Recently purchased an ATi 4870X2 from eBay. All installed, but I'm finding that even this card can't handle GTA:SA on highest settings without lag, even worse is GTA:IV on highest settings. Best way to describe that would be like a grandma on speed. The rest of my PC I'd of said was up to spec, hence the confusion. Any ideas?

AMD Phenom 9850 Quad Core 2.5Ghz Black Edition

AMD Standard CPU Heatsink + Fan

Asus M3A-7T Deluxe Motherboard

Corsair XMS2 PC6400 DDR2 800Mhz Memory 2 x 2048Mb

Western Digital Caviar 500Gb HD

HiS ATi 4870X2

15" TFT Monitor (DVI to VGA Adapter)

DVDRW IDE Drive

4 Cooling Fans

OS: Vista Ultimate 64bit, but looking to maybe get Windows 7? Not sure on the differences between them.

to be fair you do only have DDR2 800Mhz not to best so may be a problem and a 2.5Ghz cpu i know its a quad core but still not the best for games, maby try more ram as am sure visat needs 1.5GB to run

Do you think it'd be worth upgrading my ram and maybe overclocking my processor if I buy an aftermarket cooler? Or should I just get another 4Gb of the same ram? Thanks.

You already have the fastest DDR2 ram, so will not gain anything.

Modern processors and DDR3 ram are way faster than the 9850 AMD processor. You really want nice fast DDR3 ram and an Intel quad core i7 CPU, Sadly that also means you'll need a new motherboard.

A fast graphics card is no good if the rest of the system causes a bottleneck in the data arriving at the GPU.

I'd say that you should start with formatting your harddrive.

That computer should be able to handle GTA:SA without even breaking a sweat .

Sent from my LG-P990 using Tapatalk

Not true on ram you can get 1066Mhz Look here not the cheapest but can get cheaper, and as i said before am sure vista needs 1.5GB to run leaving 5121Mb ram to run programs.

Am no computer tech but could this not be the problem

Aaron

Am going to ccl today to pick some parts up i will print your spec out and ask the experts there.

Amount of RAM is far more important than speed IMO. So I'd just put another 4 gigs of the same speed.

Also, don't forget that the 4870x2 is technically an SLI solution, it's just multiple cards/chips on the same PCB. So in games that don't support SLI rendering properly, you'll only get the performance of a single 4870 which is far from a top of the range card now. I'm surprised GTA:SA doesn't work well though, that's pretty old...

Vista probably isn't your problem, although make sure you've got the latest drivers off the ATI website rather than the ones that came on the CD with your card, or (even worse) any Vista built-in ones.

Also, Vista doesn't "need 1.5GB to run". I've got Vista installed on an old Compaq R3000 here with 512MB of RAM (minus a little bit for shared graphics). It's not what I'd call fast by a long stretch, but it's surprisingly usable given the crap spec.

Just to say that I am still using one of those cards. I have never played GTA on it , but -

I have 2 of them in crossfire, but can only utilise 1 in Red Orchestra 2. Which runs great for me. NO issues at all.

Even on one card Black Ops ran smooth for me also ( or as smooth as BO gets )

I play at 1920x1200 @27" , rest of system is over 12 months old also - AMD X6 @ 3.8GHz on water, 16Gb DD3 1333MHz , Win7 64Bit.

Only ever ran the beta of Vista , so never gamed on it properly, this was in COD4 days so went back to XP for it.

I still think the 4870 is a bit of a peach of a card for older tech.

As said , upgrade the amount of RAM you have. The 9850 BE CPU's were good also, cant see that being an issue.

You already have the fastest DDR2 ram, so will not gain anything.

Modern processors and DDR3 ram are way faster than the 9850 AMD processor. You really want nice fast DDR3 ram and an Intel quad core i7 CPU, Sadly that also means you'll need a new motherboard.

A fast graphics card is no good if the rest of the system causes a bottleneck in the data arriving at the GPU.

Not sure I really want to replace my motherboard and cpu - trying to get out of gaming to a point, just bought the graphics card as it was cheap and long overdue an upgrade! Would end up spending over £200 quite easily. Would a motherboard bundle be better value for money (wondering if the suppliers give you a discount for buying more at once or charge you for doing some of the hard work).

I'd say that you should start with formatting your harddrive.

