Game is too slow to play

And im not tech savy... So im not sure what the problem is. Is it my internet service or my computer? Ive been having issues with this for awhile now on and off some releases are worse than others but this most recent release is the laggiest of them all for me. Theyve all been quite laggy for me. Right now I cant enter any towns it crashes any time I try. Im certain I probably need to upgrade to be able to have a smooth gaming experience. I dont have much to spend though, ill have to save slowly. Im not going to rush it. Heres my system specs:
Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU N2840 @ 2.16 GHz
4 GB ram/3.89 usable
64 bit operating system, x64-based processor
windows 8
Cant find info on graphics card...
This is verbatim info from my computer/properties.
I passed chem 1 and 2 and I was the math wiz of the class in college but when it comes to computers I basically only know how to use them. =O
So if any of you tech savy people got some pointers I would be very appreciative. If I can get in the game sometime ill definitely spare some gold if your in need.

 

SOTA minimum RAM required is 8 GB... I have 6 GB RAM and it runs but it's using all of it... unfortunately... I also need to upgrade my RAM...

 

Your processor could stand to be upgraded and you could probably stand to get more memory....running Windows 8 on 4 GB ram can be done, but it's not a satisfactory experience, particularly for gaming (and memory is pretty cheap). I would imagine your graphics card probably needs an upgrade as well, even though you haven't listed the specs.

You can find your GFX card info by running a dxdiag. If you move your mouse to the bottom left corner and start typing (at least I think, I don't have a Windows 8 UI in front of me atm) and type dxdiag (it should automatically find it) and run it, you can click on the "Display" tab, it should list the video card information (just copy and paste into this thread).

 

Ah thanks. Looks like I got an intel(R) graphics card 1792 MB total available graphics memory, 32 MB dedicated video memory, 1760 MB shared system memory.

 

It seems you are running on a laptop?
I had a allegedly good gaming laptop, but since upgrading main pc and playing on that there is a world of difference between. And my laptop had an ellegedly good mobile gpu as well as an integrated one.
You don't mention your graphic's card, i assume it is an integrated one, which is another negative for good performance here. A lot of the work is done by the GPU i believe at present (I think you might see improvements in release 34 as there is a new Unity build which helps spread the load to the cpu i think)

 

Yeah, that integrated Intel graphics chip is not going to cut it, unfortunately =( You could get a gaming laptop, but they can be a bit pricey. You would get more bang for your buck from a desktop and you can upgrade it if you need to (laptops have limited upgrade options).

 

There are some good laptops for gaming but most of them are pricey.

If funds are tight, go to Ebay or Dell Outlet.
(Dell Outlet (9/22/2016) has a sale on some pc's with 35% off)

I would recommend a refurbished Alienware from Dell Outlet.
Get the best you can afford but if possible an i-7 processor.
The ram can be upgraded later when you get more funds from Crucial.com.

FWIW

 

Just a word of warning on gaming laptops, especially with this game. They do cost a lot more for a lot less with regards a desktop pc, they are difficult to upgrade and if anything goes wrong you are generally stuffed for weeks for repairs, where with if any thing goes on a pc it is quite easy to locate the issue and fix yourself generally.
As said i had a top range MSI gaming laptop and even though it ran some games ok, it didn't like this one and the lag i suffered in towns even back in early releases wasn't good. Unless you plan on being mobile with your gaming, or need the space, i would never buy another one to play games on personally, would always stick with a pc.

 

I got a pc that was "gaming quality" that ive warehoused since 2012. I think its like half the hard drive space of this laptop ive got and half the ram... I think ill have to dig it out. Would it be better to upgrade that than to buy a whole new one? I have a connection to a computer builder, the same guy who built this one for me. Havent talked to him since, played D and D with him a couple times =P

 

Just to help with establish the baseline, I have 8GB surface pro 2, which has Intel HD 4400. The game is "playable" at the "fastest* settings on windowed mode at 1440 X 900

 

couple more things you can do to get the best performance out of those 4gb's of ram without disabling firewalls/antivirus:

1) increase the size of your paging file (advanced system settings - advanced performance options)
2) set windows to performance (advanced system settings)
3) goes without saying but make sure nothing else is running. Best way is to disable anything you don't need running right in the startup options, then use task manager to kill everything else eating up memory you can.
4) clean up desktop of any icons you can spare, put them in a sub folder or just remove shortcuts altogether.

And I guess it might help to download the game directly instead of through steam, because steam does eat up a bit of memory. You can also lower the resolution in SotA in-game options as much as possible, and then increase it a bit at a time until the game becomes unplayable, and essentially find the sweet spot that way.

 

In general laptops are bad for gaming. They easily overheat and they never have the same power as a desktop computer. It sounds to me like you should have a new desktop computer built. It costs less and is more effective at gaming. If you know someone who can help you with that, even better.

Tip: Stay away from Celeron processors. Get an Intel i7 and with RAM being cheap you should easily get 16GB. Next to that get the best Nvidia graphics card you can afford, their latest is called Pascal and model numbers range in the 1000's, such as 1070 and 1080.

 

Few more thoughts.

If it's a laptop, make sure it's plugged in and the battery is fully charged for max performance. I've got 6gb ram and it starts getting super laggy on battery after like 10-20 mins.

You can also clear your memory cache by typing the following in start/run:

rundll32 advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks

BUT be warned, this process can take hours, and during that time you won't be able to play and shouldn't try to. It's something you should do either before bed or before you go to work with nothing else running. You'll see a process called 'defrag' in the task manager, and once that's gone you're good to go.

This next one doesn't take much time, like a few mins max:

ipconfig /flushdns

It's a good idea to do this if you're trying to play in multiplayer mode, which I wouldn't recommend in your case. Single player online FTW, it's pretty much all my laptop can handle on 6b ram so..

 

My recommendation would be to talk to your computer builder friend and have him make some suggestions based on what you have already in that gaming PC. Focus on RAM (get as much as you can afford, at least 16GB) and video card (you can get a mid-range Nvidia card for a couple hundred bucks, which will run SoTA fine), and to a lesser extent the processor. As mentioned above, steer away from Celeron's and if you can afford it, get an i7 (i5 would be okay as well).

If you send me your specs on your gaming PC (PM me) I can make some recommendations as well (also let me know what your budget is).

 

Thanks for all the help everyone. the advice is appreciated =P
Ive heard of the I7 before, im guessing there quite pricey.

Ill be on a work stretch these next few days, and the misses will be out working at the end of it so ill be possibly home alone and have time to boot up the old relic and put the specs up here. Thanks so much for your advice!

On another thought... What kind of tech could I get for a desktop that would allow me to comfortably lounge back on a couch while playing this game? Some kind of special programmable game pad?