Do i need a new video card?

I run Windows XP with 2x512gb DDR RAM (PC2700) and a Fulitsu 40gb HDD. The whole lot is on an ASUS A7NX8-E motherboard. My CPU is an AMD Barton 2600XP+ overclocked to around 3200.
My PC feels fairly quick at times and fairly sluggish at others. I also can't play FarCry or FEAR at anywhere near the top levels of the game settings.
Is my whole machine dated or is my ATI Radeon 9600XT the root of my gaming problems?
Would a new card enable me to crank up the settings on these power hungry games? If so what is the best card in the £200 - £250 bracket?

Any info would be greatly appreciated.
thanks
David

 

David, these are the recommended (not minimum) requirements for FarCry:

These are the minimum requirements for FEAR:

Your system should run both.

You have DirectX 9.0c? Run dxdiag from the "run" command line or search for it and execute it. Run the tests.

I suggest you go to Safe Mode and remove any graphics programs in Add/Remove Programs (the ATI program and any that may be there from previous graphics cards). Go to Device Manager and uninstall anything listed for graphics. When you reboot install the drivers from the graphics card's CD, although you should go to the card manufacturer's website and see which version of the Catalyst drivers they recommend for your card (you can also get good opinions from gaming websites...do a Google search for the model of your card with the word "drivers ").

See if there are updated drivers for your soundcard if the slowness seems to be linked to programs that have audio.

I may be worried that if the 2 sticks of RAM are not matched there may be a problem. Try running one stick and go straight to the game after booting to the desktop.

You have overclocked quite a lot. Use Everest in my signature to check the temperatures when things get slow. Also use the monitors to see if CPU usage or memory usage is high.

Use chkdisk to do a "thorough" scan of your drives.

It may be due to a background program. Virus and spyware up to date? Some programs that are "legitimate" are not covered by the those. I removed a "shopping" program from one computer that had turned it into a snail, another I have been reading about a Windows Messenger "add-on" that does these sorts of things and is very hard to get rid of.

Matt

 

Matt
i checked everything you suggest. It seems my overclock is to around 2800...not 3200 as previously stated.
I also have latest drivers for sound and video.
I've ordered a new card since my 9600XT is over a year old.

I figured it'll be cheaper buying a new card than upgrading entire machine - i can take card to new machine if the card isn't the problem!!

thanks
David

 

That may be one way out, depending on if the graphics card is at the heart of the problem.

I just thought, have you upgraded your motherboard/chipset drivers? Try that and if you find improvements in some areas uninstall and reinstall the graphics drivers again.

I have switched my 9600XT into another computer with a dual boot, then changed one of the OSs, so I have been installing the drivers quite a lot. On one install the drivers did not take at all and I had to remove them. On another I installed the latest Catalyst drivers, but it ran like slug, so I went to drivers from the end of last year. It is working well on both OSs now.

I will be able to upgrade again soon. I am looking at getting an nVidia 6600GT. Depending on which brand, they get some good reviews.

Matt

 

Matt

I upgraded/flashed my bios last night from version 1009 to 1013. Previously FarCry would freeze randomly needing a reset to get the pc back to life.
No freezing last night. I also cranked up every option in the game and it ran just fine - no problems at all.
However I've ordered a new card since the 9600xt is almost 18months old. I've ordered an ATI X800Pro. It seemed to get good reviews. It should arrived in a day or two