Thread: Cheap Computer to play lotro with?

My girlfriend plays lotro with me and her comp sux. (it's my old one). Usually the lag is at least tolerable but it's been getting unbearable lately, I think the hardware is close(r) to death. She doesn't play any other games besides this, so it's not worth it to drop a lot of money on a comp. Are there any comps in the $250-$350 range on newegg or anything that would run LOTRO smoothly? Does NOT have to be full graphics. She already has monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers. Thanks in advance for any help

I don't know computer prices in America except they're a lot, a LOT, cheaper than here.

Any middle of the road duo core with a discrete video card would be plenty, I think.

I play this game on a 3 year old laptop that doesn't have the greatest specs and the game works on high graphics settings and lower in some of the raids. I would think you should be able to find what you want pretty easily. Sadly I'm in Asia so I can't help you out with an exact system to buy, but these are my own specs and the game works.

2.53 duo core processor
4GB RAM
Raidion 5100 512 Graphics


So, as you can see, the game doesn't need much.

Getting into the specs game for the cheap, look for any of the older Llano based laptops. They should be getting cheap as Trinity was just announced (released?). Their APUs have a built in graphic unit that's pretty good for the price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834215371

This model is $400, which is about as cheap as I saw in a very quick look. It is equiped with the A6 processor which will do your basic stuff, but don't expect to be the fastest machine in the world. The 6520G is a decent graphics unit which should do fine with LOTRO.

I hope this helps! Good luck!

Originally Posted by Tennyson

My girlfriend plays lotro with me and her comp sux. (it's my old one). Usually the lag is at least tolerable but it's been getting unbearable lately, I think the hardware is close(r) to death. She doesn't play any other games besides this, so it's not worth it to drop a lot of money on a comp. Are there any comps in the $250-$350 range on newegg or anything that would run LOTRO smoothly? Does NOT have to be full graphics. She already has monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers. Thanks in advance for any help

What resolution does she want to run at? What is the computer that she currently is using that will not meet the requirements? Does she want a laptop or desktop? Is your old PC something that you built or a full system purchased from somewhere like HP or dell? If you're comfortable and experienced building PCs yourself, then swapping out only a couple of components may be your best option.

If you aiming for a desktop Try Dell. or Gateway. If you are smart you can ask a few friends that know about computers. You might be able to Build a berebone system and use parts of your old computer Like hard disk. CDrom and such. With Intergrade Grapics. With some Ram and windows CD you looking at around $400.

Before you go looking for a new machine...

What OS does her machine use? If it's XP, make sure it's got at leat 2GB of RAM. More is better, but if you go over 3GB, you won't be able to use all of it. For Vista...consider upgrading to Win7. For Vista or Win7 go for around 6-8GB or RAM. Look at what are now "low end" discrete graphics cards to see if they are a generation or two newer than what her machine has. If so, upgrade. Be careful to stay within the capabilities of the power supply (unless you want to replace that, too). Get as much graphics memory as you can.

--W. H. Heydt

Old Used Programmer

groupon has a deal for a $700 dell laptop for $400:

http://www.groupon.com/pages/gg-dell...p-deal-options


think that would work?

I'd be surprised if it didn't.

Do you know her computer's specs?

Just curious because, assuming you have no intention of getting the highest graphics on it, I'm surprised it doesn't work already. Of course there are tons of variables form one computer to another, even if they have the exact same specs.

Just for reference I'm running it on....
Vista 32bit
2.8g P4
2.75 gigs of RAM (don't ask....) @ 333mhz
Geforce 6200 with 512m

I have a butt load of strikes going against me, yet I can run everything on medium/high. I get a bunch of hitching in Bree/21st/Galtrev, but not enough to make it unplayable, and all other areas run very smoothly.

Her old comp would've worked great for lotro back in the day - I know because it's the comp I played the free trial weeks on when it first came out! Unfortunately between then and now there has been some serious hardware damage, mainly to the motherboard according to the guy at the computer store. When I brought my comp into him years ago he said I might as well buy a new computer. Maybe I should take it to someone else and find out what is salvageable from the current comp.

You should be able to find a cheap used laptop or desktop to run this on no problem. I'm currently stuck using an older laptop, Dell Latitude D630 that's about 4 years old. I run graphics in low and take off post processing and tune down the other detailed graphics and it runs great. I never run into issues in any instances or even when raiding. You can get refurbished D630's on newegg for pretty cheap.

For desktops I've run the game on my PC at work which isn't anything to write home about, Dell OptiPlex 740's, 755's, and 780's with 2-4gb RAM and integrated graphics cards. Again graphics were run in low with post processing off and most detail turned down as well, but I didn't have any issues. I know our refurbished ones are sold for approx. $150-220 so I'm sure you can find something comparable in that price range.

The cheapest thing that would play well is a ~2.8 GHz or so K8 (aka Athlon, Opteron and friends), single-core. Can probably be had from a junkyard now. A Gt240 which can be had for $40 or so and is power friendly.

Must have 3 GB RAM. Put in a modern HD.

I've been building my own PCs from scratch for about ten years now. I don't really know what they're worth pre-built from a "Big Box Store" but I assume they're decently cheap. You could easily go online to a site like Best Buy and check there. Anything that is slightly over the minimum system requirements will play the game fine. LOTRO is not graphic intensive by any means. I am sure you could get a pre-built PC for ~$300-$400 bucks.

EDIT: One thing I would recommend is getting a PC over a laptop though. PCs are the king of gaming. Sure there are gaming laptops out there but the PC will always win.

i3 2100 - $120
8G DDR3 1600 RAM - $50
500GB HDD - $50
motherboard - $50
Powersupply - $50
Case - $30

Total - $350

Just made a very similar system and can was running skraids on high/veryhigh with no lag.

Originally Posted by Korgain

i3 2100 - $120
8G DDR3 1600 RAM - $50
500GB HDD - $50
motherboard - $50
Powersupply - $50
Case - $30

Total - $350

Just made a very similar system and can was running skraids on high/veryhigh with no lag.

You ran LOTRO without a GPU or operating system? Hardcore.

Originally Posted by DurrHurfles

You ran LOTRO without a GPU or operating system? Hardcore.

Or a monitor even. LOTRO via braille.

Hey guys, thanks for all the help. Someone from another forum suggested I order this:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/eMachine...&skuId=4245104

And replace the GPU with the one from my current comp:

Nvidia Geforce 7600 GT.

Do you guys think that would do the trick? Thanks!

If I am not mistaken the more this game keeps updating with new releases the more instense it will be on your comp....I think your better of just paying a little extra for a good comp than trying to get by on the min and being burned again a few months .......if even that......later.

I remember when I first started playing DDO a few years back and the comp I was on played it just fine....by the third year I had to make some changes to keep playing it and even all that I did still left me laggy at times.