Poor x800XT PE HL2 Performance

TyP3-R · 30-December-04, 11:20 AM

Well...I am pretty much stumped on what is goin on with my vid card. I recently recieved a OEM Connect3D x800XT PE and it is not up to par with my expectations. I ran 3dMark03 at 1024 with (I think) no AA and 4x AF (I might be backwards on this). I got a score of ~11000. But when I play Half Life 2 at 1024 with all recommended Valve settings (mostly full with a few mediums) and 4xAA/8xAF I get a average of about 30fps. That cant be right for a top of the line ~$500 card. So I start experimenting...

>Cat 4.12 displayed results described above.
>Cat 4.12b made no difference.
>I did switch from a nVidia card so I made sure to uninstall the forceware completely and used "Nasty File Remover" and "Driver Cleaner 3.3" from http://www.driverheaven.net/.
>Defragged my heavily fragmented drive and that helped but not how Id like.
>Tried BF1942 briefly (2 minutes) this morning before work and I dont have numbers but I wasnt impressed.

My next step was gonna be to try Omega and then try previous Cat drivers. I am at work now So I cant do much. I have Win Xp SP2 fully updated. My chipset and bios are fully updated. Could there be something in my bios limiting the card's speed? I looked and couldnt find much. I did change the AGP aperture size from 64mb (my old gf3) to 256mb. Also made sure my agp was running at 8x and it is. The thing I dread it being is maybe that since it is a OEM card it is flawed.

Let me know anything you guys can think of and I will help as much as I can from work.

Thanks!

TYCOON · 30-December-04, 11:25 AM

My friends XT/PE can run 1600x1200 @ 8AA 16 AF (hl;2)all setting on high with about 50 fps, so that isnt right.

TyP3-R · 30-December-04, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TYCOON


	My friends XT/PE can run 1600x1200 @ 8AA 16 AF (hl;2)all setting on high with about 50 fps, so that isnt right.

Ya it is really strange.

$SOLID$ Necro · 30-December-04, 01:04 PM

How about a fresh format?

I have tried swapping hardware like vid cards and noticed odd glitches at times until I do a clean install, even after following the proper procedures like running driver cleaner.

AS a matter of fact, I recently put my X-800 Pro back into my Mobile 2500+ rig, and now everyonce in a while it decides to play the Matrix on me..the video looks all weird until I reboot.

This same card worked fine a few months ago in this rig..if I weren't taking it back out soon..I would be formatting the HD in a heartbeet

TyP3-R · 30-December-04, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by $SOLID$ Necro


	How about a fresh format? I have tried swapping hardware like vid cards and noticed odd glitches at times until I do a clean install, even after following the proper procedures like running driver cleaner.

That crossed my mind but its just such a pain in my arse. I just reformated like 10 weeks ago cuz I got a new processor lol.

$SOLID$ Necro · 30-December-04, 03:38 PM

I hear ya..but If you didn't t find anything else wrong with drivers, or hardware config..then it's probalby the best bet.

You could try running the full tests at PCPITSOP.com, I have a thread on it in the benchamrking results section. It has found issues for me in the past I could not find anywhere else.

http://pcpitstop.com/

TyP3-R · 30-December-04, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by $SOLID$ Necro


	I hear ya..but If you didn't t find anything else wrong with drivers, or hardware config..then it's probalby the best bet. You could try running the full tests at PCPITSOP.com, I have a thread on it in the benchamrking results section. It has found issues for me in the past I could not find anywhere else. http://pcpitstop.com/

Thanks, I get home in a few hours and I'll try it then. Til then I will test on one of these narly Dell comps at work haha.

TyP3-R · 31-December-04, 12:25 PM

Well that pcpitstop didnt find anything wrong. I tried Omega drivers with alittle improvement so I reformatted and it is pretty much the same. Guess I will be RMA'ing, this is the biggest pain in my ass ever. Worse than switching my processor in a watercooled setup lol.

