Major 3870X2 Performance Issues

[Crazymage]

I just purchased an ATI 3870X2 and after Installing it I'm getting the same/worse performance than I was getting with my 7950GT. Any help with software/bios changes i need to make would really be appreciated. My specs are:
Mobo: M2npv-vm (pci-e 16x)
cpu: amd 6400 (3.2ghz)
Ram: 2x DDR2 800
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower 850watts

 

[chameleon101]

One thing with ASUS motherboards is that they usually get released with a crappy bios, are you getting stutters and lock ups ingame?

 

[Crazymage]

For Instance call of duty 1680 by 1050 all high should run with 70fps but mine runs with 25fps. And my aqua mark score is around 100,000. I mean there is a pour performance. But yes I do see some stutters and lock ups..
My mobo is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131014

 

[spoonboy]

Could be worth a bios flash among other things, my p5b deluxe wouldnt overclock the cpu past 2.1 ghz without updating the bios. Now its fine.

 

[leo2kp]

Is your processor a dual-core by chance? Many games support dual-core and will kill performance if you don't have it. Also, if you DO have a dual-core, have you installed the Microsoft Dual-Core Hotfix and the AMD Optimizer?

 

[bravo29]

Had the same issue with a 3850 and it turned out to be a bad MB. My nephews PC went from a 1650 to a 3850 and had shutters and lag. Turned out the MB was going bad. Sometime going from one card to another a reinstall of the OS is needed.

Did you run a driver cleaner to see if any of the old driver is sitting in the registry?

 

[jnava121]

yeah you need to clean out all drivers then reinstall that might help!

 

[Crazymage]

I have all current motherboard and video drivers. That does not seem to be the reason why. Although I am not sure if my motherboard is pci express 1.1. If someone were to be kind enough to tell me what kind of pci slot I have?
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131014

 

[bravo29]

Also just because you have the right drivers doesnt mean the old driver got all removed.

Get a freware driver cleaner run it and reinstall the card.

 

[rgsaunders]

One thing to note with this motherboard, use the latest chipset drivers from nVidia, don't use the ones from the Asus site. The only thing you should be using from the Asus site is the latest bios update for the board. Also, make sure you have the onboard video disabled in bios.

 

[hok]

Do a CLEAN install. BARE. then see if it gets better. if not then maybe hardware.

 

[bash007]

I have all current motherboard and video drivers. That does not seem to be the reason why. Although I am not sure if my motherboard is pci express 1.1. If someone were to be kind enough to tell me what kind of pci slot I have?
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131014

It doesn't matter, as PCI-E 2.0 cards will work on PCI-E 1.x slots.

I'd make sure that you cleaned the Nvidia drivers properly. A format will definitely make sure of that.

Also, as people have already mentioned, try updating the BIOS.

 

[honor]

well an issue might be ati does not have the driver ready yet only some sites have beta drivers should be out soon (1-3days)

 

[theseus]

The motherboard yuo have mounts an Nvidia Geforce chipset, wouldn't that be the case why your ATI HD3870x2 Graphics card won't work!?

 

[systemlord]

"You must use Driver Cleaner Pro when updating or switching graphics card brands". The drivers that used to be on the system (Nvidia) tend to leave old entries in the operating system that can only be removered using Driver cleaner Pro. I use this program everytime I remove and update my Nvidia graphic drivers. Its not something you can just ignor.


http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=745

 

[Mando1351]

First of all I have personally done alot of research to see which would be best for me the new 3870x2 only works with PCI express 2.0 and it still needs a crossfire ready motherboard (or non NVidia) to work properly.

your performance issues is that your forcing 2 GPUs through only 16 lanes to a north bridge not designed to take that.

A Motherboard with PCI-Express 2.0 which is like running 32 lanes with 2 GPUs and a north bridge like a X38 or similar then it will give you better response.

