Playing old videogames on new hardware?

Discussion in 'hardware' started by Rasheed187, May 22, 2016.

  1. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    I tried to play Unreal Tournament, but I can only play it when in "safe mode". And is it normal that it will use between 20 to 30% of my CPU time, even though graphics are not that advanced? For example, FIFA 06 hardly seems to be using the CPU. And my "SYS temp"will always go to 55C degrees, and apparently the fan isn't spinning according to SpeedFan.
     

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  2. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    I have send a PM to the mods to correct the spelling error in the title, my bad.
     
  3. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    Nobody has ever run into problems playing old videogames? Apparently you need to download patches in order to make them run normally. About the SYS temp, I believe I already mentioned this in another thread. I guess I will have to open my desktop to see if all fans are spinning. BTW, this is the game that I'm talking about:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreal_Tournament
     
  4. hawki

    hawki Registered Member

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    Do a web search or post on a (the) game related site. There are often workarounds.

    For example Diablo II LOD on newer hardware can be played but the screen on most systems is heavily pixelated and the colors are incorrect and "flourescent."

    Some guy hit upon an unlikely fix.

    Go to Personalize Page>select a plane color as your background>leave the Personalize Page open>Start D II

    Totally off-the-wall and how he fell stumbled upon it, I have no idea but it works:)
     
  5. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    Yeah, I have already done some research, but I'm not sure if I want to install unofficial patches. The good news is that I can run UT in "Safe Mode" but then sounds doesn't work. And I still wonder if such an old game should be using 20% of my CPU. But they are currently developing a new version of UT, I'm hoping it will run correctly. Here are some clips:

    http://tweakers.net/reviews/4201/unreal-tournament-epic-haalt-de-community-aan-boord.html
     
  6. CrusherW9

    CrusherW9 Registered Member

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    About the CPU usage, the lower the graphical intensity of a game, the more the CPU has to work because the CPU is responsible for 'organizing' the frames, not the GPU. You can see this by checking your CPU and GPU load in a modern game at 1080p (or whatever your max is) and then dropping to something lower like 720p. You should see a bump in CPU usage as your GPU will be able to draw frames quicker which creates more work for the CPU. If your GPU usage goes down, then you know you're bottlenecked by your CPU, at least, at the lower resolution. Similarly, anytime you're in a CPU bottleneck situation like this, higher performance ram (higher frequency and lower latency) can give you an FPS boost as well as the obvious CPU overclock.

    tl;dr Don't worry about the CPU usage.
     
  7. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    OK thanks for the info. I play UT in a low (640*480) resolution, but I guess for some reason UT doesn't seem to correctly utilize the GPU like you said. GPU temp also goes up but it's controlled by MSI Afterburner. I can't control the SYS Fan, since it's not spinning according to my BIOS and SpeedFan. BTW, I have no problems with other old games like FIFA 06 and Re-Volt, that's why it's a bit frustrating. I guess I have no choice but to install some patch.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_06
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Re-Volt
     
  8. CrusherW9

    CrusherW9 Registered Member

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    That is not what I said. Playing at a resolution that low is sure to bottleneck your GPU with your CPU. Just to test, increase your resolution to 1280x720 and see where your GPU usage is.
     
  9. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    OK, will check it out. BTW, is it normal that GPU temp rises to 55 degrees when playing an old game like Need for Speed: Underground 2? It just feels a bit weird. BTW, I always prefer to play games at a lower resolution (inside a window), I hated it that this wasn't possible with older games.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need_for_Speed:_Underground_2
     
    Last edited: Jun 5, 2016
  10. CrusherW9

    CrusherW9 Registered Member

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    55C is fairly cool for a GPU. Don't worry about it until you're nearing 80C and even then, that isn't THAT hot. I used to play that game back on PS2. Good times. Don't know how useful this will be (I barely skimmed it) but this might help.
     
  11. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    OK thanks, I just think it's strange that such old games will still use quite a lot of CPU and GPU time. I also noticed that the GPU will only stay cool when I use MSI Afterburner, shouldn't the Nvidia GPU regulate its own fan speed?

    And I will check out the tools, this is exactly what I was looking for. Too bad that Windows doesn't have the ability to force games to run inside a window. I also hate it when games come out of full screen, windows of certain apps like EditPad and Sandboxie are resized. I use AutoSizer to correct this, but it's still annoying.

    http://www.southbaypc.com/autosizer/
     
  12. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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  13. CrusherW9

    CrusherW9 Registered Member

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    What do you mean by cool? Does it stay under 80C without Afterburner?

