Why Is My Pc Performance So Bad??!?!?

Discussion in 'Software' started by Ch4rg3d, Oct 25, 2003.

  1. Ch4rg3d

    Ch4rg3d Private E-2

    Hey guys, I can't figure this out...I have a Intel Pentium 4 2.2 GhZ Dell, 256 MB of DDR 333, GeForce MX 440 64 MB DDR, a 40 GB 5400 RPM Hard drive...I get horrible frames per second when using OpenGL games, and average around 30-80 FPS.
    I'm running Windows 2000 Professional, and I can't figure out what's going on!!Someone enlighten me!

    I even have to run 99% of games at the lowest settings...
     
  2. Kodo

    Kodo SNATCHSQUATCH

    what games give you the worst frame rate and what ones give you the best..


    of the cuff I'd say you're:

    1. Low on system RAM
    2. Using a very underpowered video card.
     
  3. Ch4rg3d

    Ch4rg3d Private E-2

    So in the long run, will increasing RAM or a new video card be more effective?

    Any recommendations as far as the best and most affordable video card?
     
  4. mr_flea

    mr_flea First Sergeant

    I'd say memory too. You don't have very much. Also, I have a 2-3 year old dell and it has a REALLY bad motherboard. It's 7200 rpm hard drive is slower than a 4000 something rpm hard drive in a notebook, which is a mobo problem.
     
  5. Ch4rg3d

    Ch4rg3d Private E-2

    hmmm, but it just doesn't seem to make any sense to me when i succeed game requirements by 1.5 GhZ...eh...thats what im confused by.. :(

    The only bad thing is I have PCI slots and not AGP, so most vid cards will be slightly more expensive. I think I'm going to throw down maybe $100-150 on an ATI video card....well, as for performance with ATI cards vs NVidia, you guys are the experts :D
     
  6. Kodo

    Kodo SNATCHSQUATCH

    the games these days rely heavily on the processing power of the GPU on the graphics card.
     
  7. G.T.

    G.T. R.I.P February 4, 2007. You will be missed.

    what Kodo said. The cpu processes AI and other game related functions, but most all the actual frame drawing and graphics calculations are done on the video card. System needs to be balanced, as it can be either cpu limited or vid card limited, whichever is the weakest link. Speeding up the cpu further won't make any difference, as that's not the bottleneck.

    256 Meg of system ram is just adequate for Win2000, and the system as a whole will benefit some from more, but that won't help your frame rate in games. You need a better video card.

    The GeForce 4 MX series cards were horrible marketing ploys. They use the GF4 name to make them sound new and fast, but their design is more like a 2 generation older GeForce 2 cards, designed primarily for OEMs to advertise GeForce 4 technology without paying for the better cards. A better video card will make a huge difference.
     
  8. Adrynalyne

    Adrynalyne Guest

    An upgrade to a 7200 RPM hard drive would help too.
     
  9. exeter_acres

    exeter_acres Sergeant

    As Kodo asked..which games,,, and what resolution are you trying to run them at...
    with that vid card, I would think you would be lucky to get anything above 800x600 and even at that it could be a struggle.

    both memory and vid card could be good candidates for upgrade....
    more RAM will effect the whole system.... for pure gaming the vid card would make a big difference.,.
     
  10. DOA

    DOA MG's Loki

    What model Dell?

    If you ever plan to game well, do not upgrade this computer. Without an AGP slot you will never get GOOD frame rates. Save up for something that will work for you.

    That being said and assuming you have no upgrade hopes. I would upgrade the RAM to 512. Remember the MX nVidia series and the SE ATI series are crippled. You do not want them. The Radeon 9200 comes in a PCI slot configuration with 128 Mb RAM. You should pay about $170 for both the RAM and card. Currently nVidia is having problems, so I would stick to ATI. That may change in a month, but for now I do not want nVivia. Unless you really want to deal with their driver problems then the 5200 is a good choice.

    Be careful as most PCI cards are sold to the Mac market.
    http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/radeon/sapphire-4.html
    has some info.
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2003
  11. the_master_josh

    the_master_josh Specialist


    That's the Problem! To get good framerates you need the dedicated bus provided by the AGP bus. Your pretty much stuck with what you got. You can spend money on RAm and a new vidoe card but it will only get you so far. You really need a new mobo with AGP if you want super good performance. Games relly so much more on the video card than the CPU.
     

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