Just upgraded to 5970.. Still hungry, longing for more.

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enyceexdanny

2[H]4U
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Sep 22, 2003
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Just upgraded to XFX 5970 BE. I was very hesitant to make the purchase when the 4gb overclocked versions are just around the corner. Unfortunately, I gave my current 8800ultra to my gf's younger brother - so it was necessary for me to purchase one right away.

I also spoke to Tigerdirect about this and the rep told me that I can return anytime within the first 30 days and I'll be issued a full refund. So I may just do that and purchase the 4gb version IF it is released and available within the time frame.

Now, I've been overclocking and testing for the past 2 days and I definitely do notice an improvement from my 8800ultra (of course). BUT I just don't feel fully satisfied yet.. Something seems to be missing. I hoped all of my games would run buttery smooth at my native resolution of 2560x1600 but it turns out that it doesn't. Of course I wasn't expecting Crysis or Metro 2033 to run well at all, but I didn't expect games like Command & Conquer 4 and BFBC2 to run so poorly.

I'm not sure if it's a documented bug or not, but C&C4 hangs every so often - pausing then playing at intervals of 1-2 seconds. Maybe crossfire support isn't optimized? Not sure. Either way, it doesn't make it enjoyable.
And then there's the BFBC2 issue. Framerates aren't great, it's playable but not great. Also there's the flickering texture issue. Finally, ATI drivers are still sub-par and modest at best. Took me 5 tries getting it installed properly. (yes, I know the proper way of (un)installing drivers)

Now I'm starting to doubt my purchase and itching to return for a refund to purchase 2 x 480s. Yeah, it costs 300 dollars more - but if it's going to offer drastic increase in performance, why not?

I would like some of your thoughts on this matter. Either slap me silly and tell me I made a fine choice, or call me stupid and make me buy the 480s.

My current OC is : 950 core / 1225 mem (1.2v core / default mem)


Thanks.
 
When it come to multi-GPU, and I've tried both extensively, nVidia is the only game in town in my opinion. Better scaling, better game support and even though you can now download more timely game profile updates for ATI cards now, they just aren't nearly as flexible with what you can choose to do with them as the nVidia.

It is also my opinion that multi-GPU just sucks in general, and I definately understand the need at your resolution, but...that is for another thread. ;)
 
2 x 5870s doesn't really seem like a justified upgrade from a 5970. From what I know, it only performs better because the 5970 is downclocked, no? Since I'm running these at 950core/1225mem, it should definitely zoom by 2 x 5870s.

And yeah, it is pretty much a fact that 480 in sli bests a single 5970. I'm just wondering if it's worth the $300 extra.

Another option as I stated is the 4GB 5970s. But since I'm already running it past their overclocked speeds, I'm wondering if the extra 2gb of frame buffer would really create noticeable increase in performance. hmm.
 
wrangler said:
When it come to multi-GPU, and I've tried both extensively, nVidia is the only game in town in my opinion. Better scaling, better game support and even though you can now download more timely game profile updates for ATI cards now, they just aren't nearly as flexible with what you can choose to do with them as the nVidia.

It is also my opinion that multi-GPU just sucks in general, and I definately understand the need at your resolution, but...that is for another thread. ;)
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Coming from a nvidia card, I definitely feel the inferiority in ATI/AMD drivers. I remember even back in the 9800pro days, I had a boatload of issues. I'm not too worried about the extra cash for 480sli, I'm more or less worried about the heat and fitment. Since I'm on a evga x58 sli, only the first 2 pcie slots are x16. That means the cards won't have any breathing space in between..
 
wrangler said:
It is also my opinion that multi-GPU just sucks in general, and I definately understand the need at your resolution, but...that is for another thread. ;)
Click to expand...

I STRONGLY disagree with this, at least when it comes to SLI, I've never had a Crossfire setup but in a lot of cases that supposedly scales even better. While multi-GPU doesn't always work especially out of the box on new releases some times, I'd say that around 75% of titles coming out today will work well and gain significant boosts no problem.

