Uber Game Lag - Yet I don't know why

I recent picked up Black and White 2, the minimum specification for which is:

Intel-compatible 1.6 GHz CPU,
512MB RAM,
3.5GB hard drive space,
8x DVD-ROM,
DirectX 9.0c compatible hardware,
64MB video card with 1.1 Pixel shader


The game runs extremely laggy even on minimum graphics settings, and its not just this game, I've had the problems with other games recently in the past such as Half Life 2 (runs totally fine on minimum settings).
My computer to my knowledge meets the minimum specification for them yet they run terribly.

My computer consists of:

Celeron 2.4GHz CPU
1GB RAM
40% free on my hard drive, (think its 80GB if I remember right)
10x DVD-ROM
Direct X fully up to date
NVIDIA Quadro Fx 500/Fx 600

Any suggestions folks?


[edit on 5-4-2007 by UK Wizard]

Most likely you need to step up into the GeForce line of graphic cards. The Quadro cards weren't really meant for the kind of punishment that some of the newer games can dish out. You can probably get a GeForece 6800 for around $100 (or just over). With that and the other specs you cited on your pc, your frame-rate should pick up considerably.

The Geforce line has multiple pixel shader processors, more pixel pipes, and overall is set up with games in mind. 64 MB of memory in your current card is also a slight problem. The video card memory is one of the worst bottlenecks in gaming and you should have a min. of 128 if you want good performance.

EDIT: The celeron processor has a slight disadvantage since it only has 256K of L2 cache (in processor memory) but with a good graphic card you can overcome this hurdle and it won't be as big of an issue.

[edit on 5-4-2007 by dbates]

My computer gets upgraded through salvaging off other people when they upgrade, my graphics card is from someone who works in graphics rendering type work where I guess a fast frame rate is not needed.
Prices look ok for a fairly decent graphics card so I'll have to purchase one, ebuyer being recommended to me as a place for fair priced parts.

I was planning to actually spend money on a new processor, a shiny new dual core perhaps though I hate spending money which means I'll have to hunt for a decent price.

Many thanks for the help

I would go for the graphics card now, and hold off on the processor. Your specs are not that bad, with the exception of your graphics card, as dbates said.

if u were having the same hardware before....
then....
1 check for malware(ad,spy) and viruses
2 get those registry fixed,clean those start up entries a bit,get the not needed process killed,reinstall all drivers,make sure they are digitaly signed,check bios for some strange settings,reinstall direct X
now before u play a game,put the default windows 98 theme one,stop internet,and stop the antivirus,clear the ram with some program and reinstall ur games too
and not last....DEFRAGMENT IT gangsta