Hello. I just wanted all of you hardware/game wizards out there to compare your machine with mine to see if you have any information on why MINE SUCKS!!!

I have spent over 1000 dollars lately upgrading my machine to this ultimate kick-a$$ gaming machine, but i am getting pretty crappy performance compared to a lot of lower end machines that i see out there.

Okay, now for the facts. Here is my machine:

1.) Asus A7V mobo
2.) TBird 1Ghz.
3.) Asus v7700 Geforce 2 GTS w/64 megs of DDR AM
4.) 256 megs PC-100 RAM
5.) SBLive
6.) Western Digital 40 GB ATA 66 7200 RPM HD
7.) Kenwood True 72X CD-Rom

So, i think this machine is pretty decent. Well, apparently Activision doesn't think so, because when i run a Time Demo in Quake 3, it is mediocre.

1024X768
32 bit color and textures
Bilinear

Then i run the demo and i get about 58 FPS. Shouldn't this machine be pulling like in the high 70's/low 80's at this setting?

Another little fact is my 3dmark2000 score is only 4800 points when running 1024X768 with 32 bit color and textures.

So, what do you guys think? Is this normal, or do you think my scores should be higher? Thank you guys for your time and any input you can give

well never set your resolution to 32-bit, I recall a few games that were very slow, and choppy in 32-bit, but they were fine in 16-bit.

This sounds stupid, but I may as well say it.
Get the latest bios for your motherboard. http://www.asus.com/cgi-bin/dl.asp?filename=mb/socka/kt133/a7v/a7v1004c.zip

Get the latest SBLive drivers for your sound card. http://www.clok.creaf.com/creative/drivers/sbpci/lw3drv.exe

Latest Display Drivers, even if you have to get beta ones. And lastly, put DX8 on.

That's about all I can say, is update, update, update. :p


[This message has been edited by jdulmage (edited 18 November 2000).]

You can use 32-bit color and textures. With a machine like that (and using DDR), it should be a freebie. Now, as far as the 58 FPS result you are getting:

1. That doesn't seem too bad, but then again I am using a PIII 600 with a GeForce SDR

2. What refresh rate are u at? Are u over 60Hz? If you are being capped by your refresh rate, then this could happen as well.

Now, you should make sure that you have the latest and greatest drivers (most of the time, but I haven't seen very many pleasant things written about the version 7.x nVidia drivers as of yet, I use the 6.32s still).

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Regards,

clutch

You didn't mention what video drivers you were using, but assuming you've got the NVidia 6.xx drivers, you'll need to go into Display Properties/Settings/Advanced/GeForce/Additional Properties/OpenGL Settings/ and change your Vertical Sync to "off by default" or "always off".

Also, I would stay away from the NVidia 7.xx drivers. Many people are reporting performance losses.

That's a nice rig. Have fun!

My guess is that you're refresh limited, meaning that vsync in turned on. Firstly, you ought to be able to up the refresh rate, but then it's a pain in the butt (hence the reason I haven't bothered to on my Geforce DDR). On the plus side, a system like that ought to basically never drop much below 60 fps at that resolution, so it's hardly bad playing wise. Congrats on the rig, I wish mine were that spiffy (it will be though, just give me time

Yes, sounds like your at 60Hz...

Also try deleting the file q3config.cfg from your \baseq3 directory. Quake 3 will then re-create a new file (you will of course need to reset all your favourite settings etc), but it has worked for me correcting slow performance in Q3A, especially after changing hardware and/or drivers.

Like i said before...you guys are wizards. I'm not quite sure what exactly did the trick, but i know it worked. I got DX8, I left the Detonator 3's alone, made sure all my other devices are updated, and i turned the vertical sync off on my Vid card. I am now getting 89 FPS with those same settings. I feel a lot better about this machine now. Thank you guys so much for your help.

can you feel the love here? LOL!

Kick-ass dude. That refresh rate will kill ya every time...



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Regards,

clutch

Hmm running with a single processor i get 88fps at 1024 32 bit everything cranked. I thought the thunderbird was just so much faster.... hmm....

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System Specs:
MSI 694D Pro-A Mobo
Dual Gighz pentium III's
320 meg pc 133 sdram
30 Gig Maxtor Ata-100
Geforce 2 GTS
DVD w/ Decoder Card
Sblive etc etc...

At 1024x768x32, the framerate is probably limited by the video card.

Since you both have similar cards, that would explain it.

Therefore, your attempted AMD slam is invalid.

i recommend the nvrefresh program. It will set the refresh rate to the optimal your monitor and vid card can handle with a push of a button. Also get the nvtweak program mentioned in the news, its good too.

As for video drivers, anything 6.31 and up is good. The 7 series seems to have problems with some people and none for others. Plus as they said DX 8 helps.

One thing you guys have to remember is that although the Geforce boasts God-like texturing speeds, performance all comes down to what drivers you are using (which with NVIDIA is always a hassle since they make the chipset and not the card) and compatibility with the graphics engine the game is using. Your system sounds really nice! I am not up to speed with the new Athlons but I have a K6-2 that rocks so I dont see why you are having any problems. 58 FPS is awesome as far as I am concerned.

Drivers
Resolution
Color Depth
GL or Open GL
In-game display options

These are some of the things that effect performance. Programs running in the background are also a factor. There is a program that I have that really does a good benchmark test on your graphics performance and although I am at work right now but I would be more than happy when I get home to email either a link to download it or my FTP site were you can also download it.

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Frank
A+, MCP Windows 98 and NT Certified

He was refresh rate locked. I could tell when he had a fast box yet a steady 58fps (if you get a constant number of fps like 60, 75, 85, whatever, then you are probably running right up to the refresh rate of the monitor) even with all that hardware. Once he disabled v-sync, it "uncorked" the power he had and he was able to let it run full out. However, you were correct in what you said.

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Regards,

clutch