Does My Computer Just Suck Or is It RPG Maker

[iblamevictoria]

I'd like to preface this by saying that I do, for a fact, know that my computer is trash that belongs in the garbage.

But yeah.

Whenever I test my game I get a problem where the music or sound effects do not play on time. They are delayed and some of the shorter sound effects do not play at all. Is this a known problem or is my computer JUST that bad? It'd be nice to be able to hear all my music and sound effects at their proper times to make sure everything sounds right.

The delay is slight (anything from a second to around three or four) but it's very distracting and definitely makes my game sound trashy despite how much effort I've put into making competent music.

Thank for any answers.

 

[Dad3353]

@iblamevictoria ...

The lag you describe sounds like the hard disk having to load every time. This would suggest a shortage of free memory. If your computer really is that old and under-nourished, is it worthwhile, now, adding extra memory (or is that even an option..?)..?
Another cause for slow loading could be a fragmented and over-full hard disk. Again, not much room for improvement, but every little could help.
Beyond those suggestions, little scope for redemption, I'm afraid, sorry.

 

[iblamevictoria]

@iblamevictoria ...
Beyond those suggestions, little scope for redemption, I'm afraid, sorry.

Yeah my computer has problems loading JUST about every game past the year 2007 so I think that's definitely the problem. I'm not exactly a computer buff, and am a slightly poor college kid, so I dunno if messing around on the inside of my computer would be a viable option.

How much free hard disk space do you suggest? Or would that be variable depending on what sort of hardware I'm working with?

Thanks for the response, even if it's a lost cause. Kind of more of an inconvenience than a total brick wall anyways.

 

[Dad3353]

@iblamevictoria ...

If you're not at least a semi-geek, I'd suggest doing very little, as more harm than good can be done with insufficient knowledge or experience. There are, however, one or two fairly safe approaches.
One has to clearly distinguish between free memory and disk space. For the latter; that's quite simple; a Right-click on a disk icon in the Explorer, select Properties from the resulting Menu, and the disk space is displayed. It's not a Good Idea to have less than 10% free space.
Free memory will depend on how much physical memory is installed (Right-click on the 'My Computer' icon on the Desktop, 'Properties'; Memory is displayed...), and the programmes running in the background, such as anti-virus applications. If memory is limited, it's wise to have as little as possible running in the background, so any 'gadgets' and toys should be chosen carefully.
A useful (but potentially dangerous..!) tool to have is CCleaner. The free version does all that is required in cleaning out Temp files and such, that can clutter up a hard disk. To be used with caution, though.
Tell us what System you're running, and what the hardware specification of your PC is, and we could maybe recommend a course of action (or, indeed, inaction..!)..?

 

[iblamevictoria]

@iblamevictoria ...
Tell us what System you're running, and what the hardware specification of your PC is, and we could maybe recommend a course of action (or, indeed, inaction..!)..?

I'm running on an Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU N2840 (2.16 Gh, 2159 Mh, Dual Core) processor and my computer has 4 GB's of RAM with 3.88 of that being usable. I've also got 104 GB free of 465 GB on my disk.

It's pretty entry level stuff from what I understand. I may just need to save up money to buy I real computer, even to run an RPG Maker game properly.

 

[Dad3353]

@iblamevictoria ...

Yes, there's not much to be done to upgrade that, I'm afraid. Such a PC won't be able to move to a 64-bit os, probably, and so can't handle more memory, even if there were memory modules available. Any extra memory that the PC needs will come from 'virtual' memory on the hard drive. The normal symptom for too little memory is hard drive 'thrashing', in which the drive is constantly being solicited; you'll see the disk access light blinking furiously most of the time. It might help just a little if you de-fragment the hard drive (Right-click the drive icon, 'Tools' and de-fragment...), but it'll only make a marginal difference. Saving up your pennies, I'm afraid, seems like the best option. Never mind; at least you tried...

 

[iblamevictoria]

@iblamevictoria ...
Saving up your pennies, I'm afraid, seems like the best option. Never mind; at least you tried...

Hey thanks anyways, it's good to know what my next step is. It was still pretty helpful advice.