Well folks, just got a 40% boost in gaming.

[RadeonProVega]

I recently made a thread( which i hope the admin deletes soon ) about how i thought i needed a new PSU, because for some reason my external HD, which is 500GB was putting a strain on my hardware and it didn't help , because i am using 90watts. So come to find out, well first i have a USB high speed 2.0 Pci card in my tower, and i had my external HD hook up to it. That was putting a seriously strain on my computer, i didn't even know it was doing it, until i restarted without it being plug in and played a game. So now i have the HD hook up to the back of my computer, which is a non 2.0 high speed port.

Here are benchmarks , only tested out one game so far, but man this is amazing:

Shade Wrath of angels

1280X1024 Max Settings( NO AA, option is not available) w/ HD hook up to 2.0 PCI card =

" 12-50 " Meaning, it starts at around 25, just standing there looking at a wall or in a inclose area, but once i start moving out in the open or fighting, it drops to 12 "

1280X1024 Max Settings( NO AA, option is not available) w/ HD hook up to my tower

" 30-80 " It doesn't struggle anymore lol, and i can move around and fight and it will stay at 30-45, then quickly go up to around 70-80.

So check your hardware folks, you never know what might be doing what. What i don't understand, how come when the external HD is hook up to the USB 2.0 card, it puts a strain on my computer, but when its hook up to the back of the tower, it doesn't?

What do you guys think?
This is awesome. Going to test out more games.

EDIT: OMFG, GTA 3 IS running at 70-100fps now, i use to get 30-50. OMG LOL This is amazing. I am going to download Crysis demo and see how it works. I tested out 5 games so far, all 5 of them at max settings, no lag or anything, i didn't even know games move this damn fast hahaha. If i would known this, i would of never put the external HD in the usb 2.0 to began with. Its not like nothing is holding back the game anymore, its hard to explain, but damn.

Be be later tomorrow.

 

[exodusprime1337]

you may have an irq conflict, i've never had that issue before and i got like 12 things in usb ports, printer, n52te gaming pad, g5 mouse, g15 keyboard, usb logitech mic, plantronics gamecom 777 headseat, usb stick, wacom pen tablet, scanner(old school i know), and 2 usb external drives, and i've never had a problem like that.

 

[RadeonProVega]

Whatever it was, its like the 2400HD and my CPU is being use at its full potential now. Just tested out World Racing , i use to get 12-20fps in the game at Max Settings. Now at Max Settings, AAX2, and i get 30-45fps. The game moves smooth as hell, its like i am free from bottlenecking. Man, this is amazing, its like i got a whole new rig or something. I do have a spare small usb 2.0 plug, i will use that, because plugging the external hd up to my non 2.0 port from my tower, it takes a while for the games to load up, and the hd itself, but once it does, load, its very smooth.

Alright i am going to sleep, when i wake up , i will install crysis demo and post some benchmarks. Talk about a good year for the start of 2009.

peace

 

[exodusprime1337]

that is pretty wierd... how long have you been running off that windows install... perhaps it's time for a deep cleaning, i suggest sysinternals autoruns to see what's running, and ccleaner to clean it up a bit and turn off any unused software and the like

 

[r9]

Dude this is totaly logical. You are using PCI GC and PCI HDD because of your CPU I bet there are frequent HDD read/write and both HDD and GC were sharing same bandwith and there is not much to share.

 

[RadeonProVega]

Dude this is totaly logical. You are using PCI GC and PCI HDD because of your CPU I bet there are frequent HDD read/write and both HDD and GC were sharing same bandwith and there is not much to share.

LOL, i guess so. Thats what someone else said, might of been alot of conflict going on.

that is pretty wierd... how long have you been running off that windows install... perhaps it's time for a deep cleaning, i suggest sysinternals autoruns to see what's running, and ccleaner to clean it up a bit and turn off any unused software and the like

Um, that has nothing to do with anything(everything is clean out, and i just install windows 2000 over again about what 4 weeks ago). I said already that having my external HD hook up to my 2.0 PCI high speed card was causing some serious bottlenecking. But hooking up the 500GB to the back of my tower , everything is running smooth now. I can hook up anything to the PCI 2.0 card, but the 500GB. I have my 2 USB controllers hook up to the PCI card, and everything is fine.

The only problem now, well my motherboard USB slot is 1.0, so there is a slight delay when playing games. or extracting files, obviously not as fast now. So i have to find a way around this, maybe i will try to hook up the 500GB to my mini 2.0 high speed hub and see how it goes.

