Advice on improving 3dMark06 score

[Blazer1]

I am curious how others with very similar systems get much higher scores than myself in 3dMark06?

My system;
E6400 @ 2.6
2mb G-Skill 800 ram
ATI HD 3870 gddr4 (overclocked to the max with ATI CCC)
Windows XP

Every time I run 3dmarko6 my score is between 9100-9200, other systems like mine are over 11000. I am worried as this may indicate a problem with my system. Is there another tool I should use to check the performance of my computer?

 

[CStylen]

"similar" systems include systems with 2 3870's and/or higher overclocks...

 

[oli_ramsay]

Overclock your CPU and card!

 

[Blazer1]

I think I am comparing systems with only 1 HD 3870? Or at least that is how they are listed in their scores.

 

[TRIPTEX_CAN]

Its all CPU related. OC the CPU and your score will increase with it.

 

[Blazer1]

I have my cpu over clocked from 2.13 to 2.6 and can not go any higher, any thing over 2.6 locks my computer up instantly. My gpu is overclocked to the max using ati overclocking tool, it is overclocked so much I have to keep the room ambient temp. very cool or it over heats. I wished I was at home so I could give you exact numbers for the gpu overclock, something like 875/1475?

 

[spearman914]

I have my cpu over clocked from 2.13 to 2.6 and can not go any higher, any thing over 2.6 locks my computer up instantly. My gpu is overclocked to the max using ati overclocking tool, it is overclocked so much I have to keep the room ambient temp. very cool or it over heats. I wished I was at home so I could give you exact numbers for the gpu overclock, something like 875/1475?

Get better cooling and OC more.

 

[Blazer1]

Get better cooling and OC more.

The slider on the ati overclock tool only goes so far, I am at the max?

 

[erocker]

Your CPU at 2.6ghz is a bottleneck in 3DM06. The score is correct.

 

[Evo85]

Overclock your CPU and card!

+1

I hit 9200+ last night with my 3850 @700/1000.

You should be able to blow me away with some OC'ing.

 

[alexp999]

If you take your CPU to around 3Ghz, you will break 10,000 easy.
I would say your system is scoring right, but your CPU speed is the bottleneck.

 

[Blazer1]

Your CPU at 2.6ghz is a bottleneck in 3DM06. The score is correct.

I am comparing an E6400 @ 2.6ghz or less to my score with an E6400 @ 2.6ghz, why does others with the same processor at the same or less speed not have a bottlenecking problem?

By the way I hope I am not coming off as argumentative here, I don't know much about this and ask a lot of questions to learn.

 

[stuartb04]

i only get 10000 with my rig
but my games run fine so i dont care

 

[spearman914]

I am comparing an E6400 @ 2.6ghz or less to my score with an E6400 @ 2.6ghz, why does others with the same processor at the same or less speed not have a bottlenecking problem?

By the way I hope I am not coming off as argumentative here, I don't know much about this and ask a lot of questions to learn.

Cuz they have a different GPU.

 

[erocker]

I am comparing an E6400 @ 2.6ghz or less to my score with an E6400 @ 2.6ghz, why does others with the same processor at the same or less speed not have a bottlenecking problem?

By the way I hope I am not coming off as argumentative here, I don't know much about this and ask a lot of questions to learn.

Where are the scores you are looking at?

Powercolor HD3870 - 800/1126 - 11030 - Q6600 @ 2700.1Mhz - 300FSB

That is a quad core at about your processor speed. Quads are good for just about under 2000 more points than a dual. Also, what timings is your ram at? Running 800mhz at cas 5 will also be a bottleneck.

 

[Blazer1]

Cuz they have a different GPU.

I am using the system compare feature on 3DMarko6 web site. I choose what cpu,gpu, and operating system I would like to look at.

I choose a E6400, HD 3870, and Windows XP this brings up every score that matches my criteria. Some are very high, over 14,000 but there cpu is running at 3.2ghz or even higher so I disregard these. I find a E6400 running at the same speed as mine running the same gpu with the same operating system. I wish I could post a screen shot!

 

[repsol23]

I am curious how others with very similar systems get much higher scores than myself in 3dMark06?

My system;
E6400 @ 2.6
2mb G-Skill 800 ram
ATI HD 3870 gddr4 (overclocked to the max with ATI CCC)
Windows XP

Every time I run 3dmarko6 my score is between 9100-9200, other systems like mine are over 11000. I am worried as this may indicate a problem with my system. Is there another tool I should use to check the performance of my computer?

I have a setup along the same lines as yourself:

x6800 @ 3.8
2 Gb Geil 800 @ 975 Mhz
Visiontek 3870 @ 877/1251 (benched at 907/1251)
XP w/ SP3

I am able to pull just 5 points shy of 13000. I have really tweaked my xp setup so that I only run the processes I need without anything extra to slow down my CPU plus I have tweaked my ram timings to get the most of them. The main thing you will need to do is to try and do some more overclocking but you may have already hit the wall as far as you overclock is concerned. Also, when you are benching make sure you have AA and AF off. I usually use ATI Tray Tools so that I can set up my graphics candy to the absolute minimum so that I can get the highest score possible. Hope this helps!!

 

[Blazer1]

I am going to turn AA/AF off and run it again. I think this may be one of the reasons I am getting a low score.

 

[Nelson2011]

The scores other people have are at default setting's

 

[c0V3Ro]

mipmap details are in minimum

 

[sneekypeet]

Give me a few for the lady to go to bed and I will do a run and post a screen shot here for ya in a sec...BTW her specs are the ones in the sig below!


EDIT: I got her off the rig and set everything up the sest I could to mimic your system with limited information, but here it is:

Scored in the 10K region. I circled the important clocks in red, check yours aginst this and see where we differ. The card isnt yet maxed, those were just clocks I knew were stable to run it and get it one shot!

Hope this helps!

 

[Blazer1]

I finally got 10,174 by adjusting memory to "system cache" in control panel and closing out some programs running in the background.

I wish I could mimic your settings but seeing how my bios is locked I can only adjust fsb speed and gpu speeds. I ran the test with my HD 3870 at 850/1141, my gpu memory will not clock higher than this for what ever reason. My card stays very cool at this overclock but does go into VPU recovery when gaming with these settings, for that matter it goes into VPU at any setting. I think it is because I am running the stock Dell 375w power supply. I am planning on purchasing a PCPower& Cooling power supply 550w in the near future if this does not fix my instabilty problems I am going to give Nividia a try.

I am pleased with my results though. I busted 10,000 on 3DMark06 with a Dell XPS 410 by adding $30 worth of ram and a $90 graphic card. Overclocking the little E6400 with Clockgen did not hurt either, ................free by the way.