The rig:
* MSI Neo4-F s939
* AMD A64 x2 3800+ (2.0Ghz stock) w/ a ~cheapish Thermaltake HSF and Arctic Silver thermal compound
* 2x1GB Mushkin DDR500 (991483), rated at 3-4-3-8
* MSI x1900xtx (650/1550 stock) w/ stock MSI cooler
* Enhance ENP-5140gh 400W
* My primary monitor is a Sony FW900 24" WS CRT, so I'd typically game at high WS resolutions such as 1600x1080 and 1920x1200.
I will OC the CPU (hoping for 2.5-2.7Ghz) but I was wondering what else I can do to really speed this thing up. I want this thing pumping out as many frames per second in Oblivion, FEAR, HL 2, etc as possible 🙂
* What's the best (most stable, fastest) BIOS for my motherboard?
* What drivers should I use for the video card? I have the latest omega drivers installed, but is there something faster out there?
* What would give the best performance: running the RAM 1:1 at roughly 3-4-3-8 @ 1T timings or using a mem divider to reduce the frequency but tighten the timings?
* Should I bother OCing the video card, given I'm using the stock MSI cooler?
Additionally, what benchmarks should I run to test my system and what kind of numbers should I get? I know of 3dmark, PCmark, and Super PI but how can I find out what scores similar systems have gotten?
Any advice is appreciated, especially from those with similar setups.
* MSI Neo4-F s939
* AMD A64 x2 3800+ (2.0Ghz stock) w/ a ~cheapish Thermaltake HSF and Arctic Silver thermal compound
* 2x1GB Mushkin DDR500 (991483), rated at 3-4-3-8
* MSI x1900xtx (650/1550 stock) w/ stock MSI cooler
* Enhance ENP-5140gh 400W
* My primary monitor is a Sony FW900 24" WS CRT, so I'd typically game at high WS resolutions such as 1600x1080 and 1920x1200.
I will OC the CPU (hoping for 2.5-2.7Ghz) but I was wondering what else I can do to really speed this thing up. I want this thing pumping out as many frames per second in Oblivion, FEAR, HL 2, etc as possible 🙂
* What's the best (most stable, fastest) BIOS for my motherboard?
* What drivers should I use for the video card? I have the latest omega drivers installed, but is there something faster out there?
* What would give the best performance: running the RAM 1:1 at roughly 3-4-3-8 @ 1T timings or using a mem divider to reduce the frequency but tighten the timings?
* Should I bother OCing the video card, given I'm using the stock MSI cooler?
Additionally, what benchmarks should I run to test my system and what kind of numbers should I get? I know of 3dmark, PCmark, and Super PI but how can I find out what scores similar systems have gotten?
Any advice is appreciated, especially from those with similar setups.