Why can't I run Crysis?

Ok I just bought a new computer and I felt for sure that I would at least be able to run Crysis on High Settings. But I can barely run it on low settings and at that point everything looks crappy. This is what dxdiag says about my system.


Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6001) Service Pack 1 (6001.vistasp1_gdr.080917-1612)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: HP-Pavilion
System Model: KT334AA-ABA m8530f
BIOS: BIOS Date: 05/05/08 17:18:43 Ver: 5.18
Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) 9550 Quad-Core Processor (4 CPUs), ~2.2GHz
Memory: 4862MB RAM
Page File: 1528MB used, 8392MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 6.00.6001.18000 32bit Unicode


---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 9300 GE
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce 9300 GE
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_06E0&SUBSYS_90041B0A&REV_A1
Display Memory: 2285 MB
Dedicated Memory: 239 MB
Shared Memory: 2046 MB
Current Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (72Hz)
Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
Driver Name: nvd3dumx.dll,nvd3dum,nvwgf2umx.dll, nvwgf2um
Driver Version: 7.15.0011.7824 (English)
DDI Version: 10
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 10/7/2008 13:33:00, 8459264 bytes


So what's wrong with this setup? Why can't I run Crysis as is my dream? I was so sure I could run Crysis when I got this computer because I can now run WoW 3.0.2 on max, Warhammer on max, and probably quite a few other games I just haven't gotten around to reinstalling yet. What would make this work? Or why won't it work? Thanks in advance.

 

Everything looks great for the exception of your graphics card. The NVIDIA GeForce 9300 GE is a rather new card, however it is not very powerful. Here is a benchmark run on Crysis with quite a few different graphics cards.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3334&p=11

I'd say that if you want to play Crysis on high settings at your current display setting of 1280 x 1024 you should at the very least have a nVidia 8800GT or a AMD Radeon HD 3870.

 

So what's the best card for gaming to date? Cause if I'm gonna upgrade, I'm gonna upgrade. So are any in the 9 series any good? I mean why does it seem like they're basically downgrading?

 

They're not downgrading. nVidia has three ranges of cards, more or less. High-end, mid-range, and low-end, (aka budget cards). Typically, as they move forward, last generation's high-end cards become this generation's mid-range ones, and last generation's high-end are also still better than the net generation's low-end, meaning you can't just go by the numbers.

If you want to make things easy, you can run the game-o-meter, and it will give you suggestions on upgrades.

 

The best single card for crysis right now is the NVIDIA Geforce GTX 280, but you're going to pay a pretty penny for one of those.

Here's another benchmark run on Crysis. If you play with the drop down box, you can select different settings for different games to get what you want. The one I link to is for Crysis on Very High with a resolution close to where you are playing at.

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-charts-q3-2008/Crysis-v1-21,747.html

To have a smooth gaming experience, you'll want a card that is going to give you at least a solid average of 30FPS (Frames Per Second). That is the value scored to the right of card. If you're going to play on high settings, any of the top cards should do it for you. Of course, it all depends on how much you want to pay.

 

I have a system similar to yours except I'm running Intel Core2Quad, my vid card is a BFG-Nvidia 8800GTS 512oc and Crysis runs great cranked at 1680 x 1050, except for a couple certain spots and I just bump a few settings down a notch, Warhead as well. The 8800 GTS is running about $130 - $150 now and is about the greatest deal for an excellent card Ive ever seen. I have no problem running every other game with settings maxed, no prob. The graphics card is the missing link in your system. Grab yourself one of these or similar and you'll be fine.

 

I must agree with all of the above comments. The one thing I find strange is that you have a nice fairly high end system with the quad-core CPU and the 4gb of RAM, but you have the low-end 9300 video card. :confused All I can think is that maybe gaming wasn't considered at the time of the build, so video power wasn't factored. In any case, to run Crysis (and most of today's modern games) even at medium settings, you'll need at least a 256bit card for good performance. Some of the revved-up 8600's can run Crysis at medium or medium/low, but still not as smooth as any modern 256bit card. I have a factory OCed 9600GT and it has never choked on any game or graphical task... ever. As stated above, the 8800s and the 9600s (and the 9800s) have all come down -way down- in price. A 9800 can be had for around $170; the 9600/8800 for about $120-$140.

