Knowledge Base

Game performance may be slower than you expect when you play Halo: Combat Evolved

Article ID: 829471

Article Last Modified on 11/14/2007

APPLIES TO

Microsoft Halo: Combat Evolved for PC

SYMPTOMS

When you play Microsoft Halo: Combat Evolved, the game's performance may be slower than you expect.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, use the following methods in the order that they appear.

Method 1: Verify the minimum system requirements

Make sure that your computer meets or exceeds the minimum video, processor, connection speed, and RAM requirements to play Halo: Combat Evolved. The minimum system requirements for Halo:Combat Evolved are:

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), Microsoft Windows 2000, or Microsoft Windows XP.
Computer/Processor: 733 megahertz (MHz) processor.
DirectX: Microsoft DirectX 9.0 or later. (DirectX 9.0b is installed by Halo.)
Memory: 128 megabytes (MB) of RAM.
Hard Disk: 1.2 gigabytes (GB) of free hard disk space.
Video card: 32 MB /3D Transform and Lighting capable.
CD: 8X.
Sound: Sound card, speakers, or headphones with multiplayer play.
*56.6 Kilobytes per second (KBps) modem or 10 MB network adapter. Multiplayer server requires broadband to run a server.
*Additionally, you must have an Internet Service provider (ISP) or a Local Area Network (LAN), if you want to play multi-player games.

You can use the DirectX 9.0 Diagnostic Tool (Dxdiag.exe) to look up your system information. To do this, follow these steps:

Click Start, click Run, type dxdiag.exe in the Open box, type , and then click OK.
Click the System tab.

Note the Processor and Memory values.

Click the Display tab.

In the Device section, note the name of the video card and its Approx. Total Memory.

Click Exit.

If your computer meets the game requirements, go to Method 2.

Method 2: Analyze and compare the computer that you are using to other computers

To analyze the gaming performance of your PC and to view the ranking of the system relative to other computers that are on the market, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://gameadvisor.futuremark.com/gameadvisor/service/

For more information about the Windows Game Advisor, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/upgradeadvisor.mspx

If your PC ranks low, you may be able to improve the performance of the game by using the methods that are listed in this article. However, you may have to update your PC's hardware for optimal performance. For information about how to update the computer's hardware, contact the manufacturer of the computer.

Method 3: Install the latest update for Halo

The latest update for Halo may have performance improvements that will resolve your issue. Each time that you join or you create an Internet multiplayer game, Halo automatically checks the Internet for the latest update. You may also run the stand-alone updating tool, Haloupdate.exe, from the root of the folder where Halo is installed. Halo checks for updates by using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). If you know that a game update is available but the game does not detect the update, check your Internet Explorer proxy settings to make sure that you can connect to the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/games/pc/halo.aspx

Halo uses the same proxy settings as Microsoft Internet Explorer when checking for updates. To check these proxy settings, follow these steps:

Start Internet Explorer.
On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
Click the Connections tab.

If you connect to the Internet manually, double-click the appropriate connection in the list at the top. If you connect through a local area network (LAN), click LAN Settings.
In the Proxy Server text boxes, make sure that the settings are set correctly for the proxy server that you or your network administrator has set up.
If you are connected to the Internet and can reach http://www.microsoft.com, your proxy settings are set correctly. If there is a Halo update available, download and install the update if you want to start or join an Internet multiplayer game.

If there are issues with Auto-update, to obtain the update visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/games/pc/halo.aspx

Note You must be logged in as an administrator of the computer to successfully install any updates for Halo.

Method 4: Restart the computer after standby or suspend mode

Performance may be poor after standby or suspend mode. If you manually or automatically put your computer on standby or suspend mode while you are playing the game, performance may be poor when you restore the computer and resume the game. The music and sounds may not be heard, transitions may be choppy, or the game may stop responding (hang). To resolve this issue, restart the game.

If this method does not apply to you, go to Method 5.

Method 5: Improve performance on Windows 98 Second Edition and Windows Millennium Edition (Me)

You can configure your computer to run in server mode, instead of workstation mode in Windows 98 Second Edition and Windows Millennium Edition (Me). When you enable server mode, you improve game performance. To run the game in server mode, follow these steps:

Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
Click the Performance tab.
Click File System.
On the Hard Disk tab, click to select Network server in the Typical role of the PC check box.
Click OK two times.

If this issue continues to occur, go to Method 6.

Method 6: Change multiplayer settings

If this issue only occurs in a single-player mode, go to Method 6. If this issue occurs only in multiplayer mode, visit the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base to troubleshoot Multiplayer issues.

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

819836 How to troubleshoot multiplayer issues in Microsoft games

Method 7: Change game settings (single player)

You can adjust the game settings to use fewer resources. To do this, follow these steps:

Start Halo.
Click Profiles, select the profile or click Create New, and then create the new profile.
Click OK, and then click Settings
Click Video or click Audio, and then make adjustments.

See the tables later in this article for more details.

Click OK.

