?" More details would help.

[reachrishikh]

Hi guys,
I'm finally going to buy a new PC this week after years of telling you that I need to buy one. I was just finalising my Graphics Card requirements, and I settled for the Nvidia Geforce 6600 GT chipset with 128 MB Ram. Anyone know of any good models out there based on this chipset ? And more importantly, will I be able to run CoTN and C4 and also AoE 3 and NFS Most Wanted using a card based on this chipset ?

[Keith]

(I think you meant AGP slots instead of ATI slots, Phil. ;) )

The newer machines all have the faster PCI Express bus slots.

Get the best card you can afford. You won't be sorry.

I'd recommend getting a card with more memory than 128MB as games in the future will only put more demands on the graphics cards than they do now.

[Manni]

Here is also a nice card...............:eek:


http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=29229

[reachrishikh]

Thanks for the help Manni, but I don't think I would be able to use an Ati card.
I have selected an Nvidia chipset based SLI capable ASUS motherboard for attaching an AMD 939 pin processor. So I can only buy an Nvidia chipset based graphics card I think. Also my PC will have PCIe, not AGP, Phil. And budget is a constraint, so I cannot go for the Geforce 7000 series. Also, I wanted 256 MB ram, but I heard the slower processors and technology of the 6000 series do not give much of a performance benefit with additional Ram, so I would be better off with a 6000 series card with 128 MB Ram than with 256 MB Ram. Also, the motherboard that I chose is somewhat future proof, what with SLI support and PCIe x16, so I guess I could upgrade to a better card in future when I have the resources.
I was doing some more research yesterday, I came up with - ASUS Extreme N6600 Silencer/TD/128M EN660GT - PCIe Nvidia 6600GT based card.
Anybody know how's it.
Now all I need to do is call up the Asus reps here tommorow when the offices open and ask about the price. I'm still not sure if this card would fit in my budget. Otherwise I'll have to start hunting for another.
Anyone know how the cards from the XFX stables are ?

[Manni]

ASUS Extreme N6600GT GF 6600 GT PCI SLI (!) 256 MB HDTV
ASUS Extreme N6600GT/HTD/256M GF 6600 GT - PCI Express x16 - 256 MB GDDR3 - HDTV Out € 189
-------------------------
ASUS N6600GT/TD GF 128MB DDR3 AGP ret.
ASUS ASUS N6600GT/TD GF 128MB DDR3 AGP € 128

1 € = 1,20240 US$

[jpatrickk]

[B]Thank you for your helpful replies. I loaded the 81.95 drivers and the game plays ok with those new drivers. Also thanks for the helpful post from everyone else.

[Lonsgard]

There are plenty of fast AGP cards available - the best AGP card that you can get is either the nVidia 6800 (GT or GS) or the ATI x850

For PCIe - you have a wide selection. First even if you have an nForce SLI motherboard, you can still use an ATI card in it, though, since you paid for the SLI tech, I'd recommend an nVidia card just so that you have the upgrade path of SLI.

If you can spend $100, get a 6600GT.
If you can spend $200, get a 6800GS.
If you can spend $300, get a 7800GT.

XFX is a good company, as is ASUS, BFG, eVGA, MSI, and many more.

[reachrishikh]

Maani, from what I get ( I really am not familiar with the Euro and Pound exchange rates ), 1 Euro = 1,202.40 USD. That makes 189 Euro equal to 2,27,253.6 USD ! Or I may have misunderstood the exchange rate.

And I really cannot put in an AGP card guys, I have selected a PCIe based motherboard. But I really appreciate the help.

And Lonsgard, my budget would be around 100 - 150 USD, after converting from INR to USD. I have already exceeded the budget for other components in my system and I'm not much of a game, especially FPS gamer anyway, and my Dad is already mad at me for going overboard. And I think I could get the 6600 GT for around 150 $ and upwards here after converting to INR and taking into account the import duties. The 6800 GS would go up to 250 - 300 USD after adding the import duties.

Anyway, thanks a lot for your help guys.

[Lonsgard]

I've been using a 6600GT, and it's been working great.

1 Euro ~ 1.20 Dollars.

[reachrishikh]

do I need to worry about having only 128 MB of VRam, if I'm putting a one gig ram module in my system with an option to include another gig of ram in near future ( or maybe even in the initial purchase itself, if budget permits ) ?

[Lonsgard]

The GT also has more pipelines than the GS, but the GS is definately a better value.

[reachrishikh]

that's all right, I think the GT fits in my budget, and I also need the TV-out feature, because I don't have a separate DVD player, I tend to watch everything on my PC. But if I could connect to my TV, it would give me a better viewing experince ( although I am not too inclined to watching anything on the CRT TV screens in my house at the moment, as I think my LCD monitor offers a much sharper and clearer image on my PC , even if its a bit small - 15" ;) )