low 3dmark06 scores?

[brikis98]

My system:

AMD A64 x2 3800+ @ 2.5Ghz
2x1GB Mushkin DDR500 3-8-4-3 1t
MSI x1900xtx @ stock
Windows XP SP2, catalyst 6.10

I'm comparing my 3dmark06 scores to the ones listed here for the x1900xtx and i am consistently getting 500-700 points lower on the SM2.0 and HDR/SM3.0 tests. i get the lower score in those tests both at 1024x768, no AA, trillinear filtering and 1280x1042, 4x AA, 8x AF.

there are 3 obvious differences between my setup and the one in the benchmarks above:

1. FX60 @ 2.61Ghz
2. 2x1GB Mushkin RAM at 2-3-2
3. ATI Catalyst 6.6

are these 3 factors enough to account for a score that's 20-25% lower? does the MSI x1900xtx have much headroom for OCing using its stock cooler? and if so, what's the best way to go about it w/o burning the card out?

UPDATE: i ran the test at the default settings - 1280x1024, no AA, optimal filtering - and got the following scores:

SM2.0: 2321
HDR/SM3.0: 2583
CPU: 1899
Total: 5874

my CPU score seems comparable (if not better) to similar systems but the SM2.0 and HDR/SM3.0 scores are 100-200 points lower... it seems like this difference in score is likely to be as simple as drivers...

so... any1 have a walkthrough for safely OCing my vid card?

 

[Elfear]

I don't know if I'd trust Tom's too much. I looked at some of the other benchmarks in their drop-down menu and they looked off to me. Try running 3DMark06 at default settings (1280x1024 0xAA 0xAF) and compare your score to others at the Futuremark ORB. Try to find a system that is close to yours.

IIRC, your system should get in the high 5000's maybe low 6000's with that processor.

 

[Munky]

I get about 5700 at 3dmark06 with a x1900xt at stock and a dual core AMD cpu @ 2.52ghz. Run the tests at default settings and see if you get something close to that.

 

[brikis98]

thx for the replies guys, i'll try it at default settings tomorrow and compare...

 

[brikis98]

i updated the OP with my scores at default settings... my score is slightly higher than munky's, which is good, although i expected more of a difference between the x1900xt and the x1900xtx... lmk what you guys think...

 

[brikis98]

bump

 

[brikis98]

bump for more opinions or suggestions on OCing...

 

[Munky]

I'm using Ati Tray Tools to OC my card. The program is available at Guru3d, and it has many tweaks and settings for the video card, including several overclocking methods.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: munky
I'm using Ati Tray Tools to OC my card. The program is available at Guru3d, and it has many tweaks and settings for the video card, including several overclocking methods.

i have it installed... what would you recommend as a safe way to go about it? and any idea how much headroom this MSI card has?

 

[Munky]

The latest version has a mode of OC'ing called Overdrive, which is easier to set up than doing the profiles manually. In that Overdrive screen, the voltage should say 1.45v, and you manually set the core/mem clocks. Then the card will automatically use those clocks when in 3D mode.

I would not recomment raising the voltage on stock air cooling, so just bump up the core clocks 10mhz and test it in some 3d games. If it's stable then go up another 10mhz, and so on until the card doesnt run stable, which you'll know when a game freezes and then the screen goes black. Overclock the core while keeping the mem at stock speed, and once you find the max stable core clocks, set it back to stock and find the max stable mem clocks. Then use the max stable speed for both core and mem. Usually the mem will do ~800mhz or more, but the core OC results is more or less luck.