BFBC2: 20fps drop after moving to Windows 7

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K

Kev

Lifer
Dec 17, 2001
16,367
4
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I just upgraded to Windows 7 64 bit, coming from XP32. I have a core 2 8400 and 2 radeon 4870s in crossfire.

I use to get around 55fps, but now I'm maxing out at around 35fps, and often hovering in the 20fps range. ALL settings are exactly the same (I saved my old config file), same driver version (Cat 10.4) and this occurs when using only 1xAA and 1xAF.

I don't understand how there could be such a ridiculous framerate drop.
 
O

OCGuy

Lifer
Jul 12, 2000
27,224
37
91
Those numbers dont seem right.....try 10.5s. Can you confirm that both cards are being stressed?
Stay away from 10.6 and 10.7.
 
F

faxon

Platinum Member
May 23, 2008
2,109
1
81
Udgnim said:
make sure it's not running DX10?
Click to expand...
is probably the problem. if not then yea also make sure you're running 10.4 or 10.5
just btw, you're probably really cpu limited in BC2 as well. even with your 4870CF you could see a nice boost in FPS going to a q9550 or something on the cheap. up to you of course :awe:
 
Termie

Termie

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
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Yeah - you went from winxp dx9 to win7 dx10 on your 4870 crossfire setup. That was automatic and would cost you about 30% of your frames. That being said, a 4870x2 would get close to 100 fps in dx9 mode at 1920/high, so something tells me your setup wasn't working in the first place. Sounds like crossfire isn't engaged. And yes, you're CPU-limited, but that doesn't explain this problem. If anything that would have meant your frames wouldn't have budged going to dx10 since your CPU, if the limiting factor, would have already been capping you.

Also, are those 512mb cards? You would then be VRAM limited as well.
 
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K

Kev

Lifer
Dec 17, 2001
16,367
4
81
No they are both 1gb cards... I will try forcing dx9 when I get home.

But Termie really 100fps? I could maintain about 55fps pretty consistently, and now that I think I could get maxes of maybe 80ish or more. Also, my cpu was constantly maxed out. So I agree that a quad core would probably help as well.

I think the problem is that I bought a dell, which was a mistake. Last time I ever do that. The dell xps system I got uses an nvidia motherboard, and requires special dell drivers for crossfire to even function. To get crossfire to even be available, you need to install updated drivers over dell's drivers. So it is impossible to do a clean install of the drivers. And crossfire probably isn't working correctly even if it's "enabled" because stupid dell used an nvidia mobo. This thing has caused me so much grief... I would have been better off just building my own, but I had 0 time when I got this last year.
 
Termie

Termie

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
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Kev said:
No they are both 1gb cards... I will try forcing dx9 when I get home.

But Termie really 100fps? I could maintain about 55fps pretty consistently, and now that I think I could get maxes of maybe 80ish or more. Also, my cpu was constantly maxed out. So I agree that a quad core would probably help as well.

I think the problem is that I bought a dell, which was a mistake. Last time I ever do that. The dell xps system I got uses an nvidia motherboard, and requires special dell drivers for crossfire to even function. To get crossfire to even be available, you need to install updated drivers over dell's drivers. So it is impossible to do a clean install of the drivers. And crossfire probably isn't working correctly even if it's "enabled" because stupid dell used an nvidia mobo. This thing has caused me so much grief... I would have been better off just building my own, but I had 0 time when I got this last year.
Click to expand...

I can't comment on the nvidia motherboard issue, though that does sound tricky for crossfire functionality.

Before I upgraded to a 5850, I was using an 8800gt in Dx9 mode. I averaged around 50fps at 1920/high (and 35fps in dx10 mode, which prompted me to upgrade). I didn't have a CPU limitation (which you may have), but I'm sure a single 4870 should get well over 50fps in dx9 mode with your CPU. Heck, it should come close to 50fps in dx10 mode with your settings. This should give you some baselines: http://www.techspot.com/article/255-battlefield-bad-company2-performance/page5.html

Have you tried running the game with one card installed?
 
cusideabelincoln

cusideabelincoln

Diamond Member
Aug 3, 2008
3,275
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Sounds like the mobo doesn't do so hot with Crossfire. Have you tried using just a single video card? The motherboard shouldn't have any problems running a single card.

If Crossfire isn't working then a 460 is faster than a 4870, but I don't see it being worth it unless your system is hindering the performance of your video card. A single 4870 should play BC2 well, although you will probably have to turn down a few settings to get a completely smooth framerate.
 
Termie

Termie

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
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K

Kev

Lifer
Dec 17, 2001
16,367
4
81
Ok thanks, I appreciate all the advice in this thread. I guess I'll just see how dx9 works tonight. The system runs all my other games silky smooth except crisis and bfbc2, so I'll try to control my ocd and not upgrade.
 
