3DMark score... Radeon 4890

C

cr9c1

Weaksauce
Joined
Feb 12, 2004
Messages
125
Hey fellas,

Perhaps you can help me figure out if this score I got is normal or low, or what.

Im running Windows XP SP3 and used 3DMark 06.

Specs:

Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe Mainboard
AMD Athlon X2 Dual Core 64 4200+ 2.2 ghz CPU
3GB Corsair DDR2-800 Memory
XFX Radeon 4890

The score I got was 8,427. Im pretty sure thats low...but is it abnormally low for the 4890? Is the CPU really bottlenecking my system? Any help is appreciated.
 
The CPU is really bottlenecking the system. Three GB of memory can't be dual-channel on that motherboard, so that doesn't help either.
 
I figured the CPU was part of the problem. What a good upgrade? The 3.0 ghz chip?

Also, can you explain why 3gb cant be dual channel? I guess I never researched that.

Thanks!
 
The score may be a little low. Perhaps it is your CPU. I get ~18,600, but thats with the CPU and 4890 OC'ed.
 
cr9c1 said:
I figured the CPU was part of the problem. What a good upgrade? The 3.0 ghz chip?

Also, can you explain why 3gb cant be dual channel? I guess I never researched that.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

You could try overclocking your CPU and gain some, but buzzbomb is right, your system is really just not powerful enough to make use of all that the 4890 has to offer.
3GB CAN be dual channel, depending on what DIMM setup you have. If you have 2 x 1GB sticks and then 2 x 512mb sticks they will run in dual channel, but if you just have 3 x 1GB sticks you can't run in dual channel because you need a matching pair of sticks to run in dual channel, just like triple channel requires 3 matching sticks.

I'm not sure if your motherboard would support AM3 processors, I noticed that it is AM2, not AM2+, so what you can do is check to see if a BIOS update or something would let you use newer AM3 chips, then you could go pick up a Phenom II X3 710 and overclock it up to 3.0ghz and also possibly a ram upgrade if you are mixing and matching sticks, but ram is kind of expensive right now.

If you can't upgrade the CPU I would look into maybe buying a budget i5-750 system, CPU will run you about $200 (unless you have a microcenter near you), motherboard will run you about $130-$199 depending on how many features you need, and like a set of 4GB G.Skill DDR3-1333 would run you about $80. So that is about $400~ for a big leap in performance over your Athlon X2.

Also what PSU are you running?
 
Depends on his memory cofiguration and if his motherboard accepts it. 2x 1GB + 2x 512MB would be dual channel, assuming 1 of each per channel.
 
ScourggeFX said:
The score may be a little low. Perhaps it is your CPU. I get ~18,600, but thats with the CPU and 4890 OC'ed.
Click to expand...

What speeds did you get your 4890 to sucessfully?

I have 2x 1GB sticks, and 2x 512's. So that should be dual channel, yes?

I am running this for a PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

I can flash my BIOS to support a Phenom, but im not sure if I will bother. I will probably run this setup another year or so, and buy a new mobo/cpu/ram combo then. Im not a HUGE gamer, but I do like good performance. I average 30-40fps in most games, and to me thats really enough. But wish it was better. Thanks for all the help guys.
 
If you are running both the cpu and gpu at stock then that looks within the normal range of performance.
 
vjcsmoke said:
If you are running both the cpu and gpu at stock then that looks within the normal range of performance.
Click to expand...

Yeah, both are at stock. I am not into OC'ing much...but I may try OC'ing the video card. I also believe Asus has a utility that makes it easy to OC the mobo...is that correct? I could try a CPU OC... I have a hell of a cooler on it. Could anyone give me any insight on CPU ocing? New territory for me.
 
cr9c1 said:
Yeah, both are at stock. I am not into OC'ing much...but I may try OC'ing the video card. I also believe Asus has a utility that makes it easy to OC the mobo...is that correct? I could try a CPU OC... I have a hell of a cooler on it. Could anyone give me any insight on CPU ocing? New territory for me.
Click to expand...

No point in Oc'ing the GPU when your limited by your CPU still. Leave the GPU, it's plenty fine where it is, you will want to focus on O/C'ing your CPU. Just do a simple google search for your processor + overclocking and I guarantee you will get 100 different guides to overclocking, just keep in mind almost every overclock is different so you may get slightly different clock speeds @ different voltages. The basic gist of CPU overclocking includes increasing the FSB slightly (which in turn increases the mhz of the processor) and then testing the stability of the processor. If you have no problems stress testing, increase the fsb more, rinse repeat. Once you can't run stable, increase the CPU voltage (this increases heat output, put also feed the processor more power to run at higher speeds) and rinse repeat the previous process. There is a lot more to it than just this, here is a good article to read:

http://www.overclock.net/overclock.php?file=articles/overclocking-guide.htm

Have any trouble? Post in the Overclocking & Cooling section and the experts here at [H]ard will guide you in the right direction!
 
I got it running at 2.42ghz. I will try it here and most likely leave it or go back to stock. When I get better off I will just build a new machine. Thanks to everyone for the help. Very informative and generous.
 
cr9c1 said:
I got it running at 2.42ghz. I will try it here and most likely leave it or go back to stock. When I get better off I will just build a new machine. Thanks to everyone for the help. Very informative and generous.
Click to expand...

If you are planning on replacing your system then why not try to push your chip to its limits? These chips can handle overclocks, just watch your heat and don't exceed the suggested voltage limit. That way you can enjoy the most your system can offer before you replace it. The point of overclocking is to breath new life into an aging system, and if you can O/C your X2 to maybe just 2.8 then you may notice smoother frame rates as games become less bottle necked by your CPU therefore they can use more of the power of the HD4890. Just try it, you won't fry your CPU if you are careful, infact it would actually require a purposeful effort to fry a chip.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top