 

[rgeist554]

AnandTech ran the 3870x2 on a 780i chipset. That eliminates chipset problems, but it does have PCIe 2.0. Anyways, the 3870x2 still outperformed every single card setup.

Source: http://anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3209&p=2

...

As we alluded to earlier, the fact that the 3870 X2 features two GPUs on a single board means that it doesn't rely on chipset support to enable its multi-GPU functionality: it'll work in any motherboard that would support a standard 3870.

...

Maybe they're wrong, but figured I'd post it anyway.

 

[evongugg]

Even though the cards are backwards compatible, some motherboards do not work properly with PCI-Express 2.0 cards.
Most of them do, but there are a few exceptions here and there.

 

[3Ball]

"You must use Driver Cleaner Pro when updating or switching graphics card brands". The drivers that used to be on the system (Nvidia) tend to leave old entries in the operating system that can only be removered using Driver cleaner Pro. I use this program everytime I remove and update my Nvidia graphic drivers. Its not something you can just ignor.


http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=745

+1

 

[rgeist554]

I dont think your getting it. Having the latest drivers doesnt help if you also have old drivers installed on your harddrive.

Yes, old drivers will cause problems. Most likely they will be in the form of Hardware Interupts and DPC's. This will cause a single core of your CPU to peg at 100% usage and not go down. That will cause a HUGE performance drop... you need to clean all that old stuff out as suggested numerous times above.

 

[teldar]

Links please Mando? I've not heard anything of the sort. The 3870 IS a single slot card that works through one set of lanes. Your comment would be like saying that the 8800 Ultra needs two slots or NEEDS PCIe 2 because it's so fast. All the 3870 needs are somewhat more polished drivers. That work. Well.

T

 

[Mando1351]

Quote :

I dont think your getting it. Having the latest drivers doesnt help if you also have old drivers installed on your harddrive.

Yes, old drivers will cause problems. Most likely they will be in the form of Hardware Interupts and DPC's. This will cause a single core of your CPU to peg at 100% usage and not go down. That will cause a HUGE performance drop... you need to clean all that old stuff out as suggested numerous times above.



All that is true but by what he described in his original issue it seems more of a video card and mobo not working properly

 

[rgeist554]

Low FPS is different than stutters and lockups though. Stutters... I could say that could be misinterpreted from low FPS, but lockups is often from the CPU not being able to handle the game very well. I'd like to see a screenshot of his task manager, or more specifically a screenshot from process explorer from Sysinternals.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx

It could very well be the mobo / GPU not working properly, but I've had a problem very similar to his recently which was related to a driver conflict. (Oddly enough it was my traces of my GTS driver from EVGA and drivers for a Razer Lachesis mouse) Just curious as to whether or not this may be the cause.

 

[xpriest]

First of all I have personally done alot of research to see which would be best for me the new 3870x2 only works with PCI express 2.0 and it still needs a crossfire ready motherboard (or non NVidia) to work properly.

your performance issues is that your forcing 2 GPUs through only 16 lanes to a north bridge not designed to take that.

A Motherboard with PCI-Express 2.0 which is like running 32 lanes with 2 GPUs and a north bridge like a X38 or similar then it will give you better response.

You are kidding right? The 3870x2 is compatible with PCI 1.1 or 2.0 and it DOESN'T need a crossfire MB. It will work with ANY MB. That means Nvidia, Intel, AMD, Via, SIS. Its 2 chips on one PCB and recognized as one card. It has Internal Crossfire.......

Please do more research as yours is Flawed

 

[bravo29]

First of all I have personally done alot of research to see which would be best for me the new 3870x2 only works with PCI express 2.0 and it still needs a crossfire ready motherboard (or non NVidia) to work properly.

your performance issues is that your forcing 2 GPUs through only 16 lanes to a north bridge not designed to take that.

A Motherboard with PCI-Express 2.0 which is like running 32 lanes with 2 GPUs and a north bridge like a X38 or similar then it will give you better response.

Whhhaaaaat!!!!!!!!