    And no, I haven't played the new UT. Aside from CSGO and Rocket League, I've been playing COD4 a bit. CSGO has ruined it for me, though. The hitreg is fairly poor. Flick shots with the M40a3 that would have hit in CSGO don't in COD and if someone is lagging, they tend to have a rather large advantage. I think a fair amount of people hack in it, as well. I've sort of been thinking about playing all the 'great' shooters. Original Doom, UT, finishing up Half Life, etc.
     
  14. Mrkvonic

    Mrkvonic Linux Systems Expert

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    When you play games, cpu and gpu should spin up and get hot. That's the idea.
    Mrk
     
  15. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    With MSI Afterburner fans will run at 40%. But when disabled, they will run at 30%, so temp will raise to 50 degrees. And I hope that the new UT and Doom will run smoothly on my Acer Predator desktop. I'm a bit annoyed that I have got a quite slow GPU, and systems with the high end cards are way too expensive.

    True, but I already explained why I thought it's a bit strange. I mean these are quite old games, CPU and GPU should have a breeze with them. But I believe it's mostly about games not being optimized to run on newer CPU's and GPU's, this is causing problems.
     
  16. hawki

    hawki Registered Member

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    I used Acer Predators for nearly 10 years. For me the big draw was that the base models came with fast processors, sufficient RAM (expandable), and a 500W power supply that screamed out for an GPU upgrade and they were relatively inexpensive. Starting back then a 500W power supply in a retail PC was unique. You can always save a bit and put it towards a midrange GPU at a later time. The predators are equipped to handle two six pin connector requirements with the adaptors included with most 6 pin GPUs. Their power supplies have a good number of unused cables with free connectors. Their cases are large enough to accommodate most of the larger sized GPUs.

    Just make certain that you buy any GPU upgrade from a store that allows a return w/o a restocking fee. Last year I tried to put a GTX 970 into a new Predator (that came equipped with a GTX 760) and failed. The length and width were OK, but there was a small plastic component that stuck up from the circuit board below that prevented the card from being fully inserted. The latest Predator Series should not have that problem since they are built to accomodate GTX 950s-GTX 980s.

    In my second Predator of about five years ago I installed an EVGA GTX 580 with 3 gigs of RAM (a lot in those days). It was arguably Nvidia's top of the line single GPU card at the time. The 3 gigs was not for added speed , I chose it because I was working with high resolution textures at the time. The 580 with 2 gigs had a faster clock speed.[I am a big believer in EVGA because while there are others that make very fast GPU editions such as MSI, EVGA guarantees their GPUs with a replacement forever even if you burn a card out by extreme overclocking, including insane voltage boosts.]

    Technology has advanced markedly since my 580 days. The 580 cost me $450. Today, the 760 is 20% faster than my old 580 and costs around $160.
     
    Last edited: Jun 11, 2016
  17. CrusherW9

    CrusherW9 Registered Member

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    Well unless you're using V-Sync(which I wouldn't recommend for FPS's) or the engine has an artificial FPS cap, there will be one component that is preventing you from getting more FPS. That could be your CPU, GPU, or (significantly less probable), your RAM. So even though it may be an old game, you should see relatively high usage because while it may be less demanding to run, your PC is going to try and push out as many frames as possible. Say PC 1 has x amount of horsepower and PC 2 has 2x power. If both PC's run a game and both are at 100% load, PC 2 will output double the FPS of PC 1. Obviously this is significantly simplified, but you get the idea.
     
  18. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    OK I see. It's just so weird, I also discovered that if I play FIFA 06 in its highest settings, game play becomes choppy. But PES 6, which has got better graphics, is no problem.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro_Evolution_Soccer_6

    Thanks for the tip. I might indeed try to upgrade the GPU, if my current one can't handle the latest games.
     
  19. CrusherW9

    CrusherW9 Registered Member

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    There are a lot of enticing options that just came out and are coming out soon ;)
     
  20. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    I'm sorry, but I'm not following, what do you mean exactly?
     
  21. CrusherW9

    CrusherW9 Registered Member

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    New GPU's coming out. GTX1080 and 1070 are (kind of) available right now, 1060 and potentially a 1060ti will soon be available. AMD RX480 (among their other options) is also coming out soon and for $199, is rumored to match the GTX980.
     
  22. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    OK I see. I'm currently running the quite slow GeForce GTX 745. I would be happy with the GeForce GTX 970 or 960. Those type of cards are currently offered in high end desktops, but of course it's way too expensive, that's my biggest gripe with PC makers. Only Lenovo offers a good deal, while HP is trying to rip people off, see links.

    http://www.computerstore.nl/product/698737/lenovo-ideacentre-y700-90df003fny.html
    http://www.computerstore.nl/product/654744/hp-envy-phoenix-860-000nd.html
     
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