[API]

Hi there, sorry that this is my first post and im already asking for Help, I will be an active member though

My problem is this, I've just replaced some old Hardware with new stuff from ebuyer.co.uk.

My old system was as follows :-

MSI KT6-Delta FISR Mobo
ATi 9600 Pro 256MB DDR AGP 8x
AMD Athlon XP 2800
768MB DDR 400 Geil Ram (With Heatspreader)
Western Digital 80GB SATA HD

I was quite pleased with this system until I purchased Need For Speed : Carbon and decided I wanted better graphics.

I decided to do this 64 bit processor stuff now the prices are down...

So my new system is as follows :-

Asus A8N32-SLi Deluxe Mobo
Asus nVidia 7300GS 256MB DDR PCI-E
AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego Core (E4 Version)
768MB DDR 400 Geil Ram (With Heatspreader)
Western Digital 80GB SATA HD

Now on the Memory front, I did actually buy 1GB (2x 512) Corsair Value Ram sticks... But I updated my bios setup and they didnt get on with my system then... The Geil from my old setup seems to be alot nicer... As you can see, same HD as before, obviously with a Clean Insteall of Windows XP Pro.

My problem is Simple. After installing All of the new drivers, all the Windows updates (Bassically getting the system running as clean as possible)

I then installed Need For Speed : Carbon... Only to find that the graphical quality of my new setup is either Just on Par with my old setup if not a shade worse...

I genuinely cant understand this, comparing the specs there, Personally I would have thought my new setup would Out run the old by a mile!

But that is not the case...

Any advice? Let Me Know!?

(Is it possibly down to the fact that I am only running 1x PCI-E Graphics cards and I should have 2?)

Cheers, Adam.:sigh:

 

[floydfan]

you got a 7300gs, that card is not better than a 9600 pro. you need at least a 7300gt, ideally a 7600gs for there to be any noticeable improvement.

 

[API]

so this is more than likely my problem? Also, is it worth having 2 PCI-E Cards? I mean, is 2 really that much better than 1?

 

[-d-]

The 7300GS is a lower end card, not really ideal for gaming. My suggestion, try and return the 7300, and go for a 7600GS. Another nice ATI card is the RADEON x800 GTO, which goes for about 100bucks, if not less.

 

[TheMatt]

I would be looking at a 7600GT or a 7900GS.
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/106578
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/115739
The 9600Pro and the 7300GS would probably be about the same, maybe the 7300GS would be a little less in terms of performance.

 

[API]

Right good, am making progress here! Right, just 1 more thing then...

Ive always been an ATi person, ive always had ATi cards and theyve never steered me wrong!

I bought this Motherboard and it has an nForce4 Chipset, so I thought, it might all work A bit better etc... with a nVidia graphics card too... Is this the case? otherwise, Ill look into going back to ATi for a card...

Cheers, Adam.

 

[linderman]

Get the ATI card Matt has suggested


also you are not capializing on dual channel memory performance which is a 10-20% increase by not having a matched pair of rams sticks

you should have at minimum 2 x 512 2 x one gig would be even better!

then if you buy the correct memory you will then get dual channel performance. Make sure if you buy memory; you verify the model sticks you are going to get before you buy them with the memory manufacturers website configurator

like Crucial, corsair, OCZ

 

[floydfan]

dual channel might be alot on memory bandwidth, but the actual speed difference is more like 5-10% rather than 10-20%. it is still adviseable to go to at least 1gb of ram though, as future games will only want more and more memory, and if you want to go to vista, 1gb is pretty much the bare minimum.

 

[TheMatt]

If you perfer ATI, the X1650Pro or the X1900GT would be a good choice.
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/118287
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/110809

 

[linderman]

Floyd:


see "Memory Rate Transfer Chart"


Test results



The nForce2 results almost coincide for reading and writing in all modes in case of the direct Cachemem algorithm, except the single-channel mode with the integrated graphics; but in case of Wstream copying the dual-channel mode ensures the gain of 20%. Such advantage is obtained exactly thanks to the higher memory speed in the dual-channel mode, but will it be so in the real applications? The KT400 is also slower than the single-channel nForce2 in all tests except the copying speed where they go on a par.


whole article here:

http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/nforce2-1vs2channels/



it really depends on what you are doing at the time you wish to evaluate the benefits of dual channel, look at the amazing benefit dual channel gives when you are using intergrated graphics. (onboard video!)

 

[floydfan]

integrated graphics certainly does benefit more, but most people who post on here are gamers who have at least low end standalone.

 

[linderman]

true most users do have stand alone video cards; but still dual channel ram capabilities is still not a feature you should fail to capitalize on.