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Fallout 3 - Major lag issues?

So I bought Fallout 3 for PC not too long ago, I played through the vault which seemed a tiny bit laggy but it was playable. Then I hit the wastelands, and wow, I've never had a game be so laggy on my PC. My specs are as follows: Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) 9550 Quad-Core Processor (4 CPUs), ~2.2GHz Memory: 3454MB RAM Hard Drive: 488 GB Video Card: ATI Radeon X1200 Series Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6001) Service Pack 1 (6001.vistasp1_gdr.090302-1506) The thing that makes this worse is that I'm running the game on the lowest quality possible, yet I can't even move my mouse smoothly. Any help is appreciated, as I love this game and would like to be able to play without constant lag.

Public Comments

1. If the ATI X1200 is an all in one with the motherboard....then your probably stuffed......all i can offer is that you update all your drivers and turn off any other applications.....but the best thing would be to buy a new graphics card....
2. Yep, the ATI X1200 display adapter is the problem. Your 3.5 GB of RAM and Quad Core Processor is good, although 2.2 GHz could be a bit higher. Anyway, on the back of the Fallout 3 case it recommends a 6600 GT graphics card (which is still really average). My suggestion is that you try to purchase an exceptional quality card for future gaming, so that you won't need to upgrade. They're reasonably cheap now due to the economic crisis, so price shouldn't be a concern. Check Ebay or your local retailers.
3. You can always check games before buying them on http://www.systemrequirementslab.com games like Fallout3 or any Elder Scrolls always push the PC and I usually start saving up for a new graphics card when I hear them announced (you have about 18 months minimum for TES:V) A good card for the money is the <80 quid His Radeon HD4770.