I just finished a new homebuild. It's got a Core 2 Duo E4600 OC'd to 2.82GHz and running stable according to OCCT's 2 hour mixed custom stability test.
I just ran 3DMark06 to get a score and am well disappointed. My scores were:
3DMark Score: 750 3DMarks
SM 2.0 Score: 347
SM 3.0 Score: N/A
CPU Score: 2398
I'm a bit miffed as I'm running a Core 2 Duo @ 2.82GHz and got 2 x 1GB DDR2 PC2-6400 800MHz Dual Channel RAM.
Hpwever, my graphics card is an ATi Radeon 9600 Pro 128MB x8 AGP. I assume the test is designed for newer high spec GPU's and the GPU is what's faltered and distorted my score as it can't handle the highly detailed demanding graphic tests?
I got an ASRock 4CoreDual-SATA2 motherboard which supports AGP x8 and PCI-E x4 as it has both slots. Can anyone recommend a decent, but cheap graphics card (AGP or PCI-E) to upgrade the 9600 Pro? Ideally, one that's not too expensive......
Yeah, its the old 9600pro. It can't even run any of the SM3 tests, which is why you get the N/A. I'm not sure if the CPU score is right, check the ORB should be able to tell you.
As for a new video card, whats "expensive"? You can grab a cheap 3650 for less then $50, its pretty fast for what you pay for.
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The voice of REASON
Do NOT feed the TROLLS!
Always a DEMON!
I'd get a pci-e ati 3k series, at least a 3650. Any one of them will serve you well, but the GPU is the part in your system that matters the most, in terms of gaming, you want it to be powerful.
