8800GT running slow

[bronzeman]

Hi all,

I recently upgraded to a 8800GT 512MB graphics card. Previously I had an ATI 3850. When playing Stalker at 1280x1024, full details, the game is sluggish. I have a 6300 Core 2 Duo, which I've overclocked slightly to 2.32ghz, Giga 965P-S3 mobo, 3GB DDR2, and a Hiper Type R 580w PSU.

I kinda expected the game to run smoothly. Do you think I need a new processor?

Also, how do I know if my pci slot is set up right? I read somewhere about 16x or 1x pcie. I downloaded gpuz and it says in the bus interface -

PCI-E 2.0 x16 @ x1

Is this the right setting for my card?

Thanks

 

[Wile E]

You need to set your PCIe slot to 16x. It's currently set at 1x, and that can cause the performance problems you are having.

 

[spearman914]

1X is 16X slower. 8X will be fine, don't know if theres any problems with 16X.

 

[CrackerJack]

I know the Hiper PSU's are bad for overheating. So my guess is the PSU, try another one if you can. Jusy might not be getting enough amps. idk just a guess. but yeah set the pci-x to x16 or atleast x8


You might notice i have a Hiper. The 800w is the only one that doesn't overheat.

 

[bronzeman]

You guys were right! I checked in the bios and it was set to x1. Changed it to x16 and booted up Stalker.

Holy Smoke!!!

Its like a new game!! It seems like its running twice as fast now. And all week I was thinking I'd wasted my money, or got a duff card. Damn, Crysis too is much more playable.

Thanks guys, you cheered me up today!

 

[MKmods]

Big Gold Star to Wile E for the fast accurate help.

 

[spearman914]

Big Gold Star to Wile E for the fast accurate help.

Maybe I should give a 6 Press Thanx. <---- Thanx is 5 + 1 thanx button is 6.

 

[CrackerJack]

Big Gold Star to Wile E for the fast accurate help.

yep all props to Wile E, he bet me too it

 

[hat]

Now get to work overclocking the 6300 some more, it should hit 3GHz with a little bit of work.

 

[bronzeman]

Now get to work overclocking the 6300 some more, it should hit 3GHz with a little bit of work.

Would i need a special cooler for that speed? I havent tried clocking it higher than 2.32 - im cautious

 

[hat]

It depends on the temps. I like to keep it under 60-65c in coretemp. You can has a good Xigmatek cooler for cheap...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233014

if you don't like push pins, you can get xigmatek to send you a bolt thru kit for free...

 

[bronzeman]

It depends on the temps. I like to keep it under 60-65c in coretemp. You can has a good Xigmatek cooler for cheap...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233014

if you don't like push pins, you can get xigmatek to send you a bolt thru kit for free...

Thanks, i'll look into it

 

[bronzeman]

Overclocked it to 2.8ghz (7x400). Temp at idle stays around 54, while playing a game raises the temp to 60-62. Do you think its safe to leave it at this speed? (I'm kinda new to overclocking!)

Thanks

 

[hat]

What voltage? Is it stock? (if it IS stock tell me what the voltage is anyway)
What program are you using? Coretemp? If not download Coretemp and see what temps it gives you. Be sure to run a stability test like Orthos (20+ hours) to be sure on stability

You may think it's overkill, but I've had Orthos fail between 17 and 18 hours before... man, that was a big

 

[bronzeman]

Yeah thats at stock voltage - 1.325.

When I first OC'd it, Windows crashed. I increased the DDR voltage by 0.1, coz I only have DDR667, and it hasn't crashed since. I am using CoreTemp. If I did run Orthos and it failed at 19 hrs... is that damaging the hardware?

 

[Widjaja]

Argh the dreaded fail after many hours of Othos.
It's not good to have a CPU not stable in benchtests.

You need to bump up the vcore just a little bit more and it should be stable 24/7.
If it fails after a long period of time, you need to bump the vcore only little bit.

Know your CPUs max temp and check it after a while in Orthos.