HIS Radeon HD 3850 AGP

[Blahzors]

Hello,

I bought this card not too long ago under the impression that it was one of the better AGP cards. I mainly play World of Warcraft, thing is, I get really crappy FPS, still. Not sure how much knowledge people have of the game, but in main cities, while busy, I average about 10-20 fps which isn't amazing but playable. Now, when I do anything in-game with a lot of stuff going on, I get like 5-9, barely playable. This card wasn't awfully cheap, so I really would like to know why it's giving me such bad fps.

Computer Specs are as followed. Let me know if anything else is needed:

Win XP PRO
AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor
3700+
2.40 GHZ, 2.00 GB of RAM
Power supply is 550 watts, if I remember correctly.

I know my computer isn't state of the art or anything, but I always thought it was decent enough to handle a game like Warcraft... not with barely playable fps, though. Do you think any of what was listed could be a factor?

I have settings turned down, vertical sync off, most anything else I can think of/have read. I've tried HIS drivers, the latest AGP Hotfix, even some Omega drivers I stumbled upon today. None of those seemed to help much, unfortunately. Now, this is something I'm a little unsure about: Today, while messing with my computer a bit, I noticed I had a 6-pin power connector in the card's 8-pin slot. I've read mixed answers regarding 6-pin in an 8-pin slot, so I'm a little unsure about that. Could the card not be running to its full potential due to this, or is it anything else from the specs I listed? I really would like any sort of answer regarding this, because this has gotten highly frustrating, especially due to the cost of the card.

Many thanks.

 

[Blahzors]

So, the whole 6-pin, 8-pin is not an issue?

Also, would I be able to purchase a new CPU without having to purchase a new motherboard, too? I guess I'm limited to how good of a processor I can get depending on my mobo, huh? I have an ASUSTeK Computer Inc. K8VSEDX Rev 2.00 for my mobo, does that scream upgrade? I would assume if I had to upgrade my motherboard and processor, I'd be better off buying a new system all together, huh? Thanks again.

 

[Bluescreendeath]

Overclock your CPU. You don't need to upgrade to play WoW.

 

[AKM880]

Overclock your CPU. You don't need to upgrade to play WoW.

+1, I have a 3650 paired with a Intel 2.4Ghz (Single Core) and it plays some games fine.

 

[Blahzors]

Overclock your CPU. You don't need to upgrade to play WoW.

Pardon my ignorance, but can you direct me to some sort of guide to achieve this? I've always been a little wary of overclocking, mostly due to my little knowledge of it. I've heard much of it, though, so I assume this is a viable option. Anyway, yeah, if you can direct me to a good site/program for this, it would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

 

[megamanx00]

Yeah read the sticky on overclocking

Anyway there are a number of issues with AGP Radeon cards. My 1950GT had all sorts of driver issues ^_^. Anyway make sure that in your BIOS you turn of Fast read and fast write. I find it best to test such cards with 3D marks 03, 05, and 06. If you crash with one of them then you have a driver problem. If you're using the omega drivers before completely removing the catalyst drivers with drive cleaner pro you could have some major problems. Also, all the other 3850 AGP cards are 6 pin but HIS is the only one I've seen using an 8pin. Since they probably use a different PCB You should get an 8 pin adapter just to be sure that it isn't the problem.

 

[Blahzors]

Thank you for the advice, Mega.

I did not know about the Fast read/write thing, I'll try that now along with the 3D marks. I installed Omega drivers after completely removing my previous drivers with Driver Sweeper and everything. After loading up, the computer acted as if no drivers were even installed, it was weird. Anyway, I'll try your suggestions + overclocking. I suppose if neither works, then I'll have to go pick up a new PSU to try the 8-pin.

 

[AKM880]

Yeah some AGP ATI cards have bad drivers, even my HD 3650 caused me to go thru a 3 day headache trying to find the right drivers.

 

[Blahzors]

Yeah some AGP ATI cards have bad drivers, even my HD 3650 caused me to go thru a 3 day headache trying to find the right drivers.

Which drivers did you end up using, the AGP Hotfix?

