[joybz]

My system has no trouble running my other games at highest settings half life 2 manages all settings maxed 1280 x 1024 LCD at around 80fps.. quake 4, battlefield 2 both manage at highest with no performance issues. however the moment i play FEAR my system begins to struggle no matter what the settings and res are.. i get no more than around 30fps and an average of less than 20fps and regulary drops into single figures, once again this is on just about any setting low - high usual makes 5 - 8 fps difference.. but its really annoying me as im beyond recomended requirements..
My system
AMD 64 3200+ OC'd to 2.25Ghz
MSI K8N neo4
512x2 GeIL duel channel pc3200
Radeon X800GTO 256mb OC'd from (400mhz core and 490mhz memory 980 effective) to (560mhz core and 540mhz memory 1080 effective)

This is not an overclocked issue as i have tried it with default settings with the same if not lower framerates.
Any help would be much appricated.

Edited by joybz, 24 September 2006 - 01:48 PM.

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Hi. All other games are fine, and FEAR is the only one causing problems, eh? Well let's try some of the basic stuff... Does FEAR have any game patches or updates available? Do you have any programs running in the background while you play such as music, instant messaging programs, etc? Are there any other changes in the system? How fast is your CD-ROM (or drive reading the CD)? Is it fast enough to read the game fine?

[Facedown98]

Hi. All other games are fine, and FEAR is the only one causing problems, eh? Well let's try some of the basic stuff... Does FEAR have any game patches or updates available? Do you have any programs running in the background while you play such as music, instant messaging programs, etc? Are there any other changes in the system? How fast is your CD-ROM (or drive reading the CD)? Is it fast enough to read the game fine?

[joybz]

First thanks for the reply..
and i close all unecassery apps wehen i play any and all games.. it does have a patch but ive downloaded it. when it goes to install i get an error message with a send and dont send button. and yea all my games are fine.. on systemrequirementslab i was well into recommended .. my dvd drive was fast enough.. and to be honest ive just installed a new one replacing my 6 year old previous one..

Edited by joybz, 24 September 2006 - 01:42 PM.

[Facedown98]

What kind of malware protection do you have?

[tennisboy]

out of all the games i have played F.E.A.R, truly tests your computer to its limits. I've encoutered a lot of people who have exactly the same problem as you. The main component needed to play fear, is RAM, how much ram do u have? I have 1 gig of ram right now and i am pulling off 40 fps. My other friends have 2 gigs of ram and there pulling off 80 fps.

[joybz]

I have norton firewall and antivirus, amust registry cleaner.. and another thing ive noticed is whilst i play the game on highest settings possible it holds at 16fps.. occasionaly going up one or two fps whether im looking at the floor or an active area.. in response to tennisboy i have 1gig which consists of two 512 strips in duel channel, ddr400..

Edited by joybz, 25 September 2006 - 08:04 AM.

[joybz]

Right.. i bypassed the DVD rom with powerISO (a mount) and the frame rates have been boosted dramaticaly from a steady 16fps to about 60fps average and topping out at over 100fps but the mount requires dvd on start up of the game. Would be helpful for something more perminant maybe a new and fast dvd rom.. anyone know of a good dvd rom is i can install?

Edited by joybz, 25 September 2006 - 01:23 PM.

[Facedown98]

hhhmmm... So your drive might not be fast enough after all I trust LG products. That and Sony. It depends what you are willing to spend.

[starjax]

Fear is one of those games that is very deceptive as to system demands. x800gto is a good card and meets the recommended settings.

Are you playing single player or multiplayer? If its multiplayer have you downloaded the new free version?

[joybz]

Its single player and just to clear up the game runs over 40fps with everything set to maximum, aa x2 so theres no issues with performance now... however i would like to have a system that runs well with a good DVD drive.. the current one is brand new.. but is generic, was looking for some ideas as to which one would be the better. Also can you get Sata DVD drives? the current one is IDE.. could it in anyway be the sound cable? and do i actually need the sound cable? its from an old dvd drive that i had, the new one didnt come with a sound cable so i took it from my other pc.

Edited by joybz, 27 September 2006 - 11:42 AM.

[starjax]

no, the sound cable is no longer needed. That is a hold over from old technology.

No, there are no sata dvd drives. If you want, newegg has some samsung dvd burners available for cheap. I picked mine up for $29 (on sale last weekend). It is the second one I own and have had no issues with either one.

[joybz]

Right the sound cable is coming out next time i turn the pc off, i kinda hope thats whats holding it back.. im from UK start so my best bet would have been www.overclockers.co.uk but the most expensive dvd drive they had is the current one i have installed and i dont rate it very high.. my old one was 6 years old and was faster than this.. but the old one is white and doesnt look right suited in a black thermaltake armour case.. il keep looking for an LG or Sony.. but thanks for all the help guys:)

[starjax]

I checked out overclockers. They have several liteon dvd burners that are pretty good (liteon makes at least 50% of the optical drives). I have this one:

Samsung SH-W163 16x16 DVD±RW Serial ATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) (CD-076-SA)

Price: £23.95 (£28.14 Including VAT at 17.5%)

Don't be afraid of going to a burner instead of a plain dvd drive. They are cheap and work great.

[joybz]

Would u recomend this one?? http://www.overclock...DRW_Drives.html Sony DWG120A 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM (CD-049-SO) its right at the very bottom.. the one i currently have installed is, http://www.overclock...ROM_Drives.html Samsung SH-D162 DVD-ROM (Black) - OEM (CD-002-SA) its about the 4th one down the list.

[starjax]

sure, thats a good drive. also happens to be made by liteon.


Now I see your reasoning....err resistance against the samsung burner