ok so here is my dxdiag for frogboy, you said you wanted this maybe you can figure out why i demigod is running like a one legged man in a marathon.

System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 9/6/2008, 12:50:37
       Machine name: USER-203FF5C2B9
   Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.070227-2254)
           Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: System manufacturer
       System Model: System Product Name
               BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
          Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 3800+,  MMX,  3DNow (2 CPUs), ~2.0GHz
             Memory: 2048MB RAM
          Page File: 560MB used, 3379MB available
        Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
    DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
     DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit Unicode

Display Devices
---------------
        Card name: RADEON X850 XT 
     Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
        Chip type: ATI Radeon Graphics Processor (0x5D52)
         DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
       Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_5D52&SUBSYS_03021002&REV_00
   Display Memory: 256.0 MB
     Current Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (60Hz)
          Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
  Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200
      Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
   Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6844 (English)
      DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
 Driver Date/Size: 7/31/2008 22:32:35, 311296 bytes
      WHQL Logo'd: Yes
  WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
              VDD: n/a
         Mini VDD: ati2mtag.sys
    Mini VDD Date: 8/1/2008 00:38:20, 3266560 bytes
Device Identifier: {D7B71EE2-1E12-11CF-0E69-0823A1C2CB35}
        Vendor ID: 0x1002
        Device ID: 0x5D52
        SubSys ID: 0x03021002
      Revision ID: 0x0000
      Revision ID: 0x0000
      Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_C ModeMPEG2_D ModeWMV8_B ModeWMV8_A ModeWMV9_B ModeWMV9_A
 Deinterlace Caps: {6E8329FF-B642-418B-BCF0-BCB6591E255F}: Format(In/Out)YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
                   {335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
                   {3C5323C1-6FB7-44F5-9081-056BF2EE449D}: Format(In/Out)NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)0,0,2) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
                   {552C0DAD-CCBC-420B-83C8-74943CF9F1A6}: Format(In/Out)NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)0,0,2) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
                   {6E8329FF-B642-418B-BCF0-BCB6591E255F}: Format(In/Out)NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
                   {335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
         Registry: OK
     DDraw Status: Enabled
       D3D Status: Enabled
       AGP Status: Enabled
DDraw Test Result: Not run
 D3D7 Test Result: Not run
 D3D8 Test Result: Not run
 D3D9 Test Result: Not run

hopefully this sheds some light on my problem