Games performance troubles...

G

Guest

Guest
My setup is the following:

Win Me (Tried 98se)
P3 800e @ 992
256 MB Crucial CAS2 PC 133 RAM @ 124 fsb
GTS 32 MB
Abit BE6

My framerates just ARE not what I want. I try numerous demos, and the number that are choppy either occasionally, or constantly surely isn't right for this system.
Half Life is choppy where it gets even VAGUELY demanding, and thats 2 years old for goodness sake!
Demos such as Evolva, Crimson Skies, FIFA 2001 etc etc are choppy too. Frankly, very few things are totally smooth.
Though there are some: SOF, ShadowMan, MDK2, Infernal machine.
But too many are just choppy, or sluggish.
Is there any obvious reason why this would be?
I run games in 1024x768@16 bit, but at lower resolutions, the fps is exactly the same!
I run with v-sync on, but if things are choppy, I try with it off, and there is very little improvement.
I am using Detonators 6.47, but other drivers don't make a greal deal of difference.
I mean, this is a high-end PC - surely this would be smooth for ALL games and demos.
Can anyone give me a clue as to why my framerates aren't in the 60+ range?
 

Ncogneto

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For starters you wont get peek performance out of your gforce due to the fact you have an older ( though nice for overclocking) board. (btw which rev is your board) You are running in agp 2x mode and not 4x. At your current settings your card is running at approx 165 mhz.

Your system

124/3 = 41.333 ( pci bus)
41.33 x 2 = 82.666 ( agp bus)
82.66 X agp2x = 165.22

standard setup with 100 fsb and agp 4x
100/3 = 33.3 ( pci bus)
33.3 x 2 66.6 (agp bus)
66.6 X agpx4 =266.4

Have you tried running at non overclocked values to see how choppy it was. Technically speaking you should do better were you are at unless your vid card is having troubles with the increased agp bus you are currently at. Though I highly doubt this is an issue it is always nice to first eliminate it as a problem.

Also, for windows ME users wanting peak performance make sure you diasble system restore in system properties.



A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing!
 
G

Guest

Guest
One thing, I have now gone back to WIn 98 SE.

Ok, yeah I have tried it at stock speeds, just got even choppier - and yeah, my GTS can handle the AGP speed quite happily.

I have been pointed in the direction of my motherboard no longer being up to the job 2 times now, maybe there is something in that.

But 2 points;
1: The BX440 is still going strong - its a fine chipset, and its fast.
2: AGP 4X has very few present advantages over 2X - yeah, the transfer rate IS doubled, but since little or no software takes advantage of this, its a redundant point.

Could the Asus P3V4X be a good choice? How about ABit SH6?

More to the point, is it really going to benefit me, upgrading my motherboard?

Thanks
 

Ncogneto

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The bx chipset is probably to date one of the best chipsets evermade. Your not by any chance running DX8 are you? I have heard alot of problems with this to date. You have a dam nice system, and even at agp 2x you should be not having any problems running those games at 1028x764 16 bit. Somewhere in your machine something is just not quite right and unfortuatly pinpointing the problem can be a real Bi**. Have you tried to run dxdiag to maybe pinpoint a driver issue? switching back and forth with some of the nvidia drivers has been known to leave remnents of old drivers. Do you have by any chance 3dmark200? Not neccesarily the best benchmark for 3d but it works for comparitive purposes. If you do let me know some of your scores. One last thing that you probably already checked, how many programs do you have running in the background? Any power sapping anti-virus protection or crash guards like norton?

A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing!
 
G

Guest

Guest
The weird thing is that my benchmarks are, I think, fairly accurate to what I should get.
In 3D mark 2000 default (1024x768@16) I get 7157.
But, to me, benchmarks are meaningless if in-game performance is choppy.
Yes, I am running DX8, but its installation provided no difference to the previous DX7a.
Nope, no programs running in the background.

See, I like to run with v-sync on, and in so many games, its choppy like that. FIFA 2001, Crimson Skies to name just 2. But, when I switch off v-sync, I get no noticeable improvement, but lots of tearing and rancid image quality.

I should categorically say that Half Life isn't always choppy, except at demanding bits. But it IS 2 years old, and my current system, should, I believe, run it at 60fps+ constantly, no matter WHAT is going on.
And so many other things are choppy, either in places, or all the time.
Sorry if I am repeating anything I said in my initial post, but this is driving me spare.
Thanks again for your help.
 

Ncogneto

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That seems a bit low, now you say that you had the same problem with dx7a? I get a 91.8 with my athalon 850 and a leadtech gforce256 w/64 meg ddr running 1028 x768 at 32 bit. I am sure you already have checked this but you do have dma enabled dont you on your HDD?

A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing!
 
G

Guest

Guest
Sorry, what do you mean you get 91.8?
Thats not a valid 3D Mark 2000 score!
You talking about Quake3?
If so, I'll run it too, and see what I get at the same settings you specified.
Yeah, DMA is enabled.
Back soon!
 
G

Guest

Guest
Interesting results to report.

I got 89.1

Pretty much the same as you - but Quake3 is like Unreal Tournament - a texture intensive game, so your extra 32 mb will compensate for your loss of 142 MHz up to a point.
But nevertheless, I will concede that my scores aren't maybe QUITE as high as they should be.
I remain puzzled...
 
G

Guest

Guest
Now THIS is interesting:
I just checked Sharkyextreme, and we all know how much in favour of Nvidia they are (allegedly).
Same card as I, also, pretty much the same setup, with a superior motherboard (Cusl2) and guess what - the quake3 scores were 2 fps higher than mine. Insignificant.
Moral of the story? My system IS not underperforming.
Not if those figures are correct.
So why are games choppy?
The mystery deepens...
 

Ncogneto

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You did not tell me if you had the same problems with dx7a but I am assuming you did. We are running out of options here....What is your refresh rate?

A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing!
 
G

Guest

Guest
Yes, we are running out of options, the same options I have been running out of over the last 2/3 months...
Yeah, same problems with DX7a.
Refresh rate, if v-sync is off, is irrelevent.
I am downloading 3d winbench 2000 right now, so I know what score I am aiming for - but like I say, quake3 on my setup was very similar to Sharkyextreme, so I dunno.
 

uncoando

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You didn't mention anything about a BIOS upgrade...
<A HREF="http://www.abit.com.tw/english/index.htm" target="_new">http://www.abit.com.tw/english/index.htm</A>

<b><font color=blue>Brainy Sturgeon</b></font color=blue>
 

mpjesse

Splendid
I'm thinking the refresh rate on your monitor is screwed up. Try playing with the refresh rate in video properties. If your getting scores like that, then it's either your EYEZ or your MONITOR.

-MP Jesse
 
G

Guest

Guest
Yeah mpjesse, I really do suspect my monitor.
I know it ain't my eyes, as A: I have 20-20 vision B: A friend verified that it was choppy.
I am going to borrow a monitor and see how that is.
The one I have is, admittedly, not the best in quality - being generic, plug+play, and not branded. Well, actually it is - by XIOD!!?!?!
Oh believe me, I have played with the refresh rate.
By the way, yes, I have the latest BIOS - the "TH" version.