Fable III for PC: Runs slowly, with poor frame rates

When you play Microsoft Fable III on a computer, Fable III may run slowly, with poor frame rates. Additionally, you may not experience the level of game performance that you expect.

This issue may occur for one or more of the following reasons:

• The computer does not meet the minimum system requirements.
• The video card drivers are out of date.
• The game settings are set too high.
• The game is running in windowed mode.

To resolve this issue, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Verify the minimum system requirements

Make sure that the computer meets or exceeds the minimum video, processor, and RAM requirements to play Fable III. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. Type dxdiag.exe in the Open box, and then click OK.
3. Click the System tab, and then note the value next to Memory and Processor.
4. Click the Display or Display 1 tab, and then note the value next to Approx. Total Memory.
5. Click Exit.

Compare the values on your computer with the system requirements. For more information about the minimum system requirements for Fable III, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Note Fable III will not a display a warning message to indicate that your computer does not meet the minimum system requirements. Instead, Fable III will try to run on the system. Fable III will run slowly if your computer does not meet the minimum system requirements.

If your computer does not meet the minimum system requirements, contact your manufacturer for more information about how to obtain the necessary updates and upgrades.

If your computer meets the minimum system requirements and the problem persists, go to Method 2: Install the latest drivers."

Method 2: Install the latest drivers

Make sure that your video card is using the latest drivers. To download and install the latest graphics drivers, contact the computer or video hardware manufacturer. See the "References" section for more information about how to contact the computer or video hardware manufacturer. To check for the latest version of the graphics driver, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, type Windows Update in the Start Search box, and then press Enter.
2. Click Check for updates.
3. After the scan is complete, click View available updates.
4. Select the update that you want to install, and then click Install.

If the problem persists, go to Method 3: Use the Auto-detect option."

Method 3: Use the Auto-detect option

To start Auto-detect, follow these steps:

1. Start the game.
2. Click Options, and then select Game Settings.
3. Click Default Settings, and then select Auto-detect.

Note This action runs CPU and GPU benchmarks and sets each slider based on the results. The results are based on a standard 1280x720 resolution. If you increase or decrease the resolution, the calibration will be less accurate.

Method 4: Adjust the display settings

To adjust various game settings, follow these steps:

1. Start the game.
2. Click Options, and then click Game Settings.
3. Click Default Settings.

In the Game Settings - Display window, adjust the following settings to your preference:

• Screen Resolution: Adjust this setting for more detail. Decrease the amount of detail to improve performance.
• Full Screen Mode: The game will run in a windowed mode when this setting is turned off. Turn on the setting on to increase performance.
• Vertical Sync: Turn on this setting on to reduce screen tearing. Turn the setting off to improve performance.

Details Settings provides more settings that you can adjust to increase performance. Some of the settings that can be adjusted are as follows:

• Current General Settings: Provides a simple way to adjust overall settings. Decrease this setting to improve performance.
• Model Detail: Lets you increase or decrease the number of polygons used to render characters and models in the game. Decrease this setting to improve performance.
• Landscape Detail: Changes the landscape detail level. Decrease this setting to improve performance.
• Effects Detail: Controls effects such as bloom, sun rays, antialiasing, and depth-of-field. Decrease this setting to improve performance.
• Tree Detail: Alters the detail given to tree models and how they animate. Decrease this setting to improve performance.
• Texture Quality: Sets the textures to look more or less detailed. Decreasing values use less video memory.
• Shadow Quality: Causes shadows to appear more or less detailed and to draw closer or farther into the distance. On the Very Low setting, shadows are disabled completely. This setting gives a significant performance increase.
• Water Quality: Increased settings give more detailed reflections in water. Decrease this setting to improve performance.
• Draw Distance: Increasing this value lets you see objects, villagers, creatures, and grass farther into the distance. This setting can have a very significant effect on performance. Decrease this setting to improve performance.

If the problem persists, go to Method 5: How to improve game performance."

Method 5: How to improve game performance

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

For more information about the minimum system requirements for Fable III, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: