Low performance when i shouldn't...

[concept theory]

Hey, well my computers spec's surpass except one (slightly) all the required and recommended specifications.

I have:
Vista
Nvidia GeForce 8400
Intel Duo Core 2 E6550 2.33Ghz
2 Gb RAM

but default its World detail 2 and model detail 2. If i increase both to like 3-4 my frame rate is terrible. I do use World detail-1 and Model detail-4 but I did not think I would have to...

Maybe something is wrong?

[PhenomFX]

Uhm your PC is very weak for gamin, it's not above minimum specs and it's not close to be recommended, your gpu is very low end and not meant for any kind of gaming, the 8400 is very weak and meant for regular use but no gaming.

[MTL]

well yeah, the CPU barley misses the recommended specs but mine does also at 2.2GHz. I have somewhat similar specs, but im getting 60FPS constantly at 1680x1050 because I have a 9600GT.
Your 8400 is really whats holding you back. Id suggest trying out my tweaks in my sig or just play at the smallest resolution.

[oldkawman1]

Hey, well my computers spec's surpass except one (slightly) all the required and recommended specifications.

I have:
Vista
Nvidia GeForce 8400
Intel Duo Core 2 E6550 2.33Ghz
2 Gb RAM

but default its World detail 2 and model detail 2. If i increase both to like 3-4 my frame rate is terrible. I do use World detail-1 and Model detail-4 but I did not think I would have to...

Maybe something is wrong?

It's your video card. You need at least a 8600 with DDR3 memory for UT3. You cannot play UT3 with cards made for DVD playback and surfing the web. Try 1-1 quality and 800x600 res for the 8400 and 8500 series cards. They are cheap DX10 cards, nothing more.

Do your self a favor and read this before you buy another video card,

http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/04/...for_the_money/

The last page shows the relative performance between cards. The 8400 is only shightly better performing in games than the old Ti4200 cards.

[concept theory]

Omg I got ripped off... That sucks big balls :P but on the recommended it says Nvidia geforce 7800... I have 600 over that?

[Moloko]

Omg I got ripped off... That sucks big balls :P but on the recommended it says Nvidia geforce 7800... I have 600 over that?

You serious? presuming you are, it doesn't work like that ,the 7800gtx was the top card in Nvidia's 7 series when it first emerged. the 8400 is a mid-low card in the 8 series. A 7800gtx card is better than an 8400, but even 7800 cards aren't really adequate, aim for a 8800gt at least, if you've got the psu for it.

[concept theory]

Holy god I know nothing about computers... Im a dirty console freak (360) and I bought this computer last year I thought it was pretty high spec but Ive been ripped off because I thought because it was 8 series it would be very adequite... Sorry whats PSU? Also I have an old nvidia GeForce 6200 kicking around is this better than what ive got? Lol!

[concept theory]

Sorry that im such an idiot...

[Metal_Militia]

You serious? presuming you are, it doesn't work like that ,the 7800gtx was the top card in Nvidia's 7 series when it first emerged. the 8400 is a mid-low card in the 8 series. A 7800gtx card is better than an 8400, but even 7800 cards aren't really adequate, aim for a 8800gt at least, if you've got the psu for it.

Yeah, you really can't go by the card #'s. For example, with the 8800 GTX versus the 9800 GTX, the 8800 GTX currently benches better than the 9800 GTX, despite being a lower model #.

[concept theory]

Why do they create new models with higher numbers which are worse?

[Metal_Militia]

Holy god I know nothing about computers... Im a dirty console freak (360) and I bought this computer last year I thought it was pretty high spec but Ive been ripped off because I thought because it was 8 series it would be very adequite... Sorry whats PSU? Also I have an old nvidia GeForce 6200 kicking around is this better than what ive got? Lol!

PSU= Power Supply Unit. Your CPU isn't too far off what I would recomend for the game (I do tend to over-recommend sometimes ), but the GPU (video card) has to go. If you've got a good enough PSU, you should look into a 9600 GT (good), or an 8800 GT (better [again with the model # confusion]). You have to do a little research when a new Nvidia product comes out, to see if it's really better or not. There is a pattern to their replacement-system, but I don't really want to get into that. . . .

[Benfica]

Why do they create new models with higher numbers which are worse?

The 1st digit has got to do with when they were released. Ex: that family 8 is newer than family 7.

The 3 remaining digits represent the relative performance, but only mean anything inside the same family. Ex: 7900 > 7800 > 7600 > 7300

Then, across families there is a point when a top card from family 7 have similar performance than a mid-range from serie 8. Like 7800 matches the 8600(?) or whatever. From the 8600 down to 8100, the cards are newer but start to be crappy as hell, even though the 4 digit number is higher


There's even more. For the recent high-end 8800 card there are these submodels:
8800gs < 8800gt < 8800gts < 8800gtx < 8800ultra
They are sorted alphabetically, the faster card has an higher sub-model designation


But they made it worst, because now even these rules are distorted:

- There some cards with the 8800GTS reference that are slower than the 8800GT, and others are faster.
- Memory inside the card matters, the more the better. But look at this, the 8800gts model with 512MB of memory is faster than the 8800gts model with 640MB.
- There's now the family 9 where the newer 800 model is slower than the previous one, and that never happened before IIRC. The 9800gtx is a tad slower than the 8800gtx.


If you find this very confusing, that's basically the point They don't have a **** clue, this is completely absurd and goes against logic.

Look for comparisons and benchmarks on the net, so that you understand what model to buy. See this: http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html
The green bars are cards from the manufacturer NVidia. All that I posted above are related with this one. The red ones are from ATI that have a different combination of retarded rules.


If you have friends that are going to upgrade, tell them to buy the NVidia 8800gt card, but make sure that they have 512MB of memory. A lot of guys on the forum have one and are very happy with it's performance and affordable price. Stay away from a card called 8800gt-256 and make sure you have the 8800gt-512 MB. It's performance is much higher.

You can buy also the "NVidia 9600GT" or "ATI HD3870" if they cost 40 or 50$ less.

[concept theory]

Thanks all, very much I think ill save some money back for a 8800 and maybe buy a new processor chipset just to hump it up to like 2.5 hopefully probably said some stuff wrong there but u know what I mean!

[Moloko]

Thanks all, very much I think ill save some money back for a 8800 and maybe buy a new processor chipset just to hump it up to like 2.5 hopefully probably said some stuff wrong there but u know what I mean!

Nothing wrong with that processor or your 2gb ram , an 8800gt - 512mb version, is all you need. There are also a few vastly reduced 8800gts 640mb cards around at the moment, at roughly a third of their original asking price.

[oldkawman1]

Why do they create new models with higher numbers which are worse?

That how they sell stuff. Put it in a really big and cool looking box with a pic of a really hot looking anime girl holding a sword and it sells. The 8400 and 8500 cards are very much overpriced and make big profits for the retailers and manufacturers. They are made with components that are defective higher end parts. The chips have the defective parts disabled, clocks lowered, etc. The ultimate in recycling. So, it's not like these are special cards, they are just made by recycling reject parts.

This is how you learn sometimes. When it comes to a PC, best do do your homework. Lots of gamers build their own boxes, so, this is a good place for good info if you can filter out the fan boys. It's also a good place to find out what really works and what does not.