U

uclaLabrat

Diamond Member
Aug 2, 2007
5,632
3,045
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weird, I have a 4870X2 with an i7 920 @stock at 2560 x 1600 with 8x AF an 4x AA, everything on high, still hit 55-70 FPS
 
james1701

james1701

Golden Member
Sep 14, 2007
1,791
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Run MSI Afterburner while you play. Check your gpu usage on the graph. That will tell you how well its working.
 
F

faxon

Platinum Member
May 23, 2008
2,109
1
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legion hardware has a dx9 vs dx10 benchmark of the 4870 here. a single card was getting double the performance even in dx10 at medium, and significantly higher on high, with a quad core phenom 2. results with the dual core phenom 2 were similar to what you are seeing. im betting even if crossfire was working flawlessly your FPS wouldnt get much higher than it is now since as you said your CPU was constantly pegged at 100%

http://www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/battlefield_bad_company_2_tuning_guide,4.html
 
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evolucion8

evolucion8

Platinum Member
Jun 17, 2005
2,867
3
81
I was able to max BCBC2 under Windows 7 x64 bits with everything maxed and under DX10.1 mode and never dipped below 70fps no matter what, Crossfire engaged in that game with no issues, it was very noticeable when I turned Crossfire on and off.

PS: By the way, a pair of HD 48701GB will match and outperform slightly the HD 5870 which is considerably faster than a GTX 460, I think that is more of a downgrade than anything, the only advantage is that you will not experiment scaling issues with a GTX 460, but scaling issues are rare.
 
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hawtdawg

hawtdawg

Golden Member
Jun 4, 2005
1,223
7
81
I have Crossfire Mobility 4870's (not even as fast as desktop 4850's) My game rarely drops below 40fps at 1920x1200 with 4xAA/16XAF with settings cranked. I play on W7 64 bit with DX10.

Your framerates sound similar to what I get using 1 GPU.

DirectX 10 is not the problem. This I can assure you.

Sounds like Crossfire isn't working.
 
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zerocool84

zerocool84

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
36,041
472
126
evolucion8 said:
I was able to max BCBC2 under Windows 7 x64 bits with everything maxed and under DX10.1 mode and never dipped below 70fps no matter what, Crossfire engaged in that game with no issues, it was very noticeable when I turned Crossfire on and off.

PS: By the way, a pair of HD 48701GB will match and outperform slightly the HD 5870 which is considerably faster than a GTX 460, I think that is more of a downgrade than anything, the only advantage is that you will not experiment scaling issues with a GTX 460, but scaling issues are rare.
Click to expand...

You have a quad core processor, OP has a dual core. This game needs a quad to really stretch it's legs.
 
toyota

toyota

Lifer
Apr 15, 2001
12,957
1
0
zerocool84 said:
You have a quad core processor, OP has a dual core. This game needs a quad to really stretch it's legs.
Click to expand...
something is still wrong because even with my E8500 and gtx260 I rarely go below 40-45fps and average 50-55 at 1920x1080 on all DX10 high settings, HBAO off, and 2x AA.
 
B

Ben90

Platinum Member
Jun 14, 2009
2,866
3
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hawtdawg said:
Still has nothing to do with OP's problem.

One of the GPU's is obviously not working.
Click to expand...
No, read the thread and links provided....

DX_03.png

DX_04.png


Note FPS drops going from quad to dual
 
K

Kev

Lifer
Dec 17, 2001
16,367
4
81
Ben90 said:
No, read the thread and links provided....

DX_03.png

DX_04.png


Note FPS drops going from quad to dual
Click to expand...

that's pretty much in line with what I'm seeing. Changing it to dx9 got me back to where I was before going to win7. The only difference I saw between my situation and that chart is that I had a much higher framerate drop going from dx9 to 10
 
evolucion8

evolucion8

Platinum Member
Jun 17, 2005
2,867
3
81
Try to force Crossfire to see if it works. I just tested RadeonPRO and it really works. I was able to activate force Crossfire with two 3D appz that doesn't support it natively like Singularity the game from activision which worked like a champ with all the Crossfire options, even I was able to force Anti Aliasing without renaming the executable!! But the one which gave the best performance was AFR, which I wonder why AFR is used so often, and with ATi's Space Screen saver which doesn't support Crossfire and I forced it with different methods and AFR gave the best performance, then Scissor mode. For some odd reason, Checker mode doesn't work that great, seems that the driver overhead or something. I just have one bridge connected, will try to connect both to see if it helps. Nice little program the RadeonPRO is.
 
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