Using vista with 2gb of ram is pretty stupid. Using vista is stupid. get windows 7/8 and you will definetely get a performance boost

I thought vista was maxed at 2gb, maybe I'm just uninformed. I would buy more RAM in a heartbeat if knew my motherboard/OS supported it.

cooling, potential throttling with those temperatures

Other way around, Vista needs at least 2GB of RAM iirc and even then runs significantly slow. (Source: Been there)

So if I were to acquire a 64-bit OS through (completely legally of course :> ) and bought like 6GB of RAM, would I be cruisin through TF2 with a playable FPS?

You definitely need a new platform, or at least a better CPU (higher clocked Core 2 Quad). The GTS 450 is alright for TF2, but the CPU is holding you back significantly (and you can't overclock it because it's a 1333MHz FSB processor and you have a G31 chipset motherboard, if it even has overclocking options). Your CPU is rated for about 15 GFLOPs when newer quad cores bench about 60-120 (depending on AVX being supported).

Probably your best bet for under $100 would be a Core 2 Quad Q6700 or QX6700 from eBay. You also really need more than 2GB of RAM, but you have a 32bit OS and a 1GB video card that eats away at one of your 4GB of addressable RAM. It's a tough call between more RAM and a better CPU because both are probably killing your performance right now.

Yup, also are you on a desktop or laptop? And either way I would recommend windows 7/8.

>vista
>expecting to live a normal, happy life

No seriously, get 7. Also RAM is cheap nowadays, so are core2quads. Then there is Chris' config of course which delivers you the poop grafics of your choice along with more fps.
If you can step it up to a little more than 100 bucks I would go with a cheap quadcore and 2-4 additional gigs of ram. Then you just have to pirate download torrent copy buy 64bit windows 7 and you should be good to go.

your CPU is holding you back. just upgrade that, RAM, and get to a 64-bit OS and your tf2 experience will improve a lot.

Sadly, DDR2 has been quite costly since it is outdated, and the DDR3 producers cut production late last year causing DDR3 kits to become on average 40% more expensive. If the OP has a technology retailer in their country that sells "refurbished" goods (e.g. Geeks.com in the USA) they can probably get a reasonable 2x2GB 800MHz kit for a decent price.

I'd honestly work on making some money over the summer to get a better computer. Even $400 would get you good fps (not including OS and monitor)

CPU and Ubuntu.

windows 7 more ram and try gamebooster

i have an i5 and a decent rig but gamebooster really smooths out my fps and keeps it at 241 solid

also helps while streaming

If your performance has recently gotten worse - judging by those temps you may want to clean out your PC - in general any time my FPS goes to hell and starts jumping around it's because my CPU is getting too hot because its managed to get a bunch of dust in the heat sink.

For now I'm gonna try cleaning my PC like Marxist suggested and doing all of this stuff: http://teamfortress.tv/forum/thread/7639-fps-improvement-compilation/1#post-111178

If I don't notice any improvement, then I'll look into upgrading some parts.

look at your power supply too. with a g31 motherboard, i think you'd have a budget psu that might not be able to handle a c2q. your pc is around 5 years old too, so i assume your psu might not be as reliable with a heavier load.

I have the same cpu but i have 4gb ram and I'm on windows 7. New ram/os won't help, 640x480 or a new computer is the only solution.

Don't upgrade too many parts though, because beyond a certain price range, you'd really be better off just getting a new computer if you can afford it.

But yes, cleaning the computer should definitely help. I started getting awful FPS in all games I was playing, so I opened the computer and cleaned out a massive wad of dust (mostly over the vent). Instant performance improvement.

Your issue is not RAM or windows vista. Your issue is not your video card either. TF2 eats CPUs alive. The two things you can do that will noticeably improve your fps are:

1) Get a new CPU (and probably motherboard, since I would guess your current mobo isn't compatible with the most cost-effective performance CPUs out there)

2) Run TF2 at a reduced resolution.

TF2 seems to get more inefficient after each update. On my old computer (Athlon X2 cpu), my frames dropped significantly after the pyromania update and became essentially unplayable (drops to sub-30 fps in fights) after MvM. I think it's mostly due to particle effects...I would get a constant 5-10 fps if I looked downward while standing on top of a teleporter.

lol

There is no point at capping your fps at 120 if it goes as low as 30. You want to cap it at the lowest number that it ever hits so that you have a constantly smooth experience with no fps wavering. Obviously capping at 30 is pretty crappy but at least it'd be consistant. 60fps is the recommended minimum to be able to have a fair experience in online shooters. Upgrade your hardware and hopefully you can stay at your 120 fps regardless of what it happening on your screen and in the server.

That's a really bad idea because having fps below his cl_updaterate or whatever will lead to really bad hitreg issues, at least if he's sometimes getting above 66 it'll be a bit better for hitreg.

Oh lord... not for the feint of heart:

http://i.imgur.com/z1ZNWtB.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/xYwZ83A.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Y2nsYCT.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/HKN20qa.jpg

I personally think he should upgrade to Windows XP, also XP/Vista/7/(any32bit OS) 32bit can handle 4GB RAM

Also like to state your PC is getting old enough to the point you might as well just buy a new one. They don't make/sell CPUs for that socket type much anymore, same with DDR2.

XP uses less idle CPU/RAM usage than Vista, he WOULD see a FPS increase.

-double post- Why can't I delete this after merging with another post?

Holy fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

My game has never ran so well. Just specced an MGE match and my FPS was 100-120 at all times, with drops to 80 at worst. Maybe it's too soon to tell if it will really run as smoothly as it just did, but cleaning my computer was a gigantic success. Marxist, I owe you my first born.

what program did you use to see the specs and temperatures like that?

think i have a similar problem

speccy
http://www.piriform.com/speccy

speccy
wtf redban