PC strongly underperforming.

[nick3318]

I wasn't sure where to put this as I have no idea where the origin of this problem comes from. But here goes nothing.

So I built this PC a few months ago. I built it with hardcore gaming in mind so I went pretty all out with it. But performance in games has been lacking, especially when I compared it to another PC that I built for a buddy of mine. (Which had inferior components all around)

System Specs:

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 @ stock speeds (3.0 GHZ)

EVGA 8800 GTS 512 MB (g92)

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) RAM

ASUS Maximus Formula Motherboard

AuzenTech Auzen X-Fi Prelude 7.1 Sound Card

2 x 150 GB Western Digital Raptor's running in RAID 0

CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX 620W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 Power Supply

I also have a Killer NIC M1 network card installed but im not using it right now. I need to take it out.

All of this seems to run cool as well. My CPU keeps at good temperatures and everything.

Here are some benchmark scores:

3Dmark 06 score: 11402
SM 2.0 Score: 4368
SM 3.0 Score: 5091
CPU Score: 3213

Pretty lacking as far as I know.

Anyway, does anyone have any ideas? Ive tried swapping out the ram but that didnt help anything. Im not sure what to do anymore. I'll be happy to provide any more information if it will help.

 

[bpogdowz]

8800 GTS 512 MB is bottle necking

 

[PsyKhiqZero]

Could you post your friends results as well? You should try disabling eist in bios. (speedstep) also make sure you performance option are set to maximum.

Might wanna try OC'ing. Keep in mind I have no idea if these settings are feasible, only that they should work in THEORY.
FSB 400mhz
multiplier set to 8

Should give you a CPU clock 3.2GHz and a FSB of 1600Mhz. This will sqeeze a bit more performance out of your ram w/o pushing your cpu to hard. I don't know if a 2000mhz fsb is possible on your setup but the settings for that would be..
FSB 500
multiplier 6

 

[nick3318]

Could you post your friends results as well? You should try disabling eist in bios. (speedstep) also make sure you performance option are set to maximum.

Might wanna try OC'ing. Keep in mind I have no idea if these settings are feasible, only that they should work in THEORY.
FSB 400mhz
multiplier set to 8

Should give you a CPU clock 3.2GHz and a FSB of 1600Mhz. This will sqeeze a bit more performance out of your ram w/o pushing your cpu to hard. I don't know if a 2000mhz fsb is possible on your setup but the settings for that would be..
FSB 500
multiplier 6

Would an OC really fix it? I'm sure I could bump my CPU up pretty good but it just seems that even with stock speeds I should be performing better.

Also, I need to get my friend to run 3Dmark06 for me but I don't think he'll be able to tonight, I just know that he runs World of Warcraft much better than I does. (Not exactly the best benchmark but its one of the only things he plays). I'm seeing subpar performance throughout all games I play though.

 

[bpogdowz]

An OC would only increase the CPU and SM 2 score. Your buddy probably just has his graphics card overclocked.

 

[lucuis]

Something is making your processor perform poorly. It should be getting about 4300points or so. My Q6600 at 3.2ghz 1600fsb get's roughly 4500. And to whoever said it's the graphics card holding it back is blatantly wrong.

 

[bpogdowz]

Something is making your processor perform poorly. It should be getting about 4300points or so. My Q6600 at 3.2ghz 1600fsb get's roughly 4500. And to whoever said it's the graphics card holding it back is blatantly wrong.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a280/Werak/3DMark06Driver17516.jpg

You're right, his processor is gimped out.

 

[nick3318]

Naw my buddy has everything at stock speeds, like i said, I'm the one that built it and hes only been using it for few weeks now.

Thanks for the replies you guys. Any clue on what I can do to fix it? I figured it was probably something to do with my CPU.
I spent a stupid amount of money on it because I was planning on doing some pretty CPU intensive stuff with my pc as well.

Anything look strange or out of order?

 

[bpogdowz]

What is your PSU?

 

[nick3318]

What is your PSU?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002

 

[Zorg]

The CPU scores in 3Dmark 06 are tied to the VGA. If you want true CPU scores that are not influenced by the VGA then download SiSoftware Sandra 2009 (freeware version) and run the CPU benches.

Here are my benches with a Q6600 400 x 8 @ 3.2G/1600 (C1E enabled which shouldn't matter) with DDR2 800 1:1 for comparison. I do have a little stuff running in the background but they should be real close.

