should i switch to ATI? (only game i play is CS/HL2)

[larciel]

i currently own a GF6800 (unlocked to 16pipes/6vertex)

framerate in HL2 is not good. it goes down to 10~fps at 1024x768 res, and even at 800x600 it's about 40ish FPS.

i've seen reviews of ATI cards and they perform very well in HL2, would I benifit alot going to ATI again? if so, please recommend a good ATI card for my need. keep in mind i have

1) sempron CPU @ 2.0ghz
2) AGP slot
3) budget of about $150 max

and I'd like to enable that HDR thing.. militia map never looked better

tia everyone

 

[Powermoloch]

wha? Are u serious? 6800 pumping out 10 FPS @ 1024x768

How does it perform under 3dmark05/03 or even aquamark3?

 

[DrZoidberg]

Very strange low results for 6800 with 16 pipes. I have a 6600GT overclocked and i get average 70fps at 1024x768 res, and some of the newer maps on CS Source maybe down to 50 fps average and this is on 24 player servers online.

Are u sure u havent accidently put on AA at 4x or higher? Try unchecking vsync, check your AGP aperture size, something is wrong, u should be getting 70fps average.

 

[sisq0kidd]

Something has to be wrong. I've had an evga unlocked 6800nu for a while running HL2 at 1024 res with no problem.

But to answer your questions, the x850/x800 series of cards are at very good prices right now. At 150 bucks, not sure you have too many options that would beat the 6800nu unlocked soundly.

Your best bet would be to opt for a used ATI card in the For Sale/For Trade forum. Hopefully you can find a good deal on a x800xl or x800pro that someone no longer needs.

 

[fliguy84]

something's wrong with your setup. with my unlocked 6800nu at stock, i'll get some 70+ avg fps. and this is with all the eye candy on (max detail 4AA 8AF)

edit: while playing cs in dust2

 

[imported_JeReMY]

You need to update your video drivers. My friend has this problem even with a 7800GTX.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: JeReMY
You need to update your video drivers. My friend has this problem even with a 7800GTX.

Yah, something is very wrong there. Run Driver cleaner and install latest Nvidia drivers. Make sure you have the latest AGP/chipset drivers for your motherboard as well.

 

[Dman877]

Do you need SM3.0 to do HDR in HL2? If so, your budget of 150 isn't gonna cut it since ATI doesn't have anything with sm3.0 under 350ish atm.

Hehe, thx mwmorph, fixed. I also forgot about the X1600's, do they have sm3.0? Good to know HDR is sm2.0 in HL2 since I just ordered an X800GTO2 .

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: Dman877
Do you need SM3.0 to do HDR in HL2? If so, your budget of 150 isn't gonna cut it since AMD doesn't have anything with sm3.0 under 350ish atm.

?

HDR bloom effect is sm2 in hl2
amd dosent manufacture video cards

 

[tvdang7]

hi........i have a x1800 xl with the overclocks in my sig and yet.....with HDR in militia on......my framerates go to crap (with a moderate # of ppl of course). so i wouldnt expect much from older cards on that map with HDR

 

[TanisHalfElven]

Originally posted by: larciel
i currently own a GF6800 (unlocked to 16pipes/6vertex)

framerate in HL2 is not good. it goes down to 10~fps at 1024x768 res, and even at 800x600 it's about 40ish FPS.

i've seen reviews of ATI cards and they perform very well in HL2, would I benifit alot going to ATI again? if so, please recommend a good ATI card for my need. keep in mind i have

1) sempron CPU @ 2.0ghz
2) AGP slot
3) budget of about $150 max

and I'd like to enable that HDR thing.. militia map never looked better

tia everyone

shockiest news of the day.
imposible. never will happen.
a 6800...any 6800 should beat my x800gt and that puts out 60-70 fps easy.

re-install windows. thats my advice.

 

[Acanthus]

Definately something wrong with your setup.

