First post...hello everyone! Sorry about the title I could not think of a better more descriptive one. I am in the process of trying to tweak my old PC. I recently upgraded my AGP 8x graphics card and did not get the performance I was looking for. So now I am on a mission to make this PC run @ optimum performance!! While reading TweakGuides Tweaking Companion for Windows XP I wrote down a list of all my hardware and drivers. Here is the memory I have installed right now... DIMM1: Corsair 512MB PC3200 @200MHz 2.5-3-3-8 DIMM2: Corsair 512MB PC3200 @200MHz 2.5-3-3-8 DIMM3: Elpida 512MB PC2100 @133MHz 2.5-3-3-6* *This is the new memory I recently added from an old computer. My question is this...does the stick in DIMM3 slow down the computer? I am thinking it might create a bottle neck possibly. I think I am going to remove it and see what happens in regards to performance. I just wanted to get some input from a hardware forum first. CPU: AMD Athlon XP, 2066MHz 2800+ MoBo: Asus A7V8X-X (VIA KT400A chipset) GFX Card: Radeon X1650 Series (Omega 3.8.442) 512MB GDDR2 Sound Card: Creative Audigy 2 LS Sound Card Hard Drives: WD400 (37GB) NTFS and Maxtor (28GB) NTFS Operating System: Windows XP Pro SP3 I also noticed IRQ 16 is being shared by my sound card, gfx card, and wireless card. I read this could cause performance issues and I am looking into this matter also. I really appreciate any help with this issue. Looking forward to contributing to the forum and learning something new! Thanks!
Hello, welcome to HWF. Yes, that will slow down all of your RAM to run at 333MHz instead of 400MHz, decreasing your memory bandwidth. Of course, the 2800+ has a 333MHz front side bus anyway, so you're not losing as much performance as you might think. If you're referring to graphically intensive gaming, the whole system is a bit of a bottleneck I'm afraid. What is your goal with this exercise?
Thanks for such a quick response! Yes...I know the machine is old. My overall aim is to be able to run World of Warcraft Wrath of the Lich King and not have to play on the lowest settings. I thought the new video card was going to fix this! I feel like the card did not even make a noticeable difference. (However I can play Fallout 3 now which I could not play with the old card...FPS is so low its not worth my time even with the new card tho!) Secondary objective is to learn as much as possible about my hardware and settings. I would eventually like to learn about overclocking as well. I just want the machine to run at top performance. Even if it is older hardware. Sigh...I guess it is time to start saving up for a new machine. :dry:
I am confused. I thought the Corsairs were running @200MHz? Where did you get 400MHz from? CPU-Z under the memory tab shows... DRAM Frequency - 232.4MHz FSB : DRAM - FSB + 66MHz I do see that my CPU's "Rated FSB" is 331.4MHz in CPU-Z also. I obviously do not understand how the memory works with the processor. I am guessing it has something to do with my FSB now though... Thanks again!
DDR is "Double Data Rate". So you take the clocks and multiply them by two. 166MHz DDR runs at 333MHz effective, 200MHz runs at 400MHz effective. Athlon XP 3000+ and higher CPUs have a 400MHz FSB or "front-side buss", but the 2800+ is only 333MHz.
Awesome. Thank you sir! I just did a quick search and I think I understand that the memory can not run faster than the FSB. It all makes sense now.
Well, technically it can, but the result isn't as speedy as it potentially could be. The bottom line is that you will see an improvement in speed with faster RAM, even if the FSB isn't as fast. On the other hand, the FSB does make a big difference in throughput. I know, confusing, but that's technology for you.
There is, I believe, a 3850 AGP video card option that should give you some marked improvement. Compuvest Corp.
After playing around with a ton of different drivers and what not I have decided to give up on AGP cards and retire my current system. I am going to save up money for a whole new machine. I will continue to work with this one and try to get the best bang for my buck.
maybe you could try increasing the size of you swapfile / pagefile, officially it should be about twice the amount of installed RAM but when i used XP some grahically intensive apps required about an 8Gb swapfile this is a short term fix, but it may allow you to run WOW IRQ sharing is nomal
I don't remember the specifics, but the IRQ sharing you see is virtual IRQ sharing to get around the physical IRQ's...it's been awhile since I heard that explanation, so I might not have remembered it verbatim.
