My new ACER laptop WAY underperforming for the specs.... help with 3dmark06

Here are my specs:

ACER aspire 6935G
t9400 duo 2.53ghz
GF 9600m GT 512mb (I think)
2gb ddr3
250gb hdd

For some reason it's really under performing...

on 3dmark06 I got about 3500 only. I updated the driver for the 9600m gt, which improved it a bit (maybe 7fps to 10fps, much more depending on the scene)

How can I improve my score? I'd think with the 9600m GT and t9400 a better score must be possible. I saw better scores posted by a laptop running a t2--- and 1gb ram. What's up??

 

Are you in high performance mode?

 

yeah, it's on high performance mode. I tried going into advanced settings and for some reason the maximum cpu state was 0% when plugged in and 100% when battery? and both 100% for min? doesn't make sense? anyway, I changed it to 100, then hit reset to default and it was still 100, so maybe default is 100 or it didn't reset properly. I'll run 3dmark06 again to test but I'm not sure there is a difference.

edit h wow.. that made a huge difference.. I just re-ran cpu test and got 2246, instead of the previous 626. I don't know if the gpu tests will be any different though...

 

Break down your scores and compare them to others with similar mobile components. This may help you pinpoint your issue. If you are seeing a general decrease, then it is more than likely some background setting/program. You can search for a latency checker here on the boards to test out during idle. This may help you out. GL

 

My laptop
DV5T
T9400
9600M GT DDR2

Highest I got was 4636. I'm not sure if it was OC'ed a bit or not, but I dont think it was..

 

I get around 4000 on my 6935G

 

alright, so the new score is 4154 broken down like this:
sm2.0 1730
HDR/SM3.0 1446
cpu: 2248

So it seams like it should be possible to get 4600+ as it seams similar except ddr3?

Thanks for your help guys, really helps to shed some light on this.

EDIT: By the way, how do you OC, is safe? (not changing the topic, but if you can point me in the right direction I would also appreciate that)

Edit2: Whoa... I ran wprime 32m. and it said "31.5 seconds (1595 MHz penryn c0)" 1.5 ghz?? but it's supposed to be 2.5? I don't get it. Is that normal? I mean it says under hardware cpu clock = 1595.6 MHz

and also it says the memory type is ddr2??? but the advertising clearly says ddr3, including on the sticker on the front of the laptop. How can I check for sure?

 

CPU-Z will tell you what memory and cpu you have. GPU-Z will inform you of your GPU. HWmonitor will monitor your temps.

If you want to OC, I suggest you read how to first

 

My 6935G was advertised as DDR2 ram but sticker says DDR3 so i didn't really know. CPU-Z tells me its DDR3 though. Mine has same specs but high capacity HDD and 4gb of ram.

 

that is what it is: 9600m gt with t2.53 score about 4000 on 3d mark 2006 default setting.
some ppl use lower res setting, thats how they got a higher score.
besides benchmarks like 3d mark 2006 for gpu and wprime95 for cpu are useless and meaningless.

 

I've seen some other users report their video cards showing up as DDR3 when it is really DDR2 in GPUZ, on several different models too. So I think your best bet is to go with what your manufacturer says for your model.

 

Or just the clocks. 800/1600mhz is GDDR3 and 400/800 is DDR2. GPU-z wil ltell you.

 

Darika at her review posted much better scores:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=335855

The only difference is she had the p8600 cpu, and 64bit instead of 32bit vista. Is centrino2 P8600 that much better?

I don't get it, how is she posting much better scores with such similiar specs? :O

Maybe lower settings? still, I would think she'd say if it wasn't default... really seams a bit meaningless otherwise.

I checked and it says 500mhz :'( but it also says gddr3

 

What resolution is your laptop, and what resoolution are you running 3dmark at?

 

The resolution is 1920x1080, but I thought I read someone also running at that res and getting in the 5000's. I ran 3dmark06 at 1280x1024

I just updated the bios to 1.1 as danika suggested and the memory speed did increase.

Edit: yeah, page two...
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=335855&page=2

He said his resolution was to blaim for "only" getting about 5300 3dmark06 scores. His cpu score is the same but the SM scores are much higher.

 

i don't think you can get 5000+ at that resolution...
i could be wrong though...

 

Sorry, I mean I ran at the default 1280 1024 for 3dmark

 

It would never get 5000 at 1920 x 1080..

 

Well as regards this bit -


3D MARK 06 Score at native resolution 1366x768 is 5690
3D MARK 06 Score at resolution 1024x768 is 6390
I don't get it, how is she posting much better scores with such similiar specs? :O


Firstly you are running a 1920 *1080 screen at non-native resolution, that will cause a lower score compared to a system with the same specs but a 1280*1024 native resolution.

Secondly those scores Darika posted don't mean anything, 3dmark06 was run at resolutions less than the standard 1280*1024.
So the computer had less work to do during the benchmark which is why he/she got a higher score.

For example
1024*768 is only 60% of the size that you ran yours at.
1366*768 is only 80% of the size that you ran yours at.

Considering he/she also had a better cpu, it's no wonder they got a better score. In all honestly 3dmark scores really should be taken with a pinch of salt.

It neglects so many factors that its really a questionable benchmark, for example driver version, resolution, cpu type, cpu generation, cpu speed, gpu type, amount of gpu memory, gpu frequency settings, gpu memory type/speed.....

 

It has nothing to do with what your "native" resolution is. All that means is what the LCD is capable of going to.

You only need to be concerned what resolution you run 3DMark at and the general consensus seems to be to run default at 1280x1024 so people can compare scores online.

 

Wow... that's really weird. After I updated the bios I ran again and this time I got 6445 at 1280x1024.
6,445

2,211
1,986
2,248

Well, that's much better than the 3200's I was getting in the start... Thanks for all the help and useful utilities... you guys are great.

 

strange how updating your bios doubles your scores =/ congrats anyways!
have you noticed any performance bumps in your games?