9800 Pro Problem

I am having a problem holding 125fps in Quake 3 even with all the graphics turned down. I think it has something to do with my power supply not being able to keep up with the demand. It is a thermaltake 420w power supply, that came with the case. Is there any way to test to see if it is my PSU that is causing my vid card to not be able to produce the fps? I have changed drivers from Omegas back to the Catalysts. I even stepped down to driver below the current one. Still I have the same problem. It should be able to run 125fps like it did before. It was weird how it all of sudden happened.
Also according to my ASUS utility, My voltages seem out of whack. It says my 12v is running a little above 12v, my 3.3v is running at 3.33v and my 5v is running at 4.6v or so. It this a good sign of bad power supply? I also have a ATI Tv Wonder VE card installed with everything else below.


Computer Specs
AMD Barton Mobile 2500+ O.C. to 3200+
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-401&depa=0

Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe nForce2 Motherboard
http://shop1.outpost.com/product/3907308

Chipset: NVIDIA® nForce2 Ultra 400
Processor Support: Up to Athlon XP 3200+
Memory Support: Up to 3GB PC3200 DDR
Expansion Slot: 1x AGP 8X, 5x PCI
Other Features: 6 Channnel Audio, GigaLan, USB 2.0, IEEE 1394, RAID, Serial ATA



ThermalTake VM2420A Aluminum Silver, 420W Mid Tower ATX Case
http://shop1.outpost.com/product/3865787

Size: Mid Tower ATX Case
Drive Bays: 3x 5.25", 2x 3.5", 2x3.5" Hidden
Cooling System: 4 Fans Total
Power Supply: 420W
Special Features: Side Panel With See Through Window, Thermaltake EL flash fire ball in front panel, 4 channel adjustable fan speed knob, 2 USB2.0 & IEEE 1394 firewire, Mic x 1 & Speaker x 1




Western Digital 120GB WD1200JBRTL UATA100 8MB Buffer - Retail HD Kit
http://shop1.outpost.com/product/3306472
Capacity: 120GB
Seek Time: 8.9ms
7200RPM
8MB Buffer
Data Lifeguard: WD's exclusive hardware, software and services designed to protect your data.
1 Year Limited Manufacturer Warranty



Corsair 1GB PC3200 400MHz 2-64x64 Dual-Channel DDR - Model
#TWINX1024-3200PT - Lifetime Warranty
http://shop1.outpost.com/product/3975718


ATI 128MB AGP Video Card with RADEON 9800 PRO 3D Chip
http://shop1.outpost.com/product/3628345

16x BTC Internal IDE DVD-ROM Drive
http://shop1.outpost.com/product/3042329


Lite-On DVD+RW LDW-401S

SYNMICRO 1.44MB SILVER FLOPPY DRIVE
http://shop1.outpost.com/product/3679605


ATI TV WONDER VE TV Tuner and Video Capture
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1051384173297&skuId=3916052&type=product

Round cables for airflow

Vantec Tornado 92mm CPU fan
http://heatsinkfactory.com/cgi-bin/HFAstore.pl?user_action=detail&catalogno=CF-028

Swiftech MCX462-V
-cpu cooler
http://heatsinkfactory.com/cgi-bin/HFAstore.pl?user_action=detail&catalogno=HS-025

when you say under 125fps, do you perhaps mean its locked at say, 60, or 75, or 85, or someother number? maybe you have v-sync on? do you have any AA of AF on?

if not i'd uninstall and reinstall fresh drivers offa the ati site.

I have the fps set in Quake 3 at 125fps. It holds at that number until I look at some crazy scenes such as blood and rockets and stuff. Even with all the graphics turned down it still cant hold 125fps. The number dips real low. My vid card is not not overclocked and I have tried all fresh drivers. I went and uninstalled the previous drivers. I have even reformatted my hard drive and installed the most current drivers from scratch. I am really leaning towards it being a power supply issue. As far as I know V-sync is off. Im not too sure. Also the stock settings from the drivers are on. I havent tweaked them at all.

when you formatted, did you get all the windows updates available? dx9b?

do you have a spare powersupply you could try out? or a friends you can borrow?