That computer should be able to handle GTA:SA without even breaking a sweat .

Sent from my LG-P990 using Tapatalk

I thought it should be able to run it piece of cake too, hence the confusion. I'd say a reformat wouldn't hurt though. Might be worth me doing a load of virus / spyware scans just in case.

Not true on ram you can get 1066Mhz Look here not the cheapest but can get cheaper, and as i said before am sure vista needs 1.5GB to run leaving 5121Mb ram to run programs.

Am no computer tech but could this not be the problem

Aaron

Am going to ccl today to pick some parts up i will print your spec out and ask the experts there.

Thanks Aaron - especially interested in hearing what CCL has to say (suppose they are experts to a point, depends who serves you). Might have to look at buying from CCL instead of Novatech too if I make a purchase, will have to compare.

Amount of RAM is far more important than speed IMO. So I'd just put another 4 gigs of the same speed.

Also, don't forget that the 4870x2 is technically an SLI solution, it's just multiple cards/chips on the same PCB. So in games that don't support SLI rendering properly, you'll only get the performance of a single 4870 which is far from a top of the range card now. I'm surprised GTA:SA doesn't work well though, that's pretty old...

Vista probably isn't your problem, although make sure you've got the latest drivers off the ATI website rather than the ones that came on the CD with your card, or (even worse) any Vista built-in ones.

Drivers are up to date, card didn't come with a disk so downloaded them direct from the amd/ati website. GTA:IV is multi core supported, but multi graphics card I'm not sure. The amount of lag it gives on highest settings is incredible, to the point I thought I'd got a dodgy card. Thanks for your help so far .

Just to say that I am still using one of those cards. I have never played GTA on it , but -

I have 2 of them in crossfire, but can only utilise 1 in Red Orchestra 2. Which runs great for me. NO issues at all.

Even on one card Black Ops ran smooth for me also ( or as smooth as BO gets )

I play at 1920x1200 @27" , rest of system is over 12 months old also - AMD X6 @ 3.8GHz on water, 16Gb DD3 1333MHz , Win7 64Bit.

Only ever ran the beta of Vista , so never gamed on it properly, this was in COD4 days so went back to XP for it.

I still think the 4870 is a bit of a peach of a card for older tech.

As said , upgrade the amount of RAM you have. The 9850 BE CPU's were good also, cant see that being an issue.

Your pc sounds epic... very expensive though! Do you think it's worth overclocking my cpu (would need an aftermarket cooler) to go with more ram (same speed, another 4Gb)? If you still play Cod4, I may have to give you a game sometime. Usually on FFA myself ^^.

Edited 24 September, 201114 yr by Republic

Amount of RAM is far more important than speed IMO. So I'd just put another 4 gigs of the same speed.

No point unless the OP is using a 64bit version of windows, as the 32bit version can only address just over 3GB of memory anyway.

If you buy the faster DDR2 memory make sure the motherboard supports it otherwise it will end up running at 800mhz anyway and there will be no difference.

No point unless the OP is using a 64bit version of windows, as the 32bit version can only address just over 3GB of memory anyway.

If you buy the faster DDR2 memory make sure the motherboard supports it otherwise it will end up running at 800mhz anyway and there will be no difference.

I'm running on Vista Ultimate 64bit, although annoyingly Microsoft says it isn't genuine. I know it is, because I downloaded it from Microsoft Technet when they leaked loads of product keys (all now not working) and the iso images for various os . Got an old XP product code from a PC, but to upgrade to 7 is still going to cost me £100 just for home basic. Bit of a rip off, so trying eBay to see if I can get any cheaper. My motherboard is an Asus M3a79-t Deluxe. So irritated that it doesn't support AM3, saying that I had the CPU sat for about a year with the ram before I had means to finish off the rest of the system. Thanks to everyone for their help so far .

You can get the OEM version of 7 home premium cheaply from the likes of ebuyer, and it will allow for a fresh install.

http://www.ebuyer.com/259863-microsoft-windows-7-home-premium-w-sp1-licence-and-media-1-gfc-02050

1) GTA san-andreas more than likely wont be SLI-enabled.

2) ****** for amount of ram, its been proven theres minimal benifit above 4gig - plus theres no point getting more DDR2 these days

3) make sure drivers etc are up to date, ATI Catalyst drivers are funny for "variable" game performance between releases. (google is your friend)

When you say lag, what do you mean?.. very low frames per second?

