Okay, before I begin, system specs are...

Model : Dell Dimension 4700/micro atx intel mobo (I think) *see dropdown menu for exact mobo*
CPU : P4 HT 2.80 ghz processor (800 mhz fsb)
Ram : 1 gb ddr2 ram, clocked at 533 mhz
Video : x1900 GTO 256 MB PCI E (third or fourth best card on the market right now I think)
Power supply : 400 w (meets card requirements... :s)

Now... here's my problem.

in firefights.... on iceworld... or any map for that matter.... any server... my fps drops to 17-20. A lot of people are completely stumped about it, because I reformatted, reinstalled, defragged, verfied integrity, the whole 9 yards, and with my system specs I should be getting around 150 fps on iceworld. This card was made to handle source on maximum settings without even breaking a sweat.... I exceed the system requirements as far as ram and processor goes... so whats the big idea?

Here's some screenies that may give you a general idea, cuz according to my taskmanager, source is only barely using half of my system power... the highest Ive seen my processor spike is 70% on a 32 man server.

Idle.



under load... and this isnt anywhere near what it does as far as fps and choke is concerned.... running in windowed at 800 x 600 , fps isnt affected at all , nor is choke, loss... etc. I typically play fullscreen. just taken to show effects on processor. With hyperthreading off, processor is usually under 100% load.... it failed the 3dmark 06 test.... .243 frames at the cpu test... 1 frame every four seconds at best.



on oblivion, my fps never stabilizes and it drops below 30 alot.... the benchmark reviews show that this card gets 55 fps constant on max settings in games like source and oblivion.... I meet, and in some cases, exceed the system requirements on the box for games like half life 2, css, oblivion, nwn2 , etc.... what gives?

Id really appreciate any and all help on this matter....

Looking at your taskbar, next to your clock, it looks like you have a few background programs running. You might close a few of the unnessasary ones that could be taking up RAM and CPU cycles.

Hello NightJ1986, welcome to the PC Help Forum.

First of all - i'd like to point out the fact that no matter how good your computer is compared the the reviews - you will never get the same score...
they have pre-configured windows which they customise to the wozza...they only have windows and drivers....and the specific game they're running, or test they're running...to get the best possible score...

However...Oblivion was designed for ATI cards...so I'm surprised you're getting that kind of result - have you updated oblivion to the latest patches?

I notice you have the ATI control panel loaded in your system tray...it might be an idea to download some modified drivers from here - nVIDIA Geforce 8800 7950 7900 7600 GT GTX ATi Radeon x1950 x850 x1900 x1800 1600 XT Pro - Guru of 3D: PC Hardware Reviews - these don't have the ati control panel which has been known to cause many problems.

Also - Are you always running source in a window? Or was that just for screenshot/system load purposes? because running in a window will always cause your game to perform under it's max value.

didnt know there were patches out for oblivion.... mind sending a link my way?

Ill check those modified drivers out... but I tried using the omega drivers previously and my performance was horrible.... Ive always held off on ending the ati tray since I thought it would screw up my game performance... I guess Ill try that tommorow. (tired)

I turned hyperthreading off and oblivion almost always had my processor maxed.... even when Im staring at a blasted door.

one thing is working as its supposed to in my system though, and thats my ram.

All I have running in my taskbar usually is the volume control , ati driver tray , setpoint for my g7 wireless mouse , and avast. Ill try eliminating more processes but I doubt it'll free up much more cpu power.... my ram is fine as is.

When i had WinXP..i only ever had around 26 processes running...currently with Vista i've got 40 running...But i have that much ram i don't notice any performance decrease

Oblivion - The Elder Scrolls

I'd leave HT on....it's one thing P4's had over AMD hands down.

yep, looks like I already had the patch when I installed, my bud musta done that when I let him game on it for a bit. ( he keeps telling me intel sucks and amd rules... the points at my computer and laughs compared to his with an x300 , 1 gig of ram, and amd athlon 64 fx 3200 , he gets much smoother performance than I do, Im so jealous -_-')

ht hasnt really made much of a difference on or off, except I dont stutter as much in oblivion... :s Im really close to being resigned to the fact that despite all the money I put into upgrades, my processor wont cut it for games like source and oblivion... I mean... that has to be it right? Ive ruled out everything else.... I think.... Im pretty sure you guys would know something Im missing. btw.... standing idle in de dust with full aa and af, hdr off, I got a 150 fps spike. I tried it online with 10 other people on, we go into tunnels and commence shooting, my fps drops to 20. *sigh* its like that , no matter what map it is.