64-bit leap?

My current system specs:
AMD Athlon XP 3200+
1Gb (512x2) PC 3200+
A7n8x-x motherboard (non dual channel x_x)
AGP 8X nVidia 6800 Ultra.

There are still places in Doom 3 where I run 30FPS no matter what the detail level because the graphics card bottlenecks on the processor/FSB. I don't have vsync on.
I could run it 640x480 or 1024x768 with 4x AA 8xAF and I still get the same results. The question is, would I really see a difference if I got a 64-bit 3200+ and a dual channel motherboard? I really don't want to spend $300+ on something that might give a 3+ FPS performance jump. Although 99% of the time it runs great in Doom 3, there are other games that I know could perform better on my graphics card if I had a faster system.

Azreal_X what brand is your 6800 Ultra?

i think you would see more preformance with the dual channel. as you have a 32-bit game and 32-bit OS.
i don't think the 64-bit would make that big of a difference.

Brand of Videocard is eVGA.

The reason I asked about your video card is that I have a similar system to yours, and I own a XFX 6800 GT. Now some people tell tell me I should be getting better performance in Doom 3 than what I am, and even that there is something wrong with my graphics card... I've always sworn the rest of my system is bottlenecking my card. So your post made me feel a bit better I suppose ;)


Anyway, take a look at these benchmarks:-

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2149&p=7

Going by that article, a high-end AMD 64 does indeed go a long way to improving your Doom 3 fps'...

P.S Sorry about double posting

No problem, and thanks for the article! I've definitely noticed a performance increase with my 6800 Ultra, but I also know it could go higher. I'd heard that it bottlenecks on this processor, I just didn't think it'd be so much. Definitely going for 64-bit now.

Just out of interest, run "timedemo demo1" on these exact settings: Ultra quality, 1280x1024, 2xAA, Vsync ON, all other options ON.

On these settings I usually get about 31.2 fps, and these are the settings that I normally play on.

47fps on those settings.
A couple of pointers: Run in High quality, because you won't notice a difference in Ultra besides the addition of lag when you enter a new area. Turn off Vsync and you're framerates won't drop to 30 when it goes 1fps under 60, AA drops performance faster than higher resolutions, unless your monitor can't go any higher, and tweak out your card with a program like RivaTuner to get the maximum performance out of your card.

I actually don't find much difference in performance between High and Ultra quality- maybe 5-6 fps or something- so I figure I might aswell run it maxed out... As for Vsync, my LCD monitor is particullary prone to image tearing in Doom 3, so I prefer to have this enabled.

Rivatuner: I've heard of this, do you use it yourself? Is it just another way of overclocking and configuring the Forceware options or is it something more?

Yeah. Basically just a tweaking program for Forceware drivers. I love it. You can find the download for it on MajorGeeks.com

OK thanks, I'll check it out.