My new core 2 duo isn't half as good as I was expe

[cardinaluk]

Just upgraded from a P4 2.4ghz
2gig RAM DDR
Sparkle Geforce 6800GT 256mb
 
Did it because I wanted to play the last few missions in Oblivion with smooth gfx, play the wonderful Armed ASsault with all detail and Supreme Commander which I know needs beefy hardware.

But:

My new Core 2 duo 2.4ghz
1024 RAM PC6400 DDR2
Palit Geforce 7300GT 256mb 128bit version.

This is the problem:
It plays Oblivion (with the same detail levels with the previous rig) just the same, with no increase in performance. Armed assault has'nt improved whatsoever. I have up to date nvidia drivers as well.

I was just wondering, have I bottlenecked the machine with the 7300GT? I don't see how, as all the factors point to a faster machine! Help?

PS: I have read that the only games out there at the moment that use multithreading are Oblivion!?!? Supreme Commander and Call of Duty 2.
Please help because I've used all my holiday money!
Any advice!!?!
Ta.

[Calum]

Check the GPU FAQ.
The 6800 is far better than the 7300, that will not play modern games at good settings well.
Your new rig is worse for gaming, far better in CPU intensive activities but worse in almost every other way than your old PC.
Sorry.

[cardinaluk]

How is my AGP 4x Geforce 6800GT better than my PCI-E 16x 7300GT?

What do you mean by CPU intensive activities? Games are CPU instensive activities!!!!!!!

It just does'nt make sense.

I've noticed that Company of Heroes runs at maximum detail with 8 players (Skirmish) really well. But the other games have not taken any other performance spike.

So really, it has improved one game but with the others....disapointment.... :-/

[Calum]

You didn't say it was 4X, I assumed it was AGP 8X or PCI-E.
And games do not usually depend on the CPU much, it's the graphics card and RAM that usually cause a bottleneck.
I really mean video editing/encoding, number crunching, etc.

[Neil]

You've made the mistake of thinking higher numbers equals higher performance. The first number, 6 or 7 in this case, indicates the family. For example, GeForce 7 cards are the new family of cards, to replace the old set. However, not everyone will be able to buy the top end expensive cards, so they need to release some slower, cheaper cards too, right?

Well after they have designed and set up factories for GeForce 7 cards, there is little point in spending money on seperate factories for GeForce 6 cards which use a different architecture and therefore need a different way of production. So they simply designed fast and slow verions of the GeForce 7 cards and mass produce them.

The 7300 is designed as the low end spectrum of the series for budget gamers. It is NOT faster than a 6800. The 7600GT is about equivilent to the 6800GT. So sorry, but I'm afraid you've downgraded. A lot.

(Sorry to rub it in but you really have made a mess of it)

[cardinaluk]

What would you say to do then?
The GFX card is not a problem, I can afford a high end 7 series.
What else should I do to make things a bit quicker.

Thing is I know that I have future proofed myself with th mobo and CPU so I'm not bothered about that, but I'd like insta-performance at the moment so what would you suggest?

thanks for your help so far.

[Calum]

Check the GPU FAQ I linked to, it details all current cards in order of performance.
See what you can afford.
More RAM may help if you have the money, new games like more RAM.

[Neil]

I would suggest at least a 7600GS which will probably be about the same speed as your old 6800GT (noting it was 4x AGP). If you can afford it 7600GT or any 7800 will be better.