Episode One performamce

[BoroVC]

I just upgraded my video card and RAM in the hope that my games perfomance would improve but it hasnt.

P4 3Ghz
7600GT 256mb DDR3
1.5GB PC3200
Asus P4S800 mobo
onboard sound

The game stutters alot, especially when there is alot of sound going on. To be fair HL2 did this alot too.
Ive tried alot of the advice ive seen online but am still having problems. Seems there is no improvement even when I lower gfx settings.
Ive tried disabling sound but I still see stuttering.
Do you think a new sound card will help at all or is there something else I can try?

(Before the Pirate Police jump in - My HL2 is retail bought and Ep1 was bought through Steam)

 

[Hooker]

That seems to be a pretty decent setup. First thing is first, I would try the 93.71 Nvidia drivers. It seems like after the 1xx series, a lot of performance hit the floor. Also, I hope you're not expecting super-awesome-amazing-extreme performance. Expect stuttering on native resolution with 4xAA/8XAF. What are your in-game settings?

The 7600 GT is a really good card, so you shouldn't be taking too much of a hit.

 

[BoroVC]

Thanks for the reply Hooker. I will give those drivers a go.
As I said it makes little difference to the performance what settings I use. I dont usually use any AA/AF, HDR etc and my res is 1280*1024. Strange thing is some of the recommended settings have lowered since I upgraded my card(6800 vanilla to 7600GT).

I think im gonna pick up a sound card today just to see. Ive just stuck another 512MB of RAM in there for good measure.

 

[Hooker]

Also, basic upkeep on your computer such a virus scanning, deffffrrraaaggggging, and spyware checking could really help. Let me know what happens. A soundcard is a good idea no matter what. :-p

 

[BoroVC]

Well ive got me an Audigy SE and ive tried the drivers suggested.
Although the performance seems better, the stutters and sound loops still remain(slightly less severe). It's not what I was hoping for but I guess it's the best it's gonna get.
Makes me wonder if I should bother with Ep2. If my performance is worse on that it will only frustrate me further.

Thanks for the advice anyway Hooker:thumbs:.

EDIT:
Actually, I just had an idea to disable my paging file to try and maximise the use of my RAM - it seems to have greatly improved the stuttering! I will update on this later. I'm gonna start playing Episode One from the start and see how it compares.

 

[kacation_man]

im havening a similar problem with half life 2, Episode one runs just fine, but half life 2 is where the problem is, my AA and overall performance and frame rate is messed up.

 

[Llama]

Hmm. For me, episode one runs a lot better than Half Life 2.

 

[BoroVC]

Well I started Ep1 again last night and overall it does seem to run a lot smoother. There is still the odd stutter but no where near as bad as before so I am quite satisfied now.
:cheers:

 

[tibetanpunk]

I started to play through Ep.1 again earlier and noticed some pretty bad stuttering using a 7600gs. Defragged and it seems a bit better...Would love to know how to stop the stutter!

 

[BoroVC]

I started to play through Ep.1 again earlier and noticed some pretty bad stuttering using a 7600gs. Defragged and it seems a bit better...Would love to know how to stop the stutter!

Whats your specs?