System Requirements

• 1). Find out what your system's basic capabilities are. If you do not meet the system requirements, you will experience problems running the game, and you might not be able to run the game at all; the only solution is to upgrade your computer. You can find this information by clicking the" Start" button in the lower left of your screen, right-clicking "Computer" or "My Computer" and selecting "Properties."
  
  
• 2). See how much free hard disk space your system has. This information is available by selecting your storage drive under "Computer" or "My Computer." Most likely the drive you use is the "C" drive. If you already have "Crisis Warhead" installed, you can skip this step.
  
  
• 3). Find out what type of graphics card you have. In Windows Vista and 7, right-click your Windows desktop, select "Personalize," then "Display Settings." In Windows XP, right-click your Windows desktop, select "Properties," and then the "Settings" tab. For any of these operating systems, the graphics card should now be displayed in the drop-down menu in the center of the screen.
  
  
• 4). Compare your system against the game's required system requirements. In Windows XP you must have at least a single-core 2.8 GHz or dual-core 2 GHz processor and 1 GB of RAM. In Windows Vista you must have at least a single-core 3.2 GHz or a dual-core 2.2 GHz processor and 1.5 GB of RAM. For any operating system you must have at least 12 GB of free hard disk space.
  
  

Updates

• 1). Download and install the most recent patch for "Crysis Warhead." Many issues are resolved in the updated patch, listed in Resources.
  
  
• 2). Update Windows. You may experience slowdown or other problems if Windows is not up-to-date. After checking for updates, install any that display. In Windows Vista and 7, click the Start button in the lower left corner, then "Control Panel," then "Windows Update" to bring up a window, then "Check for updates" in the window's left pane. In Windowx XP click "Automatic Updates" in the "Control Panel," then click the "Windows Update Website" link. When Internet Explorer asks for permission to allow ActiveX, grant permission.
  
  
• 3). Download and install the latest version of DirectX for the game (see Resources). This also resolves many issues in "Crysis" and other games.
  
  

Optimizing Crysis

• 1). Close all unnecessary programs running in the background. This includes web browsers, wordprocessors, other video games, video chat and email programs. These programs take up RAM and processor power that "Crysis" could use.
  
  
• 2). Close programs that use bandwidth if you experience lag in online multiplayer. This includes chat software; email programs; VOIP software like Skype and Vonage; and online game management software like Steam.
  
  
• 3). Reduce the graphics settings in "Crysis." To improve performance, you can lower anti-aliasing, texture quality, shadows quality, water quality and the resolution. This is under "Options," then "Game Settings," then "Graphics" and "Advanced." These settings are available from the main menu and the in-game menu, though you may need to restart Crysis for some changes to take effect.