refresh rates & audio

[04kz]

so i was thinking about my lousy framerates, (as low 27 ouside, 60-70s inside) and was wondering about "wait for vsync" what does that really mean?
my monitor runs at 85 Hz, but i think thats HSync.
Then i was wondering what monitor refresh really has to do with game refresh rates.
then i was thinking too that i notice sharpest drop in outdoor framerates while there is a lot of gunfire. not necessarily physical bullets, but the sounds.
shoudl i get a dedicated audio card instead of my integrated one on my p4p800?

my spec is
msi agp 6600gt
p4 2.6
1gb ram
asus p4p800 deluxe
2 X sata seagate 80gb
monitor is sony/dell trinitron 17" CRT @ 85hz.
desktop res is 1024x768, tried game at 800x600 and 1024x768 and got lousy framerates(at least in my opinion they are lousy)

 

[63]

I wish I got 60 frames..

 

[Ames]

You don't need VSync. Turn it off for better framerates.

 

[Lahire149]

Does your monitor refresh rate have any impact on your FPS even if you have VSync off?

 

[poseyjmac]

You don't need VSync. Turn it off for better framerates.

thats like saying you don't need to run at 1280x960 and to run at 640x480. its personal preference.

vsync will get rid of tearing you see that shows up especially at high framerates, and when strafing looking at a wall, but of course comes at a penalty to your minimum, average and maximum framerate.

Does your monitor refresh rate have any impact on your FPS even if you have VSync off?

no, just an impact on your comfort/amount of eyestrain you will suffer.

 

[GonzoBabbleshit]

You don't need VSync. Turn it off for better framerates.

what is Vsync?

 

[DrDevin]

If your system specs are correct you have a big problem! I have a 6600gt and I play HL2 at 1600X1200 everything maxed 16X AF and 0 AA at about 60 FPS! Did you install any drivers for your card? V-sync llimits your frame rate to your monitors refresh rate. This will always be over 60fps, which is very smooth. Most monitors do 85Hz at typical resolutions, which is fairly standard these days. So you are limiting yourself to probably 85Hz. Also HL2's audio is host based (CPU) so a sound card with a DSP would not help framerates anyway. Try updating your drivers for everything and check that you dont have max AA forced in the control panel.

 

[04kz]

my specs are correct... but i didnt do anythign special to remove the ati drivers i had previously, other then do the uninstall from add/remove programs.

maybe i should clean them off better.
also, i am using some pretty new nvidia driver set, v75.90, maybe thats what wrong.

i got decent performance turning things to medium and then 2x AA

 

[DrDevin]

What are your curent half life settings and framerate? What did you get in the Counter Strike Source stress test at your current settings? Do you know the framerates of other games you play? It is probably just a driver problem because they always seem to screw up at least once no matter which ones you try to install. I havent tried the 75.90 yet I have Nvidia's current BETA drivers. If your framerates are low try cleaning them again with drivercleaner and reinstalling them.