Question for the experts

[Winbacker]

Hello I recently purchased Half Life 2 and my computer meets most of the system minimum requirements and surpasses even some of them. The game (single and multi) runs very poorly. Here are my system specs:

Intel Celeron Pentium 4 1.7ghz
512 MB RAM
GeForce4 MX 440 Video Card with 64 MB RAM
Windows ME
Avance AC97 Audio Sound Card
My Direct X drivers are up to date
Ive got the latest Nvidia driver 61.76 for WinME installed...

I'm willing to make an upgrade, but I'm not sure what to upgrade exactly. Should I fork out 350 bucks for an ATI 9800 pro? Or should I change my operating system? Perhaps it's my sound card? (probably not, because the poor performance persists when I turn the sound off).

Ill provide any other info about my computer that's needed.

 

[Hazar]

The combination of the Celeron, GeForce4, and windows ME is the problem.

Reformat, and upgrade your video card

(I just went from a geforce 4 128mb to a 9800pro for $185)

 

[Asus]

I would recommend upgrading your CPU (and your motherboard if needed).

Your video card is not the best but it will give you a very playable experence since it doesn't have to push out the heavy DX9 effects. If you can fit it into your budget then you could spend a little money and get a Radeon 9600 or 9800. 512MB of System Memory is good.

The CPU is what is probably holding you back. HL2 is pretty CPU demanding and Celerons are the worst of the bunch. A 1.7GHz Celeron is like a 1.2-1.4GHz Pentium3 or Athlon.

Do you own a Dell, HP, Compaq or is it home built?
What model is your motherboard?
Do you have SDRAM (EX. PC133) or DDR (EX. PC2100) memory?

We can see what CPUs your board can handle or we can check out how much it would be for a new CPU/Motherboard.
You can buy a high-performing CPU and board, such as an Athlon 64 2800+, easily for less than $250 USD.

 

[Winbacker]

Another question for experts

Are there any downloads (drivers/updates) to improve performance of someone using Intel Celeron on Windows ME?


Intel Celeron Pentium 4 1.7ghz
512 MB DDR RAM
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
Windows ME
Avance AC97 Audio Sound Card
My Direct X drivers are up to date

Despite these specs, the game runs very badly.

 

[[Matt]]

Have you now installed that 9800 pro? And btw that Celeron 1.7GHz CPU is the equivalent to a 1.3 to 1.4GHz P4 and isnt up to much.

 

[destrukt]

the only real drivers you could get that would have a large/noticable effect would be for your video card.

your cpu is killing you.

 

[Asus]

Switched your video card on us?
Drivers won't save your CPU btw.

 

[Winbacker]

More questions? Need answers...

Yes I recently bought a new video Card...
Do you believe it to be Windows ME or the Celeron chip (or both) which are causing the problem?

Im not sure how to check the kind of mother board I own, aside from opening my computer and reading the labels, is there a simpler way to check? i.e device manager or whatnot. I'm not well-versed in computer hardware.

I would like to know, what are the best chips/mother boards for running the game? I don't need anything crazy, just good enough to run the game that's all.

If I change my motherboard and cpu, I'll have to check the compatibility with all other things right, like HD, etc?

Would like to know, any info would be great.

 

[Dark8Master89]

Have you now installed that 9800 pro? And btw that Celeron 1.7GHz CPU is the equivalent to a 1.3 to 1.4GHz P4 and isnt up to much.

dont you mean p3

 

[Dark8Master89]

Yes I recently bought a new video Card...
Do you believe it to be Windows ME or the Celeron chip (or both) which are causing the problem?

Im not sure how to check the kind of mother board I own, aside from opening my computer and reading the labels, is there a simpler way to check? i.e device manager or whatnot. I'm not well-versed in computer hardware.

I would like to know, what are the best chips/mother boards for running the game? I don't need anything crazy, just good enough to run the game that's all.

If I change my motherboard and cpu, I'll have to check the compatibility with all other things right, like HD, etc?

Would like to know, any info would be great.

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then use www.imageshack.us to post your screenshots of CPU-z