Why isn't too fast???

[atari_ckx]

Hi, I just bought a HP Pavillion dz4100 desktop with Pentium D 3.0 Ghz dual core processor, 2 Gigs RAM (DDR2-SDRM 666 Mhz), ASUS Motherboard with Intel 945P/G chipset, Realtek 7.1 integrated sound, ATI X1300 256 MB RAM, 500 Gigs Sata 2 HDD, HP Multiscribe DVD burner, 19" LCD HP Monitor; using Windows Media Center Edition with the Rollup 2.

I know I can change to a better sound (X-Fi) and better video (X1900), but with the current configuration I think this machine isn't so fast as I thought ... My old P4 2.4 Ghz, with 512 MB RAM, ATI All In Wonder with 32 MB and 250 MB IDE HDD was almost as fast as this.

Of course, it is fast ... faster than the previous machine, but for this configuration, I think I'd get better performance ... just installed MS's Age of Empires III, with 1024x768 resolution and High Details, and the animation is coarse (just move like ' frames' or steps [sorry for my english ] I meant, I expected a fluid movement, where the birds just crossed from one side of the screen to the other ... not a partial movement, a brief pause, another movement, brief pause, ... and so on.

I have defrag the disk several times (using Diskeeper), I've kept the installed devices, utilities and resident programs as low as I can (The machine came pre-installed from HP); the ATI's driver was updated the last month ... I don't have neither fancy animations nor Window's effects; and still I notice the machine performing just okay, not as I wanted ...

Any help will be greatly appreciated,
Thanks,
/T/R|

 

[atari_ckx]

BTW, I just downloaded and ran the free version of PCMark 05 (V1.10), and it give me the following results:

**** Start loop 0 ****
Suite: System Test Suite
Test set: HDD - XP Startup
HDD - XP Startup: 9.459754MB/s
Test set: Physics and 3D
Physics and 3D: 83.077065fps
Test set: 2D - Transparent Windows
Transparent Windows: N/A
Test set: 3D - Pixel Shader
3D - Pixel Shader: 33.618401fps
Test set: Web Page Rendering
Web Page Rendering: 2.395338pages/s
Test set: File Decryption
File Decryption: 65.253479MB/s
Test set: 2D - Graphics Memory - 64 lines
Graphics Memory - 64 lines: 823.606201fps
Test set: HDD - General Usage
HDD - General Usage: 6.701206MB/s
Test set: Multithreaded Test 1
Audio Compression: 1632.641113KB/s
Video Encoding: 287.334137KB/s
Test set: Multithreaded Test 2
Text edit: 119.853722pages/s
Image Decompression: 24.055521MPixels/s
Test set: Multithreaded Test 3
File Compression: 2.910623MB/s
File Encryption: 58.723942MB/s
HDD - Virus Scan: 55.225277MB/s
Memory Latency - Random 16 MB: 7.622980MAccesses/s

I believe this numbers will help to know how much fast or slow is this machine ... I know a subjetive opinion isn't the best way to ask for help ... again, thanks,

/T/R|

 

[Amd64lad]

The ATI x1300 is very far from top of the line and you shouldnt expect high detail graphics out of it. My suggestion to you is to back the details down to medium and try it from there.

if you want high detail graphics upgrade the card to a x1800 or high; or nvidia 7600 or higher

Hope this helps

 

[moparman390]

I think (I don't remember off the top of my head for sure) Age of Empires III requires a lot of graphics power, power the X1300 just does not have. If you want to run that game well you probably need a 7900GT or X1800XT to run it smoothly.

 

[luminaris]

Well, one thing you have to remember is, those machine manufacturers load those things up with alot of "bloatware" What I would do is completely reformat the machine and start over without the extras. That will certainly help in that regard.

 

[theaxemaster]

Well, one thing you have to remember is, those machine manufacturers load those things up with alot of "bloatware" What I would do is completely reformat the machine and start over without the extras. That will certainly help in that regard.

Quoted for emphasis. Hopefully they gave you an XP disc (but I doubt it). If you don't have one or know someone that does then the next best thing would be to just go uninstall crazy and get rid of anything and everything you don't want or need. I did the same thing for the dell my mother bought and it sped it up considerably.

 

[atari_ckx]

Re-installing is my first-to-do option, because HP filled the computer with a lot of ads, promotional games, stupid i-don't-know-what-do utilities and more; I uninstalled most of them, but in this moments the only applications running are Mozilla Thunderbird and Mozilla Firefox, and running in background Zone Alarm Pro, DynDNS updater and AVG antivirus; but the machine reports 600 MB in use!!

But I'm told if I re-installs I need:
a) Buy a original Windows XP/MCE , or,
b) Use the System generated DVD (this will installed the same HP's stupids programs), or,
c) Use a generic/backup Windows XP/MCE and lost the Microsoft update's support.

BTW: I've read that I can't just re-install the machine and everythink will work smoothly; looks like HP puts some special 'drivers' to configure something ... I've concerns with the built in Media Reader, and the wireless Keyboard and Mouse combo ...

Thanks again for your input,
ATARI

 

[mdd1963]

"ATI X1300"

A relatively fast processor with a moderate 3d video card produces only moderate 3d framerate results.

An extremely fast processor (FX57,FX60) with a moderate 3d video card also produces... moderate 3d framerates.

