5870 Performance Issues

[jrwalte]

I purchased the 5870 to increase my game performance, but I primarly use my PC as a HTPC.

I'm having several issues.

1) There are video quality issues while watching videos in Windows 7 Media Center. Rarely the video will go blocky or discolored as if it's inadequate to decode the HD video stream. Almost always if I click the Media Center button and go back to the video, this blockiness will occur.

2) With Crysis, I cannot run the game in full screen mode. My TV tells me the 'mode is not supported'. The game is running in 1920 x 1080. I had to turn the game to windowed mode in order to get it to work.

In addition, my benchmark tests for Crysis have actually decreased to 29 FPS from 34FPS with my ATI 4870.



Everything worked fine with my 4870. If I can't resolve this, I'm definitely returning the video card. I didn't pay this huge amount of money to lose gaming performance and video quality.



Does anyone know if an inadequate PSU could cause these issues? Would the video card underperform or would the system become unstable or reboot?

I have a several year old 570W PSU with rated 30A 12 volt rail. It came with no 6-pin PCIe cables but does have 1 4-pin dedicated video card connector. I've had to use the 2 4-pin to 6-pin adapters. I don't want to invest more money for a better PSU if the above issues will most likely continue. I also have 1 blu-ray drive, 5 HDs and 2 PCIe tuners.

If I did get a new PSU, would a 600W 40a 12v rail that comes with 2 6-pin PCIe connectors be sufficient?

 

[swifty_morgan]

I have a cooler master power supply. I wouldn't buy another. I also wouldn't try to buy the bare minimum ps either. Get a corsair 520. I think it has 50amps and is built much better. That's the minimum I would get......... for upgrades in the future........ an 850W/70amp minimum. Your hardware will run more efficiently.

 

[verndewd]

Test it with the same basic stuff on another pc. better to be safe than sorry. as soldier ponited out win 7 isnt even released yet.

If I had to Id go with soldiers reccomendation on the psu unless you plan on upgrading that htpc alot and dont care if the psu caps age quickly. My bro got a pcp&c and its rock stable. I have had a 650w pure power Tt for a few years through several builds I imagine its lasted because I have more power than I need so the caps wont age as fast as if I had matched the psu to requirements.

have you tried switching the molex feeds to see if those two arent playing nice?

i would think the 600w would be enough since thats what is recommended.

 

[smoggy12345]

You dont need a new PSU.
Crysis shows huge drops in framrates when run in windows mode - this would explain your apparent loss in performance.

To me it sounds like the drivers arn't up to scratch with the new hardware especially on windows 7 Beta...Would explain why certain functions are 'not supported'

Try going back to Vista/ XP and download latest drivers.... You'll get much more compatability / performance!

 

[sirkillalot]

did u update the drivers for 5870 win7 go to the amd site if not
they just came out

 

[jrwalte]

Thanks for all the replies.

Just to clarify, the PSU I have is at least a 4 year old 'Mad Dog' 570W with a 12v 30A rail which has no dedicated PCIe connectors (only a single dedicated 4-pin molex. I use the adapters with 3 other 4-pin molex for the 2 6-pin PCIe). The PSU that I linked was the one I was considering buying, although from the above suggestions I'd go with the 700W model instead, if I get one. As a reminder, I have 5 HD (1 raptor 70GB, 2 WD Green 1TB, 2 WD Black 1TB) and a LG Bluray optical. I also have 2 tuners and a SB X-Fi and a C2D E8400 running stock.

Not that my UPS is accurate, but it states around .18 Kw are being pulled while the PC is under load (playing Crysis) and .15 when idle.

The ultimate question is, do you think a PC will act up like mine (Crysis unable to play in fullscreen mode, video decoding issues) due to an inadequate PSU and the graphics card not getting enough power or does it seem to be a new OS/Driver issue that will be resolved over time? I don't want to spend $120+ on a new PSU if I don't really need it.

What are the key indicators that your PSU is not adequate for your hardware?

Oh, and I installed the latest ATI driver from the website and didn't bother using the install cd. Maybe I ought to try the manu's CD drivers instead.

 

[jrwalte]

Interestingly, I just ran Crysis in DX9 mode and I have no issues running it in fullscreen mode.

 

[verndewd]

ATI Radeon™ HD 5870 System Requirements
PCI Express® based PC is required with one X16 lane graphics slot available on the motherboard
500 Watt or greater power supply with two 75W 6-pin PCI Express® power connectors recommended (600 Watt and four 6-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode)
Certified power supplies are recommended. Refer to http://ati.amd.com/certifiedPSU for a list of Certified products
Minimum 1GB of system memory
Installation software requires CD-ROM drive
DVD playback requires DVD drive
Blu-ray™ playback requires Blu-ray drive
For an ATI CrossFireX™ system, a second ATI Radeon™ HD 5870 graphics card, an ATI CrossFireX Ready motherboard and one ATI CrossFireX Bridge Interconnect cable per graphics card (included) are required

http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/ati-radeon-hd-5000/hd-5870/Pages/ati-radeon-hd-5870-system-requirements.aspx

your psu should be sufficient if the capacitors are of good quality. A good cheap psu tester would be in order for a 4 yr old psu and really should be standard enthusiast gear. also monitor your voltage for fluctuations that seem large I think an acceptable amount is like -/+ .5 or .05 the less warble or whatever they call it , the better.

If your psu power is looking like a radio wave under load on the GPU it could be destabilized by age, capacitors do wear out in time. if its not badly oscillating higher and lower voltage then it is fine. Just monitor it with the MB software and load test it while monitoring , that should tell you if its caps are going.

What to look for is fluctuations in power versus load, in lower fps game scenarios where the rendering is extreme your power should dip below designated thresholds and where it goes to higher fps scenarios the load release should push it above voltage thresholds.(or vis versa, dont quote me im no psu tech) IF big if, the caps are beginning to show wear.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/267080-28-power-requirements-hd5850-5870-posted thread discussing power use.


i personally dont see where you maxed out your psu enough to wear the caps even with 5 hdd's, but then you havent listed everything you have in that. so that means its likely a software issue.