HD 4870 severe FPS problems - Please help

[Uns33n]

Hey,

I just bought new Palit HD 4870 Dual Sonic 1GB graphics card with new power supply - Corsair TX750. When i upgraded i installed Catalyst 8.12 drivers and was incredibly happy with the performance in almost all the games. However, since like past 2 weeks, i noticed severe performance drop in almost all the games installed. Now I get around 30-70FPS in Bioshock, 15-30FPS in UT3 etc. Earlier I had 70+FPS for both these games. Plus, i tried these 3 Catalyst drivers (using Driver Sweeper - to remove earlier traces) -- 8.12, 9.1 and 9.2.

But, regardless of which drivers I install, all these games sometimes give me extremely good FPS (like before) and sometimes they give very low FPS (10-30FPS) . I checked all my CCC settings, tried everything there, but problem still persists. Basically, for eg. I start UT3 (everything high at 1920x1080) and i get 60+FPS. Then, after sometime, i quit, start the game again and i get 15-30FPS!!!! Howcome, these drops occur randomly?

I really need to sort this issue out, as i am simply unable to play these games at these low FPS counts.

Here is my PC config:

Core2Duo E6300 @1.86GHz

2GB DDR2-800MHz

Palit HD 4870 1GB Dual Sonic

Corsair TX750

Samsung Series 6 HDTV-32" (DVI-HDMI cable)

Please help me out...

 

[toyota]

not that this is your whole problem but that cpu is very weak for a 4870.

 

[Uns33n]

Thanks for the reply. Initially i also thought CPU seems too weak, but then howcome sometimes games run like charm and othertimes they give low FPS? When i did buy the card, all games ran properly

Also, under idle conditions temp is around 57-61C and under load (as monitored by GPU-Z and Tray tools) it reaches around 72C.

 

[toyota]

Originally posted by: Uns33n
Thanks for the reply. Initially i also thought CPU seems too weak, but then howcome sometimes games run like charm and othertimes they give low FPS? When i did buy the card, all games ran properly

Also, under idle conditions temp is around 57-61C and under load (as monitored by GPU-Z and Tray tools) it reaches around 72C.

yeah your slow cpu doesnt explain that but just in general you are really holding that card back big time especially in minimum framerates. in some newer games you are only getting about 3/4 to 2/3 of what that card is capable of with that cpu.

 

[thilanliyan]

OC that CPU a bit. Maybe you have some background programs running that eat CPU cycles, causing the slowing down...or maybe badly fragmented hard drive?

 

[SSChevy2001]

Before you do anything 1st check that all HS are clean from dust build up, and the temps are fine.

Next get rivatuner and run the monitor in the background while gaming, make sure vsync is disabled for that test. When your done exit the game, pause the monitor, take a screenshot, and post it so we can see what's going on. Remember only post the screenshot if it was monitoring while the low FPS occurred, otherwise try again till you get it.

If the GPU is changing clock speeds then you might have a problem with powerplay. Simply use ATT ( ATi Tray Tools ) to lock the clocks before gaming, later if that works you can make a auto overclocking setting.

If the GPU usage is low, then there's something going on with the CPU usage. What you do in that case would be to disable all the startup items using start -> run -> msconfig. You can uncheck all the startup items, and all the non MS services. Then restart and try again.

 

[Uns33n]

Originally posted by: SSChevy2001
Before you do anything 1st check that all HS are clean from dust build up, and the temps are fine.

Next get rivatuner and run the monitor in the background while gaming, make sure vsync is disabled for that test. When your done exit the game, pause the monitor, take a screenshot, and post it so we can see what's going on. Remember only post the screenshot if it was monitoring while the low FPS occurred, otherwise try again till you get it.

If the GPU is changing clock speeds then you might have a problem with powerplay. Simply use ATT ( ATi Tray Tools ) to lock the clocks before gaming, later if that works you can make a auto overclocking setting.

If the GPU usage is low, then there's something going on with the CPU usage. What you do in that case would be to disable all the startup items using start -> run -> msconfig. You can uncheck all the startup items, and all the non MS services. Then restart and try again.

Yes, I'll monitor using RivaTuner and post the screens when that problem occurs. Regarding Powerplay, i already tried auto-oc from ATT - set both 2d/ 3d profiles to 775MHz Core and 1000Mhz Mem clock. To see if card shifts from 2D to 3D, i put event sounds in ATT (so monitoring 2D/ 3D shift was simpler). I did get to listen 2 diffrnt sounds when shifts occured, but still game performance was pathetic. Also, in background Norton internet security is always running, i'll try stopping that too.
I'll post the updates.

 

[Uns33n]

Originally posted by: thilan29
OC that CPU a bit. Maybe you have some background programs running that eat CPU cycles, causing the slowing down...or maybe badly fragmented hard drive?

I simply cannot OC my CPU ... idle temp it is running at is 71C!!! I have not checked if HDD is badly fragmented, but do you really think that maybe a really bad fragmented HDD can do this? Because if that was the case, it should persistently cause degraded performance.

I'll still check.

 

[error8]

If you have 71 C at idle, your cpu is probably overheating during full load and throttling it self, so that could translate in your frame rate issues. Open you computer and see if the cpu heatsink is tightly fixed in its place and make sure the fan is spinning and there is no dirt on the heatsink fins.

 

[thilanliyan]

If your CPU is idling at 71C...it might be throttling when you start gaming...reducing your fps. Seriously 71C is very high for idling...there's something wrong there.

