ATI Issues and Settings Recommendations
By
ActionJakson,
Posted on: 2007-07-09 15:58 in ALL ACCESS Gameplay Technical Issues Bugs
Posting here, too, since it seems relevant:
Just a note - Exiting to desktop from CoH seems to reboot my system, with Cat 8.10 installed. Rolling back to 8.9 for now.
I figured it would be best to ask this question here.
I recently wanted to get a new video card specifically for the purpose of playing City of Heroes at 40+FPS at the settings specified by Bill in the first post. However, being short on cash, I had to go for a cheaper card. I was told that it could do CoH easily, though, since CoH was an old game... so I went with an ATI Radeon HD3870 PCIe 512mb.
I have a CRT monitor so I only go to 1024x768 at all times in games... so I think that would give me a performance buff, but it doesn't. Even at Recommended, I don't get more than 20-25 FPS in zones and in intense graphical situations it dips below 5fps nearly every single time. Bring an AoE controller immob into the mix, and it runs at about 2fps. Even Counter-Strike: Source, an easy-as-heck game to render, only gets me 20fps on Highest everything, 1024x768, default maps (no massive user-made maps, this is maps like cs_office). There's gotta be something wrong, especially since I'm playing at a low res.
My specs:
Motherboard model: DG965SS (Is there some sort of mobo setting I need to change?)
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 CPU, 3.00GHz @ 2994mhz (I know, not fantastic, but it came out after CoH... this can't be a factor, can it?)
Memory: 2gb DDR2 RAM (dual channel)
OS: Windows XP Professional
What I've tried:
Updated sound card drivers (Turtle Beach Catalina)
Correctly updated video card drivers
Correctly tried Omega Drivers (these actually made things worse O__o, correctly reverted)
Updated Catalyst
Updated BIOS
Closed absolutely everything and ran the games
Created a "Gaming" XP account, then played from there (had to reinstall again >__>
Spyware/adware scans
Hard drive defragment
CCleaner
OCing to GPU 836mhz, Mem 940mhz
Am I just expecting too much out of this card? I expected, at least, that a 2007 card could EASILY run a game that came out in 2004. Any help would be amazing. Thanks, guys!
At 1024X768, that card should be completely capped out at your refresh rate IF the rest of the system can keep up. (EDIT: If you using Vertical Sync. If not, it should be showing MUCH higher FPS values than you state.)
If you have no need of vert sync, disable it and triple buffering in the CCC.
Your P4 3GHz processor... is it Hyperthreaded and have you enabled Hyperthreading in the BIOS?
I've got an ancient xp performance guide that might give you some ideas on cleaning things up.
Be well, people of CoH.
Yeah, I had VSync/Trip buffering enabled. Should I switch them off?
Hmm... I'm not sure about the Hyperthreading. I've checked my BIOS more than once, and the settings it gives me are extremely limited. I'll reboot now, though, and check to see if it is that.
I'll check out that guide... thanks!
If you don't have screen tearing turning left and right without those items enabled, then keep them off.
Be well, people of CoH.
Yeah, I never noticed any tearing. I'll turn them off.
BTW, I checked my BIOS. Hyperthreading is enabled.
EDIT: Just tried CoX again... getting 25-rarely 30 FPS sitting in Atlas. Here's my CoHHelper log, in case it helps.
---System information gathered by CoH Helper version 0.1.1.3---
DxDiag gathered at November 20, 2008 10:55 (-07:00)
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.080814-1236)
System Manufacturer: INTEL_
System Model: DG965SS_
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Central Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 2030MB
.Net Memory Report: 1246MB out of 2029MB available
Page File: 3208MB (714MB currently in use)
C Drive: (MAXTOR STM3320620AS) 98835MB out of 305234MB (32%) free
D Drive: (Seagate FreeAgentDesktop USB Device) 427119MB out of 476937MB (89%) free
E Drive: (SONY DVD RW DRU-710A) zero-size drive
Windows directory location: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DirectX Diag version: 5.03.2600.5512 (32-bit version)
Display Notes: No problems found.
Sound Notes: No problems found.
Input Notes: No problems found.
Monitor: Hansol 720A
Monitor's Max Resolution: 1280,1024
Video Device Name: ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series
Manufacturer / Chip: ATI Technologies Inc. / ATI Radeon Graphics Processor (0x9501)
Video Memory: 512.0 MB
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6879
Driver Date: 10/28/2008 7:22:02 PM
Driver Language: English
Sound Device Description: Turtle Beach Catalina (WDM)
Driver File: Envy24HF.sys
Driver Version: 5.12.0001.3615
Driver Date: 2/26/2004 4:40:20 PM
WMI Information
Motherboard Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
Motherboard Model: (empty)
Motherboard Product: DG965SS
Motherboard Version: AAD41678-304
BIOS Manufacturer: Intel Corp.