 

[megamanx00]

Not all the hotfix drivers work properly. I ended up with the Omega Drivers based on the 7.12 catalyst for my 1950GT. I remember I got my 1950GT working with one of the first ATI hotfix drivers but I don't remember which one ^_^. Anyway I've also seen the issue on other peoples 3650s or 2600 AGPs, but after so many drivers it seems that eventually the windows registry gets dirty with values that prevent the ATI AGP cards from working properly. I just format the darn thing, but you may want to back up your registry before messing with it further . If the last set of Omega drivers didn't work for you though then you may have strange orphaned values in your registry that you can either search for, or you may want to format your computer just to be sure.

I love that AMD board partners put out AGP cards after nVidia didn't release anything better than the 7800GS, but without official support the darn things just have so many issues.

 

[AKM880]

Try the manufacturers drivers, not the ones from the ATI site. Those aren't for AGP cards. If you have a Sapphire card then go to that website and get specfic drivers. I didn't sue hotfix drivers. I am using CCC 8.4 from the included CD

 

[Blahzors]

I tried downloading the ones from the HIS site. Those, too, did not do anything for my performance. I just tried overclocking with no success The first few times I did it, my processor went down to 850 MHz from 2.4 GHz I tried it again and managed to get it as high as 879 Mhz before reverting back to old values. Perhaps I did something wrong, but I did everything from a guide I read. After trying it again sometime later, it wouldn't even go through and told me there was an overclocking failure.

Anyway, I didn't know stuff could get stuck in registry and possibly cause issues. I didn't begin using Drive Sweeper until recent, so I suppose there could be a lot of stuff that may have gotten stuck there over time... oops. I'll give reformating a shot and hope that it helps. All that is left is buying a new mobo/cpu, that or a new computer, so I'm hoping this'll help avoid that for the time being. Thank you again for all your advice and suggestions, they're much appreciated. I'll let you know if formatting does anything

 

[berggeit]

hi i got like the 1 that made the post about FPS in wow, the same problem but first day i got it my PC was reinstalled with windows Xp media center ed

my pc :

intell 4 3GHz
DDrram 2 Ghz
mother b is a asus : P4P 800 se
grafcard the HD 3850 256 bit 512 MB AGP

first 2 week's was doing 25 man raid's in nax with graf up to max on boss fights and had
it on 15 FPS that was perfect, and with garf max and distance only 2 spep's up i get outside Dal 105 fps now i got to be happy with 55 and that is with garf low but after this 2 week's it went down too to even
1 fps in raid's on boss fight's is it the programm i install like skype , vent , TS , Logitech G stuff , win player and other player's and
site's i go on ,is this what is slowing my PC down i got everything that is needed too block all kind's of spy or add ware

i all ways have too turn off quest helper becuase it make so much diff in fps something i didn't have too do it in the begin. i need some help on this how too keep proformans up , but i wana know if installing and (not having it on)teamspeak , skype , ventrilo , windows life messenger, veoh webplayer , win player,norton , logitech G stuff, and 3 diff codex pack's for media play will give me this problem

 

[rewindlabs]

I am sorry but i can't even read what you just said...google spell checker and copy and paste before you explode my mind....

If im correct you have probably gotten your self some nice viruses whilst also bogging your system down with applications...i suggest you just re do your os and format...than read some tweaking guides and learn how to keep your os from getting "dirty"

"Find" yourself a nice antivirus and start understanding your os...

 

[rewindlabs]

actually you did state that "Not to mention 2gb of ram is not enough for todays games." WoW is a game last I checked.

so beyond being a liar you are also a fool since 2GB is the ideal amount of memory to game in XP. I suggest you stop posting and making a complete idiot of yourself.

Damn right...Farcry 2 runs just fine on 2gbs of ram...so does rainbow six vegas 2...fallout 3....bioshock....the cod series....left 4 dead...portal....various 3d hentai games...the list goes on...

Of course the more ram the better...but its not mandatory for all games...

 

[computabug]

So if this Athlon is bottlenecking his 3850, how about my P4 3.0 and 512 ddr3200? If it does bottle-neck, how much more ram would I need/how far would I have to OC? Or would you suggest I just get something lower like a 3650 to prevent bottlenecking?

