HD4890 low fps

[Snaphaan]

First: These are my Specs:

2.8Ghz Pentium IV
2GB RAM
Sapphire HD4890
720 PSU


My benchmark results in World in conflict is

World in conflict (High)
1440x900 - average 9fps

Crysis (High)
1440x900 - Average (FRAPS) 12fps

But Lost Planet cranks out 30 to 40+ fps except on the first Benchmark Test (First Scene) where it falls to around 8fps at the worst point.

Now I am wondering. Is something bottlenecking this display card? Is it the processor?

Compared to my old Geforce 8600OC this card is a monster. But I'm just wondering since most of the benchmark tests of this card was done on a dual core (and they show 20+ fps for Crysis amongst others), it could be that I'm losing that extra 10fps through the CPU.

Does it make SUCH a difference? (If it is even that)

Thanks for reading this!

 

[mkyan978]

Improving to a dual core or a quad core would help immensely.

 

[masterjaw]

You're outdated system is bottlenecking your GPU. That's why you get those fps. Upgrade your system for you to maximize the potential of 4890.

 

[Snaphaan]

Thanks.

Thanks for the replies!

From some of the other posts around here I reckoned it must be the CPU. But it's always difficult to be exactly sure. Sorry for the lame specs... I could have been more detailed but I'm writing this from work.

Just for interest sake...

Is there a program or utility that can somehow determine what is preventing your Graphics card from running optimal? A benchmark utility that shows you what is bottlenecking your system. In that way you can easily determine if your drivers or or another factor is influencing your fps or whatever.

Thanks again.

 

[edijsv]

There is no need for a program to determine what's the problem. As the previous two commentators said - it's your CPU and probably your RAM as well.

Hell, I had a 3.06 P4 w/ HT and it was bottlenecking my XFX 7600GS. The HD you have is the previous High-end flaghsip of ATI, but your system is 3-4 years out of date at least.

 

[sayantan]

your cpu sucks....at least upgrade to a Core2Duo extreme or ph2 x3....

 

[Snaphaan]

Thanks again.

I understand now. I was'nt really paying attention to my CPU since I've always considdered it in no way responsible for fps except for some small lags due to processing.

But it seems to work this way (correct me if I am wrong):

My GPU is working at light speed to calculate the mesh, texture etc. data. Now it wants to send this stuff to my CPU but this dinosaur is still trying to calculate the physics, AI and other stuff. So everything is waiting it's turn to be processed. It does'nt matter how big my Graphics Card is, my CPU can only take so much from it and then it levels out. No more, no less.

Am I understanding this right?

 

[outlw6669]

Pretty much, just the other way around.
The CPU is like a 90 year old lady in a sweat shop and the GPU is like Newegg's shipping department.
The old girl is working her a$$ off trying to get the work done while the shipping department is sitting there drinking a coffee and waiting for something to do.

I would highly recommend getting a new Motherboard, CPU and RAM.
If you are on a budget, you can get an Athlon II x2 build with 4GB of RAM for not much more than $200.
For a bit more you can get a better Phenom II x4 or Core i5 setup.

If you have some cash to spend, please post your budget so we can make some proper recommendations.

 

[Snaphaan]

My Motherboard can take a Dual core (socket 775) and it has slots for a extra 2Gig RAM. I whish I could give you it's specs and details on what type it is, but I dunno...

So I'm actually only looking for a processor and RAM. I think...

There is a Intel Dual Core 2.8 Ghz here in my country for about R1300 (let's say $100) and a 3Ghz for $200.

Should I rather upgrade my motherboard and go for Quad core? Will that make a difference or is Dual core fine?

Let's say my budget is about $200 - $300. Less is better though

Thanks for all the help. Really appreciate it!!!

 

[outlw6669]

If you could post your exact motherboard we can check to see if it can take any of the more current Intel LGA775 CPU's.

