Low FPS - Lags so bad I can't play!

[syunistan]

Low FPS - Lags so bad I can't play!

Hello guys, I was wondering if any of you could help me out? I just bought The Witcher 2 and I can't play it because of the unseemly lag! The thing is though, cutscenes play just fine. In fact, they run splendidly, but when it actually comes time to play I can't do anything. The FPS for gameplay reaches the single digits and stays at about a 3!
These are my system specs:
I run a Dell computer with an Intel (R) Xeon (TM) CPU 2.80 GHz 2.79 GHz (2 processors)
4.00 GB installed memory (RAM)
64-bit operating system
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce 210

 

[hotnels]

Hello guys, I was wondering if any of you could help me out? I just bought The Witcher 2 and I can't play it because of the unseemly lag! The thing is though, cutscenes play just fine. In fact, they run splendidly, but when it actually comes time to play I can't do anything. The FPS for gameplay reaches the single digits and stays at about a 3!
These are my system specs:
I run a Dell computer with an Intel (R) Xeon (TM) CPU 2.80 GHz 2.79 GHz (2 processors)
4.00 GB installed memory (RAM)
64-bit operating system
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce 210

Need better graphics card. Also maybe try the d3d9.dll fix do a google search you'll find it.

 

[GuyNwah]

The GeForce 210 is only a fraction of the practical minimum for this game. If that's a Dell Precision or Inspiron tower, you may have room for an upgrade sufficient to make the game playable for you.

Since the EE edition of the game is new and appears to make more demands on the GPU, I'm not yet sure what a good low-range card is yet. But upgrading still sounds like your best bet.

 

[tomigun46]

Hi Syunistan , the biggest hindrence to your gameplay is most proberly your GPU unfortunatly.

I believe the minimum specifications are a 8800gt/gt250? or thereabouts,
My brother struggles with a Dual Core and 9800gt on low to medium setting @ 1440x900 res.

 

[hotnels]

I have a E5800 dual core @3.2ghz and a gtx550ti and I can run the game very well with mostly high settings with fxaa (no AA) and adaptive v-sync. The graphics card makes all the difference and mine is a fairly low range model so it was relatively inexpensive (as far a graphics cards go).

 

[ksaad]

You can't always trust the system requirements. That's a common knowledge amongst PC gamers.
Even the recommended GPU (GTX 260) isn't enough to run the game "as it's meant to be".

Hotnels' recommendation seems most adequate. Depending on your screen resolution you'll do just fine with a 400 series or above. But the 550Ti should be at a reasonable price, and oh it does deliver.

 

[GuyNwah]

You can't always trust the system requirements. That's a common knowledge amongst PC gamers.
Even the recommended GPU (GTX 260) isn't enough to run the game "as it's meant to be".

Hotnels' recommendation seems most adequate. Depending on your screen resolution you'll do just fine with a 400 series or above. But the 550Ti should be at a reasonable price, and oh it does deliver.

There's an open question of what manner of computer the OP has. Dells more recent than the crappy Dimension 4600 and 4700 are generally pretty solidly built and have decent power supplies. But they are also often BTX design, with hindrances that can get in the way of double-wide graphics cards.

So a 550 Ti is a good recommendation in general, but it may be ineffective for the OP if it won't fit. And we also need to know whether it's a model with a good enough power supply, or whether the OP would have to upgrade that too.

 

[ksaad]

Hmm, good point. How about a Sapphire 7750? It's not a very demanding unit and happens to be pretty space-friendly. Well I guess that's one of the reasons why I stopped going for brands. I had a similar problem like maybe 8 years ago when I was desperately trying to fit in an AGP GPU and getting it running. Man, we've come along away.

 

[petterknekta]

yeah, you need to upgrade your.. everything basically.

GPU is a good start but then you have to check your powersupply if it has enough watt/connections and check if there's space for another GPU.

upgrading these comps aren't all that easy most of the time sadly

 

[syunistan]

Thanks for the help guys!
GAH I wish I were more tech savvy so I could figure out where to even start. I'll take everything you guys said and discuss it with my computer guy. Thanks for your help!

 

[GuyNwah]

Thanks for the help guys!
GAH I wish I were more tech savvy so I could figure out where to even start. I'll take everything you guys said and discuss it with my computer guy. Thanks for your help!

CPU's adequate, RAM's adequate. Sometimes these Dells use ECC RAM; if they do, you have to match it if you're going to upgrade RAM.

The important upgrade item is the graphics card. Graphics RAM is secondary with this game; it needs computing power. In nVidia cards, that means a bare minimum of 96 stream processors (the 210 has only 16), and preferably a lot more. Cards like the nVidia 550Ti are a good upgrade target.

Graphics cards draw a lot of power. Often they will exceed the capacity of a stock power supply. So you need good advice on the power supply as well, when you upgrade the graphics card.