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Mother Technology hates me. But that's okay.. this is not.
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Toiletman
Senior Member
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16. February 2005 @ 11:54 |
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I'll try and keep my post to the point.
Processor: Athlon 64 3200+ (Newcastle Core)
Motherboard: MSI K8T 800
Harddrive: WD 120GB
Power Supply: Enermax 350W
Graphics card: ATI OEM X800 Pro
I'm not a super duper computer person, but know more than the average Joe. I have a couple problems with my machine here, and I've finally gotten pissed off enough to actually do something about it. It's been a year since I bought it! =D
Note: I've tried just about EVERYTHING to fix these problems, but no avail. Don't be afraid to suggest the dumbest, "n00biest" mistakes that I could make. =D
The first problem is, my Athlon 64 doesn't seem to be as fast as it's supposed to be. Sure, it's fast enough, but I want what I paid for! =D Is there any program than I can use to measure my speed, much like 3DMark for the graphic cards? This is very vague, so I'll come back with more stats and numbers before I try and solve this problem...
The second problem is (I've tried just about EVERYTHING to solve this goddamn problem) that I get lower FPS than other X800 Pro users. This isn't just 30-40s, this is into the 100s. So when someone with a 9800 gets 100 fps while I stutter into the 30s and 40s in games such as CS: Source, you can imagine my frustration. C=|
Here's what I tried so far:
1. Clean reinstall of latest drivers (ATi): No improvement.
2. Clean reinstall of latest Omega drivers: No improvement.
3. Checked my PSU, rails etc. All seemed to be in perfect condition.
4. Did a 3DMark test, I forgot the score (Will retest soon), but it was the "average" score a X800 Pro user would get.
5. Performed tweaks at www.tweakguides.com, no improvement.
6. Nothing is overclocked.
I understand I don't exactly have a lot of information here, but feel free to ask for any information that you need! =D
Again, I could've made a STUPID STUPID mistake, so please suggest n00b solutions!
Thankyou for your time,
Toiletman.
Everyone is entitled to their own true opinion. Either respect that or don't.
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ddp
Moderator
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16. February 2005 @ 13:13 |
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try dxdiag & i remember there was a thread on the x800 on this forum i think with baabaa
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Toiletman
Senior Member
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16. February 2005 @ 18:01 |
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I've tried DXDiag long time ago.. think it was the first thing I tried. No conflicts, no nothing.
Everyone is entitled to their own true opinion. Either respect that or don't.
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Toiletman
Senior Member
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18. February 2005 @ 16:16 |
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Guess the **** what. Goddamnit, why the hell does nothing ever work out for me.
My PC crashed, I have to reformat, and lose everything AGAIN. I spend $2000 on this wonderful gaming PC and it refuses to run for me. I am so insanely pissed off and in outrageous disbelief that I'm not even pissed off anymore.
Everyone is entitled to their own true opinion. Either respect that or don't.
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Toiletman
Senior Member
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18. February 2005 @ 16:17 |
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Sorry double post.-
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 18. February 2005 @ 16:23
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ScubaBud
AfterDawn Addict
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18. February 2005 @ 16:55 |
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Toiletman
I have been there also. Do yourself a favor so that this whole reformat issue won't happen again to you. If you have an extra HD in your system, you can use it to do full backups, even while Windows is running. The program is DriveImage 7.0 and is windows based. Symantec bought out the company a couple years back and offer it on their site. I have mine set to do full backups at 2:00 am every night. Total time on a 160 gig using 14 gigs runs 10 minutes. I keep a weeks worth at a time on my backup HD and when a software issue happens, etc. I can reinstall exactly what I had the day before in less then 15 minutes.
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Toiletman
Senior Member
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19. February 2005 @ 07:51 |
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Ahhh, I don't have another HD lol. Although once I get my PC up and running, I'm going to buy a copy of Norton Ghost and go crazy.
I think this error might've been caused by a HD error. My HD is a SATA WD1200JD. Y'see, I had a look in my BIOS, and the only thing that was detected was my Pioneer DVD-R Drive, which was Secondary IDE Device. So basically it looked like this:
Primary IDE Master Device: None
Primary IDE Slave Device: None
Secondary IDE Master Device: PIONEER DVDRW blah blah
Secondary IDE Slave Device: None
However, that shouldn't matter because SATA should automatically detect (or something)...
