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Hi all,
This is not a current issue as I've since moved to a new computer. However, I felt that I never fully researched the issue I had, and I'm just wondering if my experience below was due to either a CPU, PSU bottleneck, both, or neither.
While I'm one to strongly advocate building over buying, my last computer was a Dell Dimension XPS-2 w/ a Northwood C P4 3Ghz processor, 2 Gigs of RAM, and a 9800XT. The reason I bought at the time was that AnandTech posted a positive review along with a link to an amazing discount, and coupled with another discount I had, the machine was much cheaper than anything I could build for the money. I know it's rare but it does happen.
Anyway, the computer served well and lasted quite a while. It's only drawback, however, was that it was purchased three months before AGP went extinct, so my video card upgrade options became limited. (On the otherhand, I was quite fortunate to purchase three months before too, thus avoiding Prescott.) When my 9800 XT became long in the tooth, I decided to upgrade to an X850 XT PE. It was the best choice at the time, with the 7800GS cards not yet out. Besides, staying in the ATI realm meant I didn't have to switch drivers.
The card never performed well, and I never got around to figuring out why. Was the P4 a bottleneck, or did the card need more than juice than Dell's proprietary 420Watt PSU could supply? Some games did run well, like Doom 3 and Prey, but most suffered with mediocre performance. I'd always try running games at 1600x1200 w/ no AA or AF first, as that was my monitor's native res. When that didn't turn out well, I'd downscale to 1024x768... The biggest problem I experienced was that so many games crashed with the new card. Again, some wouldn't, but everythign from BF2142 to even RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 would, like clockwork, kick out between a half-hour to an hour of gaming.
Anyway, not that it really matters now, but I'd appreciate any insight. Since I didn't have much time for gaming when I bought the card, I never really figured out what was going on. It is of some relevance to me today, however, as I contemplate what to do with the machine.
Thanks,
Mark.
This is not a current issue as I've since moved to a new computer. However, I felt that I never fully researched the issue I had, and I'm just wondering if my experience below was due to either a CPU, PSU bottleneck, both, or neither.
While I'm one to strongly advocate building over buying, my last computer was a Dell Dimension XPS-2 w/ a Northwood C P4 3Ghz processor, 2 Gigs of RAM, and a 9800XT. The reason I bought at the time was that AnandTech posted a positive review along with a link to an amazing discount, and coupled with another discount I had, the machine was much cheaper than anything I could build for the money. I know it's rare but it does happen.
Anyway, the computer served well and lasted quite a while. It's only drawback, however, was that it was purchased three months before AGP went extinct, so my video card upgrade options became limited. (On the otherhand, I was quite fortunate to purchase three months before too, thus avoiding Prescott.) When my 9800 XT became long in the tooth, I decided to upgrade to an X850 XT PE. It was the best choice at the time, with the 7800GS cards not yet out. Besides, staying in the ATI realm meant I didn't have to switch drivers.
The card never performed well, and I never got around to figuring out why. Was the P4 a bottleneck, or did the card need more than juice than Dell's proprietary 420Watt PSU could supply? Some games did run well, like Doom 3 and Prey, but most suffered with mediocre performance. I'd always try running games at 1600x1200 w/ no AA or AF first, as that was my monitor's native res. When that didn't turn out well, I'd downscale to 1024x768... The biggest problem I experienced was that so many games crashed with the new card. Again, some wouldn't, but everythign from BF2142 to even RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 would, like clockwork, kick out between a half-hour to an hour of gaming.
Anyway, not that it really matters now, but I'd appreciate any insight. Since I didn't have much time for gaming when I bought the card, I never really figured out what was going on. It is of some relevance to me today, however, as I contemplate what to do with the machine.
Thanks,
Mark.
