i3 Dual Core Performance Problems

[WillCrusher]

<p>Grettings,</p><p>I am sure this topic has been addressed in numerous previous threads in this forum but thus far my research here has not resulted in a solution.  There is a lot of info to sift through so I'm hoping someone who has encountered these issues may be able to offer some advice.  First off my specs:</p><p>EVGA P55LE MB</p><p>I3 530 2.93 GHZ Dual Core</p><p>4GB memory</p><p>Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit</p><p>Vid: ATI Radeon HD 5700</p><p>Single HD</p><p>I built this PC about 8 months ago, pretty much to play this game.  When I first got everything going, performance wasn't stellar but was "OK".  I could get acceptable frame rate at high performance setting for general use, and when in smaller zones (caves/house) balanced was acceptable.  However as time went on things seemed to degrade.  I had some OS issues causing the game to occasionally blue screen related to the BIOS that were resolved with a BIOS update, however perf continues to suffer.  At this point I can run the game in extreme performance only, and I see a maximum of 30 FPS in this setting (and I had to tweak to get that).  Any outdoor zone activity pushes the frame rate down to between 5 and 17ish in extreme perf setting.  WF's and raids... any situation where there are several other players around (even running through SQ by the discord vendors) are nearly unplayable.  I have whiped/reloaded the OS and installed latest drivers.  I have followed the guidance found on several threads here (Aero Win 7 check, completely removed AV, set OS to max perf, enabled shader 3.0) but over all performance still seems far below what I feel this system should produce based on my research here. </p><p>I am prepared to upgrade the proc in this system, but would love some feedback both in regards to what proc I should go with along with anything else I could do to improve the situation.  I can do pretty much anything else on this PC and everything seems fine.  Movies are smooth.  I can rip/burn a CD lightning fast.  So if there is anything systemically askew with this PC it only shows up when playing EQ2.  </p><p>The most current proc I can run in this system is the i7 870.  Is this proc the best I can get using the 1156 slot architecture for playing EQ2?  My GF is running the game on a laptop with an i7 (780 i think), and most of her other PC specs are the same as mine, and her PC runs the game far better than mine does so it certainly seems like a proc issue.  But I'm not certain as it seems others using similar hardware as I am aren't having the same issues.  Should I continue to try and tweak things and stick with this proc or is upgrading the proc the answer?</p>

[WillCrusher]

<p>Addendum:  When I first log into the game I can get 25 - 50 FPS in extreme perf and 20 - 30 FPS in high perf, which is both an adequate gaming experience and what I feel I should expect from my set up.  The problems start after about 5 - 10 minute of playing.  Frame rate degrades after I move through a couple of zones and regardless of perf or res setting never recovers unless I log out and reboot. </p><p>Is this indicative of too little RAM?  4GB seems plenty.  Or maybe vid RAM?  The 5770 runs at 850MHz, with 1 GB GDDR5 memory set to operate at 1200MHz.  I understand that the 5770 isnt a top end card but it isn't a low end budget card either. </p>

[WillCrusher]

<p>Seems I'm talking to myself here, but here goes...</p><p>Problem was definitely memory.  I had installed the modules incorrectly, slots 1 & 2 instead of 1 & 3.  Oddly, prior to changing the slot arrangment the bios still showed 4GB installed and so did windows, but only showed 2GB available when viewing computer/properties.  Even more strangely, this did not change when I changed DIMM slots. </p><p>I then made 2 changes in the bios: enabled PnP OS, and turned off PCI memory overlap (or whatever its called).  Now windows 7 shows I have 3GB available, so somehow doing this free'd up 1GB.  </p><p>Now I'm wondering what that other GB is being used for.  When I view advanced memory usage it shows about 500 MB in use, about 2.5 GB avail, and 1GB "hardware reserved".  What does that mean?  Is there another BIOS setting reserving a gig of memory for some purpose? </p>

[TalisX1]

<p>It sounds like you have the 32bit version of windows 7. If you do you are limited to 4gb total memory by the nature of a 32bit os. That includes system and video memory.</p><p>Silat</p>

[TSR-JoshuaM]

<p>Because of the 4GB limit, Windows will reserve enough memory addresses for your hardware and itself when your total physical memory exceeds the limit.  As stated above, this includes your video memory.  It does this to ensure your hardware and critical system services always have memory available amongst other things.</p>

[WillCrusher]

