ATI Radeon HD 4890 1GB Not Performing Up to Par

[hugoender]

I just bought an XFX ATI Radeon HD 4890 1GB video card for my computer. The rest of my specs are as follow:
My Specs:
OS: Windows 7 64-bit Professional
Mobo: Foxconn C51XEM2AA - AM2 Socket - nForce 590 SLI
PSU: Enermax 500W - two 12V @ 22A - two PCI-E 6pin connectors
Memory: 4GB DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) - 4 x 1GB
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ 2x512KB L2 Cache (Overclocked to 2.889GHz from 2.5GHz)
GPU: ATI XFX Radeon HD 4890 1GB
HDD: (1)Seagate 250GB HDD @ 7200RPMs SATA, (2)WD 500GB HDD @ 7200RPMs SATA
Monitor: LG 22" Widescreen running at 1600x1050

In COD:MW2 with all settings maxed and AA set to 2x I get from 40-70 fps (sometimes it dips into the 30's).

In Left 4 Dead with all settings maxed and AA at 4x and AF at 8x I get 30-50 fps.

In Team Fortress 2 with all settings maxed I get 30-50 fps.

I thought this card would perform much better in these not so demanding titles. Therefore, I am guessing my system is bottlenecked somewhere. I want to say it's the CPU but because my mobo only supports AM2 sockets, the only upgrade I can get is the AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.0GHz with 2x1MB Cache. It is only $60 but I am not sure if it will really show any performance gain.

What do you guys think? I am open to thoughts and suggestions. Mind you, while it's easy to say "get a quad core", it requires me to get a whole new mobo, RAM, and CPU so in practice it's not that practical/easy.

Thanks in advance.

 

[jonpaul37]

Yeah, it's your CPU, hands down. I would look into another MoBo & CPU to see a performance increase. Phenom 2 would be a good start, or perhaps Core i5

 

[OvrClkr]

It's your CPU but before you do anything, does your CPU max out at 2.889Ghz or can you push it to at least 3Ghz?

 

[jay_l_a]

Looks like you have 2 options
1. Get the 6000+
2. Upgrade Motherboard+CPU. If you stick with a Phenom X4 /AM2+/AM3 motherboard you can reuse your ram. If you go the i5/i7 route, you'll need new memory.

 

[OvrClkr]

The 6000+ won't do anything unless his mobo will let him get a 15-20% overclock. Going from 2.9 to 3.0Ghz = no performance gain at all....

 

[rawsteel]

YOU CAN PUT Phenom II on AM2 !!!!

I am with Phenom II x3 720 on AM2 mobo and its GREAT!!!

go for it

 

[jay_l_a]

The 6000+ won't do anything unless his mobo will let him get a 15-20% overclock. Going from 2.9 to 3.0Ghz = no performance gain at all....

I was assuming 6000+ AND overclock.

 

[hugoender]

YOU CAN PUT Phenom II on AM2 !!!!

I am with Phenom II x3 720 on AM2 mobo and its GREAT!!!

go for it

I have AM2... not AM2+. I believe the Phenoms are for AM2+. Correct me if I am wrong though.

 

[OvrClkr]

The AM2 (only) mobo will not work with an AM3 CPU ..... The mobo has to be AM2/AM2+ in order to work....

 

[hugoender]

The AM2 (only) mobo will not work with an AM3 CPU ..... The mobo has to be AM2/AM2+ in order to work....

lol I am not asking about AM3. I dont have AM3. I have AM2 and want to know if an AM2+ cpu will work in an AM2 socket.

Thanks for the extra info though

 

[OvrClkr]

^^ that post was directed to rawsteel, really don't know how he installed an AM3 CPU on a AM2 (only) mobo. Maybe he did some magic, who knows..

