upgraded system get choppy FPS with different graph cards

[pupurun]

This is my first post and i want to thank all of you in advance!
I own a kind old rig which i decided to upgrade a bit since my graph card got busted(i had a 9800GTX+ on winXp):
Now i went to
Win7 64bit ultimate
gigabyte m/b maximus formula
E6850 core2duo
3 GB RAM
850W coolermaster PSU

My first choice of card was NvidiA GT630 , 2GB ram. I could immedietelly see that something was wrong with my FPS on my games. They would not get as high as i expected (even on medium and low settings) and the worst of all was the choppy gameplay and stuttering.
I had no temperature problem since i did monitor both my CPU and GPU and i have properly updated all my drivers.So i took the card back and took another one to try(same model). But alas i had the same result. I though it could be somekind of hardware/software incompadibility so i returned the second card and payed a little extra to get the GT640 ,2GB ram. Same result!! Choppy gameplay and FPS going up and down. I tried all this on many games(all kind of directX , 9 10 and 11-with the two last being slightly better in performance but still not acceptable.
Now the weird thing was when i took a friend's card to test with. An Nvidia GTS250 ,1 GB ram. Everything was smooth and steady and i could enjoy all application and games, even on directX 10 with a really good FPS!
So what could be possibly wrong with using the other cards?

 

[drdeathx]

630 is a low end card and 250 is outdated. If you can swing it, look at a GTX 660 or 550.

 

[AlienIsGOD]

If you can swing it, look at a GTX 660 or 550.

he's not looking for a better card, he's asking why the 630 and 640 are not providing optimal performance. But you are right.

Edit: To the OP, both those cards based on quick googling are weaker than a GTS 250. A good upgrade would be a 650 or 650 Ti or if you can find still a 560 or 550 Ti

 

[pupurun]

630 is a low end card and 250 is outdated. If you can swing it, look at a GTX 660 or 550.

Thanks for the reply. My problem though is not how to get a better FPS count or in general a beeter graph card. Its the fact that i have unstable FPS.I can see it on the resource monitor. While CPU gets topped and the application(game) follows the usage of CPU ..it suddenly makes drops , leaving the CPU topped at 90%+ of usage.At those moments i get low FPS(for 5-10 seconds). And this happens non-stop

 

[newtekie1]

Well the first problem is that if you are still on XP if you get a 2GB card that means you are hitting the 4GB memory cap in XP. This means that even though you have 3GB of system RAM installed, the 2GB on the video card takes priority, so you are really only able to use 2GB of system RAM.

Also, the GTS250/9800GTX+(their the same card) is actually a stronger card than the GT630 and GT640. The 128-bit memory bus and DDR3 memory on the GT630/40 kills performance.

So if you want an upgrade to a current generation card you are going to have to ditch XP first, because the memory limitation is going to kill any chance of decent performance since most decent modern cards have at least 2GB of RAM.

Then you are going to have to go with at least a GTX650 card.

 

[pupurun]

Well the first problem is that if you are still on XP if you get a 2GB card that means you are hitting the 4GB memory cap in XP. This means that even though you have 3GB of system RAM installed, the 2GB on the video card takes priority, so you are really only able to use 2GB of system RAM.

Also, the GTS250/9800GTX+(their the same card) is actually a stronger card than the GT630 and GT640. The 128-bit memory bus and DDR3 memory on the GT630/40 kills performance.

So if you want an upgrade to a current generation card you are going to have to ditch XP first, because the memory limitation is going to kill any chance of decent performance since most decent modern cards have at least 2GB of RAM.

Then you are going to have to go with at least a GTX650 card.

No i have the Win7 64bit ultimate installed.And i dont mind getting a same-as-before graph card but since its hard to find a new 9800GTX+ or even a GTS25O at logical prices, i 'd rather get a card that supports directX 11 aswell with the same amount of money.But it's the ''choppyness'' i cant explain

 

[de.das.dude]

dude the core2duo is stone age
make sure your power setting in control panel is set to maximum.


also your power supply is overkill. your system doesnt even utilize 400W!

 

[AlienIsGOD]

If you read my reply, it says if you can swing it. Why ... Read, my friend read.

i also said that you were right

 

[Lazermonkey]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814187203

That link is for a GTX 560.

They also have the GTX 280 refurbished for $80 and those are still pretty strong cards.