JC2, Metro 2033, the Crysis games, and plenty of others perform on another level when going multi-GPU. I know that going from one to two 480s in the game DRAMATICALLY increased performance 60% + in the games I just mentioned. Yes, its not liner or cost effective but that's a big bump.

If multi-GPU sucked you wouldn't see people like me who have used it time and time again for years. If my 3 280s didn't provide me some good performance boosts why would I buy 3 480s?

It's not a perfect technology, it's not cost effective but when it works which is more often than not these days for both SLI and Crossfire it makes all the difference.

Multi-GPU is your only choice if you want more speed than a 5970 anyway.
 
Have you tried overclocking the 920? BC2 is a very CPU hungry game and almost always CPU limited when someone isn't getting the performance they think they should.
 
I really advise you run your card at stock settings and voltages for a period of time before trying to overclock it, so you can get a solid baseline for comparison. Otherwise you run the risk of mistaking overclocking instability or thermal throttling for performance issues.

The link heatlessun quoted above, to the dutch site, is a good comparison of the different high-end GPU options available right now. The benches I've run on my dual 5970 system tracks with their numbers (and I only have a 975 CPU, not a 980-X, which shows that most of these applications are GPU-bound.)

It is a good site to look at the games you play and get the configuration that best suits your needs. Metro 2033? Nvidia is definitely stronger there. DiRT 2? Definitely ATI.

Three 5870s seem to give superior performance to dual 5970s (largely due to the lower clocks on the 5970s), but I like having only two cards in my system. Leaves room for me to throw in my 9800 GT for physx when I want.

Of course driver or multi-gpu improvements may change any of these results, but these benchmarks seem a good snapshot of the current state of hardware and software. I wish more titles were represented.

By the way, I don't have Bad Company 2 or whatever it is, but there is a 10.4 preview driver that is supposed to fix some issues with it. I've also read of some GPU BIOS updates that improve performance for that game, so you could try contacting XFX and see what they say.
 
I have got to say I am really happy with my GTX480 SLI setup.

I would not go for this kind of setup if you don't have a proper case/cooling and/or live in a hot/humid place with little or no AC. These are hot cards and can get loud if not cooled properly (or if you run furmark).
 
I fully agree with the person above and am confused by the prospect of the best card on earth not being good enough.

I mean, since I'm thinking of upgrading soon, I'm troubled. No, it can't get you 60FPS minimum in Crysis at 2560x1600, but to think that it actually fails to deliver playable framerates in BBC2 when it doesn't fail to do so in Crysis, sounds crazy to me.

Your HD 5970 is more powerful than HD 5870 Crossfire, and yet here they get 74 FPS at your resolution:
http://www.techspot.com/article/255-battlefield-bad-company2-performance/page6.html

So, while I don't understand what you mean by not performing well enough.. if you want more than that, why not just get two? And if that's not enough, get four GTX 480.
 
enyceexdanny said:
And then there's the BFBC2 issue. Framerates aren't great, it's playable but not great. Also there's the flickering texture issue. Finally, ATI drivers are still sub-par and modest at best. Took me 5 tries getting it installed properly. (yes, I know the proper way of (un)installing drivers)
Click to expand...
Evidently you don't, otherwise it would have taken you one try, not five. That might be your problem right there. Use something like Driver Sweeper to make sure all your old drivers are gone (all NVIDIA diplay and PhysX drivers, reinstall the PhysX later, and get rid of the AMD drivers too), then try reinstalling one of the new beta Catalysts.
enyceexdanny said:
My current OC is : 950 core / 1225 mem (1.2v core / default mem)
Click to expand...
Did you test your games at stock settings? If your card can't handle those clocks, that would explain your issues right there.

My 5850 CF setup currently plays BFBC2 at 2560x1600 with everything maxed (HBAO included) and 8xAA with an average of 70-80FPS. Your 5970 at those clocks should be even faster.
 
RamonGTP said:
Have you tried overclocking the 920? BC2 is a very CPU hungry game and almost always CPU limited when someone isn't getting the performance they think they should.
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This is most likely the issue. Can't really have a stock CPU with a 5970, even if it is an iX.
 
