GWX / SH III CPU Performance.

[Phaedrus]

Hey.

A few questions for the technically inclined.
I have been playing GWX and enjoying it to the most.


But I have been getting some noticable slow downs, and I started to think I really shouldn't be seeing any.

P4 2.4 GHz, 1 GB RAM, , nVidia GeForce 7600 GT.

After running Speedfan I'm getting readings of:

Local: 26 C
Remote: 32 C
HD0: 164 C
Core: 42 C

Are these readings incorrect?

Doing some reading online I am aware it is running hot.... but if my HD was at 164 wouldn't it have melted long ago?


I'm just looking for a few tips / advice before I head to the store and take it in / break the bank.

Poor students like me can't afford unnecessary spending!

Thanks in advance!

[Wreford-Brown]

I can't answer the temperature question, but was running a P4 3GHz with 1 GB RAM and a decent video card with noticeable slowdowns.
Problem was solved by buying more RAM - no more slowdowns and no more CTDs.
More RAM seems to be the best way of getting better performance at a cheap price, and it's extremely easy to install.

Someone linked to a website that checks your performance and makes recommendations on the best way to improve it. Sorry, I've searched but can't find the link. Hopefully someone can remember where it is and post it for you.

Edit: Check out this post. Although it's based around video cards it may help:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=124386&highlight=performance+checker

[Graf Paper]

My own system is a 2.4 Ghz Athlon with 2GB RAM and an ATI Radeon X1650 Pro 512MB video card.

Your nVidia card is roughly comparable to mine, if I remember correctly the reviews I read at Tom's Hardware Guide.

Definitely get an additional 1GB of RAM. It will make all the difference in the world when running SH3 + GWX, especially if you plan on adding any of the new eye-candy mods that are being released with increasing frequency these days.

GWX 2.0 runs as smooth as butter on my rig, except for some stuttering when a ship explodes and goes up like a fireworks factory. I'm just glad that only happens when you torpedo a tanker or score a critical hit on a ship's fuel bunker or magazine.

As for your system temps, you might consider adding an extra cooling fan and making sure your HD has plenty of air space around it. My own system has 4 case fans, two for intake and two for exhaust, that keeps my box very cool by moving air over the hot spots and giving a fresh supply to the cooling fans on the vid card, CPU, and inside the power supply.

Arrange the case fans so one pulls cooler air in from down low, near the bottom front of the chassis, and the other exhausts it up high, preferably in the top rear as hot air naturally tends to rise.

If that hard drive is still running hot, make sure it's not just the temp sensor being buggy. An overheated drive can be an indication that the drive motor is getting ready to go out. In that case, better backup your data very quickly!

[Sailor Steve]

Problem was solved by buying more RAM - no more slowdowns and no more CTDs.
More RAM seems to be the best way of getting better performance at a cheap price, and it's extremely easy to install.
I've been wanting to upgrade my RAM for some time. Now that I have the money, I'm not sure what kind I'm supposed to buy: DDR, DDR2? I downloaded GriSoft's Sandra program to check my system specs, but I can't find anything referring to RAM type.:-?

[bracer]

Hey!
@Sailor Steve
Try this program, it can tell you what type of RAM you have installed + about everything else about your computer...
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php
/Bracer

[Wreford-Brown]

@Sailor Steve. I've been looking for the utlilty I used but no joy - try bracer's.
I have to be honest - I took the printout from the utility to the local computer store and asked the guys in there what I needed.

[brett25]

sailor steve, if you havent figured out what type of Ram you need, post the make and year of your computer, or better yet, the make and model of your mainbord. This can be located by shining a light onto the board (open your case) and reading off the info. For example, "Asus PBX-52 " Then it should be easy for someone here to look up your RAM type. If you have purchased a computer from Dell or HP and can give the make and model info (eg Dell XPS 620), etc then is extremely easy to findout what RAM you need.

[Sailor Steve]

I want to thank you all for your quick help.

@ Bracer: That program is genious! Much better than Sandra. Thanks loads.:sunny:

[bracer]

Glad to help, hope you found your answers!
Bracer

[bigboywooly]

Visit Crucial Technolgy

http://crucial.com/uk/store/drammemory.aspx

They have a system scanner that will tell you what you have onboard and show you recommended memory and what your motherboard is capable of taking

Although it says mine can have up to 4 Gb and so does the handbook but when I added a 2Gb stick in one of the slots XP and post still showed it as 2Gb onboard when should have been 3
lol