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Should have gone for 1gb.

arc@css

arc@css

arc@css

Caporegime
Joined
8 Nov 2008
Posts
29,621
Hello folks,
I've been upgrading my system since the summer and couldn't quite afford a 1gb video card so bought a 512 overclocked 4870 (powercolour). I have to say its a nice card and runs most games well. I don't want to get into a Farcry2 discussion specifically but it has made me think (along with various benchmarks also) that a 1gb card, whether a 280 or 4870 or just maybe even a 4850 for that matter would probably be better. I guess the figures speak for themselves. Most of the time I get somewhere between 20 - 40 fps but sometimes it will drop to 3 - 4. I thought I had resolved the issue by turning off the recently added manual fan control. This sounds bizarre but it actually runs better frame rates if I use the passive cooler (in game about 70C) compared to running 100% fan speed and getting around 50C! Doesn't make sense but nevertheless I'm still having to chop and change settings still(although somewhat less than I was) to be able to play the game, which of course ruins the experience. If I can't use AA in games then I keep the resolution high along with advanced settings to the max but concerning the above mentioned title when fps really drops you have to turn most settings right down.
Anyway, rambled enough, I think I need to consider either a 260maxcore, a 1gb 4870 or 280 or maybe, hmm, maybe a crossfire setup. I'd appreciate reading peoples opinions and experiences.
Cheers.
 
Farcry2 with all ultra settings uses around 620-640Mb VRAM depending on your resolution which would cause some slow downs at times with a 512Mb card as it swapped stuff in and out of VRAM.

Its one of the reasons I went for a 260GTX MAXCORE despite having an 8800GT SLI setup as I wanted to play the game on ultra settings and knew 512Mb just wouldn't cut it.
 
That game is extremely average and not worth upgrading your card for. It belongs purely on consoles.

But i wouldnt be surprised if you still have this to some extent with a 1GB ATI card. All there drivers so far have had trouble with FC2.
 
That won't be a problem if you have enough system memory that's fast enough - i have no problems with 512MB :) And FC2 is a terrible game anyway.
 
have you installed the hotfixfor the 8.10 drivers? i have problems 4850 512 edition overclocked and i have problems with farcry but am fine in crysis and get 3+fps on high setting with no AA so i dont blame the card.
 
Hi and thanks for your replies.
I have 4 gb or ddr3 ram, have wondered if its due to me not yet overclocking my q6600. Btw, I am running Dx9 also, I have vista 64 but I found the lack of support inadequate. I must and will admit my technical know-how is lower end but when I ran Clear Sky on vista it ran very poorly, even when I switched to dx9 settings (using vista) it still ran poorly. Only when I switched back to dx9 (XP 32) did it fly and run well. Yes, I have installed the hotfix 8.10 drivers but as I understand it, for dx9 it only improves ATI cards if they are in a crossfire setup. I'm getting the feeling that although not essential, a card with greater than 512mb ram is preferable. Also, yes - I happen to agree, Farcry 2 is a bit of a let down. I think I just like playing it for the countryside visuals.
 
Get that q6600 overclocked for starters. Even 3Ghz will be a great improvement.

I;m running FC2 on a 512Mb 4870 with aa switched on (can't remember whether its 2x or 4x) and it runs like a dream in dx10 staying around 40fps (hotfix 8.11 drivers) at 1680 x 1050.

I have no total slowdowns like you are describing.
 
Agreed - clock the quad.

2.4ghz will most probably be bottlenecking you but even if it isn't it will allow you to rule it out at the very least.

gt
 
Gonna have to have a look at the cpu section re : overclocking q6600, seem its more involved than I thought. Don't want a cloud of smoke, lol.
 
arc@css said:
Gonna have to have a look at the cpu section re : overclocking q6600, seem its more involved than I thought. Don't want a cloud of smoke, lol.
Click to expand...

Nah they are simple.

1. Manually set voltage in bios to what auto currently has set (should be less than 1.35v, if not set it to 1.35v max)
2. Set fsb to 333 and multi to 9
3. Save and exit bios
4. Check stability with prime95 or occt
5. If unstable, up cpu voltage by one stage and retry.

Most q6600 will run at 3Ghz with the same voltage they need for stock. Oh, just make sure if you have alterered your memory ratio that you are not overclocking your memory too much and thats it really.

You can then try up to 3.3Ghz but you may need 1.35v for that but 3Ghz should be easy. I just put mine in, set to 3ghz and booted and that was it. No need to mess with anything else in the bios.

Good luck. Keep us posted.
 
You could even leave the cpu vcore on auto if you are just going for 3Ghz. I doubt it will give it many volts but probably still more than is needed.
 
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