# Radeon 5970 HD



## Joshua1187

Hi,  

When any intensive part of a game (ex. L4D2) like shooting an oozie 1 or 2 lines across the screen show while its flashing. I'm assuming this is a video card issues. Any ideas?


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## joh06937

probably just vertical sync not working very well. it can happen in some games. is it just like a weird almost colorless line that briefly shows up or does it have a distinct color to it?


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## Joshua1187

joh06937 said:


> probably just vertical sync not working very well. it can happen in some games. is it just like a weird almost colorless line that briefly shows up or does it have a distinct color to it?



That's exacly it, colorless briefly shows! It shows on the benchmark for ffxiv when somthing flashes as well.


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## joh06937

not much you can do about it.


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## Joshua1187

joh06937 said:


> not much you can do about it.



Will overclocking the gpu a little help? I don't think I've ever noticed it before and now its driving me insane!

Another question, on the benchmark I score about a 3700 on high res but the best score is 8000. Should my rig be scoreing higher? Or does 3700 sound reasonable for what I got?


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## joh06937

i don't think oc'ing will help much.

to be honest i have no clue. i haven't played that game.

EDIT: ah, looks like because it runs in windowed mode it won't work with crossfire/sli so sounds like you are getting appropriate scores.


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## Joshua1187

joh06937 said:


> i don't think oc'ing will help much.
> 
> to be honest i have no clue. i haven't played that game.
> 
> EDIT: ah, looks like because it runs in windowed mode it won't work with crossfire/sli so sounds like you are getting appropriate scores.



HA, well how the hell does anyone get an 8000 score?


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## joh06937

probably a crazily oc'ed 480/5870 and an i7.


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## Joshua1187

joh06937 said:


> probably a crazily oc'ed 480/5870 and an i7.



#1 - Thank you for always being very helpful and patient with me. 

#2 - How does a 5870 outperform the 5970? I've seen in many places where this looks to be the case but I don't understand, why would a later card be worse then an earlier card? Keep in mind I'm sorta a newb to computer hardware these days XD.


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## joh06937

no problem 

the 5970 at stock clocks is sort of 2 5850s but when you overclock it to the 5870's clocks, it is 2 5870s (so basically it is a pair of underclocked 5870s on a single pcb). since the benchmark is running in a windowed mode, the card is basically a single 5870, giving you a lower score.

not sure which benchmarks you mean particularly but it could just be driver issues that cause low fps (you see that A LOT with crossfire 5970 setups where a single 5970 will outperform a single 5970). got a link to a specific one that you are referencing?


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## Joshua1187

http://www.finalfantasyxiv.com/media/benchmark/na/

towards the bottom is the scores and the benchmark. Is the benchy using only half of my video card in your explanation?


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## joh06937

yeah i am pretty sure. do you have any programs like msi afterburner that can monitor gpu usage?


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## Joshua1187

I've got CCC which the video card came with.. im not sure what that does.. haha, i have HWMonitor which likely is not going to show what your asking about. Shall I just DL what you referenced?


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## joh06937

http://event.msi.com/vga/afterburner/download.htm

click on the downlaod button to the right and install. 

when done, open it up. to the right should be a bunch of graphs. find the ones that say "gpu1" usage and "gpu2 usage". then run the benchmark and watch those two graphs. one should go up to around 95% or so and one should stay at close to 0% (if i am right that is ).


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## Joshua1187

OK heres the verdict. GPU 1 is doing nothing, GPU 2 is at 99% usage.


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## joh06937

yep, that's why. so really, if the benchmark was fullscreen as it should be, you'd be most likely be getting around 7400  what clocks are you running on the 5970?


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## Joshua1187

it came stock OCed at 735 MHz (I think this is 10 MHz over the regular clock )


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## joh06937

nope, that's stock. you could oc that quite a bit more. just depends on what kind of fan noise you can handle


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## Joshua1187

I must have missread, it says Over Clock Edition... what does that mean?


