ACK! Need some help with my video card! - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Mikado · 09-02-2003, 08:23 AM

See if you can help solve my problem. I'm just about ready to throw this card out the window. Without further adou, here's the deal.

I've currently got a:
P4 2.4ghz
Asus P4GE-V mobo (4x agp)
512mb pc2700 ram
Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro Atlantis 256mb

I just purchased the above card, which was an upgrade from a Geforce 3 TI200. I was expecting to see a drastic change in framerates, for all my games, but I'm really disappointed with the results. I'm not noticing much of an increase at all. I've searched across the net, trying different settings/tweaks/drivers/updates and nothing seems to solve my problem. Finally a friend of mine referred me to you all.

As far as my numbers go, I'll drop some examples of the current games I'm playing. For reference, all my card settings are on "optimal" not extreme quality or anything. Same with ingame settings. Everything is set to either a mid to low level of quality.

America's Army - drop as low as 20fps
Day of Defeat - drop as low as 30fps
UT2003 - drop as low as 40fps
Enemy Territory - drop as low as 20fps
Battlefield 1942 - drop as low as 30fps
Savage (beta) - drop as low as 15fps

As a side note, I compared notes with a friend of mine who has the 128mb version, and a similar setup. He only gets down to 50fps in AA and that's with AA and AF enabled. Where could I possibly go wrong? What could be holding the card back from performing up to standards?

So here's what I've tried to correct the problem so far:
Installed Intel's latest AGP drivers for my chipset
Set my appeture in my bios to 256mb
Used Detonator R.I.P. to clear out old Nvidia drivers
Re-formatted
Tested my buddy's 128mb version, with similar results
Latest drivers for the card are installed, same with Directx

I'd really appreciate any and all help. I'm pretty desperate at this point. Thanks in advance.

EDIT: I just downloaded Nvidia & Microsoft's AGP memory check program. Here's the link: http://developer.nvidia.com/object/agp_memoryapp.html. It shows that I have 0 Total and 0 Free. Now I'm assuming this is my problem. Any ideas on fixing this?

The_Dude · 09-02-2003, 08:40 AM

here is something you might wanna try.

go into the vid card settings and go under the opengl settings.

now, turn off 'vertical sync' and see if you notice a result.

i did that and my cs fps is maxed out and constant at 99 from 70.

Mikado · 09-02-2003, 09:12 AM

Unfortunately when I set the card to "optimal settings" that includes disabling V-sync. So it appears that isn't the problem either.

Lasereth · 09-02-2003, 12:15 PM

I think I read about your problem in another forum. Which forums do you visit regularly? Either way, I ran that memcheck, and I get about 132,000,000 available and 128,000,000 free with my GeForce 4 TI 4200. I'm not sure if that program is designed to work with ATI cards. One thing is for sure: that fucking video card shouldn't be running any of those games under 60 frames per second with most of them going well over 100. Something is messed up badly. The RAM can't be slowing it down, and the CPU sure can't either. My only guess is either the video card is fucked up (which is odd considering Sapphire is awesome) or the motherboard is broke.

Try the card in different computers. You said that your friend's 128 MB version had similar results in your PC which really makes me think it's your motherboard. I'd flash the BIOS (carefully) and reinstall the drivers for the chipset yet again, then install the video drivers again. If that doesn't do shit then switch out the RAM if applicable. If that doesn't fix it, I'd say it's the motherboard. Just my look on the situation. If I were in your situation I would have already RMA'ed the video card back or refunded it, but maybe I'm just an RMA whore.

Good luck!

-Lasereth

Mikado · 09-03-2003, 11:00 AM

Thanks for your help Laser. To answer your question, I posted this in the HardOCP forums. A friend of mine suggested I look for answers there, but have yet to find any. I re-flashed my bios with the most recent for my board at ASUS, and that didn't fix the problem. I downloaded Intel's AGP controller drivers, and latest graphic drivers, but that didn't work either. And you may be right about Nvidia's memchecker, although I was told to use it even though I had an ATI card. For shits and giggles I ran the botmatch-Antalus benchmark for UT2003. Check these results out, they're disgusting.

Low - 19.5 fps
Avg - 40.9 fps
Best - 85.5 fps

Now that is with low detail settings, and "optimal" performance set on the card, which includes no V-sync, no AA, and no AF. Those scores are horrible! My rig should have NO problem running most games like 'butta'. UGH, so annoying.

