Bad Gaming Performance

[Mystic-G]

System Specs:
CPU: Pentium D (dual core) 3.2Ghz
Video Card: Evga 8800GTS 320MB Superclocked
Ram: Kingston KVR667D2N5/2G (2GBs)
Motherboard: Asus P5QL/EPU
Hard Drive: 250GB Western Digital (IDE)
OS: Windows XP Media Center Edition 32bit
PSU: 600w OCZ SilentxStream

I been using this setup for about 2 years now and it ran games just fine.

About 6 weeks ago my old motherboard (Asus P5PL) gave out. I had to buy a new motherboard and ram (my old ram was incompatible with the new motherboard), I also reformatted my hard drive and reinstalled Windows along with replacing them. Now when I play my games (such as Call of Duty 4 and Battlefield 2 titles) they run poorly even on very low or minimum settings. I used to run them at near max settings pretty smoothly before with my old motherboard. I tried changing my video drivers three times now, but nothing's changed.

Specifically what happens while playing Call of Duty titles is the fps will go up (70+ frames per second) if I look away toward a wall or floor, but when I look to where everything is at and all the action it drops pretty badly (30-50 frames per second), even on minimum settings. I run my games at either 1024x768 or 1280x1024 so it shouldn't be straining the video card that badly. But as said, I used to run the games pretty smoothly all the time before at near max settings. Every game has generally not so great frames-per-second compared to my old motherboard.

Sidenote: My DirectX is up-to-date.

[tfp]

I'd check to make sure there aren't any power management features enabled in the BIOS or things of that nature.

As an aside your system is processor limited, upgrading the Pentium D to something Core2 based will make a huge difference. It did when I moved from a Pentium D to a Q9400 and I have a Nvidia 9600GT

[Mystic-G]

I'd check to make sure there aren't any power management features enabled in the BIOS or things of that nature.

As an aside your system is processor limited, upgrading the Pentium D to something Core2 based will make a huge difference. It did when I moved from a Pentium D to a Q9400 and I have a Nvidia 9600GT

I'm not exactly sure where to look for power management features in the BIOS. And the processor is fine, my performance was doing well with that same processor in my old motherboard before it died.


Edit: My power management settings are as follows...
Suspend Mode: Auto
ACPI 2.0 Support: Disabled
ACPI APIC Support: Enabled

Restore on AC Power Loss: Power Off
Power on by RTC Alarm: Diabled
Power on by external modems: Disabled
Power on by PCI devices: Disabled
Power on by PCIE devices: Disabled
Power on by PS/2 Keyboard: Disabled
Power on by PS/2 Mouse: Disabled

[NeXus 6]

On the motherboard end you could check to see if it's running the latest BIOS and Intel chipset drivers. As for the video card, some people have reported stuttering with the 190.xx and newer series drivers with certain games. Try the 186.18 drivers or an older set.

[tfp]

The items I was thinking of would be in the CPU Configuration menu. Things like C1E Support, Intel SpeedStep, and CPU TM function or other down clocking features. Another thing to check is if the CPU is getting to hot (CPU TM function), if the CPU starts overheating the core frequency and voltage are lowered.

You could always run a temp monitoring program in the back ground and check after a game. Maybe all you need to do is reset the heat sink or make sure you have the right amount of thermal paste, ect.

[Mystic-G]

On the motherboard end you could check to see if it's running the latest BIOS and Intel chipset drivers. As for the video card, some people have reported stuttering with the 190.xx and newer series drivers with certain games. Try the 186.18 drivers or an older set.

I don't have the latest BIOS, I didn't think that'd affect my gaming performance. My video driver is currently 182.50, I've also tried 178.** and 192.** drivers with no difference.

I've also tried running my 7600GS which was sorta able to run CoD4 decently with the settings turned down but was barely able to run CoD:WaW on minimum settings, getting like 10fps. I know the 7600GS isn't up-to-date but it should easily run CoD:WaW on minimum settings and low textures.

