New system, poor performance

S

Slawek

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 28, 2006
Messages
186
I just purchased the following system, using the 2005 Holiday guide.

P4 640 (3.2 ghz) processor
Asus P5ND2-SLI motherboard (not deluxe model)
Western Digital 250 SATA II HDD
Corsair XMS2 DDR2 512x2 memory
Antec 550W True Power II dual 12v
BFG GeForce 7800 GT OC
Thermaltake Soprano case


I am getting very poor performance in games currently. And by poor, I mean HL2 suggests I do 1024x768 with everything maxed, but I get like 15 fps. Counter Strike is getting around 15 FPS. FEAR is just a nightmare. Even when I lower everything down to 800x600 with low settings, HL2/Counter Strike is so damn slow, with no increase in FPS.

I have the latest Nvidia 81.98 drivers, latest Nforce chipset update, updated my BIOS, I dont have any of that Nvidia extra stuff starting up in my MSCONFIG/Startup. When prompted to install the Nvidia SW IDE driver, I say YES.

I plugged my HDD in using the SATA cables, so I know it's fine. I get the 'skip' during games, like it's the HDD catching up or something, but I dont think that's the main problem here.

My memory is dual channel DDR (2 x 512) Corsair XMS2 performance ram

I have WinXp Pro w/SP2 installed. No virus scanners, no Office installed or anything like that. Fresh system with WinXP and a few games.

I know that when you get a new system, you have to screw with settings to get it to run perfect. But really, can you guys offer some help here? I'm at a loss...

Here is a shot of some info.. SORRY FOR THE LARGE IMAGE, if i reduced it, it got really blurry:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v319/Slawek/system.jpg

When I installed Windows for the first time, I hit F6, and put in the disk that I made using my ASUS CD from another computer, and loaded the SATA drivers.

I emailed BFG, they said that the small amount of RAM I have is hurting my performance. I nearly snapped when I read that email. How can 1 gig of ram explain 15 fps at 800x600 in HL2 with my system specs?

My CPU temperatures are 50-55 Celcius at IDLE, and about 60 at full load.
My Graphics Card temperatures are like 42 Celcius at IDLE, and 50 at full load.


My current attack plan: When I get home from work, I'm removing all Nvidia drivers and chipset drivers, using Driver Cleaner Pro to remove all DLL files, and I'll then try to reinstall everything again, saying NO to the Nvidia SW IDE driver. I doubt this will work tho :S
 
Make sure that the correct DirectX drivers are installed. I just built a new rig recently had the same problem. I forgot to install directx 9.0c.

Also, make sure your RAM and processor are being read correctly in your BIOS/CMOS configuration. I am running DDR400, but my MB only read it at DDR333, and it also didn't have it running in dual channel mode.

If the drivers don't fix your problem, then I am betting that the MB is not setup properly.

Hey, PM if you ever discover what exactly the problem is. Did you visit your MB manufactorers web site and look at possible reasons?
 
Yes I have DirectX 9c. My ram is running at 667, Dual Channel enabled.

I'm not sure what to 'setup' in the motherboard, everything is set on automatic basically. I change my primary display device to PCI-E from PCI, that's about it.

BFG just wrote back with this:

Have you attempted to uninstall the card/drivers, run a driver cleaner, and reinstall the card? This may be one thing that could fix your bottlenecking issue. The other thing that is in question is the IRQ assignment of the card. If you are unaware, this can be checked in your Device Manager, by going to View, Resource by Type, and then Interupt Request. The recommended spot for the card is alone, on a spot in the range of IRQ 5-15. Any of the available spots in the range is normally where your machine should automatically assign it a spot on, however, occasionally machines don't and cause various issue. If the card is outside this range and is on, for example, IRQ16 or even say IRQ 19 then it will need to be manually reassigned.


If you look at my screen capture, it's on IRQ 16. Would this cause issues? Or are they just making stuff up here.. lol
 
IRQ disrupt problems are rare, but they are real.

I think you should go in, make SURE that the PCI-E is selected, make sure that your CAS is set correctly for your RAM, and read your MB manual about the BIOS settings to make sure there isn't something simple you missed.

At this point I don't think it is your video card, I think it is a system bottleneck being created by a incorrectly set option.

If that isn't it, and the fresh instalI of drivers/bios updates, i would start by RMAing the MB and getting a new one.
 
What do you mean make sure it's selected? Look at my screenshot, it's showing PCI-EXPRESS on IRQ16, running at 16x
 
Issue fixed!

I can't believe this... The heatsink was not secured properly.. i guess I didn't *click* it in after all?! Anyways, since I reinstalled the heatsink, temperature is at 35 Celcius, and at load it's at 40 Celcius. What a difference from 60!

Thank you for all your help!!
 
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