TyP3-R · 10-January-05, 08:54 PM

They refunded me the money and I turned around and bought a Asus AX800XT PE. Turns out I get worse scores on this card. I figure the prob. must reside in my 350W PSU. Heres what I have using power:
2x 7.92W (120mm Fans)
1x 4.56W (120mm Fan)
2x 8.600W (Hard drives)
1x DVDrom (No info available other than Sony DDU-1621)
1x CD-RW (MFG Link )

You can see the rest of my setup to the bottom. I get a score of ~10300 on 3DMark03 on 1024 with 4xAF and 0xAA. I should be getting ~12300, correct?

Enko · 10-January-05, 08:57 PM

doesn't the x800xt underclock itself if it detects its not getting enough power? or was that the 6800 ultra . ..

well either way you'll probably want to get a new psu.

TyP3-R · 10-January-05, 09:32 PM

I dont know if it does or not.

YohanSpritz · 10-January-05, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TyP3-R


	They refunded me the money and I turned around and bought a Asus AX800XT PE. Turns out I get worse scores on this card. I figure the prob. must reside in my 350W PSU.

You're going to need a 430 watt PSU minimum with something like an X800. ATi was already including warnings in the box about needing a 400 watt PSU with Radeon 9700's!!! And not some flaky PSU that might explode on you, you need a top of the line to handle an X800, like an Antec or a Vantec.

TyP3-R · 10-January-05, 11:18 PM

I just picked up a 500W Ultra X-Connect. I'll post later.

droeblek9 · 10-January-05, 11:25 PM

Here's a link to download FU3LMAN's Overclockulator (it'll make your life easier when figuring out just how much juice your rig uses): http://www.pcapex.com/downloads/inde...nd%20Utilities
I checked the user's manual for the x800 AGP series cards on ATI's site. ATI's bare minimun PSU for the XT is a 350 Watt.

EDIT: Ya posted as i was typing

....SWEET new PSU: hope it solves your dilema

TyP3-R · 11-January-05, 01:52 AM

Got an open box item because I planned on only using it to test then return it and order one online for cheaper. This way I could just see if the PSU makes a difference and not open ne of their brand new boxes. Lucky me ended up getting a PSU that was broke and my system would not run more than 10 minutes without the PSU just cutting out. I'll have to go back tomorrow and get a exchange and test again. I could never find a minimum watt spec on this damn box or manual guess the ATi site is the place to go.

EDIT : That calculator you guys have is very nice better than anyone I have ever used. It says I am using 396W. If it is anywhere near correct I do need a new PSU.

"300 watt or greater power supply recommended for RADEONÃ‚â„¢ X800 Pro and 350 watt for RADEONÃ‚â„¢ X800 XT Platinum." Thats directly from manual. Probably what you read. Thanks for mentioning that.

Enko · 11-January-05, 02:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TyP3-R


	Got an open box item because I planned on only using it to test then return it and order one online for cheaper. This way I could just see if the PSU makes a difference and not open ne of their brand new boxes. Lucky me ended up getting a PSU that was broke and my system would not run more than 10 minutes without the PSU just cutting out. I'll have to go back tomorrow and get a exchange and test again. I could never find a minimum watt spec on this damn box or manual guess the ATi site is the place to go. EDIT : That calculator you guys have is very nice better than anyone I have ever used. It says I am using 396W. If it is anywhere near correct I do need a new PSU. "300 watt or greater power supply recommended for RADEONÃ‚â„¢ X800 Pro and 350 watt for RADEONÃ‚â„¢ X800 XT Platinum." Thats directly from manual. Probably what you read. Thanks for mentioning that.

those warnings are always the bare minimums though. i always get a psu that's way past the minimums just to be safe

TyP3-R · 11-January-05, 02:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enko


	those warnings are always the bare minimums though. i always get a psu that's way past the minimums just to be safe

Ya I understand, I wish I didnt get a broken X-Connect, I would be enjoying high HL2 FPS right now.

