Brand new 6800 GT performing like the pits, need help/advice

Discussion in 'Videocards - NVIDIA GeForce' started by Abunai, Mar 25, 2005.

  1. Abunai

    Abunai Member Guru

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    GPU:
    PNY Verto 6800 GT
    Hey guys, Im getting what I gather are incredibly poor framerates after recently upgrading from a 9800 pro. Everything works fine, no lock ups, artifacts or overheating. Its just crap slow. My spec in the profile...

    (maintenance disclaimers: I dont mess with overclocking. I keep all my drivers up to date, I have all unnecessary services and startups disabled, I routinely check/clean for spyware/adware and viruses. Use Norton Internet Security. Keep my HD defragged regularly with Diskeeper, defragged my Page File and my MFT. Checked for faulty ram with Memtest86+ and got 3 passes without error.)

    The FPS Im getting in Far Cry and HL2 for example are about the same I get with my old 9800 pro, or in some cases slightly worse! I never go beyond 2xAA + 8xAF. I run a modest 1024x768 resolution. I dont use V-Sync. And I still get the same irritating 40fps average with occassional highs of 60-70 and frequent dips into the low 20's in fire fights and heavy shader scenes. Same deal I would get on my old card. Judging from several benchmarks of the 6800 GT that I researched this is certainly way below par for these games.

    I dont put much stock into 3dMark since its not a real game but fwiw I ran 05 just to see what other users we're getting with similar spec. About the same. I get roughly 4700 whereas other users we're anywhere from the 4400 to 5300 range. I dont know what to make of that.

    Four possible causes for my VGA woes?

    1) I did NOT reformat before changing my video card. I asked around and was told several times that reformatting isnt necessary when changing your videocard. Just clean the previous drivers and you're good to go. I made sure all ATI driver entries we're cleaned using Driver Cleaner 3 and even checked the registry for any ATI trails left behind. Looked spotless. Im considering reformatting now though. That said is it possible not reformatting would cause the suppression of a newly installed card's performance to this degree?

    2) My ram isnt very sexy. Its basic quality matching Viking brand ram in dual channel. Its never given me problems before and as mentioned Memtest gave it the A-ok. Even if my ram isn't blazingly fast could it choke some 30 odd frames per second away from a $330 6800 GT? I hope not.

    3) Im bottlenecked by my processor. OK I know the P4 isn't considered "ideal" for gaming but can a 3ghz processor be THAT much of a bottleneck? To the degree that Im seeing virtually no improvement over a card that has half the pipelines and memory? Even if I am bottlenecked I figure I should at least see some kind of jump. Something else has to be wrong here or at the very least in conjunction with being CPU bottlenecked, no?

    4) The card itself is faulty. All the clocks and specs are correct according to RivaTuner. Anyone ever had a case of a card that seemed to run perfectly fine but was incredibly slow for whatever reason?

    Feel free to add or comment. ANY feedback on this would make me incredibly grateful. Im this close to turning my computer into a pinata.
     
  2. DRMechanic

    DRMechanic Active Member

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    PNY 6800GT 256
    Hmmm, I didn't notice what version of directx you're running. The games you mention and 3DMark are all D3D and require 9.0c minimum... well, maybe not Farcry. The 9800Pro is no slouch and ATI cards do very well with D3D games compared to Nvidia cards. You may be comparing apples and oranges here. Just a thought... :rolleyes:
     
  3. madbrain

    madbrain Active Member

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    eVGA 8800gts 640mb
    I have this same problem too, if this serves as a consolation for you. Maybe there is some kind of incompatibility or something. Or maybe those cards are not that good.
     
  4. Abunai

    Abunai Member Guru

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    PNY Verto 6800 GT
    Im using 9.0c of course. I try and keep everything up to date. I know what you're saying about ATI's 3xx core being strong in D3D but this is close to nVidia's cutting edge. This card has twice the number of pixel pipelines and twice the speed and amount of memory. There's no way I should be seeing so many dips into 20fps in these games. Not according to benchmarks with similar specs as my own.
     

  5. FireFLi

    FireFLi Guest

    Is the card hooked up to an additional power supply?
     
  6. Abunai

    Abunai Member Guru

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    PNY Verto 6800 GT
    You mean like the Ultra? No its just a direct connect to the PSU, as instructed.
     
  7. FireFLi

    FireFLi Guest

    Well now I am confused. I started thread cos my card has bombed. And someone said that both the GT and Ultra require additional power.

    Maybe get hold of the manufacturer and clear it up with them. Additionally your PSU might not be big enough to supply a clean enough power supply. With the Asus they recommend a 450W PSU for the GT.
     