Given the age of the game id err on a compatibility issue.

You can get the OEM version of 7 home premium cheaply from the likes of ebuyer, and it will allow for a fresh install.

http://www.ebuyer.com/259863-microsoft-windows-7-home-premium-w-sp1-licence-and-media-1-gfc-02050

Been looking on ebay recently, seems to be the cheapest way to get an OS (surprisingly) providing it's all genuine (and if it isn't, Paypal protection ftw ).

1) GTA san-andreas more than likely wont be SLI-enabled.

2) ****** for amount of ram, its been proven theres minimal benifit above 4gig - plus theres no point getting more DDR2 these days

3) make sure drivers etc are up to date, ATI Catalyst drivers are funny for "variable" game performance between releases. (google is your friend)

When you say lag, what do you mean?.. very low frames per second?

Given the age of the game id err on a compatibility issue.

The drivers are up to date, I got them from the AMD / ATi website. When I say lag, I mean I'm getting times where the FPS is dropping in GTA:SA to around 50 instead of being 80+. In GTA:IV, if I put all settings on high it just can't handle it for some reason, probably going as low as approx 10 fps.

Also, does anyone have any recommendation for new games? Really, really bored of mine tbh. Maybe get another CoD but wondering if it's worth it, it's still the same game to a point. Thanks for the help guys .

There has been a lot of suggestions in this thread in which I am thankful for, but I'm not sure which one will resolve the problem. Could anyone turn the light on for me please ?

Your CPU is fine deus ex is a CPU demanding game, I've got the 2.4 phenom quad, and can run it on max no probs, the 4000 series gpu is getting old now and the ram isn't helping, but the trouble is I'm guessing you don't have a motherboard to support ddr3 sure the i7 is a fast processor but I wouldn't bother spending money on a CPU when that's not what is causing your problem,

Personally... Dump Vista, get it onto Win7 64bit and pop at least 4Gb RAM in there. 2Gb on 64 bit Vista is nowhere near enough, it's the recommended minimum for 64bit Win7, which will run an awful lot better.

He's got 4Gb already. Vista should run fine on that spec, it's really not the dog everyone made it out to be. Not as good as Win7, sure, but most people who slagged Vista off for being slow were running it on hardware that barely met the minimum spec (such as the Compaq R3000 I've got). I used to run it on my old 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo desktop with 2Gb, and it ran perfectly fine. I only changed to Win7 because I bought a new PC anyway, and Windows 7 fixed a lot of the odd behaviour with Vista (less intrusive UAC, quicker network file copies, etc). Otherwise I'd probably still have the same setup now.

It's worth installing Win7 anyway though, a clean format never hurts things performance wise.

Your CPU is fine deus ex is a CPU demanding game, I've got the 2.4 phenom quad, and can run it on max no probs, the 4000 series gpu is getting old now and the ram isn't helping, but the trouble is I'm guessing you don't have a motherboard to support ddr3 sure the i7 is a fast processor but I wouldn't bother spending money on a CPU when that's not what is causing your problem,

Exactly - I don't really want to have to try and sell my mobo, cpu and ram and upgrade. Yes, I'll have more performance but the cost of it I'm not sure I can justify.

I am wondering if a BIOS tweak might help.

GTA IV runs on my crappy old system, so you should have no problems.

My suggestion is to look at your BIOS settings and also download "DEFRAGGLER" and make sure your hard drive isnt the issue.

Having said that, a lot of games had problems with Vista.

If you want a REALLY cheap copy of Win7 Ultimate 64bit it will cost you £5 + p&p, but you have to be able to read Chinese.

(It actually costs £1, but I am running low on cash, the extra £4 will pay for 4 meals at the local Hotpot place, or 9 meals at the noodle bar (and some change). :p

You must have a am3 slot motherboard to run that quad core might be worth seeing if you can install ddr3 ram it won't be to expensive, otherwise I would suggest windows 7, vista is shocking when I changed over, it was so much better.

You must have a am3 slot motherboard to run that quad core might be worth seeing if you can install ddr3 ram it won't be to expensive, otherwise I would suggest windows 7, vista is shocking when I changed over, it was so much better.

My CPU is AM2+ not AM3 :(. Not had problems with Vista on any pc tbh either.