New Build

[Leogecko]

I finished a new build a couple of weeks ago, here are the specs:

AMD x2 4400+
eVGA 7800GTX
2 Gigs Corsair XMS
Creative X-Fi Xtrememusic
Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe
WD SE16 250 gig
Maxtor 100 gig
2x Lite-On optical drives
Floppy Drive
CM Stacker Case
PC P&C 510 SLI PSU
Dell Ultrascan P990 CRT (from old computer)

As for drivers, I installed chipset drivers, video card drivers, and sound card drivers, as well as some drivers for the cpu, is there anything else I need?

Although the PC works better than my old one (6800 GT and P4 2.66 GHz),
it's not quite what I've heard how it should perform. In games like Doom 3 there will be instances (usually involving particle effects like smoke and fire, or when entering an open area) where the fps drops down from 60 to exactly 30 fps, making gameplay very choppy. This is with 1600x1200 resolution, high quality, and most of the stuff turned on(including vsync and 4x aniso, no multisample), which is not supposed to be too much for this card, right? After all, it's supposed to perform like 6800 GTs in SLI. I know vsync supposedly limits fps, but it wasn't as bad in my older system.

Of course I may just be expecting too much out of this card, but I am a bit disappointed after spending money on a fast cpu, fast mobo, and strong soundcard to support it.


Another smaller issue is in Microsoft Visual Studio; when I go to run a program the console window will open up immediately but it takes 10-15 seconds for the program to actually start.

One thing I would like to know is how to make this sea of cables a little more manageable, I've stuffed as many as I can; I'm not sure but I still think my temps are a little high.

Here is a pic of the inside of the comp:
http://www.freewebs.com/aomfansite/IMG_0123.JPG

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Just for the record, here are some of the results of various tests on this system:

CPU temp : 40C
MoBo temp: 39 C
GPU temp : 50 C
GPU temp after gameplay: 62 C
(these are with all stock coolers, I decided not to install the thermalright
XP that I got because it would void the warranty on the CPU)

3DMark2005: 7989 3dmarks

PCMark2005:
HDD - XP Startup - 8.01 MB/s
Physics and 3D - 165.62 FPS
Transparent Windows - Test failed
3D - Pixel Shader - 310.14 FPS
Web Page Rendering - 2.89 Pages/s
File Decryption - 38.11 MB/s
Graphics Memory - 1812.4 FPS
HDD - General Usage - 6.06 MB/s
Multithreaded Test 1 / Audio Compression - 2191.6 KB/s
Multithreaded Test 1 / Video Encoding - 326.8 KB/s
Multithreaded Test 2 / Text Edit - 135.32 Pages/s
Multithreaded Test 2 / Image Decompression - 25.28 MPixels/s
Multithreaded Test 3 / File Compression - 5.83 MB/s
Multithreaded Test 3 / File Encryption - 21.43 MB/s
Multithreaded Test 3 / HDD - Virus Scan - 31.71 MB/s
Multithreaded Test 3 / Memory Latency - Random 16 MB 9.9 MAccess

Are those about average?

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Is there any way I could increase performance or improve my setup in any
way? (excluding overclocking) Any advice would be appreciated, as this is my first build. And just out of curiosity, is there any way to completely disable the second core on the cpu for testing purposes?

Here is a link to a list of specs compiled by PCMark if it is needed...
http://www.freewebs.com/aomfansite/SI.xml

 

[GamerExpress]

I don't think there is anything wrong at all, I don't understand why 30fps would be choppy??

30fps will be noticable as far as smoothness, but not enough to really hinder your gameplay.

 

[Azndude51]

How's the performance in other games like HL2, BF2, CoD2, or FEAR if you have them?

 

[Leogecko]

 

[Leogecko]

Well I installed HL2 and BF2 and they seem to be alright. HL2 has some lag outside but not too bad.

I realized in doom 3 that FPS usually drops by more than half (like 70 FPS to 30 FPS) when looking at particle effects,
I.E an imp throwing a fireball, gas leaks, smoke.
As of right now the only way to get consistent FPS is to have aniso, antialiasing, and vsync all turned off.

Originally posted by: GamerExpress
I don't think there is anything wrong at all, I don't understand why 30fps would be choppy??

30fps will be noticable as far as smoothness, but not enough to really hinder your gameplay.

Going from 60 FPS to 30 FPS creates a pretty big disturbance in gameplay... besides, this card shouldn't do that at all, should it? I didn't
get a new vid card and system so I could play at 30 FPS. If I didn't care about that I could've just kept my 6800.

 

[Leogecko]

Besides the game, does anyone know why Visual Studio is slow?

Just got PCMark to work, score is 5300.