  8. Abunai

    Abunai Member Guru

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    GPU:
    PNY Verto 6800 GT
    The Ultra requires two molex connectors but not the GT, perhaps thats what the poster was talking about?

    Ive seen a couple tech sites that ran the GT just fine with a 350w. Hell one tech site even got the Ultra to run on 350w. Lots of posters with the GT Ive talked with also have a 350w PSU with no problem.

    I dont think this is a PSU issue. If I was under powered Id expect more than a drop in FPS (albiet its a large one), Id expect there to be certain stability issues as well. And according to this site http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/ , I add up to 262 watts as my estimated maximum power drainage. Thats maximum. Personally Ive never heard of a video card having significantly less frames per second because the PSU was getting maxed out. A blue screen is more like it. Although if there are examples that would certainly get my attention.
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2005
  9. Abunai

    Abunai Member Guru

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    PNY Verto 6800 GT
    Sorry Fire I read your thread and didnt get the context of your question at first. Im running the AGP version, it has to connect through to the molex directly to the PSU (so does PCI-e). When you said additional I thought you meant another power supply altogether. :p
     
  10. FireFLi

    FireFLi Guest

    np :D that's about the extent of my knowledge I am afraid. Maybe try running with different versions of nForce drivers. Also there's a utility on this site that allows you to adjust the PCI bus, apparently that can improve performance. Hope this helps.
     

  11. fivefeet8

    fivefeet8 Ancient Guru

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    If you play Far Cry at 1024x768 with 2xAA/8xAF, then you're going to see some effects of CPU bottlenecking. Try playing the game at 1280x768 or higher with AA/AF. There will be more of a difference only when more work is done on the GPU rather than the CPU.
     
  12. Zombiematt

    Zombiematt Member Guru

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    with my system i cant slow down farcry no matter what i do
     
  13. fivefeet8

    fivefeet8 Ancient Guru

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    Says the guy with an AMD64 FX55!!!!!
     
  14. foxyred

    foxyred Active Member

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    GPU:
    Sparkle 6800GT @ UT
    Farcry depends on CPU more than GFX card..........................

    To Abunai :
    Your score in 3Dmark05 is acceptable.
    I think the bottle is on your system. Intel system
    is less powerful in 3D rendering if compare to AMD.

    Just my oppinion.
     
  15. macatak

    macatak Maha Guru

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    I score around 48xx in 3DMK05 with the 67.xx(52xx with 75.90/76.10) drivers so i don't think there is anything wrong with your GFX card.
     

  16. netnexus

    netnexus Ancient Guru

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    abani, the psu is not only dependant on wattage, but amperage as well.. what psu do you have and 12 v rail?
     
  17. DRMechanic

    DRMechanic Active Member

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    GPU:
    PNY 6800GT 256
    Abunai, there are a slew of programs for removing old det drivers but are you sure you removed every last bit of the ATI drivers from your 9800Pro? What AGP aperture size are you running? Did you disable the Nvidia service? (It's been known to cause problems) You're not trying to run HDR in Farcry are you? We run similar systems but I can't think of why you're having a problem... sorry:(
    BTW, I run my 6800GT on a 380w power supply without a hitch...
    And no, your CPU is not the bottleneck... trust me:cool:
     
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2005
  18. Strikerx80

    Strikerx80 Ancient Guru

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    well his cpu is a definate bottle neck. maybe not a lot, but it is a bottle neck. but thats not why he is getting bad performance now. he should be doing better than before. i dunno whats goin on
     
  19. USMC0313

    USMC0313 Active Member

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    GPU:
    eVGA 6800 GT 256mb PCI-E OC to 410 / 1100
    Abunai

    Check this thread. I had similar problems with my 6800GT and see how I fixed it.

    http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=130816

    You said earlier in the thread there are not extra power connectors on the 6800GT. That is incorrect. I have a6800GT and I have a 6 pin power connector on mine that came with an adapter that converted it to 2 Molex. Look closer at your card. It may not be the connection you are used to seeing but it is there.

    Does your MoBo have a24 pin power connector and you are only using a 20 pin? If so then your PSU is the problem. Get a new PSU that has a 24 pin Connector and a dedicated power connector as I did and you will be fixed.

    Just read through the linked thread and you will see. I think you should be getting better scores than that. The fix I made increased my 3Dmark05 score by over 2000 points.
     
  20. USMC0313

    USMC0313 Active Member

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    GPU:
    eVGA 6800 GT 256mb PCI-E OC to 410 / 1100
    Opps I meant dedicated power connector for the Video.
     

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