getting the most out of my hardware

[pablo123]

i got a computer in the spring of 2001 and have added ram and replaced the video card since then. i have a couple of questions regarding the performance i can expect out of it. i dont know how to get a list of my comp's stats, so i'll go by what i remember:

intel p3 1.0 ghz cpu
2(128mb ram) + 1(256mb ram) = 512 mb ram
gainward geforce 4 ti4200 video card
20gb hard drive + 80 gb hard drive


here are my questions:

and btw, if you read any of these questions and think "omg, why didn't he go to website abc" please direct me to that website, i've looked around but haven't been able to find anything.


how do i tell if my computer is running games as well as it could/should?

when i play one game in particular (operation flashpoint), no matter how low i turn the resolution/graphics settings, the game lags when i turn up the view distance to even the default setting (although turning the resolution/graphics up to the default settings does lag it slightly more). i also remember it stutters the most when i'm looking across the countryside(<30 fps, at times <10fps), if i look straight down i get like 60-80 fps. considering this was a game released when i got my computer, why is it so slow, and is there any way i can treat this? from reading the hl2 article, i suspect my cpu is to blame; can i do anything to treat the symptom anyway? my ideal goal is to be able to run the game at its default settings with a constant 30fps framerate.

how do i learn all the stuff that you guys know about computers? i was reading the newest article on what to buy for a high-end system, and i didn't understand half of the things it said. for example, this paragraph:


"The Athlon 64 is currently the fastest processor that you can buy, the Dual-Channel Socket 939 is the top-performing A64 Socket, and the FX is the fastest 939 processor. The FX also has the distinction of being the only processor that is completely unlocked. That means that you can adjust multipliers both up and down, to obtain the highest possible speed at the fastest DDR400 memory timings, or to obtain the highest FSB that your high speed memory can run or your CPU can reach"


are there any guides to learning about these things?

a classmate of mine told me that he was able to play hl2 on a 700mhz cpu with a geforce 2 video card; before that i had assumed i would not be able to play hl2, but now im not so sure; do you guys think my computer can handle the game? (or was that kid lying/exagerating?) is there any way to see how the game will run before i buy it? (is that what benchmarking is?)


is there anything else i should know about tweaking my computer's settings?


once again, if there are any links that can explain this stuff to me, i will gladly go to them and read everything they have to say.

thanks!

 

[Uncle Bob]

While I'm not a hard-core gamer by any means, the following observations are probably pertinent to your question(s)

if your pc is a couple of years old it's probably not running at it's optimum performance level unless you've recently reformatted/reloaded your operating system. Over the couple of years your system has been in use your hard discs will be loaded with various programs/drivers/utils/games etc and will most likely be heavily fragmented. Your registry file will probably be filled with junk and if you've been on the internet, you've probably got a million-and-one things loading during start-up that you may not know anything about.

the usual way gamers decide if their system is running right is to use one of the benchmarks like 3dMark but with your system you would need to download/run old versions of the benchmark and then find old articles on the internet to compare your system to; I believe 3dmark still have old databases available but you need to buy their software to be able to view it.

As to learning; well you've started on the right path.. read articles on Anandtech and other sites like them (there are PLENTY about) and over a period of time things will gradually become clearer, you just need some patience

hope this helps