I think my chipset drivers are up-to-date. I ran a little program to update all the driver components.

The items I was thinking of would be in the CPU Configuration menu. Things like C1E Support, Intel SpeedStep, and CPU TM function or other down clocking features. Another thing to check is if the CPU is getting to hot (CPU TM function), if the CPU starts overheating the core frequency and voltage are lowered.

You could always run a temp monitoring program in the back ground and check after a game. Maybe all you need to do is reset the heat sink or make sure you have the right amount of thermal paste, ect.

CPU
C1E Support: Enabled
Max CPUID Limit: Diabled
Intel Virtualization Technology: Enabled
CPU TM Function: Enabled
Execute-Disable Bit Capability: Disabled
Intel SpeedStep Tech: Enabled
Intel C-State Tech: Enabled


Chipset
Memory Remap Feature: Enabled
Memory Hole: Disabled
DRAM Timing Control: Auto
Initiate Graphic Adapter: PEG/PCI
HD Audio: Enabled

I ran CoD4 which seems to run ok if turned down, my CPU temp is 40c idle and 60c in-game.

[TheEmrys]

Did you install motherboard drivers? Almost sounds like you are running without the advantages of your chipset driver.

[Mystic-G]

Did you install motherboard drivers? Almost sounds like you are running without the advantages of your chipset driver.

All the drivers are installed as far as I can tell by looking in Device Manager. Most all installed automatically through Windows, the ones I installed through the disk were the my audio, network adapter, and SM Bus Controller. The only driver I had a problem installing the SM Bus Controller driver. I had it scan my mobo disk which took like 7-8 minutes then gave me a choice between two items, one pathway had the word Vista in it and the other said All so I picked All. Not sure if that would have much impact.

I ran the 'Intel Chipset Inf Update Program' after all was said and done which I read updates anything not installed, but won't replace anything that already has one installed. So that seems kinda pointless on my part. Any specific drivers you had in mind?

[TheEmrys]

Did you install motherboard drivers? Almost sounds like you are running without the advantages of your chipset driver.

All the drivers are installed as far as I can tell by looking in Device Manager. The only driver I had a problem installing the SM Bus Controller driver. I had it scan my mobo disk which took like 5-6 minutes then gave me a choice between two items, one pathway had the word Vista in it and the other said All so I picked All.

I ran the 'Intel Chipset Inf Update Program' which I read updates anything not installed, but won't replace anything that already has one installed.

http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=7vTrhQ6JvyI0MitJ&content=download I'd download these drivers and install them on your system.

[Mystic-G]

Did you install motherboard drivers? Almost sounds like you are running without the advantages of your chipset driver.

All the drivers are installed as far as I can tell by looking in Device Manager. The only driver I had a problem installing the SM Bus Controller driver. I had it scan my mobo disk which took like 5-6 minutes then gave me a choice between two items, one pathway had the word Vista in it and the other said All so I picked All.

I ran the 'Intel Chipset Inf Update Program' which I read updates anything not installed, but won't replace anything that already has one installed.

http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=7vTrhQ6JvyI0MitJ&content=download I'd download these drivers and install them on your system.

All they really offer on there are the Audio, LAN, the 'Intel Chipset Inf Update Program' which I already ran, and other BIOSs.

I wish I could uninstall drivers to let the 'Intel Chipset Inf Update Program' do it since I read it doesn't replace already installed drivers, but I don't think I could do that without my computer crashing.

No one said anything about my temps. I tried out BF2 aswell, my CPU will run at 54-55c while playing that and 60c while playing CoD4. I dunno if temps like that are out of the norm for a processor. Again, it idles at 38-40c.

As for voltages my +12v stays between 12.3 - 12.2 pretty much all the time. My Vcore voltages stays between 1.22 - 1.28 while gaming.

[tfp]

It doesn't sound like a temp problem.

You can always disable C1E, Intel SpeedStep and Intel C-State I think they all involve down clocking of the CPU. However I'm not sure why they would be impacting in game, they should only work while the CPU is idle.

