Need some cpu improvement advice!!

[Shoupie080]

Specs:

P4 3.0 Hyper Thread
1 GB DDR 3200 RAM
600 watt BFG dual rail (20 amps ea. rail) PSU
160 GB HD (SATA)
ATI Radeon X1900 XT PCI-E Video card (512 memory/625 mh clock speed)
Standard Motherboard (one that game with original gateway computer before i replaced everything)

Ok so I'm pretty sure my computer is to spec. I am anal about spyware, trojans, viruses, etc. I defrag weekly, and have all my setting for the computer to run at its best performance. Nothing running that shouldn't be running. I have all the updated drivers for my video card. You could eat off of any part in my computer there's no dust. The computer runs cool with 7 fans and sits in air conditioned room. So unless i'm missing something for tips on performance let me know....anyways:

I play cs:source and i'm not getting the fps I want. When I run stress test I get 117 which is good but not up to par for the $400.00 video card I just bought. And when i'm in a game with other players it sometimes drops to as low as 30 fps which is unacceptable for my system. I do have all settings on high which are recommended but that shouldn't matter because when i lower them the fps doesn't improve. This is extremely irritating because any advice i've received has not helped because i've already done it.

The main question i'm asking (other than any more suggestions) is what are the chances that my motherboard is the bottleneck of my system? I'm not very educated on mobos and how important they are for gaming....but i'm thinking since the mobo is almost 2 yrs old maybe its not runnign my video card they way should??? If someone could give me advice and understands everything i've said so far please help...also, if you feel my mobo is the problem do you have any suggestions for a compatible board?? keep in mind my specs (aka P4, DDR, ETC) and with a price under $200.00 if possible..

sorry this is so long but its the only way to truly explain everything

any intelligent response is greatly appreciated

thank you

 

[Tmagic650]

Motherboards are the backbone of any computer system. Everything in your computer operates from them. Now do you understand just how important they are? What model Gateway do you have and what is the serial number? If the case is a mini-tower, you will need a micro-ATX motherboard, just for an example... Proprietary motherboards like the ones installed in most commercial computers are far from being cutting-edge boards

 

[Shoupie080]

I don't remember what model the gateway was after i bought it i tore everything out of it and since have replaced all but the motherboard. My new moded case isn't a mini its a huge black case.

So you think that the mobo then is the reason i'm not getting the satisfaction during gaming and if so i've heard that asus makes the best motherboards...and if i buy an asus for around 150 would it be a good board??

thank

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

I fail to understand a mobo being the bottleneck for a graphics card. The only thing that would bottleneck the card in ur system is ur processor. Get an AMD X2 Socket 939/AM2 or a Core 2 Duo/Pentium D and it will improve performance considerably. Of course, it goes without saying that u would need to change ur mobo too.
Another reason for the slow online play could be a slow internet connection too so make sure u have at least a 1-2MB/sec connection for optimal performance.

 

[Shoupie080]

I have heard a few times that i should get a new processor...But I didn't think the P4 was obsolete yet. If I new for sure this would solve my problem I would get a new one asap but the crazy thing is that my friend has a p4 2.8 with a crap gforce low end card and gets better fps than me....its blowing my mind what is happening...

any suggestions??

thanks

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

What you should understand is that if the card ur friend is running is an FX model, it would be running in DirectX 8.0/8.1 hardware mode, which would of course give better frame rates than urs, which is running in DX9 hardware mode.

 

[Shoupie080]

Well that sucks then that he has cheaper equipment and is doing better than I am...So you have the exact card I do? What do you mean it's in crossfire mode? Should I set mine in that mode? I just got the card so i'm not to familiar with it

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Crossfire is the ATi equivalent of SLI. I have two X1900XTs running together i.e. in Crossfire mode. U would need 2 of those cards to run them in Crossfire.

 

[Shoupie080]

gotcha...so whats your fps with crossfire when you run the stress test for source??

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

I usually get around 296-300 FPS when I run the test. But that's mainly coz of the rest of my rig. U can check it out in my profile and then the FPS will seem normal for my system.

 

[Shoupie080]

damn dude thans insane....you can't be unhappy with those results.. =)

couple more questions for ya since you've been a big help....what happens if you connect in offline mode and play dust with 11 or 12 bots??...because that's usually what map i play and how many bots i play against..

Also, if you were me would you buy a whole new mobo and dual processors or stick with the 117 fps? It just seems like with a card like that i should be getting more..

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

According to this, the X1900XTX gets around 140 FPS which is pretty close to what ur system is getting. So don't worry too much I suppose, and tone down the no. of bots u play with.

 

[Shoupie080]

alright thats not bad then...two final questions bro...what driver do you use for that card? I have the catalyst 6.8

and should i get a new motherboard? considering mine is almost two yrs old do you think there's compatibility issues with the card and board??

again, thanks for all the help

 

[Tmagic650]

Yes the CPU is an important factor to graphics, but again I am sure the old Gateway motherboard is a POS when it comes to bios configurations and control adjustments. Having a full-tower, your choice of a replacement motherboard is wide open. I don't like Asus, not because of their quality and performance, but for the fact that it has taken me days to download drivers and critical info from their less-than good website very often