Where is the Bottleneck?

[Tusin]

First off, I know there will be difference in FPS/3dMark scores because one machine is much much more powerful. So this is just for my own curiosity.

2 Machines, same GPU in both (BFG 7950GT's).

Machine 1 (Mine, got from my brother Nutdotnet. Sooo not relevant, but he has LIVED on these forums for ever, thought I would drop a name🙂.

Dell Dimensions 9100
Pentium D 820
2GB's of Ram (I believe it is DDR2 PC-4200, I will check when I get home tonight).
19" LCD @ 1440x900
320GB SATA HD

Machine 2 (machine we just built)
Quad Core Q6600
4GB's of ram (can't remember which clock we got)
320GB SATA HD
24" running @ 1900x1200

3dMark05 scores (these are off memory, so wont be EXACT but you get the idea).

Machine 1: appx low 7k's
Machine 2: low 10k's

WoW FPS comparison (only game we currently play, I know its CRACK).
We would go to the same area (for anyone that plays the game Shattrah seems to make the fps DROP compared to other areas). I would be @ 1440x900 and him at 1900x1200. We would run around in the exact same spots and he would get at least 30FPS higher. And he is at a much higher resolution. I am at 30-35fps while is just just crusing at 60-80fps. Oh and these are at the same settings. Same drivers etc....

So I am curious on what is really the factor in such a huge difference in performance. Is it just because his computer is so much faster/better/newer? What could I do to increase my performance? Faster Ram? Faster CPU? (I think the highest I can put in the current dell Mobo is a D945)? Should I just take a shotgun to it and build a whole new system?

Thanks for the Info!

 

[Denithor]

One word answer: cpu.

Check out the graphs here that compare the D820 to the C2D and X2 processors back at the very launch of the C2D series.

Netburst architecture just simply sucks when compared to the newer chips (C2D shows about twice the performance in a cpu bound situation like you have with WoW on a 7950GT).

...And you don't need a shotgun, just a new motherboard and cpu. With prices dropping it won't even be all that painful as $200 will buy you an e4400 and a good motherboard. Your memory may hold you back somewhat (don't know how well it will OC) but DDR2 has also gotten ridiculously cheap if you are willing to deal with MIR. Even without messing with rebates you can get 2GB of good brand DDR2-800 for $60-65.

Edit: by the way, welcome to the forums!

 

[aka1nas]

The Pentium D machine is a Dell, so it's not likely that it will accept a regular motherboard or PSU.

 

[Tusin]

Yeah I was already thinking about doing a mobo/cpu/memory swap. BUT Dell is all "dell", I think they use a form of BTX. So I just need to build a new system. Minus the HD, DVD, etc....

 

[Tusin]

Oh and thank you!