Socket AM2+ is an intermediate successor to socket AM2, which features split power planes, and HyperTransport 3.0. Socket AM2+ chips can plug into a socket AM2 motherboard, but operate only with HyperTransport 2.0. So the answer is yes you can =)

 

[hugoender]

I think I found my answer: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-motherboards,1749-9.html?xtmc=foxconn_am2_phenom_c51&xtcr=19

Seems like the BIOS for my mobo does not support the Phenom processors =/

 

[OvrClkr]

I think I found my answer: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-motherboards,1749-9.html?xtmc=foxconn_am2_phenom_c51&xtcr=19

Seems like the BIOS for my mobo does not support the Phenom processors =/

DUDE look at the date of that article "12/26/2007" that is 2 years old :lol:

Go to the Foxxcon website and look for a BIOS update, if you have issues let me know... or forget I will do that for you...

UPDATE CPU CODE :
http://www.foxconnchannel.com/support/downloads_detail.aspx?ID=en-us0001542

 

[hugoender]

DUDE look at the date of that article "12/26/2007" that is 2 years old :lol:

Go to the Foxxcon website and look for a BIOS update, if you have issues let me know... or forget I will do that for you...

UPDATE CPU CODE :
http://www.foxconnchannel.com/support/downloads_detail.aspx?ID=en-us0001542

lol I know it is 2 years old but Foxconn hasn't updated their BIOS since I bought the thing so it is still relevant.

That link you posted... I have never seen that before (and I have looked for BIOS updates before). It doesn't exactly specify what that update is for (yes it says cpu code but does that mean it makes the mobo compatible with Phenom processors?).

Btw, thanks a ton for taking the time to find that for me. I appreciate it.

 

[OvrClkr]

I copied the direct link so you wouldnt have to do it yourself... Here is the link :

http://www.foxconnchannel.com/support/downloads.aspx?ProductModel=C51XEM2AA-8EKRS2H&TypeID=en-us0000003

 

[hugoender]

I copied the direct link so you wouldnt have to do it yourself... Here is the link :

http://www.foxconnchannel.com/support/downloads.aspx?ProductModel=C51XEM2AA-8EKRS2H&TypeID=en-us0000003

Did some research on that update and even with that new code it still does not support Phenom processors.

Last time I buy a Foxconn board. Their tech support is non existent and their updates are rare.

 

[rawsteel]

Sorry my mistake - its AM2+ :$

better upgrade CPU/Mobo - you will see improvements not only in games , and then think about the GPU

 

[OvrClkr]

You don't need to buy a phenom, AM2+ does not mean phenom CPU's only.... Anyways I bet any AM2+ CPU will work on your mobo. If you do not want to risk it then why not call Foxconn and have a rep confirm?

 

[hugoender]

You don't need to buy a phenom, AM2+ does not mean phenom CPU's only.... Anyways I bet any AM2+ CPU will work on your mobo. If you do not want to risk it then why not call Foxconn and have a rep confirm?

I have emailed them (there is no calling them) and am awaiting response. Yes, I can technically fit an AM2+ processor in my mobo but if the BIOS does not recognize the CPU for what it is, it won't work. Their latest BIOS is from 2007!

I am not going to buy a processor only to not have it work. Especially after doing some researching and reading a bunch of forum threads of people with the same board saying it does not support the newer AM2+ processor.

It's a terrible thing really. Promising AM2+ support with a simple BIOS update and then not delivering the BIOS update.

Lesson learned I guess.

 

[OvrClkr]

If all else fails get a mobo/CPU like rawsteel and jay suggested =)

AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103688

Foxconn A7GM-S 2.0 AM2+ / AM3 Ready
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186165&cm_re=foxconn_motherboard-_-13-186-165-_-Product

just a suggestion so you can use your exsisting ram....

 

[OvrClkr]

Not sure why Foxconn is not up to par on their updates... That board seems like it can handle a few more years....

 

[hugoender]

Not sure why Foxconn is not up to par on their updates... That board seems like it can handle a few more years....

It can! That is why I bought it! For upgradeability. And I like how you suggest another Foxconn board. I really don't think I will ever buy one of their boards again.

 

[hugoender]

Well I just did a little test with COD: Modern Warfare 2. I ran Fraps to see the FPS. I then created a private match with the map where I normally have the lowest FPS (Scrapyard). Then in there I chose a spot where my fps dropped to it's lowest and made that stop the "designated" spot to stand on when checking different settings. Here is what I found.

