F-f-f-f-f-framerate

[PoolMan]

Question. I have made a couple of purchases now for PC games based on info I got from System Requirements Lab, the excellent testing utility that Justin put up in the Linkage section. It does a hardware snapshot of your computer, compares it against the Required and Recommended specs for a given game, and tells you whether it's a good idea to buy the software.

So why is it that for Half Life 2 Ep 1 and X3 Reunion I rank beyond the recommended specs, and yet both games run like slide shows? I mean, I understand there's a difference in hardware and everything, but according to SR Labs my computer should rock these games. Instead, I have to dial the settings down just to make them playable instead of enjoying two deliciously beautiful games.

So I guess my short questions are:

1) What's the deal, yo? Why does this happen?

2) What can I do with the machine I've got that'll reduce these symptoms?

Specs:

AMD Athlon 64 3200+
2 gHz (rated up to 3.2 gHz, although I can't seem to clock it that high)
1 GB RAM, 333 MHz FSB
XP Pro SP2
NVidia GeForce 6150 (256MB RAM)
DirectX 9.0c
Soundcard, etc

This is a lame question to ask, but I find I'm always up against this. Help!

[Spiderdancer]

From what I read, odds are good it's one of these two things:

1.) RAM. Lots of games will run on 1 ghz, but they'll run WELL on 2.
2.) Graphics card. I've been told this matters as much as processor, and most of the newer games need a later model to give good performance (though they will WORK with the earlier ones). This is especially true if you're running an Nvidia card on a regular motherboard.

[Genetic Mishap]

According to this, I meet the requirments to play Titan Quest.

So why, after installing and playing through the first three cities, did it suddenly say "Your graphics card does not meet the requirments" and refuse to play or even start up from then on?

Anyone?

[Head Mutant]

I think your first problem is that you're trying to run X3. Computers know how bad this game is, and thus try to protect their hu-mans from it.

I never had a problem with HL2 on my old computer, so I think your specs should be more than adequate. Might want to deselect AA or any super-extra fancy graphics option, update your graphics drivers (of course, you've already done this), browse the game forums and possibly run some diagnostics on your card to make sure it isn't faulty. Sounds like there should be a simple solution, though...

[Hucklebubba]

Pooly, I don't wish to derive enjoyment from your troubles, but I gotta say, your situation makes me feel moderately warm and fuzzy for a couple of different reasons.

The main one being; it's no fun sitting in a boat by yourself. My PC is just slightly beefier than yours and it chokes on games far less demanding than HL2 and X3.

Also, I now get to rule out graphics card brand-crappitude seeing as how you run an nVidia. (I was going to blame all of my woes on the fact that I use an ATI.)

As for solutions, you should probably just shrug your shoulders as a sad "wa wa wa waaaaa" jingle plays. That's what I do.

[PoolMan]

What really bothers me is that a software manufacturer runs a basic and a recommended spec right there on the box (which is what the SR Labs guys base their databases on). Therefore, if I meet the recommended spec, the game should run like a dream on my machine. That, or there should be a THIRD spec, called "Runs Like a Dream". I'm not being at all sarcastic when I say I'd actually appreciate a third spec.

The REALLY weird thing is that I reinstalled Jedi Outcast a couple weeks ago for a little nostalgia trip through one of my favourite games. This is a game I've played to death on a far weaker machine. IT CRAWLED. It was awful. I picked the High video batch setting, thinking that my newer computer would make it my willing slave. Oh hell no. HL2 runs smoother.

So I'm really stumped. I've played lightly with overclocking the CPU (10% overclock works okay, 20% hung the computer... eek) and dialing down any in-Windows settings that will absorb too many resources. I will also likely double up my RAM tonight, but I hate pouring money on something that SHOULD already work.

Gah.

[DARTHMADLER]

Might I suggest you double check your HD load?

It could be that although your HD is not full, it might be pushing in on your Page File space.

I bought HL2 myself and am rather annoyed that it doesn't mention anywhere how much HD space it requires and what of the numerous components do you actually need just to play the game. Upon installing the game off the 5 CDs it used up something like 3.3 GB BUT then you need to activate it online which tosses in another 960MB of data. I'm planning on extending my partition to accomodate the unmentioned 4GB of space needed.

Top that off, the game gives me motion sickness. Anyone else experience this in a game before?

[PoolMan]

Madler! You're alive! Lord sakes, it's been ages. Although I should have known this thread would have brought you out.

If by "HD load" you simply mean that I've got adequate storage space on my hard drive, the answer is yes, yes, a thousand times yes. 4 MB on my 100 GB games partition is more than enough. And it's even recently defragged and everything. However, the phrase "page file" is new to me. Explain, please?

As for the motion sickness (not that again!), I am mildly sure I saw an option to turn the mild sway off somewhere in the video options. I may be sending you on a goose hunt or thinking of another game, but you can look.

For me personally, there are games that have made me physically feel ill from motion sickness, but HL2 isn't one of them.

[DARTHMADLER]

Yes, computer problems that are close to my own are one of the few things that will draw me out of my cave.

The Page File is used by RAM to store data that it doesn't immediately need. The standard range is 1-1.5 times the amount of RAM you have (eg. 1GB of RAM = 1-1.5GB Page File). The size will always vary and you can change the size and range of it. It will also automatically shrink to accomodate any files that you add to your HD, you could theoretically shrink it out of existence but then your machine would run reeeaally slow.

Anyways, when installing software, even if you install it to another partition, it always will insist on adding files to your C: drive. Whether it be dll files to the Windows directory or game data to your profile, the files will come. You may initially have no issues but then a patch or an update comes along and your machine starts to crawl. This will likely be due to your page file having to shrink to accomodate the masses.

What I usually do is create a separate page file partition twice the size of my RAM and relocate the page file there and then I don't have to worry about it. Even better is if it is on a seperate HD.

Hope this makes sense and hope it helps.

Regardless how much space you have on your Game drive, you also need to check where your Page File is located (usually C: drive). I've seen it happen where somebody had plenty of space on one partition but their C: drive was almost full and the machine crawled.

The page file will shrink to accomodate files on the drive but then when RAM starts to store things to the drive it will have less space to work with and subsequently your machine slows down.

[PoolMan]

Interesting advice. As you know, I've got a separate 80GB HD with about 50% free space, so maybe that's a candidate! I'll try looking around for tips on moving/changing the file.