video card question
polycounter lvl 20
So just recently i've gone through some hardware failures and i''ve had to replace my e-Geforce 8800 gtx 768mb with a gtx460 SE 1gb.
I'm trying to figure out how this is possible, but the 8800 from 2006 had a bigger impact on performance than the new 460.
My system is absolute crap, but somehow the 8800 managed to compensate flawlessly.
my system specs are:
intel core 2 @ 2ghz
2046mb ram,
xp pro
Before i lost the 8800 i was running the newest games at max detail, highest AA settings and still maintaining an average of 60fps, now with the 460 i can barely run things like left for dead 2 or brink over 30fps on low detail.
did i somehow hit a sweet spot with a crappy system and powerhouse card? i'm pretty unfamiliar with how GPU's work, so any light that could be shed on this would be much appreciated...
I'm trying to figure out how this is possible, but the 8800 from 2006 had a bigger impact on performance than the new 460.
My system is absolute crap, but somehow the 8800 managed to compensate flawlessly.
my system specs are:
intel core 2 @ 2ghz
2046mb ram,
xp pro
Before i lost the 8800 i was running the newest games at max detail, highest AA settings and still maintaining an average of 60fps, now with the 460 i can barely run things like left for dead 2 or brink over 30fps on low detail.
did i somehow hit a sweet spot with a crappy system and powerhouse card? i'm pretty unfamiliar with how GPU's work, so any light that could be shed on this would be much appreciated...
Replies
Would definately completely reinstall up to date drivers.
i've done a clean wipe of all my video drivers and still no improvements.
things are getting pretty cluttered lately, might do a reformat
This is just wild speculation on my part... its not like Microsoft would intentionally slow systems down trying to get people to upgrade... its not like they haven't done that in the past... oh wait.
Always good to do regular defrags and try and keep the harddrives in order.
Not entirely sure what the cause might be... hopefully someone suitably knowledgeable should be along shortly...
I would say if you were going to reformat anyway, that might be your best bet for now, at least to rule out any software issues. If the problem persists after that, it's probably a hardware issue. Off the top of my head a few possibilities I can think of:
1. Hardware is failing - This could actually be the best one because it just means you need to trade in the busted card for a new one. It could be your motherboard kicking the bucket, but if all was fine before that's unlikely to be the culprit now.
2. Overheating - A variant of #1, sort of. Maybe one or more fans in your computer (including possibly the video card's fan) is not working correctly, or not effectively cooling enough. Nowadays, CPUs and video cards don't keep heating up till they melt themselves thankfully, but to accomplish that they reduce their own speed until the heat comes down to an acceptable level. So despite being better than your old card normally, your shiny new one might be downclocking itself so hard it's actually performing worse. Your CPU might be doing this too, or maybe they're both doing it. Aside from non-working fans this can happen if the case you've got isn't providing a good airflow that lets enough hot air out and cool air in. Even if it was fine before, if this new card is very large it might be getting in the way of where the air normally would go. Usually this happens especially when you're gaming or doing heavy 3d work, since that's when your computer (and especially video card) is working the hardest.
3. Hardware incompatibility - Worst one because you can't really fix this at all except for just plain getting a new computer. In particular it might be your motherboard is too old for the video card. This isn't the only possibly issue, but one thing that comes to mind is PCI Express slot specifications. There are a few different standards of PCIExpress x16 slots, PCIex 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, etc. The main difference from what I understand is how much power the actual port can provide to the device, I think there are probably other differences as well though. Your card is almost certainly made for v2.0 or later and if you have XP 32-bit I'm gonna guess your motherboard is 1.1 at best. They are supposed to be backward compatible, but that might only extend as far as "It works" and not "It works like it's supposed to". This is similar to what Mark Dygert said about how just because there are drivers for XP 32-bit doesn't mean they're any good. A quick anecdote on this though, I myself have a motherboard that is 1.1a or something, and my video card (a 9800 GT), which is made for 2.0, has zero issues. But a 9800 GT is still considerably older than a GTX 460, so it's definitely something to look at.
quick edit: Yes, 7 actually is a little easier on the RAM requirement. Your computer would definitely run Win 7 no problem.
I was reading up about the differences in pciE slot speets and got the same answer, so i'm putting a lot of possibility into that one since this mobo is so old and was a budget model to begin with.
Overheating most likely isnt an issue since i've got the entire side of the case open almost all the time because my 8800 produced so much heat, and my software thermostat is reading at normal levels, unless thats not registering correctly.
well, i'l give a format a shot, i guess i'l see if i can find a cheap copy of 7 somewhere
(thou, its an ati card)