In this "designated" spot, the maximum fps I could get was in the 50's (51-58). I got this fps with the following settings:
Resolution - 1680x1050
AA - 4x
VSync - On (I know this is supposed to decrease fps but it didn't so I left it on)
Texture Quality - Extra (max)
Shadows - off
Specular Map - off
Soften Smoke Edges - off

When I turn any one of the last 3 settings on, my fps drops by 8-10. If I turn 2 of them on at the same time, it drops by 15-20. If I turn 3 of them on then my fps drops by 20ish (I get around 30 fps).

Now, I did the same thing but this time turned all the textures to their lowest setting (Low) and set the resolution to the lowest 16:10 resolution (1280x800). With these settings and everything turned off (except for VSync which I left on) I was hitting the 60 fps cap almost all the time (it would go from 51-60). I then stood in the "designated" spot and turned on the Shadows, Specular Map, and Soften Smoke Edges. This dropped my fps to the mid 30's !!!

So now my question is: Are the last three setting (shadows, specular map, soften smoke edges) cpu intensive or is it all handled by the video card? If it's cpu intensive then for sure my CPU is the problem. If not, then there must be something wrong with my video card. A Radeon HD 4890 1GB should be more than enough power to handle all the settings in COD:MW2. Until the 5000 series came out, the 4890 was the top of the line in ATI (after the 4870X2).

I understand if maybe I could not run the textures on Extra or something but getting 30ish fps with everything minimum because I turned on Shadows, Specular Map, and Soften Smoke Edges is not acceptable.

Any feedback on this would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post.

 

[hugoender]

Benchmarked my system with 3DMark Vantage and this is what I got:
Total Score – P5585
Graphics – 7492
CPU – 3166

Seems to me like the video card is underperforming.

 

[OvrClkr]

Well I just did a little test with COD: Modern Warfare 2. I ran Fraps to see the FPS. I then created a private match with the map where I normally have the lowest FPS (Scrapyard). Then in there I chose a spot where my fps dropped to it's lowest and made that stop the "designated" spot to stand on when checking different settings. Here is what I found.

In this "designated" spot, the maximum fps I could get was in the 50's (51-58). I got this fps with the following settings:
Resolution - 1680x1050
AA - 4x
VSync - On (I know this is supposed to decrease fps but it didn't so I left it on)
Texture Quality - Extra (max)
Shadows - off
Specular Map - off
Soften Smoke Edges - off

When I turn any one of the last 3 settings on, my fps drops by 8-10. If I turn 2 of them on at the same time, it drops by 15-20. If I turn 3 of them on then my fps drops by 20ish (I get around 30 fps).

Now, I did the same thing but this time turned all the textures to their lowest setting (Low) and set the resolution to the lowest 16:10 resolution (1280x800). With these settings and everything turned off (except for VSync which I left on) I was hitting the 60 fps cap almost all the time (it would go from 51-60). I then stood in the "designated" spot and turned on the Shadows, Specular Map, and Soften Smoke Edges. This dropped my fps to the mid 30's !!!

So now my question is: Are the last three setting (shadows, specular map, soften smoke edges) cpu intensive or is it all handled by the video card? If it's cpu intensive then for sure my CPU is the problem. If not, then there must be something wrong with my video card. A Radeon HD 4890 1GB should be more than enough power to handle all the settings in COD:MW2. Until the 5000 series came out, the 4890 was the top of the line in ATI (after the 4870X2).

I understand if maybe I could not run the textures on Extra or something but getting 30ish fps with everything minimum because I turned on Shadows, Specular Map, and Soften Smoke Edges is not acceptable.

Any feedback on this would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post.

Look, the reason you are gettin 56/58FPS with those settings is due to your CPU. If you get a 6000+ and overclock to at least 3.3/3.4Ghz your problem will be solved, the other option you have is saving up for a CPU/mobo combo and this way you have may have more head-room, your CPU is bottle-necking the system....