Big probs with half life 2 & NV FX 5200

[belladonna]

Here's the story - I've got HL2 installed on my pc, however Steam said that my graphics card needed an updated driver. I downloaded & installed that driver, & restarted my pc when prompted, but when i went to check the driver version in device manager, it was still the old one!

Also, the game will load & start, but as it reaches the end of the intro, it gets slower & slower, sound loops & eventually crashes back to the desktop (no error message)

here's my specs

pentium 4 processor
Windows XP o/s
80gb hard drive
256mb ram (not much, i know, but min. req. for the game)
NVidia GeForce FX5200 graphics card

Any help would be wonderful, I'm ready to chuck my pc out the window!

 

[vegasgmc]

Did you uninstall the old drivers before installing the new ones? You should. I dont think you can play HL2 with that card unless the video settings are really low. Even though its a DX9 card it just doesnt have the power for newer games . I had trouble with one playing Elite Force 2 two years ago. If you can afford a new video card get one. Even an older one like the Radeon 9500 is better or a FX 5700. You can find them cheap on Ebay.

 

[BringinHeat]

i second that get a better graphics card get a 9800 pro or one of the newer x700s to be on the safe side becuase games are only gettin more graphic card intensive and these cards are pretty cheap now.

 

[belladonna]

Well, can't really afford any new cards right now (student, broke!) but will get onto it in the future.

The game was a gift, so I'll just put it away til I can afford some upgrades!

Thanks

b

 

[Cactus]

i would also add more memory. windows xp alone eats up almost 256 megs. get at least 512, 1 gig would be better.