HD5850 + Q6600

[garry__]

Hey guys, had a question about my PC which has been bugging me lately a lot.

I was wondering if my computer if functioning at its fullest.

I have the following:

HD5850 (Asus Version)
Q6600 OC'd to 3.2
4GB Ram (667..I think it's the problem)
1920x1080 Screen Resolution
EP45-UD3P Mobo
Win7 64bit

~~~

So, it seems like I can't run ANY games at playable settings with this setup with good FPS and no choppyness (WoW, Dragon Age, Alpha Protocol, TF2, Red Faction, GTAIV, ect...).

I think it's my ram that's holding me back, as I've read everywhere that a Q6600 OC'd should be able to hold up every card (except SLI or XFIRE) without any bottleneck.

I have very little knowledge on RAM so but I still think it's causing these issues -- I'm using (x2) 2GIG Buffalo 667 ram sticks.

~~~

I ran some benchmarks on 3DMark06 to compare and this is what I got:

3DMark Score 15136 3DMarks
SM 2.0 Score 5708
SM 3.0 Score 7647
CPU Score 3959

~~~

Are these results normal? Am I expecting too much from my system? Or is there a bottleneck somewhere here? There are no overheating issues too, to be noted.

Any help or ideas would greatly be appreciated, thanks.

 

[mcnuggetofdeath]

If you can't get playable framerates in TF2 then I think your problem lies outside your RAM. It's caching what it can't cache in VRAM, and bringing that up to be used by the game is more dependant on latency than total bandwidth because its not starved for the later. If you feel like messing with it, changing your timings might net you some speed all around. For now I'd check your settings in game, and reinstall your drivers after cleaning them out with a driver cleaner. Wish I could be more helpful. Be aware that some games suffer from Micro-Stuttering and have to be fixed on a game by game basis. IE fallout 3

 

[garry__]

If you can't get playable framerates in TF2 then I think your problem lies outside your RAM. It's caching what it can't cache in VRAM, and bringing that up to be used by the game is more dependant on latency than total bandwidth because its not starved for the later. If you feel like messing with it, changing your timings might net you some speed all around. For now I'd check your settings in game, and reinstall your drivers after cleaning them out with a driver cleaner. Wish I could be more helpful. Be aware that some games suffer from Micro-Stuttering and have to be fixed on a game by game basis. IE fallout 3

Er didn't mean to have TF2 in that list. I was listing the games I saw on desktop. :O But the other games do indeed run poorly.

I'll try messing around with the timings (right now they're 5-5-5-15 if that's what's meant by timings).

And about the drivers were freshly installed with no previous video card drivers interfering as I always format my hard drives and reinstall windows with any new hardware I add.

Thanks for the reply btw.

 

[mjsharma]

dude your mobo supports better ram like ddr2 800 mhz and higher y not upgrade your ram?
there are lot of people out there to buy 667 ram sell it to them and get a faster ram it will last for longer time than what you do by overclocking or lowering the timings because overclocking the ram is not going to give you much benefit because your are not going to do both overclocking and lowering the timings as it will heat up the ram very much and not going to be stable but you can get a new ram with better timing and higher clock speed as ddr2 is really cheap

 

[garry__]

dude your mobo supports better ram like ddr2 800 mhz and higher y not upgrade your ram?
there are lot of people out there to buy 667 ram sell it to them and get a faster ram it will last for longer time than what you do by overclocking or lowering the timings because overclocking the ram is not going to give you much benefit because your are not going to do both overclocking and lowering the timings as it will heat up the ram very much and not going to be stable but you can get a new ram with better timing and higher clock speed as ddr2 is really cheap

So you think that the 667mhz ram is the problem here with the bottlenecking?

What type of ram would be best for a Q6600 OC'd? I read my mobo is best with DDR2 1366 ram but isn't it more important what fits better the CPU?

Thanks for the reply.

 

[garry__]

Err I just read that 1366 ram is only DDR3 which I believe my mobo doesn't support. So would 1066mhz ram be best?

 

