I recall playing it on I think a PII-700 with a Riva TNT or maybe a Geforce 2 GTS back when it came out and it was fine. It was not a remotely demanding game. I think you can take it's system requirements as an honest assessment of what provides a good experience, and not merely "It technically runs, what more do you want?"

Baldur's Gate 2 isn't speed sensitive, so it will run fine even on newer systems like an Athlon64 or a Pentium 4. More RAM can help, especially during some of the intense battles in the expansion pack, which feature lots of spell effects. It feels pretty smooth with 512MB RAM.

I also recommend running it under Win98SE with either a SBLive or Audigy card using VxD drivers. That way, you will get the proper EAX 2.0 occlusion effects. These are missing when the game is played under WinXP using WDM drivers, in which case you only get the reverb. It's not a big deal either way, but having that little extra justifies playing the game on a retro rig. BTW, Baldur's Gate 2 does support 5.1 surround sound when using EAX.

Lastly, be sure to turn on 3D Acceleration in the external config utility. Spell effects will look nicer, and the fog of war will be smooth, instead of using that ugly checkerboarding from the software rendering mode.

Ah good point about the VxD drivers, and 3D acceleration. Probably try it on my Pii400 TNT2 Live! 128M, I should get the EAX as this is a Win98SE PC.
I do have a faster Win98SE PC - P3-1G V5 M80 256M. However, it's a non-creative soundcard as I swapped out (Live 5.1?) for a Diamond card. Plus it might be overkill for this game. Roll on the weekend, got an idea for a gaming session 😀

JayAlien wrote on 2024-12-05, 17:47:

I've been thinking of having a (re) play-through of Baldur's Gate 2. I know what the recommended requirements are (PII, 64MB) but wondered if anyone had any opinions on whether this was overly optimistic, or what this game really needs for 800x600 (probably the only resolution option).

Original game uses simple script for chars, so Pentium II must be enough. But if you gonna play with mods, for example famous Stratagems/SCS, they will add more NPC and more code to scripts and you'll need more CPU just to calculate what every NPC will do in next turn.

For the original Baldur's Gate, I've ran it on a 400Mhz PII, a 550Mhz PIII, 2.53Ghz P4 and a C2D E8400, all on 98SE using an Audigy 2 ZS VxD drivers over the last three years - I replay this every year.
It really needs a fast CPU and isn't very smooth on the PII and PIII. Very smooth on the P4, but has the occasional hiccup here and there, but flawless on the E8400.
Baldur's Gate 2 is even more CPU intensive, so for the sake of load times and performamce with busy fights with numerous enemies, the minimum I would run would be a 1Ghz PIII, but period correct performance is acceptable, then no worries, enjoy!

Interestingly (chiming in for the heck of it) I first played BG1 and BG2 on a G4 PowerPC Mac. At the time I felt like it ran great! But that was ages ago, so who knows if it actually did or if I'm remembering things more fondly than reality.

Thanks all for the responses so far!
So it sounds like this game responds well to CPU power. Everything I have past the P3 1.4ghz is a WinXP PC.

I am a big fan of audio and want to maximize the sound enjoyment. If I played on a later PC it would be on one of the Audigy cards. To Joseph_Joestar's point - it sounds like I want the VxP drivers to get optimal audio with the full EAX 2.0 implementation. Is the full EAX2.0 with the occlusion limited to the VxD drivers under Win98SE? Is it possible or recommended to run the VxP flavoured drivers under WinXP to achieve the same sound? Or are the VxP drivers more a Win98/ME sort of thing?

I appreciate the time taken to read this, I know this seems like minutia but I enjoy looking for ways to enjoy the games I like in their 'best' possible format.

JayAlien wrote on 2024-12-07, 04:01:

I am a big fan of audio and want to maximize the sound enjoyment. If I played on a later PC it would be on one of the Audigy cards. To Joseph_Joestar's point - it sounds like I want the VxP drivers to get optimal audio with the full EAX 2.0 implementation. Is the full EAX2.0 with the occlusion limited to the VxD drivers under Win98SE? Is it possible or recommended to run the VxP flavoured drivers under WinXP to achieve the same sound? Or are the VxP drivers more a Win98/ME sort of thing?

VxD drivers are not available under NT-based Windows versions (NT, 2000, XP and later). Those operating systems are simply incapable of using them. But like I said before, occlusion is the only thing that Baldur's Gate 2 will be missing if you don't use VxD drivers. Reverb and 5.1 surround sound will still work fine when running that game under WinXP.

As to why this happens, some older games which predate WinXP (including the Baldur's Gate series) are likely hardcoded to use VxD drivers for certain EAX functions, since that was the norm back in the day. Need for Speed 4: High Stakes is another example, as shown in this video by Phil. Similarly, American McGee's Alice can only enable reverb with VxD drivers.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2024-12-07, 06:54:

VxD drivers are not available under NT-based Windows versions (NT, 2000, XP and later). Those operating systems are simply incapable of using them. But like I said before, occlusion is the only thing that Baldur's Gate 2 will be missing if you don't use VxD drivers. Reverb and 5.1 surround sound will still work fine when running that game under WinXP.