Assuming that it can not and with your budget, an Athlon II x2, 4GB of RAM and a decent ASUS or Gigabyte AM3 motherboard should be possible.
Unfortunately, without knowing local prices and availability it will be impossible to get it any more accurate for you.
This will give you a massive increase in performance and leave you a future upgrade path.

 

[Snaphaan]

I will post again tomorrow with my exact specs. I should have had it before I came here...

At least I've learned something through this. Not all bad... I'm kind of excited now about the prospects of this card since I know now that it really should perform!!!

Methinks I just started my upgrade with the wrong part first -

Will post again soon!

 

[megamanx00]

Yup, a better CPU and some more RAM would certainly help. There is no point in putting a faster NetBurst CPU in there (Pentium 4 based CPUs). Find out if your board supports C2Duos. If not, then it may be better for you to build a cheap AMD AM3 or AM2+ system depending on your budget. Assuming you have DDR2 RAM going with an Athlon II X2 and a 785G based AM2+ motherboard would be a pretty cost effective upgrade.

 

[Snaphaan]

I just selected the memory and chipset features of the motherboard

My Motherboard is:

Gigabyte i-DNA motherboard
iNTEL 945G Express Chipset
LGA775 for Intel Pentium D processors
Dual Channel DDR2 667
64-bit ready

Some Details:
CPU
Supports Intel Pentium D/Pentium 4 LGA775 CPU
Supports 1066/800/533MHz FSB
L2 cache varies with CPU

Chipset
Northbridge: Intel 945G Express Chipset
Southbridge: Intel ICH7R/ICH7

Memory:
4 DDR II DIMM memory slots
Supports 1.8V DDR II DIMM
Supports dual channel DDRII667/533/400 DIM

PCI Express 16x

So my complete system at the moment:
Pentium(R) 4 2.81 GHz
2GB RAM
Sapphire HD4890
PSU 720Watt

Windows XP
Service Pack3

Hope someone is still keeping a eye on this thread

Thanks

 

[masterjaw]

I doubt that the motherboard could support Core2Duo processors. You may search for your actual motherboard at the Gigabyte site so that you may be able to determine its CPU support list / if it has bios updates to support newer CPUs.

I would still suggest getting a newer system with at least 2 cores.

 

[outlw6669]

I found a listing of iDNA motherboard Here.
Assuming your motherboard is the vanilla 945G based one, it is This Board.
Unfortunately, according to your CPU Support List you do not support any Core 2 based CPU's.
As such, your best option would be to get a new Motherboard, RAM and CPU.

 

[xpsng]

Sorry to dissapoint you but i ll have to confirm that your motherboard wont support any more than a "better" Pentium D. But thats not really worth going into the trouble of finding one... Better of changing to a Core2Duo + Motherboard or even better about thinking of an i3 type...

 

[Snaphaan]

Yes, thats the board.

Oh well. Thanks outlw6669 for all the help.

Does anyone have a idea at what processor speed I will need to prevent the bottleneck. I mean, at some point the processor speed will not make a difference to the fps. Will I need to spend more than $300?

I don't reallt want to spend more than I need.

 

[outlw6669]

No problem

Take a look at the Gaming CPU Hierarchy Chart to see roughly where newer CPU's perform relative to each other.
Your current CPU is probably somewhere around the bottom of the comment section
I would say you need at least an Athlon II x2 240.
If you can afford it get a faster CPU wit more cores.
If not, overclocking helps a lot and will defiantly bring your performance up.

 

[Snaphaan]

Wonderful!! Great list.

Yeah, my CPU hits rock bottom... I'll donate it to a museum.

The Core 2 Duo E7500 Dual Core ($119) looks nice. It's also available in my country. That leaves me with about $180 for good motherboard. I'll update my RAM later...

Thanks again.

 

[antsmaster]

My XFX HD4890 also has a low FPS. I think XFX HD4890 is bad pdoduct.
I don't know my opinion is right or wrong.

