HD 2900XT problems or normal?

[jp1981]

Hi there,

i bought myself a new system about 4months ago. First of all, i'm not a gamer. A few days ago we had lunch at my wife's sister's house. Her 16year old son was playing this really good looking game. Crisis. I could not resist, i had to buy the game. Like i said, i don't play at all, but those graphics just made me, ah, wow.

To cut a long story short. I just use my Pc for working purposes. Auto Cad etc... Now to my problem. Is it normal that Crisis runs at about 15-30fps when settings are on high? And i realised, when launchin the game, my card gets extremely loud. Normal? I have downloaded the Amd gpu tool. When playin, it says my temperature of the card is at about 100 degrees. That can't be, or can it?

What tool can i use to read my temperature of gpu, cpu and motherboard?

Thanx in advance.

here my pc specs.
amd be2400 am2 runs at 2.8
4gb ocz 800 ram
hd 2900xt 1gig
2x 750gig wd sata2 drives
win xp and vista ultimate
2x 24" samsung screens @2ms

Regards
Jp

 

[dagger]

For 2900xt, it's normal. It's just not powerful enough to run Crysis at high settings. Being stressed to limits, the gpu will run hot. 1gb vram doesn't help, as it's the processor that's bottlenecking.

My g92 8800gts run at 50 fps in Crysis, high settings. Drops to around 35 in Very High(max) settings. It's just a very demanding game.

 

[jp1981]

Thanks for the reply.

I have read in other forums that ppl get between 30and 50 with the 2900 card. My wife's sisters son is running a 7950gt card and it runs better on high.

What processor can u recommend? Could it also be my psu that is to weak? I'm running a cooler master 520w.

thanx.
Jp

 

[angry_ducky]

At what resolution are you running the game? Judging by your dual monitors, I'm guessing that you want to game on two screens.

Two 24" LCDs could support a maximum resolution of 3840 x 1200, which is unplayable on pretty much any current graphics card.

Just check the resolution; it might work out better to try playing on just one screen at something like 1680 x 1050 resolution...

 

[dagger]

Thanks for the reply.

I have read in other forums that ppl get between 30and 50 with the 2900 card. My wife's sisters son is running a 7950gt card and it runs better on high.

What processor can u recommend? Could it also be my psu that is to weak? I'm running a cooler master 520w.

thanx.
Jp

520w should be fine. And if it doesn't have enough power, the system will just destablize and crash instead of slowing down.

The cpu is too weak too. Try lowering features that use a lot of cpu power. But if the 2900 runs to 100 degrees C, it's likely bottlenecked as well. The 2900 cannot possibly reach 50 fps on high settings, it's impossible. See this guide for graphics settings to get the most out of your machine:
http://www.gamespot.com/features/6182806/index.html

See benchmark for which card to upgrade to:
http://www.guru3d.com/category/vga_2/
Note the fps benched is at Medium quality, not High, so compensate accordingly.

 

[invisik]

hey dagger so if a graphic card doesnt get enough power the card would just crash? or perform slower?

 

[dagger]

hey dagger so if a graphic card doesnt get enough power the card would just crash? or perform slower?

The whole system should be destablized and possibly crush. The cpu and harddisks are running off that same 12v rail(s) which feed the graphics card.

Some cards that require pcie connectors may run at reduced power if you don't connect it. But that's because the card detects no power from pcie connector, and try to decrease power consumption on purpose. You should get an error message from the driver in such case.

 

[invisik]

sry for going off topic guys.

dagger i got a 9800gx2 and im getting like 20-30 fps in crysis at 1680x1050 on very high. i think i fall a little short on fps. i think my psu is not giving enough power to my 9800gx2.
heres my spec
q6600@ 3.0
4 gig ram
2 hardrives
1 blue-ray player

 

[monst0r]

Just for some reference, my system runs the game about 25-30fps average all high 1680x1050 no AA. I think your fps sounds just about right for that setup. Don't worry about crysis; I mean hell, the only use of it is benchmarking. I don't know anyone who actually likes playing the story.

 

[dagger]

sry for going off topic guys.

dagger i got a 9800gx2 and im getting like 20-30 fps in crysis at 1680x1050 on very high. i think i fall a little short on fps. i think my psu is not giving enough power to my 9800gx2.
heres my spec
q6600@ 3.0
4 gig ram
2 hardrives
1 blue-ray player

Actually, it sounds about right, at that relatively high resolution, if you put on aa. It's Crysis we're talking about.

 

[invisik]

Just for some reference, my system runs the game about 25-30fps average all high 1680x1050 no AA. I think your fps sounds just about right for that setup. Don't worry about crysis; I mean hell, the only use of it is benchmarking. I don't know anyone who actually likes playing the story.

i only play it for the pretty colors lol.

 

[invisik]

Actually, it sounds about right, at that relatively high resolution, if you put on aa. It's Crysis we're talking about.

i have no aa. my previous card 9800gtx had a little better fps then my new 9800gx2. grrrr.

 

[dagger]

i have no aa. my previous card 9800gtx had a little better fps then my new 9800gx2. grrrr.

Bad settings? Lol...

 

[bgd73]

I am surprised no one mentioned an aftermarket heatsink.....
It is not just a gimmick anymore. I popped my first hot card, and it was half the mhz ("only" 325mhz) of todays averages that I run now (as if the ati rv600 range == average)

the 2900 has several options out there, silent pc review dot com does very well with heatsink testing and reports. If you are serious about the graphics, especially as a worker in auto cad...I am really surprised noone mentioned the flaws in oem sinks. You must be the loneliest autocadder on the planet.

I compared what normal temp should be to a 600mhz cpu back in its day. Should be no more than 130F and REALLY straining it for all its worth. Not to mention it is on a plane all by itself...no excuses for 65-70 and even higher temps. That is insane.. I hope at least one asking similar questions takes this advice. Whip out the little tools and out in a better heatsink.

My own dropped 35C (that is 100%) lower at full throttle and gained atomics autocadders must have.

 

[jp1981]

@angry ducky
i lowered my resolution. And ha, on high setting i get now between 30 and 45. Thats all good to play.

@Bgd73
thanx for the tip. I will look into it to buy a new heatsink. Can you recommend something particular for the 2900xt. Only reason i bought the card was of the 1gb vram. My wallet did not agree with a matrox or somethin similiar

Sorry for my bad english, but here in peru i hardly speak it.

cheers