Okay gang, it's like this. After many hours of tweaking, turning off antialiasing, loading new drivers for the vid card and the chipset, I still have major video lag, so I am asking for reccomendations for a new video card that will work with my Motherboard. here's the stats:
Op System-Windoze 2K
Processor: AMD Athalon XP 2400 +
AT/AT COMPATIBLE (Whatever that means)
130,544 kb Ram
Video card: NVIDIA GeForce4 MX420

in addition to the lag, now my whole display has gone all haywire two times. One time I had to restart, and the other time it went away by itself.
I am abso-freakin-lutely at the end of my rope with this thing. This video issue is the last thing keeping me from playing online (well that and I think my modem is from the stone age but I can't get DSL out here in the sticks, and I REFUSE to sell body parts to afford satellite Internet).

Please suggest something good, and remember, I get a tax return soon so I should be able to spend decent money on it for a change.

Thanks guys for all the help.

THUNDER

What typ of mobo is it, 4x or 8x agp? I would look into a Ati 9600, X800, even the 6800 nvidia series. All can be had without the need to donate much needed body parts. I would also recomend more memory if you can get it.

Bit more money, but looks like a really nice card.
7800gs
300 and you just EOL'd the video card upgrade path for the AGP architecture. Be able to decently play a bunch more than just MW too.

Lessee, I know just enough about this stuff to swap out the odd component or two, which is to say just enough to be dangerous to myself and others, if you could tell me what Mobo is and where I can find it, I'll tell you because that is a term I am unfamilliar with.
Thanks for the reccomendations, though. I have heard others talking about the ati cards on some tech forums deling with lag issues, so I may very well check into those. From what I hear NVIDIA and ATI are about the only real players int he vidoe card market, can this be true?
Oh and Fukushu, when you say memory are you talking about RAM, and if so on the video card or the MB or both?


The techo-pain...T-Bolt

so sayeth the geek.....

I apologize TB. I meant Motherboard.



Well for the time being they are. I keep hopeing XGI will do somthing worthwhile in the performance/ enthusiast market, but they are far from ready.



MB

I'm probably the only computer owner in the free world that didn't know Mobo was shorthand for Motherboard, right?

Okay, so how to I tell if it is 8x or 4x? Is it stamped on it somewhere or do I need to enter the Bios and look around?

Looks like I will have to open the case back up and see if I have any space for (and also what kind of) RAM it will handle.

Thanks again!

TB

EDIT: And now more computer Alphabet soup that I missed the first time I read your response: What is agp?

I hate being ignorant...there's no excuse for it...stupidity is incurable, but ignorance is the absence of proper knowledge about a given topic and is DEFINITELY curable. Gotta go get me some books on modern day 'puter technology. I was into it once but the tech started developing faster than my income would allow me to keep up with it so I quit. THAT was a mistake.

well i would say that if you cannot tell from looking inside the case, that more detailed information can be had by getting this Freeware Tool .
Hopefully it will tell us everything we need to know. The red arrows indicated are the area's of intrest. Clicking the mainboard icon on the top left of screen first, then the corresponding Agp (accelerated graphics port) or PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) data that we need. let me know what you find.



No worries, i enjoy helping.

I assume your mainboard is capable of 8x, but I think that any graphic card from nVidia FX 5200 up will work for MW4 or many other games. (mine is a Leadtek FX5200 and performs well). However, more info on your mainboard will be usefull. I had some problems with MW4 on my older mainboard, but no more after I change it. (Check this link for my old problemMy old problem)

Thanks guys I will DL the freeware tonight when I get home from work after Tae Kwan D'oh! (that's what it looks like when I do it) and get back to you. Thanks for being so willing to help!

T-BOLT

last night didn't work out, so I'll have to hit it tonight and post it this weekend. thanks again or all the help!

T-BOLT

Okay Fukushu, here is all the data. I probably gave ya too much.