I think your issue lies with having a 5970 in general. What I mean by that is, its pretty well known that some games don't do so well in SLI/CF and im assuming there isn't a way to disable a core on the 5970 is there? I do know though, that I am can run BFBC2 at 6036x1200 with settings on high (HBAO off) and hitting framerates in the mid to upper 40s. I also have C&C4 and have the settings maxed out (lvl 1 AA) and framerates are almost vsync'ed solid at 45. Im pretty sure your having drivers/CF issues from the 5970
 
Mr. K6 said:
Evidently you don't, otherwise it would have taken you one try, not five. That might be your problem right there. Use something like Driver Sweeper to make sure all your old drivers are gone (all NVIDIA diplay and PhysX drivers, reinstall the PhysX later, and get rid of the AMD drivers too), then try reinstalling one of the new beta Catalysts.
Did you test your games at stock settings? If your card can't handle those clocks, that would explain your issues right there.

My 5850 CF setup currently plays BFBC2 at 2560x1600 with everything maxed (HBAO included) and 8xAA with an average of 70-80FPS. Your 5970 at those clocks should be even faster.
Click to expand...

Whenever I install and/or uninstall drivers, I use DriverCleaner.net. I made sure to do every step following it to the t. Now, the issue was that the installer would say everything's installed but when I reboot, the driver wasn't fully installed. And yes, all nvidia and amd drivers were removed before I attempted.
 
Even 470 SLI might be an upgrade. Personally I'd move to 480 SLI because nVidia owns with enthusiast level multi gpu scaling.

09.png


http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=24263&page=7
 
All right, just to rule one out - I'm going to uninstall the drivers, and will try a clean install. Will let you know if anything changes.
 
I definitely feel like something is wrong here, I get good framerates at 2560x1600 with my 1 5870 if I pull one of my 2.
 
enyceexdanny said:
Whenever I install and/or uninstall drivers, I use DriverCleaner.net. I made sure to do every step following it to the t. Now, the issue was that the installer would say everything's installed but when I reboot, the driver wasn't fully installed. And yes, all nvidia and amd drivers were removed before I attempted.
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That might be your problem. Did you buy the pro version? IIRC, they stopped updating the freeware version a couple of years ago, which may leave files on your system if that's the one you're using. Try DriverSweeper and see if you get a different result: http://www.guru3d.com/category/driversweeper/ . Best of luck.
DeadSkull said:
Even 470 SLI might be an upgrade. Personally I'd move to 480 SLI because nVidia owns with enthusiast level multi gpu scaling.

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=24263&page=7
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It's nice to see that one game from one review provides conclusive evidence for you. However, if you do the research, there's no conclusive evidence that either side is "better," if anything, it's application dependent: http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...999-nvidia-geforce-gtx-470-sli-review-16.html . In the end, the OP's 5970 should be more than enough to slaughter any of those games he's playing. There's some underlying issue here. Also, I doubt Hexus.net appreciates you deeplinking images from their site.
 
Do a clean install of w7 64 and try your card at stock clocks with your CPU at a more modest OC like 3.6 .
 
yes, I purchased the pro version quite some time ago. And I made sure to update to latest version before cleaning.

Mr. K6 said:
That might be your problem. Did you buy the pro version? IIRC, they stopped updating the freeware version a couple of years ago, which may leave files on your system if that's the one you're using. Try DriverSweeper and see if you get a different result: http://www.guru3d.com/category/driversweeper/ . Best of luck.

It's nice to see that one game from one review provides conclusive evidence for you. However, if you do the research, there's no conclusive evidence that either side is "better," if anything, it's application dependent: http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...999-nvidia-geforce-gtx-470-sli-review-16.html . In the end, the OP's 5970 should be more than enough to slaughter any of those games he's playing. There's some underlying issue here. Also, I doubt Hexus.net appreciates you deeplinking images from their site.
Click to expand...
 
Haven't attempted anything higher than 950/1225. Although temps are pretty good (max 80 load), I want to get a waterblock for it before going higher.
 
