Fps Drops With Ati Card

UnknownUnknown Join Date: 1970-01-01 Member:
Latley I've noticed that I've been getting really bad fps drops with my radeonX800.
my computer specs are:
amd athalon 64 3400+
windowsXP home
asus K78n motherboard
2x 512mb hyper-x kingston ddr ram
radeonX 800 pro

im pretty sure thats all. ive tried lots of stuff like. i turned developer on and set my fps max to 125 as to get a better bhop, but when its at 125 it can drop to like 40-60 and if i set it to like 99 it drops about the same amout. so it dosent really matter what my max is at it still drops about the same amount...ive tried changing res...dosent work, ive gotten the latest drivers off the ati website. didint fix it...i really don't tknow what to do but i don't recall this happening before, HELP!

Comments

  • DragonMechDragonMech Join Date: 2003-09-19 Member: 21023Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Shadow
    Do a search in the tech support forum. You should find many threads on the subject there.
  • DantemssDantemss Join Date: 2003-12-13 Member: 24305Members
    edited August 2004
    Turn off AA or AF, set the color depth to 16-bit. Turn off TruForm if it's on. That's my fix for any card. Or you can try Dragon Mech's. Ah btw there was something about XP limiting your fps to 60. It shouldn't drop to 40, though.
  • ViPrViPr Resident naysayer Join Date: 2002-10-17 Member: 1515Members
    edited August 2004
    omg you're sick <!--emo&:0--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wow.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wow.gif' /><!--endemo--> no way should he put the settings lower. he obviously paid a lot of money so he wouldn't have to do that.

    maybe you have spyware or adware or something kicking in. on my computer when that happens i get like 1 fps and i it's so hard to control the game and the sound stutters like hell and it lasts like 20 seconds and sometimes the game minimizes and my computer goes to desktop to show a pop-up ad. it so annoying. i got adaware and mcafee antivirus and i disable messenger and it still happens. does your hard disk light flash alot when you notice the fps drop coz that's what happens on mine.
  • TalesinTalesin Our own little well of hate Join Date: 2002-11-08 Member: 7710NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators
    Yet again, developer 1 gives a pseudo-fps reading. It does not actually raise your fps, it simply lists what your card COULD get in a given area. HL is capped at 100.

    Next, assuming you're using OpenGL, turn on triple-buffering in the drivers. It'll smooth things out a lot. Turn off truform as was previously noted, and make sure you have the latest motherboard drivers, most specifically the AGP driver for your mobo.
  • semipsychoticsemipsychotic Join Date: 2003-07-09 Member: 18061Members
    edited August 2004
    Please tell me you have Catalyst drivers installed.

    Manufacturer drivers = GOOD.
    Omega drivers that everyone has = BAD.

    If you don't have catalyst drivers installed, I will <a href='http://members.cox.net/benkarcher/temp/3dpro-1.gif' target='_blank'>beat you to death with my joystick.</a> <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->

    (By the way, I don't use that joystick for NS.)

    Wait, you do have Catalysts. That's a step in the right direction. As a side note, how often do you experience these drops? I experience occasionall drops that are actually pretty hard to notice, like when medpacks are spammed in a hectic battlefield (Radeon 9600XT). If you can't notice the drops yourself, as a human being, without an FPS counter, then you shouldn't worry about it.
  • CForresterCForrester P0rk(h0p Join Date: 2002-10-05 Member: 1439Members, Constellation
    <!--QuoteBegin-semi-psychotic+Aug 3 2004, 05:58 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (semi-psychotic @ Aug 3 2004, 05:58 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Please tell me you have Catalyst drivers installed.

    Manufacturer drivers = GOOD.
    Omega drivers that everyone has = BAD. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    What's wrong with Omega drivers? They're the Catalyst drivers with performance optimizations... They run very well for me, and tons of other people, and give me a boost over the standard Catalysts...

    Make sure that "ati_npatch" and "ati_subdiv" are set to "0.0" in your config.cfg.
  • titaniumtitanium Join Date: 2003-10-31 Member: 22166Members
    <!--QuoteBegin-CForrester+Aug 3 2004, 05:24 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (CForrester @ Aug 3 2004, 05:24 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> What's wrong with Omega drivers? They're the Catalyst drivers with performance optimizations... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    yes, i'm sure "Omega" knows his way around ati's hardware better than the driver programmers working at ati

    did you ever stop to think about why they run faster? hint: it has nothing to do with so-called 'optimizations'
  • CForresterCForrester P0rk(h0p Join Date: 2002-10-05 Member: 1439Members, Constellation
    edited August 2004
    <!--QuoteBegin-titanium+Aug 3 2004, 06:38 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (titanium @ Aug 3 2004, 06:38 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin-CForrester+Aug 3 2004, 05:24 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (CForrester @ Aug 3 2004, 05:24 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> What's wrong with Omega drivers? They're the Catalyst drivers with performance optimizations... <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    yes, i'm sure "Omega" knows his way around ati's hardware better than the driver programmers working at ati

    did you ever stop to think about why they run faster? hint: it has nothing to do with so-called 'optimizations' <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Well, considering that Omega is on the Catalyst Beta team and ATI has said that if you want to use modded drivers, Omega drivers are the recommended ones, I'd say that he's got the right idea.

