Rangarok Online System Requirements/Performance FAQ Version 1.01 by Strider VM (stridervm@pinoymail.com) For the Microsoft Windows operating system. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- FAQ Changes since v1.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whoops, I accidentally removed something in the FAQ (Ping times), I just reinputted it again...... My sincere apologies..... ^-^;; Also corrected minor spelling errors. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents ------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Processors II. RAM (Random Access Memory) III. Video Card IV. Sound Card V. Internet Connection VI. Recommended Setups VII. Improving Game Speed/Latency VIII. Thanks ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ragnarok Online is an anime-themed MMORPG, also, RO uses Direct3D for graphics so a Direct3D card is required, since this game isn't really optimized (speed-wise, compared to similar games such as Everquest, Counter-Strike or Diablo 2) You need a somewhat fast system to play this game without big lag or performance problems.......... In Ragnarok Online, the most important things for smooth performance are Processor, followed by RAM and then Video Card, it means that a fast processor can compensate for the RAM and the Video Card......... Of course, if you have any corrections or any additions that you want to suggest, you can e-mail me at stridervm@pinoymail.com . ------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Processors ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here are the current processors that can run Ragnarok Online (fast enough) and my comments about them : Pentium MMX (166 to 233Mhz) I wouldn't even try unless you have a 384MB RAM and a Geforce 2 video card, but then, if you have these equipment, what are you doing in that processor? It can run, but REAL SLOW, try turning EVERYTHING to the lowest setting..... And sound and music off too..... Celeron Series : (300+) A good, all around system, I'd suggest a Duron though.... Pentium 2 : (233 to 500 Mhz) Performance-wise, it can beat a K6-2 system at equal speeds, however, since this uses a newer technology, it should be faster (And more expensive too!) recommended speed for playing Ragnarok Online is at least a 300Mhz system with a Riva TNT. 400 or faster is better....... Pentium 3 : (450 to 1000 Mhz) Works great, no problems. Since it's just a beefed up Pentium 2.... Pentium 4 : (1400Mhz and still going faster than 2800 Mhz) The latest in Intel's processors, there have been reported incompabilities in some programs due to how this processor is made, fortunately, there's no problem in Ragnarok Online (In my tests anyway.) . But these are the fastest (and most expensive) processor in the market today. Cyrix M2/MX Series : (266 to 400Mhz) I don't like this processors, the K6 processors are MUCH faster, and they generate less heat... treat this as you would a Pentium MMX processor. Cyrix M3 Series : (600 to ???Mhz) Well, it's much faster than their M2 series, but Intel P3 and AMD's Duron processors still are much better choices, and even the Intel Celeron is faster...... :( K6-2 Series : (200 to 550Mhz) The minimum I could suggest if you want to play Ragnarok Online is 450 Mhz, well, 400 would work but make sure your video card is at least an Nvidia Riva TNT. K6-2+ : (533 Mhz) You can consider this to be a K6-2 Processor that failed AMD's heat tests or something, I don't know, it's 533 (97x5.5) , most motherboards don't support that speed, and it needs only 2.0v , instead of the usual 2.2v , but I tried running it on 560Mhz (112x5) and it ran fine, I also jacked up the voltage to 2.1v just to make sure anyway, this processor has enough power to make gameplay smooth enough. K6-3 Series : (400 to 500Mhz) These are the fastest Socket 7 processors known, of course, not as fast as a Pentium 2 on equal speed (still), but faster than the equivalent K62 anyway.... AMD Duron (550 to 900Mhz) It's my most recommended for now, since it's very cheap and runs pretty fast too, faster than a Celeron, yet cheaper. AMD Athlon (500 to 1400Mhz) Well, these are the fastest AMD processors. What do you expect!? ;p Can go toe-to-toe with the Pentium 4's, cheaper too..... Also, I'm lacking information of available processors speeds and even so on the not-so-known processors (I know there are other Socket 7 processors besides AMD, Cyrix and Intel processors, also I think there are other speeds some processors have but haven't seen it yet.), if anyone can contribute anything in this section, please feel free to inform me............. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- II. RAM : ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 32MB It's pretty much suicide to play Ragnarok Online in this RAM, (Heck, even Counter-Strike would choke on this RAM!) you might even wait as much as 3 minutes for loading of one level to finish... ^-^;; 64MB Still not good enough, unless you have an Athlon processor..... 128MB My recommended size for smooth playing, but loading is still dependent on the processor... (K6 about 15 seconds, on Duron about 8) 256MB The most recommended to make sure you don't wait longer than 10 seconds while the game is loading, and anything more than 256 is pretty much useless unless your using Windows 2000..... