Overclocking

[cavill]

Does anybody overclock there graphics cards? Because i get same specs as other peoples computers and they get a much higher benchmark score than me.

[Stormfalcon]

There's probably some overclocking going on (I tend to lean against it since it increases the heat in a system and can shorten component lifespans), but that's probably not why your scores are falling behind. It could be any number of factors. Some mobo chipsets are slower or faster than others, for instance. Onboard sound chips can slow down a system a tad. You may have some background programs running that suck up CPU cycles and memory. Windows might not be optimized for performance. There are a lot of various things that could account for your lower performance, not just whether or not a video card is overclocked.

[cavill]

Well i just got this computer, it doesnt even have internet yet (im using tafe computers and getting the net in a few days) so it doesnt have any background programs going. The only thing i think it could be is the mobo (motherboard right?) Can anybody suggest some good mobo's? When i go home i will try find out what mobo i have and find out if its any good.

[Stormfalcon]

I wouldn't be too sure that your new computer doesn't have anything running in the background. Oftentimes, the vendor (especially if it's one of the big name vendors like HP/Compaq, Sony, Dell, etc.) will have the computer preloaded with various programs, some of which run in the background. Furthermore, some Windows options are unnecessarily turned on by default (Windows Messenger - not to be confused with MSN Messenger - anyone?).

A good way to check would be to A) check your Startup folder, which you can access through your Start menu, B) Check the notification area of your Taskbar (usually on the right with the clock) to see what's currently running C) hit Ctrl-Alt-Del and go to task manager, looking at both applications running and processes running, and if you're feeling technically competent, D) check your registry and prune out even more background apps.

You'd be surprised to find what little bits of code are running that you're unaware of.

[cavill]

I have checked all that, its a brand new computer that hasnt had internet access yet, the only thing in startup folder is Microsoft Office, taskbar has nothing but important things and applications are all important so its nothing to do with whats running, i believe it would be more to do with the mobo and graphics card, i wanna try out my dads Radeon 9600 pro and see if that works any better.

[Doppelganger]

i don't think you understand, it's not just startup folder you need to check, but also unneeded services (like messanger service and several others at http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/service411.htm ) and uneeded items in hkey_local_machine\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\run and hkey_current_user\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\run


if you have checked these, then my post is for nothing, but if it helps you, good...

p.s. get the most reliable drivers you can for your components as well as dx9.0b if your card supports it (might not help ffxi much if at all, but it'll make your system a bit better)