2000 point drop in 3dmark 05

[FPBBrandon]

Hey all,

I just ran 3dmark 05 today, and noticed that it has dropped 2000 marks since the day I bought the rig, around the beginning of August.

My rig is:
Athlon X2 4200+
2 Gigs Corsair DDR2 800
7950GX2
Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe
1st 3Dmark 05 score 8/06: 10961
Today's 3Dmark 05 score 10/06: 8360

My question is, is it normal for a computer's 3dmark score to drop over time, or should I be looking into possible device failures.

If you need any more info, Ill do what I can to dig it up.

 

[Chernobyl1]

Its more likely something is running in the background or you have a driver issue.
I doubt a device has failed but its worth checking in device manager.

Make sure the settings for AA, Filtering etc are set to auto or default.
Try installing the latest motherboard and graphics drivers.

Check what is running in the background with Task Manager.
Check for Virii, run Adaware and Spybot and any other software you use for anti spy/malware.

Download Autoruns and see what runs on startup.
http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/Autoruns.html
Disable anything that has a dodgy looking name, no name or is clearly not something you want to start. Dont disable anything that you are unsure of.