New 4 gig build with Vista 64

slayer202

Lifer
Nov 27, 2005
13,679
119
106
Just build a new computer and I am using Vista for the first time. It is the ultimate 64 bit version. I read the sticky about the tweaks etc, but am wondering if there is anything else I should do, and what I can do to make sure everything is running up to par.

I believe I have read a few things about setting up something to maximize the use of 4 gigs of ram? Do I need to do that? What else besides what is in the sticky should I definitely do?
 

slayer202

Lifer
Nov 27, 2005
13,679
119
106
hmm, I don't think something is quite right. I feel like the cpu is becoming overloaded too easily. The computer feels a bit sluggish and it sounds like its working harder than it should be when the only thing I have running is crysis. I'm downloading some kind of benchmark tool I found, not sure if it's any good. Anything you guys can reccomend? no idea what the problem might be. I am running:

p35-d3sl
q6600
2x 2gb sticks gskill ddr2 800
BFG 7800 GT OC
 

Mem

Lifer
Apr 23, 2000
21,476
13
81
Originally posted by: slayer202
hmm, I don't think something is quite right. I feel like the cpu is becoming overloaded too easily. The computer feels a bit sluggish and it sounds like its working harder than it should be when the only thing I have running is crysis. I'm downloading some kind of benchmark tool I found, not sure if it's any good. Anything you guys can reccomend? no idea what the problem might be. I am running:

p35-d3sl
q6600
2x 2gb sticks gskill ddr2 800
BFG 7800 GT OC

We could do with some more info,you tried other games as well?What anti-virus software are you using,only thing I disabled in Vista x64 was real time scan on Windows Defender(I set mine to scan once a week).

Are you using latest drivers for video card,chipset motherboard ,got all of the Vista updates from the net etc?

Crysis is a demanding game,is it sluggish in general(without Crysis)


 

slayer202

Lifer
Nov 27, 2005
13,679
119
106
Call of Duty 4 runs a lot better, although I guess it is a bit less demanding. Even out of crysis though, it just doesn't seem right. The fans are always speeding up more often than my last machine.

I do have all the updates/drives etc, unless there are some manual windows updates somewhere.

I'm not doing anything but posting and I can hear the HD doing stuff. It is a re-used hard drive if it makes any difference

oh, and I'm using AVG free
 

Mem

Lifer
Apr 23, 2000
21,476
13
81
It could be a number of things indexing,superfetch etc...check Task Manager to see what it is,if its a new build/recent install of Vista it should settle down after a few days,my Vista is only really busy on initial bootup while its superfetching etc..then calms down to virtually idle mode.
 

slayer202

Lifer
Nov 27, 2005
13,679
119
106
hmm I see.

are there any good applications to test system stability/performance for vista? I downloaded a trial version of 3dmark and I don't think it worked. I was doing a test apparently resizing/rotating pictures, but the boxes on my screen were blank. Said it would take 26 minutes, left it on longer, but nothing happened

The help is very appreciated btw mem
 

Mem

Lifer
Apr 23, 2000
21,476
13
81
Easiest way is to game,you could try FRAPS that'll give you an idea of your FPS performance etc...

As to 3Dmark,did you read this?

3DMark06 Build 1.1.0 Fixes

* Windows Vista enabled; (*
* Fixed splash screen on Windows Vista;
* Fixed some Export to Excel issues;
* Improved startup speed by optimizing the SystemInfo component;
* Updated SystemInfo component with support for the latest CPU and graphics hardware;
* Fixed all reported & reproduced issues.

(* = To run 3DMark06 Build 1.1.0 in Windows Vista 64bit, please run the application as administrator.


Link.

You know how to run as admin right for a program?..right click on the exe. of the program concerned then select properties and you'll see compatibility tab and "run as admin" box is near the bottom in the compatibility tab section ,make sure you put a tick in there.

Some games and programs require you do this,trial and error with some.
 

slayer202

Lifer
Nov 27, 2005
13,679
119
106
No, I did not read that lol. I'll give it another go, although none of the settings can be touched.

I forgot to mention that i'm running 1680x1050 as well. Not really sure if that would make a difference to the cpu or just the video card
 

Mem

Lifer
Apr 23, 2000
21,476
13
81
Originally posted by: slayer202
No, I did not read that lol. I'll give it another go, although none of the settings can be touched.

I forgot to mention that i'm running 1680x1050 as well. Not really sure if that would make a difference to the cpu or just the video card

Depends how you mean,I game all the time in that res since its native resolution for my LCD,if a game is too demanding then I start playing with game video options ie...disable shadows,disable AA etc before dropping a res or two,normally only time I can't run in native res is if a game does not support my 1680x1050 res.

As to 3Dmark,been awhile since I used it(few years ago) I would go with its default setting.
 

slayer202

Lifer
Nov 27, 2005
13,679
119
106
Results are in:

