I just build a PC, but I am having problems...

[hdsalinas]

I just built a PC for the very first time this past weekend!!
(I am very proud of that!)

before I tell you about my problem here are the specs:

Pentium 4 2.4ghz
516MB PC 2700 RAM
40GB HDD
ATI Radeon 7000 64MB PCI video card
Win XP
direct X 9.0 (installed)
ATI catalyst 3.2 drivers installed.

My system works fine and it is very stable. I am very pleased with it except for problems with video performance on some games. Combat Flight Sim II and flight Sim 2002 work excellent. Graphics are great and fast. But when I try games like "Soldier of Fortune" and Fifa 2002, is where it gets dirty. In those games I cannot get past the menus and start loading the games itself without being thrown back Windows.

I downloaded a trial version of FIFA 2003 and it ran very slowly and choppy. Outlook XP also takes a while to load (about 10 - 15 seconds)

I am blaming my video card for this. (Although everything seems to work fine) All the drivers are installed and as I said before some game do run great. I have not played with the BIOS yet and I was wondering if there are things I should check and tweak to get the most of my system.
(my motherboard is a MSI)

I am very new at building a computer from the ground up, this is my first attempt, so any help is more than welcomed.

thanks

HDSalinas

[rhmorrison]

Wonderful for you but what makes you think that a forum dedicated to PocketPC's would be interested in or have any tips for anyone who built their own PC :?:

Build your own PocketPC and then we'll talk!

[Janak Parekh]

Wonderful for you but what makes you think that a forum dedicated to PocketPC's would be interested in or have any tips for anyone who built their own PC :?:
Ummm.... it's in Off-Topic. He's perfectly welcome to post and ask here. We have a knowledgeable userbase that has answered questions about PCs in the past. If he had just joined to ask this question, that might be a situation where I'd pass on it.

salinashd: The Radeon 7000 is indeed a pretty old video card by modern standards, and complex 3D applications may choke on it. That said, make sure you download the latest CATALYST drivers from ATi's site. They're pretty stable, and if you used older drivers on CD that might be one explanation. Also, make sure you have the latest DirectX updates installed from Windows Update. If you're still having problems, it might be time to invest in a more substantial video card.

Good luck, and congratulations on building your PC. It's a great experience, especially the first time. I've probably built over 1,000 PCs by now, but it's still pretty awesome to play with the newest tech; the machine I'm typing this on was built by myself (P4 2GHz, GF4Ti4600, 768MB DDR SDRAM, 15k Seagate Ultra160 SCSI drive), and I'm very happy with it. It's not for everyone, but for those who are willing to take the challenge it's rewarding.

--janak

[Jacob]

Wonderful for you but what makes you think that a forum dedicated to PocketPC's would be interested in or have any tips for anyone who built their own PC :?:

Build your own PocketPC and then we'll talk!

Although there are other places he should be looking - it's probably because there are a lot of technical people on these boards who know more than just about PocketPC. This is the "Off-Topic" area after all.

-Check out the game sites to make sure you have the latest patches - or see if their forums have similar reports.

- I've never seen any problem with Office XP, but with Outlook I always see a delay when it tries to retrieve email - you might want to turn off the automatic retrieval of email.

- ALso, make sure you have the right video and audio drivers. Also - check motherboard drivers.

[Jacob]

Janak - I obviously can't write fast enough!!

[Steven Cedrone]

Wonderful for you but what makes you think that a forum dedicated to PocketPC's would be interested in or have any tips for anyone who built their own PC :?:

Build your own PocketPC and then we'll talk!

His post is perfectly acceptable in the "Off-Topic" forum. Just about anything can be posted and discussed here (and usually is, take a look through the forum :wink: )

Steven Cedrone
Community Moderator