Driver for Geforce Go 7900 GS ? Problem with fps

[dip26]

Hi,

I realize its an ancient graphics card, but that's what I'm stuck with and I've been using the driver recommended on the NVidia website for it: 179.48 BETA.

Now my problem with that driver (or the card, I don't know) is that whenever I see torches that flicker on my screen, my fps drops dramatically. It can be a completely quiet area where I normally get some 60 fps (capped) and the moment I see a torch it drops to below 30, and if there are more torches, as low as 8 fps, which is unplayable.

The types of torches I am talking about are those found in HL2 engine games, Elder scrolls games and the like. Moment I see one, my fps just drops like a rock.

Is there an alternative driver I should consider using? I notice that the non-mobile driver for the 7900 GS is 285.58 WHQL, but as most of you reading this thread probably know, the newest driver is not always the best driver for old cards in particular.

Thank you for your time reading this and potentially helping me out here!

 

[Helltech]

I'm using the latest drivers with my 7900GT, they work great.

With that said you say Elder Scrolls games, like Skyrim right? You're not going to get very good FPS in Skyrim with that GPU. So that is to be expected.

 

[dip26]

Thanks for the reply - would you say the latest driver would work best with my card or a driver that is somewhat old than the latest but newer than the one I am currently using?

Elder Scrolls, like Skyrim you are right - I managed to tweak it to get a good 40-50 fps at most times, its just that when a torch effect (in skyrim candles too) is visible on my screen, it drops like a rock.

 

[Helltech]

I always use the newest. Its not like you can't revert back if they have issues.

Yeah, your GPU just can't handle what is expected of it when you are looking at those kind of sources, there isn't much you can do about that. You don't really have the hardware to play Skyrim.

There are mods out there that actually lower the textures of Skyrim in half. If you are used to modding TES games like Morrowind and Oblivion then it should be no problem to download it and replace the torch textures with something lower, that might help you out.

 

[dip26]

True, though I find it strange that I get the same issue playing HL2 games which have much lower requirements (usually I am above the recommended specs for those).

 

[Helltech]

Try newer drivers. Don't run AA/AF so high. Those are really your only options.

 

[dip26]

OK will try thanks!