EDIT: error8 beat me to it.

 

[dguy6789]

Originally posted by: error8
If you have 71 C at idle, your cpu is probably overheating during full load and throttling it self, so that could translate in your frame rate issues. Open you computer and see if the cpu heatsink is tightly fixed in its place and make sure the fan is spinning and there is no dirt on the heatsink fins.

This seems the most likely. Ensure that your cpu heatsink is tightly locked down with all four pushpins. Be sure that it's not held down by just two or three, but all four.

 

[Uns33n]

Hey all,

This seems really messed up

Check my screenshots (using rivatuner) --> http://www.imagebam.com/image/a1c55427587868

Here is a screenshot of King's Bounty game (with FPS issues) --> http://www.imagebam.com/image/fdcaa227587869

what do you suggest?

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Suggest that you buy some AS5 and remount your heatsink.

 

[error8]

Originally posted by: Uns33n

what do you suggest?

What we suggested above. Open your case and make sure the cpu fan is spinning, or it's not blocked by dust and other stuff and if the cooler is locked down as it should be, with all four push pins . It's pretty clear that your cpu is overheating now, if Riva Tuner is reporting correctly the core temps.

 

[Uns33n]

So, now it really does seem like there should not be anything wrong with the card, right? I'll definitely need to check up on CPU though.

I hope my gfx card is not faulty.

 

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: Uns33n
So, now it really does seem like there should not be anything wrong with the card, right? I'll definitely need to check up on CPU though.

I hope my gfx card is not faulty.

If your video card was running fine originally, and is STILL technically running fine (albeit low framerates - no artifacts, lockups, corruption, etc), then odds are the problem lies elsewhere. If there were "problems" with the video card, you'd know it in a quick way. I seriously doubt it's the video card at this point.

71C for a CPU is absolutely NOT good, no matter how you slice it. First, your CPU is fairly slow to begin with at 1.86GHz. Second, it sounds like improper cooling on the CPU. You may have knocked the HSF loose installing the new video card or something.

Question #1 - what heatsink are you using on the CPU?

Remove the heatsink form the CPU, clean the CPU heat spreader and the base of the heatsink thoroughly (Isopropyl Alcohol and Q-Tips/Cotton balls). Acquire some thermal compound like Arctic Silver 5 or Tuniq TX-2, install according to instructions. Make absolutely sure your heatsink's mounting mechanism is also installed correctly beforehand.

 

[ComputerDude67]

I agree with the suggestions that your CPU is randomly overheating and is getting throttled. You have to use a after market cooler as the Intel fan cooloer is junk. I have a E6300 and was running it at ~3GHz with only a .1 volt bump and it ran a full load of ~55C and ~45C at idle. Now it is my second computer and I run it a 2.45Ghz at stock voltage and barley gets into the ~50C at load.

 

[evolucion8]

In the King's Bounty Game pic, shows that the CPU is running at 82c to 85c which is just too much, that explains everything.

 

[Painman]

Download Realtemp and leave it running while gaming. If the CPU is throttling due to thermal overload, the program will flag it.

 

[Uns33n]

Originally posted by: Painman
Download Realtemp and leave it running while gaming. If the CPU is throttling due to thermal overload, the program will flag it.

Sounds good. I'll try Realtemp and check.

 

[CoinOperatedBoy]

I don't see why you'd bother with any more temperature monitoring if you've already confirmed that you're idling in the 70s. You absolutely, positively have a cooling problem with your CPU and you are risking immediate damage by running it this way. Bare minimum, you need to reseat the heatsink and make sure the fan is working. Have you done this, as others have suggested?

 

[Painman]

Originally posted by: CoinOperatedBoy
I don't see why you'd bother with any more temperature monitoring if you've already confirmed that you're idling in the 70s. You absolutely, positively have a cooling problem with your CPU and you are risking immediate damage by running it this way. Bare minimum, you need to reseat the heatsink and make sure the fan is working. Have you done this, as others have suggested?

The OP "absolutely, positively" has no data to report re: the PROCHOT flag status of their CPU at this time. Please stand by.

Tech support is a weeding out process. Obey the process or go away.

 

[CoinOperatedBoy]

Originally posted by: Painman
The OP "absolutely, positively" has no data to report re: the PROCHOT flag status of their CPU at this time. Please stand by.

Tech support is a weeding out process. Obey the process or go away.

If he's confirmed that his idle temps are in the 70s, it doesn't really matter at this point if ProcHot is tripping during gaming (even though it probably is). It may or may not be the root of his original framerate problem, but it's a real, immediate hardware issue that he can address (AKA "weed out"). Stressing things more will not help if he burns up his hardware or otherwise reduces his proc's life trying to troubleshoot.

No need to get snippy.

 

[Uns33n]

hi everyone, thanks a lot for your suggestions. I will reach home this weekend and first off clean the heatsink and all dust around. I probably will also carry CoolerMaster HTK-002, hope it is good and i am able to sort out the issue.

 

[Uns33n]

hi everyone,

i finally reached home this weekend and cleaned my heatsink and all dust around CPU, cleaned power fans and all with vacuum cleaner and brush. After this i tried all the games and they are running super smooth now Funny thing is - still my CPU core temps are 82C-85C and around 79-80C - but since the dust is gone, fans spinning properly, it doesnt seem to throttle down...strange. But, m happy, anyways i'll upgrade and get new Quad Core processor next month and will definitely buy a good cooler.

Thanks all for your suggestions