We recommend you try the final version of the game and go from there.

I've got very similar specs, just trade the 7950 for an ATI x1950 (pretty close in performance anyway) and I haven't had any problems whatsoever. Hell, even my old laptop with just under a gig of RAM and a Radeon 9000 can run the game pretty smoothly. Maybe its an Nvidia problem? got the latest drivers and everything?

I spent the first 4 hours with the game trading the 3 drivers I have around to see which was the most stable and they all suffered from alot of recoveries. Soooo, maybe it is a 7 series thing. The older driver tested by and recommended by Alienware (Ya I know)seems to be the most stable with it. But it seemed more of a CPU problem, like it couldnt handle the calculations of all the AI stuff going on. Which was weird cause it wasnt using much CPU...

That's your problem. You are using an alienware system.

My first and second gaming rigs were Alienwares (when I had the funding) and both suffered from poor drivers, hardware malfunctions, and other issues that made their price tags WORTHLESS.

My third rig, which I'm on now, was built by CyberpowerPC (for roughly HALF THE COST of what it would've costed form Alienware by the way) and I've no issues with this beauty since.

However, I do believe the 7 series may be the issue. And while I hate ATI right now ever since they merged with AMD, I do have to recommend an ATI card since they are more compatible with AMD Processors than Intel

Also the problem (besides it being a proprietary system) is Vista, but you already know this. Vista needs at least a gig of ram to run, and has about 50 to 60 processes running at default settings. Especially if you are running Aero. Disable Aero. That will give your system some breathing room.

Sins uses more RAM than CPU. You have the specs to run the game with no problems. From the sounds of it your running on a Laptop (correct me if wrong). Anyone who mentions "GPU" i automatically assume it is a laptop. Laptops generally share 256 megs of system ram for the video. In other words 256 megs of your 2 gigs is being set aside for your GPU. On top of Vistas 1 gig usage just to run that leaves you with about 700 megs for the game and other applications. I am betting that Sins is running on mostly the page file for you. Especially if you maxed your settings out. You need at least 1 gig free to runs the game on highest settings.

Take a look here http://www.blackviper.com/ If you aren't afraid of configuring your services, and disabling unnecessary ones. I use the safe settings for my laptop. It will free up at least 200 megs of ram in vista.

I've DIY'ed most of my rigs but this one. Its actually a good system and I've been pretty happy with Alienware. I figured I overpayed about 300 hundred dollars just to have blue alien eyes match my razor, lcd hdtv and g15 but I had the money. Its not the parts, I wouldnt call Foxconn, Corsair, Sony, etc; substandard parts. I usually reduce the amount of processes to to vital windows when playing games like supcomm, and it automatically flips to Vista basic with Sins. Its in the code of beta 4 and vista, I'm pretty sure now. I threw in another 2 gigs of ddr 800 LL and its still chugging on large maps. So, I'm gonna wait until Alpha gets on here and go from there. I should just break down and get a 8800gtx cuz this 7950gt has had problems with other games and flash hates this card, but I'm saving up for my dream telescope/ binocular viewer setup and astronomy makes gaming look like a poor mans sport for sure. Eeeek, lots of text. This thread should die now, ty for you inputs! wp

oooh   XXX edition? Damnit no! Spring is coming and I need a light bucket for my arizona skys!

- nevermind, mistpost -

OK, good. This thread will self destruct in...3...2...1