Alright, I bought a bundle a while back containing Half Life 1, 2, and 2's Episode one, and so far have had no problems with it. Half Life 1 runs perfectly, as I predicted because it runs so old, and to my relief Half Life 2 also follows suit and runs perfectly. I had one stagger when I attempted a huge jump, but apart from that, nothing. The only problem was that after leaving Half Life 2 my computer would stutter for a little bit afterwards, but it would correct itself and run smoothly again a few seconds later.

My brother however, for some reason decided to try Episode One before the other games. This one, for some reason, runs ridiculously bad. The opening sequence is impossible to get through, with everytime someone moves or speaks, the game freezing and waiting tens seconds to run smoothly again. Then it will move along fine for some time, then freeze again and do it all over again. And god help me when I try and pick up a weapon.

I don't understand what could be causing this, as I checked system requirements for it and they're virtually identical to those of Half Life 2's.

Recommended Spec to Run            My Spec
- Windows 2000, Xp or Vista                -Windows Vista
-CPU 2.4 Ghz                                    - CPU Dualcore 2.20 Ghz
- 512mb Ram                                  - 1 Gig Ram
- Direct X9 Graphics compatible          -Direct x9 compatible
- Direct X9 compatible Sound              - direct X9 compatible Sound

Does anyone have any ideas as to what could be causing the run problems? And hopefully, any ideas on how to fix it?

Although, Episode 1 does have the same requirements as Half-Life 2 there is a large difference, which is that Episode 1 has HDR and a few other things that tax a system.

I would suggest that you check you in game settings and see what they are set at and lower them. Also, running Vista with only 1 gig is another thing that could be causing it. Vista is garbage without 2 gigs and Episode 1 runs pretty okay on 1 gig when running xp. So, if your in game settings are low or what not then your ram may be the issue.

Video card would be a thing to check if Half-Life 2 did not run well, but seeing how that isn't the case then it is fair to say that is not the problem. Although, it can't hurt to check your drivers anyhow.