TekXoID · 11-January-05, 02:56 AM

I'm guessing you have the motherboard chipset drivers installed, paticularly the GART drivers...?
If a new X-Connect does not alleviate the issue, you should just suck it up and format.

At this point I would have already myself.

30-December-04, 11:20 AM	#1 (permalink)
TyP3-R Apex Master Tech Apprentice Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Phoenix Posts: 281	Poor x800XT PE HL2 Performance Well...I am pretty much stumped on what is goin on with my vid card. I recently recieved a OEM Connect3D x800XT PE and it is not up to par with my expectations. I ran 3dMark03 at 1024 with (I think) no AA and 4x AF (I might be backwards on this). I got a score of ~11000. But when I play Half Life 2 at 1024 with all recommended Valve settings (mostly full with a few mediums) and 4xAA/8xAF I get a average of about 30fps. That cant be right for a top of the line ~$500 card. So I start experimenting... >Cat 4.12 displayed results described above. >Cat 4.12b made no difference. >I did switch from a nVidia card so I made sure to uninstall the forceware completely and used "Nasty File Remover" and "Driver Cleaner 3.3" from http://www.driverheaven.net/. >Defragged my heavily fragmented drive and that helped but not how Id like. >Tried BF1942 briefly (2 minutes) this morning before work and I dont have numbers but I wasnt impressed. My next step was gonna be to try Omega and then try previous Cat drivers. I am at work now So I cant do much. I have Win Xp SP2 fully updated. My chipset and bios are fully updated. Could there be something in my bios limiting the card's speed? I looked and couldnt find much. I did change the AGP aperture size from 64mb (my old gf3) to 256mb. Also made sure my agp was running at 8x and it is. The thing I dread it being is maybe that since it is a OEM card it is flawed. Let me know anything you guys can think of and I will help as much as I can from work. Thanks! __________________ That which we fear the most has already happened to us. Last edited by TyP3-R; 30-December-04 at 03:09 PM.

30-December-04, 11:25 AM	#2 (permalink)
TYCOON Apex Tech God Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: SCHOOLLLSSS Posts: 4,728	My friends XT/PE can run 1600x1200 @ 8AA 16 AF (hl;2)all setting on high with about 50 fps, so that isnt right. __________________ AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ @ 2.7GHz DFI LanParty SLI-D 2GBs PC3200 @ PC3500 // 2.5-3-3-6 EVGA 7950GT 512MB @ Stock Audigy 2 ZS 36Gb Raptor (os) 2x300Gb WD SATA 16MB CACHE (storage) 450Watt OCZ modstream Coolermaster Wavemaster

30-December-04, 01:04 PM	#4 (permalink)
$SOLID$ Necro Mastah Overclocker Join Date: May 2003 Location: Lima, Ohio Posts: 7,217	How about a fresh format? I have tried swapping hardware like vid cards and noticed odd glitches at times until I do a clean install, even after following the proper procedures like running driver cleaner. AS a matter of fact, I recently put my X-800 Pro back into my Mobile 2500+ rig, and now everyonce in a while it decides to play the Matrix on me..the video looks all weird until I reboot. This same card worked fine a few months ago in this rig..if I weren't taking it back out soon..I would be formatting the HD in a heartbeet __________________ Join the PC Apex "Overclock and Benchmark" team today! Click Here! Necro's "Ultimate Links" Collection Click Here!

30-December-04, 03:38 PM	#6 (permalink)
$SOLID$ Necro Mastah Overclocker Join Date: May 2003 Location: Lima, Ohio Posts: 7,217	I hear ya..but If you didn't t find anything else wrong with drivers, or hardware config..then it's probalby the best bet. You could try running the full tests at PCPITSOP.com, I have a thread on it in the benchamrking results section. It has found issues for me in the past I could not find anywhere else. http://pcpitstop.com/ __________________ Join the PC Apex "Overclock and Benchmark" team today! Click Here! Necro's "Ultimate Links" Collection Click Here!

