Underperforming pc

[Kilew]

Ok so basically I think my pc is underperforming quite a bit and wondered if anyone had any ideas of what the problem might be. I'm having really choppy performance on all the games I play (especially Guild Wars (but for some strange reason not on Pariah)) on medium - high settings and I get a very low score on 3dMark2001, around 8500 infact and I understand that I should be getting around 12000 for my system.
Here are my pc specs (I will try to give you as much info as possible):

Windows XP SP2
1.8Ghz P4 slot 478 256k cache
1gb pc 3200 DDR RAM (I think it is running at 333mhz because of the processor)
128mb Geforce 6600GT
120gb SATA DiamondMax hard drive 7200rpm 8mb buffer
Asrock P4V88 Motherboard
450 Watt Power Supply

 

[EdoKoi]

hi Kilew...welcome to the Forums....

could u explain a little bit more about the "choppiness" in yer games...?

w/ guild wars.....i noticed some choppiness could be due to the speed of your internet..

do u use DSL, Cable, Dial-up?

if it's dial-up, that will def affect yer performance...on-line anyway.

also...that 6600gt should be flyin' through Guild Wars...and the 1gb Ram should be just fine...

u could run Memtest 86 to see what yer Memory is running at or just run CPU-Z and see what yer memory is running at if that's easier.

after installing the latest nVidia drivers....have u installed the latest chipset drivers for your motherboard as well?

make sure you have ALL other programs running in the background..shut OFF.

i.e., Anti-virus, Firewall, IM's, stuff like that..

do u have dual monitor setup while playing?

 

[Kilew]

Hi and thanks for your reply. The choppiness is basically a low framerate and I don't think it could be due to my internet connection because it is Cable Broadband 512k.

On CPU-Z it says the following:
Frequency = 166.4Mhz
FSBRAM = FSB + 66Mhz
CAS#Latency = 2.5 clocks
RAS# to CAS# delay = 3 clocks
RAS# Precharge = 3 clocks
Cycle Time(Tras) = 7 clocks
Also I have 2 sticks of 512mb pc3200 and they are running in duel channel mode.

My graphics card drivers are pretty new and as for the chipset drivers I have the latest BIOS if that is what you mean.

As for the last question, I don't think I have dual monitor setup but if you could tell me how to find out if I do that would be much appreciated.

 

[Kilew]

Oops that line got a bit messed with the smiley code. It should say FSB:/DRAM but without the slash.

 

[EdoKoi]

yeah..that memory is running at pc2700 speed, which is fine actually.

dual monitor just means...do you have 2 montiors in front of you?

either u do, or u don't.

have u tried lowering all the settings in GW?

especially the Post Affect... uncheck that..cause that eats up lots of performance...too

i have to run to lunch now..but try the game w/ lowered settings and we'll see what we can do.

i'm sure someone will jump on this topic soon and help out more.

the Bios is different than the Chipset drivers.....

 

[Kilew]

Ok I don't have it in dual moniter setup then and the post processing box was ticked.... Anyway unticking it brought the framerate up by about 10fps, so I guess that is 1 game down, 20 to go lol.

 

[EdoKoi]

kilew,

are u comfortable w/ going into the bios and making sure the Aperture Size is set to 128mb...?

also....you may have to set the AGP speed to 4X for that mobo ok?

try those as well...

with that new card, you shouldn't have to sacrifice, by turning the Post Affect off, i have a 9800pro, and i run GW very smoothly, even w/ the Post Affect On..

it's gotta be a setting somewhere in your bios or video card that is slowing your performance..

from what i heard the 6600GT is a beast..

is it an SiS chipset?....that's what i'm asking..if you can update that driver...NOT the bios driver.

actually, i remember on my older Sony Vaio comp, it is a socket 478 and it did NOT go pass 64mb Aperture Size..and it is only an AGP 4x speed.

check those as well, ok?

your mobo might actually be the cause of your performance...not your card...

 

[Kilew]

Ah yes I remember that AGP aperture setting when I was lokking in the BIOS not long ago and I know it is set to 64mb at the moment. I didn't want to change it before because I didn't really understand what it meant. So with the aperture size on 64mb does that mean I have only been able to use 64mb of the card's total memory?

 

[EdoKoi]

So with the aperture size on 64mb does that mean I have only been able to use 64mb of the card's total memory?

yes, exactly...if your card is a 128mb card...then you really should put the Aperture to 128mb as well, to make full use of the card.

also, can your mobo support AGP 8x or is it 4x max?

try changing the Aperture to 128 and see what happens..

you may need a newer board to utilise the full capacity of that new card, eh?

i know that may not be the answer you want...but that's my suggestion.

 

[Kilew]

Ok I've finished tweaking with my BIOS settings and set the aperture size to 128mb (it goes up to 256mb) and yes, it does support AGP 8x. I also made another discovery, and that is the primary graphics card was set to PCI and not AGP so I changed it. Was that the right thing to do? Anyway, now I need to test it.