Game is running too fast!

[Arv]

Right, so I just purchased GTA III, VC and SA from Steam. I've had all three games at one time or another on various consoles, but since I finally picked up a decent PC, I figured I'd go ahead and put these gems on my computer.

 

Here are my specs:

 

AMD Athlon 64x2 dual-core 4400

2 GB DDR RAM

256 MB nVidia GeForce 7300

WinXP home (purchased it to downgrade from Vista, which was terrible)

 

Here's my problem:

 

-When I go to load the games (and of them), they all run at an obscenely fast frame rate. The cutscenes are basically unviewable, and the gameplay itself could likely only be handled by a hyperactive coke head. I've got all of the settings ramped to maximum, and I still can't get the games to chill out enough to let me play them. Am I missing something here?

 

Any help would be much appreciated.

[Arv]

Update:

 

I should've noted that I've read the troubleshooting FAQ, and am aware of the "Win 98 compatibility mode" option.

 

The problem is that Steam files do not take up residence on my HDD in the same way that a file installed from a CD would, and I'm having trouble locating the executable to change the compatibility mode. If anyone's gone the Steam route, I'd love to hear how you found your file extensions.

[gtamodder]

ALT + TAB out the game, right-click gta3.exe and set its affinity to just a single core (untick all but one box).

 

You need to do this when GTAIII Is running though.

[Arv]

Actually, I just got pointed in the direction of AMD's new dual-core optimizer patch--that solved everything!

 

Thank you all the same, though!