Unplayable Colin McRae DIRT on reasonable PC. Any ideas?

Problems I'm having with this game is really making me mad. Most of the time DIRT runs between 5 and 10 FPS, with some bright moments of 20+ frames that will not last more than a second or two.

I have tried all the settings and resolutions, plus alternative hardware profiles I have found on the net as well as bloom/HDR disabling patch, and game remains unplayable (though is some setups it will gain a few fps, but remain uneven in execution). Dirt patch 1.1 is installed.

I have:

Athlon 64 X2 4200+

nVidia 8800GT 2GB RAM (DDR1, though)

nForce 4 Ultra mobo

Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer

Windows XP Pro SP2 regularly updated.

I have also tried game with some of my older hardware - 7950GT, X-Fi Xtreme Audio and integrated audio... with almost no difference. My 3Dmark06 result is 7818 (SM2.0: 3347, HDR/SM3.0: 4064, CPU: 1660). Other games I have tried recently: Oblivion, Lost Planet... run fine. I don't think my problem is hardware related as my CPU is not running 100% while I'm torturing myself with DIRT, and all hardware and graphics settings variations are giving very small difference. I'm running latest drivers for everything, and beside drivers all I have running in the background are ZoneAlarm and AVG antivirus.

Any idea?

Weird, the game ran very smooth, not sure what kind of frames cause I didn't frap it, but it ran at least 40 fps on very high.

E6600

2 gbs ddr2 800

8800 GTS 640 mb

I have a 8800gts 320mb, 2gig @667mhz, duel core 6400... The game runs ok (but still disappointing) for me with mostly high graphics, only at 1024x768 though, and 2x AA. (the fps do get in teens with mutiple cars onscreen :()

??? I have no Idea why you can't run it better

Nikon 133,

I feel you man, I have a 8800Gt OC 512mb DDR3, 2 gig RAM, nforce mobo, AMD642x 4400 and this game runs like crap. The frame rates are unacceptable. Sure i can run it but there's something wrong with its optimization. Could it be AMD? This vidcard runs such games as FEAR, COD4, Company of Heroes, Oblivion, Medieval 2, etc.with most settings high, AA on, AF on, VSync on, HDR on... you name it. No Colin Mcrae is ruining my day. So i uninstalled it and threw it out like a freezbie. Not worth it.

I run the game fine on high with like 50fps... at 1280x1024 and 4xAA..

But the game doesnt have proper joypad support (no analog...wth?) so it doesnt really matter to me.

I run the game fine on high with like 50fps... at 1280x1024 and 4xAA..

But the game doesnt have proper joypad support (no analog...wth?) so it doesnt really matter to me.

Baselerd

Wow impressive fps for this game.

I use my wired 360 controller and it works great (I recommend it)

T he game runs great for me 1920x1080 at max, all I have is 4 gigs ram, e84oo 3.o ghz and a gtx 285. It runs silky smooth. Got it on a steam sale but I guess I dont like racers cant get into it.

T he game runs great for me 1920x1080 at max, all I have is 4 gigs ram, e84oo 3.o ghz and a gtx 285. It runs silky smooth. Got it on a steam sale but I guess I dont like racers cant get into it.

Advid-Gamer

That's a great card for 1080p, but the OP should lower the resolution considering his specs (Depending on the distance between the OP and his HDTV [The HDTV size is also important] the OP could not even notice the difference between 1080P or 720p), also, it's a great game, but I prefer Dirt 2.

I have Dirt for the PC.. When I start the game, all I get is a blank screen with ("No signal" on my screen),but the game still runs, and I can hear sound with no problem.. Has anybody ever heard of this problem before?? I have a LG 42" LCD HDTV (1920x1080p 120Hz, 24Hz Refresh Rate.. It is hooked up to a "ATI Radeon Sapphire X1650Pro" graphics card via a DVI - HDMI cable.. My PC meets and exceeds the requirements to play this game.... Does anybody have a clue whats plaguing my PC?????MonteC1986