<p>Thanks for the replies!  To update; after the aforementioned tweaking (and idiot repair) the game now runs consistently 30 - 50+ FPS in balanced setting.  I am no longer experiencing the perf degrade after moving through a few zones.  At worst it dips into the low 20's or occasionally high teens when in heavily populated areas, but recovers quickly and is over-all a huge improvement. </p><p>Based on the replies here, seeing 1GB reserved for hardware is expected although frankly I'm not sure I really understand it.  So I have 5GB of total system memory (including vid mem), and a 32bit OS can see/use a max of 4GB, so windows "reserves" 1GB for hardware leaving me with 3GB system memory + 1GB vid memory.  Is that right? </p><p>It sounds like maybe I should be running the 64bit version of Win 7.  I do have a copy.  I just elected to install the 32 bit version to keep things simple.  What pitfalls can I expect to encounter if I elect to go 64bit?  Will I see any perf improvements?  Will that "hardware reserved" gigabyte magically become available to the OS? </p>

[Loxus]

<p><cite>WillCrusher wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>It sounds like maybe I should be running the 64bit version of Win 7.  I do have a copy.  I just elected to install the 32 bit version to keep things simple.  What pitfalls can I expect to encounter if I elect to go 64bit?  Will I see any perf improvements?  Will that "hardware reserved" gigabyte magically become available to the OS? </p></blockquote><p>Upgrading to 64 bit OS (Win 7) will definitely help as it will open the memory clog you're experiencing.  I believe the i3 530 is good up to 16 gig (if the motherboard you selected can handle that).</p><p>Another upgrade you may consider (in the future) is jumping from the i3 530 to the i7 920, or 960 chip (about $280 to $295) this will give you 3 memory channels instead of 2 that are on your current chip (again, if your motherboard will accept i7 chip) and boost your max memory allowance to 24 gig. Moreover, the i7 chips have the turbo boost feature that will boost one core to 2.94ghz to  3.4 ghz for single core apps like EQ2.</p><p>The 920 is extremely popular with overclockers because it's a very solid well-built chip for the price.  The downside is memory speed is only 800/1066 (DDR3) on either chip whereas your current chip is 1066/1333 I believe, however, because you're opening another memory channel it will actually be faster.  Remember though if you go to a triple channel chip the memory increments are in 3's (IE 3 gig, 6 gig, 9 gig) not 2's.</p>

[WillCrusher]

<p><cite>Loxus@Everfrost wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>WillCrusher wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>It sounds like maybe I should be running the 64bit version of Win 7.  I do have a copy.  I just elected to install the 32 bit version to keep things simple.  What pitfalls can I expect to encounter if I elect to go 64bit?  Will I see any perf improvements?  Will that "hardware reserved" gigabyte magically become available to the OS? </p></blockquote><p>Upgrading to 64 bit OS (Win 7) will definitely help as it will open the memory clog you're experiencing.  I believe the i3 530 is good up to 16 gig (if the motherboard you selected can handle that).</p><p>Another upgrade you may consider (in the future) is jumping from the i3 530 to the i7 920, or 960 chip (about $280 to $295) this will give you 3 memory channels instead of 2 that are on your current chip (again, if your motherboard will accept i7 chip) and boost your max memory allowance to 24 gig. Moreover, the i7 chips have the turbo boost feature that will boost one core to 2.94ghz to  3.4 ghz for single core apps like EQ2.</p><p>The 920 is extremely popular with overclockers because it's a very solid well-built chip for the price.  The downside is memory speed is only 800/1066 (DDR3) on either chip whereas your current chip is 1066/1333 I believe, however, because you're opening another memory channel it will actually be faster.  Remember though if you go to a triple channel chip the memory increments are in 3's (IE 3 gig, 6 gig, 9 gig) not 2's.</p></blockquote><p>Thanks for the tips. The next time I feel like reloading my OS I'm definitely giving the 64bit a go.  Right now things are running pretty well so I think I'll enjoy it for a while. </p><p>I spewed a bunch of info so you probably missed it... my MB can handle up to an i7 870.  I think it was the 900 series that moved to the 3 mem channel config so I'm stuck with 2 unless I upgrade the MB.  Having full access to all the mem I currently have will probably be sufficient for my current usage demands so installing Win7 64bit should set me up for a while. </p>

[TSR-JoshuaM]

<p>I would absolutely recommend moving to 64bit Windows as well.  I am confident you will not be disappointed.</p>