How come my games are running so poorly?

[Bloodman]

I have an Intel Pentium D CPU 2.8 GHz, 2GB of RAM.

I have an NVidia GeForce 6200SE w/ turbo cache.

Why the hell am I still lagging when it comes to games? I have Half-Life 2, I, from what friends say, should be able to play it with little to none lag at any point.

Is it my graphics card or is it my PC?

Tell me if you want more info.

[Brandon]

I have an NVidia GeForce 6200SE w/ turbo cache.You have a low-end graphics card. That's why. You need to upgrade. You're not going to be playing Half-Life 2 on that card.

[Bloodman]

You have a low-end graphics card. That's why. You need to upgrade. You're not going to be playing Half-Life 2 on that card.

I beat HL2.

[Brandon]

Why the hell am I still lagging when it comes to games? I have Half-Life 2, I, from what friends say, should be able to play it with little to none lag at any point.I beat HL2.Let me rephrase that. You won't be able to play Half-Life 2 lag-free with that graphics card.

[Bloodman]

well, since you say so, do you think $200 is a rip off for a 6600GT? If so, what is a better suggestion?

[Brandon]

You can look on newegg.com or pricewatch.com for a video card. Video cards these days are every bit as complex as CPUs and some even more so and the latest ones are around 400-600 bucks, depending on where you get them from. You also have to makes sure your computer can handle it (motherboard, cooling system, etc.).

[Backlash]

I'm sure a modern $300 card would be able to run HL2 just fine with maybe some of the "fancies" turned off and the resolution turned down a bit.

[GoofsterStud]

x850xt is the sweet spot for 150-200 range


for Shader 3 and fast

do a X1800XT

[Zodiacboyscorp]

Damnit!

Can someone delete that account, I use that one in quite a few forums and I constantly am not using that here. (above post)

[IEatFriedPikmin]

get a nvidia 6800 256mb card from newegg. That worked well for me. Or you could get the 7200, except those cost like just as much as an xbox 360.

[stanDarsh]

You should be able to play Half Life 2 no problems with a 6200, I finished it fine, with a 5200 256MB Video Card.

If you are experiencing lag, while playing online, that's a different story.

[Brandon]

I can't stand Half-Life 2 with a lower end graphics card. I like all the eye candy and special effects turned on...especially when I'm on a larger monitor.

[stanDarsh]

Agreed, I noticed a big difference when I got my X800XT-VIVO and I bumped up everything to its highest level.

[Backlash]

^ Yeah, just go ahead and brag...

[stanDarsh]

Alright I will...

Seriously though, it's not like my card is considered high end anymore, not with things like X1900XT and 7900GTs around. Come to think of it, it was last generation when I bought it.

[WolfmanNCSU]

And here I am with my FX 5900.....meh it does a good enough job for me right now, but that will be the next thing I think I want to upgrade.