    They run faster because he optimizes settings for maximum performance without sacrificing image quality. Not everything is a conspiracy. The Catalyst team optimizes for benchmarks. He optimizes for games.
  • Echo_69Echo_69 Join Date: 2004-07-29 Member: 30227Members
    That's just because ATI cards suck.
  • CypherCypher Join Date: 2003-03-16 Member: 14579Members
    I have a 9200 and I get perma 30 fps :-\
  • CForresterCForrester P0rk(h0p Join Date: 2002-10-05 Member: 1439Members, Constellation
    <!--QuoteBegin-Cypher-+Aug 3 2004, 08:19 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Cypher- @ Aug 3 2004, 08:19 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> I have a 9200 and I get perma 30 fps :-\ <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Have you forced your refresh rate? If you have, try turning off vsync and setting max_fps to your refresh rate. I heard that if you can't get the proper FPS with vsync on, it drops to half of your refresh rate.

    <!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->That's just because ATI cards suck.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    You could flash-fry an egg in three seconds flat over your flame.
  • semipsychoticsemipsychotic Join Date: 2003-07-09 Member: 18061Members
    Sorry, I really shouldn't be bashing Omega drivers, especially since I have an ATI card and I've never used the Omega drivers. However, I have heard of people having problems with Omega drivers, and I would think that it would be better to use drivers from the people who worked with the hardware engineers (at least, I hope they worked with the engineers) that made the card.

    But:
    <!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Well, considering that Omega is on the Catalyst Beta team and ATI has said that if you want to use modded drivers, Omega drivers are the recommended ones, I'd say that he's got the right idea.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    I never knew this. I guess you do learn something new every day. <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
  • exoityexoity Join Date: 2003-03-17 Member: 14620Members, NS1 Playtester, Constellation
    I have a 9600 pro 128 and only get 60 fps too =x
  • Rapier7Rapier7 Join Date: 2004-02-05 Member: 26108Members
    Let's get this straight:

    ATi cards generally have poor support for Open GL when compared to nVidia.

    Half Life is driven best by Open GL.





    Alternatively, you could turn off v-sync, as it's a problem with higher end ATi cards with Half Life.
  • CypherCypher Join Date: 2003-03-16 Member: 14579Members
    <!--QuoteBegin-CForrester+Aug 3 2004, 07:43 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (CForrester @ Aug 3 2004, 07:43 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin-Cypher-+Aug 3 2004, 08:19 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Cypher- @ Aug 3 2004, 08:19 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> I have a 9200 and I get perma 30 fps :-\ <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Have you forced your refresh rate? If you have, try turning off vsync and setting max_fps to your refresh rate. I heard that if you can't get the proper FPS with vsync on, it drops to half of your refresh rate. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Refresh rate is at 75, vsync is off, and my max_fps is at 100
  • stingavandalstingavandal Join Date: 2004-07-17 Member: 29952Members, Constellation
    I'm a noob at vid cards and stuff. I have had a real bad vid card (SavageMX) that can't use opengl for a long time and i just ordered a new comp for first time in like 5 years and it has a 128 mb ATI 9600 pro turbo. First ATI ever and i don't kno anyhting about the issues with ATI and what to do to make em better.

    What are catalyst drivers? the default drivers for ATI cards?

    What is vsync? what does it do? why turn it off ? whats the side effects of turning it off?

    what else should i do when i get my notebook to optimize it?

    Thnx. Ns community rocks.
  • EvenFlowEvenFlow Join Date: 2002-12-18 Member: 11046Members
    This advice from Talesin helped me sort out my fps problem ( thanks man <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo--> ), I have a 9800pro. The only downside after all the changes is that my mouse is not as responsive as it used to be.

