Not happy with my new 9600Pro...Advice?

well i went out and bought a new 9600Pro from Best Buy for $130 since the deal was just too good to pass up. i was running a 64MB Geforce2 GTS previously so i thought this thing would show a massive performance jump.

my system is kinda outdated though: 1.2GHz Athlon, 768 DDR PC2100, ample hard drive space.

so i figured it wouldnt perform quite as well as it did in the reviews but i didnt think the performance would be as bad as it actually is.

For one thing, i absolutely cannot play games using OpenGL. i get about 10fps max in ut2k3 with no eye candy whatsoever on 1024x768. using direct 3D, i get max 40fps same settings. this is only about a 10fps jump over my old geforce2. i uninstalled all my nvidia drivers before installing this card and updated my agp drivers as well. if this is the most increase i can expect im just gonna take it back. could i have done something wrong?

another thing thats pissing me off about this card is the display. with my nvidia card, i would set the resolution to whatever and it would just fill up the screen. now, i set the resolution, and it only takes up part of the screen, and i have to like manually adjust the display to fill up the rest of the screen. and it doesnt do a very good job. the display is very slightly tilted (like take a square piece of paper, and rotate it ever so slightly clockwise, thats what my display looks like). ive about had it with this thing. although i realize its mostly due to the fact that i dont know as much about installing a new video card as i should. so any help would be appreciated. thanks [/rant]

 

[Maddscientist]

Odd My buddy running a 1.4 Thunderbird with only 256 Pc133 Ram and a 40Gig Hardrive and he gets 80fps solid on Unreal2003 2xAA 4XAF 1024X768 I think you either got a crappy card, leftover drivers or a OS problem bro.

As for the screen correction issue....thought that is pretty much every video card I have "ever" owned. Once you custom correct every res you use...... its no longer a bother.

 

[venk]

I'm currently in your situation. I noticed that this thing ROCKS with DX Games (Max Payne 2 at 1600x1200 with AF or 1024x768 w/ 6xAA and AF on) runs like a dream, but more recent OGL/Quake 3 Engine games like Elite Force 2 run decently (around 10 FPS - 60 FPS) at 1024x768 but slows to an absolute crawl with even 2x AA on. That speed isn't THAT much better than the kind of scores I got with my GF 2 GTS.

My System 1.2 Ghz T-biord/256 MB PC 133 SDRAM/9600 pro


this thing is going back and I figure ill get an even better video card when i upgrade the proc and ram.

 

i suppose its possible to have left over drivers maybe? how could i tell. i just removed my nvidia drivers using the "add/remove programs" in control panels. is there like a program or something?

and for the screen correction, i dont mind custom correcting it, but the fact that the damn thing is tilted really bugs me. i know it shouldnt be like that.

 

[TourGuide]

It sounds to me like you need to do a reformat and reinstall in order to get it working right. I know it sounds extreme, but many ATI owners could correct their problems no other way. It all depends on how much trouble you want to go through to check the card out.

 

[jim1976]

another thing thats pissing me off about this card is the display. with my nvidia card, i would set the resolution to whatever and it would just fill up the screen. now, i set the resolution, and it only takes up part of the screen, and i have to like manually adjust the display to fill up the rest of the screen. and it doesnt do a very good job. the display is very slightly tilted (like take a square piece of paper, and rotate it ever so slightly clockwise, thats what my display looks like). ive about had it with this thing. although i realize its mostly due to the fact that i dont know as much about installing a new video card as i should. so any help would be appreciated. thanks [/rant]

I think the best thing to be sure that everything's working properly and then make your judgements, is to format and install from the start.
I'm not saying that the uninstalling appl for drivers won't do their job, but format is the only way to be sure man when you jump from one manufacturer to another.
Also you could use a faster cpu to see some improvement...(not sure though I never had a 9600pro)
Finally to fill up the screen you should first manually adjust the display.I'm sure that's what you did the first time and you probably don't remember it.Then it ain't matter if you change versions, as long as you stay with the same drivers.
For example with my gf2gts when i used different releases of detonator it automatically filled up my screen.But when I used one time creative's drivers for my card I had to manually adjust my monitor again.
Hoped I helped you and not confused you. 🙂

 

[tallman45]

Sometimes it also helps to not only delete the vid card drivers but the display drivers as well, then after the new vid card drivers are installed re-install the display drivers.

 

[sandorski]

It's you low CPU speed, especially for UT2K3.

