3850 scores

[lameness]

Hello, ive just got my new powercolor 3850 256mb and was wanting to ask a few questions about its performance.

I have just recorded a score of a little over 7000 in 3dmark06. I know that this is well off the mark of what is possible, but i wanted to know for sure whether my amd x2 4200+ is what is holding it back.

I know the score takes into account the cpu and therefore iam never going to get very high scores. However during the GPU tests and during games the CPU usage on both cores never hits 100% (in fact it only ever gets to about 70 - 80%). Does this mean that i still have 20% left out of my cpu and that my card is holding me back??? I find that hard to believe...but surely if my cpu is the hold up it should be maxed out at 100%.

Or is it my ram...2gb of only 533mhz ddr2.


I have the latest drivers and the power supply isnt the problem...and nothing is overclocked. I dont care about getting a higher score.... Id just like somebody to tell me that the CPU can still be the hold up despite the fact that it isnt maxed out in the GPU tests or games. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[DrMaV]

The X2 and chipset are lowering your score!

Place the 3850 in a quad and x38, with 4 gigs, and see the scores climb.

Yes, you still have 20% left, however, were you out of the game at the moment you measured the 20%? If so, then, you might not have 20% left while in the game.

2 gig of ram is fine. But 800 or 1066 is better.

Many factors influence score. CPU, chipset, memory, pci1.0 or 2.0.

And yes, even if the cpu is not maxed out, it can hold up tests and games.

 

[mactronix]

I remembered something i read about this a while back and have been off looking for it.
Here it is posted by our resident Mod TGGA
Be sure to compare your setup to similar CPUs, from everything I've seen, all the high scores require wicked high intel CPU overclocks to bring out the extra points in 3Dmk06. You simply can't fully exploit the additional GPU power of any solution in 3Dmk06 without very high CPU OC on the most powerful CPUs. And while the 6000+ is nice for real world apps and games, it just doesn't play to 3Dmark's needs.
So that backs up what DrMaV posted while i was away.
Mactronix

 

[DrMaV]

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/591/9/

Here is a 10,476 score with the 3850.

with

Intel Core 2 Quad QX9650
Gigabyte X38DQ6 Click Here
Corsair PC2-8500 4GB Click Here

Now, OC the QX to 3.6, and OC the GPU, and get an 11,500 or higher

 

[shabodah]

He doesn't even mention what chipset he has and you assume it has anything to do with it? I agree his CPU is slowing him down, and better memory would help a bit, but with a single card setup, the chipset most certainly is not.

 

[Dahak]

The 4200+ will bottleneck your video card.The chipset itself has nothing to do with it.Overclock your cpu and try again.Goodluck.

Dahak

M2N32-SLI DELUXE WE
X2 5600+ STOCK (2.8GHZ)
2X1GIG DDR2 800 IN DC MODE
TOUGHPOWER 850WATT PSU
EVGA 7950 GX2 550/1350
SMILIDON RAIDMAX GAMING CASE
ACER 22IN WS LCD 1680X1050
250GIG HD/320GIG HD
G5 GAMING MOUSE
LOGITECH Z-5500 5.1 SURROUND SYSTEM
500WATS CONTINUOUS,1000 PEAK
WIN XP MCE SP2
3DMARK 05 13,685

 

[mactronix]

He doesn't even mention what chipset he has and you assume it has anything to do with it? I agree his CPU is slowing him down, and better memory would help a bit, but with a single card setup, the chipset most certainly is not.

Its not really a hardware issue in the most literal sence of the thing rather a mixture of the hardware and how 3D Mark 06 works.
Again i will quote from Apes reply to a differant thread on this subject.
"You simply can't fully exploit the additional GPU power of any solution in 3Dmk06 without very high CPU OC on the most powerful CPUs."
So obviously with this assumably being the case TGGA is usually right so im happy to go with it, The OP is going to struggle to get high scores allowing for the CPU and how 3DM 06 works.
Mactronix

 

[shabodah]

Its not really a hardware issue in the most literal sence of the thing rather a mixture of the hardware and how 3D Mark 06 works.
Again i will quote from Apes reply to a differant thread on this subject.
"You simply can't fully exploit the additional GPU power of any solution in 3Dmk06 without very high CPU OC on the most powerful CPUs."
So obviously with this assumably being the case TGGA is usually right so im happy to go with it, The OP is going to struggle to get high scores allowing for the CPU and how 3DM 06 works.
Mactronix

But the chipset is not the limiting factor in his CPU's performance and overclocking abilities, the processor itself and ram are.

 

[mactronix]

To shabodah
Sorry but i think we are at cross purposes here im not dissagreeing with you, it was DrMaV who mentioned the chipset. Was it because i quoted you that you thought i was ?
Its the way the forum is set up ever since they got rid of the reply button you can either quote so people know who you are talking to or type To ----- .
Sorry if thats the case i was just trying to make a point that its not all down to the hardware.
Mactronix

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

Using a cpu doesnt just mean GHZ/speed/cycle. It comes down to IPC (instructions per clock) sm4 or code IN the cpu. Also 80%? Are you saying thats for 1 core? or both? The 1 core may BE maxxed as the other may be running 60%.

 

[shabodah]

To shabodah
Sorry but i think we are at cross purposes here im not dissagreeing with you,

I miss the reply button, too. lol.

 

[lameness]

Thanks for all the replies....i wasn't expecting as much.

As i have said im really not interested in getting a very high score, what i do care about is fps in games and getting the most out of my 3850. I was simply expecting to see my cpu working over time as the card itself was easily dealing with all the info my CPU could throw at it. However this has not been the case in the games i have tried so far.

Using task manager to monitor the 2 cores in the background i have found that in 3dmark 05 and 06 (GPU tests) and crysis neither core had maxed out at any time. In fact they were only registering about 70% usage at most times.

Initially i was a bit surprised and alarmed. But my thinking is that i have only tried very GPU intensive scenarios so far...situations where my GPU is likely to be the limiting factor. I tried 3dmark 03 but it only used one core so it wasn't a fair test. I will have to try a game (tomorrow) that is a bit less heavy going on my new card.


That said I was also wondering if my slow ram and iffy mb are preventing my cpu from maxing out....i really dont know much about those. Iam considering getting the 6000+ and upgrading my ram before too long...do you thing that will be up to the job???... or is it time to accept that amd really dont cut it any more (for CPU that is )

Thanks for the help

 

[DrMaV]

Correction, chipset has very little effect on 3dmark score.

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2106&page=11

 

[shabodah]

Correction, chipset has very little effect on 3dmark score.

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2106&page=11

Well, if it was an intel board and the chipset wouldn't allow 333mhz or 400mhz fsb speed, it would be the limiting factor... lol.

 

[homerdog]

I don't know very much about 3dmark because I don't play it. Come to think of it, nobody plays it.

Getting to the point, I would guess that it is your anemic RAM that is causing the low 3dmark score. AMD systems are more sensitive to memory bandwidth than Intel systems are these days. Considering that 2x1GB DDR2-800 kits can be found for below $50 I would recommend an upgrade.