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## joh06937

hmm, open up ccc and check what the sliders under the "overdrive" category say. they should be higher than 735. what specific 5970 is it?


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## Joshua1187

Nope, says 735. I have..... Sapphire Radeon HD 5970 OC

I think its this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102887

Checking my history in Amazon, I believe this is exactly what I bought right here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036Z9TX0/ref=oss_product


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## joh06937

ah ok. it looks like the stock clocks on that specific card are 725. are you interested in overclocking further with that card? i'd be more than happy to help you out


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## Joshua1187

i bought it used for about 530, i cant imagine 10MHz is a huge difference but again, used, 530 XD. I'd love to learn how to properly OC but im both 1. scared of breaking my $500 card and 2. not sure I need to overclock at this point. Can you see any big advantages for me? FYI ive got 7 case fans so this thing stays pretty cool  (its also supprisingly quiet!)


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## joh06937

nice :good: i did almost the exact same thing only i think i got mine for $515 

actually you really don't get an extreme amount of fps increase through overclocking. you can get anywhere from 0-15 more fps. you should be fine at stock settings.


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## Joshua1187

in this case, what difference did the 10MHz make? Do you get a bigger difference in performance by over clocking your CPU (Not that I need to do this either)?


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## joh06937

Joshua1187 said:


> in this case, what difference did the 10MHz make? Do you get a bigger difference in performance by over clocking your CPU (Not that I need to do this either)?



i doubt you'd ever really notice 10mhz at all. 

what you get from overclocking the cpu more really depends on the game. if the game is heavily cpu dependent, like gta iv, then you'll see a lot more improvements oc'ing the cpu instead of the gpu. but for most modern games, i'd say overclocking the cpu won't bring as much improvement as overclocking the gpu.


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## Joshua1187

Wow sounds like such small improvements, why is OCing so popular?

Edit: I noticed the 8750 runs at 850MHz, if I OCed up to 850MHz would I see a big difference in the way the benchmark plays out? It's already pretty smooth but I imagine it could be improved.


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## joh06937

you would definitely start to notice it then. i guess i might have been a little misleading with the performance gains with oc'ing  if you do a good deal of oc'ing like even going just to the 5870s clocks like you mentioned you should really see a good improvement in games. i'll try to find some benchmarks to show you in more concrete details 

EDIT: here are some good sets of benchies to sift through. pay attention to the 5870 crossfire vs the 5970.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5970,2474-7.html
http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-5970-review-test/12
it really does depend on the game.


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## Joshua1187

I've seen benchmarks with similar outcomes... SO lets say I'm interested in OCing to 850MHz, should I be to worried about ruining my card? I cant afford to replace it ATM and it would SUCK to have a useless computer when FFXIV shows up on my doorstep on the 22nd of Sept! but I also want to experience the game at it's best. What do you suggest?


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## joh06937

if you are extremely worried, you can always just leave it at stock. there isn't very much danger in overclocking unless you immediately kick up the voltages to outrageous numbers. if you go slow and are patient, you can get an easy overclocking with very little risk. the only thing you'll have to be slightly worried about is temperatures. as you oc, the temps will rise and if you go insane with the overclocking, they can get out of hand (but even then the worst that will usually happen in a bsod due to temperature which usually won't harm anything). definitely up to you  

i would wait and see how it performs with final fantasy and then decide. you may find out that you can max it and get 60+ fps at stock without a problem.


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## Joshua1187

SO i have to say, I ran the OC tool on CCC and got it up to about 965MHz before it became unstable and crashed but this was not due to heat. I watched the heat and it stayed at around 60C I beleive which if I'm not mistake about 30Cs less then what is the "DANGER ZONE". I think the max is 1000MHz? is 965 pretty good?


