# Computer upgrade and Myst3
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-upgrade-and-myst3/114956
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [June 19, 2002, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-upgrade-and-myst3/114956 "2002-06-19T21:01:55Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@maikai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maikai)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2002, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-upgrade-and-myst3/114956/1 "2002-06-19T21:01:55Z")
I have some questions about Myst 3 and my computer. (First let me say that I don’t know a lot about computers.) I bought this game and it didn’t work at all. Then I downloaded the patch version 1.22. Now it sort of works for about a minute or so. The New Game screen comes up, but the mouse is really slow. It asks for the second disc, and then the problems begin. The first time I tried it a movie started playing, but the sound and video were really choppy. After a few seconds, my computer crashed (I think). The sound got “stuck” like a broken record. The picture became rows of test pattern looking things. I tried the game again. This time, after popping in the second disc, black and white vertical lines appeared. A couple of times a blue screen popped up: the first one said it couldn’t read the disc. The second one said there was an error. (I don’t know which kind)
Now for the questions:
**Were these problems due to a bug in the software or were the system requirements not met?**
The system requirements are:
Windows 95/98/ME
233 MHz Pentium II or 300 MHz K6-2 or faster
64 MB RAM
250 MB Available Hard Disk Space
4X CD-ROM drive or faster
3D Acceleration Optional
Required 8MB Video Card
Supporting 32-bit color
DirectX 8 compatible SoundVideo Cards
I have:
Windows 98
Cyrix 6x86MX, MMX, ~233MHz (how does this compare with a Pentium?)
62 MB RAM
187 MB free hard drive space
I don’t know how to find the CD-ROM drive info
I don’t think I have a video card or
Supporting 32-bit color or
DirectX 8 compatible SoundVideo Cards ( how do I find out)
**Is it worth upgrading my computer?**
My computer works fine for what I use it for, but it could perform better. I just want to play this game.
**Should I buy more RAM or get another hard drive? What’s the difference?**
I thought about buying a zip drive and saving a bunch of movie clips and pictures, then deleting them off of my hard drive. Is this a viable solution?
**Should I by a better video card?**
I think I saw one that said it had 128MB. Would that work? Also, would it improve the quality of some movie clips I downloaded?
**Should I get another sound card?**
**Should I do all of the above?**
Like I said, although my computer could run better, I only want to play this game.
Last question (OH THANK GOD!) **Are these things that I can do myself?**
I replaced my modem with no difficulty. Would this be the same?
I hope you can help and I appreciate anyone who read this post. It was 2 pages long on Word!
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### Author:  [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2002, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-upgrade-and-myst3/114956/2 "2002-06-19T21:59:09Z")
Your computer doesn’t come close to running Myst 3. When they say ‘minimum requirements’ they mean it. In almost all cases I’ve seen running a game on a PC that equals the minimum requirements only means the game will technically run…not be playable. Your machine doesn’t even meet those specs. I also seriously doubt your video and/or soundcard are DirectX 8 compliant.
In short…buy a new PC. Seriously. If you wish to play games like Myst 3 or anything coming out today your whole PC will need an upgrade. In order to get your machine in line you’d need a new CPU which would require a new motherboard which would most likely require new memory and you’d need a new video and soundcard. That’s 85% of your computer right there meaning buying a new system would probably be cheaper and easier than upgrading yourself (especially since you say you don’t know much about PCs).
[sub]NOTE: Your Cyrix chip is significantly slower than a PII chip at the same clock rate. [/sub]
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### Author:  [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2002, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-upgrade-and-myst3/114956/3 "2002-06-19T22:10:30Z")
Most of the upgrades you’re mentioning are not worth tossing into your machine. Not to say they won’t help a little. Memory is a cheap and easy performance enhancer. I’d recommend 128M for any of the Win9x family and 256M for WinXP/2K/NT. Your motherboard will limit what you can go to and how so some research is necessary on your part. Call Crucial ([www.crucial.com](http://www.crucial.com)) and they can tell you what you need given your make/model/etc.
Your PC is generously worth maybe $100. There’s a certain point when you should cut your losses and just buy a new PC. Shoving money and upgrades into an old PC starts to be a losing proposition pretty quickly.
For the cost of the upgrades you’ve mentioned you can get a mid-class machine that’ll still do everything you want and play newer games.
Usually, when money is to be spent on a new machine, I recommend buying the most processor you can. It’s easy to add memory later. It’s easy to add hard drive later. It’s usually darn-near impossible to boost processor later.
HTH - Belrix
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### Author:  [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2002, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-upgrade-and-myst3/114956/4 "2002-06-19T22:29:09Z")
myst3 had many problems - Mine was solver by up-ing to win xp - ymmv
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### Author:  [@maikai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maikai)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2002, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-upgrade-and-myst3/114956/5 "2002-06-20T00:56:23Z")
Wow. I didn’t realize my computer was so out-of-date!
I’m glad I asked. I knew that the Dopers could help me.
Like I said, not playing the game is my only problem I have, everything else is fine so no new computer for me ☹
Thanks everyone. This is bad news, but it’s a relief in a way.