Slow performance with a rather powerful rig

[Shaga]

All right.

I have AMD-Athlon 1000mhz cpu, 384mb sdram, Geforce 4 ti4400 and QDI Kinetiz 7b/E ( k7v8363 ) mobo. Windows XP.

My problem is that I get extremely bad performance in all programs I use (games mostly). I tried to lower detail levels and tweak other settings. No matter how low I set them I still dont notice any improvement in performance.

I tried different video cards also but problem is still there. I have no idea what to try next so I would appreciate any help.

Btw. How do I know what bios settings are optimal for my cpu?

Thanks in advance

 

[Mr_Perfect]

I don't use XP on my machine so I can't tell you what eaxctly to do, but Windows XP is a resource hog in it's default configuration. Try setting the look back to Classic Windows mode and scout aroud for sites that will tell you what extra funk to turn off.

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Mr. Perfect
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Descent, because gravity is highly over-rated.

 

[10GHZ]

and also install latest driver for eveything, mobo, video card, soundcard...etc and make sure you are using directx 8.1.

 

[lhgpoobaa]

latest XP service pack (if any)
any applicable patches
latest Via 4in1 drivers
make sure agp 4x and agp settings are good in the bios
latest nvidia detonator drivers (28.90's are good)
cpu L1 and L2 cache enabled in bios
hmmmm
just latest drivers for everything.



Ego: Check
Rose hued glasses: Check
Fanboy Button: Check
CPU forum, here i come!

 

[nja469]

I've had XP is four different systems and this is what I've learned. If you have 192MB of RAM or more it runs awesome, any less and then it does drag. IMO though it's still the most stable OS I've ever used and love it. KAY now on with the suggestion here and I'm sure some will agree is it's your chipset and memory. Any board that supports a Athlon and "SDRAM" is relatively old and the memory bandwidth sucks.

My suggestion: Upgrade that mobo to atleast a KT266A chipset, which decent boards run now with this chipset at about $55 - and get yourself some DDR. Probably after selling the old ram and mobo, the new stuff shouldn't cost you more than $25 and I guarantee more performance. KT266A is a great performing athlon chipset and when paired with good CAS 2.0 RAM, like the 256MB of kingston PC2100 CL 2.0 which I've overclocked stabily to 150 (300DDR) at CL 2.0 with no troubles! So a new board and memory and you should be rocken!

Even Further Suggestion: I couldn't find anything on that board and you didn't mention if it's SLOT A or socket A athlon, but for as little as an additional $20 or so after selling yer 1Ghz Athlon you could get an XP 1700+ which will for sure help out the video card and overall performance!

NOTES:
1.) BRAND NEW 256MB of PC2100 Crucial/Micron DDR $66 at googlegear

2.) Athlon 1GHz slot A's go for $100-$125 on eBay, socket A's for $45-$55.

3.) You can get a XP 1700+ OEM for $70 at TCWO / $94 Retail from googlegear

If it's a SLOT A processor, then you'll need a new processor anyhow. If your current is a socket CPU just doing the mobo and RAM you'll notice a big difference, but a XP will further that performance hike! Good luck.

"Opinions are like arseholes, everyone has one"

 

[Shaga]

Thank for the help guys, I'll think I'll head to the cpu store when payday comes