Graphics Help

Discussion in 'Graphics Cards & Displays' started by trkorecky, Dec 19, 2004.

  1. trkorecky

    trkorecky Newbie

    Alright, I need some help here. Either I'm expecting my computer to do more than it's capable of, or my computer isn't doing what it should. I hear that some people get incredible frame rates in games like Far Cry and Doom III and HL2. I've never played HL2 (no demo...) but have played the demos of FC and D3. D3 ran horribly on this system (specs below) in 1024x768 (not sure of settings, but I'll redownload the demo and try it again) and FC demo was around 25-30 FPS on my preferred resolution of 1280x1024 with all settings as high as possible (my goal). Am I getting results that I should be getting? If not, what is holding my computer back? I know my power supply sucks, and I can't imagine my computer running too cool, since it is a small HP Pavilion case.

    Specs:
    Most can be found here.
    I did swap the RAM for 2x512MB PC3200 Kingston ValueRAM
    and vid for Sapphire Atlantis Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB 256 bit

    Nothing is overclocked, as the cooling of this small case isn't all that great. Front of case is mesh-like with all the holes in it, with an 80mm fan as an exhaust in the back running at probably 2800 RPM. Stock cooling on vid card and CPU.

    So if anyone could help here, I'd really appreciate it. I've tweaked the heck out of XP, so everything goes quickly. Only running Norton Anti-Virus 2003 and FRAPS and maybe one or two other small things while playing games.

    I can run the free version of 3dMark03 to let you know what I get in that if you want me to.
     
  2. trkorecky

    trkorecky Newbie

    If it matters, I'm running the latest Omega drivers as well.

    All my other drivers are as up-to-date as possible.
     
  3. PsYkHoTiK

    PsYkHoTiK Admin nerd

    I think that you should maybe drop your resolution a bit. :think:
    Try 1024x768... :think:
    The 9800 Pro probably night not be able to handle that resolution at that Graphics settings... :think:
     
  4. trkorecky

    trkorecky Newbie

    Alright, so it's the Radeon not being able to run as fast as I wish it could?

    Would getting better cooling and modding to XT (if possible) help much, or not enough to notice a change?

    BTW, I got a 5851 or something in 3DMark03 after killing all processes but explorer (and other system ones). Not sure if that's what's expected from a 9800 Pro.
     
  5. PsYkHoTiK

    PsYkHoTiK Admin nerd

    That should be the score.. :mrgreen: You can only mod it into a 9800XT if you have the R360 core. You have to manually check that. :think: That would just unlock some optimized shaders. Not too much difference. I used to have that card and I played at 1024x768. :mrgreen:
     
  6. SAMSAMHA

    SAMSAMHA Newbie

    9800 is more like last gen's card, so it will run today's latest game fine but you shouldn't expect super performance. Dropping the resolution will certainly help, also if you can live with it, disable some effects, like AA or lower it. It will boost frame rate. If you really want a great performance, I guess upgrade is the choice to go.
     
  7. PsYkHoTiK

    PsYkHoTiK Admin nerd

    Yup. Doom3 and FarCry really saps the power of your pc. So you shouldnt aim that high. In fact, I'm running 1280X1024 with my 6800GT on Doom3... I couldnt do that with my 9800SE@Pro...
     
  8. trkorecky

    trkorecky Newbie

    Alright, thanks everyone. I only got this vid card near the end of the summer, so I'm stuck with it for a long time.

    I am thinking of getting an Audigy 2 LS Gamer edition and a set of 5.1 speakers. I know that won't help with framerate, but it'll make the gaming experience better.

    In one of the custom maps I have for UT2k4, There's this one spot I can look where I get an average FPS of 19 at 1280x1024, and 19 yet again at 1024x768... :?
     
  9. You might want to tweak the console. There is a hidden settings, that's better than ultra quality.
     
  10. trkorecky

    trkorecky Newbie

    For what game?

    I play UT2k4 more than anything, and only played a demo of FC. I can run most maps of UT2k4 at 1280x1024 with everything as high as it goes in the settings usually at 40-50 fps.
     
  11. Ohh, I mean Doom3. You may tweak the console to have better image quality.
     
  12. SAMSAMHA

    SAMSAMHA Newbie

    well, did you try to OC a little bit, that should help to increase the FPS. Also, again, lower the setting, including AA and such can help some speed.
     
  13. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    Looks like your system is the bottleneck. UT2004 has always been CPU dependent more than graphics card.
     
  14. PsYkHoTiK

    PsYkHoTiK Admin nerd

    Yup, UT2K is bottlenecked by your system... It wont be the same with other games though so you should drop the other games to 1024x768. ;)
     
  15. PsYkHoTiK

    PsYkHoTiK Admin nerd

    He cant overclock because he says he has poor ventilation....
    Did you turn on AA?
     
  16. SAMSAMHA

    SAMSAMHA Newbie

    even poor ventilation will allow certain extend of OC. My stock geforce 3 card can oc quite well just using rivatuner or coolbit.
     
  17. PsYkHoTiK

    PsYkHoTiK Admin nerd

    Well, he doesn't want to oc because of it... :whistle: Plus high temps correlate with a decrease in lifespan. :mrgreen:
     
  18. yeah. with that card, stock should sorta be enough...
     
  19. PsYkHoTiK

    PsYkHoTiK Admin nerd

    Not for him, coz he cant run it at the resolution he wants... :whistle:
     
  20. trkorecky

    trkorecky Newbie

    Alright, sorry for the late response. I actually have tried overclocking before, got it to about 410/378 but didn't notice a difference in gaming. The best games (graphics-wise) that I own are UT2k4 and Halo, which both run quite nicely on here. I'm not sure what I'll be getting for Xmas, but hopefully it'll run on my PC.

    As for AA/AT, I have it set to Application Preference in the vid card settings, so I guess I could lower it (even though that's what I like the most, the AA)

    I'm hoping I'll be able to get a job at a computer store and get some discounts or something, and maybe upgrade my computer some more.
     

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