whos the main bottleneck?

[zeroboo]

Just got a new nvidia 6800le.

When playing HL2 i have tried jumping from different resolutions hoping to imporve framerate.

however, jumping from 800x600 to 1024 to 1028 proved more or less no difference!!! the framerate is still somewhere around 30fps!!

I have a xp1800
728ram

At first i thought it might be the cpu but then even with vpu intensive games like doom 3 its bit of the same situation?
Could it be my 4x only agp slot??

[VR46]

however, jumping from 800x600 to 1024 to 1028 proved more or less no difference!!! the framerate is still somewhere around 30fps!!

Guess you mean the other way round (1024x768 down to 800x600) otherwise to increase resolution and maintain same fps is good going

[Mr Pump]

I'm curious about the agp slot too, I've a 8X card in a 4X slot. Is it worth getting a new board or not?

[Chadruharazzeb]

The performance difference between AGP x4 and x8 is negligable, around 3~5%. It will be your CPU, the graphics card is going to waste tbh.

And yes, I assume you did mean you went from 800x600 to 1024x768 - it's not normal practice to increase your resolution to get better performance!

[Digfox]

Chadruharazzeb is correct on the speed differences between AGPx4 and x8. If you want more details then try either:

www.tomshardware.com - well worth a look for some great articles alone, will help if choosing a new mobo + CPU etc

https://www.anandtech.com

I'd also say that your CPU is a little close to being bordeline in those too games and will limit the speed a 6800 can operate at. Although I don't know how much this will effect an 6800le (is this the same as a 6800 128MB Non-Ultra?). Also if you do go for a new CPU it might be worth considering jumping to 1 GB of RAM. Those two upgrades would probably give your machine a new lease of life, helping HL2 and D3 run better.

Interestingly enough if you do visit Tom's, the difference between lower resolutions such as 800x600 & 1024x768 are often tiny. Indeed if you were only ever playing at 1024x768 with no AF or AA then the difference between a 9800 Pro, 6600GT or 6800 becomes a hell of a lot closer. Certainly these high end 6800's or X800's can enable you to get higher resolutions.

[zeroboo]

doh! my bad wording! indeed i did mean jumping from high res 1028 down to 1024 then to 800 proved not much difference in fps!

hm... i htought it would be my cpu.
the problem though is that my motherboard only supports up tp xp 2100!

so is 1800 up to 2100 worth it?
i think 2100 are going for ~?30 on ebay...

cant really afford a new mb and cpu at the mo!

[Super Stu]

If you change resolution and find the performance doesn't change, IIRC that signifies you're currently CPU limited. The graphics card is just sat there twiddling it's thumbs, unable to churn things out any faster.

IIRC, of course.

An 1800XP is quite an underpowered CPU to match with a 6800 of any sort. I picked up a 2500 barton for 30 quid, I'd recommend you fish about to see what you can install there.

Ah balls, just noticed someone said all this anyway, heh. Move along, nothing to see here.

[Digfox]

I personally wouldn't upgrade to the Athlon XP 2100+ from the 1800+, even for ?30. You can buy an XP 3200+ & Mobo for ?120ish from Overclockers. However I appreciate it more than you wanna spend.

I'd hang on longer until you have more funds.

[mid]

1800 to 2100 isn't going to give you enough extra speed to spend the money, at a guess. If you're really, really feeling the pinch of the current framerate, you're going to need to spend the money to upgrade the motherboard (and possibly memory, to take proper advantage of 400MHz bus). Otherwise, I'd just live with it for now, until you can afford a serious upgrade.