Help me find my bottleneck

[rubberneck]

I thought my system was "fairly" up to date until I started playing realMyst 3D the other day. I'm running a Cel2@800, MSI6309 board (via133A), 128MB PC133 (running @ FSB+33), V3-2000 (@166MHz), 20GB DiamondMax/7200RPM/2MB, Win2000Pro/sp1.....and the usual array of CD readers/writers, nic's and so forth. What I'm getting is an moderate amount of choppiness (which leads to a motion sick feeling after about 45-60 minutes of play). Any ideas what the best way to aliviate this would be? Also: 1) it is a glide based game 2) peak total memory usuage goes up to around 170MBs when playing 3) I'm playing at 800x600 with medium texture detail (high detail doesn't seem to slow it down further at all). 4) I don't have the money to get a Geforce-2/ultra or a new CPU/mainboard.

 

[Wah]

I am running a p3-800. I used to have a v3-2000@166 and I saw a huge performance gain (in games) when I upgraded to a geforce2. I suggest you look into a new video card.

 

[formulav8]

Looks like your video card

 

[chiwawa626]

rubberneck is trying to find a bottleneck....
LOL!!!!!
Whoooo...

 

[Wah]

???

 

[piku]

Its the videocard.

But dont worry, that is a VERY demanding game. My Athlon 850 with a GeForce 256 SDR can keep up pretty well, but it gets slightly choppy in a few parts.

 

[rubberneck]

Hmmm.....I thought that voodoo3 would last at least 12 months....<cough>....uhmmm...hmmm...where'd I put my Amex?

 

[Wah]

get a geforce2 or a DDR geforce256. you'll be happy.

 

[Linh]

video card

 

[Mem]

If you want your PC to really fly ,upgrade Video card,&amp; then put another 128mb in there when you have the money.

 

[EvilDonnyboy]

I can explain why high textures don't slow down any more than medium textures. It's because the V3 has a texture resolution limit of 256x256. So in with High textures, they have the 512x512 textures available. but since the v3 can't use them, it just uses the 256x256 versions instead.

 

[Fisher999]

Agreed, sounds like the video card!!!

 

[Quickfingerz]

is some of this choppiness caused when your computer acceses your hard drive. if this is the case, it's probably more like your ram that causing the choppiness.

 

[Quickfingerz]

is some of this choppiness caused when your computer acceses your hard drive. if this is the case, it's probably more like your ram that causing the choppiness.

 

[rubberneck]

Well, I decided to see if it was a lack of ram causing the choppiness. I placed an additional 64MB stick from my other system, bringing the total to 192MB, and vola....no change at all. So, I'm agreeing with popular opinion and thinking in terms of a video card upgrade. I like the perfromance/price ratio of the Gefore2-GTS but I'm thinking that for ~$200, I might be better of waiting a few months for NV-20 based cards to hit the market. Maybe buying a Geforce2-MX to get me by until the next generation gets more affordable. Also, I like the Radeon 32MB/DDR but for Win-2000, I'm afraid driver support is a bit lower than I would like.

Opinions?

 

[Muerto]

I've got a GF2 MX and I always get descent framerates out of it (although I haven't played realMyst 3D). I suggest the Hercules one becuase it comes with the fasted memory and it should overclock better that the rest.

If you want good performance out of your MX make sure you overclock the memory to at least 200MHz. Don't bother overclocking the core because it will be fillrate limited no matter how fast you make the memory run. All that will do is make your card run hotter.

 

[Wah]

i think you'll be waiting a long time for the NV20 to come down in price.

 

[Chuffmaster2k]

I am runnin a cel2@850, 256MB Ram, and a 32MB GTS, and a 20GB 7200 Maxtor drive. I play RealMyst3D and it runs pretty darn smooth.

I took out 128MB of ram to see whether it made a difference in the game. I could not tell much of a difference. Our systems are fairly similar otherwise, so I must conclude that it is the video card. Good Luck.

P.S. Check out the FS/FT forums for some great deals on GTS cards (look for Untamo or others).
This is where I got mine from.

 

[Fisher999]

Rubberneck is considering a nVidia GeForce 2 MX. I realize the Hercules is a winner.
Has anyone read anything or had any experience with Creative Labs 3D Blaster Annihilator 2 MX with DDR SDRAM (that's DDR SDRAM- NOT a typo)?

I can't find it available for sale on the web nor have I been able to locate any reviews on it yet. Anyone have &quot;the scoop&quot;?

My local &quot;Best Buy&quot; is advertising it for $129.00 I've got to believe DDR SDRAM will really give the &quot;baby 2 GTS&quot; (the 2 MX) a BOOST.