Or you can look here. They have some pretty good deals on graphics cards.

http://3btech.net/videocards-nvidiapcie.html

 

[pupurun]

dude the core2duo is stone age
make sure your power setting in control panel is set to maximum.


also your power supply is overkill. your system doesnt even utilize 400W!

I have set power to maximum acceleration. Still no difference.
And i know that core2duo is stone age BUT i can perfectly live with a smooth low end card.
I have paid for a GT640 though and it just doesn't perform properly not even for a stone age rig.
Let me give you an example. I get dropped to 4-10fps from 25-35fps at games (and settings) that i used to run smoothly at 40-50 fps with my 9800 gtx+ and winXP 32 bit. Now someone could tell there is something wrong with my installation or in general my rig. But that GTS250 runs smooth as hell...

 

[Ikaruga]

If it's win7-x64, you may check and make sure:
- that Areo is disabled
- that "prefer maximum performance" is set for the NV profile of the game you want to play with

also: some bad drivers (like wireless network for example) can be serious resource hogs on certain 1-2 core(s) systems/configurations, so investigate and make sure that nothing eats your CPU-cycles while gaming, but ignore this if you don't have problems under win64 when the GTS250 is in the system.

 

[pupurun]

If it's win7-x64, you may check and make sure:
- that Areo is disabled
- that "prefer maximum performance" is set for the NV profile of the game you want to play with

also: some bad drivers (like wireless network for example) can be serious resource hogs on certain 1-2 core(s) systems/configurations, so investigate and make sure that nothing eats your CPU-cycles while gaming, but ignore this if you don't have problems under win64 when the GTS250 is in the system.

Thanks for the reply. I tried toggling areo but made no difference since the problem is constant and not going allong the wallpaper changing of AREO theme.I also tried putting the card's nvidia settings to high performance (for all applications) but the only difference was a few fps higher..when fps go up...Nothing to smooth the gameplay.
And as you said, since i have no problem with the GTS250 i dont think that a driver could be causing the issue

 

[de.das.dude]

I have set power to maximum acceleration. Still no difference.
And i know that core2duo is stone age BUT i can perfectly live with a smooth low end card.
I have paid for a GT640 though and it just doesn't perform properly not even for a stone age rig.
Let me give you an example. I get dropped to 4-10fps from 25-35fps at games (and settings) that i used to run smoothly at 40-50 fps with my 9800 gtx+ and winXP 32 bit. Now someone could tell there is something wrong with my installation or in general my rig. But that GTS250 runs smooth as hell...

that 9800GTX+ you had is probably the same as the GT640

try reinstalling drivers.
this is a strange issue indeed.

also can you post GPU-Z screen shots?

 

[AlienIsGOD]

try reinstalling drivers.

use driver cleaner/sweeper to eradicate any traces of previous install before installing the drivers again. Last resort; reinstall windows and gfx drivers to see if the problem persists on a fresh install

 

[Ikaruga]

Thanks for the reply. I tried toggling areo but made no difference since the problem is constant and not going allong the wallpaper changing of AREO theme.I also tried putting the card's nvidia settings to high performance (for all applications) but the only difference was a few fps higher..when fps go up...Nothing to smooth the gameplay.
And as you said, since i have no problem with the GTS250 i dont think that a driver could be causing the issue

I can't see how could be that throttling if you don't get it with the GTS250, so it's a strange issue indeed. Please do a clean Nvidia driver install, and post cpu-z and gpu-z screenshots.

Also, please start the game you have problem with in windowed mode and let it run for a minute while you have GPU-Z's sensor page and Resource Monitor's CPU page on screen (or just alt-tab to those to bring them front before taking the screenshot)

edit: Don't know what game you are trying to play, but isn't it possible that it runs in dx11 mode on the gt640 and it's (for example) tessellating geometry? Because if that's the case, it's no surprise that it struggles to deliver stable framerates compared the a GTS250 running dx9-10 mode

 

[MxPhenom 216]

use driver cleaner/sweeper to eradicate any traces of previous install before installing the drivers again. Last resort; reinstall windows and gfx drivers to see if the problem persists on a fresh install

You don't need to do that with new Nvidia driver installs. Just check off the Clean Installation Box and it gets rid of registry keys, and any of your settings in the driver previously.

OP: Is your CPU overclocked at all?

The GTS250 GPU is better then the 640 too. So if your performance was better with an obviously better card, then its an issue of performance with a weak 640. So get a stronger card.........

 

[pupurun]

You don't need to do that with new Nvidia driver installs. Just check off the Clean Installation Box and it gets rid of registry keys, and any of your settings in the driver previously.

