Help! Not gaining high FPS on this setup

[Pav89]

Hi guys, I'm hoping you could help me out with this problem. Basically, playing any source based game(or any game in fact) I get low FPS. In Counter Strike Source I get FPS ranging from 20 to 40. Call of duty 2 can range from 26-50 FPS. I should be getting well over 100FPS in CSS with the 8800GT.

Spec:

AMD X2 5000+
EVGA 8800GT
2GB DDR 667mhz
Windows Vista Business 64bit

Being a poor uni student , I opted for the HP DX2250 just over a year ago for £180 and upgraded the graphics card and the PSU, but my framerates seem to be bottlenecked by either the CPU or memory I'd say but I'm not sure.

I can't overclock the CPU either, as HP lock all the overclocking features in the bios . So guys, help me out here please! Do you reckon its the processor, the memory or is it just a big pile of poo that needs replacing?


Any help is much appreciated!

 

[Pav89]

it will be the proccessor

What I dont understand, is that even 3 years ago, people were getting FPSs in the 90's+ with AMD XP 3200+'s and X800s. Why is the processor so 'bad'? I don't really have much of a choice to upgrade, as I'm sure a 6000+ won't make much difference anyway.

CSS is a processor based game. You could put in a GTX295 and it won't make much, if any difference. I had that processor before this one, was getting about 70 - 100 fps with a 8600GTS and a config.
You should be getting more tbh. A CPU upgrade will get you a lot more...what motherboard do you have? (If you do buy a new CPU it will end up voided any warranty you have)

Ok, so I knew the fact that source is processor based...what abot COD2 etc? And why oh why were people owning x800's with 3200+'s gaining higer FPSs than me right now? I don't care about voiding warranties as I've pretty much voided it already. The motherboard is made by MSI but is custom made for HP.



Thanks for the replys btw!

 

[Pav89]

64-bit OS issues imo. I know i'll be shot down for saying that but the amount of times I see a capable system with no other link for dodgy performance but that OS is amazing.

CSS Source should be flying with your specs, 60+fps at least.

In my last hopes, I was wondering whether this could be a potential problem and was going to revert back to XP yesterday but lost my copy so will have to get it off Uni's MSDN again.

Thanks for the tip, I was going to try this out anyway but reasurrance that hopes are not lost is appreciated! Oh and yes, it SHOULD be flying!

 

[Pav89]

naa the proccessor although slow by todays standards would not be causeing this results.

However Hp could have underclocked it. (yes ive seen it)

Frist thing to do is establish your motherboard am guessing it will be a "MSI K9N NEO-F V3"

But CPU-z or everest will tell you for certain.

Also I would advise cheaking your temps at idle & load.

& cheak your gpu clocks with GPU-Z

Once you established your motherboard here flash your bios to the manufactors own instead of HPs this will allow you to overclock.

Then buy a better cooler eg: This & some better ram like this

Clock it up to 3ghz & you wil have no bottle necks

I was planning to flash the BIOS with the manufacturer's shizzle, but I can't find any model number comparable to any manufacturer's mobo's. On the mobo it says: MS-7297 Ver 2.1 (just browsing again, maybe it's actually made by HP!?). If anyone can help me seek a manufacturer's BIOS for this I'd much appreciate it. This is what I miss the most about building my own PC's, being able to overclock!

Temps are fine, GPU clocks are fine too.

Yeah try dual booting and test the games on each OS and let us know the results please.

I was planning onto going back to XP since Vista, it's indexing service that faps every 2 seconds and other stuff, I'm gonna go and enjoy XP! Will post results deffo but need to download it first.

Is your PSU up to the job?

Yes, I upgraded the PSU to an OCZ StealthXtream 500W so it's more than up to the job

It came with the system and his specs are running stock, so you'd presume so.

Sorry I missed the detail out. It came with a stock 250w PSU, and this was already causing havoc sounding like a hoover, even when I was on Skype, so I upgraded the PSU when I got the 8800GT for stability and to ensure power was adequate enough.



Thanks for the replies guys!

 

[Pav89]

I'd just install Vista 32-bit and disable indexing and UAC, runs like a dream.

But I miss XP! Hehe, I just dug out a spare hard drive and am plonking XP on there atm just to test.

Oh and TBH, the heatsink pretty much stays cool to the touch, even with the fan running at a very low speed, so if I was to ever oc it, I'm sure it'd be fine. I've never known a processor to run so cold tbh!


Can anyone help me with finding the BIOS pls?

