[manu08]

I've got a 256MB Gecube ATI Radeon X800XL (AGP) graphics card & my computer specs are,
Pentium 4 3.00GHz with HT
1.5GB RAM (PC3200)
17" LCD Flat Panel Display
80GB SATA HDD 7200RPM

My games do not seem to be running a 100% smooth. I've loaded the latest Omega drivers & overclocked my graphics card core speed from 398 to 432 & the memory speed from 486 to 520. At this speed I get no artifacts, anything beyond & artifacts start to appear. But to be honest even the overclocking has barely improved smoothness of the games. Almost all my games seem to stutter rather frequently throughout the gameplay. These games include Need for Speed Most Wanted, F.E.A.R., Half Life 2, Battlefield 2.
Is there anyone else having similar specifications with a Radeon X800 series graphics card & being able to run the games 100% smooth, if so could you please tell me your Direct3D & OpenGL settings so I could try switching to the same settings & see if the games run smooth throughout.

Thanks

[Advertisements]

You mentioned the main problem in the first line of your post...AGP. PCI-E is the way to go for speed in the newest games (such as F.E.A.R. or BF2). AGP (from my understanding) is slower and not as good as PCI-E. The only suggestion I can give is tone down the general specs (lighting, shadows, etc.) and see what happens.

[BlackPandemic]

You mentioned the main problem in the first line of your post...AGP. PCI-E is the way to go for speed in the newest games (such as F.E.A.R. or BF2). AGP (from my understanding) is slower and not as good as PCI-E. The only suggestion I can give is tone down the general specs (lighting, shadows, etc.) and see what happens.

[manu08]

Yes AGP is not as good as PCI-E but the settings that I am playing the game are on 'default', what the game adjusts the settings to based on my computer's configuration. I can see that you have a similar configuration to me, if your games are running smooth could you please tell me your Direct3D & OpenGL settings.

[BlackPandemic]

First off, Oblivion misreads system specs. It sets mine on high but the game won't run well until toned down to medium, so you may be getting false readings. My frames still dip now and then but turn down most of the most detailed stuff (shadows, view distance, etc.)

Stupid Bethesda.

[manu08]

I reduced the image quality etc. but no matter what I do the games kind of stutter at the exact same point. I have the NFS Most Wanted demo & in that race at the same place the game will stutter no matter what the settings are. Now im starting to wonder whether there might be some software issues. Even in F.E.A.R. the 'test settings' cinematic movie stutters in the same places no matter what the settings are. I've already reinstalled the drivers many times & have seen no improvement. Any suggestions, something with the registry maybe or the system files ?

[warriorscot]

I havent had a problem like that at all, i usually have to turn up settings as thry usually set themselves too low. Sounds like another problem, have you made sure to turn off any other tasks and an AV may also cause a problem.

[manu08]

I had contacted ATI a few days back & finally they replied. They said to run msconfig & disable all items under the startup tab & then reinstall the drivers. I did exactly that but also removed my virus guard, firewall etc. before reinstalling the drivers.
Booted the computer with literally no software in the background, installed the drivers, rebooted the computer, loaded NFS Most Wanted, ran somewhere in the low 30s FPS. Changed resolution from 1280x1024 to 1024x768, ok slight decrease in detail but FPS shot up to the high 40s. Games running smooth, no problem. Tried Half Life 2 as well, got frame rates of somewhere between 110 & 120 so very very happy. This of course is after I added my 'overclocked' profile to ATT Tray tools. Ran 3DMark06 & got 1780 3DMarks compared to a previous 1704. I'm rather happy I must say BUT of course I will not be running my computer without any programs in the background all the time. However I believe my problem is solved.
I need some off topic help though now if possible. I uninstalled McAfee suite which included Antivirus, Firewall, Spamkiller & Antispyware. Not too keen to get back to McAfee, any suggestions of better virus guards/firewalls ? Does not matter whether it is free or not I just prefer one software consisting of all the necessary security applications firewall antivirus etc.
Also when I went to msconfig under the startup tab I noticed there were many unticked items, how can I completely remove these as an option there, is it possible ? Even of softwares I have already uninstalled there still seems to be an option for them.

Thank you very much for your help. No idea how much it is appreciated. :-)

Edited by manu08, 29 May 2006 - 02:04 PM.

[WinCrazy]

McAfee and Norton-Symantec have the well-deserved reputation for being bloatware.

You do need one good anti-virus - use AVG or Avast. (both are free)

You also need a decent firewall - the XP one is substandard. You could use any of a number of free firewalls such as Outpost, Kerio or ZoneAlarm. (all free)

There is absolutely no need to purchase any firewalls, anti-virus or anti-malware products as excellent free products exist.

[warriorscot]

Avast is good couple it with adaware and spybot to make sure incinvenient spyware is cleared up, i find Avast and those apps offers better performance safety and flexibility over all in one apps. If you have a router between its hardware firewall and avasts firewall its enough for most you can always get another.

If you want to pay to get the best i would get Nod32 or kapersky not free but they are the best you can get and cheaper than norton usually.

[manu08]

Yeah I started using Avast Antivirus & ZoneAlarm Firewall. When I had McAfee I used to get about 14% CPU usage on idle. Now I get about 1%.
How can I remove the unncessary startup items located in the startup tab in msconfig. They've been unticked but how can I completely remove them as an option ?

Edited by manu08, 31 May 2006 - 02:30 AM.

[WinCrazy]

Download here item 148 on the right side and run it.