Here's the deal: I just got a new set of Raptor 74g 10,000 rpm/16 meg seek drives striped with RAID 0.
I was using one Western Digital 7200 rpm (2 gigs of RAM, Athlon 64 3000, running at 2 Ghz).
Before, I had a long load with the map, but actually a pretty short "verifying client data" time, appox. 20 to 30 seconds.
After the Raptor RAID 0 install (and OS reinstall, of course) I started getting awesome map load times with crazy SLOW "verifying client data" time, I went up to about 1.5 to 2 minutes!!
I spent all day trying to optimize my new XP install, defrags, registry tweaks, MS Bootvis, you name it. After some time I finally found an application called TCP Optimizer. It optimizes your broadband connection, and it's ridiculously easy to use!! I didn't even do any of the hard core tweaking, I just let the application apply its recommended settings, hit apply, rebooted, and BAM! My "verifying client data" time is now less than 10 seconds! I'm now one of the first people on a map.
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Here's the link: http://www.speedguide.net/downloads.php
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HOWEVER, I did several things on my machine, so I'm not completely sure if this application was the main reason, but I am noticing a little more responsiveness when I'm web surfing.
I also had my old installation of BF2 on my old hard drive (which is still active in my machine as a back up). I formatted that old drive, deleting the old install. Is it possible that the "verifying client data" was scanning the new installation and the old installation?
Anyway, try out the TCP optimizer, and post your results!
BTW, a Raptor stripe RAID kicks much ass!
I was using one Western Digital 7200 rpm (2 gigs of RAM, Athlon 64 3000, running at 2 Ghz).
Before, I had a long load with the map, but actually a pretty short "verifying client data" time, appox. 20 to 30 seconds.
After the Raptor RAID 0 install (and OS reinstall, of course) I started getting awesome map load times with crazy SLOW "verifying client data" time, I went up to about 1.5 to 2 minutes!!
I spent all day trying to optimize my new XP install, defrags, registry tweaks, MS Bootvis, you name it. After some time I finally found an application called TCP Optimizer. It optimizes your broadband connection, and it's ridiculously easy to use!! I didn't even do any of the hard core tweaking, I just let the application apply its recommended settings, hit apply, rebooted, and BAM! My "verifying client data" time is now less than 10 seconds! I'm now one of the first people on a map.
___________________
Here's the link: http://www.speedguide.net/downloads.php
___________________
HOWEVER, I did several things on my machine, so I'm not completely sure if this application was the main reason, but I am noticing a little more responsiveness when I'm web surfing.
I also had my old installation of BF2 on my old hard drive (which is still active in my machine as a back up). I formatted that old drive, deleting the old install. Is it possible that the "verifying client data" was scanning the new installation and the old installation?
Anyway, try out the TCP optimizer, and post your results!
BTW, a Raptor stripe RAID kicks much ass!