Normally the biggest culprits for dismal performance are hosed drivers or missing chipset drivers.

Can we get more information about your system?

Motherboard and Memory specifically?

 

[BobDaMenkey]

I'd say there has to be something wrong with your drivers, not the card. I have a 6800 GO and I get 40+ FPS at 1440x900 with some eye candy in my laptop with a mere 512mb of RAM.

 

[JAG87]

flush that sempron down the drain.

HL2 uses cpu a LOT for the physics. that cpu cannot do anything. I bet you drop like a potato when granades explode, or when you shoot and kill, or get killed. Thats when the physics kick in and your CPU gets destroyed.

there is a console command to disable physics, i dont remember what it is but you can google it. it should help quite a bit.

 

[larciel]

i played with some setup and got it at 1280x1024 with 4x aniso no AA and high detail.. about 50fps at cs_office

one other question is, in rivatuner under Fan setup, I've set it as 30% for 2d 60% for lower 3d and 99% for high 3d. but fan goes to high3d when i'm playing a streaming video file. is this normal?

and what programs belongs under lower3d?

tia again

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: JAG87
flush that sempron down the drain.

HL2 uses cpu a LOT for the physics. that cpu cannot do anything. I bet you drop like a potato when granades explode, or when you shoot and kill, or get killed. Thats when the physics kick in and your CPU gets destroyed.

there is a console command to disable physics, i dont remember what it is but you can google it. it should help quite a bit.

I agree. Sempron is what's holding you back, and possibly RAM as well, but you never mentioned how much RAM you have.

 

[larciel]

1gb of ram.

i don't think sempron isn't that bad, i mean the difference between my oc-ed sempron and athlon 64 3200+ is very minimal. but thanks for suggestion, I'll try to upgrade CPU when i get my paycheck ;O

 

[Sentinel]

I doubt it is the sempron, unless it is a socket a type. my axp 1700 @ 2.1ghz holds it own, but gets bogged down from time to time.

 

[Powermoloch]

I have a sempron also, it ran pretty well with all the games that is out atm

 

[Sonikku]

Was Half Life 2 designed to cripple cards made by Nvidia?

 

[ronnn]

Nope hl2 runs better on nv cards. My son plays css and at 1024 x 768 with 2 x aa and 2x af, high settings he gets fps drops to the low 40's during firefights. This is with an x800xtpe. He finds it annoying as there is more recoil. Stress test gives ~122. Actually not much fps drop using 1280 x 960 - Maybe I need more cpu power.

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: Sonikku
Was Half Life 2 designed to cripple cards made by Nvidia?

no only the fx series of cards are crippled due to inferior dx9 performance which is inherenit no other dx9 apps as well like 3dmark05.

 

[Elfear]

In the battle of the X800/850 vs. 6800 series cards, ATI's offering was definetely faster in Source games. Not so true anymore of Nvidia vs. ATI but for that generation of cards it was.

That being said, your 6800NU should still be able to perform quite well at 1280x1024 with maybe 2AA/8AF. CPU does matter a lot though in that game. Even at higher resolutions, ocing my cpu netted much greater results than ocing my gpu ( I tested an X850XT PE and a 6800GT@Ultra speeds). Can you try overclocking your Sempron and see if that helps?

 

[larciel]

my semp is 2800+ socket 754 in shuttle sn85g4 . i've oced to fsb 280mhz before, but i've set it at 260mhz fsb right now. not that much difference.

weird thing is, i can't get the memory to beat even nf2 chipset in sandra. even at stock pc3200 cas2

 

[Acanthus]

1st you must determine what version of the Shuttle SN85G4 you have.

Find out using the images linked here

SN85G4 chipset drivers

SN85G4 V2 chipset drivers

SN85G4 V3 chipset drivers

You can get the latest graphics drivers for your card at www.nvidia.com, install them AFTER you install your new chipset drivers.

If software is your issue, these steps will likely fix your problem.