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Geek Culture / Graphics Card Issues With Games... Please Help

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The Lone Programmer
21
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Joined: 29th Jan 2003
Location: California, USA
Posted: 23rd Dec 2005 05:50
Hi,
I have noticed this quite frequently in all games that I play. When I am around a lot of people in a game it slows down a whole lot. I lower all my settings to the absolute minimum and still nothing. At first I thought maybe the game was too much for my computer to handle but then I bought Counter Strike 1.6 and it still has the issues.

My specs are:
Dell Inspiron 5150 Notebook
Windows 2000 Edition
3.2 Ghz Pentium 4 Processor with Hyper Threading Technology
1.5GB of Ram
80GB 5200RPM Hard Drive
Nvidia Geforce Fx Go5200 64MB Video Card
NetGear Wireless Super G Router
Broadband Cable Internet

It is making me completely nuts. There is no reason I can think of on why it has so much slow down like that. I have tried several different graphics drivers and still nothing. If anyone has any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,
The Lone Programmer

"Is The Juice Worth The Squeeze"
-The Girl Next Door
Killswitch
22
Years of Service
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Joined: 2nd Oct 2002
Location: School damnit!! Let me go!! PLEASE!!!
Posted: 23rd Dec 2005 06:17
Firstly your using a notebook, which aren't great for gaming as they heat up pretty quickly. Secondly it's your GPU that's causing your problems. I've got a (PCI) Fx5200 128MB card, and that's just (and I emphasise just) good enough for the latest games - your GPU is behind that.

Get a new GPU, essentially.

~Heed my word hobags: Jism~
The Lone Programmer
21
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Joined: 29th Jan 2003
Location: California, USA
Posted: 23rd Dec 2005 07:04
Can Laptops get a new GPU?

I have never even heard of a GPU.

CS 1.6 has the weakest of minimum system requirements. I shouldnt have this problem.

"Is The Juice Worth The Squeeze"
-The Girl Next Door
John Y
Synergy Editor Developer
22
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Joined: 4th Sep 2002
Location: UK
Posted: 23rd Dec 2005 10:49
Laptops simply aren't made for playing games. Even though they stick amazing processors in them, quite often the motherboard can't max it out because of heat and space limitations.

From you specs you have a slow harddrive and slow GPU. If you want to play games you need to get a desktop, and keep the laptop for office work, and simple games.

blanky
20
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Joined: 3rd Aug 2004
Location: ./
Posted: 23rd Dec 2005 11:16
Quote: "I have never even heard of a GPU."


(Btw, GPU == Graphics card (your Geforce whatever)).

16-colour PNGs pwn.
Pincho Paxton
21
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Joined: 8th Dec 2002
Location:
Posted: 23rd Dec 2005 16:30
I have a Gforce 5200 128mb. It is just about out of date with current games. I need upgrade... you need new computer.

The Lone Programmer
21
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Joined: 29th Jan 2003
Location: California, USA
Posted: 24th Dec 2005 18:01
The reason I am trying so hard is I like the idea of being able to take my games on the go. The laptop takes up very little space and can be taken anywhere and hooked to the internet anywhere.

I know I can't play the best games such as:
F.E.A.R
Call Of Duty 2
Doom 3
Quake 4

But I am supprised about the Original Counterstrike.

Didn't want to blow $1000 on parts for building a dream machine computer. Well not yet at least. The time will come soon enough.


I do have another question. Say I play these games that lag on my computer. Is it harmful to my computer? The fan occasionally speeds up. You guys say the better the game the more my computer can't handle it. Didn't want to mess up my computer again.

The first time I messed it up, the motherboard and various chips melted because it somehow got over heated. I didn't have any games at the time so that was not the problem.


Let me know guys.

Thanks,
The Lone Programmer

"Is The Juice Worth The Squeeze"
-The Girl Next Door
blanky
20
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Joined: 3rd Aug 2004
Location: ./
Posted: 24th Dec 2005 18:57
(As far as I know) all Intel motherboards automatically shut down if the machine gets too hot, so you shouldn't have to worry about internal components melting.

The fan speeding up is because everything's getting hotter, but that's normal; when you're just typing in Word or whatever it hardly needs to spin at all, as the computer is doing nothing. Just make sure none of the air vents are getting blocked, especially during demanding tasks.

With regards to the laptop's performance (or rather the lack of it), yeah, I would expect that lappy to be able to handle more. Update all your drivers, make sure there's no excess crap running in the background (viruses, spyware, and 'helper' applications in the SysTray).

Check if you've accidentally got a 'Super-graphics quality' box ticked in the CS settings also. CS is old, but it can still be demanding in certain configurations.

16-colour PNGs pwn.
Me!
19
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Joined: 26th Jul 2005
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Posted: 24th Dec 2005 19:52 Edited at: 24th Dec 2005 19:53
especialy in the case of laptops, do make sure you don`t use it on any soft surface that could obstruct the air intakes, (carpet or on the bed for example), I can`t even use my laptop "as is" on my lap cos the two air intakes for the CPU and GPU are right where your legs are if you balance it on your lap (so why call it a laptop? duh!), I normaly use it on a cheap desktop workstation from Argos with a perforated metal top so it has plenty of ways to get air through it although if I am using it away then obviously it has to sit on a normal table, if I use it in bed then I have a tray to sit it on, when I do any video encoding or play UT2004 or whatever then I get the fans running full speed all the time the game runs and for a while afterwards, the exaust air is pretty warm too, but it`s never overheated.



Windows: 32 bit extension/graphical shell for a 16bit patch to an 8bit OS originally coded for a 4bit CPU, written by a 2bit company that can't stand 1bit of competition, now available in 64bits.
dre
19
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Joined: 20th Jan 2005
Location: West Side
Posted: 25th Dec 2005 08:19
I'd say its your video card...and upgrading your video card isn't easy...and lets not start about pricing :p

Athlon 64 X2 4400+, nForce 4 Ultra chipset, 1 gig ddr400 d-channel, GeForce 7800 GTX OC,2 WD 74 gig Raptors in RAID

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