Old AMD gpus Not optimized for Battlefield 3 ?

[cody4721]

Hello forum

I have 2 video cards. XFX 8800 GT OC 700/1780/950

XFX 4850 1 GB OC 700/1050

Theoretically 8800gt << 4850 am i correct?

So heres the problem , When i play battlefield 3 on MED on 1366x768 on my 8800gt , i get an average of 70fps , while when i play on 4850 , i get 40fps.

Both GPUs have the latest drivers.

I also noticed that 8800gt is on 100% load while 4850 is on 65-70%.

Another catch is that the gpu on the 4850 is a mobility m98 gpu.But the bandwidth is same as that of rv770 gpus.

My specs :

Core 2 quad q6600
4gb ddr2 ram
Asrock g31m-vs2
500w Corsair psu


Here's my question : 1) Are amd drivers not optimized for older gpus like nvidia does?

2) Or is it battlefield 3 that is not well coded for amd gpus/

3) Or could it be the mobility gpu on my card?

Please dont suggest to buy a new card. Not rich.

Thanks

 

[Chainzsaw]

Hello,

Sorry are you trying to compare a laptop GPU to a desktop GPU? They are worlds apart.

Even though a mobile GPU may say "4850" it is actually 1-2 steps backwards from a desktop GPU of the same name. So a 4850M (mobile) would be like desktop 4550.

Not to mention the vast differences between architectures of both companies.

The bandwidth could be the same on each card- however depending on everything else, one could be much faster than the other.

 

[cody4721]

No , i was fooled here by xfx.

They were selling 4850s with the mobile gpu on it and not the desktop gpu , and sold it as a standard desktop 4850.

Anyways im not trying to compare the difference b/w destk/mobile , im asking , inspite of 4850 being fater than 8800gt , why is it offering me low fps , and why is it only on70% load while it can do more ?

 

[Chainzsaw]

Not sure why it would only be a 70% load. I do know there are driver issues with 12.4 for AMD.

Curious, how did you get a mobile GPU version of the 4850? You said you were fooled by XFX, how so? Mobile GPU's normally use the MXM socket format, whereas desktop counterparts use PCIE slots.

Also - the lower the resolution your playing at, the less the GPU will be used.

Can you link your exact 4850 your talking about?

 

[cody4721]

This is the card with the mobillity gpu on it, everyone seems to complain about it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150482

And heres the card i though i would be getting , with the RV770 chip on it and not the M98

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150337

And yeah i have the 12.4 driver

And if less strain is on gpu , then it should be able to give out more fps no?

Thanks

 

[mactronix]

AMD have recently stated they wont release drivers until they feel there is a need to.
You are correct that older cards do not receive the same level of support for newer games.
The company will optimise the new cards and architectures for the new games.
You can get drivers for older cards from the website.

Mactronix

 

[Chainzsaw]

Your right cody, it appears there are problems with that exact model of GPU.

Also mac is also correct.

Basically your problems are two fold. First is that the card is a mobile GPU converted for desktop use. Second as per mac, is that the drivers probably aren't optimizing that GPU anymore.

 

[cody4721]

So should i roll back prev gen drivers for optimal performance?

And will it perform better in bf3 with old drivers?

im confused now what to do

Thanks

 

[mactronix]

That's a bit of a suck it and see thing really. You need to try different drivers and find out.
Personally once new cards are out I will look at maybe 2-3 drivers to see if there is anything I need or want from the improvements then just don't bother after that as I am pretty sure from experience that they wont do any good performance wise for my card.

That's a pretty hard rule with me to be honest. Don't update drivers unless there is specific improvement in a game you are struggling to run properly or there is a good update to an existing feature or the introduction of a decent new one.

Mactronix

 

[cody4721]

So i must wait till amd guys make driver optimizations for 4850 ?

Sigh , man amd driver support are so bad and cheap , never got dissapointed with nvidia driver support.

Lesson learned , For gaming and future stability of mind , go for nvidia. Amd only make good mobile gpus.

 

[cody4721]

Mac , can ytou suggest me some good drivers for it?

 

[Chainzsaw]

What i'm thinking is that since your 4850 is a mobile gpu - that 70% load actually might be 100% load. But due to you using the non mobile GPU drivers - it thinks it's only 70%, when in reality the GPU is actually doing 100%.

Can't really think of anything else right now.

 

[cody4721]

While playing skyrim , i get 50 - 60 fps , and gpu load is 100% as per gpuz. i play skyrim on Highest setting on 1366x768

 

[cody4721]

and yeah , im using the mobile gpu drivers , amd download centre automatically detected my gpu as mobility and gave me mobility 12.4 drivers

 

[mactronix]

What operating system are you on ?

Mac

 

[cody4721]

Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit

 

[mactronix]

Right so it seems you are on the correct drivers. Just going back and re-reading the thread I think I see your problem.
Its not a given that a 4850 is not automatically better than a 8800GT. It depends on the game. As these cards are quite old most reviews wont include them. Some specific tests for BF3 exist and they have the cards about neck and neck.

The issue you are having is that the Mobile 4850 is about as good as a standard 4830 and not as good as the standard 4850, which is where I believe your performance expectations are falling down.

Mactronix

 

[cody4721]

Do keep in mind that other games except battlefield 3 are performing as expected by a 4850 , even better , i get 70 fps high on battlefield 3 with it at 80% load.

So i guess it has to do with the driver optimization or bad support by dice with amd cards.

 

[amk1966]

Well... I recently I tried out an 8800 gtx to compare vs 4850 and I have to say that the average fps were equivalent.... Its just the 4850 dropped down to single digit fps every now and then while the 8800 stayed constant.

I agree witht he issue being a driver thing... Although I really doubt that nvidia specifaclly updates their old cards more than amd... Maybe its just their architecture that allows new updates to help older cards? Who knows?

 

[cody4721]

Best answer selected by cody4721.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey