ram

[valo1030]

hello boys...ok..question...my rig: h.p. 250a model, 2.6 cpu. 2gig ddr 2700 mem, radion 9800xt 256, latest drivers...etc..extra cooling fan, 2gig worth?... so forth...can i improve on this unit if i install new ddr400 3200 memory?  right now, my 3d mark is 3269..not very good...settings in fs9 not maxed out, clouds 10%...great frame rates,  till the high dense areas of course!

i'm really frustrated with the whole fs9 performance...where i live, our trash pickup is on tue and fri...think i'll put this baby right out on the curb for pick up:)

[Gixer]

Well the 2gig of ram is a bit overkill unless you are doing massive graphical work. 1gig would be plenty for fs9, though 2gig shouldnt cause any adverse effects, though its easy to tell just remove a gig and run your benchmark prog.

9800XT 256ddr card should at least score 6000 on 3Dmarks03.  Latest official drivers are cats 4.5 i think.

I am unsure as to what the FSB of your processor is. If your CPU's FSB is 400mhz then an upgrade to PC3200 ram would be worth it.  This would mean your CPU and Ram can run at 1:1.

Its very strange your PC socres this low, maybe there is other stuff on the pc slowin it down.

[Scottler]

Like I mentioned in your other post about this, a 2.6 with 2GB of RAM should be doing much better than it is.  

Make sure your RAM is actually being recognized by your system, ensure that you're not running too much other background stuff and make sure that you've recently defragged and de-virused your system.

There's absolutely no excuse for a system with specs like these to be running as poorly as you claim.

[congo]

Are you running 3d mark at its default settings, or are your driver settings forcing it into a higher mode, giving you poor apparent results when there is actually nothing wrong?

You should be getting pretty good performance in FS9, there is no doubt about that.

It's probable that your rig is choked on background apps and a lot of horrible HP installed apps (which seem typically horrible and slow). It may be a possibility that are some other software/driver disfunctions or incorrect BIOS settings.

But more than likely, your instincts are right in assuming the roadside option with any HP or Dell machine.