Where's the bottle neck?

imgonnadie · 08-21-2007, 10:30 PM

Hi there, recently I bought a X1950 Pro 256 AGP from HIS. It's one of those "turbo" versions with the iceQ3, whatever that does. Anyways, I tried to run oblivion on it at default medium settings on 1024*786 res and I noticed little to no improvements over my X1600 Pro, which I find fustrating and weird. I'm hoping some of you tech savvy people on this forum could help me determine my bottleneck. Having my FPS go down to 12 when some NPC chases me outdoors on oblivion is really getting on my nerves.

My specs are:

ASUS P4PE motherboard (AGP 4X, although I hear this isn't much of a bottleneck)
1gb of kingston valuram (2*512 setup)
HIS iceq3 X1950 pro @ 256mb ram (not OCed)
P4 2.4 prescott running @ 2.6ghz, stock cooler I believe

I'm under the assumption that the memory is my bottleneck.
But I'd like some opinions which have more expertise and experience than myself.
Or does it have something to do with the MOBO?
Or should I be getting a better CPU cooler and OCing it to 3.0-3.2ghz? I hear the old prescotts were really good clockers?

Thanks for your replies.

For those that wonder why I've got such a crappy rig and I'm still trying to juice it, two words: student budget

Who wants this thing when they can afford the latest >.<"...

UnDeaD77 · 08-21-2007, 10:45 PM

AGP 4x would be a bottleneck. Do you not have 8x setting in your bios?

Also, 1GB is probably not enough to run oblivion. Oblivion is just so huge, and the draw distance is what kills people's computers. 2GB would do alot more justice, but then you'd still have the bottleneck of 4x agp mode.

stickyjeans69 · 08-21-2007, 11:00 PM

AGP 4x is not a bottleneck in any way shape or form. an 8800GTX if in AGP could still use the bus without fully utilizing it..........ever. PCI-E is ahead of its time, AGPis NOT a bottleneck.

I would put the bottleneck at the CPU and/or RAM

imgonnadie · 08-21-2007, 11:12 PM

So, what seems like a good idea (short of getting a new computer I can't yet afford)?

1. Get 2gbs of ram (this board supports up to pc2700, but you can snap higher rated DDR into it for OC purposes)
2. Get a good s478 cooler and OC the prescott
3. Get a s478 processor with HT (the P4PE supports that, apparently)

Which one would offer the most significant FPS gain?

boudreux · 08-21-2007, 11:16 PM

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/03/...ling_analysis/

stickyjeans69 · 08-21-2007, 11:19 PM

i never saw AGP mentioned once?

I would say........

See if you can get that Prescott to 3.0GHz and grab another gig of ram. should give good results

imgonnadie · 08-21-2007, 11:23 PM

Got any benchmarks with a testbed that's abit closer to earth for me?

Acreo Aeneas · 08-22-2007, 11:27 AM

You can still find Prescotts with HT on NewEgg for about $80.

I would put in another gig of RAM first before swapping in a new processor. A lack of sufficient memory is most likely the issue here and not so much a faster processor is needed.

War.mongeR1 · 08-22-2007, 01:44 PM

I have AGP 8X on my pc and it still runs smoking hot with insane fps on all my games. What I've seen is that I'm not running across a video card bottleneck, but more of a CPU bottleneck. My graphics card is way newer than my old Athlon 2600 Bartoncore chip. Good chip, but about 4 years old now.

08-21-2007, 10:30 PM	#1 (permalink)
imgonnadie Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 5	Where's the bottle neck? Hi there, recently I bought a X1950 Pro 256 AGP from HIS. It's one of those "turbo" versions with the iceQ3, whatever that does. Anyways, I tried to run oblivion on it at default medium settings on 1024786 res and I noticed little to no improvements over my X1600 Pro, which I find fustrating and weird. I'm hoping some of you tech savvy people on this forum could help me determine my bottleneck. Having my FPS go down to 12 when some NPC chases me outdoors on oblivion is really getting on my nerves. My specs are: ASUS P4PE motherboard (AGP 4X, although I hear this isn't much of a bottleneck) 1gb of kingston valuram (2512 setup) HIS iceq3 X1950 pro @ 256mb ram (not OCed) P4 2.4 prescott running @ 2.6ghz, stock cooler I believe I'm under the assumption that the memory is my bottleneck. But I'd like some opinions which have more expertise and experience than myself. Or does it have something to do with the MOBO? Or should I be getting a better CPU cooler and OCing it to 3.0-3.2ghz? I hear the old prescotts were really good clockers? Thanks for your replies. For those that wonder why I've got such a crappy rig and I'm still trying to juice it, two words: student budget Who wants this thing when they can afford the latest >.<"...

08-21-2007, 10:45 PM	#2 (permalink)
UnDeaD77 Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Fort Worth,Texas Age: 22 Posts: 5,914	Re: Where's the bottle neck? AGP 4x would be a bottleneck. Do you not have 8x setting in your bios? Also, 1GB is probably not enough to run oblivion. Oblivion is just so huge, and the draw distance is what kills people's computers. 2GB would do alot more justice, but then you'd still have the bottleneck of 4x agp mode. __________________

08-21-2007, 11:00 PM	#3 (permalink)
stickyjeans69 Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: California Posts: 706	Re: Where's the bottle neck? AGP 4x is not a bottleneck in any way shape or form. an 8800GTX if in AGP could still use the bus without fully utilizing it..........ever. PCI-E is ahead of its time, AGPis NOT a bottleneck. I would put the bottleneck at the CPU and/or RAM __________________

08-21-2007, 11:12 PM	#4 (permalink)
imgonnadie Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 5	Re: Where's the bottle neck? So, what seems like a good idea (short of getting a new computer I can't yet afford)? 1. Get 2gbs of ram (this board supports up to pc2700, but you can snap higher rated DDR into it for OC purposes) 2. Get a good s478 cooler and OC the prescott 3. Get a s478 processor with HT (the P4PE supports that, apparently) Which one would offer the most significant FPS gain?

08-21-2007, 11:16 PM	#5 (permalink)
boudreux Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Bloomington, IL Age: 26 Posts: 1,146	Re: Where's the bottle neck? http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/03/...ling_analysis/ __________________

08-21-2007, 11:19 PM	#6 (permalink)
stickyjeans69 Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: California Posts: 706	Re: Where's the bottle neck? i never saw AGP mentioned once? I would say........ See if you can get that Prescott to 3.0GHz and grab another gig of ram. should give good results __________________

08-21-2007, 11:23 PM	#7 (permalink)
imgonnadie Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 5	Re: Where's the bottle neck? Got any benchmarks with a testbed that's abit closer to earth for me?

08-22-2007, 11:27 AM	#8 (permalink)
Acreo Aeneas Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: DePaul University (Chicago) Age: 22 Posts: 4,547	Re: Where's the bottle neck? You can still find Prescotts with HT on NewEgg for about $80. I would put in another gig of RAM first before swapping in a new processor. A lack of sufficient memory is most likely the issue here and not so much a faster processor is needed. __________________ Acreo_Aeneas Former 9th MID Member Current Obsessions: Netbooks and other low-cost, small, and portable PCs.

08-22-2007, 01:44 PM	#9 (permalink)
War.mongeR1 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 1,380	Re: Where's the bottle neck? I have AGP 8X on my pc and it still runs smoking hot with insane fps on all my games. What I've seen is that I'm not running across a video card bottleneck, but more of a CPU bottleneck. My graphics card is way newer than my old Athlon 2600 Bartoncore chip. Good chip, but about 4 years old now. __________________ "Common sense is not so common." -Voltaire

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