PCmark Score - 4179

PCMarkSuite
PCMark Memories 1

CPU image manipulation 3.4 MB/s

HDD - importing pictures to Windows Photo Gallery 21.69 MB/s

PCMark Memories 2

Video transcoding - VC-1 to WMV9 2.55 MB/s

PCMark TV and Movies 1

Video transcoding - VC-1 to VC-1 0.62 MB/s

Video playback - VC-1 HD DVD with SD commentary 29.6 FPS

PCMark TV and Movies 2

HDD - Windows Media Center 32.68 MB/s

Video playback - VC-1 HD DVD with HD content 29.71 FPS

PCMark Gaming 1

Data decompression 624.39 MB/s

GPU gaming 25.41 FPS

PCMark Gaming 2

CPU gaming 10038.14 Operations/s

HDD - gaming 9.66 MB/s

PCMark Music 1

Web page rendering - music shop 18.4 Pages/s

Audio transcoding - MP3 to WMA 0.56 MB/s

HDD - adding music to Windows Media Player 4.0 MB/s

PCMark Music 2

Audio transcoding - WAV to WMA lossless 4.99 MB/s

PCMark Communications 1

Data encryption - CNG AES CBC 3.1 MB/s

Data compression 1.38 MB/s

Windows Mail - copying 9.66 Operations/s

PCMark Communications 2

Web page rendering - news serial 2.48 Pages/s

Data decryption - CNG AES CBC 78.99 MB/s

HDD - Windows Defender 6.98 MB/s

PCMark Productivity 1

Text editing 858.64 KB/s

PCMark Productivity 2

Windows Contacts - searching 20503.07 Contacts/s

Windows Mail - searching 10.71 Operations/s

Web page rendering - favorites group parallel 0.99 Pages/s

HDD - application loading 1.68 MB/s

Processor Intel Core 2 Quad 2400 MHz

Physical / Logical CPUs 1 / 4

MultiCore 4 Processor Cores

HyperThreading N/A

Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT

Graphics Driver NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT

Linked display adapters No

DirectX Version 10.0

System Memory 4096 MB

Disk Space 238.48 GB

Motherboard Manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.

Motherboard Model P35-DS3L

Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista


The only comparison it found scored a 5235

Not sure if my score is above or below what it should be

Right now I only have aim and windows explorer open and windows explorer is using 121,000k memory, 1.72 gb memory total, 1 or 2% cpu usage and I hear the hard drive. I did only install vista last night, so today was the first full day running. While typing cpu usage randomly jumped to 12%. Would I be better off removing the cpu and the stock thermal grease and adding some myself? Still not sure if the machine is running normal or not, but it just doesn't feel right to me. Could just be vista though?

Also, I was just playing some COD4 multiplayer and one of the fans, not sure which one, sounded like it was on full blast the whole time I was playing. How can I figure out if everything is normal?
 

Dadofamunky

Platinum Member
Jan 4, 2005
2,184
0
0
Your video card is actually a 7800GT? That's what I have. No way that thing is going to run Crysis. Absolutely no way. If you stated your video card right in your original post, then the video card is a decisive bottleneck. STRONGLY recommend at least an HD 3870 or 8800GT to better balance out your system which looks good otherwise.

***EDIT*** No, your PCMark shows an 8800GT. so something else is going on. Memory timings in the BIOS? The PCMark rating does seem a bit low for your rig. Also, maybe you're trying to run Crysis at extremely high settings, which even an 8800GT is not going to handle? At 1680x1050, are you jacking up the eye candy to max? Also, the 8800GT is (based on my readings here in the video card forums) kinda prone to loud fans and generating heat. Your system is excellent for many tasks; Crysis, however, is not going to blossom until the next generation of DX10 video cards comes out. Since I don't game that much, and don't want to spend $1000 for buttery-soft Crysis video, a $250 card will do me just fine in my next build. Lots of luck.
 

slayer202

Lifer
Nov 27, 2005
13,679
119
106
The 7800 GT was my old build, which ran COD4 and crysis on low settings without a hitch.

I've been running crysis at 1680x1050 on medium for the most part, on high the fan is going crazy. Is it safe to be doing that? I'm always hesitant to keep pushing the system.

the pcmark scores were 1024x768 if it makes a difference, no anti-aliasing.

Can I check temperatures/stability somehow?
 

Dadofamunky

Platinum Member
Jan 4, 2005
2,184
0
0
Speedfan is a somewhat useful program. Yeah, the GT definitely can make a lot of noise and does run hotter than ATI's best current offerings (which is why I'm going ATI for my next build). However, it's not a sign of problems. Also, I believe the fine program RivaTuner allows you to set fan behavior on installed video cards. Rivatuner is one of the best freeware programs in existence and no one with a rig like yours should be without it. It also enables you to OC the video card for better performance (use caution, of course). Also, sometimes the default fan behavior on display cards is too conservative. I'd check the video card forums on this site for more details. I am surprised that your system isn't generating a better PCMark score at defaults. But that also might be a function of the newness of the PCMark release, the state of which I'm not familiar with (a quick Web search will fix that). Given that you seem to be about 20% below scores for comparable systems, I'd look at the BIOS settings first. Make sure the memory and CPU are running at the factory settings they're meant for. Many BIOSes don't do a very good job of optimization and don't even detect the proper settings for installed components.
 

slayer202

Lifer
Nov 27, 2005
13,679
119
106
Originally posted by: Dadofamunky
Speedfan is a somewhat useful program. Yeah, the GT definitely can make a lot of noise and does run hotter than ATI's best current offerings (which is why I'm going ATI for my next build). However, it's not a sign of problems. Also, I believe the fine program RivaTuner allows you to set fan behavior on installed video cards. Rivatuner is one of the best freeware programs in existence and no one with a rig like yours should be without it. It also enables you to OC the video card for better performance (use caution, of course). Also, sometimes the default fan behavior on display cards is too conservative. I'd check the video card forums on this site for more details. I am surprised that your system isn't generating a better PCMark score at defaults. But that also might be a function of the newness of the PCMark release, the state of which I'm not familiar with (a quick Web search will fix that). Given that you seem to be about 20% below scores for comparable systems, I'd look at the BIOS settings first. Make sure the memory and CPU are running at the factory settings they're meant for. Many BIOSes don't do a very good job of optimization and don't even detect the proper settings for installed components.

hmm, alright, I will check those out
 

slayer202

Lifer
Nov 27, 2005
13,679
119
106
Does windows come with a temperature monitor? I was just in bios, and on my cpu temperature was at 44 degrees celsius, system temp was 41, cpu fan was going at 1200+ RPMs. again, not really sure what normal is