x800 pro, getting "bad" framerates

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I'll try changing to blobs later & will let you know how I get on.

Just one comment about the firing squad article - Did they bench it with no players / fighting? If so that explains them getting higher fps than I get on a better card.

If they did bench it in a real firefight then I have problems.

Also, how do you turn aa etc on in-game? Can't see the option in the config files or in the in-game options.
 
I'll try changing to blobs later & will let you know how I get on.

Just one comment about the firing squad article - Did they bench it with no players / fighting? If so that explains them getting higher fps than I get on a better card.

If they did bench it in a real firefight then I have problems.

Also, how do you turn aa etc on in-game? Can't see the option in the config files or in the in-game options.
 
Yeah, like I said LARS' review also has no bots, no fighting.

They are custom demos usually mostly flyby which stresses the graphics card primarily. Botmatches stress you cpu because it has to calculate and map every movement, shot, etc. plus AI for bots.

Like they say actual multiplayer/botmatches is very CPU dependant, the more players/bots, the slower the systems run.

I don't know if you can affect AA in game, other than using a profile manager like Rage3Dtweak. Your control panel settings should affect the AA, but changing it in-game, never tried.


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK :evil:
 
No bad framerates here.

<A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=7932597" target="_new"> 28,149</A>

<A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=2701314" target="_new"> 13,899</A>

LOL!

<A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=2668876" target="_new"> My rig </A>
 
LMFAO! :lol:

Ya, ya, move along ya' show off! 😱

Nice scores though, but seriously, Doesn't 30,000 and 14,000 just look like much better numbers. :tongue:

Hey, you have alot of time on your hands this weekend, no F1, no Soccer 😱 , so I guess idle hands....? :evil:


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK :evil:
 
May get close to 29k with a new cpu cooler but without risking damage to the x800 I think this is as far as I can go. Already 0.15 over stock XTPE voltage for the gpu.

1.31 = stock pro
1.41 = stock xt
I'm @ 1.55 but using a very good heatsink so its under 55c load where as it was over 76c on stock cooler...

<A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=2701314" target="_new"> My rig </A>
 
Yeah I was just poking fun with all the sporting lul and all, seriously I don't want another card fried on my account. :evil:

Just enjoy the games dude! We're all just jealous of course. 😱

Hey my top 3Dmk01 results are only a few hundred Bungholiomarks more than your 3Dmk03 results! 😎


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK :evil:
 
Troubleshooting hardware related problem is a very frustating endeavor (user level) for the simple reason that you do not have any spare part at your disposal. You must rely on guesswork (unreliable). Eventually you'll replace the defective/incompatible componet(s). Money and time will be involved. Probably too much of both!

In your case, don't assume the video card is defective and please don't spend any money on hardware before you can isolate the problem. This basically mean, NO UPGRADE of any kind, period! No faster ram, no beefier power supply. You might be surprised at what is actually causing your problem.

I will assume you were thourough in installing the video card; properly seated in the AGP slot, auxilliary power connected to the card etc. I will assume the same for the computer itself; CPU speed and BIOS settings are at default value, well built, installed and maintained. Since you did not experienced any problem with your previous card i will ASSUME (always a mistake but...) that the computer is OK. Go over the ASUS/Saphhire manual/website for any related small print info regarding any incompatibility that could be resolved with a BIOS upgrade or other. If nothing is mentionned then you might want to try the following steps:

Test your card in a friends' computer.
This might involve a little bit of hassle for your friend; uninstallin/installing drivers on his/her system and the possibility of screwing up his/her Windows installation. Take the neccessary precautions; Ghost image file or XP System restore etc. You might want to spring for beer and pizza afterwards. Note: your friends' computer must not be underpowered.

If you bought your card at a local shop you might want to ask them to test it. Tell them that it is not performing adequately in 3D games. Tell them what steps you took to try to fix it; fresh install of Windows, different drivers, asked questions on Help Forums etc. Ask to be present when they do it; used to do it all the time when i did this kind of work (clients appreciated). Bring your copy of UT2004 and ATI drivers with you. Nothing more annoying then a customer who brings in a troublesome component but not the software/drivers along with it. If you can bring a printout of the website UT2004 benchmark that's always a plus.

DO NOT have the video card tested with the same brand/model/chipset of board you are using; in this case ASUS (this applies to the friend or the shop). If it performs badly also at the shop, using a different brand/chipset motherboard audio card combo, then it might need more investigative work, an undiscovered driver bug or just a plain old defective card . Good luck.

Countach69
 
Hi again all

Well, it's still underperforming and I'm out of ideas now. I did turn shadows to "blob" in ut and it has improved matters slightly - my frames tend to be above 40, except in very heavy firefights where again, they can drop to the low 30's.

I'm still wondering if it's the ram. Could it really make my 3dmark score 2k lower than what it should be? And my fps 10-20 lower?

Since posting here I've also benchmarked ut at 1280 on a flyby demo and DID get 100+ fps (with no aa etc). So that suggests there's no problem at all, and like people here have said, it's cpu/ram limitations.

Whats also difficult to determine is if people are telling me white lies when they say their lower spec system / 9800 card "gets more" fps than my avg 35. Another thing to bear in mind is I'm getting my fps in multiplayer 8v8 Onslaught matches. So it's probably very cpu intensive.