Right now I'm concentrating on getting my PC up and running!
Everyone is entitled to their own true opinion. Either respect that or don't.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 19. February 2005 @ 12:16
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Toiletman
Senior Member
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23. February 2005 @ 15:44 |
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Okay... after a few days of incoherrent swearing, I decided to take it a shop. Long story short: It was fixed.
Not sure about the X800 problem yet, but that's probably fixed too.
Everyone is entitled to their own true opinion. Either respect that or don't.
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ddp
Moderator
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23. February 2005 @ 16:18 |
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so what did they fix???
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Toiletman
Senior Member
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25. February 2005 @ 11:20 |
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It turns out it was the memory, and they replaced and fixed it for free. I even got a free version of windows with it lol!
Everyone is entitled to their own true opinion. Either respect that or don't.
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ddp
Moderator
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25. February 2005 @ 11:29 |
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what windows???
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Toiletman
Senior Member
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10. March 2005 @ 18:26 |
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I got a free version of Windows XP.
However, after all this crap mentioned above, I REALISED I'M STILL HAVING PROBLEMS! C_C *Super frustrated screaming ensues.*
Anyway... is there any more suggestions? I have the latest ATi Drivers, chipset drivers etc.
Everyone is entitled to their own true opinion. Either respect that or don't.
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ddp
Moderator
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10. March 2005 @ 18:33 |
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what is it still doing or not doing??
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Toiletman
Senior Member
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11. March 2005 @ 10:23 |
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Okay, I installed the latest 5.3 ATi Catalyst drivers, using Driver Cleaner Pro. I then went into BIOS and Set the Apeture Size to 64MB, and turned FastWrite off.
Everyone is entitled to their own true opinion. Either respect that or don't.
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ddp
Moderator
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11. March 2005 @ 15:12 |
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still haven't said what it is doing or not doing just what you have done
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Toiletman
Senior Member
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12. March 2005 @ 07:52 |
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I don't understand your question.. did you read my first post?
It is working, but it is not working as well as it should. That's my best answer to your question lol...
Everyone is entitled to their own true opinion. Either respect that or don't.
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Toiletman
Senior Member
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18. March 2005 @ 11:58 |
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Okay, it seems like the problem REALLY isn't fixed. I just installed my CS: Source again and started playing, and the fps drops are still as horrible as ever! C=(
Strange thing is, when I lower all graphic options to the lowest, there is virtually no difference from when I play it with high settings.
I tried using AGP4x but no difference as well... I'm running out of options here. The last thing I want to do is send it back to ATi if it is a dud.
Everyone is entitled to their own true opinion. Either respect that or don't.
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ddp
Moderator
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18. March 2005 @ 12:05 |
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i think baabaa had the same problem with same card or not i can't remember, about the turn of this year. pm him for his resolution if he had 1. can you try card on a similar system to see if problem stays or goes away??
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Senior Member
2 product reviews
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19. March 2005 @ 07:19 |
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I had similar problems with my Pc late last year. Figured out that ATI catlyst that was absolutely reaming my pc. I thought "Hey, Yeah, lets get the latest catlyst drivers for my graphics card. Yeah what a great idea." What a mistake.
Eventually my pc got to the point where the more I messed with it, the worse it got. At one point my graphics were "De-evolving" I change one thing and my graphics went to 16bit colour, changed something else, they dropped back to 8bit, then 4 bit.
Aparently there are quite a few people out the having problems with catlyst. And the solution was....... Get an old version of catlyst that works and stick with it.
Hey, maybe that'll help. Maybe it won't. I hope it does though.
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Toiletman
Senior Member
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19. March 2005 @ 10:51 |
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Y'see I also tried the Omega drivers but as usual, it did not improve things.. =( What older version do you recommend?
Everyone is entitled to their own true opinion. Either respect that or don't.
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Senior Member
2 product reviews
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19. March 2005 @ 18:24 |
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I use version 4.0.100.1190, But you'll probably need a different one coz you got a slightly different card than me. just make sure you it's not the newest version of catlyst.
