X800XL Major Problems

[Dracunus]

So I'm new to the boards...just got the game a week ago or so and although it looks great, I'm taking a hit in FPS and performance even with the graphics at medium! I start off at like 35fps...but then it hits and drops to 15 at times is about 25-28 during combat situations. I'm really stuck on what to do and I've been searching through some threads but none have hit the spot directly...so here it goes...

My specs on my cpu are...
2.8ghz P4
256mb Radeon X800xl with the newest drivers installed
1gb ram
80gb harddrive (roughly 36 free or so )

I've tried different catalyst driver versions such as the 5.6 and 5.10, but they dont seem to matter. My friend has a 2.8ghz system with a 9800 pro and he's running everything on high (except for lighting) at an avg 40fps.

I SHOULD be able to run this game at higher settings, shouldn't I? It isn't making logical sense to me and I don't know what other options to go to...

(I've already defragged, checked for spyware and all that, ran reg cleaner and etc etc etc...different ATI driver versions, etc., )

I run HL2 flawlessly with all the settings at high...I just don't get this! If anyone can help me, that would be awesome! THanks alot for all the responses in advance, I really appreciate it!

(Edit: I also notice when I hit SHIFT to sprint, sometimes I keep sprinting although i left go of the SHIFT key..it's like it's stuck or something (even though my keyboard is fine),,,has anyone ever had with this issue?)

[Sir. S.A.S]

Re: X800XL Major Problems

2gb of ram is required to get it to play smoothly.

And i dont like using HL2 as a benchmark as your machine doesnt have to be powerful to play it on high!

[Dracunus]

Re: X800XL Major Problems

I dont get how my friend can use a 9800 pro with 1gb ram and a 3ghz processor and still run it better when I have a better graphics card....there has to be some sort of reason

[Pilot Z]

Re: X800XL Major Problems

hey hey ... i have an X800 series and i play on 1280x1024 with all high (4x AA) and it runs very smooth. I only have 1GB of RAM.

It may be to do with your catalyst settings. With catalyst you can change the AGP speed (or PCI-E). It may be yours is either off or on 4x.

[Dracunus]

Re: X800XL Major Problems

nope...it is set at 8x...any other ideas?

[Pilot Z]

Re: X800XL Major Problems

Try turning on the smart features such as 'geometry instancing' and 'DXT texture formats'. Catalyst AI is also good for games that need a beefy PC.

Did you say you have Catalyst 5.10 ? Im sure there is a higher one tehre. I have 5.13 at the mo. Always check for updates.

[Dracunus]

Re: X800XL Major Problems

naw I have 5.13 now...I've been experimenting with different ones (I do the clean uninstalls too). I have geometry instancing on and the texture formats on too

[Dracunus]

Re: X800XL Major Problems

I almost want to call and talk to ATI but I doubt they could help...and if the game runs other games fine like hl2, then I guess there can't be something too horribly wrong with the card itself...

[Pilot Z]

Re: X800XL Major Problems

what motherboard you got ?

[Pilot Z]

Re: X800XL Major Problems

Some people think that it doesnt matter but it really does. eg some games work better when all of the RAM slots are used up. I have 4x256MB chips. This makes the RAM run at 800Mhz instead of 400Mhz. My DDR 400 RAM is now as fast as RD 800 RAM.

[Gunny Highway]

Re: X800XL Major Problems

Have you installed latest chipset drivers?

Not just the ones that come on install CDs with the motherboard.

Also considering that you have tried many different version of catalyst, a cleanup of these might be in order, take a look here:

http://www.totalbf2.com/forums/showpost.php?p=230016&postcount=3

Are your ATI settings set at default?? Try making sure v-sync is set to disabled.
If your PC can't produce e.g. 60FPS and you run at 60Hz, it will limit your FPS to 60/2=30 and so on. V-sync is good, if you can produce FPS above or equal to your Hz of monitor, not so good if you can't.

How long has it been since you installed XP?
Over time a Windows installation gets slower if it isn't maintained properly and cluttered with many utils etc.
Consider doing a clean install of XP, where nothing from your previous install is saved. Make sure to backup what ever you need of course.

[IndianScout]

Re: X800XL Major Problems

hey hey ... i have an X800 series and i play on 1280x1024 with all high (4x AA) and it runs very smooth. I only have 1GB of RAM.

no offense but I find that statement very hard to believe..

[Sect. 8]

Re: X800XL Major Problems

I have a similar problem with my X800XT. Got an AMD 64 3200+, gig of ram, and a DFI lanparty nf3 250g motherboard. On high settings (minus Lighting which is on medium) I get around 40fps. When the comabt gets really hairy, it drops to about 30-35. Wierd thing is, is that if I lower the settings to medium and drop the resolution to 1024x768, performance doenst improve at all, and sometimes even gets worse.

[Eddy01741]

Re: X800XL Major Problems

no offense but I find that statement very hard to believe..

I believe it, i get 45fps average with my OCed X800XL. All high on 1280x1024 with 6xaa and 16xAF. AND i only have 1gb of memory. If u don't believe me, i don't really care since while u're trying to find out how i play with such high settings with such hardware, i'll just being playing BF2 on highest settings. :) :ar15: :guns: :nerr:

[Xicer]

Re: X800XL Major Problems

Hey Dracunus, I have a system almost completely similar to yours (X800XL, 1GB RAM, 2.8 GHz P4) I can run on high settings with 6x AA on at 1280X1024 without lighting at medium without lag, but with lighting on high it gets laggy.

You say you have Cat 5.13? I had some lag issues with those drivers too. Right now I'm using Extreme ATi 5.13 drivers and they work great, they fixed my lag issue. I suggest downloading them, they're great (but beware if you play SF you will get artifacts in nightvision).

But I'm not sure how your freind is able to play on high with that 9800.