When I compare the XFX HD4890 with the XFX HD4870. XFX HD4870 scores higher than score XFX4890.

scrore 3DMark06
XFX HD4870 --> around (14500-15000) fps
XFX HD4890 --> 12691 fps

scrore Dirt2
with :
resolusion 1920x1080, AA 4x, and other full high
XFX HD4870 --> 60fps
XFX HD4890 --> 43-47fps

 

[masterjaw]

My XFX HD4890 also has a low FPS. I think XFX HD4890 is bad pdoduct.
I don't know my opinion is right or wrong.

When I compare the XFX HD4890 with the XFX HD4870. XFX HD4870 scores higher than score XFX4890.

scrore 3DMark06
XFX HD4870 --> around (14500-15000) fps
XFX HD4890 --> 12691 fps

scrore Dirt2
with :
resolusion 1920x1080, AA 4x, and other full high
XFX HD4870 --> 60fps
XFX HD4890 --> 43-47fps

Do you have both products and tested them in the same machine? Or are you just comparing your results to someone else's?

 

[Snaphaan]

antsmaster

Thanks for the detailed post!

I have to admit... my HD4890 behaves a bit strange. Gothic 2 for example is runnning at a terrible framerate compared to my old 8600GT OC (fraps shows about 20fps average on the HD4890). But then Bioshock is running like a dream... but my 3D Virtual drawing studio program (artist program for figure studies) is propably running at 5fps - and it's really a small program. It propably got 100fps on my 8600 OC! Right now there is a LOT of lag.

It's not the drivers.

This is very confusing. So much so that I'm beginning to think the same thing as you are. I might have a bad CPU but it seems their is a lot more wrong with this HD4890. There is a lot of inconsistancy.

Also, the HD4890 messes up my colors in some games and I have to hot-key my personal profile to fix it. I NEVER had that problem with any Nvidia card/chipsets.

Anyone else know what is causing this?

 

[Snaphaan]

Ignore the above post. I was full of $&*#.

I just wanted to update this thread for anyone who might be interested in the result.

I bought a new motherboard (dunno exactly what- some Gigabyte board, 3 meg cache, with quad-core capabilities as well), 2Gig DD3 RAM, a E7500 2.9 Ghz Duo core and with my Hd4890 this set-up is kicking ass!!

Actually, it's a semi-brand new system. A few months ago I also bought a 750 Watt PSU, a new box and a few months before that a 23inch 2ms LCD and surround sound.

The Benchmark on World in Conflict showed 17 fps as the lowest and 37 as average on full settings - not great on the benchmark but so far playing I've never encountered any annoying fps. I'm not even going to talk about crysis. I never once felt that my system seems to be choking.
Lost planet at the worst was a bout 27fps on it's fps test.

For me this is incredible. I'm used to 15 fps on average on most games.You just get used to it.

So all in all. Thanks again for all the input and the extra few hundred bucks was really worth it. Now I'm shopping around for some really system intensive games. Any suggestions? Lol!


I propably need more RAM later on, right? And this HD4890 should be alright for a couple of years?

Strange how a person gets used to his system over time.


Lastly. I just need to know something. someone told me that there is a new range of CPU's coming out (or already out) that will not fit into my current motherboard slot. So in a few years time I will need to replace everything again. right?

 

[Ogre Choker]

My XFX HD4890 also has a low FPS. I think XFX HD4890 is bad pdoduct.
I don't know my opinion is right or wrong.

When I compare the XFX HD4890 with the XFX HD4870. XFX HD4870 scores higher than score XFX4890.

scrore 3DMark06
XFX HD4870 --> around (14500-15000) fps
XFX HD4890 --> 12691 fps

scrore Dirt2
with :
resolusion 1920x1080, AA 4x, and other full high
XFX HD4870 --> 60fps
XFX HD4890 --> 43-47fps


http://i949.photobucket.com/albums/ad336/antsmaster/Hasil3dMark06.png

http://i949.photobucket.com/albums/ad336/antsmaster/GambarSpesifikasiKompi.png

Why is your card running at PCI-E 1.0?