Will my computer run Diablo 3 Beta?

[Vantage]

I started playing the D3 Beta over the weekend and noticed a considerable amount of lag.

Calling myself a computer newb would be giving myself to much credit. I know absolutely nothing about the internal workings of a computer.

So I am trying to trouble shoot my issue. With a few hours of searching online I have narrowed my problem down to my graphics card.

Here are my computer.
Approx. 3 years old

Core 2 Quad Q6700 processor
4 GB ram
GeForce 9300GE Graphics card
64-Bit Vista
22" monitor

I am currently running diablo 3 beta on

Resolution: 1176x664
Foreground FPS - 100
Background FPS - 8
Texture - Low

Is my graphics card the problem?
Could it be my internet is not fast enough? If so what is a good download rate, I downloaded the beta at 800kb/s (hope that makes sense)


If my graphics card is the problem, how hard is installing a new one. What is a decent card for a decent price.

[Xanithor]

it isnt hard just plug and run cd. The main thing is to make sure that your power supply can handle the new card.

[Tilitoon]

Is the GeForce 9300GE PCI-E or AGP ? I'd like to think it's PCI-E but just to be sure you can run GPU-Z to find out.
Yes your video card is the main issue, you might want to upgrade if possible. Just to know how bad is the lag, can you press CTRL+R while in the game and report the average FPS ? If the problem is your computer it will be less than 30fps.

Like Xan said, if you want to upgrade your video card, one limiting factor will be the power supply. You will need to find out what it is first and if you don't want to change it, the video card selection will be very slim and you might not be able to play on more than medium settings. Otherwise you will need to find a new PSU that will fit your case and spend extra money for that + the video card.

[Vantage]

Is the GeForce 9300GE PCI-E or AGP ? I'd like to think it's PCI-E but just to be sure you can run GPU-Z to find out.
Yes your video card is the main issue, you might want to upgrade if possible. Just to know how bad is the lag, can you press CTRL+R while in the game and report the average FPS ? If the problem is your computer it will be less than 30fps.

Like Xan said, if you want to upgrade your video card, one limiting factor will be the power supply. You will need to find out what it is first and if you don't want to change it, the video card selection will be very slim and you might not be able to play on more than medium settings. Otherwise you will need to find a new PSU that will fit your case and spend extra money for that + the video card.

Computer is an HP m8525f

Average FPS is 20-30 during action. 10-20 in town.

Where do I look on the GPU-Z to tell me what it is?

So far the info i have is.

name: NVIDIA GeForce 9300GE
GPU: G98
Revision: A2
Memory Size - 256MB

and a lot more.

I would prefer to find a video card that can work with the system i already own. How do i find out what the power supply is for my video card?

After a lot more research...

it is a PCI-e
The computer has a 350w power supply.

[Tilitoon]

Well, the latest video card I recommended for a 300Watt PSU was a Radeon 5670, which is really a stretch because the recommended PSU wattage by the manufacturer is 400Watts, but since in reality it won't use much more than 200Watt on full load that should be fine. So you could go for something similar if you wish, this would allow you to play on medium / maybe high setting if you are lucky.

The other step would be to get to the Radeon 6850 / 6870 so you could play on high. However you will need to buy a new PSU. From what I understand, the HP m8525f is some kind of mini PC, the main problem will be to find a power supply and a video card that would fit inside that special form factor case.

[Bandalero]

You should be able to run it fine on low settings at the least. The open beta is a stress test so everything can seem laggy or sluggish as all the people pile onto the servers. I've seen even better processor/video card setups get laggy results this weekend. By release, maybe a couple days after the initial rush of the release, it should run fine.

I have a Radeon HD 4870 X2 and I've been in the beta for months. It hasn't been as bad as it has this weekend in a while.

Thanks for the help - with the correct driver identifying my graphics card the game runs much smoother. Big difference when I turn shadow off for sure. Low-Medium settings is just about right. *sigh* I'll never see a game on ultra settings

[Vantage]

Well, the latest video card I recommended for a 300Watt PSU was a Radeon 5670, which is really a stretch because the recommended PSU wattage by the manufacturer is 400Watts, but since in reality it won't use much more than 200Watt on full load that should be fine. So you could go for something similar if you wish, this would allow you to play on medium / maybe high setting if you are lucky.

The other step would be to get to the Radeon 6850 / 6870 so you could play on high. However you will need to buy a new PSU. From what I understand, the HP m8525f is some kind of mini PC, the main problem will be to find a power supply and a video card that would fit inside that special form factor case.

Awesome thanks for the help.

Like i said in my post, the computer has a 350w PSU. I have found a few GPU's that run 350w or less, but have no idea if they fit in the computer case. Looks likes its time to test out a few chips, and best buy's return policy.

[Vantage]

What do you all think of these?

Notice I am trying to start under my 350w PS.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/...d7f3943994en02

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/...6a94c8e6a3en02

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/...d790c6fa8fen02

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/...074e5cd4f2en02

[Xanithor]

might wanna check newegg.com or similar sight and get a second opinion on the power supply requirements. Bestbuy is usually reliable, but it is best just to make sure.

[Pythy]

Played the open beta on my current (but outdated) rig:
Core 2 Duo @ 2.66GHz
2GB Ram
GeForce 8800GTS
Resolution @ 1440x900 on Medium-high settings
At first I was a bit skeptical about the always online part that it might lag, especially being in Australia, but there was no significant delay that I can see. Graphics-wise it ran pretty smooth as well, much better than Sacred 2 where it would lag quite a bit during big boss fights. I've always been impressed with Blizzard's support for low end rigs with all their games and they did not disappoint with this one either.