 

Name brand computers makers tend to do stuff like that... Not really unusual in my opinion.

I have an 8800GT SC and have played Crysis with everything set on very high. This may not be true for all, but for me I did notice a little chop here and there with everything set on very high, but that may have been from a heating issue, I can't remember. At any rate, the 8800 GT is a capable card and, like mentioned earlier, has come way down in price. Of course, another card in that line might be a better option now that more have come out, I haven't been watching it lately.

 

So is it safe to assume that a 9800 is better than an 8800? And unfortunately this might get a little off-topic now, but for the sake of talking to the proper crowd and minimizing excess threads, what exactly do the extensions of the cards mean? Say for instance an 8800GT seems to be pretty popular. But what makes that better than an 8800GS or 8800GTS? Also there are different brands I guess? Like PNY? BFG? Which one is the best and why?

I consider myself to be pretty well informed and on top of things in the computer world, but graphics cards have never been my strong suit because up until now I was stuck with an AGP 7800 bottlenecked by a single core system. So now I'd like to know more about it so I can better make a decision that would be better for the future of my gaming addiction rather than just tide it over temporarily.

 

The 9800 series are a newer refresh of nVidia cards. They're based on the G92 core but feature some more features over the 8800 series. The 8800 series became very popular because of their price/performance ratio. Many people skipped past the 9800s bought two 8800GTs and ran them in SLI and saved some cash and had a killer system. Now a days though, the prices have come down a lot, so it really comes down to finding a good deal and getting the card with the features that you want.

The extensions after the cards number that you are referring to designate the level of performance the card is it. Its a constantly changing naming system and there's been plenty of variations over the years, but for example, lets take a look at some 8800 series cards. The GS would be the lower performing card of that series, followed next the GT, and then the GTX at the top of the list. Then of course you throw in things like, Ultra, and GX2 into the mix, and you have a whole confusing mix of names and cards. Its better to look at benchmarks of games you want to play, and pick the right card that's appropriate for you.

Finally, yes there are different brands of cards. There can be a few differences, but in general its the same card. For example, PNY might sell an 8800GT at stock settings with their own heatsink. While another company, say BFG, overclocks the card in the factory, puts on their own heatsink and sells you their version. Look at different brands of cards and check out the Core and Memory clock speeds as well as the type of cooling system they have installed. Some also might include software, like a free game, or some other minor difference.

 

I think that probably about sums it up. I guess it will ultimately come down to how much I want to spend after as much as I spent. And I guess I'm going to have to check out benchmarks to see what card would be best. I have one more question however and then I promise I'm done.

I believe my system uses PCI Express. I know the current card definitely does, but as far as I can tell all these better cards we've been talking about have been PCI Express 2.0. Does this mean I won't be able to use any of those? I can't tell for sure after looking through different spec pages. But, I've got the HP Pavilion m8530f. When I went on NVIDIA and looked for upgrades, their utility only gave me two options for upgrades. I think they were both variations of the 7600. So I guess that's not really an upgrade after all. But I told the utility that I had PCI Express rather than PCI Express 2.0 as was the options. Do I only have PCI Express?

 

As long as you have a PCIe slot you'll be ok. PCIe 2.0 was just an update to the standard that included some newer specifications like doubling the bus standard's bandwidth from 0.25 GByte/s to 0.5 GByte/s. It's fully backwards compatible so you do not have to worry about the difference between PCIe and PCIe 2.0 when looking at cards.

 

Thanks so much for all the help everyone. I really appreciate it. Definitely eased the pain to find out my brand new system wouldn't be able to run Crysis. Now I know how I can. Thanks a lot.

 

No problem, let us know what you decide to do. Good luck!

 

I'm assuming nobody mentioned nVidia's newest cards, the 2xx series (the 260, the 280) because of cost. However, if price is not an issue, get yourself the nVidia 280. It'll set you back at least $450, but it's probably the best video card available right now. If you can wait, after XMas the price should drop by about $100....

 

Check out post number 6 up top.