Performance Testing / Benchmarks

[mikegale56]

Hi, I built a system about 18 months ago and it's worked pretty solidly since (in terms of no errors / crashes at least) then. Lately I've been feeling like I'm getting lower FPS in games though and was wondering if there was a software suite that I could use to test things out? Or is it time for a reformat?

I've looked at Passmark, is the free version any good? Is it worth paying for the full version?

Thanks!

My build was mid-level at the time, and consisted of:
Intel E8400 CPU
VFA Sapphire 100259L HD4870 512M
DFI LanParty X38-TR2
2x 2G Corsair DDR2 SDRAM 800
Corsair 520W Power Supply
Windows XP 32 bit
1920x1200 resolution, single monitor

 

[banthracis]

Computer parts performance deteriorates over time.

If you think it's a problem, beyond wear and tear then you could run some synthetics to give you an idea.

3dmark vantage and pcmark vantage are the common ones.

Others also like heaven 2.0

 

[mikegale56]

Thanks for the reply!

3dmark says it requires vista+ (I'm still on XP), so I tried pcmark's free version. Even after installing the newest Windows Media Player, some tests failed and all it returned were N/As for scores. It didn't even tell me what failed. I'd imagine the bought version offers some level of debugging? Is it worth buying?

Heaven looks like it's at 2.1, so I downloaded that.

First thing I saw - it wouldn't let me run with Direct X 10 or 11 - looks like I don't have either. The Direct X 9 test was beautiful to watch - that totally should be a game world if it isn't already. I was only getting 6-10 FPS on it though, it crushed my computer

The benchmark came back with an average of 10.6, a high of 58, and a low of 2.9 (267 score).

Looking up other people's scores:
1037 score in crossfire config with windows 7 and the same CPU I have, so definitely not a direct comparison, but a data point none-the-less, directX 10
700 score, 1 4870, but windows 7 and a core i7 920

I couldn't find a decent, comprehensive list of scores though - does anyone know where I might find one? There's a top 30, but only the top 30 are listed and, well, a 4870 solo isn't exactly top 30 material.

I tried running it in 1024x768, I ended up with 62 FPS and a score of 1562

So maybe my solution is just to run with lower resolution

Or, how easy is it to set up a second card in crossfire config? I'll look up if my power supply and mobo can support it tomorrow i guess.

Thanks
Mike

 

[banthracis]

Well issue is that most of the current test suites are aimed at DX 10/DX11.

You'll have to track down old versions of PCMark and 3dMark to test DX9.

Heaven does have the disadvantage of no real database for comparison. Just google and see what people with you similar hardware got. Might be hard as it's mostly used as a DX11 benchmark.

For CPU you can just Prime 95 and compare it with their online database.

Xfire is easy to setup. Depending on which version of Catalyst you're on, you just plug in second card, attaches bridges and you're good to go.

you SHOULD have latest drivers anyway.

Detailed guide.
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=51219

 

[mikegale56]

I checked drivers earlier this morning after the defrag finished. I didn't have the newest ones, so updated both that and direct X 9.

I should have run Heaven between each one, but, after doing all 3 I was up to 30 FPS average with a score of almost 750.

Thanks for the help! I'll check out that guide and see if it makes sense to upgrade or just wait 5-6 months and build a new computer, this time with an i7

Thanks,
Mike