Oh god why? Please help!

I am going crazy I think. I have spent a year and a half slowly building this computer up to something half life 2 or Doom 3 worthy, and now it is finally finished. Now that it is finished, however, I dont want to play games on it anymore. Why? Because I am ashamed of it, and every time I try to play unreal tournament 2k3, I am reminded of how lackluster my seemingly awesome PC's performance is.

The final piece for me to add to my rig was a Sapphire RADEON 9800 pro. After adding it in, I ran some synthetic benchmarks (3dmark2k1,2k3 and PCMark2k2). I was happy with these results (benchmark scores at the bottom of post). This would quickly change, however. When I ran UT2k3 in 1024x768 with noAA or AF, I didnt even get 60 fps!

naturally at first I figured there was a setting somewhere which was maybe affecting my performance. Well, I reset my CMOS and I reformatted my HDD, and still no luck. I tried tweaking my RAM timings, even putting a slight O'C on my cpu to see if it would make a difference, but nothing helped. For a bit I thought that my problem was in my horrible RAM timings set by the SPD (3-4-4-10) but then I changed my timings to 2-2-2-8 only to get no score increase at all! (well ok I lied, there was about a 4 fps increase... still tho, I am short like 20!)

I updated all my drivers, and got the newest ut2k3 patch, and still nothing was fixed. I even removed/disabled all other hardware in my computer that wasnt necessary to the benchmark (sound card, USB ports etc.) and still I got no notable performance change!

So here I am, almost a week later and just as close to the solution of my problem as I was when I started.

This post is basically my last resort, I have run out of ideas and I am asking you guys for help, ideas and suggestions.

I very much hope that I am going to be able to get this fixed, and thanks alot in advance, I need all the help I can get Even if you guys could just help me pinpoint whats wrong with my system and maybe I will be able to fix it at a later date.

Here are my benchmarks and system specs:

System Specs:
ASUS A7V8X-X Mobo
AMD AThlon XP 2500+ (Barton)
512 Mb DDR400 ValueRAM (Yeah I know, but I was running outta money!)
RADEON 9800 pro

PCmark2002:
CPU-5500
MEM-4704
HDD-716

3dMark2003:
3DMark Score 5399 3DMarks
GT1 - Wings of Fury 148.0 fps
GT2 - Battle of Proxycon 38.3 fps
GT3 - Troll's Lair 33.4 fps
GT4 - Mother Nature 34.4 fps
CPU Score 447 CPUMarks
CPU Test 1 50.2 fps
CPU Test 2 7.9 fps
(All tests done with driver sliders all set to "high performance")

3DMark2001:
3DMark Score 14445
Game1 Low Detail - 189.3 fps
Game1 High Detail - 60.2 fps
Game2 Low Detail - 285.5 fps
Game2 High Detail - 145.3 fps
Game3 Low Detail - 157.2 fps
Game3 High Detail - 68.6 fps
Game4 - 132.2
(All tests done with driver sliders all set to "high performance")

Unreal Tournament 2k3:
-1024x768-
4xAA and 8xAF = 83.7 fps flyby, 49.0 fps botmatch
noAA and NoAF = 167.0 fps flyby,54.5 fps botmatch
-1280x960-
4xAA and 8xAF = 95.2 fps flyby,48.3 fps botmatch
noAA and noAF = 156.2 fps flyby,54.2 fps botmatch
-1600x1200-
4xAA and 8xAF = 50.2 fps flyby,24.8 fps botmatch
noAA and noAF = 120.7 fps flyby,53.6 fps botmatch
(All tests done with driver sliders all set to "high quality")

Well, outside of the RAM you got in there (I would prefer Kingston HyperX, Geil, or Crucial), it seems as though your rig should handle it.

Something that could help is full system spec - Specific HDD, any optical drives you have hooked up, etc. Also, what drivers are you using? The latest Cats (3.6), or the Omegas? How did you load the drivers, because this has a lot to do with performance, believe it or not.

If you do not get the responses you are looking for in this forum, try visiting the forums at Rage 3D. They are geared to solve specific Radeon related items.

I'm just curious. Did you try Quake 3? You should get 90 FPS. If you try that and don't get 90, then there really is something wrong.

