Poor performance with new build.

[Laoch]

Hi,

I've just recently completed building a new computer and to say I'm unhappy with it is an understatement.

Here are its specs:

Samsung SpinPoint F1 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103UJ)

Asus P5Q Intel P45 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 LGA775 'Yorkfield' 2.66GHz 12MB-cache (1333FSB) Processor

G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PQ PC2-8000C5 (2x2GB) CAS5 Dual Channel Kit (F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ)

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP3 64-Bit

Gainward GeForce GTX 295 1792MB

Corsair Powersupply 750W

Samsung 24" LCD Syncmaster 2443NW, 1920x1200, 20000:1, 5ms, VGA

My performance in certain games is poor. According to the reviews of the 295GTX I should be getting around 70 FPS with everything maxed out in Company of Heroes, but instead I usually get about 20-40 on medium to high settings.

Sins of Solar Empire runs like crap after an hour of playing.

Crysis usually runs at 30FPS with everything high. It should run at 40 FPS with everything ultra

Empire Total War runs at about 15 FPS on any setting, but that game is so poorly optimised I'm not worried about that.

STALKER Clear SKY gets about 30 FPS everything maxed out. It should be 60FPS

COD 5: WAW runs at 60 FPS, everything ultra, it should be near 100FPS

Something just doesn't seem right. I know the results should be higher. I ran a 3Dmark benchtest and only scored 17141 with my 295GTX scoring only 15144. According to most people the 295GTX should score around 18000.

I've asked a few people and they have told me that it could be a number of problems:

1. CPU needs to overclocked to 3.0 or 3.2.
2. My RAM is poor.
3. 295GTX is faulty.
4. Driver issues.
5. That's what it's usually like while playing games at 1920x1200.
6. Reinstall Windows Vista


Things you should note:

I have checked the connection like 6/8 pin connectors etc and I have the latest drivers for everything. The 295GTX's temps are 30-40 idle and 60-80 under heavy load. Temps on the CPU never go above 60. The computer is also defragged regularly.

Any ideas? Also, sorry if this is in the wrong section as I'm new to these boards.

 

[Laoch]

Were the tests that you saw performed at 1680x1050? Would explain the difference in FPS

No, it was the 1920x1200 results.

Hi and welcome
Shame youre having problems I know it can be frustrating, hope we can help
Yeah Id suggest 1 and 4 being most likely causes of your problems 2 and 3 would likely mean you wouldnt be able to play at all, and you shouldnt need to reinstall windows on a new build, oh and a 295 should eat 1920x1200

4) is easy enough to fix, download the latest drivers from NVidia (dont install yet)
download driver sweeper and ccleaner
uninstall your old drivers
reboot into safe mode
run driversweeper
run ccleaners registry fix
reboot
install new drivers
reboot again and that should fix any issues here

re 1) Do you know what youre doing with regards OCing? If not then I suggest you have a read of the stickies in the OC forum to get the basics, if you still need help post again, it is likely that at stock speeds your CPU will be bottlenecking that gfx card. Id suggest you aim for 3.4, shouldnt be too much trouble getting there. Hopefully these 2 will fix any problems you have

I'm not great at overclocking so I'll have to read those threads you mentioned.

As for the driver suggestion that's the normal practice I do carry out when installing new drivers.

You don't have a spectacular cpu. You have a fantastic graphics card. Not surprisingly, the cpu is holding you back.

You should overclock the cpu in order to alleviate this bottleneck.

Vanilla p5q, that ram, and a q9450 are very strange choices at that budget. Why those?

Those reviews of the 295gtx will be with significantly faster processors than the one you've chosen

Interesting, I never figured my CPU to be a bottleneck. Odd. It scored a higher mark on the 3Dmark Vantage.

What CPU would you recommend.

 

[Laoch]

that cpu is fine, if you OC it, you got an aftermarket cooler? if not get one and clock it to 3.4, no probs

Yeah, I bought a pretty good aftermarket cooler. Now I have to find out how to OC it

I'll let you guys know how I get on.

 

[Laoch]

Is the CPU the only bottleneck or do I need to change the RAM as well?

 

[Laoch]

Ok I just tried to overclock and I realised I have no real idea on what I'm doing.

First of all the bios won't even let me overclock.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Laoch]

Thanks for the reply. I put that on auto and all the menus came up i.e FSB etc, but it still won't allow me to change the CPU voltage or clock speed.

 

[Laoch]

Set the menu to manual to access the various options.

Sorry that was a typo. I did put it on manual and it still won't let me edit.

 

[Laoch]

Oh I able to now. I thought I had to hit enter first, but you can just use the "+" and "-" straight away. Shows you how much of a beginner I am, but we all start somewhere.

 

[Laoch]

Ok so I increased the FSB to 400 and the Multiplier to 8.0 (from 6) and saved and exited the bios, but according to CPU-Z nothing has changed.

What's the story here?

 

[Laoch]

Thanks for the continued support setter. I disabled speed step and managed to overclock to 3.4

I'm running prime95 and it's doing a stress test. I have bought a after market cooler and I generally never use stock coolers.

The CPU was 45 degrees at idle and the stress test has it at 85 with 100% load on all four cores.I haven't touched the voltage as I left that on auto. The computer seems very stable and has had no problems.

Do these temps seem ok or should I be lowering them?

 

[Laoch]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the help. I have it stable at 3.4 with low temps and the correct voltage, but I'm still not getting the FPS I'd thought I would.

Hmmm...