BIOS Name: Default System BIOS
BIOS Version: INTEL - 6d7
BIOS Release: 20080811000000.000000+000
Registry Information for Current User
Resolution: 1024x768
3D Resolution: 1024x768 (Not using renderscale)
Full Screen: Yes
Maximized: No
Screen Position: 0, 0
Refresh Rate: 0Hz
Vertical Sync Enabled: No
Physics Quality: High
Maximum Particles: 25050
Max Particle Fill? 10.000
Physics Card Enabled: No
Anti-aliasing: None
Anisotropic Filtering: None
Texture LOD Bias: Smooth
Water Effects: Low Quality
Bloom: 1.000 (turned off)
Depth of Field Enabled: No
Desaturation Effects (Sepia) Enabled: No
Shader Detail: High
World Texture Level: Very High
Character Texture Level: Very High
World Detail Level (Vis_Scale): 1.000
Entity Detail Level: 2.000
Shadows Enabled: Yes
Gamma Correction: 0.498
Geometry Buffers (VBOs) Enabled: Yes
Suppression of Extra Player FX Enabled: No
Suppression of FX When Camera Close Enabled: No
Close Suppression Range: 3.000
Show Advertisements: No
Audio Mode: Performance
3D Audio: No
FX Sound Volume: 1.000
Music Sound Volume: 0.000
Show Advanced Graphics Options: Yes
Overall Graphics Quality: 1.000
Reverse Mouse Buttons: No
Save Login Username: Yes
Transfer Rate: 414469 bytes/second
Current Game Version: 17.20080821.9T4
Installation Directory: C:\Program Files\City of Heroes
Mod files in the Data directory
. has 1 file
.\sound\ogg has 1 file
.\sound\ogg\Arena has 1 file
.\sound\ogg\Auto has 1 file
.\sound\ogg\Peregrine has 2 files
.\sound\ogg\Powers has 7 files
.\sound\ogg\Tech has 4 files
.\sound\ogg\V_Bank has 3 files
.\sound\ogg\V_MissionMusic has 29 files
[ QUOTE ]
Monitor's Max Resolution: 1280,1024
[/ QUOTE ]
Have you tried bumping your windows and in game resolutions to 1280X1024?
I'm honestly not seeing anything in cohhelper's output that's jumping out at me as wrong. You might try slapping audio into compatibility mode.
Be well, people of CoH.
Yeah, I've tried that. My crappy CRT monitor's resolution makes everything look extremely blurry. Would that increase performance, though?
I'll try the audio compatability mode. Also, that XP performance guide you posted... you included a link to a BIOS tweaking guide. Is it 100% completely and entirely safe to use the tweaks mentioned there on my motherboard? I'm too scared to try without an okay from someone who knows what that stuff does, lol.
Also, I know you kind of said it before... but you're 100% absolutely sure that the card I have can manage the game with maximum FPS using the settings you posted? If I can get you to say this then maybe I can convince someone in the house to split the cost of a new CPU.
[ QUOTE ]
Would that increase performance, though?
[/ QUOTE ]
Every bit of logic in my head screams no... but I'd try it anyway.
[ QUOTE ]
you included a link to a BIOS tweaking guide. Is it 100% completely and entirely safe to use the tweaks mentioned there on my motherboard?
[/ QUOTE ]
Nope. It's never safe to do any tweaking. But it's also the only way to get it done. However, I doubt there's much in the BIOS that will help you, so if you're not comfortable in there, don't bother.
Am I 100% sure? Before upgrading to the 8800GTS, I was running an ATI X1950XTX on my DualCore 2.4GHz proc overclocked to 2.7. For the vast majority of the time, I was capped at 60FPS.
HOWEVER, due to the way this game is coded, that is NEVER a certainty. Get teamed up with the wrong powersets firing off in the right combination and your FPS can plummet. Hit the right spot in Cap D villain side and you'll be slammed by a 50% hit no matter how good your rig is.
Could your processor be your current bottleneck? Absolutely. The 3GHz-HT P4 is what I have in my workstation running with an ATI X800XT and I'll often be stuck around 30FPS when I've got things cranked.
For tweaking your current rig, hit the items that may be cranking your processor load. Lower World Detail down to 75% instead of 100%. Try 50%. Try running at only 2X FSAA and 4X Anisotropic Filtering.
To answer the barely voiced question: Did I get a big performance boost going from the 3GHz-HT to the 2.4GHz C2D? Yea, it was noticeable.
I'll be getting my hands on a quadcore 3GHz this weekend for testing purposes. We'll see how hard I can hammer that.
Be well, people of CoH.
You might try just lowering the particle physics. Either the quality of them, or the number of them (the slider underneath). I personally find the particle effects annoying, and turn them way down even when I am using a high end machine. Try setting the physics quality to medium, and cut the number of particles in half. I bet it makes a big difference. Since you don't have a physics card, it could be making a big drain on your system trying to do all that.
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Flying-Tiger - Lvl 32 Sonic/Energy Blaster on Guardian
[ QUOTE ]
KNOWN ISSUES
The Contact and Character Information Windows
As of Issue 8, opening the contact screen causes a drastic reduction in FPS and a jittering effect as the contacts are being loaded. Once completed, however, FPS returns to normal. This issue is universal for ATI and Nvidia users.
