Slow performance on new system... help!

[kabo]

Hello,

I just got a new PC and the setup is:

Athlon XP 1.53 (1800)
Micron 256MB PC2100 DDR
ECS K7S5A Motherboard
Gainward GeForce 3 Ti200 (Latest Drivers, 28.32)
GameSurround MuseXL
Windows 2000 Clean Install and Updated

From the performance numbers I see around the web, my PC seems to be running a lot slower than other PCs out there. For example, on Quake 3 v1.31, I *only* get 133fps at 1024x768x32. While on Anand, AMDMB.com, and a ton of other sites are getting 182fps! I'm 50fps slower! I know our two systems aren't completely identical, but I don't think they should be 50fps apart.

Also, I'm only getting 6150 3Dmarks with the 3DMark 2001 compared to the 7000+ I'm seeing for similarly equipped systems. I just installed Win2k, updated it with the latest service packs, installed DirectX8.1, installed new vid. card drivers, etc. etc. etc. What could possibly be the problem? Has this happened to anyone else?


-kabo

 

[jcmkk]

Your performance seems to be on par. Always take 3DMark scores with a grain of sand. When those people benchmark, the graphics look like crap, but they get good scores. It is all about tweaking.

 

[kabo]

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.html?i=1583&p=9
AMD AthlonXP 2000+
ASUS A7V266-E
GeForce 3 Ti200

According to that, I should be getting frames somewhere near 181.9fps. I have an AthlonXP 1800+ with an ECS K7S5A, but like I said, I don' t think I should be that much slower than Anand's scores.

-kabo

 

[jcmkk]

Do you have FSAA turned or anisotropic filtering turned on? If so, you will see a big hit in performance. In order to have comparable benchmarks to others, you have to have the exact same settings.

 

[Rand]

<< http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.html?i=1583&p=9
AMD AthlonXP 2000+
ASUS A7V266-E
GeForce 3 Ti200

According to that, I should be getting frames somewhere near 181.9fps. I have an AthlonXP 1800+ with an ECS K7S5A, but like I said, I don' t think I should be that much slower than Anand's scores.

-kabo >>



Keep in mind those scores are taken with sound disabled, a fresh install of the OS on a clean HDD, no extra software installed.
They use a very bare bones minimum essentials to run the test.

 

[jcmkk]

The spec difference between their test system and your system will make a bigger difference than you think. The motherboard difference is at least gonna give them a 15FPS advantage, and the CPU difference will probably give them a 15FPS advantage. That makes up for 30FPS of their advantage. I would also use the 23.11 drivers because they are proven faster on the GeForce 3 and under, line of cards (the difference hasn't been compared on the GeForce 4's yet).

 

[kabo]

After taking some suggestions around the web and updating my AGP drivers for this mobo, I got the following:

Before: 132.9FPS Quake 3
After: 160.9FPS Quake 3

Before: 6150 3DMarks
After: 7091 3DMarks

Woop. That sounds about right, now. =)