SOLVED Graphics and Sound issues

[Francois]

I am not sure if I should be in this thread or not but here goes.

My Problem:
I am having some issues with my graphics and sound when playing games. I first noticed it with GTA 4 then I noticed the same after installing games like Modern warfare 2 and some strategy games. My frame rate seems to be very low and there is also a scratching sound during game play. It is not the speakers as it does this with headphones as well. I tried to update my graphics driver (NVIDIA 306.23 32.bit) but this only seemed to make it worse.
Even if I drop games to their lowest settings it still seems to be a bit choppy. I just feel that games should run smoother considering my systems specs.

My system:
Quad core. nvidia gt 220 with 1 gig mem. windows 7 ultimate. 2 gig ram.

My question:
Does anyone have any advise for me in regards to improving my graphics and performance speeds as well as the sound issue?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Kind regards,
Francois

 

[bassfisher6522]

Did this just start to happen or has it been going on for some time? As for your system specs you've listed, you might want to add more RAM that should help.

 

[Francois]

I suspect you may be right about the RAM. For me it seems like a new problem, but it may just be that my system needs to be upgraded due to the heavy graphic requirements of these new games I am trying out. The last game that I played that ran smoothly was ME3 (Mass Effect), but obviously the other games that I mentioned are more graphic heavy than ME3.

It seems that the sound issue is connected with the choppy frame rate of the games. In, for example a FPS, if I am in a 'small' aria like a room or if I look down at the floor, the game runs smoothly. However, if I am in an open aria, like a field with a high view distance, the game slows down and then consequently the sound 'slows down' causing the scratching sound.

Thank you very much for the advice. I will install more RAM and let you know if that solved the problem. One more question. Is there a recommended list of applications or programs that I need to make my PC run optimally?

Kind regards,

 

[Core]

I'd also update chipset and audio drivers.

 

[Francois]

Hi all. I thought I would update this post. Today I finally bought 2 more gigs of RAM and installed it into my computer. The difference is like chalk and cheese. I am now running MW2 on full specs and will experiment with the other programs as well. Thank you for your valuable suggestions and keep up the good work.!