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Anyone else have stuttering in COD4 with a 4850/4870 card?

Hi guys. Can't thankyou all enough for the help with this one. Tonight and the weekend will be the end of my testing, so if I don't have any joy the card will be RMA'd on Monday. :(

However, to summarise the points made since I last posted these are the answers to your questions:-

1. Windows Update Running In Background.

This is disabled on my system, I update Manually so this is not running.

2. Upgrade RAM.

Possibly, yes I may have to do this and I do want to. But this won't be until after payday. Are the people that have replied saying it's running smooth running 2Gb RAM / Vista?

3. Temperature

I'll try and find someway of monitoring this.

4. Enable Triple Buffer

This is enabled in CCC already. I do have 24bit Z-buffer selected... could this cause issues at high resolution + aa?

5. Vsync

I tested this before formatting and it made no difference. Will try again however since doing a fresh install.

6. Secondary Display

I do have my HDTV hooked up via HDMI. However this is disabled in CCC and display properties. I only enable it to watch movies, then disable it again straight after.

7. Catalyst AI

This has always been set to Standard since I did the fresh install. I have changed it to Optimised now and will try again in conjunction with Vsync/Z-Buffer changes.


Thanks.
 
Ok. Tried again with Vsync disabled, Catalyst AI on Advanced, and 24bit Z-Buffer disabled. Now with x4AA it still occurs. However... it will dip down to 10FPS etc and then shoot back up to 70-80FPS. It doesn't stick at the low FPS level like before.

Still unplayable though.
 
Big.Wayne said:
Firegod, you need to either test that card in another system or try another PSU in your system!
Click to expand...

Cheers for the reply mate.

Yeah I do have my bro's rig, but he's on holiday and would kill me for touching it. Also, he's set a password so I can't log in... it doesn't help he has a GTX either so I'd have to mess on with drivers. :(

Is 700w not enough mate?
 
In theory 700w is more than enough but PSU's can go faulty without you realising, they still boot the machine and get basic stuff done but once you increase the system load they can strain and produce weird side effects. :confused:

Obviously you are trouble-shooting a problem but you are assuming everything on the hardware side of things is tip-top (except maybe the card itself).

To speed up the trouble-shooting process it's always really helpful if you are able to swap out hardware, yes there is some effort involved but it tends to get to the route of the problem quickly.

Just don't assume anything about your system until you have tested it methodically.

You need to find a friendly overclocker in Newcastle that will let you install a PCI-E card in there system for testing, may sound like a long shot but if the cards works fine you will save yourself even more grief from RMA'ing a card that is working fine.

Still you may just be unlucky and it may indeed be a faulty card! :(
 
stuttering here even with HD playback , 1080p using Kmplayer....and i have RMA'ed 2 4850's.....seriously i am step away from ghetting a 260 and never look back
 
Iraklis F.C. said:
stuttering here even with HD playback , 1080p using Kmplayer....and i have RMA'ed 2 4850's.....seriously i am step away from ghetting a 260 and never look back
Click to expand...

:(

Well I've manually increased my fan profile to 40%. Ran ATi Tool for 12min and max the temp hit was 81ºC. (Same as my idle temp previously!). Just installed DNA modded 8.6 drivers and I'm off to try CoD4 again now. Hopefully this will rule out temperature as an issue. Seem to have some more options in these drivers also.

Here goes nothing! lol.
 
Trouble-shooting is a pain in the behind sometimes and all I can really add in terms of advice is to be Patient and if you feel your head is about to explode (like that dude from scanners! :eek:) you need to walk away and have a breather.

Once you crack it the feeling of achievement and general well being is very nice :)
 
and youre in newcastle mate , i am in Greece which is like an oven these days...imagine what this POS heatsink the 4850 comes with has to deal with.

No wait , it doesnt deal with the heat generated at all. I cant even watch a HD movie !

(fan is at 45% , anything above it is unbearable)

the last days its been like , formats-troubleshooting-going for RMA-coming back home only to be dissapointed again.
 
Iraklis F.C. said:
this POS heatsink the 4850 comes with has to deal with
Click to expand...
Mine works fine? Not bad for a freebie anyway (similar to the heatsink that comes with an INTEL CPU). If you really are suspecting heat as an issue why don't you add a better cooler? :confused:

The HD4850 I am using runs really hot but I don't have any heat related issues? Still waiting for a certain 3rd party heatsink to be released but until then the single slot cooler is coping. . .

hd4850tempsidleloadkp2.jpg


Out of interest why did you RMA two HD4850's previously?
 
If it was power supply I would think you'd get either random crashes or no post at all.

Have you tried at a lower resolution yet and without AA yet? it's a simple way to rule out lack of memory rather than just dismissing it as a faulty card.

Another thing is what is your CPU temp at 3.4ghz? the extra heat from the card could be causing the case temperature to rise more than before and the CPU to throttle, it might be worth resetting your overclock to see if that resolves it.
 
i could go for an aftermarket cooler mate thats true , but lets do some maths here

cost of hd4850=165 euros
cost of say a Duo orb cooler=35euros
total=200 euros.

Now
COst of 4870=225 euros.

i think you get the point :D
 
Iraklis F.C. said:
i think you get the point :D
Click to expand...
I think you are assuming the cooler on the HD4870 is equal to a Dual-orb? I haven't tested a HD4870 myself but the posts I am reading lead me to believe its not that good a cooler? good enough to keep the card running fine though.

Now before we descend into a massive debate on this I am just stating the stock fan on the HD4850 is working fine for me, I have no problems, no slow downs, the cooler is quiet and my case temps haven't risen.

I understand you may have had some hassle and I sympathize with you (and Firegod) because all you really wanna do is kick back and enjoy your PC time!

If you think Heat is a problem don't just beatch about a POS cooler do something constructive to find a fix. If you don't wanna buy a 3rd party heatsink then maybe improvise and set-up a spare fan (even house fan) and point it at the hot card and see if that helps.
 
And I am saying if you buy the HD4870 you will probably be buying a 3rd party heatsink on that too? :)

Not to make the card run stable but instead to really overclock the backside off it. There really doesn't appear to be much difference between the HD4850 single slot and the HD4870 double slot cooler? they are both average and both get the job done.

Now how come u RMA'ed two HD4850's please?
 
the first one had defective GDDR
and the second one had also defective GDDR. The first after some minutes was switching the monitor off while the second had pixels flashing all over the screen in 3d and 2d.


The 4870 cooler is much better than the 4850 one , heatpipes and quite bigger (double the size me thinks). And i am not interested in ocing , just run the card without having to put up with noise level equal to train locomotives and application crashes
 
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