Good morning,
I've been a lurker for a long time and when I put my computer together back in '04, this site was invaluable.
I'm currently trying to piecemeal-upgrade my rig, and I wanted to get some feedback on a few things.
You can see my current setup in my signature, but here are the core components: P4 2.6c on P4C800-E Deluxe, ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB, kit of 2x Geil 512 MB PC4000 RAM, with the stock PSU that came in my Antec Case (350W).
I'm not looking to upgrade my entire system for a while, and I know this AGP mobo still has some life in it. To that end, a few days ago I ordered a new video card and PSU to power it, since I've heard it needs lots of juice:
--BFG Tech BFGR78256GSOC GeForce 7800GS 256MB GDDR3 AGP
--Antec True Power Trio TP3-650 ATX12V 650W PSU with Three 12V Rails
I basically wanted to stretch my motherboard out as long as I could with an AGP card, while still having decent results in new games coming out in the next few years.
Some of the reviews I saw re: the 7800GS noted that there may be some bottlenecks in systems trying to run this...particularly in the CPU area.
That's what I'm concerned about. I don't know enough about where bottlenecks occur in systems, and particularly in my system on the P4C800-ED, and I was hoping someone may be able to provide some feedback on where to focus my energies.
I currently overclock my system using the following settings:
--Bios Version:08.00.09, ID: P4CED106
--CPU Ext. Freq: 240
--DRAM Freq: 400
--AGP/PCI Freq: 66/33
--CPU Core V: 1.60
--DDR Ref V: 2.75
--AGP VDDQ V: 1.60
--Performance: Auto
--------------------
--RAM Settings: 3-4-4-8
--Ram Burst: 4
--PAT: Auto
--DRAM Idle: Infinite
--DRAM Ref. Rate: 15.6uSec
--Aperture: 128 MB
--------------------
I've got it stable running where it is at 3121mhz with those loose RAM timings. I'm able to run 2 instances (one short, one long) of Prime95 off each logical processor, or 1 instance of blend overnight with no problem at that clock speed. I'm also able to run 3DMark05 and get scores from this setup, fine. CPU temps generally top out around 48C running these tests.
Any time I've tried to tighten up my RAM or increase the clock, I get either boot errors (RAM timings usually) or I get into Windows, but 3DMark05 will give an error (increasing the clock).
So, given my new card and PSU that I'll be putting in, is my system likely to bottleneck somewhere in my current components, and if so, where will that bottleneck probably occur?
Will I need to push my CPU higher, to 250+ to actually make the best use of my new 7800GS, and what would I need to get my CPU speed up to so that it's NOT the bottleneck? If I need to push it further, I'll need to look at what's causing the system to become unstable over 240 and probably look at cooling options beyond air.
Are there settings that I should be tweaking (that I haven't already shown above) that may make the system more stable above 240, or could it just be the older PSU I currently have just doesn't have the juice to push the mobo further than I've pushed it already?
Is my RAM a limiter? I intentionally purchased the PC4000 RAM when I built the rig so I'd have headroom to OC (that's why you get a 2.4/6/8c chip), but I've been looking at upgrading to a 2GB kit (2x1GB) and don't know what the best options would be (don't have a lot to spend - maybe $225-$300), or whether what I have is sufficient for now since I'll be upgrading the entire system within 2 years.
A lot of questions, I know - and parts of this could go in any number of forums, but it ultimately comes down to where the bottleneck is in my system with the new GPU, and how I can remove that bottleneck efficiently on this motherboard.
Any input you have is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
I've been a lurker for a long time and when I put my computer together back in '04, this site was invaluable.
I'm currently trying to piecemeal-upgrade my rig, and I wanted to get some feedback on a few things.
You can see my current setup in my signature, but here are the core components: P4 2.6c on P4C800-E Deluxe, ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB, kit of 2x Geil 512 MB PC4000 RAM, with the stock PSU that came in my Antec Case (350W).
I'm not looking to upgrade my entire system for a while, and I know this AGP mobo still has some life in it. To that end, a few days ago I ordered a new video card and PSU to power it, since I've heard it needs lots of juice:
--BFG Tech BFGR78256GSOC GeForce 7800GS 256MB GDDR3 AGP
--Antec True Power Trio TP3-650 ATX12V 650W PSU with Three 12V Rails
I basically wanted to stretch my motherboard out as long as I could with an AGP card, while still having decent results in new games coming out in the next few years.
Some of the reviews I saw re: the 7800GS noted that there may be some bottlenecks in systems trying to run this...particularly in the CPU area.
That's what I'm concerned about. I don't know enough about where bottlenecks occur in systems, and particularly in my system on the P4C800-ED, and I was hoping someone may be able to provide some feedback on where to focus my energies.
I currently overclock my system using the following settings:
--Bios Version:08.00.09, ID: P4CED106
--CPU Ext. Freq: 240
--DRAM Freq: 400
--AGP/PCI Freq: 66/33
--CPU Core V: 1.60
--DDR Ref V: 2.75
--AGP VDDQ V: 1.60
--Performance: Auto
--------------------
--RAM Settings: 3-4-4-8
--Ram Burst: 4
--PAT: Auto
--DRAM Idle: Infinite
--DRAM Ref. Rate: 15.6uSec
--Aperture: 128 MB
--------------------
I've got it stable running where it is at 3121mhz with those loose RAM timings. I'm able to run 2 instances (one short, one long) of Prime95 off each logical processor, or 1 instance of blend overnight with no problem at that clock speed. I'm also able to run 3DMark05 and get scores from this setup, fine. CPU temps generally top out around 48C running these tests.
Any time I've tried to tighten up my RAM or increase the clock, I get either boot errors (RAM timings usually) or I get into Windows, but 3DMark05 will give an error (increasing the clock).
So, given my new card and PSU that I'll be putting in, is my system likely to bottleneck somewhere in my current components, and if so, where will that bottleneck probably occur?
Will I need to push my CPU higher, to 250+ to actually make the best use of my new 7800GS, and what would I need to get my CPU speed up to so that it's NOT the bottleneck? If I need to push it further, I'll need to look at what's causing the system to become unstable over 240 and probably look at cooling options beyond air.
Are there settings that I should be tweaking (that I haven't already shown above) that may make the system more stable above 240, or could it just be the older PSU I currently have just doesn't have the juice to push the mobo further than I've pushed it already?
Is my RAM a limiter? I intentionally purchased the PC4000 RAM when I built the rig so I'd have headroom to OC (that's why you get a 2.4/6/8c chip), but I've been looking at upgrading to a 2GB kit (2x1GB) and don't know what the best options would be (don't have a lot to spend - maybe $225-$300), or whether what I have is sufficient for now since I'll be upgrading the entire system within 2 years.
A lot of questions, I know - and parts of this could go in any number of forums, but it ultimately comes down to where the bottleneck is in my system with the new GPU, and how I can remove that bottleneck efficiently on this motherboard.
Any input you have is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
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