MOBO INFO

General Information :
Product : MS-6734
Version : Unspecified
Serial Number : Unspecified
Support MP : Yes, 1 CPU(s)
Version MPS : 1.4

Chassis Information :
Manufacturer : Unspecified
Type : Desktop
Version : Unspecified
Serial Number : Unspecified
Asset : Unspecified

Sensor Information :
Monitoring Chip : Winbond W83697HF

PLL Information :
Model : ICS954119

Slots Information :
Slot PCI : Available (32-bit) 5.0v
Slot PCI : In Use (32-bit) 5.0v
Slot PCI : Available (32-bit) 5.0v
Slot AGP : Available (32-bit) 5.0v

External Connectors :
Serial 16450 Compatible : DB-9 male
Serial 16450 Compatible : DB-9 male
Parallel ECP/EPP : DB25 female
Keyboard : PS/2
Mouse : PS/2

Internal Connectors :
PRIMARY IDE : On Board IDE
SECONDARY IDE : On Board IDE
FDD : On Board Floppy
COM1 : 9 Pin Dual Inline (pin 10 cut)
COM2 : 9 Pin Dual Inline (pin 10 cut)
LPT1 : DB25 female
Keyboard : PS/2
PS/2 Mouse : PS/2

General Information :
NorthBridge : VIA KM400
SouthBridge : VT8235 PCI to ISA Bridge

NorthBridge Information :
Architecture : Northbridge
Manufacturer : VIA (VIA Technologies Inc)
Revision : 00
FSB Frequency : 133.2 MHz
Bus Speed : 266.5 MHz (DDR)
Memory Frequency : 133.2 MHz

Chipset Information :
Type : DDR-SDRAM PC2100
Frequency : 133 MHz
FSB/RAM Multiplier : 1/1x
ECC Diagnostic : No
Interleave : 4-way
CAS Latency (tCL) : 2.5 clocks
RAS to CAS (tRCD) : 2 clocks
RAS Precharge (tRP) : 2 clocks
Cycle Time (tRAS) : 6 clocks
Shared Memory (video) : Yes

Bus Information :
Version : 3.5
Transfert Rate supported : 1x, 2x, 4x
Transfert Rate : 4x
Aperture Size : 128 MB
AGP enabled : Yes

APIC Information :
Version : 0.03
Maximum Interrupts : 24
IRQ Handler enabled : Yes

Device Capabilities :
Latency Timer : 8 clocks
I/O Access : No
Memory Access : Yes
Bus Master Capable : Yes
Special Cycle Recognition : No
Memory Write & Invalidate : No
VGA Palette Snoop : No
Parity Error Response : No
Cycle Wait : No
System Error Line : No
Fast Back-to-Back : No
Detects Parity Errors : No
User Defined Format : No
PCI 66Mhz Bus Support : Yes
New Capability List : Yes
PCI Support : AGP
PCI Support : Power Management Interface

CHIPSET INFO
General Information :
A0 (RAS 0, RAS 1) : 128 (Double Bank)
A1 : Empty

Information SPD EEPROM (A0) :
Manufacturer : Micron Technology
Part Number : 16VDDT3264AG-265A1
Serial Number : 630239FF
Type : DDR-SDRAM PC2100 (133 MHz) - [DDR-266]
Size : 256 MB (2 rows, 4 banks)
Module Buffered : No
Module Registered : No
Width : 64-bit
Error Correction Capability : No
Max. Burst Length : 8
Refresh : Normal (15.625 µs), Self Refresh
Voltage : SSTL 2.5v
Manufacture : Week 29 of 2001
Supported Frequencies : 100 MHz, 133 MHz
CAS Latency (tCL) : 2 clocks @100 MHz, 2.5 clocks @133 MHz
RAS to CAS (tRCD) : 2 clocks @100 MHz, 3 clocks @133 MHz
RAS Precharge (tRP) : 2 clocks @100 MHz, 3 clocks @133 MHz
Cycle Time (tRAS) : 5 clocks @100 MHz, 6 clocks @133 MHz

Memory Controller Information :
Memory Controller : DIMM, SDRAM
Number of connectors : 2
Max. Module Size : 256 MB
Max. Memory Size : 512 MB
Supported Speed : 70ns, 60ns


