Is my computer too slow for Source?

[Wicka Shplicka]

All I can say is I get totally owned in Source games. I point right at people and shoot and they don't die, then I do instead. I can play old school dod and it's great.

The machine is a Gateway GT5068E with a GeForce 8600GTS video card. I did a benchmark and I guess it's slow as dirt. Is is salvageable or should I start over? Could it be decent with some more memory and a new video card?

Thanks,

Wicka

Here is the print out from 3DMark:
Processor
Best prices from merchants in the US
Intel Pentium D 2.8 GHz processor
Processor clock
2800 MHz
Physical / logical processors
1 / 2
# of cores
2
Graphics Card
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS
# of cards
1
SLI / CrossFire
Off
Memory
0 MB
Core clock
0 MHz
Memory clock
0 MHz
Driver name
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS
Driver version
6.14.12.6658
Driver status
FM Approved
General
Operating system
32-bit Microsoft Windows XP (5.1.2600)
Motherboard
Intel Corporation D945GCZ
Hard drive model
Memory
2048 MB
Module 1
512 MB Hyundai Electronics DDR2 @ 266 MHz
Module 2
512 MB Hyundai Electronics DDR2 @ 266 MHz
Module 3
512 MB Hyundai Electronics DDR2 @ 266 MHz
Module 4
512 MB Hyundai Electronics DDR2 @ 266 MHz
Detailed scores
3DMark Score
5366.0 3DMarks
SM2.0 Score
2336.0
HDR/SM3.0 Score
2388.0
CPU Score
1414.0
Game Score
N/A
GT1 - Return To Proxycon
19.39 FPS
GT2 - Firefly Forest
19.55 FPS
CPU1 - Red Valley
0.45 FPS
CPU2 - Red Valley
0.71 FPS
HDR1 - Canyon Flight
22.49 FPS
HDR2 - Deep Freeze
25.27 FPS
Fill Rate - Single-Texturing
N/A
Fill Rate - Multi-Texturing
N/A
Pixel Shader
N/A
Vertex Shader - Simple
N/A
Vertex Shader - Complex
N/A
Shader Particles (SM3.0)
N/A
Perlin Noise (SM3.0)
N/A
8 Triangles
N/A
32 Triangles
N/A
128 Triangles
N/A
512 Triangles
N/A
2048 Triangles
N/A
32768 Triangles
N/A
Settings
Default settings used
Yes
Width
1280
Height
1024
Anti-Aliasing
None
Texture Filtering
Optimal
VS Profile
3_0
PS Profile
3_0

 

[PewPewBangBang]

You can run source games.....just not at the best graphics or anything. Probably medium i'd say. But i doubt you could run any of the newer games.

It's not worth it to put money into this computer. You would be better off starting on a whole new setup

 

[a pet rock]

The problem you're describing sounds more like internet problems. If you're certain it's not user-error misses (I know some games dramatically decrease accuracy while moving), then it's possible you've got some packet loss going on.

 

[dimkapo]

if you want to try and make games look better then download EVGA precision and overclock your card, but yea it sounds like its an internet problem

 

[BokkChoi]

Your computer is better than mine, and I can run all source games on medium at about 45 fps.

 

[JunK]

that vid card is perfectly fine for source games, your cpu is bottlenecking your gpu.

i had a 8600 GT with an athlon 64 x2 4200+ 2.2ghz dual core and as soon as i upgraded my cpu (had to change mobo too) to the processor i have now, tho running at dual core, my fps in CSS went from 30-50 with medium/low settings to 50-100 with it maxed.

so you can by all means eventually get everything updated, but you can start out slow with a mobo/cpu combo for only a couple hundred bucks, change your case at some point etc then eventually upgrade your gpu

edit: and yes the problem you are describing sounds more like the problems in source games, it takes a bit to get used to it. it isn't about shooting the models you see on your screen, its about shooting the hitboxes the servers/internet sets

 

[Wicka Shplicka]

Well, it shouldn't be my internet, because it's supposed to be really fast. How would I troubleshoot it? My fps is really slow in source. I have tried setting the detail levels to really low and it doesn't speed up the game play.

Also, how come I don't get an email when someone responds to a post?

 

[Wicka Shplicka]

Ok. Update. I can't stream a movie on netflix either. I had someone come to the house with their laptop and it worked no problem, so the internet and router are fine. It's my computer that is slow on the internet. The download speed is good when I do speed checks, but it sucks when I do things it looks like...

 

[reflex99]

your computer is slow.

Might want to look into a better processor