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Let it run for as long as you can. I have seen it detect errors 5-10 passes into the test.

Also you might want to set your CAS latency to 2 again and see if you get errors (my guess is you probably will).

Are you certain your XMS PC3200 really IS CAS2???

Most PC3200 even Corsair XMS can only do CAS 2.5 or 3.

Are your modules identical? Were they purchased as a matched pair or not?

This is the RAM I have:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145449

No, most XMS are CL2:

http://corsair.com/corsair/xms.html

I let memtest85 run for 7 passes, with no errors. The computer has not rebooted since I changed the CAS latency of my RAM to 2.5. It irritates me that I have to do this, but the stability is worth it so far. HL2 still does not run as well as I have seen it run on benchmarks with the 6600gt. Does anyone know how to test what kind of frames/sec I'm getting?

to check frame rate, go into console and type net_graph 3. You may need to enable console in advanced options first.

I have problems in HL2 whenever the files get too fragmented, it will crash out on me. So I just defrag after every few updates and I'm fine.

I did just install a bunch of HL2 updates. I'll try defragging. Thanks for the suggestion.

Dont use windows defrag, it kind of randomly throws files around and makes you think it did something, use diskkeeper or something non-Gates.

I don't like starting arguments...but that statement is completely unjustified. First of all Windows 2000/XP defrag was designed by Excecutive Software International and not MS. Second, although it does lack the precision and sophistication of other defrag utilities, it is far from useless. Once you get to 1 or 2% fragmentation the rest is insignificant as far as performance. Windows Defrag is better than not using defrag at all.

i just dont like having to wait, and if it is indeed executive software-made then it is not really different from from diskeeper, but you do realise just how old it is right? I defragged a few times with it and then looked at my drive with diskeeper and it was still a mess.

I see that only Diskkeeper Lite is freeware. The full version is for sale by a number of vendors. Is that correct? I'm going to give the Lite version a try.

Just get the 'demo version' it only lasts 15 days but who defrags more than that anyway. then when you set it up select 'install diskeeper professional demo" or something like that.

"but you do realise just how old it is right?"

Yep, hasn't changed since the version that came with Windows 2000...that'd make it at least 6 years old.

And you still think newer ones by the same company are no better? It is adequet but you do get better ones. And diskeeper is quite a lot faster, at least it is not the original intel defrag tool from dos, but if they would upgrade it i would use it but the only thing i trust that is older than 6 years is my monitor.

Earlier, there was a discussion on whether a separate sound card (as I currently use the onboard sound with Logitech X-230 speakers) would offload enough stress from my CPU to achieve better framerates in HL2, as the game is designed to offload many calculations to from the video card to the CPU. Will the performance gain be substantial, and if so, will this card fit the bill?


Creative SoundBlaster Live!
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Prod [...] ode=290233

The sound card won't make a huge difference but it will make a difference.

That is a decent card by the way for a relatively good price.

Are you running any apps in background while playing HL2? Like anti-virus, anti-spyware programs, etc? What do you have in your systray?

Norton AutoProtect is the only thing running and I have tried closing it with no performance differences.

Instead of using norton antivirus get NOD32, it is infallible and uses maybe 5 meg ram to run in the background. And a sound card will help, not a major imrovement but the difference is noticable, don't go overboard, creative sound has now become better quality than human ears can utilise so that one should do nicely.

I got the fps counter up on HL2; now how do I get it off?
On a side note, I'm getting 80-100 fps most of the time, but it still skips. Skips occur at moments when the framerate is 85 though. I don't get it. Perhaps it is my onboard sound. I'm leaning towards getting the SB Live!. Hopefully, I won't have to upgrade the card to an X800GTO. My 6600GT is not that old. I've heard the GTO is a lot better though.

80-100 fps is AWESOME!

Your 6600GT is kicking some serious butt there buddy!

An SB Live should really help improve the situation :-)

Onboard sound is pathetic I'm sure you'll be a lot happier with an SB card.

I take it your system hasn't crashed since you changed your memory timings to 2.5?

cl_showfps 0 : will turn off the fps counter.

net_graph 0 : if you are using the net_graph.