computer drags

[maxwell011]

i just built a computer for a friend of mine (his first):
amd k62 500mhz
128 mgs ram
gforce2 64mg video

i know its no rocket but it should run better than it does. even half-life is unplayable and it only needs a 133 cpu.
the only thing i can think of is the hard drive. its an old 2 gig h/d. could the fact that its older and slower be holding the computer back. any help would be appreciated thx

 

[Kocky]

What kind of OS have you installed ?
If you installed Win2000 or WinXP than you'd better get some more RAM or go back to Win98SE of WinME.
WinXP is way to heavy to run on this system.

 

[TekTippy4U]

The HDD needs DMA probably.....which for HDD is controlled in BIOS.....make sure settings are correct for that drive..
Did you Fdisk and format the drive..?and is it Fat16 or 32 or ntfs

TT4U

Notification:
These are just "my" thoughts....and should be carefully measured against other opinions....I try very hard to impart correct info at all times.

 

[maxwell011]

as far as os, its win98se. i fdisked and formatted it - the file sys is fat 32

 

[TekTippy4U]

Ok
Hows about the Mobo..New...Old?

TT4U

Notification:
These are just "my" thoughts....and should be carefully measured against other opinions....I try very hard to impart correct info at all times.

 

[ski]

First, if the MB has a VIA chipset(most AMD systems do), then d/l and install the latest VIA 4-in-1 chipset drivers.
Next, restart the computer, press Ctrl-Alt-Del on the Desktop, and shut down all programs running in the background, except Explorer and Systray(An antivirus program is especially tough on game performance).
Then, right click on 'My Computer', click Properties/Performance/Graphics, move the slider all the way to the right for max accel., and click OK.
Next, 0pen System Monitor, enable 'Unused Physical Memory' and 'Swapfile In Use', and minimize it to the taskbar(do not close it).
Now start playing the game.

If it's still performing slowly, then see how much 'UPM' is remaining in System Monitor, and if 'SFIU' shows any activity.
If 'UPM' is less than 5MB, and the swapfile is activated, then you have to install more memory. An extra 256MB should do it. Just make sure to get quality RAM, like Crucial, Mushkin, or Kingston. Do not get the cheap stuff.

If the swapfile is not being activated, then disable antialiasing and anisotropic filtering(if these options are available) either in the game or in the video card's software.

If that's N/A or does not help, then try different video card drivers.

If no luck, then reduce the game's settings, resolution, and color depth.

If still no luck, then a faster video card, CPU, and/or MB is required.