Can you crack this problem?

[l2aw]

Alright. I've been to quite a few forums with this problem, yet none of them have diagnosed it accurately.

A couple months back, I got an ATI Radeon x800 GTO/PRO graphic card. Before that I was using Nvidia 5200 geforce which was working smooth.

Ever since I installed the x800, I've not been able to play my games properly (even the of games which worked fine with the 5200). They lag, skip in between. thus the gameplay isn't smooth.

My computer is quite old, and here are the specifications, not that I know much about computers but anyway..

P4 1.60 ghz
384 MB of (SD) ram
ATI - X800
20 GB hard drive

Do you have ANY idea what the problem is? Is it a problem with the drivers? I suppose I uninstalled the drivers before installing new drivers. One thing I know is.. my old graphic card didn't have a fan nor a power supply. And this one has both. Criticize all you want on my rig, but just help me with this problem

 

[raybay]

You simply do not have enough memory, or a fast enough front side bus to run the X800. Not even 512 mb will work very well. You need 1 GB.

 

[l2aw]

Are you sure about this?

Because I'll be updating my rig. I'll be getting a new motherboard (DDR-2 compatible), 1 GB ram(or more), 3.0 ghz processor.. so perhaps then the G.card will be supported?

 

[beef_jerky4104]

384MB of SD RAM is crippling that video card.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

It's not your RAM, but your CPU that is bottlenecking the card. Your CPU is simply not fast enough to keep up with the GPU's processing of data. You can remove all of this bottleneck by getting a 2.4GHz or greater-clocked CPU. But since you're upgrading your system completely, I think that should solve your problem. If you want any help on what parts you want to get, feel free to ask.

 

[SNGX1275]

If it was anything like you guys are telling him, then wouldn't it STILL be faster or as fast as the 5200? I don't think you can put in a better card and lose performance.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

That does happen. I remember a thread on another forum where the guy had put in a X1650PRO to replace his old 9600XT and was getting lower framerates. He had to buy a new Athlon 64 and a new mobo in order to remove the bottleneck caused by his old Athlon XP.

 

[Sharkfood]

If you will be upgrading to a 3.0ghz cpu and 1 gig of RAM, you'll be able to fully enjoy the new performance of your greatly upgraded 3d card.

If you're going Intel (Pentium 4, or Pentium D) CPU, just be sure your new system supports dual-channel memory and that memory is purchased in pairs to allow for this. Pentium-class cpu's thrive on fsb speed and memory bandwidth, unlike AMD's which are much more efficient (Core 2 Duo's and newer, non-netburst Intels being the exception).

That being said- yes, it would be quite common for the "upgrade" from an FX series card to the X800 GTO to actually reduce performance as the X800 GTO affords much higher default settings used by games... especially for Direct3D games which perform a "CAPS" query (videocard capabilities) and use this for how to adjust game settings. The higher-ceiling videocard with more TMU's, more pixel pipelines, more texture memory, etc.etc.. will make many games demand much more from the rest of your system, which is really not up to the new challenge and will sputter and hesitate.

 

[SNGX1275]

Ah, thanks for the explanation.

 

[l2aw]

Alright. I really appreciate so much of help from you guys. But here again, I've been put in a puzzle. On another forum I was requested the very detailed specifications of my computer.. so here you go

_______________________________________________________

Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (build 2600)

Processor
1.60 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4
8 kilobyte primary memory cache
256 kilobyte secondary memory cache
Main Circuit Board
Board: Intel Corporation D845WN AAA64179-206
Serial Number: CFWN21310229
Bus Clock: 100 megahertz
BIOS: Intel Corp. HV84510A.86A.0029.P07.0111161743 11/16/2001
Drives
20.01 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
4.30 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space
ST320410A [Hard drive] (20.02 GB) -- drive 0, s/n 5FB2NA95, rev 3.60, SMART Status: Healthy
Local Drive Volumes
c: (NTFS on drive 0) 10.49 GB 1.02 GB free
d: (NTFS on drive 0) 9.53 GB 3.28 GB free
Controllers
Standard floppy disk controller
Intel(r) 82801BA Bus Master IDE Controller
Primary IDE Channel [Controller]
Secondary IDE Channel [Controller]
Display
RADEON X800 PRO/GTO [Display adapter]
RADEON X800 PRO/GTO Secondary [Display adapter]
Samsung SyncMaster [Monitor] (15.7"vis, s/n HMBT301287, March 2002)
Bus Adapters
AXWHISKY SCSI Controller
Intel(r) 82801BA/BAM USB Universal Host Controller - 2442
Intel(r) 82801BA/BAM USB Universal Host Controller - 2444
Switching Power Supply
Model: ATX - 400W

INPUT:
115 VAC
6A MAX
60 Hz
230 VAC
3A MAX
50 Hz

OUTPUT:
+12V 16A max
+5V 30A max
+3.3V 14A max
-5V 0.3A max
-12V 0.5A max
+5v/sb +2.0a max

_______________________________________________________


And the guy replied "Straight away, theres an issue with that PSU, you need 20A sustained on the +12v. Yours has 16A which is a MAX figure, not sustained. When it was new it probably only gave 13-14A sustained, by now its likely to be less than that."

From what he says, I'll end up buying a new computer. As problems with the PSU is too much of a hassle. (for me atleast)

I know this is very lengthy, but how can I tackle a problem if I'm not certain what's causing it?

 

[Ressurrector]

I second the other guy prolly the ram cause 384 ain't smack really heck XP bout takes that itself lmao.

Now the Geforce played certain titles and aTI don't right??? Not to unsettle any ATI activist here but did it ever occur to you Nvidia might be better than ATI? At least in THIS case IF you still have the geforce layin round take the ATI out throw in the 5200 and try to game see what happens...

Honestly.......with your specs I wouldn't try anything over say quake 3 or Enemy Territory maybe some unreal I dunno

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

The PSU will require an upgrade too in that case, but the root cause of your bad performance is your slow CPU and RAM. If you get those and keep the same PSU, chances are you'll get BSODs continually. So with your new system, make sure you get a good-quality PSU from Antec, Thermaltake, OCZ, Corsair, Seasonic, Enermax, Fortron FSP, CoolerMaster or PC Power & Cooling. They're reliable brands and produce PSUs of excellent quality.
@Resurrector, your advice doesn't make any sense, since the X800GTO is far more powerful than the FX5200. Know what you're talking about before you post anything.

 

[raybay]

That "guy" is incorrect as stated. Rage's advice is correct and good. You just don't have a modern setup. Hard drive is too small and too slow. Front side bus is way too slow. Memory is too limited is size and speed. Go back to a video card that matches your power supply and motherboard.

 

[ravisunny2]

will make many games demand much more from the rest of your system, which is really not up to the new challenge and will sputter and hesitate.

That, most obviously, includes the PSU.

 

[Tedster]

this is a joke right right?

You're trying to put a modern card on an ancient system.... of course it's going to run horribly. The bottle neck is the entire rest of your system.