Tips or Thoughts

[Capital G]

Okay I love me some Team Fortress 2.  I play at home a lot and do pretty well.  Well when i check my FPS it is about 27 on average, which is really bad right?  But it doesnt look bad, or play bad.  At least I don't think it does.  So any idea's on either how to raise my frame rate or maybe be able to tell me why it is reading so low.   I have a nice comp with a good Vid card.  Looked it up on that other site.

Any thoughts?

[Dragon]

Update video drivers and check your settings in game to see what works best, is all I can suggest off the bat.  You want to try to get it over 60.

[Easymacj3]

i get like 30 frames if that on tf2

[Capital G]

Okay, I've got a new, BIGGER, issue.   I upgraded my Ram over the weekend.  I went to best buy because computer Rx was closed when I called.   So i stuck a Gig of PC3200 ram into the old gal and Presto, things are running better, loads seem quicker, everything in the world has just gotten that much better.  And then Bam!  20 min into a battle against the French (Empire: Total War) I get a black screen Restart.  So i try again, 15 min in, black screen restart.  I then start researching this on the web and Bigity Bam!  Black screen restart.  Soooooooooooooooooo  I go out and buy a new power supply.   Not the issue, same problem.  So i take back the power supply, lol.  Now I'm kinda at a loss.  Also When i take the new Memory out, everything works fine.

Any Suggestions?

The one thing i'm yet to try that i need to is getting some canned Air and cleaning out the socket for the Memory Stick.  Due to the comp being near 4 years old and those slots being open the entire time, maybe they are just dirty and thats causing it.

I have no clue.

[Dragon]

I need to know which O/S you are using, 64 or 32 bit O/S and how much RAM total you now have.  Just to see where I am going with this, 32 bit O/S is limited to 3 Gig RAM.  Anything beyond that and the system can do funny things.

Next thing to look at is the possibility of bad RAM.  I am assuming you now have 2 sticks of RAM.  Switch their positions and see what happens.  It could be that everything is running fine until it starts to use the new RAM.  If the RAM is faulty, that could cause your problem.

3rd thing that immediately jumps to mind is a RAM combo problem.  When you added the new stick was it the 2nd stick or the 3rd?  Some systems require RAM to be installed in pairs or have other weird limits.  Check with your motherboard documentation to see what it says about RAM pairing and combos.

In the end, you can always bring it in for the free diagnostics.  Of course you would have to leave it with us for a few days to run tests.

[Capital G]

Sounds like it might be that combo problem, i've heard about putting it in in pairs before, but the guy at best buy was like, " no it should be fine".  My computer had 2 sticks of 512mb in it and I added 1 stick of 1Gb.  So yeah now I have 3 in it.  I'll do some research on the board.  I'm not sure what it is.  Also i have no clue if my OS is 32 or 64 bit.   How do I check that?

[Dragon]

On figuring out the motherboard, was this a mass produced system like a Dell or HP?  On those you find info by model.  Also the info should be listed in your documentation.  If it is a built system, you can sometimes just look at the motherboard for a manufacturer name and a model.  We also have software in our place that will tell if you can't find it.  Of course you'd need to bring it in for the free diagnostics for that.

If you don't know if it is 64 or 32 bit, you probably have 32 bit; but since you only have 2 Gig installed, it doesn't matter.  3 Gig is the max on 32 bit.  Not installing memory in pairs may be your problem.  Yet another reason why folks shouldn't take advice from the guys at Best Buy/Geek Squad.  Their usual solution to most problems is "just buy something".  I don't know how many times we have heard them talk folks into buying a new computer when all they needed was a new video card or power supply.

If you don't want to or can't find your system info, you can always go back and buy another 1 Gig stick to install in a pair with the last one you bought and see if it starts working, or trade in the 1 Gig for 2-512's to accomplish the same thing.

[Capital G]

Right on, I will try a few of these options.  Also do you think there is any way it could be power supply related?  Because yeah, the guys at best buy got me to buy one of those too, saying that could be the issue.  I promply returned it when it was not the issue.

[Dragon]

I'd doubt it.  Power supplies not supplying the correct power can do weird things, but I'd be looking at that memory first.

[Capital G]

Okay so I cleaned it and that didnt work, but I noticed something during the cleaning process.  I have 4 slots, 2 are blue and 2 are black.  So this makes me think that it probably is a "pairing" issue.  Would you think that the 2 colors of the sets of slots would indicate that?

I'm going to best buy in about an hour to take the 1 gig stick back and get 2 512bm sticks.  the thing that sucks about this is its like 20-30 bucks more expensive to buy it this way.

[Dragon]

Sounds like pairing may be it.  You could just buy a second 1 gig stick.  It is a bit more money, but at least you are getting more for it.

[Capital G]

Yeah, Well it was going to cost me an additional 30 bucks for 2 512's or 75 bucks for another gig stick so i just went the dummy way and got the two 512's.  but yep, that was it.  All is right in the world.  Thanks for the advise threw this.

[Dragon]

I'm just glad it was good advice.