Noctos

Distinguished
Nov 19, 2004
20
0
18,510
System specs:
k8n neo2
gainward 6800ultra golden sample clocked at 430 mhz
corsair ddr400 512x 2
amd 3500+
win xp




Hi guys, After building my own system i expected to enjoy a fast gaming and application use instantly, lol!! crazy ay. I've had nothing but problems and have taken to using my dads crappy old 1ghz tnt2 gfx 256 ram comp which at the mo is faster than mine. However i've been experiencing some weird things.

After looking around on the aquamark3 forum i read someones advice on disabling agp fastwrite, increasing fsb frequency from 200 to 450, changing fsb ratio from 5x to 11x, disabling cool and quiet and er i think changing primary gfx from pci to agp. Now origanally i attained a score of 33,000 in aquamark3 but after these tweeks i reached 68,000.

I was overjoyed lol but this was short lived. After restarting my comp i realised 20 seconds after windows started up the comp and internet connection really slowed down. i wondered if this was the fault of my norton internet protector but i was told that i wouldn't be affected this much by this software. I've also loaded only basic drivers at one point, and again after 20 seconds the slow down in opening applications came!!! I'm sorry for the long message but i've exhausted all read advice and i think this problem lies deep in the bios, and yes i have the latest cpu,mobo and nvidia 63.1 which was suggested as the best for the aquamark3 test.

It's extremely odd that aquamarks3 and other game benchmarks run fine but outside is slow. Again soza for the long messeage but please offer any suggestions, cheers and heres some system info.

i used sandra lite 2005 to get this info

System Summary
Analysing...
Warning 100 : Large memory sizes should be made of Registered/Buffered memory.
Tip 2546 : Large memory modules should be ECC/Parity.
Finished Successfully : Yes

Mainboard Information
Analysing...
Notice 224 : SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate.
Tip 2511 : Some memory slots are free so the memory can be easily upgraded.
Warning 2541 : FSB exceeds Chipset rated speed. Reduce FSB.
Warning 100 : Large memory sizes should be made of Registered/Buffered memory.
Tip 2546 : Large memory modules should be ECC/Parity.
Finished Successfully : Yes

CPU & BIOS Information
Analysing...
Tip 210 : Processor 1 : Mainboard supports faster CPUs, so the CPU can be upgraded when needed.
Notice 224 : Processor 1 : SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate.
Warning 235 : Processor 1 : Vcore less than rated minimum. Check Vcore setting!
Notice 224 : System BIOS : SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate.
Tip 207 : System BIOS : A SMBIOS/DMI 2.3 or later compliant BIOS is recommended. Check for a BIOS update.
Tip 212 : System BIOS : BIOS can be shadowed so check whether it is.
Tip 211 : System BIOS : BIOS is flash-able and socketed so it can be upgraded when needed.
Finished Successfully : Yes

PCI(e), AGP, CardBus Bus(es) Information
Analysing...
Tip 1202 : PCI Bus 0 (1/1x PCIClk) : Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Athlon 64 / Opteron HyperTransport Technology Configuration : Device does not support bus mastering.
Tip 1202 : PCI Bus 0 (1/1x PCIClk) : Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Athlon 64 / Opteron Address Map : Device does not support bus mastering.
Tip 1202 : PCI Bus 0 (1/1x PCIClk) : Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Athlon 64 / Opteron DRAM Controller : Device does not support bus mastering.
Tip 1202 : PCI Bus 0 (1/1x PCIClk) : Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Athlon 64 / Opteron Miscellaneous Control : Device does not support bus mastering.
Finished Successfully : Yes

Video System Information
Analysing...
Tip 2221 : Video Adapter : Primary Display Driver (display) : Driver is not certified.
Tip 319 : Video Adapter : Primary Display Driver (display) : A refresh rate of at least 75Hz is recommended. Increase it if possible.
Tip 322 : Video Adapter : Primary Display Driver (display) : Turn off screen savers. Use the monitor power saving mode.
Tip 323 : Video Adapter : Primary Display Driver (display) : Remove the desktop wallpaper to save memory and improve performance.
Finished Successfully : Yes

DirectX Information
Analysing...
Tip 2221 : DirectDraw Devices : Primary Display Driver (display) : Driver is not certified.
Error : Primary Sound Driver : DX-DS E88780078
Error : Primary Sound Capture Driver : DX-DS E88780078
Finished Successfully : Yes


again soz for the massive post
 

endyen

Splendid
I know that norton is supposed to stop them, but have you done a spyware check? Go to <A HREF="http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/" target="_new">http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/</A> and get adaware. Make sure you have the latest update.
Check in msconfig to see what you have in startup. Try running without "messanger", and see if that does it.
 

Noctos

Distinguished
Nov 19, 2004
20
0
18,510
Thanks for the reply, but i don't think its any adware problems, i ran spyware and then just ran restarted windows with basic drivers to see if it made a difference, but applications were still slow. However using the internet in safe mode is pretty fast but of course with no internet protection in safe mode, i'm just allowing a whole lot of viruses in
 

Schmide

Distinguished
Aug 2, 2001
1,442
0
19,280
Sounds to me like you’re having drive problems. What Hard Drive/DVD do you have setup, on what controller, and at what configuration?

