new 5870...got problems

[philbar71]

Well alrighty then. I guess I'll get to it. I do miss the way everything is all snappy with a fresh install!! Have you ever had a virus survive a reformatting? I've also heard there are some bugs that can get into the BIOS. Is this true or an "urban legend?" Sorry to get off-topic.

to the best of my knowleage nothing can survive a format. and yes, a virus can get in and corrupt yor bios. but there are many security measures in place to ensure that this does not happen

 

[newbiebuilderguy]

O.K I didn't want to start a new thread , so I thought I'd post a couple of quick questions here.

I reformatted , installed windows updates ( took over an hour ) , installed all drivers (incl. ATI) , installed Firefox , and AVG Free. I am finding differing opinions on whether or not to defrag right away , or do it after my games are installed , or , some people say you don't have to defrag vista at all depending on the type of HDD you have. Can someone give me a give me a definitive answer to this? Anything else I should do now after the fresh reformatting? Thanks for putting up with my silly questions. I very much appreciate all your help!

 

[Trotter]

Give Microsoft Security Essentials a try instead of AVG this time around. I've been using it since the beta and it is pretty good. It's also free.

Download Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0.1611.0 - No cost, no hassle security software for your PC - Softpedia

 

[newbiebuilderguy]

Thanks , guys! I appreciate all your help. Well , after doing the format , installing everything , testing games and running STALKER Clear Sky benchmark , I see no improvement in the graphics. A single Sapphire Radeon HD 4830 512MB blows away this 5870!! I think I can safely assume that this is a bad card and should be RMA'd. Please let me know right away if you think I should hold on to it and do some more testing or whatever , because otherwise it's going back ASAP.

 

[gurusan]

Seconded on MS Security Essentials. Really great AV program with a small footprint.


And your problem is that you are using ancient drivers. Use these and report back, it should fix your issues:
Radeon5000SeriesDriver

 

[newbiebuilderguy]

I downloaded the driver. I ran STALKER Clear Sky bench again. Here are the results. The results look better than the actual experience. Everything looks kind of shimmery and in spots it gets pretty choppy. My 4830 may not show the same fps , but using it is generally much more pleasant. Also , playing games is more pleasant with the 4830.

 

[gurusan]

dunno what to tell you. Have you tried other games besides stalker? the 5870 should blow the pants off 4830 CF

 

[aliasaid]

If i were you, i wouldn't put up with the headache of RMAing your card. Your previous GPU configuration seems good enough. I'll tell you what, i'll take that dreadful 5870 off your hands and find what to do with it... No thx is required, i do it all in the name of the TF community.

 

[newbiebuilderguy]

Lol , I'm sure you would "take it off my hands". How does this benchmark (Clearsky) compare with others? Have you guys run this benchmark before ? (I don't actually own the game) .

My absolute favorite game is ut 2004 , and it seems that my SINGLE 4830 (not crossfiring anymore) is smoother and more pleasant than the 5870. Both get about the same 85-100 fps avg. during play , but the 4830 just looks better. Seems strange , I know.

I don't play any other games right now. The 5870 came with a game called Battlestations Pacific , but I didn't install it because I don't want any problems if I have to RMA the card. It also came with a coupon to download a free copy of Dirt 2 when it's released in December I believe. Anyway , the reason I don't have any other games is that I was saving all my dough for this card and a nice monitor first , and then I will get some killer games.

Seriously , though , do you guys think I should hold on to it? I am having mixed feelings about it...having had little experience with high-end graphics and all. Maybe new drivers will fix the issues? I just don't understand how it could get such awesome reviews when what I see doesn't impress me in the least.

ARGH!! Help me decide!! Please!! BTW , I am using a 1280x1024 19" monitor (in my sig).

 

[gurusan]

If all you play is UT2004 then absolutely RMA it and save your money. That game is ancient!