Horrible Framerates w/ new Geforce 3

[Katana]

I just got a Geforce 3 a couple days ago and was hoping to play MOH with some decent framrates, I had a Voodoo 3 before, but the framerates with the GF3 seem even worse than they were with the V3. I left the game at the default settings, 800x600 with everything else at max, and the game barely gets 30fps. Most of the time it is in the twenties and when some action is on screen it drops to single digits. The game is unplayable and I can't figure out why, FSAA is off and all the display settings are at their default. I've tried a few different drivers and it's the same with all of them. I shouldn't have to run at 640x480 to get a playable framerate with my system, should I? RTCW and SOF2 also have pretty low framerates, though not to the same extent of MOH, while Serious Sam 2nd Encounter averages over 80fps at 1024x768 with all settings to max. GTA3 also plays just fine at 1024x768, anyone know whats wrong?

Athlon XP 1700+
Geforce 3 OC to 235/520
Epox 8KHA+
128MB Crucial PC2100
LiteOn 16x DVD-Rom
WD 30GB 7200rpm hdd
Windows XP Pro

 

[mchammer187]

i would try getting rid of all instances of your vodoo 3 drivers and files then reinstall your mobo's AGP drivers and then install the detonators from NVIDIA's site

 

[Katana]

I formated the hdd and reinstalled the OS to get rid of the V3 drivers. I've tried three different detonators all with the same result. I'll try reinstalling the AGP drivers, hopefully this will work.

 

[dmw16]

The main thing is probably your drivers. Aside from what mchammer said, you may want to make sure your 4-in-1 drivers are up-to-date. Also, as somewhat of a side note, you may want to consider getting some more RAM.
-doug

 

[Katana]

I installed the 4in1s and the framerate is a little better, but I still only average around 50fps at 800x600 in MOH on the first level.

 

[Mem]

OK try running with anti-virus off and any other software that runs in the background, few bios tweaks like check you`ve video ram cacheable disabled in bios,and disable system bios cacheable.You do have AGP aperture size set to 64mb or 128mb?

Don`t forget you will need the NVRefresh fix from here .

 

[Katana]

The only things running in the background are fraps and powerstrip. I just did those bios tweaks and it's still the same framerate, I also already have the refresh fix.

Just for the heck of it I tried 1024x768 and the framerate averages only around 35fps.

 

[formulav8]

In the bios. set the AGP Aperture Size to 256.

 

[Katana]

I changed the aperture size to 256 and the framerate stayed the same. I lowered all the advanced settings in MOH to the lowest and the framerate is playable, though I still wouldn't call it smooth.

I just ran 3dMark2001se and got a score of 7600, which seems about right for my setup, but for my FSB it showed 0 for some reason.

 

[human2k]

how bout some more ram..........128mb

 

[Katana]

Yes, I know I need more ram. There is a computer show this weekend that I plan on going to and will hopefully find some ram for cheap. Would another 256MB really increase the framerate that much?

 

[Katana]

Is there a framerate limiter in Q3? I just installed it and the framerate will never go over 90fps, even at 640x480, it is locked at it.

 

[GarlicBreath]

Originally posted by: formulav8
In the bios. set the AGP Aperture Size to 256.

Why in the world would you tell him th change the grpahics aperture to 256, when he only has 128mb of RAM?

Set it to 64, then try 32.

Use your sytem monitor to log your swap file usage. If it is constantly large, then lack of ram is definately the problem. Then beg, borrow, or steal some more RAM and test it - I'll bet that brings you up quite a bit.

 

[formulav8]

Originally posted by: GarlicBreath

Originally posted by: formulav8
In the bios. set the AGP Aperture Size to 256.

Why in the world would you tell him th change the grpahics aperture to 256, when he only has 128mb of RAM?

Set it to 64, then try 32.

Use your sytem monitor to log your swap file usage. If it is constantly large, then lack of ram is definately the problem. Then beg, borrow, or steal some more RAM and test it - I'll bet that brings you up quite a bit.

I didn't pay attention to how much ram he had. I would have thought everyone here has at least 256m of ram.

 

[dmw16]

Could it be a bum card? Just a thought.
-doug

 

[dexvx]

128MB of ram + windowsXP Pro = bad

when you set the AGP aperture to 256, arent you letting all the system memory be available for texture use?

 

[BFG10K]

Make sure vsync, anisotropic filtering and FSAA are completely disabled in both OpenGL and Direct3D control panels. Also you really need at least 256 MB RAM to run games well although that is probably not the cause of your problems. Also do not overclock anything in your system.

The only things running in the background are fraps and powerstrip.

Turn them off and try again. PowerStrip can severely interfere with the framerate in certain cases.

Close all applications that you have running in the background and try again.

changed the aperture size to 256

Leave it at 64 MB.

Is there a framerate limiter in Q3?

Yes - use com_maxFPS 0 to disable it.

 

[RanDum72]

Upgrade the RAM to at least 256mb. Better yet, buy a 256mb stick and make it 384mb. I just upgraded my neighbor's computer (PIII 733, 815 chipset, 128mb RAM, GF2 GTS 64mb DDR ) to 384mb after adding a 256mb stick. The difference is like night and day in games, especially under WinXP. He was torturing himself (the thing was running in slow motion) and after the upgrade, he looked so relieved I swear I saw tears in his eyes .

 

[Katana]

Yep it's because of the ram, whenever there is slowdown it is because the hdd is being accessed. Don't know why I didn't notice this before, anyway I lowered all the settings in MOH under advanced to the lowest and have the textures at medium quality and it plays fine at 1024x768 except for the occasional hiccup when it accesses the hdd.

 

[Abel007]

Might wanna unoverclock the GF3 til the problem is fixed as well, never know when that could be a potential framerate killer.

 

[MrCodeDude]

Turn off AA.
-- mrcodedude