OP: Is your CPU overclocked at all?

The GTS250 GPU is better then the 640 too. So if your performance was better with an obviously better card, then its an issue of performance with a weak 640. So get a stronger card.........

Thanks for the help.My CPU is not overclocked.But i don't know if my problem is a matter of ''performance''. I have experienced low performance when i maxed my older graphic cards and i know how fps go down and stay down. With both GT630 and GT640 i can't have stable fps at any settings. I tried multiple settings with many games (like TERA online, SMITE online, AoC online,Lotro, Skyrim) and eventhough maximum fps were indeed changing i'm not getting a smooth gameplay. It's sometimes smooth only for a few seconds and then i get up/downs
like it can go 50-60 fps and then drop to 15-20 fps at the same in game location.And i occasionally get 1-2 second freezes. It's not high temperature or anything else running in the back.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Thanks for the help.My CPU is not overclocked.But i don't know if my problem is a matter of ''performance''. I have experienced low performance when i maxed my older graphic cards and i know how fps go down and stay down. With both GT630 and GT640 i can't have stable fps at any settings. I tried multiple settings with many games (like TERA online, SMITE online, AoC online,Lotro, Skyrim) and eventhough maximum fps were indeed changing i'm not getting a smooth gameplay. It's sometimes smooth only for a few seconds and then i get up/downs
like it can go 50-60 fps and then drop to 15-20 fps at the same in game location.And i occasionally get 1-2 second freezes. It's not high temperature or anything else running in the back.

Did you try clean driver install yet?

 

[pupurun]

Did you try clean driver install yet?

If you mean to choose the box for''clean installation'' at the end of the NVIDIA driver installation, the yes, i always install that way.Besides i got the latest driver since i started swapping the cards and i always choose that.

 

[pupurun]

Could be the RAM?

Another thing that has been bugging me though is my System's RAM.It's only 3 GB and also it breaks down to these :
2 x 1GB kingston hyperx DDR2 800mhz
1 x 1GB Kingston DDR2 667Mhz

Maybe putting a graphic card of 2GB,DDR3 ram does the difference compared to the gts250 with 1GB-DDR2 ram ?

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Another thing that has been bugging me though is my System's RAM.It's only 3 GB and also it breaks down to these :
2 x 1GB kingston hyperx DDR2 800mhz
1 x 1GB Kingston DDR2 667Mhz

Maybe putting a graphic card of 2GB,DDR3 ram does the difference compared to the gts250 with 1GB-DDR2 ram ?

the GT640 with 2GB of memory is worthless, especially GDDR3 and such a small bus size. the GTS250 had GDDR3 memory as well, but bigger bus size, and horse power from the card to make it usable.

And yeah, there might be some issues with your memory. you should have matching speeds. Try removing the 1GB stick that's 667mhz and see what happens. 4GB of DDr2 at 800mhz would be the best.

 

[pupurun]

the GT640 with 2GB of memory is worthless, especially GDDR3 and such a small bus size. the GTS250 had GDDR3 memory as well, but bigger bus size, and horse power from the card to make it usable.

And yeah, there might be some issues with your memory. you should have matching speeds. Try removing the 1GB stick that's 667mhz and see what happens. 4GB of DDr2 at 800mhz would be the best.

And yes...the 3rd 1GB RAM stick was doing the job...Throttling stopped and FPS is smooth as a stream..Thanks a lot !

 

[Hayder_Master]

i would to say ftx560 or gtx650

 

[karolpl2004]

i agree, mismatched ram is going to do more bad than good. might as well go with less but faster. i remember having 4gb of pc3200 ram one time =D

 

[pupurun]

I have bad news..The issue has re-emerged.Actually i only had one day that my pc wasn't throttling at all.The next day it all started again. So i did give up on the GT640 and now i tried the GTX 650 with the 1 GB ram. Alas!! the throttling was even worse...
Now my thought goes to these:
1) i hear a certain buzzing noise which i m still not certain about their source(not a fan though).It really low but it has a..''pulse''..
2) I have a second hard disk on the system which used to be my main hd before my OS upgrade.I simply use it as storage so i can trasfer any files i need to my new hd(with win7 64bit). It has winXP installed but it's not defined as bootable. Would the existence of a second OS affect in any way the whole system?
3)I m noticing that my HD is ''reading'' intensivelly most of the time a game is running...

Any ideas would be really usefull!