I have Fallout 3 for PC. I have a few questions, performance and graphics related.

I was wonderring what factors effect performance (water refraction, anti-aliasing)

Also, how much does having anti-anilasing enabled affect performance in FO3?

What do these do and what am I better off having disabled/enabled.

.Bloom
.HDR
.Decal Cap

What are the suggested View Distanced for

.Actor Fade (1-15)
.Object Fade (1-15)
.Light Fade (1-35)
.Item Fade (1-15)
.Grass Fade (1-7)
.Shadow Fade (1-10)
.Specularity Fade (1-15)

Thanks.

There is no possible, or even theoretical way to answer this question...

We do not know what machine you are running. Hit 'Windows Key + R' and type in dxdiag

Copy and paste the results of that screen so we know what you are running and can better accommodate an answer for you.

OS: Windows XP Professional
System RAM: 1022mb
Processor: Intel® Pentium® 4
CPU: 3.00GHz (2 CPUs)
DirectX Version: 9.0c
Graphics Card: nVidia Geforce 8400GS (Yes, I know it svcks)
Graphics Card Memory: 512mb (Yes, also svcks)

You could have just asked for my specifications instead. Just saying.

Try to keep all effects (such as bloom) off, and keep all draw distances at a very minimum, maybe 5 tops.

Due to a lack of memory, you're computer is going to hit some heavy latency when viewing long distances, such as standing on a hill and looking off into the distance.
I'd suggest investing in 4gb if you can afford it however. You're spec's are low, even from a low-end gaming machine.

Would a nVidia Geforce 8800GTS 670mb improve graphics a lot. I heard it can run high settings.

Without the RAM to run a game, an i7 and radeon 6800 series wouldn't even help lol

Okay, So I might be buying some more RAM. 4x 1gb RAM. So that'll be at 4096mb RAM. Will this greatly affect it and what difference does server RAM do, I know my PC is ocmpatible with it?

You'd have to find out for yourself what RAM you're motherboard and CPU are compatible with.

This will large effect how quickly your game will run, as well as let you run it on higher settings. Fallout 3, by design, it's a graphically intense game, so even with older video cards, running it should be no problem on medium graphics.

I have an 8800GT with 512 VRAM and I can run things on High using a resolution of 1920 X 1200.

Does your computer RAM make a difference?
Or will the graphics card help the graphics, not the speed?

Edit: I know the RAM makes a difference, just does it matter if you have a 1gb RAM with a 8800GT 512mb?

your windows XP won't reconize that much ram. & your card svcks. period. you need a new card.
actually, you need vista or better. cause winXP is only compatable up to DX9. we're into DX11
already. your trying to make chicken soup outta chicken [censored]. it ain't gonna happen.

Windows XP will recognise 3.5gb. XP 64-bit will recognice 4gb. I'm also looking at a Geforce 8800GT 512mb for $50.

I bought a 8800GT 512mb. Is 1gb System RAM good enough for it?

Your 8800GT with operate nicely with Fallout 3.

If you can upgrade to 2Gb of RAM, do so, do not worry about 4Gb of RAM as I wouldn't recommend investing too heavily into an old machine and the benefits aren't worth it. I believe Fallout 3 executable only uses a max of 2Gb of RAM without it being modified, so you'd only need 3Gb's of RAM to get the optimal for Fallout 3 (2Gb for F3 and 1Gb for system). Those with more than 4Gb of RAM will not benefit while using Fallout 3, 64-bit OS or not.

Optimum RAM set up: 2Gb: 2x1Gb, 4x512Mb. If your RAM is in matched pairs it will run at twice the speed. Make sure yours is the right one for the motherboard, you can visit Crucials website and use their system to find out. If you do go to 4Gb of RAM, do not upgrade to XP 64-bit as it is more hassle than it's worth.


Remember to update your system fully with Service Packs, updates, directx and drivers. Also reduce the applications that load on start up as they can use RAM and processing power.

I have 4x256mb RAM chips at the moment. I might go looking for 4x512mb. 1gb RAM chips are always too much considering I only have $80 left and I want to keep some for myself. :l

My SP, Drivers and DirectX is up to date. Not too sure about updates. If I have an update, It'll probbaly be some pointless security update.

Considering your last sentence, would programs such as Game Booster do this?

I also looked into the best recommendations for RAM for FO3. If you hav 3gb RAM and someone else has 4gb Ram it makes almost no difference. So I'll stick to 2gb since the also small difference.

I cancelled getting the 4gb of RAM, the reason they were so cheap was because they were ECC registered, my motherboard won't accept them. :l

Okay, found 4x512mb RAM chips. Matched pairs and for $25 + $8 postage.

Awesome, does your motherboard support them?

Never use an app to improve your systems performance, most of the times it makes it worse and costs you money. You can try: http://www.tweakguides.com/TGTC.html I haven't used it in a while, but when I was learning a few years back it gave me a few pointers that were helpful.

Moderate to Advanced user only:
In run type: msconfig
Click 'Startup' tab
Untick applications you don't use (these are the ones you computer activates on start up)
Make sure you leave anti-virus program ticked
*Do not use any other tabs as you can (most likely) stop your computer from booting up*
If there is a problem with an app (unlikely), you can re-enable that in msconfig and restart.

Post here once your system is fully upgraded on how it performs, so other users in a similar situation can benefit.

Game Booster is a free program from the internet. It disables unneccesary applications and other programs from running to boost the CPU speed.

Hmmm it maybe okay, I've not used it.

Many 'free' optimising applications come with other 'free' applications which install themselves without asking slowing down the system even more than it did before it was installed!

I was suggested to use it by numerous people. It isn't too good with Online games. Only boosts by about 3 frames or so.

Be very careful when using some of their suggestions, they don't really know what they're doing half the time. I tried using their multi-core/threading tweaks and I ended up screwing up my game.

Okay, juts bringing this back to life.
I just recieved my 8800GT 512mb in the mail a couple hours ago. Like always, something goes wrong. It fits and all, just the monitor won't hsow a picture and whenever the PC is turned on, it makes a loud, high-pitched noise. This doesn't stop until it is turned off.

I read about this and I have found that the only problem is that the GPU and Fan isn't running.

I also found out that a 6 pin cable, which fits into the card, with a 4 pin end (molex), which goes into my motherboard, will fix this. Is this true?

On another note, when I took the card out of the box, I was amazed at the size of it. Almost twice the size of my previous one.

PSU needs to be able to support the power requirements of the card, the card needs power supplied by the 6 pin cable. You can get convertors that turn 4 pin molex into the right PIN but often if the PSU doesn't have the correct connection it's not powerful enough.

Let us know how it goes for you.

I bought a 6 pin - Molex 2 days ago. It hasn't arrived due to the weekend. I have a female molex cable coming out of my power supply. The molex I bought was a male. If this goes into the female cable coming directly from the power supply and go to the 6 pin in card will it work?