FULL system specs

My full system specs:

Operating System
Windows 2000 Professional Service Pack 4 (build 2195)
Processor a Main Circuit Board b
1833 megahertz AMD Athlon XP
128 kilobyte primary memory cache
512 kilobyte secondary memory cache Board: ASUSTeK Computer INC. A7V8X-X REV 1.xx
Bus Clock: 166 megahertz
BIOS: Award Software, Inc. ASUS A7V8X-X ACPI BIOS Revision 1006 08/06/2003
Drives Memory Modules c,d
60.03 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
47.78 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

HL-DT-ST CD-ROM GCR-8520B
HL-DT-ST RW/DVD GCC-4480B [CD-ROM drive]
3.5" format removeable media [Floppy drive]

MAXTOR 6L060J3 [Hard drive] (60.04 GB) -- drive 0 512 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot 'DDR 1' has 512 MB
Slot 'DDR 2' is Empty
Slot 'DDR 3' is Empty
Local Drive Volumes


c: (on drive 0) 60.03 GB 47.78 GB free
Logins Network Drives
SHADOWSLAYER\Sir Ian beaupre

Installed Microsoft Hotfixes Printers
Internet Explorer
SP4 (SP4)
Windows 2000
SP4
Q327194 (details...) on 08/09/03

Click here to see all available security Hotfixes.

Marks a HotFix that verifies correctly
Marks a HotFix that fails verification
(Failing hotfixes need to be reinstalled)
An unmarked HotFix lacks the data to allow verification
None detected
Controllers Display
Standard floppy disk controller
Primary IDE Channel [Controller]
Secondary IDE Channel [Controller]
VIA Bus Master IDE Controller RADEON 9800 PRO [Display adapter]
RADEON 9800 PRO - Secondary [Display adapter]
IBM G78 [Monitor] (15.7"vis, s/n 55-K5150, December 2000)
Bus Adapters Multimedia
VIA PCI to USB Enhanced Host Controller
VIA USB Universal Host Controller
VIA USB Universal Host Controller
VIA USB Universal Host Controller Creative Game Port
Creative SB Audigy
Communications Other Devices
VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter
OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller
USB Human Interface Device
Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
HID-compliant mouse
USB 2.0 Root Hub
USB Root Hub
USB Root Hub
USB Root Hub

Software Versions
3DMark Application Version 1, 0, 0, 1 *
Adobe ImageReady (tm) 7.0 Version 7.0 *
Adobe Photoshop Version 7.0 *
Adobe Systems, Inc. Adobe Gamma Loader Version 1, 0, 0, 1 *
ASUSTek Computer Inc. - ASUS Update Version 5, 0, 5, 1 *
ASUSTek Computer Inc. - MyLogo Application Version 2, 2, 0, 0 *
ATI Desktop Component Version 6.14.10.5021 *
Belarc, Inc. - BelManage Client Version 5.1p *
Blizzard Entertainment - Warcraft III Version 1, 0, 0, 1 *
Blizzard Entertainment - World Editor Version 1, 0, 0, 1 *
Cinematronics - 3D Pinball Version 5.00.2134.1 *
Creative Control Panel FrameWork Version 1.10 *
Creative Manual Linker Version 1, 0, 0, 1 *
Creative On-line Registration System Version 1.0.0.1 *
Creative Recorder Version 2.00 *
Creative Restore Defaults Application Version 1, 0, 0, 0 *
Creative Surround Mixer Version 2.00.0.0 *
Creative TaskTray Version 1.00.00.24 *
Creative Technology Ltd. - AudioHQ Version 1.13.0 *
Creative Technology Ltd. - CTEaxSpl Version 1, 0, 0, 2 * Eastman Software, Inc., A Kodak Business - Imaging for Windows® Version 5.00.2138.1 *
Futuremark Corporation - 3DMark03 Version 3.3.0.0 *
HdPhDetector Application Version 1, 0, 0, 0 *
InstallShield Software Corporation - DemoShield Player Version 6.53 *
Java Web Start *
javaw.exe *
Launch Raven Shield Dedicated Server *
Leader Technologies/Ubisoft - PowerReg Version 1.04 *
Microsoft Corporation - Internet Explorer Version 5.00.2920.0000 *
Microsoft Corporation - Windows® NetMeeting® Version 3.01 *
Microsoft Windows Media Player Version 6.4.09.1125 *
Mozilla Version 7.1 *
PCMark2002 Application Version 1, 0, 0, 1 *
Play Raven Shield *
Raven Shield Map Editor *
Shortcut to Benchmark *
Ubi Soft Entertainment Inc. - GS4.exe Version 4.4.1.0 *
UT2003 Editor *
UT2003 Safe Mode *
WinZip Version 8.1 SR-1 (5266) *

I didnt try quake 3

No, sorry I didnt try quake 3 because I dont have it. Is there a way to just download the benchmark utility?