I think all in all, my flyby demo has proven there's nothing wrong with my card. If any 9800 users do get more fps in onslaught, it's presumably because of a slightly better cpu / ram.

I have also tried city of heroes. It's not much better than my gf4 was, but there's a lot less jerking.

I wish I had waited for an XT now. Presumably it will perform a lot better.
 
just to let u know about the ram i used to have 1024mb pc2100 ddr266 and got a score of 13594 in 3dmark01 - ive since upgraded to 512mb pc3200 ddr400 and my score has jumped upto 16036 so it could well be your ram holding you back

<A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=7931561" target="_new">http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=7931561</A>

If u do things right.... People won't be sure you've done anything at all......
 
If you have some spare cash, go to best buy and buy a stick of 3200 ram. Toss it in your system and run some tests. If theres no improvement then you have 30 days to take it back for a full refund, and you can track down what else the problem might be.

PS have you checked your ram timings, maybe tried setting your BIOS to "aggressive"?

"Who is General Failure, and why is he reading my drive?"
P4 3.0 HT, Intel D865GBF, 512MB Crucial PC3200 DDR, WD 36GB Raptor 10,000RPM, BBA Radeon 9600PRO, SB Audigy, Hauppage WinTV
 
In an 800 bus P4 system, 1 stick of PC3200 will stick bottleneck. 2 identical sticks dual channel is the way to go. :smile:


ABIT IS7, P4 2.6C, 512MB Corsair TwinX PC3200LL, Radeon 9800 Pro, Santa Cruz, TruePower 430watt
 
Perhaps, but this will at least let her know if it is the ram causing the problems. Even if it is still bottlenecked (to whatever degree) she should see an improvement with the 3200

"Who is General Failure, and why is he reading my drive?"
P4 3.0 HT, Intel D865GBF, 512MB Crucial PC3200 DDR, WD 36GB Raptor 10,000RPM, BBA Radeon 9600PRO, SB Audigy, Hauppage WinTV
 
hmm odd that game shouldn't be very cpu limited on anythinga above a 2.53 intel,

I'm getting around 45 fps on ut 2004 in most of the onslaught matches with the x800pro, on a 2.53 at 1600x1200, highest settings. But I'm also playing with 11 bots.

If I drop the res to around 1200x1024, the frames go up to 60 and up.

the system as 1 gig of ram too 2 sticks of rambus.

I don't see much of a frame rate increase on my amd 64 3800 either at 1600 x 1200. Because at 1600x1200 the cpu is no longer the bottleneck.

The graphics card is a bottle neck when the the frame rates drop below the refresh rate of the monitor. This means the cpu is waiting for instructions when the gpu is lagging behind.

I wouldn't worry about it too much, just drop your particle detial a little bit that should help out during the fight scenes. Or drop your res a notch that should do the trick.

Are ya using AA and Af? I am thats the only time the gpu gets to be the bottle neck if its off, forgot to add that in. without them, your cpu will be the bottle neck. Ram is only a bottle neck when the level is too big to fit into the amount of ram you have. Very rarely a full UT 2004 level will exceed the vram anyways. So that shouldn't be the bottleneck.

Test this out, if you drop your resolutions does your frame rates go up? If your cpu is a bottle neck then the frame rates will remain the same. If not and they go up, well that means your card is the bottleneck.
 
Well she adjusted res. up and down to no effect, which is the primary indication that she's CPU limited in her scenario.

8vs8 isn't really all that intensive (bots are even less so), but I was playing 12v12 in Urban, Icarus, Drian, Dawn and Arctic, with no noticeable drag/lag on my Xp2000+ (running @ XP2100 on 137FSB) with my R9600Pro.

I thought she was playing a 32 person game/server, but really 8 on 8 shouldn't cause alot of lag, but really 40 fps isn't bad, it's just not stellar for that little amount of people.


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK :evil:
 
ah ok, yeah if she is playing 32 people on network, can't help but lag.

40 ya shouldn't get any lag :/ even when the Unreal engine drops below 30 doesn't really lag till ya get to around 20.

Are ya lagging at the beginning of the level, or just randomely when in a fire fight?
 
Looking at <A HREF="http://www.envynews.com/index.php?ID=668&page=1" target="_new">THIS</A> review from envy-news, really it's quite obvious that the game is CPU limited under true combat situations.

<A HREF="http://www.envynews.com/index.php?ID=668&page=1" target="_new">Stressful 3DCenter UT2K4 benchie results</A>

In spite of the stupid statement of the reviewer to this benchmark, notice that in fact it's the NEW more powerful CPU your system is screaming for since the GF6800U offers little boost compared to an FX5950U. Woohoo, definitely worth that ~$500-600 upgrade. Right! Looking at the results the resoluion doesn't affect the GF6800U much so it's obviousl pumping out all it can throughout the resolution levels. The CPU is definitely still a limiting factor. Sure the GF5950U shows flux, but the GF6800U is affected more by AA, which is a clear indication of what's truely holding the system back.

And remember that's on an XP3200+ with matching fast memory. Also that's AVERAGE fps, and thus likely dips pretty low at times. You're talking about Min fps dips.

Try <A HREF="http://www.3dcenter.de/downloads/ut2004-primeval.php" target="_new">3Dcenter's Demo</A> and see what it does to your computer. Likely a better idea of what to expect.


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK :evil:
 
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