You state that you had to get new ram, do you have the same amount of Ram as before? It's not filling your ram and swapping to disk mid game is it?

[Mystic-G]

It doesn't sound like a temp problem.

You can always disable C1E, Intel SpeedStep and Intel C-State I think they all involve down clocking of the CPU. However I'm not sure why they would be impacting in game, they should only work while the CPU is idle.

You state that you had to get new ram, do you have the same amount of Ram as before? It's not filling your ram and swapping to disk mid game is it?

Yea, it's the same amount as before. My old mobo could only use 2GBs of 533 ram, I currently use 2GBs of 667ram (only had so much money to spend). The only other difference is that on my old mobo I used 3 sticks (two 512s and one 1GB) and now I have just 1 stick. The only game that hogs ram is BF2 and that only seems to max out at under a gig of ram so I don't think it goes over to the disk.

[tfp]

Are both sticks in the correct spots for running dual channel? Not really sure just grasping at straws.

[Mystic-G]

Are both sticks in the correct spots for running dual channel? Not really sure just grasping at straws.

I only have one stick of ram in my motherboard. It's a 2GB stick.

[shaq_mobile]

Sometimes it helps to do some basic maintenance on the comptar. Though it doesn't sound like the issues are heat related, try cleaning out your case, scrape off the old nasty thermal paste/crust and put some new stuff on there. Make sure that all of your older video drivers are uninstalled and do a fresh install of your video drivers. Make sure you have the LATEST nvidia drivers that support your card and OS.

If those fail, look for more maintenance issues. Check disk stability, sometimes when a disk is dying it will manifest itself as hideously bad framerate(or poor performance in general) at random intervals. Run check disk /r and reboot. After that's complete, defrag the main drive.

Check how many services are running. You might just need a fresh windows install to clean up all the junk that tends to accumulate over time. Typically, if I experience nasty framerates, its due to some other programs running in the background I forgot about or wasn't aware of .

Doubtful its a memory issue, typically those are more apparent with ample BSOD popups. You can always download memtest on a floppy or cd, sometimes computers have them built into the motherboard. No harm in testing at this point. If all else fails, it does look like your computer could use a little juice. I don't think it's unreasonable to upgrade the CPU with a cheaper core2. Though at that rate, you may not see a massive increase in performance, it may just fix some issues. Then again, your motherboard could be taking a dump. I'd give at least a few of the things above a shot before you go all out.

[Mystic-G]

Sometimes it helps to do some basic maintenance on the comptar. Though it doesn't sound like the issues are heat related, try cleaning out your case, scrape off the old nasty thermal paste/crust and put some new stuff on there. Make sure that all of your older video drivers are uninstalled and do a fresh install of your video drivers. Make sure you have the LATEST nvidia drivers that support your card and OS.

If those fail, look for more maintenance issues. Check disk stability, sometimes when a disk is dying it will manifest itself as hideously bad framerate(or poor performance in general) at random intervals. Run check disk /r and reboot. After that's complete, defrag the main drive.

Check how many services are running. You might just need a fresh windows install to clean up all the junk that tends to accumulate over time. Typically, if I experience nasty framerates, its due to some other programs running in the background I forgot about or wasn't aware of .

Doubtful its a memory issue, typically those are more apparent with ample BSOD popups. You can always download memtest on a floppy or cd, sometimes computers have them built into the motherboard. No harm in testing at this point. If all else fails, it does look like your computer could use a little juice. I don't think it's unreasonable to upgrade the CPU with a cheaper core2. Though at that rate, you may not see a massive increase in performance, it may just fix some issues. Then again, your motherboard could be taking a dump. I'd give at least a few of the things above a shot before you go all out.

Not sure if I noted it before...
*My Windows is already a fresh install, 11 days old.
*I did all clean video driver installs
*I'm using a new set of thermal paste from when I installed my new motherboard

I ran a chkdsk, it went through smoothly. I have a Memtest disk at hand though I never got around to using it because I figured if the ram was bad, it'd be pretty blatant. I don't think it's too many services running, I checked my task manager. Is it possible that the motherboard or ram can somehow be bad but only showing it through throttled performance?

