processor upgrade results in choppy video

[five]

Troubleshooting starter

video choppy after processor upgrade
(I upped my processor from a sempron to to an athlon 64 x2, now my video is choppy when gaming.)


Here are my comp specs....

Aspire T180 Specifications
Processor AMD AM2 Athlon 64 x 2 or Athlon 64 or Sempron (940 pin)
Cache depending on the CPU
Memory 256MB DDR2 533/667/800 SDRAM expandable to 4GB
BIOS Flash BIOS
Supported Protocols ACPI 2.0, APM 1.2, SMBIOS 2.3, WFM 2.0, ASD 1.03, PXE boot ROM,
PCI 2.3, DMI 2.0, WOL, Bootable CD-ROM 1.0, USB 1.1~USB 2.0, E-IDE
(up to PIO mode-4), ANSI ATA 3.0, ATAPI
System Chipset nVidia MCP61S + MCP61P
I/O Controller Hub ITE8726
Expansion Slots 1 PCI-Express x16 slot
2 PCI v2.3 slots
Audio Integrated nVidia MCP61 with AC97, ALC888 codec supporting 16 bit
PCM format for 7.1 Channel High Definition Audio codecs with UAA
(Universal Audio Architecture)
Speakers Optional on selected models
Video Integrated nVidia MCP61
PCI Express x16 Add-on card (selected models)
Storage 3.5" 1.44MB Floppy Disk Drive (selected models)
CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD/CD-RW Combo, DVD-RW,
DVD+RW, DVD Dual, DVD SupermultiPlus (varies by models)
Up to 400GB Hard Disk Drive SATA (varies by models)
9 in 1 Card Reader (selected models)
Modem Optional on selected models
Networking Integrated Marvell 88E8056 Gigabit (RJ-45 LAN connector)
Ports Rear: 1 PS2 Keyboard port, 1 PS2 Mouse port, 1 Serial port, 1 Parallel
port, 2 USB 2.0 ports, 1 VGA port, 1 IEEE 1394 port, Audio line in, line
out, headphone out, Microphone in
Front: 2 USB 2.0 ports, 1 headphone out, and 1 Microphone in
Environmental
Temperature:
Operating: +5oC ~+35oC
Non-operating: -10oC ~ +60oC
Relative Humidity:
Operating: 15% - 80% RH Non-condensing
Non-Operating Storage: 10% - 90% RH, Non-condensing at 40° C
Maximum Vibration:
Operating: 5 ~ 16.2Hz: 0.38mm (peak to peak) 16.2 ~ 250Hz; 0.2G
Non-Operating Storage: 5 ~ 27.1Hz: 0.6G 27.1 ~ 50Hz; 0.4mm (peak to
peak) 50 ~ 500Hz: 2G
Chassis Desktop, 7.2" (183mm) W x 17.9" (445mm) D x 14.6" (370mm) H
Power Supply Industry Standard 250 Watt
Operating System Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2
Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2
Windows XP Media Center Edition


My video card is a BFG 8500GT
I have 2 gigs RAM

I changed the OS from XP home edition to XP pro
I changed my PS from 250 watt to a 305 watt

I upped my BIOS, My video card drivers and every other driver I could find.
(used drivermax)
I also installed a dual core optimizer from the AMD website.

Nothing seems to be helping.

UNless the vid card is now the bottleneck but I dont want to buy another just to test the theory.

Main game played (Online) COD4..seems laggy....

 

[Fardringle]

Windows probably isn't recognizing the dual cores.

Open Task Manager. Look at the Performance tab to make sure there are separate performance graphs for each CPU core. If so, you might just need to install the AMD Dual Core Optimizer. This helps single-thread games use the processor more efficiently.


If there are not two separate CPU graphs, then the computer isn't using both cores of the processor. If this is the case, there are some things you can try:


* Verify that your motherboard BIOS supports the new CPU. Confirm that the BIOS recognizes the CPU properly.

* In Device Manager, check the driver type under Computer. It should say ACPI Multiprocessor PC. If not, try to update the driver type. NOTE: This might not work and could prevent the computer from booting, so try it at your own risk!

To update the Computer type, right click on the computer driver, select Update, click "No, not this time" then click Next, click "Install from a list or specific location" then click Next, click Don't search." then click Next, click ACPI Multiprocessor PC, then click Next and follow the remaining steps to reboot the computer. When the computer reboots, check the Task Manager again to make sure there are Performance graphs for two processors.

* If the correct Computer driver doesn't fix the problem, or if you don't want to try it, then you might need to reinstall Windows to make it use both cores properly.

 

[Denithor]

Welcome to Dogbert's Support Line, How may I abuse you today?


Did you upgrade the OS from Home to Pro or did you perform a clean install of XP?

What games do you play and what resolution is your screen?

Hate to tell you this but the 8500GT is not a gaming card. You can get a 4670 for $70AR or a 4830 for $90AR at newegg that will run circles around that GT.

 

[five]

Fardringle......thanks for the pointers.
However, I've already been through all that.
Both cores are recognized and both graphs appear. Same in device manager.
I've been searching the web for similar problems and found similar pointers.

Denithor......I started with xp home originally on the machine and installed xp pro on a separate partition creating a dual boot.
I reloaded the game under pro and it seems a little better but still noticeably choppy....more like jerky.
This is why I concluded it might be the graphics card.

Reading your take on it seems to suggest a new card is in order.
At least I'll be a lot less apprehensive about the purchase.

I use an acer 19 inch LCD monitor with maxed out resolution (1400 x 900)
I usually play COD4 online.

Thanks to you both.

Great site by the way..lots of good info.