Dilbert1234567 · 09-03-2003, 04:24 PM

OMG!!!

i just went from a geforce 3 to the same fucking card

and had teh same problem

any ways you need to download the latest drivers from sapphire

that will fix everything

http://download.sapphiretech.com/dow.../downloads.asp

oh and 8x AA will kill any game

great card

Mr.Deflok · 09-03-2003, 06:34 PM

An 8xAGP Mobo makes a difference... of about 5FPS...

Dilbert1234567 · 09-04-2003, 02:20 PM

nah i have na 4 x agp pro and mine runs just fine its the drivers

Elitegibson · 09-04-2003, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mr.Deflok
An 8xAGP Mobo makes a difference... of about 5FPS...

I think he's talking about 8x Antialiasing,not AGP.

Lasereth · 09-04-2003, 03:16 PM

Yeah, AA will kill a framerate fast. Hell, 2X will ruin some games if your system isn't powerful enough. Looks damn good even though it's choppy, though.

-Lasereth

Mikado · 09-04-2003, 04:41 PM

Well I guess I'm destined to return this card. I completely reinstalled everything, from the bios to directx. Nothing has worked. The only thing left I can think of is that the board is defective. I even followed step by step, instructions that tech support from ATI and Intel gave me. Still can't get it to perform properly. I appreciate the help so far, if you guys come up with anything else let me know.

Thanks!

Dilbert1234567 · 09-18-2003, 09:16 PM

dont return it update the drivers from the web site

jujueye · 09-19-2003, 02:39 PM

DONT use Sapphire drivers, go get the ATI reference drivers directly from ATI. There is no reason to use a resellers drivers, as they usually put lots of extra goop in there. If the card is based on an ATI design, then use ATI drivers.

If you had your friends card in your machine and they both performed poorly, but your mobo and all the other components are right, then you need to look at the settings in the drivers for the card. After all, the drivers tell the card how to do stuff. Shut everything off. Everything. Then start adding features one by one until you get the one that is killing you buzz.

With a card jump like that, you should see some excellent differences, and defnitely no framerate losses.

09-02-2003, 08:23 AM	#1 (permalink)
Mikado Crazy Location: Houston, Texas	ACK! Need some help with my video card! See if you can help solve my problem. I'm just about ready to throw this card out the window. Without further adou, here's the deal. I've currently got a: P4 2.4ghz Asus P4GE-V mobo (4x agp) 512mb pc2700 ram Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro Atlantis 256mb I just purchased the above card, which was an upgrade from a Geforce 3 TI200. I was expecting to see a drastic change in framerates, for all my games, but I'm really disappointed with the results. I'm not noticing much of an increase at all. I've searched across the net, trying different settings/tweaks/drivers/updates and nothing seems to solve my problem. Finally a friend of mine referred me to you all. As far as my numbers go, I'll drop some examples of the current games I'm playing. For reference, all my card settings are on "optimal" not extreme quality or anything. Same with ingame settings. Everything is set to either a mid to low level of quality. America's Army - drop as low as 20fps Day of Defeat - drop as low as 30fps UT2003 - drop as low as 40fps Enemy Territory - drop as low as 20fps Battlefield 1942 - drop as low as 30fps Savage (beta) - drop as low as 15fps As a side note, I compared notes with a friend of mine who has the 128mb version, and a similar setup. He only gets down to 50fps in AA and that's with AA and AF enabled. Where could I possibly go wrong? What could be holding the card back from performing up to standards? So here's what I've tried to correct the problem so far: Installed Intel's latest AGP drivers for my chipset Set my appeture in my bios to 256mb Used Detonator R.I.P. to clear out old Nvidia drivers Re-formatted Tested my buddy's 128mb version, with similar results Latest drivers for the card are installed, same with Directx I'd really appreciate any and all help. I'm pretty desperate at this point. Thanks in advance. EDIT: I just downloaded Nvidia & Microsoft's AGP memory check program. Here's the link: http://developer.nvidia.com/object/agp_memoryapp.html. It shows that I have 0 Total and 0 Free. Now I'm assuming this is my problem. Any ideas on fixing this?

09-02-2003, 08:40 AM	#2 (permalink)
The_Dude The GrandDaddy of them all! Location: Austin, TX	here is something you might wanna try. go into the vid card settings and go under the opengl settings. now, turn off 'vertical sync' and see if you notice a result. i did that and my cs fps is maxed out and constant at 99 from 70. __________________ "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." - Darrel K Royal

