Why is My System Benchmark Lower Than Others?

[TheBug]

I just ran some benchmark tests on my machine, namely 3DMark2003, PCMark2002, 3DMark2001SE, but the resulting scores were quite low when I compared them to other systems posted on the Futuremark/MadOnion website. Below is my system specs:

Intel Pentium 4 2.4B GHz 533MHz FSB
Asus P4B533-VM 845G Motherboard
Crucial 512MB PC2100 DDR SDRAM x 2
Western Digital Caviar 7200RPM 80GB 8MB Cache
Matrox Parhelia 128MB
Creative SoundBlaster Audigy 2

Now, I have a few theories, but I don't know how much each really caused my low system benchmark.

1. PC2100 vs. PC2700
I read some reviews on Anandtech and other websites, but the difference in performance between the two is usually 5% or less.

2. Value Motherboard
Maybe the motherboard is targeted at the OEM market (esp. since it's a microATX model) and Asus left out some optimizations? I only bought this motherboard because I needed a good microATX board for my tiny chassis (for portability). Was this a mistake?

3. RAM Brand
I've never seem Crucial/Micron RAM used in any benchmark. The majority of websites use Corsair, Mushkin, and some other ones. Could the brand really have that much effect on performance?

4. Video Card Dragging Things Down
I noticed that the PowerDesk software for Matrox Parhelia is taking up about 20MB of RAM. Could it be that the slow video card (bought only for display quality and dual DVI) is dragging down the overall system performance?

To give you a feel of thte pathetic benchmarks, here are the scores:

3D Mark 2003
Score: 913

PC Mark 2002
CPU: 5808
Memory: 4594
HDD: 979

3D Mark 2001 SE
Score: 8025

Of course, there are many other possibilities. But these are the ones I could come up with so far. Feel free to ask me any questions as I will be checking this thread very often. I'm quite unhappy with the benchmarks since I spent quite a bit on this system. So any advice is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

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This is not an emergency, so please do not cross-post threads.

AnandTech Moderator

 

[Megatomic]

Your videocard is your biggest bottleneck. I don't think you are being restricted by your motherboard being a matx board, you are just missing extra features that the fullsize boards come with. The CPU/RAM/AGP performance should be the same as the larger P4B533 boards.

 

[TheBug]

So it is true that video card can drag down overall system performance? In other words, if I were to upgrade to a ATi Radeon 9700 Pro, the benchmarks should go way up?

Are there other possible bottlenecks?

Thanks

 

[Megatomic]

Of course if you upgraded your RAM to PC2700 or more you could get more performance. You could also overclock your system to get better scores.

But yes, if you upgraded to a Radeon 9700 Pro your scores would soar mightily. To think, I almost bought a Parhelia but fortunately I saw some reviews first.

 

[TheBug]

I guess I should rephrase the question.

Almost all other systems with the exact same specs (sometimes even the same video card) are getting better (and often significantly) benchmarks than my system, and I really want to know why. I also want to know if this is something I can "fix" buy spending some money.

 

[Megatomic]

I'm telling you that YES if you spend $300+ on a Radeon 9700 Pro your gaming and benchmark performance will go way up.

 

[blindtothagame]

i just got my 9700pro yesterday and yes its worth the $300++++
BUY it if you have the cash
just dont spend your rent money............
forget about the car note
The bank could come take the car back
You have the fastest v.c in the world you can fly around on it......