An 1800XT would likely fulfill your dreams!

 

[rodney_ws]

Agreed. That's a pretty underpowered video card for a gamer... it's only got 4 pixel pipes!

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=172&type=expert&pid=6

 

[rodney_ws]

Well, one thing you have to remember is, those machine manufacturers load those things up with alot of "bloatware" What I would do is completely reformat the machine and start over without the extras. That will certainly help in that regard.

I think Luminaris makes an EXCELLENT point... I recently bought a Dell laptop... 1 GB of RAM, ATI X1400 video, dual-core, etc. etc. etc.

It was slow when I took it out of the box... after more than an hour of uninstalling things and disabling startup items in the registry, I had one seriously fast laptop.

 

[jap0nes]

I think (I don't remember off the top of my head for sure) Age of Empires III requires a lot of graphics power, power the X1300 just does not have. If you want to run that game well you probably need a 7900GT or X1800XT to run it smoothly.

i heard that too... also, x1300 is far from being a good gaming card

 

[Amd64lad]

i did some research on the x1300 and it is only a 4 pixel pipeline card running at 450mhz core and 500mhz memory with a 128bit memory interface

that is very low considering the specs of most new cards today

again get a new card

 

[Scarchunk]

I always feel like you'll get your best performance from a completely clean Windows install. Going through and deleting and uninstalling could leave you with lots of useless registry entries and broken shortcuts. Of course this means either going out and buying a Windows copy or finding someone that can get you a Windows copy with the activation worked around. You will still get critical updates form Microsoft, i just wouldn't try validating at their website. As for the drivers, they are on HP's website. Before you reinstall, just download copies of the drivers to a thumbdrive or external harddrive. You'll probably need the drivers for your network card, graphics card, and media reader, etc..

 

[Flakes]

Re-installing is my first-to-do option, because HP filled the computer with a lot of ads, promotional games, stupid i-don't-know-what-do utilities and more; I uninstalled most of them, but in this moments the only applications running are Mozilla Thunderbird and Mozilla Firefox, and running in background Zone Alarm Pro, DynDNS updater and AVG antivirus; but the machine reports 600 MB in use!!

But I'm told if I re-installs I need:
a) Buy a original Windows XP/MCE , or,
b) Use the System generated DVD (this will installed the same HP's stupids programs), or,
c) Use a generic/backup Windows XP/MCE and lost the Microsoft update's support.

BTW: I've read that I can't just re-install the machine and everythink will work smoothly; looks like HP puts some special 'drivers' to configure something ... I've concerns with the built in Media Reader, and the wireless Keyboard and Mouse combo ...

Thanks again for your input,
ATARI

am i just being outdated? but do you not get a sticker on the side of your case which states your XP, license code.... i would get a copy of XP then use the code on the box to install it.

you pay for the license not the software lol.

 

[sandmannight]

one more reason you should always build yourself

 

[bluntside]

Nice things cost money :twisted:

 

[shinigamiX]

Except for sex.
I gave my hand a nickname. The Lovemaster 2000 (TM). That's totally, completely unrelated btw. No, really.


Seriously though, your machine is not for gaming. Even something like a X700 will improve your performance. If you want gaming, though, probably the best would be a 7600GT.

 

[luminaris]

Re-installing is my first-to-do option, because HP filled the computer with a lot of ads, promotional games, stupid i-don't-know-what-do utilities and more; I uninstalled most of them, but in this moments the only applications running are Mozilla Thunderbird and Mozilla Firefox, and running in background Zone Alarm Pro, DynDNS updater and AVG antivirus; but the machine reports 600 MB in use!!

But I'm told if I re-installs I need:
a) Buy a original Windows XP/MCE , or,
b) Use the System generated DVD (this will installed the same HP's stupids programs), or,
c) Use a generic/backup Windows XP/MCE and lost the Microsoft update's support.

BTW: I've read that I can't just re-install the machine and everythink will work smoothly; looks like HP puts some special 'drivers' to configure something ... I've concerns with the built in Media Reader, and the wireless Keyboard and Mouse combo ...

Thanks again for your input,
ATARI

Well, that's more than enough reason right there to always make sure you pay the extra 10 bucks Dell, HP etc. charge to include a copy of windows with your new machine. I would hope anyone reading this and considering buying a new machine will certainly do the same. 10 bucks is alot cheaper than buying even an OEM copy.

As far as the drivers go, download them prior to reinstalling windows and save them to disk. Then once you reformat, load the drivers. HP always include the drivers for their machines from their site.

 

[atari_ckx]

Again, thanks folks for your feedback, I think I've the sticky with the Window's license on it ... I'm going to reinstall the Windows ... and remove many unused programs. The buy of a new card, isn't a big deal right now, except for the money, a good card raises to $400 or so, and I'm not a big gamer, I just wanted to test the system ...

Regarding the HDD speed, is this a regular/expected speed for a SATA2 disk? I know the Sata 2 isn't too fast than IDE, but this looks just a little slower than my previous WDC 7.200 rpms IDE HDD.

BTW: what kind of video card would you boys recommend me to increase overall's system performance? Please notice I'm not a hard core gamer, just want to have a nice system to play from time to time ... Also I don't want to expend $500+ in a video card ...

ATARI