Also another helpful command which really helps rendering terrain at a distance also make more gpu available for the water. \e_vegetation_sprites
Supported but so far unused Nvidia paths.
\d3d9_triplebuffering 1
\d3d9_nv30_ps20 1
USE LOWER CASE THE PROMPT WILL TELL YOU WHEN PROPERLY...
I am only running a POS ti 4200 64mb, BUT I have far cry at highest spec w/o light detail@1280x1024. Biggest hog in the game. Turn it off. And if you are still having probs with the water turn it down to medium.
I would suggest using DEVMODE to test \r_rendermode 1 through 6. sometimes these...