2.80 GHz Processor w/ 8GB RAM - Need Help

[Ezenemy]

Alright, so I noticed that I was dropping A LOT of frames in an online FPS game.
Wait let me tell you my specs so you know what's going on.

ATI Radeon 4650 HD
AMD Phenom II X4 925 2.80 Processor
8 GB RAM

Anyways as I was saying I play this game on a 1280x960 Resolution at HIGH settings and I easily get 150+ frames at any given time. Now it started going under 100 even at a 1280x720 on LOW settings, I was a bit worried to this so after it continued I reformatted my PC. Now this is when I started realizing that the overall speed of the PC is pretty slow. So I updated all the drivers on my video card, and updated windows because I just reformatted it. Now when I say 'slow' I mean I spent $1200 dollars on this computer, and I never expected that it would take a long time to get past the welcome screen, and even in Sony Vegas which is an editing program like it was so slow I can't even use it, the same with Photoshop it is extremely slow. Then I thought to when I was playing a game earlier that day and it was like four on four and I was running my usual settings 1280x960 and the frames we're pretty normal. It was then when about 8 more people joined it went back to it's rut which is like under 60 FPS. Then I thought that maybe it's not my Radeon that is acting up, but my processor, everything acts fine with say eight people, but when sixteen join it has to "process" more, hence the processor being slow.

Now this is just a theory, but I got a friend who is extremely smart with computers and I told him and he replied with this "As for your theory, an overheating processor could throttle down to lower the temperature so it's a possibility."

I don't really know what that means, but I spent a lot of money on this PC, and even though I plan to upgrade my Radeon in a bit, I never thought I would have to get a new processor this soon, I bought the computer early November 09, and the computer has been great.

I REALLY appreciate the help..

P.S: My OP is Win7.

 

[Fumz]

What game?

 

[Ezenemy]

What game?

It doesn't really matter because it's been doing it with all my games I think. But Combat Arms would be the specific one. Still the gaming is worrying me, but my over all speed of my PC is what concerns me most, can anyone help me?

 

[sygnus21]

From my Tips on Troubleshooting Game Issues...

Ok, first off we can’t help if you don’t supply the most basic of information – systems specs. The importance of this can’t be overstated since game performance is highly dependent on your hardware. Please see this tutorial on filling out system specs as well as my How To Ask For Help guide.

Help us help you

Thanks

 

[Fumz]

Yes, please do fill out your specs.

In the meantime, I think there might be two issues to resolve? First, the slow booting. We'll need to know what you've got loading at startup. Hit the Windows Logo and type in, without quotes, "msconfig", then hit Enter. Click on the startup tab and then list everything that's checked.

Your second issue, low fps, doesn't really seem to be an issue. I spent an hour or two last night reading just about anything I could find on your video card's performance in games. I'm not sure it's going to matter if you have the 512MB version, or the 1GB version because in the end, the results are about the same: 128-bit memory bus, 320 stream processors, 600MHz gpu clock, 500MHz memory clock. In a nutshell, this is more of an htpc video card and less a gaming card.

To be sure, there are some games where it does well, like Far Cry (1, not 2) and Quake Wars, but that's only when there's no AA applied and only when the resolution is at 1024x768 or lower. Most of the time, fps is about what you'd expect to see from a low to mid-range card. How are you determining your fps of "150"+ ?" Are you using FRAPS, or something else?

That you report fps drops when more players join the server only reinforces the point. At 1280, your resolution is simply too much for the card to handle. There's probably nothing at all wrong with your machine. It's just that the games you're playing don't/can't take advantage of multiple cores... and those that do, like Far Cry, don't really do it that well. It's an older game.

Quake wars does take advantage of multi core systems, which is why your card performs so much better at that game than it does on single core systems, but still, because of the card's physical limitations, as you increase resolution, it drops fps at a larger rate than stronger cards.

Having gotten all that negative stuff out of the way, there are some things you can do to try and bump your speed a bit... just don't expect miracles. First thing you should do is update your DirectX. Grab the June redist; it will update all DirectX versions for you: Download details: DirectX End-User Runtime

Also, try running your most demanding game at 1024x768. How much eye candy you can run all depends on the number of players in the server, and whether or not you've got the 512MB version or the 1GB version.

 

[sygnus21]

ATI Radeon 4650 HD - Agree with Fumz. That card isn't really a "Gaming" card per se.

You might look through my Tips on Troubleshooting Game Issues get some tips on improving your gaming performance. As Fumz pointed out... Updating your Direct X files is one, lowering your resoulution is another. Making sure you have the latest drivers is yet another. All these and more are listed in the guide. Have a look and let us know what you come up with.

Good luck.

 

[mpcrsc562]

Not meaning to be rude, but if you can tell the difference between 150 fps and 60 fps, then you need to working for the NSA or NASA! In a nutshell, 30 fps is playable and 60 fps is cake.

As the others have already stated, the 4650 is NOT a gaming card.

To add in on Combat Arms, the issue you might be experiencing with the low frame rates might actually be with your internet connection (and the connection of the others as well), rather than the performance of your card.

Also, you state that you have 8GB of installed ram, but are you running the 32-bit or 64-bit of Windows 7? What are the running processes at the time you are gaming?

 

[sygnus21]

Even though you can't "see" the 150, you can certainly feel it in game play.

As to the 8gig of RAM, I certainly hope he's using a 64-bit OS, otherwise he's wasting money and slowing his system with the unnecessary strain on the motherboard.

But we won't know any of these answers untill his system specs are filled out

 

[Ezenemy]

64 Bit and my card is 1GB.

I am thinking of upgrading to the Radeon 5770 is this what you were calling a "gaming" card?
​

 

[sygnus21]

You could classify the 5770 as a gaming card, yes.

BTW I can't read that image you posted. Sorry.

