Straange, disappointing performance decrease :(

[Fishbulb]

'lo folks!
Maybe I was memorable and a few of you remember my "Hello" post from a few weeks ago. But probably not.. I'm a pretty forgettable feller.

Anywhoo, I built myself a new PC not too long ago. The specs are in my profile at the left <--..

The thing performed wonderfully.. I was playing Crysis at 1680x1050 at High settings and my FPS would never drop below ~35. That was nice.

But then.. one day.. I'm not sure what happened, but everything went awry. The only thing I changed at that time was a few settings in the nvidia control panel, and I added my 2nd monitor.

It happened spontaneously.. but my FPS in Crysis dropped by ALOT. Like I said, it would never drop below about 35.. Now it averages 25-30 I ran 3dMark '06 on it before.. I got between 13000 and 14000 marks.. Now it's dropped to about 11500. WHAT IS THE DEAL?

I mean. The computer still runs great, but I KNOW that it's capable of alot more. I was thinking of getting a new CPU heatsink/fan and OCing it, but I'm definitely not going to do that if there's some kind of software issue going on that's holding me back.

At first I thought it was drivers, even though I had recently installed the most recent ones for my videocard.. So I tried uninstalling my old drivers, reinstalling my new ones. No dice. I went into the Nvidia Control Panel and mucked about with all of the settings in there, because that's what I changed when this started happening.. But there was minimal difference. I also tried disabling my second monitor (mind you; I didn't unplug it, but that shouldn't make a difference..), but I was still in the same range of 3dmarks.

My original thought was that it had something to do with the videocard.. not a hardware issue, but software. Drivers, maybe? Don't know.
Now I'm leaning more towards a motherboard thing.. I might have downloaded a bunch of new drivers from the Asus website when this started happening, but I don't realllyyy remember. I think reinstalling the mobo drivers that came on the CD is my next plan of action.
I also noticed that CPUz is telling me that my 800MHz RAM is running at 400MHz? I don't know why and I'm not sure how to look in the BIOS to see if it's something set improperly. However, I did set my ram's timing and voltage to its rated settings in the BIOS.

Another request:
Can someone link me to a good CPU overclocking guide (there's alot out there, I want to read the best one around ), a good guide to RAM OCing, and a good guide to OCing Nvidia GPUs? (I'm used to just using ATITool on my old piece of crap, but as far as I know, there's no Nvidia tool. )

Thanks for your help, fellers.
I know I'll have a very helpful novel from someone, equal to or greater than my own novel that I just posted, in about 15 minutes.. and I appreciate it. ahaha.

[moogle]

I also noticed that CPUz is telling me that my 800MHz RAM is running at 400MHz? I don't know why and I'm not sure how to look in the BIOS to see if it's something set improperly. However, I did set my ram's timing and voltage to its rated settings in the BIOS.

DDR2 = Double Data Rate so just multiply that 400 by 2 and you've got your 800MHz.

No novel post as I've no idea about the monitor stuff

Someone else will be here to post it though

[Fishbulb]

DDR2 = Double Data Rate so just multiply that 400 by 2 and you've got your 800MHz.

xD yesyes, I figured that one out on my own about 5 minutes after posting! haha.
Thanks though

[Fishbulb]

y'know.. it seems to maybe be just a culmination of little changes and differences that added up to a pretty huge decrease in performance.

As I tweak and play around more, my 3dmarks seem to be coming up, and my performance overall seems to be increasing.

So now I'm thinking.. What kinda Heatsink/fan should I go with to OC my CPU?

[moogle]

Thermalright Ultra 120? Or the 90mm one which performs the same. Those are still good but I'm sure the list has updated since I checked. Arctic Freezer Pro is the usual one people go for but don't expect massive overclocks

[Emirzan]

Another request:
Can someone link me to a good CPU overclocking guide (there's alot out there, I want to read the best one around ), a good guide to RAM OCing, and a good guide to OCing Nvidia GPUs? (I'm used to just using ATITool on my old piece of crap, but as far as I know, there's no Nvidia tool. )

Sticky thread in the hardware forum:

Clunk's Core 2 Beginner overclocking guide

[Fishbulb]

Yeahh. I think I've solved my problems, which were trivial to begin with.
I'm not looking for massive overclocks. Something between 3.0-3.4GHz on my Q6600 would be MORE than enough. I'd really be happy with anything over 2.9

So now, I really am thinking of what kinda fan to get.

Suggestions?

[vinnyT]

I had my q6600 up to 3.6 on air (just to se what it could do, not all cpu's are equal), and have it oc'ed to 3.0 for everyday settings. This is using the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 (H.D.T.) http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=700899, make sure you also get the Thermalright LGA775 Bolt-Thru-Kit (Ximatek do their own bolt thru device but I couldn't find it), http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=693374, as these prevent warping the mobo and feel more secure that the push pins.

[hibby]

Are you disabling the second monitor to run your tests? I don't know how much of an effect it will have, but that's going to sap some performance.

A vote for the Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120, nice and quiet if paired with a Scythe fan or similar.