resolution problems

i recently, built a new machine, i say recently, it was yesterday the 20th i built it. My new system spec is

amd 6400+ duel core processor
2x geforce 8600GT 256mb
3GB DDR2 800 ram
XP

my old system spec was

amd 3700+ processor
2x geforce 7600 GT 256mb
1.5 GB DDR4 ram
XP

built it primarrly to play cod4, from my old machine i got graphic lag, especially wen i got a 22" monitor. Now with this new machine i expected flat out flawless performance in all my old games since they played fine on my old machine anyway, but, when i went to play stalker shadow of chernobly, it refuses to play on any resolution on any graphic setting, i get tonnes of graphic lag :confused when it should play spot on now, also i play red orchestra, when i put the game onto my resolution which is 1680 x 1050, i get really bad glitches, like fuzzy line glitches, wen i went to take a screen shot tho to show you it didnt register on the screenshot :confused but wen i lowered the resolution down to 1024 x 768 i didnt get these glitches.

if anyone cares to speculate my problem, please feel free too

 

im pretty sure you already know this being a gamer but just make sure that you have the latest drivers, but as for it being another problem check the settings of your graphic cards to make sure there compatible with your system also xp doesnt take a liking to LOTS of ram so if you can id take a one of your sticks out see how it runs then. also sometimes the monitor can limit the resolution because 2x 8600 gt's should be pumpin out some major power if not check the cable connection to the computer and monitor, and check to make sure you have the graphics cards firmly inserted in there slots.

 

Do your old games support SLI graphics cards? If they are a couple of years old, newer graphics drivers may not be backwards compatible, so you may need to roll back drivers for smooth graphics. Oh, and do your older games support resolutions above 1240x780?

 

to zigg, i will check the connections on the cards, n i have the latest drivers yeah. i know about XPs ram limitations, from what i know it only uses up to 2 GB anyway lol bloody thing, its only cos i will be running vista shortly on another harddrive.

to mimsy, my old games played fine on a sli set up before hand, i ran 2x 7600s so sli cant be a problem. i could try rolling the drivers back yeah. the older games, ie the ones i have tried, stalker and red orchestra have the supported resolution on the drop down menu.

 

So it's not SLI... it's not the lack of resolution support... if rolling back the drivers doesn't work, the only thing left would be a clean reinstall. (Saving all your save games of course!)

And XP 32-bit can use up 3-3.5GB... most applications cap out at 2GB though.

 

right, ive reinstalled stalker twice, and thats when i realised that the problem with stalker was to do with the flames and gun flashes, which is why i did another thread. i think at the end of the day i will format me pc, wipe of any traces that could have remained from me old drivers, and start a fresh =/ something i didnt want to do.

and games that have got this flickering glitch when i put select my resolution dont have it anymore wen i lower the resolution, i dont get why tho? they support it because its in there list on the graphic options =(

 

A couple of other questions then... first off, what happens if you increase the resolution, and then scale back on other graphics options? Say, high resolution, low anti-aliasing, for example?

And do you really have to have the game in the higher resolution to enjoy playing it? If it works in 1240x780, is there a reason for increasing that resolution that is so good that it is worth all this time and aggravation to get there?