3DMark06 score dropped by 300 points :(

[BillTheButcher]

Hi all.

I've recently built a new system with the following components:
Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe
Hiper 4K580
Athlon 64 X2 4400+
2GB Corsair TwinX 3200CPT
XFX 7800GTX XXX Extreme SLI (identical cards: 490/1300)
Creative Audigy 2

Everything is at manufacturer provided speeds.

I ran 3DMark06 a few times 3 days ago and I was seeing scores of around 7300 (over 4 runs: 7306/7305/7304/7305). I was quite happy with these.

Last night I ran 3DMark06 again and I couldn't get over 7000. (6993/6998/6995/6995)

I have made no hardware or software changes in the last 3 days and I cannot explain why I've lost over 300 marks.

The losses are from the SM2.0/3.0 scores. The CPU score remains the same (about 1700).

The system is completely stable. The GPU core temps never go above 75 at full load.

Can anyone think of a reason why this might be happening?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[BillTheButcher]

Thanks for the reply.

It is indeed strange.

The 7300 scores were achieved with the Global Settings profile, as were the 7000 scores.

I tried the provided 3DMark06 profile but it made absolutely no difference.

I haven't made any changes to any of the profiles.

 

[BillTheButcher]

Thanks for replying Vegeta.

I knew XP had its problems but dropping 300 points in 3 days??? LOL!

 

[BillTheButcher]

My first thought was extra apps/processes slowing things down so I disconnected my internet connection and disabled my firewall (the only things running at the time). No change.

Thanks a lot for all your help guys - keep the replies coming.

 

[BillTheButcher]

I haven't installed Rivatuner.

 

[BillTheButcher]

Thanks Ladforce - I'll have a look when I get home (I'm at work at the moment) and let you know how I get on.