Terrible performance with new GTX 260

[MBrown]

Originally posted by: chizow

Originally posted by: MBrown
bahh. I am really starting to think that my supply can't handle my system. My sound is crackling while I listen to music and I scroll down the page with my mouse wheel. This wasn't happening with my 8800gts.

Again, I'd check to see if your BIOS is up-to-date and see if there's any conflicts there. I do remember there were quite a few issues with PCIE 1.1 boards and 2.0 cards at launch. Sound crackling and/or noise on the PCI bus is certainly consistent with past issues solved by BIOS updates.

Also, download GPU-Z, go to the sensors tab and monitor the readings while gaming (there's a save to file option if you don't have a 2nd monitor). Most importantly, check the VDDC reading while gaming, if its staying at 10-20A then its probably a PSU issue as you and Zap suspect.

Lastly, the coil whine is pretty normal and isn't limited to Nvidia parts as some would have you believe. It shoud only occur at artificially high FPS (high hundreds or even thousands) that won't occur in normal gameplay. If it bothers you that much its certainly grounds for RMA but there's a good chance your replacement card will have similar symptoms.

My video card is scratching away at 9fps. And it is LOUD at 9fps.

What amps should I be seeing if my PSU was working fine? Also I will try and update my bios but I was looking at some of the notes of the new bios updates for my board and none of them mention any PCI updates. List of my motherboard's bios updates.

Also where is the VDDC reading? Do I need a scope for this?

 

[techmanc]

Do you have another computer you could try the video card in?

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: MBrown
My video card is scratching away at 9fps. And it is LOUD at 9fps.

What amps should I be seeing if my PSU was working fine? Also I will try and update my bios but I was looking at some of the notes of the new bios updates for my board and none of them mention any PCI updates. List of my motherboard's bios updates.

Also where is the VDDC reading? Do I need a scope for this?

You'll need to download GPU-Z from TechPowerUp. Then just run it, choose the sensor tab and run a game. Then alt-tab or save to file and check VDDC and see what its showing. If its 10-20A then its probably your PSU not supplying proper voltage, most games should be pulling 40A+.
GPU-Z Screenshot

Still, I'd update your BIOS if you haven't since you got that board. The sound issue and even the low FPS remind me of odd system bus issues I've seen in the past. The 9FPS reminds me of the FEAR bug where various USB devices were causing a bus/bandwidth conflict. Unplugging devices and/or disabling them solved the problem.....

 

[techmanc]

You can try the DPC Latency Checker to see if it shows problems found at...................

DPC Latency Checker
http://www.thesycon.de/eng/free_download.shtml

 

[MBrown]

Originally posted by: chizow

Originally posted by: MBrown
My video card is scratching away at 9fps. And it is LOUD at 9fps.

What amps should I be seeing if my PSU was working fine? Also I will try and update my bios but I was looking at some of the notes of the new bios updates for my board and none of them mention any PCI updates. List of my motherboard's bios updates.

Also where is the VDDC reading? Do I need a scope for this?

You'll need to download GPU-Z from TechPowerUp. Then just run it, choose the sensor tab and run a game. Then alt-tab or save to file and check VDDC and see what its showing. If its 10-20A then its probably your PSU not supplying proper voltage, most games should be pulling 40A+.
GPU-Z Screenshot

Still, I'd update your BIOS if you haven't since you got that board. The sound issue and even the low FPS remind me of odd system bus issues I've seen in the past. The 9FPS reminds me of the FEAR bug where various USB devices were causing a bus/bandwidth conflict. Unplugging devices and/or disabling them solved the problem.....

I don't see vddc under my GPU-Z. Here is a pic. Also I always get BSOD's when I try and start windows. BBCODE: 116 which I think is usually video card related.

 

[MBrown]

Bah. I just noticed...GPUZ is saying I am running at PCI-E x16 @ x1. Shouldn't it be @ x16?

 

[betasub]

Originally posted by: MBrown
Bah. I just noticed...GPUZ is saying I am running at PCI-E x16 @ x1. Shouldn't it be @ x16?

Haha

Yeah, damn right it should be x16. You may want to uninstall/re-install hardware plus drivers.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: MBrown
Bah. I just noticed...GPUZ is saying I am running at PCI-E x16 @ x1. Shouldn't it be @ x16?

Heh, ya figured that might be the problem. You'll want to fix that first and foremost, again update your BIOS and go from there.

 

[MBrown]

Good news. I updated my bios to the latest bios revision and everything seems to be running smooth. I ran the Far Cry 2 benchmark at 1680x1050 ultra high settings 2xAA and vert sync on and I was got an average of 39.62FPS. Min was 28.42 max was 59.51. With my current system and those specs, do these benches seem ok? I am kind of dissapointed with my minimum framerate. Is that to be expected with my system?

 

[Painman]

Well, it's better than what you *were* getting, that's for sure. I don't have FC2 installed and I'm on a Quad anyway, so I can't compare notes with you.