[mjsharma]

can be a reason because 667mhz is too low for rest of the config
1066 mhz is the best ddr2 ram

 

[garry__]

Alright thanks, I'll look at some stores tomorrow and see if I can find anything.

 

[guanyu210379]

I am currently running alpha protocol, ME2, blur, tropico 3, transformer cybertron (with all maxed) on my system (look at my configuration)...I think Your configuration doesn't differ much to mine...but mine is working fine..

But I am already summing up budget to replace my proc, mobo, and ram somewhere next year...

 

[mcnuggetofdeath]

mjsharma doesn't know what he's saying. 667MHz isn't your problem, and 1066MHz certainly isn't the best DDR2. I've seen kits pushing 1366. Seriously, and 1200 kits are all over the place. All that does is give you more bandwidth per thread, and stuttering would be caused by a lack of VRAM, or thrashing because you didn't have enough RAM. Take out AA, reduce AF, and other things that eat up your VRAM. I reiterate, look for solutions to the specific games. GTAIV is poorly coded, famously so. And as much as I love Red Faction it sometimes stutters as it loads things in the distance. Something else is causing your problem, not your RAM. My RAM only runs 233MHz faster sans the issues you mentioned, But you don't see guys with DDR3 2200 posting crazy FPS because its extra bandwidth the game isn't making use of. It's meant for very specific applications and programs built to use it. Tom's did a feature on that a few years back as DDR3 began to come into the mainstream.

 

[mjsharma]

sorry if i've made some mistake in the above posts..

lack of vram? 5850 comes with 1gb ram or more vram as far as i know
i don't think that 1gb vram is less
so what i think is his ram isn't fast enough as compared to rest of the config is causing the problem

 

[jsc]

All you need is DDR2-800 RAM. That will take you to 3.6 GHz (400 MHz X 9).

Most DDR2-1066 RAM is simply DDR2-800 RAM that has been tested to run at the higher speed, usually at an increased voltage and more relaxed timings.

 

[mjsharma]

All you need is DDR2-800 RAM. That will take you to 3.6 GHz (400 MHz X 9).

Most DDR2-1066 RAM is simply DDR2-800 RAM that has been tested to run at the higher speed, usually at an increased voltage and more relaxed timings.

exactly....
one thing i am sure there isn't 1366MHz ddr2
its just 1066mhz which can overclock to 1366Mhz as far as i know
isn't that right?

 

[mcnuggetofdeath]

exactly....
one thing i am sure there isn't 1366MHz ddr2
its just 1066mhz which can overclock to 1366Mhz as far as i know
isn't that right?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231201

No. I know my board is rated at up to 1366. This board is too, but through an overclock. I can't find any 1366 kits on newegg right now, but that's because they we're exclusively for enthusiasts who didn't want to upgrade.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128372

DDR2 1200+ was the last hurrah of a platform that was dying, namely LGA 775.
And you'd be suprised how fast 1Gb of VRAM runs out, like I mentioned, especially with AA and AF on at that kind of resolution. Certain benchmarks will let you see how much is being used. IE crysis GPU benhcmark.

 

[mjsharma]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231201

No. I know my board is rated at up to 1366. This board is too, but through an overclock. I can't find any 1366 kits on newegg right now, but that's because they we're exclusively for enthusiasts who didn't want to upgrade.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128372

DDR2 1200+ was the last hurrah of a platform that was dying, namely LGA 775.
And you'd be suprised how fast 1Gb of VRAM runs out, like I mentioned, especially with AA and AF on at that kind of resolution. Certain benchmarks will let you see how much is being used. IE crysis GPU benhcmark.

i didn't know that there are ddr2 1200mhz rams in the market, thanks for the info
but do you think that its worth 35$ more than 1066mhz as it can oc easily to 1200 level?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231246&cm_re=ddr2_1066-_-20-231-246-_-Product

 

[jerreece]

All you need is DDR2-800 RAM. That will take you to 3.6 GHz (400 MHz X 9).

Most DDR2-1066 RAM is simply DDR2-800 RAM that has been tested to run at the higher speed, usually at an increased voltage and more relaxed timings.