For ATI users with AGP cards, you will probably experience an application lockup when opening the Contacts screen if you do not have Fast Writes enabled.
[/ QUOTE ]
Ok i do have this issue. How do i go about enabling fast writes?
Go into the Catalyst Control Center Advanced View.
Find the SmartGART section. You should see AGP Fast Writes there.
Be well, people of CoH.
ok, I have a ati radeon 9550 agp, 256 mb. I'm running a vista machine 2.13ghz and 2gb or ram. I can not find the smartgart settings in the catalyst control center. Am i doing something wrong?
DA, I honestly don't know. I don't have a Vista rig at all. If the CCC hasn't been altered to much for Vista, the SmartGART section should be in the same list as Display Settings and 3D Settings. Make sure that you're viewing the CCC in Advanced Mode.
Be well, people of CoH.
Thanks for your help. I double checked to make sure I was in advanced, and I was. However I did a search on Smartgart and read the FAQ and it doesn't have my card listed. (Has the 9500, but not the 9550?) But I did go into settings and enabled it in the Bios. I hope that helps. You've been a great help and got me looking into the right direction and I hope it will work out. Thank you!!! 
ATI Radeon X1300... I followed the setting from the first post but I cannot even get in game to change the other settings... any help here would be great
Hey Bill,
I know this isn't really ATI-related, but I'm trying to follow your advice in getting a new CPU/mobo. I've been told this is a decent combo... do you think that, paired with the 3870, I could run 60fps at 1680x1050 (got a new LCD monitor), at the settings you recommended?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128347
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116072
I don't see why not, but I honestly can't recommend ATI for this game at this time.
Side note, it doesn't matter how good your rig is, you will not always be capped at 60FPS in this game at all times. Most of the time? Hell yea. But with the power graphics layer around here, even the best of the best rigs can be dropped down to 30 in huge events when the graphics are all capped out.
Be well, people of CoH.
Ah, don't worry; I'm not asking you to recommend anything ATI. I'm kinda stuck with the card, so no worries there. Just figuring out the CPU stuff... I'm not too knowledgeable on CPUs and GPUs.
Yeah, I understand about the FPS issues... such is the engine, I suppose.
Hokay, this seems to be the place to get help for this, I think.
Due to other, non CoH related issues, I needed to upgrade my drivers to Catalyst 8.11, afterwards, I went to play CoH and this is what I got. No characters visible on select screen, just capes and auras...
x1270 Radeon, BTW
"Oh, I'm sorry, was my immersive collaborative fictional improv stepping on your gold-farming? Did my six paragraphs of evocative prose lag your dual-box setup? In the words of one of my favorite teen-years cultural icons.... WELL, EXCUUUUUUUSEEE MEEEE!!!" -- Cuppa_Soul
Nothing major(I think) in version 8.12 of Catalyst, apart from:
[ QUOTE ]
City of Villains: Attempting to launch the game on a system running Windows XP and containing either two ATI Radeon HD 38x0 or 46x0 products may result in the game failing to load and the operating system failing to respond
[/ QUOTE ]
was fixed. It's nice to know they are, in fact, working on this sort of thing.
Post #1
I have tried hitting up the technical staff for help and have come up empty do far. Maybe someone else out there has experienced this problem.
I haven't been on CoX for long, having come on board right before i12 dropped. I had months of problem-free runnings through the streets, doing just fine and dandy. Then i13 drops and things are going the same until something happened and I started crashing time and time again before the game even reached the log-in screen. I looked around at the boards where I saw the suggestion to upgrade my video driver. I have a Dell Vostro 1000 laptop with an ATI 1150 video card, so I went and downloaded the new Catalyst and every other new update from ATI as pertinent to my video card. The good news -- the update got the game to reach the log-in screen! The bad news -- all of my toons and every single being in the world are now invisible. They are there, I can see that they are if they've got a cape, backpack or an aura, but there are no arms, heads, legs or torso. It's like they don't exist. I can't even see my masterminds' pets. I have played with all the in-game graphic settings to no avail. After all the crashes and now this, I am extremely frustrated with this experience. An invisible toon is not fun at all, especially when others can see you and you can't see them. Any advice y'all have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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What do I have to do to get a waffle around here?
Liberty Red 50s
Queen of the Drow Ghost of Pain (dual sword/ninja stalker)
Ghost of Desire (bots/ff mastermind)
Ghost of Nightmares (ice control/fiery assault dominator)
Ghost of Mayhem (em/willpower brute)
Virtue Blue 50s
Ghost of Light (elec/elec blaster)
Anyone have any idea on 8-12 and if it would work?
S.thug ((level 50 Invul/ss tank Pinnacle))
Wild Childs ((Level 50 Nin/SR Stalker. Virtue))
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But, I'm using FIOS.
Should I post specifics? If so, how do I get the right ones for review?