I really hate it when 2 problems happen at once... hard to know if they're separate, or the same issues. Glad you got part of it sorted out anyway.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: MBrown
Good news. I updated my bios to the latest bios revision and everything seems to be running smooth. I ran the Far Cry 2 benchmark at 1680x1050 ultra high settings 2xAA and vert sync on and I was got an average of 39.62FPS. Min was 28.42 max was 59.51. With my current system and those specs, do these benches seem ok? I am kind of dissapointed with my minimum framerate. Is that to be expected with my system?

Good deal, that PCIE x1 problem was pretty common when PCIE 2.0 cards first started launching.

Also, those FC2 results look about right. Its pretty GPU intensive, but also scales well with faster CPUs and more cores. You're right about where you should be compared to the E8400:

PCGH FC2 Review

Easy enough way to test, run the bench with 0AA, 2xAA and 4xAA, if you don't see much drop in performance that means you're CPU limited. Overclocking your GPU may help increase your minimums, otherwise you'll have to look into a faster CPU.

Edit: Also you'll want to turn off Vsync if you want to get a more accurate comparison to published benchmarks.

 

[MBrown]

^Awesome. I just ran that benchmark with the settings they used in the link you posted and I am actually getting a little bit better marks than they did. (compared to the E6850 which also runs at 266x11)

Hmm. I just got a BSOD. BCCode:d3. I haven't seen that before and can't find anything on the net about it. Anyone know what that could be?

Would my PSU hold me back from OCing it?

 

[MBrown]

I can't overclock this thing at all. I have my case open so it shouldn't be a cooling problem. I keep getting crashes at just a 50MHz overclock on the core. People are easily OCing theirs to 700MHz. What could be the problem now?

Also I can't get GPU-Z to display my VDDC. Pic of what I am seeing on GPU-Z.

 

[Painman]

GPU-Z hsn't been officially updated since the release of the 55nm cards, and the 55nm cards have a completely different VRM section and BIOS.

 

[lavaheadache]

just a heads up... you should try out the 182.06 drivers that were just released

 

[roid450]

The coil squeal happens wen ur card goes over 1000FPS on loading screenes etc. Mine does it too. so do all over cards over 1000fps AFAIK.

 

[MBrown]

Originally posted by: roid450
The coil squeal happens wen ur card goes over 1000FPS on loading screenes etc. Mine does it too. so do all over cards over 1000fps AFAIK.

If I just watch a youtube video, it squeals. When I play a game a 60FPS is squeals even louder.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: MBrown

Originally posted by: roid450
The coil squeal happens wen ur card goes over 1000FPS on loading screenes etc. Mine does it too. so do all over cards over 1000fps AFAIK.

If I just watch a youtube video, it squeals. When I play a game a 60FPS is squeals even louder.

Painman's explanation makes sense as to why you're not seeing VDDC. The squealing shouldn't be noticeable like that watching videos or with low FPS in games. I'd just double-check to make sure its not your PSU, as its also a relatively common problem with PSUs. If you can isolate it down to the card, its certainly grounds for RMA, as that's not normal or acceptable imo. I'd try and get a replacement from your vendor if you're within the 30-days rather than an RMA through the manufacturer.

 

[MBrown]

I am getting about 72C under load. Are those temps normal. And that is with all of my case fans set to high.

 

[MegaWorks]

That's a really good temperature, I usually get 90c load with my GTX 260. Did you try everything that our fellow members suggested, if so and nothing works RMA your card.

 

[MBrown]

Originally posted by: MegaWorks
That's a really good temperature, I usually get 90c load with my GTX 260. Did you try everything that our fellow members suggested, if so and nothing works RMA your card.

Everything up to trying another PSU, because I don't have another one yet. Prolly next week until I will have another one.

 

[MBrown]

Originally posted by: chizow

Originally posted by: MBrown
Good news. I updated my bios to the latest bios revision and everything seems to be running smooth. I ran the Far Cry 2 benchmark at 1680x1050 ultra high settings 2xAA and vert sync on and I was got an average of 39.62FPS. Min was 28.42 max was 59.51. With my current system and those specs, do these benches seem ok? I am kind of dissapointed with my minimum framerate. Is that to be expected with my system?

Good deal, that PCIE x1 problem was pretty common when PCIE 2.0 cards first started launching.

Also, those FC2 results look about right. Its pretty GPU intensive, but also scales well with faster CPUs and more cores. You're right about where you should be compared to the E8400:

PCGH FC2 Review

Easy enough way to test, run the bench with 0AA, 2xAA and 4xAA, if you don't see much drop in performance that means you're CPU limited. Overclocking your GPU may help increase your minimums, otherwise you'll have to look into a faster CPU.

Edit: Also you'll want to turn off Vsync if you want to get a more accurate comparison to published benchmarks.

Just a follow up. I just installed a q6600 and OCed to 3.0Ghz and my min framerate jumped up to 38.34