This is the correct answer. LOL

Still, I'm thinking the 667Mhz DDR2 is not what's causing the problem. I'd try software related fixes first.

Virus Scan
Malware Check
Close background Tasks (check Task Manager)
Uninstall video driver, then use Driver Sweeper to remove.
Reinstall ATI Drivers
Check that you have the most up to date DirectX Version

I ran some benchmarks on 3DMark06 to compare and this is what I got:

3DMark Score 15136 3DMarks
SM 2.0 Score 5708
SM 3.0 Score 7647
CPU Score 3959

Your 3dMark06 scores seem low to me. I just benchmarked my GTX 470 (which is a little faster than the 5850 granted) and got quite a bit higher SM2 and SM3 scores.

GTX 470 = 23,820 Marks
SM 2.0 Score = 9,907
SM 3.0 Score = 11,258
CPU Score = 6,089

Granted I have a faster video card, plus a much faster CPU (i5-750 @ 4Ghz).

I am currently running alpha protocol, ME2, blur, tropico 3, transformer cybertron (with all maxed) on my system (look at my configuration)...I think Your configuration doesn't differ much to mine...but mine is working fine..

But I am already summing up budget to replace my proc, mobo, and ram somewhere next year...

I'd be interesting in seeing his ^ 3dMark06 scores to compare with yours. Might help determine if you have a "bottle neck" issue, or whether there's a problem occurring with your system or settings.

 

[garry__]

I am currently running alpha protocol, ME2, blur, tropico 3, transformer cybertron (with all maxed) on my system (look at my configuration)...I think Your configuration doesn't differ much to mine...but mine is working fine..

But I am already summing up budget to replace my proc, mobo, and ram somewhere next year...

Would be great if you could post a 3DMark if you have one handy

This is the correct answer. LOL

Still, I'm thinking the 667Mhz DDR2 is not what's causing the problem. I'd try software related fixes first.

Virus Scan
Malware Check
Close background Tasks (check Task Manager)
Uninstall video driver, then use Driver Sweeper to remove.
Reinstall ATI Drivers
Check that you have the most up to date DirectX Version




Your 3dMark06 scores seem low to me. I just benchmarked my GTX 470 (which is a little faster than the 5850 granted) and got quite a bit higher SM2 and SM3 scores.

GTX 470 = 23,820 Marks
SM 2.0 Score = 9,907
SM 3.0 Score = 11,258
CPU Score = 6,089

Granted I have a faster video card, plus a much faster CPU (i5-750 @ 4Ghz).



I'd be interesting in seeing his ^ 3dMark06 scores to compare with yours. Might help determine if you have a "bottle neck" issue, or whether there's a problem occurring with your system or settings.

"Uninstall video driver, then use Driver Sweeper to remove.
Reinstall ATI Drivers
Check that you have the most up to date DirectX Version"

I have the rest down, those are the ones I'll check today before going to get some new RAM. Even though I installed these drivers I have currently on a new win7 install.

 

[mjsharma]

"Uninstall video driver, then use Driver Sweeper to remove.
Reinstall ATI Drivers
Check that you have the most up to date DirectX Version"

I have the rest down, those are the ones I'll check today before going to get some new RAM. Even though I installed these drivers I have currently on a new win7 install.

try your luck

 

[garry__]

All you need is DDR2-800 RAM. That will take you to 3.6 GHz (400 MHz X 9).

Most DDR2-1066 RAM is simply DDR2-800 RAM that has been tested to run at the higher speed, usually at an increased voltage and more relaxed timings.

I used to have 3.2 with less than default voltages which worked fine and was very stable (400x8). But I saw that 1:1 is the best ratio so I thought that would solve my issues.

I have 3.6 before but with voltages I'm not too comfortable if I remember correctly, but my system still had the same issues.

Does that mean my RAM overclocked as well? to 800mhz from 667mhz?

In that case, would 800mhz ram be that helpful since this RAM already ran at that speed and had the same issue? Or maybe the ram I have now is poor quality and just bottlnecks is what I'm thinking.

Thanks for all the replies so far

 

[mjsharma]

its depends on fsb: dram ratio....
if you are not sure of the ratio download cpu-z it shows all information you need
and post the frequency at which your ram is running