New Video Card installed, RAM installed, XP crash, Serious FPS Drops

Sgt12Cougar · 07-08-2009, 01:31 AM

Hi,

I recently replaced my video card, an NVidia GeForce 6600 AGP, with a NVidia GeForce 8400 512MB DDR2 PCI. I also installed a 1GB Kingston DDR RAM 400MHz memory module, on top of 512 MB already installed in the computer. All this went into a Dell Dimension 8300 Desktop computer.

Next thing I know, our computer crashed...and it kept saying that Windows got corrupted. This happened several times, and we eventually removed the 1GB memory module. All our problems went away.

However, I have noticed that now, whenever I play my games, such as Call of Duty 2 and Battlefield 2/Project Reality, the game is extremely choppy compared to before, even with the new video card. Call of Duty 2 run on the same settings as before the video card/RAM upgrades and Windows crash is now performing terribly. I have been getting as low as 1 FPS, compared to 30-40 FPS before. Battlefield 2 and Project Reality are very similar in performance: huge FPS drops/constantly low FPS.

I have all the correct Video Drivers and DirectX 9.0C/10 installed. I am getting 2 GB of RAM installed soon, but from my research, that wont help the FPS. Is there anything I can do to get back my lost performance? Will reinstalling/repairing windows do the trick? Any non-gaming program works like before without a hiccup.

Here are my system specs. Yes they meet the system requirements for all three games:

-Dell Dimension 8300
-Intel Pentium 4 Processor at 3.0 GHz with HT Tech
-512MB DDR SDRAM at 300MHz
-512MB DDR2 NVidia GeForce 8400 Video Card PCI (a note here: the original PC came with a DDR/AGP card, not DDR2/PCI like the new one. The RAM is still DDR SD RAM. Could this be causing problems? The 6600 installed before was not the original that came with the PC, but it was also AGP, not PCI).
-300 GB Serial ATA Hard Drive

Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

-Sgt12Cougar

**wrench97** · 07-08-2009, 01:45 AM

AGP is faster then PCI(not the same as PCIe), the 6600 card while older would be faster then a 8400 card.

With Dells I find it best to use matched pairs of Crucial> http://www.crucial.com/store/listpar...08300%20Series

07-08-2009, 01:31 AM	#1 (permalink)
Sgt12Cougar Registered User Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 1 OS: XP SP3	New Video Card installed, RAM installed, XP crash, Serious FPS Drops Hi, I recently replaced my video card, an NVidia GeForce 6600 AGP, with a NVidia GeForce 8400 512MB DDR2 PCI. I also installed a 1GB Kingston DDR RAM 400MHz memory module, on top of 512 MB already installed in the computer. All this went into a Dell Dimension 8300 Desktop computer. Next thing I know, our computer crashed...and it kept saying that Windows got corrupted. This happened several times, and we eventually removed the 1GB memory module. All our problems went away. However, I have noticed that now, whenever I play my games, such as Call of Duty 2 and Battlefield 2/Project Reality, the game is extremely choppy compared to before, even with the new video card. Call of Duty 2 run on the same settings as before the video card/RAM upgrades and Windows crash is now performing terribly. I have been getting as low as 1 FPS, compared to 30-40 FPS before. Battlefield 2 and Project Reality are very similar in performance: huge FPS drops/constantly low FPS. I have all the correct Video Drivers and DirectX 9.0C/10 installed. I am getting 2 GB of RAM installed soon, but from my research, that wont help the FPS. Is there anything I can do to get back my lost performance? Will reinstalling/repairing windows do the trick? Any non-gaming program works like before without a hiccup. Here are my system specs. Yes they meet the system requirements for all three games: -Dell Dimension 8300 -Intel Pentium 4 Processor at 3.0 GHz with HT Tech -512MB DDR SDRAM at 300MHz -512MB DDR2 NVidia GeForce 8400 Video Card PCI (a note here: the original PC came with a DDR/AGP card, not DDR2/PCI like the new one. The RAM is still DDR SD RAM. Could this be causing problems? The 6600 installed before was not the original that came with the PC, but it was also AGP, not PCI). -300 GB Serial ATA Hard Drive Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thanks, -Sgt12Cougar

07-08-2009, 01:45 AM	#2 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,826 OS: Win7	Re: New Video Card installed, RAM installed, XP crash, Serious FPS Drops AGP is faster then PCI(not the same as PCIe), the 6600 card while older would be faster then a 8400 card. With Dells I find it best to use matched pairs of Crucial> http://www.crucial.com/store/listpar...08300%20Series __________________ Power Supply and Selection