I also notice a small issue, only with GTA3 so far. The game is moving so fast, at 70-100fps at times, i said at times, because the fps which i am getting about 90% of the time is 40, but it jumps up to 70, sometimes 100. Anyway, the game is moving so fast, i have to turn on Vsync, because there are some major major tearing and disappearing kinda fading in objects happening. But with Vsync on, its stays between 30-60. Very smooth.

 

[RadeonProVega]

Hey guys just a update. I would say the performance jump is about 60%.

I use to get 720 score in the ATT benchmark tool, look at the jump now:



ATI Tray Tools Benchmark results.
Benchmark finished at02 Jan 2009 01:15
Device ATI Radeon Graphics Processor (0x94CC)
GPU : 519.75
MEM : 396.00
Final Score =1624.45
__________________________________________________________
Benchmark details:
Pass N - Speed Mode - Quality Mode

Pass N2 - 359 - 378
Pass N3 - 311 - 313
Pass N4 - 278 - 298
Pass N5 - 254 - 250
Pass N6 - 245 - 240
Pass N7 - 206 - 215
Pass N8 - 207 - 191
Pass N9 - 125 - 121

Thats a big leap from 720. So something was clearly holding me back. All this time, and all i had to do was put the external HD plug in the back of my tower( in the 1.1 slot btw ) seems like when its hook up to the PCI 2.0 usb card, it conflicts/shares with everything else and creates a major bottleneck.
Anyways, i only tested out 5 games so far, they are working amazing. Alpha prime MAX settings, 30-60fps, never drops below 30.

Anywho, i will post some crysis benchmarks when i get the chance, i am curious to see how it runs now This also proves that PCI cards are not a major bottleneck like people say.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

not trying to be rude or anything but a completely new machine doesnt exactly cost that much anymore. & with Intel (& maybe AMD) cutting prices, there is no better time to get one. Q6600's are dirt cheap & will overclock to 3.6-4Ghz. probably 600x the performance of your PIII there. just dont leave it too late to get it before Intel stops making them & phasing them out.

Just because its a gaming machine doesnt mean you have to invest stupid amounts of money into it.

 

[Totally Unr3al]

...At least 600x

 

[FreedomEclipse]

...At least 600x

maybe more.....

 

[Totally Unr3al]

It would probably feel like it was a billion times faster than a pIII.

 

[TheMailMan78]

Just because its a gaming machine doesnt mean you have to invest stupid amounts of money into it.

Those words are BLASPHEMY on TPU! I must report you to the cardinal.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

It would probably feel like it was a billion times faster than a pIII.

"It doesnt matter how fast it is"

----

all that matters is he gets the point that ANYTHING today will be totally orgasmic when it comes to performance for him which requires very little investment to gain.....

 

[tzitzibp]

Those words are BLASPHEMY on TPU!

true.....

 

[Totally Unr3al]

I dont know what else matters besides how fast it is. That is the only thing that matters with computers. lol

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Those words are BLASPHEMY on TPU! I must report you to the cardinal.

you can a fairly decent gaming system for $700-800 maybe less even - I dont know what the prices are like in the U.S but here in the UK roughly around £700 gets you a pretty bitchin rig for the money & that something thats worth telling the grandkids about.

===

Blasphemy or not - I can 'think' economical when Mr. Jebus comes to me & says hes got X amount of low budget goodness for a killer rig & its my job to pick the right parts & make sure he gets what hes paying me & also what he is overall paying for. its called thinking out of the box -

*mumbles* god damn heretics.....

I dont know what else matters besides how fast it is. That is the only thing that matters with computers. lol

Not Everyone can afford to spend $2900+ on a rig my friend.

 

[r9]

He is my hero. I`m more interested in this tread than in "Look my billion dollar machine gives me 50 fps Crysis" - You are boring me to death. U2konline don`t give up

 

[FreedomEclipse]

He is my hero. I`m more interested in this tread than in "Look my billion dollar machine gives me 50 fps Crysis" - You are boring me to death. U2konline don`t give up

Fyi - a £700 machine doesnt exactly run crysis very well at all.

