pc not performing - motherboard?

[wilde]

hello , this is my 1st post on this forum, so here goes.
Problem is i brough my pc nearlly a year back now and over a time i've spoken to people that don't have as good pc or gfx card as me but get way better frames per seconds/performance on most games. I have a p4 2.0 ghrz, Siemans D1325b, 512 sdram (pc133), sblive 5.1 sound, assus ti4600 running on windows xp. Games like medal of honor: allied assult lag big time and i get arround 20 fps allot of the time, (should this be happening). I have broadband, have formatted my pc a good couple of times and have the latest drivers so i know it's not a software issue. Do u think it's because i'm stuck on pc133 ram and have a poor motherboard? If that is the case (which I think so) please can you recomend a few good motherboards for the p4 2.0 ghrz that would go well with my machine and would be good for gaming. I do not know my fsb of my processor, so it's hard to choose a correct motherboard.
Thanks for your time and hope for a reply soon

 

[TheMASK]

i dunno if this wud help (others), but whats the OS u r running?

<b><font color=red>The statement below is True.</font color=red>
<A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=959979" target="_new">3DMark 03 score - 297 </A>
<font color=blue> The statement above is false.</font color=blue></b>

 

[pIII_Man]

Some games are very memory bandwith hungry...it may help to upgrade to a ddr based board

 

[Crashman]

LOL, I had a P3 system faster than yours. OK assuming you have the Northwood P4 2.0GHz, the PC133 is holding you back by around 30% in performance. Now, if you have the older Williamette P4 2.0GHz, which is around 15% slower than the Northwood version, you have some real problems.

Download WCPUID, it's a small program, it will tell you how much L2 cache you have. If it's 256k, it's a Williamette. If it's 512k, it's a Northwood.

If it's a Williamette, I wouldn't even bother upgrading the board, I'd replace the whole computer.

Let me explain further! It's often easier to sell your board, CPU, and RAM together in a system then separately. If you really like the other parts of your system, you could keep those, and rebuild the system on cheap parts, and then sell the system. That's assuming you have the worthless Williamette core processor.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[wilde]

ok i downloaded that prog and i have Northwood P4
2.0GHz with 512kb of cache and fsb 400. I'd like to get a really good motherboard for this processor to use with my ti4600. What mobo would u recomend for best results in gamming? And how much ram?
Thanks for replying.

 

[Crashman]

I'd go with an Abit IS7 and 1024MB of Corsair PC3200LL, but that might be a little bit pricey for you.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[shadus]

Don't get the 3200LL get the 3200C2 so you don't have any issues with the timing you can adjust the default timing down after you are setup and stable.

Shadus

 

[Crashman]

Everything I'm reading says the LL is more likely to run at Cas2 than the C2 is.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[wilde]

ok so i go for the Abit IS7- i865PE Springdale 800fsb DDDR Lan 2xSATA/133 USB2x8 6Ch Aud Spdif+1394 which is here http://web6.scan.co.uk/Products/Info.asp?WPID=61864
That ok? and I go for ddr 400??? Thanks for the help.

 

[Crashman]

That sounds fine to me!

Right now I'm considering that board, and the Asus P4P800. I like the Abit board abit better, but the P4P800 has a Gameport header, and I have a joystick I REALLY like.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[wilde]

right, so now i have a p4s800, with 256 (at the moment) of kingston hyperx 333. But still have no difference in fps/performance in games.
is ti4600 crap already? (it's agp4x)
is there a way to tweak the graphics card, and measure performance of the gpu?
Thanks in advanced.

 

[Crashman]

Wow, the P4S800...OK...

Your performance should be good, assuming you have the chipset drivers loaded and your video card is running fairly recent drivers with AA and AF turned off.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[wilde]

I've done all that, but still medal of honor has low frames rates (15-20ish) on omaha beach and other multiplayer maps. But i got a score of 11000ish on 3dmark 2001 SE. Is this a fair score for my set up?
'a perfectionist will never be happy'

 

[dwellman]

I like the Abit board abit better, but the P4P800 has a Gameport header, and I have a joystick I REALLY like.

Is that joystick analog or digital?

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<b><font color=red>Three great virtues of a programmer are: laziness, impatience, and hubris.</font color=red><b>

 

[Crashman]

It's a fair score, yes.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[Crashman]

Both I think. It's the original Wingman Extreme Digital, I think between the stick and the throttle, one's analog and the other's digital.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[dwellman]

The reason I asked is, I found out the hard way, recently, that Windows XP has anorexic support for digital joysticks connected via the game port. Basically, it is as if Microsoft is wont to emliminate it all together. Now that I'm aware of this, I wouldn't consider the lack of a game port a huge deal.

(I am using a Saitek S220)

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<b><font color=red>Three great virtues of a programmer are: laziness, impatience, and hubris.</font color=red><b>

 

[Crashman]

This joystick worked fine under XP on my BX platform with an Aureal SQ2500 card supplying the gameport.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[dwellman]

You're good to go as long as you stick to that Logitech, aparantly.

I wish I would have got a Logitech, myself, but the Saitek was $20 cheaper.

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<b><font color=red>Three great virtues of a programmer are: laziness, impatience, and hubris.</font color=red><b>

 

[Crashman]

Hehe, get this: This Logitech stick was a $40 unit. I'd tried a lot of sticks, and this was the only modern unit that was actually ergonomic for my large hand! The newer Extreme 3d...is made for a robot hand methinks!

Now, about 6 months after Logitech replaced this stick with the newer, less ergonomic versions, I found one at Compgeeks for $15. I bought it...but the one I got had a very hard dustboot which broke down quickly, leaving scraps of itself in the sliders. I waited a few weeks and Compgeeks got more in, this time with a newer improved dustboot, I got my free replacement.

Not wanting to be stuck stickless again, I bought 2 more units when they dropped to $10! Unfortunately, I couldn't hang onto them, other gamers had too much money to offer me for the new in box sticks!

And this replacement stick is in like new condition even after 2 years of use...so I'm still happy, and plan to stay that way for at least 2 more years!

By the time I need to replace this, I'll probably be able to find identicle units at online computer junkshops for $3!

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[dwellman]

Well. I must say, that's VERY lucky!

BTW: have you tried Saitek sticks? Their build quality on the lower end is a bit lesser than Logitech, but they are quite adjustable.

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<b><font color=red>Three great virtues of a programmer are: laziness, impatience, and hubris.</font color=red><b>