Video Options Table

You can adjust the video settings for the current profile. Except for Frame Rate, lower settings or turning the options off will improve performance at the cost of visual quality. Lowering the maximum Frame Rate can improve stuttering issues. This can make the game appear smoother while purposefully performing slower.

Video Option	Description	Setting
Resolution	Sets the display resolution.	Possible display resolutions range from 640x480 to 1280x1024. The default is 800x600 except in SafeMode where the default is 640x480.
Frame Rate	Sets the frame redraw rate.	VSYNC provides the smoothest visual performance. The frame rate never exceeds the redraw rate. 30 FPS sets the frame redraw rate at 30 frames per second. This rate provides the most consistent performance. No VSYNC Enables the frame rate to be greater than the redraw rate. This provides a variable visual performance where horizontal tearing may occur.
Specular	Enables or disables specular effects. Specular effects will make things look glossy or shiny.	Yes Enables specular effects. No Disables this option and may improve performance.
Shadows	Enables or disables dynamic shadows that move and change with the movement of the character.	Yes Enables shadows. No Disables this option and may improve performance.
Decals	Enables or disables decals. Decals are special textures that represent blood or bullet holes that are placed when and where appropriate.	Yes Enables decals. No Disables this option and may improve performance.
Particles	Adjusts the amount and intensity of particles, such as dust and sparks that will be shown.	High fully enables this option. Low enables particles but they are drawn with half the intensity of High. Off disables this option, and may improve performance.
Texture Quality	Adjusts the detail level of the textures that will be used on walls and other objects.	High sets the texture to be drawn with the highest level of detail. Medium sets a medium level of detail. Low provides the lowest level of detail, and may improve performance.
Model Quality	Sets the detail of models such as the characters and the vehicles.	High sets the models to be drawn with the highest level of detail. Medium sets the models to be drawn with a moderate detail. Low provides the models to be drawn with the lowest level of detail.

Audio Options table

You can adjust the audio settings for the current profile. Except for Hardware Acceleration, lower settings or turning the options off will improve performance at the cost of sound quality.

Audio Setting	Description	Setting
Hardware Acceleration	Adjusts the sounds so that they will be processed either by the hardware buffers on the sound card or by the software buffers in DirectX. If hardware buffers are available they may provide better performance and higher sound quality.	Yes – use the hardware buffers. No – do not use the Hardware buffers.
Sound Quality	Adjusts the type and quality of sound playback.	High provides the best quality for a fast CPU. High adds 3D positioning to the sounds so that a sound to the left of your character will primarily come from the left speaker or speakers. Normal balances quality and performance. Normal adds Doppler effects that cause sounds to increase in pitch as they come closer, like the whistle on a train. Low provides the best quality for a slower CPU.
Environmental Sound	Enables the effect of having the sounds in the game bounce or echo off of surrounding surfaces. This adds depth to the sounds but can require a great deal of processing power on the soundcard.	On turns environmental sounds on. Off turns environmental sounds off.
Sound Variety	Adjusts the number of different sounds that will be played during the course of the game.	High provides the best quality for a fast CPU. Medium balances quality and performance. Low provides the best quality for a slow computer.

If the issue continues to occur, go to Method 8.

Method 8: Use the -useFF command line parameter

To use the -useFF command line parameter to lower the demands that the game is making on your video card, follow these steps:

Right-click Start, and then click Open or click Open All Users.
Double-click the Programs folder.
Double-click the Microsoft Games folder.
Double-click the Halo folder.
Right-click the Halo shortcut icon, and then click Properties.
Click the Shortcut tab.
In the Target box, press END, press the SPACEBAR, and then type -useFF.

As an example, the following line shows the correct usage:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Halo\halo.exe" -useFF

Note Parameters are not case-sensitive. Click Apply, or click OK.

You can also try other parameters that change the way that the game interacts with your hardware, such as -use11 or -use14. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

830487 Halo: Combat Evolved: Target line parameters and troubleshooting shortcuts

Method 9: Improve game performance

For more information about how to improve a game's performance, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

815069 Games: How to improve game performance

MORE INFORMATION

Halo tries to use pixel shaders to display it's graphics. Pixel shaders were first implemented in DirectX 9.0b. A pixel shader is an advanced graphics function that DirectX and video cards use to generate graphics effects, such as image reflection or a movie style effect.

For more information about pixel shaders, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/archive/default.asp?url=/archive/en-us/directx9_c_Summer_04/directx/graphics/ProgrammingGuide/ProgrammablePipeline/HLSL/ShaderModel3/ShaderModel3.asp

If the video card hardware and driver does not fully support the pixel shader level that the game chooses, the game may lag. The -useFF command line parameter turns off pixel shaders while the -use11 command line parameter and the -use14 command line paramater simply reduce the amount of pixel shader features that are used. You can experiment to find the best parameter for your situation.

Additional query words: performance speed

Keywords: kbconfig kbprb KB829471

Microsoft KB Archive/829471

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