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can this system handle counter strike: source?

here are the specs:

anthlon 64 3500
512 mb ram
250 gig hard drive
intergrated ati radeon express 200 with up to 256 mb shared video ram (currently have it at 64, no idea how to set it)

well, those my specs. now can it handle the game, i wud like u guys to answer asap because am lanning to buy the game tomorrow, wud my system run it with a decent fps? wud it lag? wud i have to set all settings to low ?

All settings on low should run it acceptably, though its highly recommended to get a standalone video card rather than use the onboard one. U can set the shared video memory size in the BIOS BTW.

ive tried.....but the dam thing is unchooseable, like its grey so i cant change it for some reason, lol, and it says it can be changfed to 256 mb. only on low settings? wouldnt med-low with a low resolution gimme a playable frame count?

Not likely, since the onboard card has only 64 MB memory. So low will give u the smoothest experience. Try both and see what happens but better get a new video card. A 9800 Pro or XT would be good enough and it'll be available under $150 at Newegg.

yes a standalone viedo card would be so much better go for a 6800gs or a x800gto beacause i think your board has a pci express slot, is your computer an HP? because i think ive seen the same combo of hard ware in an hp mechine and it does have a pci-e slot. Check your mobo manual for a pci express 16x slot

yeah, its got pci express slot, i know that, am saving up a a 7800, lol, going take a while but ill be nice with my intergrated card for now, am gonna try to see which combinations work better with my card to play comfortably

the 7800 series is nice but you will defintly need a new power supply so add about another 50-100 dollors onto the budget

Did he ever say what PSU he had though? It might be good enough?
With those integrated graphics, I don't even know for sure whether it'd even run.

If you can't get enough money for a 7800GT than a 6800GS is also a great purchase.

Like Kev_Boy, I'm not so sure CS: Source will run very well with integrated graphics. It's been upgraded and demands a lot from the PC. If your PC can run Half-Life 2 good, then maybe CS: S will be okay.

Umm, but HL2 has issues with NVIDIA cards, or so I've heard. In that case, a better option would be an X800 XL/XT or even an X850 if u've got the cash.

The on-board will play CS:S just fine, but only if you reduce the game to DX7.0 level with the mat_dxlevel command.

The on-board video uses Hypermemory technology so it's memory access is pretty good for integrated video. This makes it perform close to a Radeon 9000/9200 series for most games.

The problem is- the on-board video also supports PS/VS 2.0 of DirectX 9.0, which Source engine games also support. This can be a bit too much for it to handle.

Long term, I'd definately say get a dedicated videocard.. but for now, you should have no problems playing CS:S on that system if you set the game settings down a bit and force DX7.0 level to disable the shader effects.

ah, 2well, i dont mind running it in low settings, hey if i can run cs:s can it also run dod:s? because the package i wanna get comes with dod:s and Half life death match included. and with the command will the game run smoother? im planning to get it as soon as i go to futureshop or some store like that. how many frames u think ill get?

Yeah it will run Day of Defeat too. With those settings u should get around 30-50 fps. Quite acceptable.

true, hey besides! its about the gameplay not the eye candy, haha, i rather have fun than none at all, and besides it still looks as good, or better than the original cs, and condition zero, so i cud always brainwash my brain and think am playing one of those 2 games, haha, it shud work, lol. Until i get a new video card, shoudl I get ATI or Nvidia, would ATI work better seeing as i have an ATI chipset in my MOBO, which makes it an ATI mobo, right?