    <!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Under the OpenGL 'compatability' button (not tab), click the 'triple buffering enabled' radio button. This essentially decouples the video card from the refresh rate, if that's proving to be an incompatability. It'll also MASSIVELY cut down on 'stutters' as the video card no longer has to wait for the rest of the machine, so long as it has data to crunch. Possibly one of the best 'smoothness' performance boosts.
    WinXP LOCKS OpenGL applications to ~60hz refresh in many cases. It's an OS bug. Turn VSync to 'Always On'. This could help, especially with triple-buffering turned on.

    Set 'ati_npatch 0' AND 'ati_subdiv 0' in Half-Life. Even if the drivers have TruForm forced off, Half-Life can occasionally not see it and still be doing the precalcs.

    Fast Writes are definitely something to turn off in the SmartGART tab. AGP 2x+ shows almost no benefit from having it on, and they're a stability problem from time to time, regardless of the type of card you're using.

    Make sure you've started Half-Life with the -32bpp command line option. In older versions (unsure about Steam) even with the video card set to 32-bit color, HL would only pass 16-bit color information. Just a visual upgrade, but one that many miss.

    Upgrade to the latest Catalysts. The newest (as of this writing) are 4.4, but the 4.5s (with support for the X800 series, and temporal AA) should be out before too much longer. Some have complained about lower framerates with the newest, but I've not seen any difference, after applying the above tweaks.

    Correction! I just zipped by the ATi website to double-check, and Catalyst 4.5 is out! Download and apply.  Unfortunately, Temporal AA didn't receive its backport just yet. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
  • BattleTechBattleTech Join Date: 2002-11-02 Member: 4137Members
    Overclocked GeForce4 MX440 and I get 70-99 FPS. Sometime's lower than that depending on what's going on.
  • TestamentTestament Join Date: 2002-11-02 Member: 4037Members
    Just something on Omegas...they actually fixed my HL FPS issues. WHere I once got 30FPS or lower on my 9600 Pro, I now get a constant 60 FPS.
  • UKchaosUKchaos Join Date: 2002-08-10 Member: 1132Members
    V sync limits framerates on some NVidia cards too, try turning it off if your framerates are locked at 60.
  • semipsychoticsemipsychotic Join Date: 2003-07-09 Member: 18061Members
    Don't look at his card and tell him that "ATI sucks at OpenGL"... I'm using a card that should be less powerful than his in every respect (Radeon 9600XT) and I hit the 100fps max easily. I think something's fishy with a setting.
  • stingavandalstingavandal Join Date: 2004-07-17 Member: 29952Members, Constellation
  • steamedhamssteamedhams Join Date: 2002-11-30 Member: 10333Members, Constellation
    I had a problem similar to yours, but then i disabled truform color shading (or whatever its called) and everything ran like a hot knife through butter.
  • kill4thrillskill4thrills Join Date: 2004-06-24 Member: 29506Members, Constellation
    i run a 9600 pro and i never drop below 90 fps. check your settings and drivers.
    and follow talesin's advice from Even~Flow's post. keep in mind mouse sensitivity is affected by refresh rates, so if your refresh rate is no longer locked at 60 you'll notice a difference in sensitivity
  • Echo_69Echo_69 Join Date: 2004-07-29 Member: 30227Members
    edited August 2004
    <!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->You could flash-fry an egg in three seconds flat over your flame. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    Your point? I own a ATI card and it blows compared to my GeForce card.
  • cal-ohaxcal-ohax Join Date: 2004-07-29 Member: 30231Banned
  • Thats_EnoughThats_Enough USA Join Date: 2004-03-04 Member: 27141Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Shadow
    <!--QuoteBegin-UKchaos+Aug 4 2004, 07:56 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (UKchaos @ Aug 4 2004, 07:56 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> V sync limits framerates on some NVidia cards too, try turning it off if your framerates are locked at 60. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    <!--QuoteBegin-UKchaos+Aug 4 2004, 07:56 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (UKchaos @ Aug 4 2004, 07:56 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->V sync limits framerates on some NVidia cards too, try turning it off if your framerates are locked at 60.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    yep.

    make sure vsync is off (you dont need that kinda stuff for HL anyway) and your fps should hit up to 100 (esp with the x800).

    i've got an nvidia fx5950 ultra, and i stay at a steady 60 with vsnyc onn, and 100 with it off

    but i never liked ati... always gave me problems, so

    me-->>> <!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--emo&:0--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wow.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wow.gif' /><!--endemo--> <<<--- my old ati card.


    problem solved. <!--emo&::marine::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/marine.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='marine.gif' /><!--endemo-->
  • Nemesis_ZeroNemesis_Zero Old European Join Date: 2002-01-25 Member: 75Members, Retired Developer, NS1 Playtester, Constellation
    <span style='color:white'>***Moved.***</span>
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