For your screen size issue, you need to go into advanced properties and set the Refresh rates for your Monitor.

 

[jim1976]

For your screen size issue, you need to go into advanced properties and set the Refresh rates for your Monitor.[/quote]

I think he's talkin about the games.Otherwise he should do that

 

[modedepe]

UT2k3 is very cpu bound. A processor upgrade would definitely help you out. And nvidia cards are definitely better at opengl than ati cards.

 

[Blastman]

It's you low CPU speed, especially for UT2K3.

This is correct.

In this test ? on a Duron 1.3, a MX440 and a 9700 pro were getting within 1fps of each other in UT3 (botmatch). With only a 1.2Ghz processor you are going to be CPU limited for the most part. Even a slower ATI 9100 would really be CPU limited on your system. Games that are less CPU limited will show improvement.

 

[Pete]

Originally posted by: RedScare
well i went out and bought a new 9600Pro from Best Buy for $130 since the deal was just too good to pass up. i was running a 64MB Geforce2 GTS previously so i thought this thing would show a massive performance jump.

First of all, you sure this is a Pro, and not an SE?

For one thing, i absolutely cannot play games using OpenGL. i get about 10fps max in ut2k3 with no eye candy whatsoever on 1024x768. using direct 3D, i get max 40fps same settings. this is only about a 10fps jump over my old geforce2. i uninstalled all my nvidia drivers before installing this card and updated my agp drivers as well. if this is the most increase i can expect im just gonna take it back. could i have done something wrong?

UT2K3 is meant to be played in D3D mode, not OGL--OGL is just there as a sort of compatability mode in Windows, and is used only for other OSes (like Linux). Also, UT2K3 botmatch/multiplayer is mostly CPU-bound, so your CPU is probably limiting you to 40fps. By "no eye candy," do you mean no AA/AF or low detail settings? Try the latter if you haven't.

another thing thats pissing me off about this card is the display. with my nvidia card, i would set the resolution to whatever and it would just fill up the screen. now, i set the resolution, and it only takes up part of the screen, and i have to like manually adjust the display to fill up the rest of the screen. and it doesnt do a very good job. the display is very slightly tilted (like take a square piece of paper, and rotate it ever so slightly clockwise, thats what my display looks like). ive about had it with this thing. although i realize its mostly due to the fact that i dont know as much about installing a new video card as i should. so any help would be appreciated. thanks [/rant]

Really, you're going to have to manually adjust your display if you install a new video card and if you run a resolution at a different refresh rate. Your monitor should have the controls necessary to adjust tilt and size and all that good stuff. But first, make sure you're running at the same refresh rates you were before, or at least optimal ones (85-100Hz). And make sure you go into Display Properties > Settings tab > Advanced button > ATi Displays tab > Monitors button > and select "Same as Desktop" from the Refresh Rate Override drop-down list. This will force 3D apps (read: games) to run at the same refresh rate as your 2D desktop, thus saving you the trouble of manually resizing the display if your desktop is the same res as your games but running at a different refresh.

I think your problems are mainly due to your not being familiar with setting up Windows and perhaps games, so try what I suggested before returning the card. If you indeed got a Pro with HL2 for $130, you got a great deal, and it would be a shame to return it because of a few problems with simple fixes. On the plus side, you'll know how to fix similar problems with future cards.

 

thanks for the tips guys. yeah this is definitely a pro and not an SE. its got the same engine and memory clock speeds as a pro, not to mention its says "pro" on the back of the card and in the settings tab.

well, i guess its kind of a relief to know its my cpu holding me back. hopefully when i upgrade my cpu/mobo in the next few months ill see a significant difference.

as for the display: i dont mind manually adjusting it, the only thing thats bugging me is that its tilted. or rather. like, if you were drawing a line up the right hand side of my display, you would draw straight up, but as you neared the top, you would just slightly curve the line to the right. so that the top right corner is just barely off the screen, and there is a little bit of black along the edge at the bottom. does this make sense? i couldnt figure out how to fix this. thanks again.

 

[JC]

For old driver cleanup, here's a good proggie: Driver Cleaner 2


Good luck there, I was using a GF2/Ti450, AXP-1600, 256 DDR, got the 9600Pro. I like it 🙂

JC

 

guys this display is really bothering me. has anyone heard of this happening? i woke up this morning and the display was even more tilted. anyone know what might be causing this or how to fix it?

edit: nevermind, figured it out...