 

[Pav89]

Well another possibility is that the heatsink is so cold because it's not making proper contact with the CPU... in which case that's potentially not too healthy. To be sure i'd reccommend buying some AS2 or MX-2 and re-applying it yourself.

What motherboard have you got?

CPU Temps are absolutley fine though, and it's not underclocking itself to prevent overheating hehe. It does become lukewarm when gaming.


The motherboard is labeled as: MS-7297 VER 2.1

 

[Pav89]

Any of that help? http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsuppor...Id=3310266&swLang=13&taskId=135&swEnvOID=2096

Thanks for helping. That's what I'm currently on but It was suggested that I get the BIOS of the motherbaord manufacturer ( unless it is a HP manufactured board, then I'm doomed!) so that I could overclock the proccie. I was hoping MS-7297 was a codename just for HP that a manufacturer has put on...

 

[Pav89]

Wasn't there a amd dual core optimizer or something released that was supposed to help with some issues?

On paper, specs should be easily capable of playing a source game. Have you tried running 3dmark06? i would and post the score here.

Exactly! Oh, and my 3DM 06 scores were pretty dull...I tried it 2 days ago and got about 7200

Hmm... this? http://hp.driversdown.com/hp-driver...0-Microtower-driver-free-download_10666.shtml

That still looks like a HP BIOS. So I take it I can't upgrade the BIOS to unlock oc functionality Never mind! Thanks!

 

[Pav89]

Sell your current rig and build a new one on a budget.

As appealing as this is, I want to get the most out of my hard earned money and most of it has to go towards uni

I have a £40 graphics card but have an E7400 at stock at the moment and get 70fps.

Hmmm...processor could still be the problem,...

2GB of RAM on Vista isn't exactly ideal, that could be an issue too. I'd go back to XP on that.

2GB is fine isn't it? I've never known anyone with more than 2GB TBF (unless you are ) Don't worry, XP w/ SP3 is being installed on my puter now!

Had an issue like this with my last AMD, turned out to be chipset driver issues, you sure everything's installed correctly?

Woahhh, now this rings a bell...I remember I had issues with installing the chipset driver as it wasn't 64 bit compatible. Reverting to XP will provide me with the answer =D


Thanks for the replies everyone! Keep em coming! I'll keep you updated on what happens...

 

[Pav89]

Right guys,

Installed XP...wow, I MISSED it so much, everything flies like mad.

I'm not getting below 50 FPS, staying at an average of about 80 and can sometimes head into the 100's. It must be the processor, I can change from no AA and AF to full and still get the same FPS.

So yes, XP > Vista in gaming terms for me!

 

[Pav89]

Best thing is to open her open & find the model number on it, then try to find/take a pic of it.

Sometimes hp/acer etc just rename the mobos from the bios.

Even if its a hp own motherboard you could still download another manufactures bios if you find something with the same chipsets.

Ok, so through searching MS-7297 on google, second link down (it's a forum so don't want to link to it) The 4th post down states that THIS is the MS-7297, even though mine has 2 DIMM slots and this has 4



Now, this motherboard he's linked to, it is the exact same chipset as mine, the board layout is similar and I can see certain components are exactly the same, however, my PCB is green and 'thinner', here's a pic:

I still don't know whether to take the risk or not since it does look different.


Update, upon searching the model number more, I came across THIS which looks VERY similar to my board but there are still bits that are different... capacitors in different positions, I have a battery where the southbridge is. Thats the 7237 though, no the 7297 which I'mm having trouble finding. According to MSI Live update (which I just tried running) no 7297 exists!?
Well, it is definately MSI that make the board anyway

I'm SO desperate to overclock! Managed to get my 8800GT from 600 core to 788 and memory from 900 to1053. Interestingly enough, my FPS don't got below 60 now. I'm determined to find this BIOS to squeeze as mcuh out of this processor...oh and also to get rid of the horrific HP boot screen =P

 

[Pav89]

CPU-Z reports the following:

Chipset: ATI Xpress 200 (RS480)
Southbridge: ATI SB600

The problem is, that the motherboard that's similar has:

NB: RS485
SB: SB600

They are similar but I don't know whether that small difference will render the computer useless.

 

[Pav89]

Surely there must be a BIOS for the RS480 + SB600 somewhere? I'm coninuing to look.

Thanks for the help so far guys, you've been great. If you come across the BIOS, I'd be uber appreciative!

 

[Pav89]

Yo pwn, thanks a lot for the explanation and suggestions!