low 3d score mark np5796....

So i just received my np5796 with 9800gtx 2.8ghz. I installed the latest nvidia 177.92 driver and just ran 3dmark06 which gave me a score of 8700....i was thinking more of the 9700 range...any ideas?

 

Well... you just posted about not having an AC adapter and if you aren't plugged into power your computer will usually downclock everything even if it's on maximum performance mode... other than that I have no idea why that would be so low with that config, it should be high 9000s. Regardless, you shouldn't worry about 3mark, it doesn't matter as much as real-time gaming. It's an old software now, and that computer is entirely new hardware--it might not be so reliable anymore.

 

if his AC wasn't plugged he's more likely to receive <3000

 

my AC IS plugged in and options is set to high performance

 

disable any Powermizer settings

and post the 3 scores shown in 3DMark06.... not just the total
SM2.0
HDR/SM3.0
CPU Score

that would help determine the total score

 

what "powermizer" settings would i have to disable? everything is running fresh and is set to high performance....will show all 3 scores in a bit

 

9800M GT or GTX? the GT should get in the low 9000, high 8000 range. Vista or XP might have been doing something in the background too. Run it a couple more times. I ran a little while back and got 9700, then again a few hours after that and got 9200, with no changes. Also, make sure you have all your OS updates installed.

 

With the 3 scores alone, you would have to know the final score's equation to determine the final score itself. Since the total score is not a sum of the three minor scores (SM2.0, SM3.0, and CPU), this is an issue. Do you know the equation? I'm sure it's fairly open knowledge, but I have not been able to find it, or figure it out on my own. I'm interested.

 

Its the 9800gtx emike (I'm the one who sent you PM's about system and tweaking btw)
I've installed all of the mandatory OS updates...i'll run it again and post all the scores

 

With the 3 mentioned scores alone with the total score, you can try and determine which component if any is under performing. Viewing all three scores could help factor out what may be the actual cause of the low or high final score. Low SM scores could be GPU related, while low CPU scores…well, you get the point.

 

I realized that after I posted, but I was too lazy to edit it

On a side note, the 177.92 drivers caused some weird texture bugs in quite a few games for a lot of people, you might consider moving on to the 177.98 set.

 

does it always has to be the newest drivers? try 175!

 

No, he could use the drivers that came with the unit and fair quite well with them.

 

you can do a better comparison of same GPUs by showing all the scores ... which can tell you if its the GPU drivers or the CPU that is the issue.