Dichromatic for your viewing plesure...
 

Noctos

Distinguished
Nov 19, 2004
20
0
18,510
Hi schmide i am using Maxtor Diamondmax Plus 8 40Gb ATA 133 7200rpm connected to mobo using ide cable, now my flippin mobo ain't rebooting but i won't worry about that for the mo, the hardrive was brnand new, straight out of the anti static mag
 

endyen

Splendid
It sounds like a software slowdown. Try this. Start button > run Type in "msconfig" click startup. You will get a list, with a bunch of check boxes. Uncheck 1 item, and see how it affects performance.
You could also just hit control+alt+delete, and see what is using all your resouces.
 

Noctos

Distinguished
Nov 19, 2004
20
0
18,510
hmm, i think software is to blame on for my internet browsing. I uninstalled norton internet security and installed nortons personal firewall. The computer was moving at it's kinda slow pace but the internet was wizzing however 6 minutes later i was back to my slow state. I think we can prett ymuch says its the norton stuff doing this, but nortons can't be this bad. On my old comp it was fine and that was only 1ghz lol. I've also realised i only get a score of 70,000 in aquamark when i push fsb to run at 450mhz per 5 cycles if i'm correct lol sounds insane. When ionyl decrease apeture size to 64, disable fastwrite, primary device as agp, aquamark gives me a score of 50,000 which is pathetic for my comp.

I've recently heard that there is an ungrade for my bios and i'm to flash it and install the new one, will this make a difference?

when i attempt it at the cd\test stage it says no such directory. Does test refer to the folder which contains the bios file i.e. AWFL833D ?

cheers
 

slvr_phoenix

Splendid
Dec 31, 2007
6,223
1
25,780
I think we can prett ymuch says its the norton stuff doing this, but nortons can't be this bad.
I don't see why not. Antivirus software alone has always slowed systems down very badly, and firewalls certainly haven't helped any either. Those executable run checks and 'virus like activity' protectors are especially awful on performance. :\

I used to think that McAfee was the worst offender of all. (I can remember back in '98 when McAfee was slowing my system down to less than half its speed under normal operation and down to about a quarter of its speed when compiling code.) Then I installed Grisoft AVG Free(6) and had to award a new 'winner' to the Slow AV Of The Year Award. :O It litterally crunched my 2.6GHz system down to an eventual dead halt in the middle of innocently playing NWN (without an internet connection) ... and that was <i>without</i> an actual scan running either. The 'virus like activity' protection had simply gone berserk. That was when I'd finally had enough of AV scanners and set it to only start up when I opened it instead of at startup.

But anywho, Norton has generally been the best that I've seen (not that I can always afford it), but even then it can still impact performance noticably. Of course I've also had Norton software that made me want to pull out my hair for being overprotective, but hey, nothing is perfect.

So yeah, I've personally taken to not letting any protection software run on startup. I only run what I need when I actually need it. Since most of the time I'm not connected to the internet, slowing down my machine with software that's only purpose is to protect me from the great wide yonder when I'm not even visiting is just plain silly. Of course your mileage may vary.

Maybe one day someone will invent AV/Firewall software that only slows your system down when you're actually connected to the internet. Even better, maybe some day someone will invent AV/Firewall software that doesn't even slow your system down. Until then however, trust not thine performance when thine knight errant raises his shield.

<pre><b><font color=red>"Build a man a fire and he's warm for the rest of the evening.
Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life." - Steve Taylor</font color=red></b></pre><p>
 

Noctos

Distinguished
Nov 19, 2004
20
0
18,510
I'm not so sure about that pheonix. At the moment i'm using my brothers 1ghz comp with 128 ram and he seems to really of hit the nail on the head. He has nortons anti virus and internet protector running yet his internet connection and speed of the machine are beautiful. He's using windows 2000 but i doubt the xp setup is what's affecting me.

The beast is in the setup is what my brothers friend said, he set up my bros comp.
 

endyen

Splendid
If you use a hardware firewall (routers are cheap) and dont download your mail, you really only have to do a daily scan for viruses.
I use PCcillin because it comes with most decent boards, and will update regularly for free. I use the anti-popup, but keep the scans to manual. I,ve only had a couple of viruses, and caught them before they did any damage.
 

mozzartusm

Splendid
Sep 17, 2004
4,693
0
22,780
Dont be so sure about XP not affecting you. I dont know if it is, but some people have major issue with XP. Some people swear by WIN 2K PRO. Im one of the ones that has had XP issues. Having said all that, I doubt that the OS is your problem. Im still leaning towards a virus or more likely Spyware and/or Adware. I have 4 different Spyware programs that I use when I check for Spyware. It never seems to fail that each one will pick up some things that the others dont catch. Doesnt matter which order I use them in either.
 

Schmide

Distinguished
Aug 2, 2001
1,442
0
19,280
Why not post us a hijack this log? Download from here...

<A HREF="http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html" target="_new">http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html</A>

Solve this once and for all...

Dichromatic for your viewing plesure...