I'm assuming that Win ME is a non-NT-based OS?
The reason I am asking is I remembered that when I 'upgraded' my Piii 1.4Ghz PC to WinXP, I added a hard-drive, un-cabling the old Win ME install hard-drive but leaving it physically inside the PC. Switching the cables back has given me easy access to the fastest non-XP PC I have.
Looking at the drivers on the Audigy 1 in this PC, I have the WDM drivers installed. So if this PC will get me the full EAX experience then I'll dig out my Audigy 1 install disk and get the VxD drivers on here.
Thanks!

EDIT - update
I removed the WDM drivers and installed the VxD drivers. I ran the goldmine demo and I can hear the occlusion on that section so I think I'm in a good position. Now I have to find time to sit and play the game 😉

JayAlien wrote on 2024-12-11, 01:02:

I'm assuming that Win ME is a non-NT-based OS?
The reason I am asking is I remembered that when I 'upgraded' my Piii 1.4Ghz PC to WinXP, I added a hard-drive, un-cabling the old Win ME install hard-drive but leaving it physically inside the PC. Switching the cables back has given me easy access to the fastest non-XP PC I have.

WinME is not NT based, so it can use both VxD and WDM drivers. It does slightly favor WDM, since it was released during the transition period when Microsoft starting pushing those onto developers, but it still supports both.

I removed the WDM drivers and installed the VxD drivers. I ran the goldmine demo and I can hear the occlusion on that section so I think I'm in a good position.

Just to be clear, occlusion is only missing in Baldur's Gate 2 when using WDM drivers. In other games/applications (including that Goldmine demo) it should work fine with either driver set. If you want to test occlusion in Baldur's Gate 2, it can easily be done in the very first area of the game (Irenicus' Dungeon). When you're fighting the goblins there, their voices will be slightly muffled if they are off-screen or behind closed doors.

P.S.

If you're using surround sound, be sure that your speaker configuration is set to 5.1 in both the Windows Control Panel and Creative's Speaker Settings. If this is working correctly, you should occasionally hear spellcasting sounds and footsteps from your rear speakers, depending on where the viewport is with regards to the currently selected character. Specifically, have the selected character use a spell with a long casting time like Bless, and then pan the viewport around that character while he/she is chanting the "magic words". This works best when using the game's default resolution of 800x600. At higher resolutions, the viewport is larger, so the effect isn't as pronounced.

Just to be clear, occlusion is only missing in Baldur's Gate 2 when using WDM drivers. In other games/applications (including that Goldmine demo) it should work fine with either driver set.

Right, of course. I think my brain had taken a little holiday there.

Quick update: I've been testing EAX some more in Baldur's Gate 2 and noticed that occlusion not only applies to off-screen enemies, but also to some environmental sounds (e.g. water flowing, fireplace crackling, windmill turning etc). The entire soundstage of the game feels a lot more natural with occlusion active.

For comparison, if I enter the Temple of Lathander while playing the game under WinXP, the sound of the spinning orb above the statue is overbearing throughout the entire room. However, under Win98SE, where occlusion is working properly, the spinning orb sound gradually fades as you move your characters away from the statue. It's very noticeable.

I'm wondering: What is Baldur's Gate 2 like? Should I download and try it? If so, where can I get it?

Harry Potter wrote on 2024-12-16, 13:44:

I'm wondering: What is Baldur's Gate 2 like? Should I download and try it? If so, where can I get it?

I haven't tried it myself, but my friends who are into CRPGs regard it as one of the greatest CRPGs of all time. The Enhanced Edition (some kind of remastered edition with additional content) is currently on sale on both Steam and GOG for r $4.99 and $5.99, respectively.

I'm supposed to be going to my mother's house for Christmas. Maybe I can ask my mother to buy it for me. 😀

Harry Potter wrote on 2024-12-16, 13:44:

I'm wondering: What is Baldur's Gate 2 like? Should I download and try it? If so, where can I get it?

It’s an older BioWare game. Should you play it? Depends if you like that sort of thing.

As to how; you can purchase the game on many of the main digital game distribution services, however as this forum is dedicated to retro hardware the correct answer is to play on dedicated period correct hardware, including a card that supports EAX2 or above, with Windows 98SE.

I don't have a period-correct Win98SE system, as it has a P4 processor, 1GB RAM and 127GB formatted hard drive space. My DOS laptop at my mother's house is period-correct, though, but not true Multi-Media.

This thread is by jayAlien and the topic is "Opinions on optimal Baldur's Gate 2 performance"

Just a comment on the performance, I’ve been playing some of the game on the following PC - PIII 1.4GHz, Radeon 8500, Audigy 1, 256MB - and found the performance to be completely acceptable. A couple of frame drops here and there, nothing of consequence. I can’t speak for later in the game, perhaps with more action on screen it would be more of a challenge.