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- III. Video Cards : ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Voodoo 1 / Banshee : They work! (Suprisingly) But, a lot of the extra graphics (transparencies, the water, etc) are missing, also the game is also unstable if you're using a Voodoo 1........... Voodoo 2 : Well, the extra graphical effects can be seen, but on the Dual Voodoo 2's I have, I'm having crashing problems when trying to play RO's for a long time....... Voodoo 3 and above : The Voodoo card recommended for RO, if you're having problems, click the "Voodoo 3 user" checkbox.......... Riva 128 : They work, but they are pretty slow........... Riva TNT/2 : They work pretty fine, the basic requirements for smooth playing in Ragnarok Online............... Geforce Series : Well, these are overkill for RO, so this one works as well...... S3 Savage 3D : Well, they are faster than the Riva 128, but not as fast as the Riva TNTs........... But works nonetheless. S3 Savage 4 : Works well for Ragnarok Online, no problems in my system..... (Expect the occasional hangups on Socket 7 systems.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- IV. Sound Cards : ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, in Ragnarok Online, they don't matter much if they are in ISA or PCI, however in systems with really fast processors (faster than 600Mhz) they can be the source of system choke-ups (In which a systems performance is limited by an outdated hardware.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- V. Internet Connections : ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Primarily, the most important in Ragnarok Online (Or any online game) is how close you are to the server (ping speed), and how reliable your ISP's connection with the game's server........ Which means even if you have a T3, but your ping to the server is 700, then the extra bandwidth would be of no help..... ISDN (128KBit) : Since these are generally directly connected, they are very reliable, these are a good choice. DSL (128KBit to 1Mbit) : These are quite the same as ISDN, more bandwidth but has slightly less reliability. Cable Modem : These setups can be considered a double-edged sword, some providers can provide really low latency, others, the other way around, since some providers prefer bandwidth over speed.... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- VI. Recommended System Setups ------------------------------------------------------------------------- For smooth performance (minimum) : K6 2-3 Processor at 500Mhz or Pentium II 300Mhz Video Card : Nvidia Riva TNT 2 RAM : 256 MB Sound Card : ISA or PCI Based Internet : 56K The good performance : AMD Duron/Athlon processor at 700Mhz Video Card : TNT2 / Geforce RAM : 128MB Sound Card : PCI Based Internet : DSL / ISDN Best Performance : Intel Pentium 4 at 1400Mhz / Athlon 1400Mhz Video Card : Geforce2MX Sound Card : PCI Based Internet : DSL / ISDN ------------------------------------------------------------------------- VII. Improving Game Speed/Latency ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Try to get the latest drivers for your video card. If the actual manufacturer of the video card is out of business (ie. 3DFX) You can try searching search engines such as Yahoo! To look for your actual video card drivers. The frameskip command (/skip) does improve game speed too, however, depending on the setup and/or hardware you have, these things might happen, in which case, it's best to enable frameskip. 1)If you have a slow system. it will slowdown your gameplay... Since frameskip is made to "skip frames" to keep your game running at the same speed as the other players. 2)Another problem that can occur is, the system runs at full speed (60 fps) however, the game seems to slow down, but this "slowdown" only happens visually, gamewise, the game does not slow down, and then suddenly the game speed runs really fast to compensate for the delayed frames, this problem is very noticable in FPS shooters such as Counter-Strike. Turning the effects also help too (/effects) , especially if there are lots of spellcasters in the area you're leveling up. There are programs that can help improve your Ragnarok Online (Game speed and/or lag) For Game Speed, I suggest PowerTweak (www.powertweak.com) since their program, besides an system optimizer, also acts as a cooler. For ping/lag, download programs such as EasyMTU (http://www.rob.cybercomm.nl), They modify some settings on the system registry and they can also improve your general internet connection, they may not be a magic bullet, but at least try to squeeze the last drop of your systems performance..... :) Also, to know your "ping" (How fast your ISP can send information from their server to RO's servers) , go to your MS-DOS prompt and type : "ping www.ragnarokonline.com" (without quotation marks) , you should see a line similar to this : Reply from 211.239.123.168: bytes=32 time=524ms TTL=112 This shows how fast your connection to the server you're "pinging" to, so the lower the number the faster your connection to RO can be, In this example the "time" is 524ms, it means it takes about half a second for your "command" to reach the RO servers. Which means it also the delay from your click and the character actually walking. If your actual ping in the RO server is higher than 600MS, I suggest a better ISP..... This is also a necessity since RO lags, especially in areas that are crowded (Yoyo Land, Payon Cave, etc.) and having a good ping means you can react faster when you are mobbed ...... Besides, if your actions are delayed by a second, don't expect to MVP bosses, even if you're playing a magic using character. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- VIII. Thanks ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gravity for making Ragnarok Online, now i they would be better at managing this game...... GameFAQS for posting this FAQ............. FAQ 2003 Strider VM, no rights reserved...... ^-^;; -------------------------End of file-------------------------------