Bottlenecked, I believe

[TaNaKa52]

Well, I must start out by saying that Im quite surprised. Just recently, I upgraded my system memory from 256 -> 768. After that, I went out a bought a new Radeon X1300 to upgrade from my old 7500.

After installing everything and making sure all drivers are up to date, I started playing my usual games (Cod, RYL, CSS, AH, etc...) and I actually recieved a lower framerate than that of my older specs.
After consulting numerous intel advisors and a few personally computer builders I know, I was told that my PSU was the problem. Turns out, that was 1 of the problems due to it having a max output of 250w. In response to this, I bought a 400w power supply and once again to my surprise, no real increase in framrates - Only responses to how fast the framerates update.

So, the only thing that can TRULY be stopping my performance must be my processor. To add to this. I used the Intel(R) Processor ID Utility to make sure everything was running as planned and this is the results I attained:

Expected Processor Frequency: 2.93 GHz
Reported Processor Frequency: 1.29 GHz
Expected System Bus Frequency: 533 MHz
Reported System Bus Frequency: 235 MHz


What do ya think?

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Try running Everest Home Edition and check the frequency from there. Intel's apps aren't very accurate (as wolfram might very well know ). But since the frame rates are quite low, maybe it is due to the SpeedStep technology? Which processor do you have? And is the RAM you bought the same specs as the old RAM and compatible with ur mobo?

 

[TaNaKa52]

Oops, forgot the processor ><

Its an Intel Celeron D 2.93Ghz

And yes, the new memory i bought contained the same speed and all(400mhz)

Also, I Thought that speedstep was for mobile CPU's only?

EDIT: The Speed is proven to be 2.93ghz thankfully, but it does show that the FSB Is only at 133mhz. Although im probably just getting this confused, isnt it suppose to be at 533mhz?

If this isnt the problem, the only thing i can think of would be the L2 Cache considering its only 256.

 

[TaNaKa52]

Just found a new problem.........

The memory i bought was 400Mhz, BUT it shows both sticks of memory running at 200Mhz in Everest. Anyone think this could apply to my main problem?

Secondary question: Would I load faster in games if i removed the original 256 Stick running at 200mhz? This would allow the 512 stick to run at 400mhz.

 

[TaNaKa52]

Okay, well i just took out the older stick of 256 and my games run MUCH BETTER! I still need answers tho, so any other help would be appreciated concerning my processor.

 

[KingCody]

Hi TaNaKa52,

it does show that the FSB Is only at 133mhz. Although im probably just getting this confused, isnt it suppose to be at 533mhz?

133MHz is correct. the Intel system BUS is "quad-pumped". data is transferred 4 times per clock cycle, making the effective transfer rate four times as fast as the actual clock speed. 133MHz = 533MT/s

The memory i bought was 400Mhz, BUT it shows both sticks of memory running at 200Mhz in Everest

200MHz is also correct. DDR & DDR2 is double data rate (or "double-pumped"). data is transferred twice per clock cycle, making the effective transfer rate twice as fast as the actual clock speed. 200MHz = 400MT/s

cheers :wave:

 

[TaNaKa52]

Thanks very much bro, this helps quite a bit.

Although it does leave one thing out in the open, how come when i took the 256 stick out, i get more/better frames? Is this reverting back to my old theory that my CPU is overwhelmed?

 

[CMH]

Hmm...

Usually its not recommended that you put different sized sticks together. Some people don't even recommend different brands together.

Different speeds are also not recommended.

either way, 256mb wouldn't help too much these days.

 

[tipstir]

You can run different brand memory sticks as long as they are the same speed.. I do it.. No problems..

 

[TaNaKa52]

Hmm...

Usually its not recommended that you put different sized sticks together. Some people don't even recommend different brands together.

Different speeds are also not recommended.

either way, 256mb wouldn't help too much these days.