PROCESSOR DETAILS;
General Information :
Type : AMD Athlon XP
Internal Specification : AMD Athlon™ XP 2400+
Codename : Thoroughbred
Revision : B0
Technology : 0.13µ
CPU ID : 6.8.1
CPU IDEx : 7.8.1
Number of Core : 1

Features :
VME - Virtual Mode Ext. : Yes
DE - Debugging Extension : Yes
PSE - Page Size Extension : Yes
TSC - Time Stamp Counter : Yes
MSR - Model Specific Registers : Yes
PAE - Physical Address Extension : Yes
MCE - Machine Check Exception : Yes
APIC - Local APIC Built-in : Yes
SEP - Fast System Call : Yes
MTRR - Memory Type Range Reg. : Yes
PGE - Page Global Enable : Yes
MCA - Machine Check Architecture : Yes
PAT - Page Attribute Table : Yes
PSE36 - 36-bit Page Size Extension : Yes
PSN - Unique Serial Number : No
DS - Debug Trace & EMON Store : No
ACPI - Software Clock Control : No
SS - Self Snoop : No
TM - Thermal Monitor : No
HTT - Hyper-Threading : No
SBF - Signal Break on FERR : No
MON - Monitor/Mwait : No
DSCPL - CPL qualified Debug Store : No
TM2 - Thermal Monitor 2 : No
CID - Context ID : No
EST - Enhanced SpeedStep Tec... No
NX Bit - No-execute Page Protec... No
VT - Vanderpool Technology : No

Miscellaneous :
FPU - Co-processor Built-in : Yes
CX8 - CMPXCHG8B : Yes
CX16 - CMPXCHG16B : No
CMOV - Conditionnal Move Inst. : Yes
CLF - Cache Line Flush : No
FXSR - Fast Float Save & Restore : Yes
DAZ - Denormals Are Zero : No
MMX Technology : Yes
SSE Technology : Yes
SSE2 Technology : No
SSE3 Technology : No
X86-64 Technology : No
AMD MMX Technology : Yes
3DNow! Technology : Yes
Extended 3DNow! Technology : Yes
3DNow! Pro Technology : Yes
FFXSR : No
RDTSCP : No
LAHFSAHF : No
CMPLEGACY : No
SVM - Secure Virtual Machine : No
ALTMOVCR8 : No
SMP - MP Capability : No

Power Status :
Voltage Control : No
Frequency Control : No
Thermal Sensor Built-in : Yes

Addressing Information :
Physical Addressing max. : 34-bit
Linear Addressing max. : 32-bit

Mainboard Upgradebility :
Socket/Slot : Socket A
Upgrade interface : ZIF Socket
Supported Speed : 2100 MHz (or more)
Supported Voltage : 1.6V

VIDEO CARD DETAILS

General Information :
Model : GeForce4 MX 420 [NV17.3]
Manufacturer : Visiontek
Bus Type : AGP
Manufacturer : NVIDIA
Total Memory : 64 MB
Texture Memory : 118 MB
Processor : GeForce4 MX 420
Converter : Integrated RAMDAC
Refresh Rate (min/max) : 60/85 Hz

GPU Information :
Number of GPU : 1
Codename : NV17
Revsion : A3
Bus : 128-bit
Memory Type : SDRAM
GPU Frequency : 249.75 MHz
Memory Frequency GPU : 333 MHz
Memory Bandwidth : 5328 MB/s
Texels : 1000 MTexels/s
DirectX Support : 7.0

GPU Configuration :
GPU Core : 249 MHz
GPU Memory : 333 MHz

Video Bios Information :
Date : 01/11/02
Version : Version 4.17.00.24.36

i2C Bus Information :
Number of Bus : 3

General Features :
Width : 320 mm
Height : 200 mm
Pixel per inch : 96x96 dpi
bits per pixel : 32
Colour Bits/Planes : 1
Brushes : 4294967295
Pens : 4294967295
Markers : 0
Device Fonts : 0
Device Colours : 4294967295
Clip Output to Rectangle : Yes
Hardware Acceleration : Yes