31-December-04, 12:25 PM	#8 (permalink)
TyP3-R Apex Master Tech Apprentice Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Phoenix Posts: 281	Well that pcpitstop didnt find anything wrong. I tried Omega drivers with alittle improvement so I reformatted and it is pretty much the same. Guess I will be RMA'ing, this is the biggest pain in my ass ever. Worse than switching my processor in a watercooled setup lol. __________________ That which we fear the most has already happened to us.

10-January-05, 08:54 PM	#9 (permalink)
TyP3-R Apex Master Tech Apprentice Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Phoenix Posts: 281	They refunded me the money and I turned around and bought a Asus AX800XT PE. Turns out I get worse scores on this card. I figure the prob. must reside in my 350W PSU. Heres what I have using power: 2x 7.92W (120mm Fans) 1x 4.56W (120mm Fan) 2x 8.600W (Hard drives) 1x DVDrom (No info available other than Sony DDU-1621) 1x CD-RW (MFG Link ) You can see the rest of my setup to the bottom. I get a score of ~10300 on 3DMark03 on 1024 with 4xAF and 0xAA. I should be getting ~12300, correct? __________________ That which we fear the most has already happened to us.

10-January-05, 08:57 PM	#10 (permalink)
Enko Apex Tech God Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Norfolk, VA Posts: 2,263	doesn't the x800xt underclock itself if it detects its not getting enough power? or was that the 6800 ultra . .. well either way you'll probably want to get a new psu. __________________

10-January-05, 09:32 PM	#11 (permalink)
TyP3-R Apex Master Tech Apprentice Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Phoenix Posts: 281	I dont know if it does or not. __________________ That which we fear the most has already happened to us.

10-January-05, 11:18 PM	#13 (permalink)
TyP3-R Apex Master Tech Apprentice Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Phoenix Posts: 281	I just picked up a 500W Ultra X-Connect. I'll post later.

10-January-05, 11:25 PM	#14 (permalink)
droeblek9 Warcraft Warrior Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Atlanta, Ga Posts: 2,018	Here's a link to download FU3LMAN's Overclockulator (it'll make your life easier when figuring out just how much juice your rig uses): http://www.pcapex.com/downloads/inde...nd%20Utilities I checked the user's manual for the x800 AGP series cards on ATI's site. ATI's bare minimun PSU for the XT is a 350 Watt. EDIT: Ya posted as i was typing ....SWEET new PSU: hope it solves your dilema __________________

11-January-05, 01:52 AM	#15 (permalink)
TyP3-R Apex Master Tech Apprentice Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Phoenix Posts: 281	Got an open box item because I planned on only using it to test then return it and order one online for cheaper. This way I could just see if the PSU makes a difference and not open ne of their brand new boxes. Lucky me ended up getting a PSU that was broke and my system would not run more than 10 minutes without the PSU just cutting out. I'll have to go back tomorrow and get a exchange and test again. I could never find a minimum watt spec on this damn box or manual guess the ATi site is the place to go. EDIT : That calculator you guys have is very nice better than anyone I have ever used. It says I am using 396W. If it is anywhere near correct I do need a new PSU. "300 watt or greater power supply recommended for RADEONÃ‚â„¢ X800 Pro and 350 watt for RADEONÃ‚â„¢ X800 XT Platinum." Thats directly from manual. Probably what you read. Thanks for mentioning that. __________________ That which we fear the most has already happened to us. Last edited by TyP3-R; 11-January-05 at 02:03 AM.

11-January-05, 02:56 AM	#18 (permalink)
TekXoID Banned Join Date: May 2003 Location: looking for love in the nearest gay bar Posts: 4,089	I'm guessing you have the motherboard chipset drivers installed, paticularly the GART drivers...? If a new X-Connect does not alleviate the issue, you should just suck it up and format. At this point I would have already myself.