ATI 3870 AF problems?

[onigami]

Yeah, so...I have been having some problems with my ATI 3870. Running a game that it should run pretty smoothly, Half-Life 2 Episode 1, it does...with caveats. The optimal settings seem a bit awry, at least I thought so: No AA, Trilinear filtering. I set it to the standard I did with HL2 on my old ATI X800XT: 4x AA, 8x AF. The frame rate didn't take as much a hit as you'd think it would, even with HDR on. So I thought things were fine. But that's when things hit HARD: The game crashed repeatedly on DX8 vertex buffer errors and Direct3D 9 errors. Sometimes, I even get a BSOD, which doesn't happen to me out of random. It got so bad that one point of the game (the point right before the final battle at the train depot) just would not load and crash. I first thought it was the AA (because I remember there being something on AA and HDR not mixing). But even then there were still problems. I then checked it back from AF to Trilinear, and it worked fine.

Here's my question: Why was there such an issue with the AF in the first place? Are the 3800 cards having issues rendering AF now? My X800XT, back when it was able to render properly, handled AF just fine. What is the issue?

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

It could be an issue with that particular card, as the 3870s dont have an AF problem per se. More likely its a heat/power issue. Whats your temps and whats your psu?

 

[onigami]

My PSU is 460W, just over the minimum required. The GPU temp, looking at it at peak recently, has been relatively normal (around 65 C) (though I'll prolly need to double check that one tomorrow).

I have an HIS brand 3870, by the way.

 

[onigami]

I forgot to mention from my previous post, another bizarre thing: Text on webpages are starting to render in odd colors. Like, not the colors they're supposed to be rendering in.

And a slight update: On any settings on a game with the same engine (Portal), GPU temps are at 77°C, GPU activity around 57%, at least according to CCC.

 

[hok]

strongly suggest you get a return on the card if you can.

 

[onigami]

OK...can I get a second opinion on that? (Not to say your opinion's not valid, Hok, I just want to be certain, is all)

 

[dragonsprayer]

take the door and see if you have less isues then its the psu

psu is too small

 

[dragonsprayer]

80w card vs a 150w card thats a hudge difference for a 460w psu

 

[kpo6969]

It all depends how many amps = 460w psu?
22 absolute minimum
3870 = 81w
X800XT = 58w
8800GT = 78w
These are idle (card only)
http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/forums.asp?s=2&c=7&t=9354

I only mention the 8800GT because I have one.
recommended minimum 450w@26amps (8800GT)
3870 = 214w system load
8800GT = 209w system load
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3151&p=11

 

[onigami]

Looking it over now, I just ran through HL2:EP2 (which has an advancement of the Source Engine) on 4x AA and 4x AF, without any crashes (except maybe one). Looking it over, it prolly was just the game itself. I thank you for your help, though. (Though I must ask: Is the text rendering in odd colors bad?)