3D Mark 2001

[butterfm]

Hi,

I've just bought a new PC with the following spec and run a benchmark using 3DMark2001.

P4 2.4ghz
512mb DDR
60gb 7200rpm HDD
Nvidia Geforce4 MX420 64mb graphics

The benchmark score was 4072. I'm not sure but think that this might be a bit low for that machine.
Does anybody know if this score is low and if so what can I do to increase it.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
M.

 

[Grenage]

Try 3DMark 2003 rather than a 2 year old one. The results will give a sure bearing on whether or not your machine is slower than it should be.

 

[paparazi]

Yes, thats about right, unfortunately the Geforce 4 MX420 is the lowest spec GF4 available, and to be honest , not a good choice for such a high spec machine, especially if you intended to do any serious gaming.
To get an accurate comparison of your graphics card and how it should perform with your setup just submit your results to the Mad Onion site and use the comparison option.
My advice: if this is a nearly new machine then get in touch with the manufacturer and see if there was an upgrade option on the graphics, say you thought you were buying a gaming machine and you were misinformed about the spec, they may just change it with just a small price differance to pay.
Go for minimum GF4 460MX preferably GF4 Ti or
Radeon 8500 or above.
A GF4 4200Ti with your setup will get you over 11,000 points with 3D Benchmark 2001SE.
Martin
Replying helps further our knowledge, without comment leaves us wondering.

 

[butterfm]

Thanks for the advice paparazi/grenage,

The machine wasn't bought soley as a gaming machine although I will probably be using it for games. I took the option of the MX420 because it was an upgrade oftion of £25 from the onboard graphics instead of £100 for some of the other cards.

As long as the score is about right then that's OK. I was mainly worried that the machine was badly configured and therefore the grahics weren't up to standard.

I'll stick with that card for now and see if it does what I want. If not I'll get a new one.

Thanks, Matt.

 

[butterfm]

Paparazi,

Can I ask another quick question. It's a bit noddy but hardware is not my strong point.

When you refer to GF4 4200 ti or Radeon 8500 is that the technology used on the cards and nothing to do with companies that manufacture the cards. i.e. Do different manufacturers make these cards and if so is there much difference between manufacturers.

Thanks,
M.

 

[Grenage]

The names refer to the chipsets on the grahics card, and are produced by quite a few different companies.

For example, GF4 cards are produces by ASUS, Leadtek and many others. Radeon are produced by Hercules and powercooler etc.

There are always slight differences between cards produced, sometimes even great ones. Websites such as anandtech, hardocp and 3DGuru frequently run benchmarks/comparisons between these cards so you can make a more informed decision.

 

[butterfm]

Thanks for the explanation.

 

[paparazi]

Grenade, I have to say in my experience the differances between graphics cards with the same chipsets are minimal, no more than 10% and normally much less than that if you are comparing main brands.
The main differances are usually in the cooling solutions that differant manufacturers adopt, the software packages (incl games) that are included in the package, the actual quality of the PCB and of course the price.
Example: we sell a generic Geforce4 MX440 64mb DDR TV out ,from Aeitek for £45 UK, at the same time we also sell Gainwards "Golden Sample" card with the same chipset and features but because it is a "main brand" it costs £81.
So often you can purchase the next model up in the cheaper generic brand form for the same price as a lower spec card that is branded.
Martin

Replying helps further our knowledge, without comment leaves us wondering.

 

[Grenage]

I don't dissagree, but 10% is a fairly large amount.

 

[cdogg]

I just want to add that the 3DMark2003 benchmark is targeted more to test DirectX 9 capabilities. Only the GeForce FX series and the ATI 9500/9700 Pro cards can accomplish good results in this benchmark.

For the GeForce4 Ti, I still recommend running the 3DMark2001 benchmark and compare those results instead. ~cdogg

"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."
- A. Einstein

 

[Treeking]

The correct version for any existing card is:.......

3DMark2001 SE not 3DMark 2001 or 2003.

 

[butterfm]

I benchmarked again last night (with 3DMark 2001 SE) after getting a few tips from the MadOnion site on improving performance.

I managed to get around 6000 which is a vast improvement on the previous benchmark.

M.

 

[Treeking]

butterfm: That's a pretty good score considering that you're using an MX series card!

http://www6.tomshardware.com/graphic/20021218/vgacharts-05.html

Checkout the top graph(P4/3.0) and the bottom graph(AthlonXP2700+)