As to the 8gig of RAM, I certainly hope he's using a 64-bit OS, otherwise he's wasting money and slowing his system with the unnecessary strain on the motherboard.

64 Bit and my card is 1GB​

Phew... you had us worried there for a second

 

[Ezenemy]

You could classify the 5770 as a gaming card, yes.

BTW I can't read that image you posted. Sorry.

http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/a402/Ezenemy/Untitled-1.png

 

[Ezenemy]

As to the 8gig of RAM, I certainly hope he's using a 64-bit OS, otherwise he's wasting money and slowing his system with the unnecessary strain on the motherboard.

64 Bit and my card is 1GB​

Phew... you had us worried there for a second

You could classify the 5770 as a gaming card, yes.

BTW I can't read that image you posted. Sorry.

Yeah, now when you said "you can classify the 5770 as a gaming card" how well? Because I was told this, and to quote it as well.

"Is a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X a good car? It sure is, especially for its price($50 000) but is it as good, fast and luxurious as a Ferrari Enzo? Far from it. Do I(or you) have the money for the Enzo? Not really. Is the Evo X a good car for the price? Probably the best car you can get for your buck if you ask me. Same goes for the video card. Unless you have the money to spend on a 5870, the 5770 is one of the best card on the market for its price. Still, if you can spend more, I would recommend a 5850 (not the 5870, far too expensive for you)."

 

[Fumz]

"Is a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X a good car? It sure is, especially for its price($50 000) but is it as good, fast and luxurious as a Ferrari Enzo? Far from it. Do I(or you) have the money for the Enzo? Not really. Is the Evo X a good car for the price? Probably the best car you can get for your buck if you ask me. Same goes for the video card. Unless you have the money to spend on a 5870, the 5770 is one of the best card on the market for its price. Still, if you can spend more, I would recommend a 5850 (not the 5870, far too expensive for you)."

Lol... where did you get this analogy? It's priceless.

Even if the video card were only $5.00, if it can't do what you want it to do, which is game, then it's not worth it.

If you told us all the games you play, or would like to play, we could offer you some solid choices.

 

[sygnus21]

There is always something "better" then the next. The 5770 isn't a 5850, 5870 or 5970, or going Nvidia... a 470 or 480, but is is a good gaming card for the money.

Google 5770, read the reviews and decide for yourself...and wallet

 

[Ezenemy]

Alright will do.

But I've given you my specs, so now to the slowness of my PC?

And I'd like to be able to play any game out right now with no issues.

 

[Fumz]

At 1920x1080, which by the way is pure gaming goodness , you're going to need a rather beefy card that compliments the rest of your system, which is by all accounts fairly robust.

I guess it all boils down to DX11: do you want/need it, or can you live with DX10? The 5770 is a good card. It's DX11, which is amazing, but you might find that at 1920 you may have to live without AA and/or play some titles on medium. At about that same price point is the GTX 260, which is DX10, but will give you a bit more fps. For high settings at 1920, currently the best bang for the buck is the 5850, DX11. For a bit more, the GTX 470 offers slightly higher fps in some titles, others not; however, where the 470 shines is its high minimum fps. It's hotter and consumes a lot more power, so, there's a trade off you've got to weigh.

No card, with the possible exception of the 5970, performs the same across the board for all games. What you'd like to do is compare cards for your favorite game and see how they stack up.

 

[Ezenemy]

At 1920x1080, which by the way is pure gaming goodness , you're going to need a rather beefy card that compliments the rest of your system, which is by all accounts fairly robust.

I guess it all boils down to DX11: do you want/need it, or can you live with DX10? The 5770 is a good card. It's DX11, which is amazing, but you might find that at 1920 you may have to live without AA and/or play some titles on medium. At about that same price point is the GTX 260, which is DX10, but will give you a bit more fps. For high settings at 1920, currently the best bang for the buck is the 5850, DX11. For a bit more, the GTX 470 offers slightly higher fps in some titles, others not; however, where the 470 shines is its high minimum fps. It's hotter and consumes a lot more power, so, there's a trade off you've got to weigh.

No card, with the possible exception of the 5970, performs the same across the board for all games. What you'd like to do is compare cards for your favorite game and see how they stack up.

Mind telling me what "AA" is?

 

[Fumz]

Anti Aliasing. It's the reason why video cards have such huge amounts of onboard RAM these days. Basically, it smooths out edges and makes the game look a lot better; however, it does require a strong gpu and a lot of memory.

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/ati_super_aa_vs_nvidia_sli_aa/

 

[Fumz]

Alright will do.

But I've given you my specs, so now to the slowness of my PC?

What have you got loaded at startup? What are your RAM timings? Download cpu-z, install it and run it, then click the memory tab. CPUID - System & hardware benchmark, monitoring, reporting

Tell us everything that cpuz says, then click the SPD tab, and tell us exactly what sticks of memory you have... I assume they're all the same?

 

[sygnus21]

Unfortunately "slowness" is a relative term that can mean anything. It’s virtually impossible to determine what slow is for you as we don’t know what apps you use, have open, or is running in the background. Since your main issue appears to be games, you may want to look at updating your card as you propose to do. Than after that, do a reassessment of the situation by giving some of these tools a try as discussed here - Latest Overclocking Programs, System Info, Benchmarking, & Stability Tools

I’m sorry I can’t be of any further help than what I posted. As for listing your system specs, it’s always good to list them as others with similar systems may be able to point something out that others are missing. In short, though you listed the specs as requested, and I wasn’t able to answer, it doesn’t mean someone else can’t.

In addition to Fumz suggestion, I would suggest you run some benchmarking tools and post the results so that we (others) have something to go by.

Good luck.

And again, I can't read those specs on that image. The font/image is too small. That's why we have the "System Specs" tab