I have all the windows update possible. Im thinking of picking up an Antec True Power 550w. I dont know of anyone with a spare power supply. Im gonna try removing some extra accessories. Such as my burner, pci tv tuner, to see if I can get more juice to my vid card. Hopefully this will let me determine if it is the power supply.
Also a computer repair place had mentioned something about a similar problem he had seen. He said another guy was running a 9800 pro and had memory problems. He was using pc2700 and it wasnt fast enough. I dont think it is my ram becaue I am running pc3200. I have had no other problems to speak of that might be ram related.

What are your rail voltages running at?

Running a mobile and Pro put my Tt 420 through some serious stress...had to end up adjusting the pots inside to up the 12 and 5 lines...once I did that, everything ran pretty smoothly up until 2.65Ghz...

BTW - I was getting close to 500FPS in Q3...

glock19owner said:

BTW - I was getting close to 500FPS in Q3...

Click to expand...

lagger

My 12v rail is running around 12.3v or so. My 3.3v rail is running around 3.33v. My 5v rail is running around 4.6v or so. This is according to ASUS Utility. I have my vcore set to 1.85v I think. ASUS shows it at around 1.87v or so. I have my ddr voltage at 2.8v in BIOS. My memory timings are 7-3-3-2t.

*Didnt see that you had the voltage rails already listed*

That +5 is aweful low...but the Asus boards are +5 killers...if you know about the hidden adjustable pots inside of the Tt420 PSU's...you might want to raise the +5 voltage slightly...this should help stability...but the 125FPS issue sounds more like a driver issue or AGP issue...you do have the AGP set to 66Mhz and 8x AGP...also...what AGP voltage are you running?

Something else you might try

rTool

Make sure the driver is actually turned all the way down on settings...sometimes just becasue the drivers are set at high perf. does not mean the drivers are truely set for high performance...

I have the AGp set to 66mhz, 8x, fast write off, Im not sure off hand what the AGP voltage is at. I dont think I ever messed with it. It doesnt sound familiar to me being an option on the ASUS mobo. Im at work and I am doing this from memory. I wont be off work for another 2.5hrs or so.

I have to open up my PSU to mess with the pots were talking about? Ive never heard of it before. Please explain to me. Im still learning about hardware.

As for the AGP voltage...there is a option...just can't remember it right away...been a few months since I used my A7N8X Deluxe...but if the AGP voltage is set at 1.5...try upping it to 1.6...upping the AGP voltage helps stabilize the AGP when running at higher FSB...I had to run at 1.6v's to run the AGP stable past 200 and 1.7 to run the AGP stable past 240...

As for the Mods...

What too look for...


Which pot is which...


Turn them clockwise to raise the voltage...you need to have the PSU hooked up and running to adjust the voltages...I actually went into the BIOS and watched the rails while adjusting them...give them a few seconds after turning them for the BIOS to read the added voltage...I also did use a meter after I had them adjusted to see what the MB actually read also...

Thanx for the pix. I am running my FSB at 200mhz and a 11x multiplier. For a speed of 2.2ghz or 2.21ghz in windows. I was having some issues with my TV wonder VE. It would reset my BIOS every so often. I got into a rush and mite have overlooked it. So I may not have changed my AGP voltage. Hmm....

Update on card

I have since replace my PSU with an Antec true550w. I killed my mobo and replaced it with friends asus A78NX 2 deluxe. Finally figured out the problem to my video card. It turned out to be a heat issue. Replaced the stock heatsink with Zalman 80C-HP with a Thermaltake smart case fan 2 blowing over it. I am now running without problems!!! Yeah thanx to a buddy of mine having similar problems. He fixed it by reseating his zalman to his 9800 pro. Thanx for everyones help!!!!