Help with G4 4200

[TeeKay]

I recently upgraded from a Geforce4 MX 420 to an Aopen Aeolus Geforce4 4200 128MB. However, my 3dmark scores have been somewhat lacking, and i find certain games to be below performance of my old video card or simply unplayable. Specifically Mafia and Soldier of Fortune 2 are the most problematic, and tweaking detail settings seems to make no difference. They play very choppily and only become worse as time goes on.

My default 3dmark score is aroud 7300. If I lower the resolution to 800 by 600, it only raises to 7600. I've already read about the problems with overclocking this card, and only attempted to OC the card briefly to overcome the lack of performance i'm discussing here.

I've uninstalled the card completely at least 10 times, i've tried the default drivers that come with the card, the most recent drivers on Aopen's website, the latest WHQL certified drivers from nvidia, and the latest dets. I disabled anti-aliasing in all the drivers that allowed me to do so.

My computer is a 1.7 Ghz P4 with 128 MB of 133 SDRAM. my motherboard was made by FIC, uses the Intel 845 chipset, and is model number vc31 if you feel like looking at it on FIC's website. AGP 4x is enabled, but i have no idea what problems that may cause.

This horrible performance is really disappointing, and i'd truly appreciate anyone that can help me get my card working properly. A friend with a very similar setup to my computer has the 64MB 4200 and gets over 10k in 3dmark. I feel i should be within a few hundred points of him.

 

[Megatomic]

Could you post more specs TeeKay? OS, driver versions, game patches, hard drive speeds, etc...

I can tell you this right off though, you need to upgrade your memory. 128MB of PC133 is just subpar for the kind of gaming it looks like you are wanting to enjoy. If you are running Win2K or WinXP, you should definitely move to 256MB and should think about getting 512MB.

 

[TeeKay]

actually, i do have 256. my brain just died for a second there.

i'm running WinXP with service pack 1 installed, hard drive is 7200 i believe, i have my page file set at 768, and all my games are all patched up.

some games do run better than my old card used to run them, such as Giants and GTA3. something feels like they could be running faster than they are though, especially since my card seems to be lacking in several other games. it seems to run the Unreal 2k3 demo about the same as my MX 420 though, which i find odd. the benchmark flyby score is about 20 - 25 frames higher, but the botmatch score is almost dead even.

 

[AnAndAustin]

Yeah unfortunately you got duped. PC133 on P4 really sucks BIG TIME! And 128MB of RAM wasn't really adequate back in the PIII 500mhz days! AOpen are the worst 4200 card to get and they really cheap out which kills the o/c'ing potential. Still if you upgrade your RAM to 256MB or more (try adding 256MB) you'll get a very nice boost. The core of the 4200 should still reach 275mhz but the RAM is unlikely to get past 460mhz. Even so 4200 still have decent perf even at 250/444. To really get the most out of your whole setup you really will have to throw out your mobo and switch to DDR, the P4 really needs PC2700 minimum. I don't mean this as a personal attack at all, I just wonder who sold you that PC in the first place!

One thing you may need to do is a fresh install of your OS, many people simply find it impossible to erradicate all the driver remnants of previous cards BUT I would suggest you add a stick of 256MB PC133 before you even bother trying.

 

[TeeKay]

i already said i actually have 256MB of RAM.

i'm not looking for top line performance or overclocking here, i'm just looking for what i expected from this card from what i've read in reviews and seen in comparisons.

 

[AnAndAustin]

Well if you're sure drivers aren't holding you back and your BIOS settings are adequate then reinstalling the OS is definitely what I'd rec. I went from a GF2 to a GF4TI4200 and had a few wierd quirks, I tried all manner of things but a fresh install of my OS sorted it out 100%! It isn't as drastic as it used to be, but personally I'd really suggest you consider upgrading the mobo and adding some DDR ... or else get an AthlonXP and SktA ... you could even reuse your PC133 as it doesn't choke the XP's perf in the same way it does to the P4!

 

[Doctorweir]

Hmm, I think your scores are right for your specs... P4 1.7 is not that a fast processor, especially with PC133...

AOpen are the worst 4200 card to get and they really cheap out which kills the o/c'ing potential. Still if you upgrade your RAM to 256MB or more (try adding 256MB) you'll get a very nice boost. The core of the 4200 should still reach 275mhz but the RAM is unlikely to get past 460mhz.

I'm not satisfied, but all in all the card is not too bad
With my Tualatin Celeron @ 1.7 I get 9800 3DMarks, but this processor kicks the P4s a** anyway at the same speed...
Sorry for not getting the expected performance boost, but it is still a nice system...
Upgrade path is like said before: First switch to DDR mobo, then swap processor...if you are really in immediate need of more performance...

 

[Mockmaw]

"AOpen are the worst 4200 card to get and they really cheap out which kills the o/c'ing potential."

I believe that Aopen makes good stuff, and for the record, not everyone overclocks.

 

[AnAndAustin]

I understand that Mockmaw. I did stress it's AOpen's GF4 cards. The AOpen 4200-128MB is the only one I know of which uses 4.5ns which is only technicly certified to 444mhz while 99% use 4.0ns which is a much better idea for long term stability as well as o/c'ability. 4.0ns hardly costs any more than 4.5ns and that's the most frustrating thing. So expect any other 4200-128MB to equal or beat 4400 perf while the AOpen version is unlikely to improve perf even by 5%. I'd buy anything else from AOpen, they are a good brand, but stay away from their gfx cards! That's MHO and pretty good advice!