 

[TheMailMan78]

Blasphemy or not - I can 'think' economical when Mr. Jebus comes to me & says hes got X amount of low budget goodness for a killer rig & its my job to pick the right parts & make sure he gets what hes paying me & also what he is overall paying for. its called thinking out of the box

I know what you're saying man and I agree. Hell look at my specs. But this is a tech site. NOTHING is EVER fast enough. However you are correct. You do not need a $2900 dollar system to play games. I get 7900 in 3DMark06 and I can play most everything maxed out at 40+ FPS.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

I know what you're saying man and I agree. Hell look at my specs. But this is a tech site. NOTHING is EVER fast enough. However you are correct. You do not need a $2900 dollar system to play games. I get 7900 in 3DMark06 and I can play most everything maxed out at 40+ FPS.

Just because this 'is' a tech site doesnt mean that we have to ignore all/any hardware if its under a certain speed or price. & if it truely has come to that then maybe TPU should be made into a Private Exclusive 'upon-invite-only' club/forum that way they ensure that EVERYONE that joins the club/forum will have something to talk about & also a 'billion dollar machine' to boot.

I dont disagree with your point that nothing is ever fast enough - but thats an entirely different subject alltogether but to put it short....

Innovation = Good
Snottyarogantbastardswithmoremoneythenbrains = bad

Being diverse is what makes TPU/anyplace/anywhere a good community. if TPU is losing that side of itself because members like to constantly shove their E-dicks in each others holes (for those whom it concerns), then I will gladly forefit my membership here @ TPU & go elsewhere just like i did with Guru3d - a place I thought was great enjoyable online community but I was greatly mistaken.

There is a place for everything. but everything in moderation.

 

[1Kurgan1]

You don't even have to spend $600. When upgrading from a P3 smoke signals would seem fast. Seriously a cheapo dual core is like $40, cheapo mobo is like $50 - $60, 3850 is like $60 - $70, 2gb DDR2 like $30. That comp will feel like a rocketship to you for a bit over $200.

Just because this 'is' a tech site doesnt mean that we have to ignore all/any hardware if its under a certain speed or price. & if it truely has come to that then maybe TPU should be made into a Private Exclusive 'upon-invite-only' club/forum that way they ensure that EVERYONE that joins the club/forum will have something to talk about & also a 'billion dollar machine' to boot.

I dont disagree with your point that nothing is ever fast enough - but thats an entirely different subject alltogether but to put it short....

Innovation = Good
Snottyarogantbastardswithmoremoneythenbrains = bad

Being diverse is what makes TPU/anyplace/anywhere a good community. if TPU is losing that side of itself because members like to constantly shove their E-dicks in each others holes (for those whom it concerns), then I will gladly forefit my membership here @ TPU & go elsewhere just like i did with Guru3d - a place I thought was great enjoyable online community but I was greatly mistaken.

There is a place for everything. but everything in moderation.

Being diverse is fine, but people are just saying to upgrade because it's a wise investment from a P3. If I was seen buying McDonalds and my clothes were all torn up and I rode there on a bike with bent wheels and looked like I hadn't showered in forever. I would hope someone would say "man you should invest that money elsewhere". There is just a time when hardware gets old, thats how it is, a PIII will realistically play no game that has released within the last year well at any settings. And for the price of hardware now (like I said above $200) it is a very wise investment to buy better hardware. He has a 500gb HDD, so he has to have got that at some point why stop there? A few budget upgrades and it will be a well running comp that can handle anything on the market and be easy on his wallet. Thats called kindness to suggest these things. Innovation will not make a P3 play new games well.

 

[r9]

Fyi - a £700 machine doesnt exactly run crysis very well at all.

The sky is blue the grass is green I don`t know what are you talking about.

 

[desertmonk]

[Flame post] LOL HE SAID "CRYSIS" AND "HD2400" If you continue your theme of testing everything on high details, you are going to be looking at 0 - 2 FPS (not actually joking here... HD2400 is about 1/3 to a 1/4 FPS of my old 8600GTS, which got 5 - 7 FPS on 1440x900, 4xAA & all optiosn on very high, PLUS it is well known that the crytek engines favour nVidia cards strongly) [/flame post]

Still, lucky OP. loads more FPS from simply re-arranging his USB devices...

 

[kysg]

you guys need to ease up a bit. Let the guy run till he feels a point to upgrade, makes no sense to keep saying you need to upgrade when the OP may just tell you all to STFU I'm gonna run this sucker till it dies.

People are gonna do what they want, some of us can't whip out a new upgrade every 6 months, or for that matter every year...me personally I ran my x1600pro for a long time, man and that card came out in 05 I think.

 

[3870x2]

wow, pentium 3? I would be willing to sell you some hardware very, very cheap that would bring you pretty current... atleast PD current.