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[TheJollyCorner]

Being a console gamer, the last time I really played PC games was during Sierra's prime with their icon-based adventure games.
Admittedly, in late 2003, I upgraded my computer to play Final Fantasy XI... and it ended up looking fantastic and running very smoothly.

So I'm hooked on what I've seen from Half Life 2. It just looks glorious... but I'm wondering if my system can handle it.
Since I'm not completely computer savy (had someone walk me through exactly what I needed for FFXI ), I was hoping some of you could tell me if this is possible with my current system:

Dell Dimension DIM4300
Pentium 4 CPU 1.60GHz
1.59GHz
384 MB of RAM
my video card:
NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4200

If Half Life 2 can run even part-way ok, I'm willing to take the plunge to get it.
Oh... and before anyone mentions it, I own a PS2 and NGC, so no XBox version for me.

I appreciate any help.

 

[ToxicAdam]

If you have a fast connection, why not download the demo and try it out?

 

[TheJollyCorner]

I'm trying to run KingMax 1.5 benchmark, but it tries to load STEAM and cant... hmmm

 

[HokieJoe]

It sounds like your rig will run it, but a may chug a bit. Your video card is pretty decent. the only deficit seems to be your CPU and memory. I'd just do as ToxicAdam said- download the demo and give it a whirl.

Download the demo here (link is on the right hand side of the page):
http://www.ati.com/halflife2/index.html

Straight from the Steam Support page:

Minimum System Configuration

* 1.2 GHz Processor
* 256MB RAM
* DirectX 7 capable graphics card ***
* Windows 2000/XP/ME/98
* Mouse
* Keyboard
* Internet Connection **
* CD or DVD rom drive (retail version only) *

Preferred System Configuration

* 2.4 GHz Processor
* 512MB RAM
* DirectX 9 capable graphics card
* Windows 2000/XP/ME/98
* Mouse
* Keyboard
* Internet Connection **
* CD or DVD rom drive (retail version only) *

* NOTES:
1. The Retail Collector's edition requires a DVD CDRom reader.

2. CDRom and DVDRom Drives used to install the Retail Versions must be compatible with Sony SecuROM.

3. The Retail CDRom/DVDRom is required to be in the CDRom/DVDRom Drive to play the games.

4. All Retail box offers require an internet connection to install and authenticate.

5. ** Once the game has been installed and authenticated, the game can be played offline (without an internet connection).

6. *** You must have DirectX 9c installed even with older cards

7. A complete installation of all games and game tools require at least 9GB of available diskspace (not including DOD:Source). This does not include any custom content (maps, models, etc).

 

[TheJollyCorner]

thank you very much...
and if it turns out ok, I can get the whole game instantly (well, not INSTANTLY, but you know what I mean ) from STEAM, right?

 

[EGM92]

I suggest more ram... MUCH more ram at least another 512mb depends on which speed. CPU is fine, video card is going to be a killer, you need something that fully supports DirectX 9 to make it look good something along the lines of an ATI 9600 (which are like 70-100$ nowadays)

 

[TheJollyCorner]

gah!
so I downloaded the demo, got the STEAM thing, and it says I need 823MB just to run the demo.
I definitely have that much free, but it's not allowing me to continue with the installation. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[HokieJoe]

gah!
so I downloaded the demo, got the STEAM thing, and it says I need 823MB just to run the demo.
I definitely have that much free, but it's not allowing me to continue with the installation. Anyone have any ideas?

Are you receiving a specific error message other than the 832MB requirement?


It might sound goofy, but defrag your HDD and see if that helps. I'd also bump up the size of your virtual memory to say 1500MB to see if it will install.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

Thanks HokieJoe...
and just to make sure I'm clear- by bumping up my virtual memory, you mean getting a couple more sticks of memory, huh?
It's hard being a n00b when it comes to this stuff.

 

[EGM92]

bumping virutal memory is different, doesn't require physcial memory sticks, if you tell me which OS you're running I'll be able to help you out.

Also do you know what file system your HDD is using? NTFS or FAT32??

 

[ShowDog]

I have 512 mb ram and it runs great with full settings, don't listen to anyone telling you you need more for this particular game.

 

[Crispy]

I have a 1500 mhz tualatin with 512 RAM and a Geforceti4600 and Half-Life 2 runs great. At the beginning of the game there is some stuttering in the sound, because there are a lot of them playing at the same time I guess, but the rest of the game runs great. I estimate the framerate at 20 - 30 frames per second with everything at full setting and 2xAA, 4xAF.

So i guess you will do fine too!