Well, since i got this beast, im gonna test various games on it and see what it can do, hopefully without exploding from all the heat
Specs:
Intel i7 930 (4c8t)
4GB ram (may add 3rd stick for 6GB and triple channel)
HD 4870 X2
120GB sata SSD for system
3x 1TB HDD for data (ex home-server drives)
Seasonic Focus+ 750W PSU
Windows 8.1 pro
7 would spend 2 years installing updates and is slow compared to 8.1
10 wont run a lot of older games due to DRM they have
Tried to install it via SATA DVD drive, that wouldnt even load the DVD. External USB DVD drive got stuck mid-install. Good old ISO backup rip saves the day. Just before someone gets triggered, i do have the original copies of all the games, no cracks are involved
1080p, high settings preset, 45-55pfs had to force vsync otherwise the tearing would be really bad, but it still seems to tear a bit. Seems like vsync setting is just ignored
DVD of this one is so scratched, im going straight for ISO file i ripped few months back. Partially because EA Games installer seem to fail as soon it cant read something first try (had similar problems with NFS Carbon)
Anything up to ~2013 should run pretty well unless it has no DX10 fallback options. I was still using a 4890+4870X2 TriFire setup in 2012.
That seems way too low, sounds like the single GPU is also stuck in ULPS. I.E. driver issue. A single 4870 should be in the 25-30FPS range at 1080p on High. Unless you manually toggled absurd AA on top.
VSync only locks the framerate to specific steps. 15, 24, 30, 45, 55, 60, 75 are common. If the frame consistency is all over the place VSync won’t help you much.
What driver and Crossfire mode are you using? There are various driver versions that are more friendly to TeraScale 1.0 and especially Crossfire configs. There are also various modes available in Catalyst Control Center that can solve hitching and performance issues:
Default Mode - Uses a driver profile for the game, or if the game does not have one/is not multi-GPU capable it will run on only a single GPU
Optimize 1x1 - AFR with optimizations for 1x1 pixel size shading (can fix surface rendering issues)
AFR Friendly - Assumes the game is multi-GPU capable and forces frame division without resource tracking, most likely to increase frame output but also to increase image corruption and stuttering if the game does not support multi-GPU
AMD Pre-Defined Profile - Allows using an existing driver profile for the game to run multi-GPU. Different drivers can have different profiles with various levels of optimization.
the 1080p FPS in crysis could be due to clock running only at 507MHZ. Noticed that later on. There is hidden “max performance” checkbox which forced it to run at 750MHZ in next game.
vsync didnt work 100%, cuz it went over monitor refresh rate and was still tearing in crossfire (even tho it seemed to help patially). I suspect a driver/software bug. I needed it to fix tearing which was so bad id get like 5 tears in a single frame with vsync off
Catalyst 13.1
Driver version 8.97.100.7 (i think its some beta driver, idk if there are better options really)
I did try various crossfire modes in NFS: MW, didnt do a thing.
Yep that’s ULPS kicking in. You weren’t reaching 3D power states.
Since you’re not testing anything remotely modern (by TeraScale standards) try Catalyst 11.2, 11.10, or 12.1. Ignore 13.1, 13.4 Beta, and 13.9 Legacy. There is also Catalyst 10.2 (standard, not legacy) that is something of a magic bullet for TeraScale 1.0 cards and older games. For some reason it just works extremely well for some things and avoids issues that all the newer drivers seem to produce.
I have a paperweight 5970 [for all I know, it may work], along with at least one 5850
But I won’t go being mean, with my XP-Box… Besides, it does not have enough phys. slots
I had to go backpedaling, on what fps swing I had, with the yesteryear tech/OS
Mind you, it was done on an Intel 4790 / HD4890 / Win-XP… 900p at upper 40s - occasional 60
I lost a bunch of the photos of that system a long time ago, but I still have these old benchmark results from right before I upgraded. Was doing some overclocking before retiring the cards, which were promptly un-retired and used for mining Bitcoin in the earlier days of GPU mining when TeraScale was excellent for that.
Oh and I still have them, and they still work. Though the HD 4890 is not happy if it exceeds ~75C anymore, so if I ever plug it in I have to make sure it’s got the fan ramped up and it’s not too hot inside.
So we now have 2 simultaneous theatres, affiliating to back-when GPUs?
Most effective Space Heater(s) and just Sheer Inventory
… A different take, of a cold war
I was on the verge of getting this card used when moving on from an Nvidia 8600GT (or was an 8500GT) that I almost certainly killed with a ridicolous overclock to keep up with games. But, in the end, opted for an HD6870. Seems like I did the right thing in the end!
Looks like it’s one hell of a card to make run properly, be it due to it being a Crossfire setup or due to the OS.
