Ok, so I just got this new video card so I could run HL 2 at decent speeds. My other Power supply was too weak (250 watts)  so we got a new one installed along with the new video card. Before anything else I installed the latest drivers from the Nvidia website, and Directx 9.0c. When i fired up HL 2 and did the video stress test i was VERY disappointed with my scores. On the lowest possible settings i got a whopping 60 FPS. In the video settings at the bottom it has:

Software DirectX Version: 9.0
Hardware DirectX Version: 8.1

I was wondering if its possible to make the hardware directx 9, or if it's something built into the card.

Oh yeah:
video card : GeForce 5700 LE 256 MB.
processor : 2800 XP
memory : 512 MB
blajh blah;aklaw

Yea, you cant change hardware settings, but you should be able to run it pretty well. As for me, on this rig i cant even play 1D tetris so i dont even try anymore.

The human eye can only read  *in reality * 67.7 fps. But if it makes you feel better you can always type developer 1 , fps_max 5500 in console ;)

lol a long while ago there was a report when the online gaming scene got bigger, and thats why they urge you to enable vsync , which limits your fps to 60. This  "Helps minimise eye strain". as they say :-p

http://www.100fps.com/how_many_frames_can_humans_see.htm
http://amo.net/NT/02-21-01FPS.html

That is true, it has been tested by the military human eye can see well over 200 fps    ~~ I thought the same and I listened to other people for a long time till I found the truth myself.

I think high FPS is overrated, with old game engines high fps gave a good adventage cos you could see your opponent faster and so on. I dont think its like that with new games.

Most videocards have a minimal refresh rate of 60 Hz and if you get 60fps+ your fine

the problems accure when fps is lower then the display refresh in Hz

UT2004 for example has by default DisplayRefresh set to 60, so if you know your average fps is above 100 then increase Display Refresh to 100 Hz, that give a smoother game, but i daubt you have very big adventage.

VanBuren

fps and computer speed in counterstrike, is a must . I am no novice at counterstrike, yet i get easily killed by newbies who are still trying to figure out how to drop their weapons because of my slow comp speed.

I went from a P3 1GHz to this system, and I've been owning better than ever. Fun thing is, I was a killer a few years ago in Q3, then lost the CD, when I got it back I was a überkiller soon again. It seems I'm a natural born killer.
You should see me at a rockets only (RA3) match... nobody's safe. Record so far is 154 frags and 31 deaths in one session. Last week I started with 24 frags and no deaths, and it was 41-2 in a short while. Some people need to practice more.

Fresh meat: