This is quite simply the story of these forums at the moment.
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4870 x2 Graphics problem (Shadows)
- Thread starter jonnylaris
- Start date
This is quite simply the story of these forums at the moment.
People moving from NV to ATI are more likely to notice any anomolies on the ATI card that weren't on the NV card. Goes the other way too.
If I didn't have an ATI card I wouldn't have seen anything wrong, if I had of moved from ATI to NV - I would have noticed the loss of the lovely, lovely ADAA quality.
As for my IQ observations. The Clear Sky issue is universal, as should the HL2 issue (I know few people have actually looked at the HL2 vids). However, the Mass Effect issue is most likely down to the IQ settings - I maxed them out. No point having a fast card without lots of AA, AF and ADAA.
I think the people who go for X2s at the mo value FPS above all else. They're either less likely to notice any issues - or just don't care. Basically most IQ issues are minor, only noticeable if you're sensitive to them. For example the Grid issue in this thread isn't a constant issue you get every frame - its the shadow cast from beams over the track. How many beams are there, would you even notice the quick flash of a dodgy shadow on the back of the car? The OP obviously did, but many won't and will outright claim its not there - because they don't see it. No body is lying here, just different view points. It would be nice to see some respect for each other. If you can't see it, good, but don't abuse people who can see it by calling them fanboys - especially when they present screenshots backing up what they see. Same as no one is abusing ATI owners 'omg you have an ATI card with obvious image quality issues - you fanboy!'.
The IQ issues I came across with the Radeons were very easy to recreate - and having 2 cards and various drivers meant I could eliminate faulty hardware or a bad set of drivers.
However, if the fan of this X2 was indeed at 100% its almost certainly faulty.
If I didn't have an ATI card I wouldn't have seen anything wrong, if I had of moved from ATI to NV - I would have noticed the loss of the lovely, lovely ADAA quality.
As for my IQ observations. The Clear Sky issue is universal, as should the HL2 issue (I know few people have actually looked at the HL2 vids). However, the Mass Effect issue is most likely down to the IQ settings - I maxed them out. No point having a fast card without lots of AA, AF and ADAA.
I think the people who go for X2s at the mo value FPS above all else. They're either less likely to notice any issues - or just don't care. Basically most IQ issues are minor, only noticeable if you're sensitive to them. For example the Grid issue in this thread isn't a constant issue you get every frame - its the shadow cast from beams over the track. How many beams are there, would you even notice the quick flash of a dodgy shadow on the back of the car? The OP obviously did, but many won't and will outright claim its not there - because they don't see it. No body is lying here, just different view points. It would be nice to see some respect for each other. If you can't see it, good, but don't abuse people who can see it by calling them fanboys - especially when they present screenshots backing up what they see. Same as no one is abusing ATI owners 'omg you have an ATI card with obvious image quality issues - you fanboy!'.
The IQ issues I came across with the Radeons were very easy to recreate - and having 2 cards and various drivers meant I could eliminate faulty hardware or a bad set of drivers.
However, if the fan of this X2 was indeed at 100% its almost certainly faulty.
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Right, to eliminate the whole nV fanboy aligations I will be giving the x2 one more chance this saturday. Full format on 2 seperate HD's, one with XP x64 and one with Vista x64.
I am going to document every step I take and take pictures of any problems I encounter. I am hoping things will go better this time. I will not be installing any additional card software such as rivatuner etc, I will be running everything at stock and will report back the results.
I am going to document every step I take and take pictures of any problems I encounter. I am hoping things will go better this time. I will not be installing any additional card software such as rivatuner etc, I will be running everything at stock and will report back the results.
Man of Honour
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You probably just have a faulty card. It isn't unheard of. Even Nvidia have the same problems. Reminds me of the rubbish 7900GTX. Worst card ever, lol.
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The fan only went to 100% when I set it manually. With stock everything the core was sitting at around 85c idle... so i pumped the fan up to 100% to reduce the temps under load but I should'nt have to do that surely, my case is extremely well ventilated and cable-free also.
Don't worry about idle temps. People worry about temps too much - if the GPU was designed to run at a temp, running at that temp isn't an issue. Only things that should matter are noise and stability, temperature is an arbitary measurement to say the least.
Something must be wrong, mine sits at about 65-70c idle and loads at around 86c. Sounds like the coolers not making a good contact.
hahahahah this s*** makes me laugh its the same everywhere.
a thread about a ati problem then you get a flood of NVIDIOTS.. or a NVIDIA thread with problems and you get a flood of ATIdiots.
its all the same instead of trying to tell the OP that he or she should have kept there cards ect ect, try to help he or she out instead of sounding like a FANBOY!
a thread about a ati problem then you get a flood of NVIDIOTS.. or a NVIDIA thread with problems and you get a flood of ATIdiots.
its all the same instead of trying to tell the OP that he or she should have kept there cards ect ect, try to help he or she out instead of sounding like a FANBOY!
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shut up
OMG lol, i was trying to help you. ohh well.
This is the only bug you mentioned that I might actually have...try starting a game and then quitting again, if it drops it's because the card is idling in 3d mode at 85C or so when you first start windows (mine does that) but after opening and closing a 3d app it drops into 2d mode and idles at 67C. Annoying but not life threatening
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This is the only bug you mentioned that I might actually have...try starting a game and then quitting again, if it drops it's because the card is idling in 3d mode at 85C or so when you first start windows (mine does that) but after opening and closing a 3d app it drops into 2d mode and idles at 67C. Annoying but not life threatening
Hmm, not good!
hope this format fixes this.Hmm, not good!
It's a known bug affecting all X2s. Only the very latest FC2 hotfix drivers are rumoured to have fixed it. Otherwise, it's a driver bug since release - a format won't fix it.
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Ok, time to settle things once and for all !
The final verdict
I have formatted my rig about 10 times with both XP 64 and Vista 64 and I am STILL having problems. I'm well past the sick and tired stage and have now gave up on the x2 and it will be whizzing its way back to the shop today!
The major flaws I encountered:
- Stuttering!! - Biggest flaw yet for the 4870x2 and from a lot of research I know for a fact that ALL of these cards are the same. They all have stuttering problems in most games, rendering them unplayable if you have half decent eye sight. User's have been waiting for driver updates since the card was released but still none exist.
- Software and Drivers - Absolutle nightmare. Some drivers work for some games and some for others.. New drivers nearly every week. Hotfix's and then hotfix updates.. complete madness. Overall the CCC (Catalyst Control Center) is bug-ridden. I can't seam to like the software no matter if its working or not (which is hit or miss). From what I hear most hardcore ATi users actually disable / uninstall the CCC as it is generally useless.
- Picture quality - Shadows displayed pixelated / flickering, HDR problems, odd colour's both in game and in menu for some games (counter strike mostly!).
- Overclocking - Not going to ramble on much on this. Overclocking = pointless on this card a) due to issues above and b) no headroom left to play with.
- Temperatures - Fine as long as you run your fan near 85% on load which is allready a lot louder than the gtx 280 on 100%.
So there we have it. After a whole week of testing / tweaking I have made the decision.
A few further things to consider:
- Updated BIOS to latest version
- Performed "clean" format's for both OS's multiple times.
- Experienced the above issues on BOTH OS's at every stage.
- My rig is more than capable of running this card
- Tried the card in a friend's machine and exact same issues occured!
After formatting and installing the GTX 280 I had none of the above issues and everything ran perfectly.
The final verdict
I have formatted my rig about 10 times with both XP 64 and Vista 64 and I am STILL having problems. I'm well past the sick and tired stage and have now gave up on the x2 and it will be whizzing its way back to the shop today!
The major flaws I encountered:
- Stuttering!! - Biggest flaw yet for the 4870x2 and from a lot of research I know for a fact that ALL of these cards are the same. They all have stuttering problems in most games, rendering them unplayable if you have half decent eye sight. User's have been waiting for driver updates since the card was released but still none exist.
- Software and Drivers - Absolutle nightmare. Some drivers work for some games and some for others.. New drivers nearly every week. Hotfix's and then hotfix updates.. complete madness. Overall the CCC (Catalyst Control Center) is bug-ridden. I can't seam to like the software no matter if its working or not (which is hit or miss). From what I hear most hardcore ATi users actually disable / uninstall the CCC as it is generally useless.
- Picture quality - Shadows displayed pixelated / flickering, HDR problems, odd colour's both in game and in menu for some games (counter strike mostly!).
- Overclocking - Not going to ramble on much on this. Overclocking = pointless on this card a) due to issues above and b) no headroom left to play with.
- Temperatures - Fine as long as you run your fan near 85% on load which is allready a lot louder than the gtx 280 on 100%.
So there we have it. After a whole week of testing / tweaking I have made the decision.
A few further things to consider:
- Updated BIOS to latest version
- Performed "clean" format's for both OS's multiple times.
- Experienced the above issues on BOTH OS's at every stage.
- My rig is more than capable of running this card
- Tried the card in a friend's machine and exact same issues occured!
After formatting and installing the GTX 280 I had none of the above issues and everything ran perfectly.
Last edited:
Man of Honour
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OMG! Just RMA the thing (I had to with my first). You have a faulty one. I have NONE of the problems you have with my new one. And my fan keeps the card at 40C Idle, 70C load at 45%.
As for stuttering - yes a problem sometimes. Just set the Fps to a lower maximum and the game will run smoother than iwth anything out there...
As for stuttering - yes a problem sometimes. Just set the Fps to a lower maximum and the game will run smoother than iwth anything out there...
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As I said before it's not a dud card, these are known issues with the x2!
Associate
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Then stfu, return it and have done.