[NeXus 6]

It might be that you're getting slightly lower performance running 2GB in single channel. Running dual channel will reduce any potential bottlenecks. I'd suggest getting two 1 GB sticks and run them in dual channel.

[tfp]

Are both sticks in the correct spots for running dual channel? Not really sure just grasping at straws.

I only have one stick of ram in my motherboard. It's a 2GB stick.

If you only have one stick of ram in the MB your running in single channel mode. If you Pentium D is at stock speeds then your FSB is probably 800Mhz. With your Ram being DDR2 667 and FSB 800 they are not in sync and because the FSB is faster than the ram you're not filling the FSB. However I'm not sure if that is going to make a big difference in performance but it will have some impact.

[Mystic-G]

It might be that you're getting slightly lower performance running 2GB in single channel. Running dual channel will reduce any potential bottlenecks. I'd suggest getting two 1 GB sticks and run them in dual channel.

Well if I buy two 1GB sticks I might aswell buy another 2GB stick and put that in dual channel.

[stickninja]

It could be the fact that you are running only 1 memory stick, i.e. single-channel configuration. If your previous board had a dual channel memory controller and you were running at least 2 sticks at 533 MHz, that's 1066 MHz effective memory bandwidth. With 667 MHz in single channel mode, you have effectively reduced your memory bandwidth to 2/3 of your original configuration.

Mystic-G beat me to the punch.

[NeXus 6]

Yeah, just get another 2GB stick and make sure they're both installed in same colored DIMM slots for dual channel.

[Mystic-G]

Yeah, just get another 2GB stick and make sure they're both installed in same colored DIMM slots for dual channel.

It sounds like a viable idea, but could it also explain the absolute unplayable framerate in Call of Duty: World at War?

[NeXus 6]

If the game needs more memory bandwidth it's a possibility.

[shaq_mobile]

Are your performance issues specifically with World At War? Do you have any other games that might flex your system a little bit?

[Mystic-G]

Are your performance issues specifically with World At War? Do you have any other games that might flex your system a little bit?

All my games are flexing my system. None of them perform like they used to.. unfortunately World at War is the biggest candidate because it and OFPDR are the only ones that are unplayable. But since I just got OFPDR I dunno how it would've ran on my previous setup.

[tfp]

I thought World at War was a big system usage game, more CPU than a number of other games.

[shaq_mobile]

There is a chance your computers performance can be your cpu and or motherboard taking a dump. How how is your CPU?

I had serious framerate issues a while ago, but only when my computer was working hard. So games that would normally challenge my system would completely destroy it. I realized that my heatsink had popped off partially, courtesy of intel's stupid push-twist heatsink mounts.

[Mystic-G]

There is a chance your computers performance can be your cpu and or motherboard taking a dump. How how is your CPU?

I had serious framerate issues a while ago, but only when my computer was working hard. So games that would normally challenge my system would completely destroy it. I realized that my heatsink had popped off partially, courtesy of intel's stupid push-twist heatsink mounts.

Well wouldn't that be shown by CPU temps? I use a Zalman cnps9500 cpu fan, the way that's installed is very secure (big hassle) lol. The age of the CPU is probably 3-4 years old, but it shown no real performance drop before I got the new MB and ram.

What do u mean by the MB taking a dump? You mean going bad?

[Mystic-G]

Sorry, to bump but, is the consensus here that the problem is most likely from my ram being one stick instead of two sticks in dual channel? Are you guys fairly sure that's most likely the culprit? I'd hate to spend more money to no avail although if it's worth a shot I'll try.

[tfp]

If you can borrow a stick and see if it makes a difference that would be best. So far it's the only thing that stands out, all your drivers are updated MB, Vid card, ect, your CPU isn't over heating, you make sure it's running at full clock speed, from what you told us this is really the only difference.