You are using the Cats 3.6 (via the Version # you provided above), so you do have the latest.

Yes, there are locations where you can download just the benchmarking utility for Q3. Check Google.com and for Quake 3 Benchmarking Utility, and it will provide you with a couple of websites.

...

Ya I got the utility but it requires the game to run. I am gonna download the demo and see if that works.

well, ut2003 is a pretty hefty program, its mostly spu and ram dependent. plus the sound card plays a large role in the game also. I know I cant play with AA and have everything turned up to holy **** level, including eax. I get probably 40FPS average.

try lowering settings in the game, and also make sure vsync is off, otherwise fps will never be higher than your refresh rate in game

Uh, why are you so concerned about FPS, is it playable to your satisfation? If it is don't worry about it!

My 2 cents.....

I don't know anything about these games but why don't you overclock this thing if you want some speed? For most 2500+, 2.2 Ghz is easy to get.

eab said:

Uh, why are you so concerned about FPS, is it playable to your satisfation? If it is don't worry about it!

My 2 cents.....

Click to expand...

If he's getting less then 60fps in UT2k3, then he's definitely going to be getting low fps in HL2 and D3.

If you've built a nice comp, you want your games to be playable.

My 2 cents...

Ya, plus, the benchmarks says 50 fps, but thats a lie, its actually more like 33fps average, meaning that half the time it is below that, usually on the verge of 30fps...

I also Tried running the bench w/ no soundcard installed so it couldnt be the EAX.

Also, I couldnt get the quake 3 demo b/c we had a huge power failure yesterday, but I am gonna work on getting it.

try to get an older version of the Cat drivers, ive heard some people getting better performance with the old ones

My 2 cents.....

Talked to my retailer

I talked to my retailer about it and he said it could be one or a combination of any of the following three things:

1.) A Heat problem I have with my computer - the cpu has an average run temp of about 80 degrees. My comp is actually in the shop now and he is working on that problem.

2.) The VIA chipset is inferior - he didnt really explain this one too much. he just said that the nforce chipset is better but also more expensive. I know the nforce supports dual channel RAM(which leads me to my next topic) but there must be something else also, because apparently the dual channel support is only a 5-10% difference, which is only like 5 fps...

3.) the RAM - Ya I know, I have valueRAM but the weird part is that i turned the timings on my RAM up in BIOS and there was very little difference in score (<5fps).

I dunno what I am gonna do about this stuff, I am gonna tackle these problems one at a time, since attacking them all at once would be a wallet apocalypse lol.

Also, about the RAM. What RAM would you guys suggest I get? I'd like to get the best performance I can get (like 2-2-2-7 timings @ 400 fsb) for the cheapest price - overclockability is a factor but not much of one. If I had to choose between cheaper or more overclockability I would choose cheaper. Keep in mind this would be going in an a7n8x which I also have to pay for.

Thanks a lot guys for all the support. Hopefully my retailer will be able to fix my heat problem soon so i can get back to work on my PC

Make sure there are no IRQ conflicts. Also, you should try bringing your system down to only the essentials and see if that causes a significant change. Also, as someone else said, make sure v-sync is off so your framerate isn't capped.

Ah ****...

Ok I just got my comp back from the shop w/ its new A7N8X rev2.0 mobo and guess what? Scores went down! In 1280x960 w/ AA and AF I am topping out at about 45 fps. 1024x768 noAA and noAF score went up a bit to like 61 fps, but still... I was actually starting to like playing in 1280x960, but now in Face3 the avg fps is like 20

And yes after I got the new mobo I reformatted hard drive and downloaded all the latest drivers (All except newest BIOS, I'm pretty sure mine has the newest ver, 1005). I also disabled messenger and auto update services, and installed Win SP1-4, as well as the utpatch to 2225 and the DE and EPic Bonus packs. If you want I can repost my full system specs. I am guessing that the problem this time (the loss in fps between the a7v and the a7n) is prolly a BIOS setting, I am not familiar at all with this BIOS. What the hell is a spread spectrum? The big problem still exists though.

The only thing I can think of now is that it HAS to be the RAM. I have tried everything else... But that also means that if I get new RAM and there is no difference, I am ****ed.

Right now I am only running in single channel cuz I dont have enuf money to buy my new RAM, but when I do have the money I am thinking of buying Geil GD3200-512DC. Is it worth it to try and get 1 Gb instead?

One last thing. It seems like my new mobo solved my heat problem, the thing runs pretty cool now, averaging about 50 degrees C under heavy load, BIOS temp, not ASUS Probe temp.