Best ways to increase performance without spending a lot

Hey, would love some feedback from some more experienced PC users/builders..

I'm trying to get my rig to perform better, because I feel my performance is lower than it should be for the system that I have..

Here's my specs..

Monitor: HP vs17e 17" flat

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3800+ X2

GPU: 8800 GTS 320mb SC

RAM: 2 gigs of PC3200 (I'm running 2x 512mb and a 1 gig stick, would it help a lot to remove the 2x 512mb and match my 1 gig?)

HD: 300gig 7200 RPM

OS: Windows XP SP 2

3DMark06 present score: 6987

Any ideas? I always run my games on a gaming profile that hasall the windows goodies shut off, I regularly defragment and run disk cleanup. My performance in games isn't bad, don't get me wrong, but I've just got this feeling that my rig should be doing a bit better than it is. I've seen similar systems get 3DMark06 scores of over 8000. Any ideas would be MUCH appreciated! Thansk!

Can't think of anything other just keeping it clean of spyware, defragging and shutting down services like you say. If your CPU and GPU aren't Overclocked i would go with that, keep the case clean and cool and maybe consider a Western Digital Raptor 10,000 RPM drive :? Update your drivers also. And please get a new monitor!!X360PS3AMD05

Adding a raptor to that rig would have to be one of the worst things you can do, its expensive and wont provide much of a performance boost. If you don't want a big upgrade, get another 1gb stick of RAM and run the RAM in dual channel mode (sooner rather than later, becausein the near future PC3200 is only going to get more expensive). Your big bottlenecks in that system is the RAM and CPU so if you want to get better performance out of the gpu, you should seriously consider overclocking.

What's an ideal temp for my 3800+ if I overclock? I usually run 120-130 F during load. Also, what do you mean match my 1gig to run dual channel? If I have 2 gigs of standard, I can run it in dual? And also, any general tips for OCing?GabrielVan

overclock your processor straight to 2.4ghz on stock volts. thats what ive been running for 2 years and im rock stable at 40C idle. btw all computer temps are discussed in celsius usually so please try to use celsius because I can't think right when you go talking in fahrenheit for computers.

I would definitely swap out those 2 sticks of 512 for a full gig. your mobo will thank you. you can also overclock your ram then if the mood strikes you. some good timings for ram are 4-4-4-12 if the mood so strikes you.

as for your gfx. i would crank the core to 600 and the memory to 1100 on stock volts. i generally don't like overvolting but I might just go for it on my rig thats coming in from newegg soon.

remember: overclocking is the cheapest method for improving performance. time and money are saved if you know what you're doing.

[QUOTE="GabrielVan"]What's an ideal temp for my 3800+ if I overclock? I usually run 120-130 F during load. Also, what do you mean match my 1gig to run dual channel? If I have 2 gigs of standard, I can run it in dual? And also, any general tips for OCing?pridetwo

overclock your processor straight to 2.4ghz on stock volts. thats what ive been running for 2 years and im rock stable at 40C idle. btw all computer temps are discussed in celsius usually so please try to use celsius because I can't think right when you go talking in fahrenheit for computers.

I would definitely swap out those 2 sticks of 512 for a full gig. your mobo will thank you. you can also overclock your ram then if the mood strikes you. some good timings for ram are 4-4-4-12 if the mood so strikes you.

as for your gfx. i would crank the core to 600 and the memory to 1100 on stock volts. i generally don't like overvolting but I might just go for it on my rig thats coming in from newegg soon.

remember: overclocking is the cheapest method for improving performance. time and money are saved if you know what you're doing.

Overclocking the CPU will help. Running your RAM in dual channel mode will also help... If you get another 1GB stick, you can run a 1GB and a 512MB in each channel. Good timings for PC3200 are actually more like 2-2-2-5, but just match what you have now.

I wouldn't even bother overclocking the video on that system... A 8800GTS will not in any way be a bottleneck there.

it doesnt, its the cooling that will, as long as its running at a safe temperature, it will last as long as a safe one.

so basically, if you OC, increase cooling proportionately so it runs at the same temp as a stock one, then it will last the same as a stock one

it doesnt, its the cooling that will, as long as its running at a safe temperature, it will last as long as a safe one.

so basically, if you OC, increase cooling proportionately so it runs at the same temp as a stock one, then it will last the same as a stock one

kruesader

I have a 5-7yr old CPU that is running at 74C. How is that possible?

I read an OCing article on tomshardware that said that only a certain amout of "stuff" can be processed by the CPU and that OCing would shorten its life by processing that "stuff" faster. Is this not true?