Blend and Shade Capabilities :
GradientFill Rectangle : No
GradientFill Traingle : No
Per Pixel AlphaBlend : Yes
Premultiplied Alpha : No

Raster Capabilities :
Banding : No
Transfer Bitmaps : Yes
Bitmap >64 KB : Yes
Fonts larger than 64 K : Yes
DIBs : Yes
DIBTODEV : Yes
Flood Fills : Yes
Scaling : No
StretchBlt : Yes
StretchDIB : Yes

Curves Capabilities :
Chord Arcs : Yes
Circles : Yes
Elipses : Yes
Interiors : Yes
Pie Wedges : Yes
Rounded Rectangles : Yes
Styled Borders : Yes
Wide Borders : Yes
Wide, Styled Borders : Yes

Lines Capabilities :
Interiors : Yes
Markers : Yes
Polylines : Yes
Polymarkers : Yes
Styled : Yes
Wide : Yes
Wide, Styled : Yes

Polygonal Capabilities :
Interiors : Yes
Alternate Fill Polygons : Yes
Winding Fill Polygons : Yes
Rectangles : Yes
Scan Lines : Yes
Styled Borders : Yes
Wide Borders : Yes
Wide, Styled Borders : Yes

Text Capabilities :
Stroke Precision : Yes
Stroke Clip Precision : Yes
90° Character Rotation : No
Any Angle Character Rotation : No
Independant X-Y Scaling : No
Double Weighted Characters : No
Italic : No
Underline : Yes
Strikeout : Yes
Raster Fonts : Yes
Vector Fonts : Yes

Color Management Capabilities :
CMYK : No
Gamma Ramp : Yes
ICM Device : No

Ok TB, your Mobo is an MSI KM4M-L

All the info you submitted suggests that you are in need of a bios update. Your current revision is 1.4, with the most recent being 1.7. Under the AGP transfer rate supported: 1x 2x 4x is listed, However this mobo will in fact do 8x.
The bios revisions for your board are Here. Manual with all the nifty little features here.

Now your operating system will determin how the bios flash is handled if you decide thats what you want to do. Hope this helps.

Wow. Pretty impressive! I've already got the manual downloaded, and I am about to do the bios. I have never done this before so I hope this works without incident. Can't thank you enough, Fukushu! I'll report back in a bit if my machine is till working, that is, and let you know how it went.

T-BOLT.

I suspect your problem is the Via KT400 chip. Try installing VIA Hyperion drivers. They could solve the issue.

I really don't know how to say this without sounding like the total dolt that I am, but as soon as I updated the drivers on the vid card, and stopped playing around in Banzai Bootcamp, the lag disappeared! I have been playing on line with no lag off and on since last Friday night and like I told Rat when he popped into the game for a bit, this is the most fun that I have ever had with my computer, EVER! The only issue left is that at least once per session, the game suddenly decides to dump me back into my desktop (while still running mind you) and I have to click the Mercs icon on the task bar to get back in. Weird, huh?
Thanks so much Fukushu and Ny for the tech assistance, as well as Rat for all the help he offered outside of the forums.

The ever n00b...

TBOLT

Glad we could help. The part with the game dropping you to desktop happens to me too, and is not related to mechwarior (it happens to me in counterstrike when I decide playing it...)

While playing on a server other than Ronin (man when is ANYBODY EVER ON THERE?!?) I hit some lag so bad that I actually thought my machine had locked up! any ideas? This is the first serious lag I had run into sice updating the drivers on the vid card.

Here we go again...

TBOLT

PS Nycas...what language was that you were using in the link to the discussion board you proivded? French? Portuguese?

Is romanian.

Cool. I used to work with some Romanians. They ran a janitorial service that cleaned a store I used to work at. Nice fun loving people! I never could get their language down though.

Is close to Italian, French, Spanish... All have Latin as a start, then each went on it's way.

Yes, I could see the Latin influence as I was reading it. Pretty language in print and to hear. Much easier on the ear than German (I lived in Germany for three years). I still remember how to order food and to ask for directions to the Mainhauptbanhoff, but that's about it!

THUNDER