New XFX HD-4890 Install on fresh OS - LOW FPS

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kspanks04

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Nov 10, 2009
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I recently switched from a Geforce 8600GT to an XFX Radeon HD 4890. Needless to say the transition wasn't smooth and the new card performed worse than my old one. So I reformatted and put a fresh copy of Win 7 x64 on my computer with the 4890 in. First thing I did was download the latest drivers and installed them. Problem is, the drivers still seem to not be working correctly as I am getting terrible performance. I standard video (480p) runs at 30 fps, whereas my 8600 ran it at 60fps. Any ideas what to do?
 
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This is a very, very generalized post. What is the exact driver/catalyst version you're using? When you're saying a "standard video" is running at 30 fps instead of 60, what exactly does that mean? Most mainstream TV content runs only at 30 fps, especially at 480p. Is there visual stuttering? Did you upgrade just to increase your "standard video" fps? What about games?
 
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I think the OP would be better off running an instance of 3dmark06 just to make sure the card is performing as advertised. If he gets over 60 frames (first test) with the settings on default then he has nothing to worry about....

or just run fraps during a game to test FPS.....
 
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Well the problem is nothing is even said about games, just video performance, which I've never ever really heard of. Any card you find these days can play a 480p video as long as you're using at least a Pentium 4 with it. My old computer (Pentium 4 w/ 8600 GTS) could barely handle HD, but that's a different story as decoding 1080p and playing it is much, much different than just displaying some simple 480p content.
 
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I've tried 9.9, 9.10 and 9.11 CAT drivers for x64 bit Windows 7. In device manager, the current driver info reads:
Provider: ATI Technologies
Date: 11/4/2009
Version: 8671.0.0

I upgraded my graphics card because my old one wasn't able to play HD videos above 720p. I still cannot play 1080p video files with the 4890, the video plays for a couple seconds then freezes while the audio continues.

I used Fraps to test my FPS during video playback. My old card averaged 60 fps for a 664X268 resolution avi video (I saved the benchmarks), the 4890 averages 30 fps on the same video.

I have a 550 watt power supply with 2 six-pin connectors both hooked up to the 4890. My display is a 40" HDTV, I am connected to it via DVI to HDMI at 1920X1080p resolution.

Also, I noticed there is no BIOS for this card when I start my computer, is this right?

I opened a ticket with XFX but haven't gotten a response yet. I'd love to get this figured out, thanks for your help.

 
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Hey kspanks,

What is your exact model processor? The processor feeds information to the GPU, and if it is slow enough to not be able to feed information to it at the rate at which it requires it results in low performance. In some scenarios, like Adobe Flash, when high definition or other content is displayed (pre beta 10.1) it relies mostly on the processor and does not use hardware acceleration. Are you watching it in Windows Media Player or similar? Have you tried a codec pack such as the The Combined Community Codec Pack? Windows 7 comes with bare-bones video format support and does not necessarily include full fledged drivers.

Also, aside from raw FPS numbers on the video you watched, is there visual stuttering? NVidia and ATi cards handle video playback significantly differently and that may account for the difference if there is no visual indication.
 
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I'm using an AMD Athlon X2 4000+ Brisbane 2.1GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor.

I'm using VLC to play the 1080p video file. The video freezes up and becomes distorted after 3-4 seconds of playback while the audio continues to play.
 
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I'm going to try and look up some information on the processor as it is a little old, however I think it should be fine... maybe. Have you tried more than one or two videos? Have you tried installing new codecs like the ones I suggested?

What does your processor usage look like? Monitor it using Windows Task Manager while you're attempting to watch the video. If it is spiking upwards of 80 or 90 percent, or pegging at 100 percent, then it's your processor.
 
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Like I said before, the CPU feeds information to the GPU. If the CPU is too slow at feeding information to the GPU (which it probably was with your 8600 already) then you will not see a performance increase when adding a more powerful card, in fact, you'll probably see a performance decrease like you're seeing now.

Think of it as someone asking questions and someone else giving answers; if the person is asking questions too fast for the person getting answers there's no work getting done, and the more unbalanced each person is the less efficient they are.

I can recommend these budget processors which will give you a large performance gain over your current one and will enable you to make use of your graphics card and watch HD videos:

AMD Athlon II X3 435 2.9GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Processor - Retail

or

AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

Most AM2 motherboards support socket AM3 unofficially, however definitely do some research before sticking a new one in without thinking.
 
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ATHLON X2 4000+ BRISBANE


Found your problem!

Are you serious? I mean your 8800GT probably was too fast for that processor and you expect it to keep up with a HD4890 ?? 😱

I cant believe how many people replied to this post and not one of them asked anything about your processor until Brockh. Too funny.
Click to expand...
Only one person had replied to this post before Brockh, how is that 'many' people?
 
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ATHLON X2 4000+ BRISBANE


Found your problem!

Are you serious? I mean your 8800GT probably was too fast for that processor and you expect it to keep up with a HD4890 ?? 😱

I cant believe how many people replied to this post and not one of them asked anything about your processor until Brockh. Too funny.
Click to expand...

Well it is not common for someone to have a 4890 paired with a 25 dollar CPU 😀
 
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What motherboard are you using? My suggestion would be saving up for a CPU upgrade ASAP.

If you have an AM2 motherboard you can upgrade to the 3000+, if it is AM2/AM2+ you have many other options....

or you might be able to overclock your CPU to at least 2.4/2.5Ghz depending on your board....
 
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