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silentcovenant   03-22-2007 at 10:39:46 AM

Hey Everyone,

I noticed that my first person shooters haven't been performing as they should anymore. Most noticeably my Source Games and Battlefield 2/2142 are unplayable. Their frame rates have dropped significantly to the point where I'm only getting 5-6fps.

For some odd reason, Guild Wars performs flawlessly. I hate that game by the way! Normal PC tasks are fine. Video Playback is fine. Just my FPS games. I play Counter-Strike: Source, Battlefield 2, and Battlefield 2142. Each of these games are now unplayable.

They worked fine up until I added a secondary hard drive for extra storage. Maybe my power supply is giving out? I don't see how my normal PC functions can go fine, but not games. Also Sims 2 has received a minimal but noticeable performance hit as well.

PC Specs:
Athlon 3000+ 2.1Ghz
nForce-CK8S Motherboard
nVidia 6800LE 128MB
1024MB(2x512MB) DDR RAM
300 Watt PSU

Anything else? I dunno... I may try and unplug that new hard drive, maybe it's sucking too much power out of the PSU and it's not supplying the video card with enough juice.

Oh, BTW, I do have a dual monitor setup as well. Previously, before the addition of the new hard drive and secondary monitor, games have been performing fine. I did disconnect the 2nd monitor and reinstalled the display drivers only to experience the same performance issues with the single monitor attached so I put the 2nd one back in since it makes no difference with/without it.

Thanks a lot guys, I'd appreciate the help...

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babalapia   03-22-2007 at 11:52:37 AM
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300 Watt PSU ? I think it is enough for a Athon 2.1G and a 6800LE

the video card driver issue, may be :roll:

Reply to babalapia
STEMNIN   03-22-2007 at 01:54:33 PM
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Guild Wars owns, your power supply, does not. :P

Reply to STEMNIN
Cleeve   03-22-2007 at 03:05:50 PM
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Games are where your video card will be stressed and therefor use more power.

Typycally though, a failing PSU will cause crashing in games, not stuttering. But I have heard of it happening in some rare cases.

And it certainly wouldn't hurt to get a more suitable PSU, something with 24+ amps on the 12v rail...

Reply to Cleeve
silentcovenant   03-22-2007 at 08:46:27 PM
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Quote :

Games are where your video card will be stressed and therefor use more power.

Typycally though, a failing PSU will cause crashing in games, not stuttering. But I have heard of it happening in some rare cases.

And it certainly wouldn't hurt to get a more suitable PSU, something with 24+ amps on the 12v rail...



What does that mean? How do I know how many amps my current power supply is supplying? Shall I go for 350Watt Power supply? That's just a small step up. Or should I go for something larger?

Quote :

300 Watt PSU ? I think it is enough for a Athon 2.1G and a 6800LE

the video card driver issue, may be :roll:



I know... 300 is pushing it. That's the minimum requirement for the 6800LE.
I'm using the most current nVIdia drivers and it still stutters.

I tried disconnecting both the secondary monitor, and the new hard drive and the performance was still shot. I don't know what to do. Can the PSU be permanently damaged or something?

Reply to silentcovenant
Cleeve   03-22-2007 at 09:13:31 PM
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The amps on the 12v rail is more important than the watts.

It will say how many amps it provides on the 3.3, 5, and 12v rails on a sticker on the PSU.

Reply to Cleeve
silentcovenant   03-22-2007 at 11:17:27 PM
- 0 +

Quote :

The amps on the 12v rail is more important than the watts.

It will say how many amps it provides on the 3.3, 5, and 12v rails on a sticker on the PSU.



Ok, here's what's on the PSU Sticker:

Input Rating: 115V/230V, 10A/6A, 60/50Hz
Output Rating:
Red: +5V - 20A
Yellow: +12V - 12A
White: -5V - 0.3A
Blue: -12V - 0.5A
Orange: +3.3V - 14A
Purple: +5VSB - 2.0A
Green: PS-ON
Black: GND

What does all that mean? How will this info help?

Reply to silentcovenant
blade85   03-22-2007 at 11:27:50 PM
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12A on the +12v rail is waaay waaaay low

you really need a better psu (at least 20A on the +12v rail)

Reply to blade85
silentcovenant   03-22-2007 at 11:49:16 PM
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Quote :

12A on the +12v rail is waaay waaaay low

you really need a better psu (at least 20A on the +12v rail)



Ok, so I should look for a new PSU with higher Amp rates for the +12 rail? Is that all? I'm gonna go out and buy one now...

Reply to silentcovenant
Cleeve   03-23-2007 at 03:39:28 PM
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Yes. Although we can't guarantee it's the problem, it's certainly a candidate... 12 amps on the 12v rail is ridiculously low, and the video card will use the 12v power.

Reply to Cleeve
silentcovenant   03-27-2007 at 04:52:54 AM
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Quote :

Yes. Although we can't guarantee it's the problem, it's certainly a candidate... 12 amps on the 12v rail is ridiculously low, and the video card will use the 12v power.



Ok, I installed a new PSU and it still is getting performance issues. Actually, I think installing a new PSU messed up my pc! 3DMark doesn't work anymore! The 3D Benchmarks don't run anymore... Bah!

New PSU Specs:
Dynex
350-Watt
+3.3V -- 28A
+5V -- 30A
+12V -- 19A
-12V -- 0.8A
-5V -- 0.5A
+5V sb -- 2.0A

Reply to silentcovenant
TStedel   03-27-2007 at 07:32:58 AM
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Is the second monitor on? Is it plugged in?

Regardless, having the other monitor for dual monitors plugged in and powered will significantly reduce the FPS of some games. Doom 3 was pretty much unplayable when my second monitor was plugged in.

Reply to TStedel
silentcovenant   03-27-2007 at 08:10:46 AM
- 0 +

Quote :

Is the second monitor on? Is it plugged in?

Regardless, having the other monitor for dual monitors plugged in and powered will significantly reduce the FPS of some games. Doom 3 was pretty much unplayable when my second monitor was plugged in.



I'll try unplugging it... I'm sure it'll suffer the same fate! :cry:
But heck, it's worth a try... Brb with the results!

Reply to silentcovenant
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