Trouble with new computer

[imported_Johny]

I recently got a new computer but as a lot other guys I'm having trouble. When runing something intesive I get breif hang ups, we are talking about a couple of seconds. When runing benchmarks in sisoft sandra I get really bad scores for the CPU and memory bandwith if I compare it to the references. I didn't build or buy the parts for it so I don't have all the information when it comes to the specs, anyway this is what I know.

P4 3,4 ghz
1 512mb DDR memory stick
GA-8I915P-DUO-PRO GIGABYTE ATX 915P S775 P4 PCIe RAID GLAN
ASUS Geforce 6800
Windows XP pro

I use the latest video drivers from NVDIA and have also installed drivers for the monitor. The rest works from the ones coming with Windows XP.

With my limited knowledge when it comes to hardware I've made a guess that it somehow relates to the memory. I've heard that you need 2 sticks of memory to use the dual DDR feature which comes with most new motherboards. Could this be the only reason for the bad scores? It would feel bad to buy another stick of memory just to be stuck with the same problem.

Another thing which I've located through the use of sisoft sandra is that the motherboard is pretty hot, it shows 70.0 degrees celsius / 158 degrees fahrenheit. But this doesn't seem high enough to be causing all my problems.

Appreciate any help!

 

[BigBadBiologist]

yes, your slowdowns may be due to the fact that your CPU is throttling. Is 70C your idle temp or load temp? You should check to make sure that the heatsink is properly installed.

This could be affecting your benchmark scores. Only having one DIMM installed is hurting your memory benchmark scores, but should not significantly affect CPU tests.

 

[Peanya]

There's many reasons for the poor performance. Much of it is because of your one stick of memory. It's also the board you are using. It's designed to be running optimal with DDR2 and an PCI-E graphics card. Anything else is a compromise. And, from the sound of it, you didn't do a fresh installation of Windows. This will cause all sorts of headaches. If it is a fresh install, then disregard the last one

EDIT: Oops, I forgot about the throttling issue. That happens too. It could be your CPU cooler, case circulation, or too weak of a power supply.

 

[Rock Hydra]

If your heatsink is stock, I would suggest investing in an aftermarket All-Copper heatsink. Zalman makes LGA775 adapter kits for their heatsinks, which are very good by the way.

 

[imported_Johny]

It says 67C right now, right after I ran 3dmark05 it said 73C. Is that really high enough to have such a great impact? When I look at the info for the graphics card in windows it says PCI bus 1, does that mean that it's most likely a PCI express card?

Thanks for all the replies!

 

[ts3433]

Not running dual channel on a P4 will drastically decrease performance. It's highly dependent on memory bandwidth for performance.

Oh, are you running an AGP 6800 on that one PCIe + AGP combo board? That's a problem, because the AGP port is actually run off the PCI bus, thus badly crippling your video card (the PCI bus is badly limiting your bandwidth).

 

[BigBadBiologist]

ok, try installing the latest chipset drivers for your mobo. you can get them off of the gigabyte web site. that should help some.

 

[stevty2889]

yeah, update the chipset drives, not running dual channel, especialy with a prescott will hurt performance. I don't think you are getting thermal throttling, as my prescott has gotten up to 75c and the thermal throttling didn't kick in.

 

[Rock Hydra]

Originally posted by: ts3433
Oh, are you running an AGP 6800 on that one PCIe + AGP combo board? That's a problem, because the AGP port is actually run off the PCI bus, thus badly crippling your video card (the PCI bus is badly limiting your bandwidth).

If that's the case, you're getting only a fraction of the bandwidth over the PCI bus, compared to a real AGP dedicated bus.
133 MBps = PCI
~2.1 GBps = AGP 8x

In that situation, I suggest either buying a PCI Express video card, or a motherboard running the 865/875 chipsets, as your performance right now is suffering.