 

[computabug]

1. Yes, but it's usually the GPU bottlenecking the CPU, unless we're talking about some crazy enthusiast from Newegg who told me he had an e2200 or something OCed like crazy, with tri-sli gtx260...
2. I'm on it. Just need to find some non-overpriced DDR... evil retailers bumped up their prices to force us to buy a new computer altogether... I won't fall for it! never!!! Well actually maybe in a year or so. I shoulda just wrote what I'm planning to upgrade my RAM to, so I wouldn't have everyone telling me to upgrade my RAM first instead of actually telling me about which card to get....
3. So now for my question, if I had 1.5gb of ram, which card should I get? How much ram should I have with either card, to play Crysis with at least 10fps at all times? (yea I can't notice the difference between 10 and 100fraps, dunno why. I play CS:S at 10fps and I'm alright with it...)
4. Is there such thing as RAID for PATA interfaces? Like Raiding some UDMA133 drives... (why are there so many names? ide, udma, pata...)

 

[computabug]

aww poop. That shucks. Are you sure about only 20fraps...? What are you basing this on, like any sources? (link me to a chart lol or do you have 1st hand experience?) How about warhead, any difference in fraps?

I have 1 512 chip on my p4s800 right now @ 200mhz (400 effective), and it accepts up to 2 DIMMS @ this speed (PC3200) or 3 chips at PC2100, which I can't find anymore, so I guess it's either underclocked PC3200's 512mb a chip, or throw my current chip out and get 2 1gb chips at PC3200... which option...?

Yea could someone confirm that 20fraps thing? lol. How many fraps on all high at 1080p with a 3850, and how many fraps with a 3650?

 

[computabug]

Wow this site is great! Kinda paranoid about the 'Game-o-meter though.... is it portable, or does it mess with my registry?

 

[computabug]

Well I've already installed it, and it did mess with my registry, but it was worth it nice tool for a visual representation (even if it's not quite accurate), with useful upgrade suggestions. The text at the bottom is very accurate, but the graph is 'meh', it can't get much better, but it is kinda too general...

So I need 2gb of ram, a new hdd, and a 3650 or 3850 if my wallet is feeling tough...

 

[marsay001]

I ran crysis with this and got on average 35 fps, is was most definitely playable, settings on medium - low. 1024 x 768 no AA - AF.

Athlon 64 32
Abit mo/bo with nforce chipset ( cant remember exactly)
2gb DDR
ATI x1650

But still i had the same problem With WoW the city's where crippling my system

If i where you id put you system on ebay, and buy a new rig, build it yourself, athlon X2's are cheap as these days, and if you do upgrade you'll finally have PCI-E Graphics

 

[computabug]

It's kinda like selling used cars though... to me, it's worth more than what I can sell it for, so I'd rather keep this than a hundred bucks Unless I only need 1 computer, then I'd sell it... lol my grandpa wants to use an old computer to learn how to surf the internet XD

 

[SwiftCoyote]

Im am using a 650w Ultra PSU for a P4P800-E Deluxe motherboard with a 3.0GHz CPU. I also am using the APG HD 3850 512mb GDDR3 and Im only using 2GB or Corsair XMS(DDR400) RAM and Im rocking games like TF2, L4D, Fuel with 30-60fps all settings High or Extra High with 4xAA, Vertical sync on. I am overclocked to 3.4GHz on the CPU, 940MHz(800 reg) FSB, and manually set my RAM timings to 2.5-3-3-6(3-3-3-8 reg) at 226MHz(200MHz reg). Im extreamly happy with this video card but definatly see a need for 4gb of RAM. I am using a 22" SyncMaster T220 @ 1680x1050@75Hz. I also have the X-fi Extreme Gamer sound card.

I have tried to OC the HD 3850 using the AtiCC but cant. What I mean is, Ill turn up from (GPU/Memory) 669MHz/700MHz to 675MHz/725MHz, I will test the setting to ensure they work but testing never stops. I can let it test for a week and it never finishes. If I just hit apply the settings reset to defults. Why is that? Am I doing something wrong?

If ayone has a socket 478 3.4GHz Extreme Edition CPU for sale, PLEASE SELL IT TO ME!! I BEG YOU.

TIP: I find turning off all non necessary background processes. I only have 28 processes running when I play games.