DeadSkull said:
Even 470 SLI might be an upgrade. Personally I'd move to 480 SLI because nVidia owns with enthusiast level multi gpu scaling.


http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=24263&page=7
Click to expand...

one graph does not prove anything..

more importantly, 5850 CF scale better than 470 SLI in most cases..

btw, their result from benchmark is totally unbelievable, the fps is more like 30-35ish..
they most likely using benchmark tool :rolleyes:

using GTX 470 SLI is not a smart move, and I personally believe that many of others have the same thought.

also, nVidia does not OWNS with enthusiast level of multi-GPU scaling..
no idea where you pull that from. and also, tri-SLI is just laughable..
 
USMCGrunt said:
+1

Have you tried running everything at stock speeds?
Click to expand...

Yes sir. Don't get me wrong, I never sad the performance is bad. It runs most of my games very well. It's just that a few games are either buggy and/or underperforming. (e.g. BFBC2 and C&C4) It seems that ATI's drivers are to blame here. I've never encountered these issues on my 8800 ultra. Overall, I'm just disappointed in the drivers. I hoped things would've improved by now.
 
enyceexdanny said:
Yes sir. Don't get me wrong, I never sad the performance is bad. It runs most of my games very well. It's just that a few games are either buggy and/or underperforming. (e.g. BFBC2 and C&C4) It seems that ATI's drivers are to blame here. I've never encountered these issues on my 8800 ultra. Overall, I'm just disappointed in the drivers. I hoped things would've improved by now.
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how is BC2 underperformed or buggy? I find it to be extremely smooth..

and for C&C4, the game runs totally fine without a single issue when I had 5970..
 
enyceexdanny said:
Yes sir. Don't get me wrong, I never sad the performance is bad. It runs most of my games very well. It's just that a few games are either buggy and/or underperforming. (e.g. BFBC2 and C&C4) It seems that ATI's drivers are to blame here. I've never encountered these issues on my 8800 ultra. Overall, I'm just disappointed in the drivers. I hoped things would've improved by now.
Click to expand...

No idea how BFBC2 is underperforming. On a single screen my 5870 rips through it with everything maxed out. I play triple wide with AA turned off and it's still smooth as silk.
 
You're doing something wrong if you're having FPS issues in Bad Company 2. My single 5870 at 1080p, max settings, 4xAA, 16xAF hovers between 80-100fps about 90% of the time. It sometimes drops into the 40-50's when all hell is breaking loose and there is debris and dust everywhere.

Catalyst AI enabled?

I wouldn't worry about the drivers, the latest set I've tried increased BC2 performance by about 75% over my old 9.11's. At least ATi hasn't released a driver that causes hardware failure.
 
Well, bfbc2 has this annoying flickering issue and some textures seem to be weird. When I mean weird, for example while I'm moving up closer to a building, the texture gradually slides in with an updated one. I searched around for this issue and it seems fairly common. People say it goes away when you disable a.I and it does indeed but at the same time disabling crossfire.

I also encountered a problem with the cinematics before each mission in MW2 where the sound skips. This also seems related to crossfire.
And also on Bioshock2, at some parts - the FPS would drop down to unplayable levels. After searching around, it seems to be a crossfire issue.


Basically it just seems crossfire is causing issues for a lot of people. Mostly it's my fault for not researching the issues thoroughly before making the purchase.
Shame on me.
 
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I'd say go for the 4Gb 5970 if you can, see how that does you, should be a lot better at the res you use in games with masses of AA, you'll need the memory.

Then get another one :p
 
Yeah, contemplating on doing that. But for 1k+, can get 2 x 480. Which should provide better performance and even doubles as a free heater during the cold winter nights. The 5970 4gb, I'm assuming would not have much headroom for overclocking. And since I'm already past the stock speeds of the new cards, I'm only getting 2gb of extra framebuffer for 300+ more dollars.

Man, difficult choices..
 
enyceexdanny said:
Yeah, contemplating on doing that. But for 1k+, can get 2 x 480. Which should provide better performance and even doubles as a free heater during the cold winter nights.
Click to expand...
IMO i don't think the performace of SLi 480's is worth the price+power+heat.
 
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