Arithmatic Benchmark Results
Dhrystone ALU : 54.46GIPS
Whetstone iSSE3 : 41.06GFLOPS

Multimedia Benchmark Results
Multi-Media Int x8 iSSSE3 : 108.31MPixel/s
Multi-Media Float x4 iSSE2 : 66.65MPixel/s
Multi-Media Double x2 iSSE2 : 33.52MPixel/s

Multicore Efficiency Benchmark Results
Inter-Core Bandwidth : 18.20GB/s
Inter-Core Latency : 40ns

 

[bpogdowz]

PSU looks good. Your CPU is probably over heating and TM1 and/or TM2 is kicking in.

 

[nick3318]

Ouch...

Arithmatic Benchmark Results
Dhrystone ALU : 39.66GIPS
Whetstone iSSE3 : 33.95GFLOPS

Multimedia Benchmark Results
Multi-Media Int x8 iSSE4.1 : 85.54MPixel/s
Multi-Media Float x4 iSSE2 : 47.95MPixel/s
Multi-Media Double x2 iSSE2 : 24.27MPixel/s

Multicore Efficiency Benchmark Results
Inter-Core Bandwidth : 12.63GB/s
Inter-Core Latency : 80ns


Also, I don't think overheating is the problem. Realtemp is showing 25 28 31 31 on each core respectively.

 

[Zorg]

Yeah, clearly you have a problem. Can you run CPU-Z and take a screen shot, of the CPU tab, while running Prime95 25.7 small FFTs. Be sure to right click on the icon near the clock and close Prime95 after you get the screen shot.

You can capture the active window with Capture and use TinyPic to host it for you.

 

[nick3318]

Here you go:

 

[Zorg]

Damn, it all looks good. Maybe you are hitting TM2. If you haven't already, run Prime95 small FFTs and monitor temps with Real Temp. Let it run for at least 10 minutes until temps stabilize and then post them.

 

[nick3318]

Damn, it all looks good. Maybe you are hitting TM2. If you haven't already, run Prime95 small FFTs and monitor temps with Real Temp. Let it run for at least 10 minutes until temps stabilize and then post them.

34 36 38 38

 

[Zorg]

Those temps are low. Stock cooler? Try this Real Temp beta it has an updated Tjmax. It may be a little higher, but still not your problem. I Found it.

I have to tell you, I'm at a loss. You're running Vista, I assume?

 

[nick3318]

Those temps are low. Stock cooler? Try this Real Temp beta it has an updated Tjmax. It may be a little higher, but still not your problem. I Found it.
I have to tell you, I'm at a loss. You're running Vista, I assume?

Nope Im running a pretty decent Zalman air cooler, and yup im running vista.

Not sure what to do, I've had this problem since the day I installed the Operation System really. So I don't think a reinstall would help any.

 

[Zorg]

The only thing I can think of is that something is stealing cycles. Save your data and reinstall the OS fresh, including the format, and try the benches again. I know it is a PITA, but that's all I can think of.

 

[Zorg]

Ha, I moved my edit and you saw it in the other post.

I don't think it's Vista, but do you have a copy of XP lying around? I can't imagine it's a bad chip, because it would be crashing.

I would reinstall anyway just to rule it out. If I think of something I'll post it.

If you find out be sure you post here, because I'm really interested in the cause.

 

[Zorg]

Grasping at straws here.

Did you default the BIOS after the flash? Because you are supposed to in order to clear any trash that might be there.

 

[nick3318]

Grasping at straws here.

Did you default the BIOS after the flash? Because you are supposed to in order to clear any trash that might be there.

The flash? I haven't flashed the BIOS at all. Unless im missing something...

Yeah, I dunno. I guess ill need to do a reinstall but that's going to have to wait until i figure out how to back up all my data. My portable hard drive is on the fritz.

 

[Zorg]

I got threads mixed up. In which case, maybe you should do a BIOS flash. If you look at the Mainboard tab in CPU-Z it will tell you the current BIOS revision. then you can get the latest one from Asus.

Do not, and I say again, DO NOT use the Windows based BIOS flash. I'll look in the manual and find out the USB flash method. Download the manual PDF when you get the latest BIOS revision download, so you can easily find the page I give you.

This link will get you to the download mobo selection page. Maximus Formula

Be sure you get the correct BIOS. If there is a question, ask, a bad flash will brick your mobo.

 

[Zorg]

Asus calls it EZ flash. Directions are on page 4-5 in the PDF. It is possibly the same page in the paper manual. You need a USB flash drive or floppy.