More Memory or new computer?

[silentblackhat]

I have a Compaq Armada e500 laptop that has a pentium 3 and 128MB of ram. I am trying to play Half-Life with the new type of online gaming system they use(Steam). when I am by myself where there is no action involvilng the other players it runs smooth but when another player is on my screen that requires my computer to process what they are doin also, it is really jerky and impossible to play. Does this mean that i need to get another 128MB memory or does the game just not work for the computer? any information would be helpful. By the way I have cable internet that runs at 3.5mbps so its plenty fast.

 

[Roshi229]

that laptop will not have the greatest graphics card in it... that will cause some major lag, try and tune down the resolution and display settings a bit, it may help...

128MB of ram, is about 1/4 of what i would recomend.

honestly, and b/c i play HL from time to time, when i got the game i didn't even try and put it on my P4 Sony Vaio.
anyway you go, you're not going to have the best game experience with that laptop.
sorry. ;(
~KB

 

[OCgod*]

Hmm... you could try throwing in another stick 512, but more than likely you will need a new PC. Also try lowering the settings as low as possible, your trying to play a high end game on a low end system :')

 

[silentblackhat]

the only memory i could find was 128....i got the laptop for free so...its no biggie. thanks

 

[Roshi229]

good luck, and i hope you find a system that can handle it... that game is awsome!!!

 

[Nikon]

Im guessing your graphics card is having trouble displaying the actions on the screen, how much memory does it have? Half life 1 or 2?

 

[silentblackhat]

half life 1, i bought the platinum pack a month b4 HL 2 came out

 

[waynejkruse10]

my friend has a p3 celeron 550, 128mb. It runs counter strike ok on the lowest possible settings. For that laptop, a ram upgrade will help but i recomend a new computer.

 

[Jnewt427]

If you got the laptop for free, I would try and sell it, like on ebay or something and make a few bucks of it. Then you could use that money towards a new system.

 

[4W4K3]

I had a Dell Inspiron 8100:

P3-M 866MHz
128MB PC-133
32MB GeForce2 Go

It played Half-life superbly (1024*768)...i finished the entire game on it IT also played RedFaction very well (1024*768 medium detail)

My guess is the video card in your laptop is really old, cuz 128MB is going to play HL just fine. That game is not demanding. I dont think more memory will help you all that much if its a gfx card limitation.