Should my computer be able to run games at max

[twochutesout]

Recently just built a new computer and I am still having a few problems with it. Rather then go into specifics I wanted to ask one question. Given my specs should I be able to run most current games a maximum resolution and detail without any problems?

Machine specs:

P4 3.0C – ASUS P4P800 – 1GB Kingston HyperX DDR PC-3500 – Antec Sonata w/ 380w PS – WD 7200rpm IDE drive – ATI Radeon 9800 128

Now going into specifics:

I have rebuilt the machine with the radeon 9800 installed – installed the MOBO chipset drivers first and then the 4.2 radeon drivers. Machine runs great – appears nice and cool. Loaded up Call of Duty and it “stutters” while in play – it looks GREAT but has some intermittent lag. Next I install the newest Far Cry Demo and when I try to run it at full resolution and detail it comes up completely messed up (big blocks of color). If I knock the detail all down it actually comes up playable but doesn’t look like I want it to (high detail). I have searched through the forum and have done some of the little tweaks I have read about (aperture size and some advance settings) and they have not helped. I have not run the 3Dmark0 benchmark application and intend to do so after work.

Anyhow I really just wanted to ask the first question “should I be able to run these games at full resolution and detail – or is my machine as bad ass as I hoped it would be”

However if anyone has some insight into the problems I’m having please share.

Thanks

Neilp

 

[cleeve]

No machine in existance will run every game at max detail, AA, AF, and high resolution with good framerates. New games will bring cutting edge technology to it's knees, new hardware is made to cope with it, and the cycle continues.

You're machine should be sufficient to run every game nicely, however.

Far Cry is a new, demanding title and will require some tweaking of settings, regardless of your system. Being new, you're probably experiencing a glitch that the developer will take care of in a patch when they have gotten enough feedback about it (or fixed in a Catalyst driver release if it's a driver problem)

As for Counter Strike... the 9800 certainly has enough power to run counter strike, but I've heard countless stories of how in many cases Counter Strike does not like Radeons out of the box. Your best bet is to ask around for advice on Counter Strike forums, and see what the game veterans tell you.

All in all though, your system is quite decent and should provide service for some time to come. Just remember that system power does not = maintainance free. With a PC, you'll always have to tweak settings and look for newer video drivers, motherboard drivers, and patches to get the most out of it.

Having said that, you've sort of started out on the wrong foot with Counter-Strike. Pretty much every other title out there is far more Radeon-friendly, so don't sweat it.

________________
<b>Radeon <font color=red>9500 PRO</b></font color=red> <i>(hardmodded 9500, o/c 322/322)</i>
<b>AthlonXP <font color=red>2600+</b></font color=red> <i>(o/c 2400+ w/143Mhz fsb)</i>
<b>3dMark03: <font color=red>4,055</b></font color=red>

 

[lik]

I'm a CS gamer and have a 9800Pro and a FX5600 and I get higher framerate with the nvidia one! The cs engine doesn't like much radeon chips. But I have like a max of 300fps with 9800Pro and max of 400fps with the Fx so it is not a thing to worry!

P4-2800->FSB800, Asus P4P800, 512DDR-400, Radeon 9800 Pro - 128Mb

 

[Vimp]

Something you might wanna try is turning AA off and AF down. With my system I can play Far Cry on max detail prettty smoothly at 1024x768 res only if I have AA off and AF down. With those things on it improves thee image so marginally I can hardly notice but yet it very significantly reduces the performance. Call of Duty I would say is possibly the same issue. I can play Call of Duty at max detaail and it plays very smoothly for me but I don't think I had AA or AF on which probably explains why. Currently the only one I've seen noticably improve the image is the AF. AA does very liittle in my opinion inless your playing at very low res in which case the jaggies aree much more noticeable and so AA actually has a noticable effect. The problem you describe with blocks of colors in Far Cry is something I've heard from others using Radeon 9700 and 9800 cards. So it might be a driver issue with those cards.

<font color=blue>_____________________________________</font color=blue>
Canada
Asus A7N8X-X, Athelon XP 2500+ Barton,
Samsung 1024mb DDR400, MSI GeforceFX5900 XT.
Aquamark=<b>34702</b>

 

[phial]

I'm a CS gamer and have a 9800Pro and a FX5600 and I get higher framerate with the nvidia one! The cs engine doesn't like much radeon chips. But I have like a max of 300fps with 9800Pro and max of 400fps with the Fx so it is not a thing to worry!

your running in opengl i bet. nvidia cards like opengl ;P

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<A HREF="http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/you.html" target="_new">please dont click here! </A>

 

[metatrophia]

as for the big blocks of color, i had the same problem with Morrowind. an update of my video card's drivers solved the problem.

Gigabyte 7VRXP mobo; AMD Athlon 1400+; 512 MB PC-133 memory; Radeon 8500 64 MB; Lite-on CD-RW 32x12x40; LG DVD-ROM; TB Santa Cruz; Videomate Gold+ TV Tuner; NEC FE700+ monitor

 

[Groundhogster]

I see your running the cat 4.2 drivers. Didn't the cat 4.3 drivers fix a problem with running Call of Duty? You might want to go to the ATI web site and see what fixes the cat 4.3 drivers fixed. Worth a try.

Are you the friend who works on computers?