• Welcome to Overclockers Forums! Join us to reply in threads, receive reduced ads, and to customize your site experience!

Sub 14K 3dMark on 9700Pro?

Overclockers is supported by our readers. When you click a link to make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn More.

Ron Jeremy

Registered
Joined
Nov 6, 2002
Location
Hollywood, CA
Hey everyone,

I'm not big on benchmarking very often, as my games look great with all the eye candy on, and I still get pretty high FPS. But after I install something, I typically run 3dMark2001 SE, just for the sake of it.

Well I just picked up an Abit NF7-S Rev2.0 and an ATi 9700 Pro. Installed 'em, reformatted my HD and threw on a clean install of Windows XP Pro. First thing I did was install the Catalyst 3.2 drivers, followed by Powerstrip, then update everything else (bios, Windows Updates, etc.) and finished by installing 3dMark2001 SE. Ran the regular benchmark at all the default settings, with my 9700 at stock speeds and only scored 13,463. Threw some AS3 on the 9700, and OC'ed it to 350MHz core/325MHz memory. Ran 3dMark again, and only scored 13,611. Tried it again with all the default settings, but all the sounds turned off, and my score didn't really change (went up by like 5 points.)

Previously I was running an MSI KTV4-L mobo (with the KT400 chipset) and an MSI Ti4200 128MB at 292/575. With that setup (all the other components the same) I scored a high of 11,282 in the exact same version of 3dMark, at the same standard default test settings.

So now everything is exactly the same, save for the new mobo and the 9700 Pro. I thought that the dual channel memory of the nForce2 chipset and a 9700 Pro would throw me into a whole new ballpark in 3dMark. My system is flying fast, and running perfectly stable and smooth, but that 13,463 score is in the back of my mind bothering me to no end.

AMD 2100+ @ 180MHz*13= 2340MHz (FSB limited by PC2700 ram)
Abit NF7-S Rev2.0
9700 Pro @ 350/325
512MB GeIL PC2700 ram @ 2-3-3-6 in sync mode (4/4 ratio)
120GB x 2 WD SE edition HD's
Onboard SoundStorm sound
Enermax 465w PSU

With this setup, I was expecting a much higher jump in 3dMark from my Ti4200 setup. What is the typical 3dMark2001 SE benchmark configuration? Am I not setting up the benchmark properly?

Any suggestions, comments, help, etc. would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks guys. :D- RJ -:D
 
Well, in some instances a 3ghz would hold back a 9700pro, perhaps that is one of those instances. BTW, im getting an almost mirror of your setup in june, only dif is i will have a 2500+.
 
3dmark likes a high FSB... you might want to consider swapping out your RAM for some nice PC3200. That seems to be your current bottleneck.

BTW, dual-channel on nforce2 only gives about a 7% or so speed increase, since the proc's FSB, which isn't quad-pumped like the P4, can't really take advantage of the extra bandwidth. So it's normal that you're not getting much faster.
 
Yeah your score does seem pretty low considering your hardware. I'll have to agree that your FSB looks to be holding you back. Using my 8RDA+, 2x256 Geil PC3500, 2100+ (205x11.5) with 5-2-2-2 timings and ATI 9500 PRO (OC'd to 340/305) I got a score around 14500 in 3dmark01. Bet you kill me in 3dmark03 though. Best score there is 4498. You might try to make sure unneeded services are killed and I moved my ATI control panel sliders from quality to performance. I am not sure it that helped...but it might be worth a try.
 
Back