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Toiletman
Senior Member
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23. March 2005 @ 10:56 |
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I tried an older version of Catalyst, no luck. Mother Technology is such a bitch to me! =( WHAT HAVE I EVER DONE TO YOU?! (Apart from look at pleasurable videoes, but come on, every 15 year old boy does that.)
baabaa hasn't responded to my post yet, I don't think he frequents AfterDawn as much as he used to. Any other suggestions? Again, the last thing I want to do is send my card in for repair, and I am absolutely certain it is not a hardware problem but a software problem.
Everyone is entitled to their own true opinion. Either respect that or don't.
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ddp
Moderator
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23. March 2005 @ 11:29 |
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he's around just pm him
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baabaa
AfterDawn Addict
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27. March 2005 @ 21:55 |
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Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Funny, no-one really talks about me behind my back unless they are 'slagging me off'........LMAO.
Thanks for inviting me, however it may come to no avail I'm afraid as I cannot remember any references to this sort of problem with my own card.
The only reference I have was to this thread.
http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/115099
Scubabud does have a good pooint regarding backups.
I have 4 machines at home that get a regular 'ghosting' especially if I am trialing some software......
Worthwhile if you can get yourslef another HD......
Your CPU remember is 64 bit and XP cannot fully utillise this power to it's max.
As this is the case you may require to load up extra drivers for the CPU which are not included in the Operating system.
Also there is a CPUID program that should display exactly what your CPU is running at at the link below:
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_9706,00.html
Regarding your fps etc, after reading all of the responses, it does appear that all areas have been discussed.
Quote:
I get lower fps than other X800 Pro users
I think it'll be worthwhile loading up the 'drivers' as suggested above and see if you get any improvement.
There may not be an actual problem, but may just be down to your CPU or video cards inability to talk to each other at the same speed and this may in fact point to the motherboard, however I cannot verify that statement.
I come across lots of problems that sometime cannot be explained, and alot of them are down to PC architecture and the heart of the system is not the CPU but the motherboard, if the CPU cannot communicate to the motherboard at the motherboards maximum levels, then peripherals really have no chance but to 'lag' at slower speeds.
You see the problem here is that the grpahics card is not 'refreshing/processing the information fast enough and this can be down to several things:
Have you got the 'extra power connector connected' to the video card?
Video Card drivers
Video Card settings and refresh rates
Memory allocation and useage
System BUS activities
CPU communication problems
Incorrect speed settings for BUS clocks
Chipset unable to process information fast enough
Monitor refresh rates capabilities (people forget about these)
If I can find some specific information I shall post it.
However it does seem to me like an achitecture issue, and may well be cured with:
Correct drivers for the CPU
Correct drivers for video card
BIOS values tweaked regarding AGP fastwrites etc
Making sure Memory/CPU are at matched FSB
Making sure settings within the Video card are at optimum values (I am not a gamer, so the little guru tweaks would have to found)
Sorry I could not be of more help, but I shall keep my 'hand in' on this thread..............
...............PIO is no go, DMA all the way...............
Beware of the Pixies - they move in over night and turn your life upside down
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Toiletman
Senior Member
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28. March 2005 @ 09:32 |
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Thanks for the reply baabaa, I will install the CPUID and the Athlon 64 drivers in the link and see whether that makes any performance boosts.
CPUID: Says my processor is running at 2,202 Mhz. DXDiag says my computer runs at around 2.2Ghz, so I would assume this is not problematic.
Installed Athlon 64 drivers.
My reported speed in CPUID is now 2,234 Mhz. So.. so I really have no clue what I'm talking about.. LOL.
Quote:
Have you got the 'extra power connector connected' to the video card?
Yes.
I have the latest Catalyst drivers. My settings are what tweakguides recommend and my monitor refresh rate is supported by both devices. =D I have fastwrite set to off.
Quote:
Incorrect speed settings for BUS clocks
Quote:
Making sure Memory/CPU are at matched FSB
How would I adjust this? I don't really fiddle around with the BIOS much so are there any guides? =D
UPDATE: Just finished testing out the fps on CS: Source. Unfortunately.. it has not improved. I went to check whether all my drivers were up to date (via MSI Live), and everything was up to date apart from the VGA Drivers which was newer than the version they provided...
Everyone is entitled to their own true opinion. Either respect that or don't.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 28. March 2005 @ 09:47
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