to play ya processor speed is fine, but ya might wanna upgrade your card. For running a MP server, you will need much much higher specs.

Minimum Configuration

Windows® XP, Windows Me®, Windows 2000®, or Windows 98 SE®
(Windows NT® and Windows 95® are not supported)
600 MHz processor
128 MB RAM
4x CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive
1.3 GB free hard disk space plus space for saved games (additional space required for Windows swap-file and DirectX 8.2 installation)
16 MB video card with DirectX 8.2 compatible driver
DirectX 8.2 compatible sound card
Keyboard
Mouse
An Internet Connection for Multiplayer (56k v.90 or faster required)
Recommended Configuration
1 GHz or faster processor
256 MB RAM
8x or faster CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive
32 MB video card with DirectX 8.2 compatible driver
A Broadband Type Internet Connection or LAN Network for Multiplayer
Recommended for Serving Multiplayer Games
Dedicated computer with a Broadband Type Internet Connection or LAN Network: DSL, Cable, T1, T3, etc.

Hmmm...maybe I need to be a little more specific.

My current system is a

PIII 800
512Mb memory
GF3 Ti500 64Mb
A bunch O swap
Running XP...I even know what XP services to shut off for the maximum hardware performance.

Considering I have 2 potential servers.

Server A: which is currently running. Dual Xeon 600, 1Gb memory, Diamond Viper 770+ Ultra GF2 32Mb, SCSI Raid 5 104Gb running on Win2k Server. On Comcast Cable Pro 3.5Mbs down and 1.5Mbs Up.

Server B: I could relocate to workl which is a Dual Xeon 533, 2Gb memory, SCSI Raid 5 68Gb, TNT2 32Mb running Win2k server. Work has a very under utilized DS3 connection.

I guess I am just curious as to what kind of performance I can expect to see or if I need to start looking for newer hardware.

Lance

What XP services need to be shut off for the maximum hardware performance?

Id like to know that as well

Dont really mess with the services unless u know what they are. There are websites to assist you on that.

Im running FL on a PIII 450, 128MB, TNT2 Ultra 32MB system. And it runs swell. I'd say the minimum requirements set by Microsoft is correct because in some of the later missions, it does slow to unplayable conditions. By the way, im playin it at 1024x768x32 with max details.

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

hrm i think i can run it (not too sure bout my video and audio cards, i'm not that much of a nerd) but will it run good on xp. because half of the programs old and new that i have or had do not work and/or LIKE xp because of some nt ****.



god i hate this os so much.

-Nuff Said

www.blackviper.com has an excellent XP services tweak guide.

I realize that no one knows me, so here is a little introduction. I have 28 years in the IT industry as a network design engineer. I have beta tested 42 games and have been invloved in the development of several applications. I hold a BSEE in CS, my certifications are MCSE+I on NT4 & 2000, MCP XP, MSD on SQL, exchange 2k and VS6.

Now that we have that out of the way. I am a Computer Game Addict.

www.blackviper.com is an excellent resource for tweaking your systems.

Here are some safe services that you can turn off while playing big games.
Windows XP In a gaming configuration:

You get to the services by opening the Control Panel and then select Performance and maintenance, then select Administrative tools, then services.

Services that are totally safe to turn off. By safe I mean there are no adverse adverse affects to the system by turning off these services. Shutting down anything further can have bad side effects depending on your particular configuration.

Alerter
Application Layer gateway service
Application management
Background Intelligent Transfer Service
ALL Anti-virus services
Cryptographic Services
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Distributed Transaction Coordinator
Error Reporting service
Event Log
Help and support
Indexing service
IPSEC Services
Machine Debug Manager
Messenger
MS Software Shadow copy provider
Network Location awareness
Print Spooler
QOS
Remote Registry
Terminal Services
Task Scheduler
System Event Notification Service
Server Service
System Restore Service
Upload manager

These are SAFE to turn off on a temporary basis when playing most games and will release about 80-100Mb of memory on average for game use.

Do not forget to turn them back on or reboot after you are done.

Blackviper has other more advanced tweaks and things that can make XP unstable, but they will maximize your game performance. He has definitely done his research. Some of his twaeks are NOT for the novice or someone with little knowledge of systems.

I appreciate your feedback.

Lance

thank you Lance : )

those xp tweaks are absolutely wonderfull. tried several games using them and they all run alot faster now.

I did forget to mention that gaming on XP is a different experience. Try using the compatability mode on a few of the games exe files. That helps many of of older games. Not all mind you but many.

it seems that memory requirements seem to vary from machine/onstallation to machine, but most of the time around 512Mb of memory is where the OS seems to breathe better. XP and games seem to smooth out around that range of memory. I know what MS and the devs say, but ask them all what THEY are running.

Also it seems that I hear more complaints about XP on PIIIs than any other processor. I am thinking that there may be an issue with XP and PIIIs. This seems especially evident when playing games. Maybe it is because the majority of processors are PIIIs or there is a problem. It is hard to tell sometimes.

One last big one (If you didn't know already), DEFRAGMENT often! I cannot stress enough how important it is. Rules I live by. Defragment your hard disk every week. Defrag before installing new software and after uninstalling software. This helps your machine in so many ways. 2000 and XP are very succeptible to TMP file corruption, clear all your tmp files before you defrag. There are several good products on the market and Windows has it built in. The retail versions allow you to schedule it. Set and forget it till you play games then shut the service off.

Sorry I get carried away

Lance