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x1800 Multiple games mystery

Tags:
  • Radeon
  • World Of Warcraft
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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October 24, 2008 1:41:45 PM

Hello EC people.

I've run into a strange problem with my system. In Counter-Strike: Source as well as F.E.A.R. I'm experiencing choppy/glitchy performance and low frame rates of 20-40.

My system (which I built in 2006) is coming off of a fresh format is as follows:

Windows XP Professional
Pentium 4 3.0 GHz
1.50 GB Ram
ATI Radeon x1800 256MB
Sound Blaster Audigy 2
80gb harddrive
20gb harddrive

Within the past couple years, I've had my system running World of Warcraft, CS:S, and F.E.A.R. with fairly high settings (WoW maxed out) and always saw smooth performance with zero trouble whatsoever.

Now, even when I turn down my Counter-Strike: Source video settings as low as possible, the frame rates still remain around 20-40 and video is chops out from time to time in combat.

Solutions I've tried:
Updating all drivers as much as possible.
Overclocking slightly here and there but to no avail. (shouldn't be necessary in the first place)
Newest DirectX downloads

That's my story. Any solutions would be very appreciated. Thanks!

More about : x1800 multiple games mystery

October 24, 2008 1:44:55 PM

"Tom's Hardware people" rather ;) 
October 24, 2008 1:59:08 PM

What kind of power supply are you running and how old is it?
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October 24, 2008 2:20:43 PM

What does the inside of your case look like? Is it covered in dust? Is there so much dust on your CPU heatsink, or in the GPU heatsink that the temps are getting to high? Try cleaning out your system, and double check your voltage rails as Vertigo suggested.
October 24, 2008 2:35:56 PM

I have dusted out the inside, and as for the power supply..

It's one I picked up from radio shack when my old one went out about 1 year ago.

"Purepower 1.3" 400W

I've monitored the heat levels and they don't appear to be abnormal.

October 24, 2008 2:42:37 PM

Replace PSU, do NOT get one from radio shack EVER. It might not solve your problem, but it will prevent more when that POS dies and takes god knows what with it.
October 24, 2008 2:49:56 PM

Alright, any suggestions on a good power supply? Should I trust one from a place like Best Buy/Circuit City, or will they be ripping me off?
October 24, 2008 6:57:37 PM

BB's house brand is rocketfish, avoid them as well. Both BB and CC should sell some antec unit. Those are good, but horribly overpriced. The best thing to do is to hop on newegg and buy a PSU from PCP&C, SeaSonic, FSP, Antec (avoid any Smart or Trupower models.), or Corsair. Buy.com tends to have good prices on the Corsair units every now and then, so you might want to check there to. A good quality 400-500W unit from one of these companies should power your system with ease. Again, at the very least, you wont' worry about what will happen when your $20 "rat shack" PSU dies.
October 24, 2008 7:48:01 PM

I agree completely with 4745454b. Those are all excellent PS unit brands to buy. I would definitely not go with any brand that does not have an excellent reputation for power supplies, unless the computer it was going into was cheap. The price difference between a low end but high quality PSU and a low end low quality PSU is not great enough to justify buying a unit that may fail and damage other components.
An underperforming power supply can definitely cause the problems you are experiencing - if the temps are where they should be, the PSU is a likely candidate.
If you want to save money and don't mind sticking with that junk PSU, assuming it is not the problem (...yet), I would disconnect the extra HDD, pull out your sound card, and underclock AND undervolt your CPU some. Try to reduce the power used as much as possible. Unplug any unneeded usb devices. Then test to see if the problem goes away. If it does, the power supply is an even more likely culprit (though it could still be some weird, rare problem relating to the sound card, I suppose ... but I would worry about that after buying a new PSU).
!