Well, I look at it as 768 is still better than 512. Sad thing is that maps load either the same rate or faster if i only have the 512 in. Therefore, i think its my processor.

 

[Exonimus]

about the ram, it's probably because of dual channel.

about the bottleneck: even if it's a celeron, it runs at 2,93ghz with a graphics card that isn't high end.. I really don't think your CPU is the bottleneck.

 

[CCT]

For what it is worth, my Asus board will ONLY run dual channel interleaved with matched sets installed, ie, if I put in 1 or 3 sticks it runs single channel, 2 or 4 sticks dual channel.

 

[Exonimus]

hmm, my asus board does run dual channel with two different brands of sticks, but wont run dual channel with 3 sticks...

 

[TaNaKa52]

Well steering away from teh memory, what would be killing my frames? For example, i get about 20 frames in Call of duty 1 which runs on the Quake 3 Engine.

 

[CCT]

You upgraded your memory then bought a video card that needs on-board memory to work (see Hypermemory):


http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/254


Sorry bro, but you get what you pay for.

 

[TaNaKa52]

That link reviews 3 types of Radeon X1300s: X1300Pro, X1300, and X1300 Hypermemory.

I just have a regular X1300, not the hypermemory one so i dont see how they could be the same.

On the other hand, while im playing aces high, i notcied that when i had the 768 Memory installed, it said i had 512mb for video. yet when i only had the 512 installed, it showed about 320mb of VidMem.

 

[tifc8lraz]

Probably a safety feature built in not to use a certain portion of you essential memory (like for example on 1/2 max or some othe variable).

The memory i bought was 400Mhz, BUT it shows both sticks of memory running at 200Mhz in Everest. Anyone think this could apply to my main problem?

DDR memory or Double Data Rate uses 2 different threads to process data, making it run actually at 200MHz per thread and 200MHz + 200MHz = 400MHz altogether .

 

[TaNaKa52]

Okay, well i see that the card is my problem so i need to find the best card under $150.

So far, i have:

GeForce FX 5200
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/PNY-...62615/catOid/-13011/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do
ATI 9250
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Diam...52975/catOid/-13011/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

Any suggestions or other results?

 

[MoMo1988]

I had purchased a radeon x1650pro i got it for $120 and it runs most games on high detail. I'd recommend the 256mb with the GDDR3 Memory runs Fast

 

[captaincranky]

Question......

Is this new memory expected to run in dual channel mode? Cause it's kinda difficult to come up with a 768 combo. It would need to be 1 256 and 1 128 in each channel. Assuming (dangerous thing to do) that this is a dual channel board.

 

[TaNaKa52]

I had purchased a radeon x1650pro i got it for $120 and it runs most games on high detail. I'd recommend the 256mb with the GDDR3 Memory runs Fast

Is it PCI Based?

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

GeForce FX 5200
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/PNY-G...oductDetail.do
ATI 9250
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Diamo...oductDetail.do

Those two cards are way crappier than ur X1300 so avoid them completely.
The most powerful card available for that price bracket would be this. It will play any game you throw at it maxed out, no problems. The X1600PRO is way underpowered in comparison.

 

[tifc8lraz]

I can tell you that the FX5200 is not a good card in almost every aspect.......do you game?

 

[TaNaKa52]

Gaming is like all i do lol.

Those two cards are way crappier than ur X1300 so avoid them completely.
The most powerful card available for that price bracket would be this. It will play any game you throw at it maxed out, no problems. The X1600PRO is way underpowered in comparison.

I need a PCI, not PCIe, unless you can use both of them in a regular pci slot(which i dont think you can)

And, do to the fact that i think the HyperMemory in teh X1300 is the problem, I need to find a card that doesnt have HyperMemory(ATI) or TurboCache(Nvidia).

I believe this one still has hyper memory but speed and mem transfer a lil bit faster, what chyall think?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103031

 

[tifc8lraz]

The best PCI Compaliant Card would be the Radeon X1300 ....