09-02-2003, 12:15 PM	#4 (permalink)
Lasereth Knight of the Old Republic Location: Winston-Salem, NC	I think I read about your problem in another forum. Which forums do you visit regularly? Either way, I ran that memcheck, and I get about 132,000,000 available and 128,000,000 free with my GeForce 4 TI 4200. I'm not sure if that program is designed to work with ATI cards. One thing is for sure: that fucking video card shouldn't be running any of those games under 60 frames per second with most of them going well over 100. Something is messed up badly. The RAM can't be slowing it down, and the CPU sure can't either. My only guess is either the video card is fucked up (which is odd considering Sapphire is awesome) or the motherboard is broke. Try the card in different computers. You said that your friend's 128 MB version had similar results in your PC which really makes me think it's your motherboard. I'd flash the BIOS (carefully) and reinstall the drivers for the chipset yet again, then install the video drivers again. If that doesn't do shit then switch out the RAM if applicable. If that doesn't fix it, I'd say it's the motherboard. Just my look on the situation. If I were in your situation I would have already RMA'ed the video card back or refunded it, but maybe I'm just an RMA whore. Good luck! -Lasereth __________________ "A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert

09-03-2003, 04:24 PM	#6 (permalink)
Dilbert1234567 Devils Cabana Boy Location: Central Coast CA	OMG!!! i just went from a geforce 3 to the same fucking card and had teh same problem any ways you need to download the latest drivers from sapphire that will fix everything http://download.sapphiretech.com/dow.../downloads.asp oh and 8x AA will kill any game great card __________________ Donate Blood! "Love is not finding the perfect person, but learning to see an imperfect person perfectly." -Sam Keen

09-04-2003, 02:20 PM	#8 (permalink)
Dilbert1234567 Devils Cabana Boy Location: Central Coast CA	nah i have na 4 x agp pro and mine runs just fine its the drivers __________________ Donate Blood! "Love is not finding the perfect person, but learning to see an imperfect person perfectly." -Sam Keen

09-02-2003, 09:12 AM	#3 (permalink)
Mikado Crazy Location: Houston, Texas	Unfortunately when I set the card to "optimal settings" that includes disabling V-sync. So it appears that isn't the problem either.

09-03-2003, 11:00 AM	#5 (permalink)
Mikado Crazy Location: Houston, Texas	Thanks for your help Laser. To answer your question, I posted this in the HardOCP forums. A friend of mine suggested I look for answers there, but have yet to find any. I re-flashed my bios with the most recent for my board at ASUS, and that didn't fix the problem. I downloaded Intel's AGP controller drivers, and latest graphic drivers, but that didn't work either. And you may be right about Nvidia's memchecker, although I was told to use it even though I had an ATI card. For shits and giggles I ran the botmatch-Antalus benchmark for UT2003. Check these results out, they're disgusting. Low - 19.5 fps Avg - 40.9 fps Best - 85.5 fps Now that is with low detail settings, and "optimal" performance set on the card, which includes no V-sync, no AA, and no AF. Those scores are horrible! My rig should have NO problem running most games like 'butta'. UGH, so annoying.

09-03-2003, 06:34 PM	#7 (permalink)
Mr.Deflok Blood + Fire Location: New Zealand	An 8xAGP Mobo makes a difference... of about 5FPS...

09-04-2003, 03:16 PM	#10 (permalink)
Lasereth Knight of the Old Republic Location: Winston-Salem, NC	Yeah, AA will kill a framerate fast. Hell, 2X will ruin some games if your system isn't powerful enough. Looks damn good even though it's choppy, though. -Lasereth __________________ "A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert

09-04-2003, 04:41 PM	#11 (permalink)
Mikado Crazy Location: Houston, Texas	Well I guess I'm destined to return this card. I completely reinstalled everything, from the bios to directx. Nothing has worked. The only thing left I can think of is that the board is defective. I even followed step by step, instructions that tech support from ATI and Intel gave me. Still can't get it to perform properly. I appreciate the help so far, if you guys come up with anything else let me know. Thanks!

09-18-2003, 09:16 PM	#12 (permalink)
Dilbert1234567 Devils Cabana Boy Location: Central Coast CA	dont return it update the drivers from the web site __________________ Donate Blood! "Love is not finding the perfect person, but learning to see an imperfect person perfectly." -Sam Keen

09-19-2003, 02:39 PM	#13 (permalink)
jujueye alpaca lunch for the trip Location: in my computer	DONT use Sapphire drivers, go get the ATI reference drivers directly from ATI. There is no reason to use a resellers drivers, as they usually put lots of extra goop in there. If the card is based on an ATI design, then use ATI drivers. If you had your friends card in your machine and they both performed poorly, but your mobo and all the other components are right, then you need to look at the settings in the drivers for the card. After all, the drivers tell the card how to do stuff. Shut everything off. Everything. Then start adding features one by one until you get the one that is killing you buzz. With a card jump like that, you should see some excellent differences, and defnitely no framerate losses.