Strange performance with brand new computer

[RawG]

Hi everybody!

I've just recently upgraded to a brand new system with the following specs:

CPU = P4 2.8GHz 800Mhz FSB 512k
MoB = MSI 648F Neo - SiS 648FX (supports 800FSB and DDR400)
RAM = 512M PC-3200 DDR400
Vid = Sapphire Radeon 9600XT 256M
HDD = Maxtor 80G 7200RPM ATA133 8M cache
Snd = Yamaha DSXG (ancient)
Fresh WinXP Pro SP1 install

Before I describe the wierdness, I have upgraded to the latest drivers for all components, so no luck there.

Every thing seems A-OK until I start playing a game... even then everything seems OK as long as there is no input... BUT, as soon as I begin trying to control the character, things start going bye-bye... for example:

- BattleField 1942 runs like a dream, and loads up in a fraction of the time compared to my old system. So I load a up an instant battle, and pick a spawn point. I spawn, then try move and things start getting chunky. Sound also jumps about haplessly. Strangely, during the chunkiness, if I push the space bar everything cleans up and runs smooth... as long as I don't try changing direction or shoot, its all good.

- Half-Life: ditto

- Far Cry Demo: same deal

I've tried just about everything I can think of, and was wondering if anyone here had any ideas? On another note, while typing this, it seems the keyboard acts strangely... not repeating properly when I hold the directional keys. Tried another keyboard and the same thing happens.

Anyone.. please help! I'm at my wits end after a $1500 upgrade, and a computer that run nicely until I start giving it input... every thing is brand new, minus a hard drive and DVD-ROM carried over from my previous system.

ARRRRRRRGGGGGGHH!

Thanks in advance.

 

[djnes]

$1500 for a system and you put a SIS chipset mobo in there? Seriously, the Intel 865 and 875 are the most stable chipsets available right now. No reason not to have one of those two. That being said, considering your keyboard problem, it sound like the board is a little off. Might be an RMA issue, or a BIOS upgrade. I had the gaming problem a long time ago, and a BIOS revision fixed it way back years ago on an Asus board. But, I'd consider another board anyway.

 

[RawG]

Hey djnes,

Thanks for your reply.

So you reckon the mobo is to blame... I'll try updating the BIOS, and see if that fixes the issue. Looking back at my description, it does seem to be keyboard related... Do you think that maybe trying a USB keyboard might make a difference?

Is there a performance incentive to get another mobo with an Intel chipset, or is it simply for stabilty sake?

Thanks again for your quick reply, I'll let ya know how I go...

Regards,

RawG

 

[133]

turn off Vsync ?

 

[djnes]

The Intel boards are more stable and faster for the P4s. Fastest I should say. And when I state Intel, I mean the chipset, not the whole board. Intel brand boards are very stable, but don't offer any tweaking features.

If your PS2 ports are blown, or bad, a USB keyboard would work fine.

 

[Dem]

Does your motherboard try letting your memory run at lower settings?

If so, try lowering the speed/latency of your memory. Maybe not gonna do anything, but I was messing around with my memory speeds, and when I went a bit too high (but not high enough that the system wouldn't boot) I had strange pause / then do stuff behaviour out of my machine.

And since it's a p4, of course make sure it's not running too warm and trying to clock itself down. That would be aggravating .

Erik

 

[Atragon]

Reading over that, it doesn't seem to be video related since there are no glitches, it's just jumpy and the sound is also affected.

It doesn't seem like a keyboard problem, since if it was then sound probably wouldn't be affected.

It probably isn't a sound problem since the whole thing is jumpy.

This leaves either CPU, RAM, or MB.

I'd recommend running a few rounds of Prime95, and a few rounds of MemTest. If you get errors replace the bit causing the difficulties. If both come up clean, or if both come up dirty, it's possibly/probably the MB.