Fps very low on almost all 3d games

[Geozgomer]

Hello all,
I've seen quite a few topics like this in these forums, and have tried many of the suggestions I have seen, but it hasn't helped.
My problem:
When I play many 3D games, I have an extremely low (3-7 fps) framerate, and I can't figure out why. Half Life 2 seems to work fine, as does Guild Wars, but games like Doom 3, the F.E.A.R demo, and even the Halo: Combat Evolved gets a horrible framerate even on the lowest video settings.

System Specs:
Windows XP Home Edition SP 2
Intel Pentium 4 3.2 Ghz Processor
Nvidia Geforce Fx 5500 Graphics Card
1.5 GB RAM
The system itself is a heavily modified ABS Gaming Computer.

When I use ctrl-alt-del to see how much memory/processing power is being used, neither is even close to 100% usage. I have updated my graphics card to the latest version. That's all I can think of off the top of my head. If anyone can give me any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance,
Geozgomer

 

[|-|ybrid]

Well I may see what the problem is, and I'm sorry to say it, but... your video card is crap!!!!!! Dude, the reason why GW and HL2 work better is because they don't requuire that much. You can even run HL2 on a 5200 and still get a good framerate. Doom 3 and F.E.A.R. are games that use dynamic soft shadowing and HDR (Doom 3 only). Your kind of video card is not nearly powerful enough to support these technologies. As for Halo: Combat Evolved, however, I don't know what could be wrong with that. Have you tried turning off the VSYNC or taking off the framerate limit? If I were you, I'd go on the internet and look for a different video card (that is, if you've got the money). You should be looking for something in the 6xxx or even 7xxx family of GeForce video cards. If that really isn't an option for you right now, just go on nVidia's site, keep your card updated and hope for the best.

Good luck,

|-|ybrid

 

[Geozgomer]

Alright, I kind of thought that might be what it was, but I hoped not. A new video card was gonna be the next thing I added to my comp, but now it looks like I'm gonna get it a little sooner. Thanks for your help, |-|ybrid