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## joh06937

Joshua1187 said:


> SO i have to say, I ran the OC tool on CCC and got it up to about 965MHz before it became unstable and crashed but this was not due to heat. I watched the heat and it stayed at around 60C I beleive which if I'm not mistake about 30Cs less then what is the "DANGER ZONE". I think the max is 1000MHz? is 965 pretty good?



i would NOT trust ccc. that is an EXTREMELY high oc for a 5970. i would back it down NOW. i am not sure if it is even adjusting the voltages. even if it were, that oc will raise temps quite a bit.

i would do my oc'ing with msi afterburner. i would download msi kombustor or furmark for good tests (they run each card at 100%). that way you can monitor temps and stability.


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## Joshua1187

joh06937 said:


> i would NOT trust ccc. that is an EXTREMELY high oc for a 5970. i would back it down NOW.



It crashed and backed out itself, and then I didn't go back. I was sure it would stop before it crashed! However... obviously I was incorrect............... PHAYL

EDIT: Well like I said that was the one thing i watched was Temps as I read that is the killer of video cards.


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## joh06937

i am assuming it just went until it was unstable (causing the crash). download one of the things i mentioned above and i'll walk you through a better way to oc it


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## Joshua1187

joh06937 said:


> i am assuming it just went until it was unstable (causing the crash). download one of the things i mentioned above and i'll walk you through a better way to oc it



O.O twice i have DLed Kombuster and TWICE it has crashed my computer on opening.


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## joh06937

actually i have had that trouble as well (sorry, i just forgot). i think it has something to do with the crossfire setup. furmark should definitely work though. i use it all the time.


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## Joshua1187

joh06937 said:


> actually i have had that trouble as well (sorry, i just forgot). i think it has something to do with the crossfire setup. furmark should definitely work though. i use it all the time.



Furmark also crashed it.


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## joh06937

really?  did you run the multiple gpu one? which version?


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## Joshua1187

I ran 1.8.2, i didnt know there was a difference and in addition I dont know if that is the right or wrong version and if it is not how many more Crashes can I take before this video card is toast? XD


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## joh06937

Joshua1187 said:


> I ran 1.8.2, i didnt know there was a difference and in addition I dont know if that is the right or wrong version and if it is not how many more Crashes can I take before this video card is toast? XD



you shouldn't have problems. it is only freezing right? did you reset the clocks to 725/1010? that might be the culprit. also, which drivers are you running?


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## Joshua1187

instead of factory OC 735? 735 is what it is currently set at. Its freezing the computer.


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## joh06937

oops sorry meant 735. even at that it is still freezing? which drivers do you have?


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## Joshua1187

I DLed the newest drivers just last night I think? 10.8, just checked. Maybe im DLing the wrong version of Furmark?


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## joh06937

1.8.2 is the version i am running. got it form here:
http://downloads.guru3d.com/FurMark-1.8.2-download-2523.html

you checked in ccc for the clock settings?


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## joh06937

did you download the crossfire profiles when you did the drivers?


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## Joshua1187

Yeah, since i DLed new drivers it locked it at its regular clock speed. Playing L4D2 now, no problems. wonder what the deal is with FURMARK. :/


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## joh06937

but did you get the crossfire profiles? go to the driver page you got the regular drivers from. the link should be at the bottom of the page:


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## Joshua1187

is that not part of the full DL at the top? should i also download that other optional thing?


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## joh06937

Joshua1187 said:


> is that not part of the full DL at the top? should i also download that other optional thing?



pretty sure it is separate. i'd give it a try. nothing to lose by trying it.


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## Joshua1187

Downloading now Sir, THanks!

UPDATE: Now shall I try FURMARK?


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## joh06937

Joshua1187 said:


> Downloading now Sir, THanks!



i hope it works  i don't know why else it would be doing that other than maybe a driver thing. if the profiles don't help, i'll update my drivers tomorrow to 10.8 (i am using 10.7 now) and see if it happens to me.

give it a go!


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## Joshua1187

Success!


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## joh06937

YES! ha ha, awesome.

so go into msi afterburner and increase the voltage to about 1.15, the core clock to 850, and the memory to 1200. is the fan set to auto?


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## Joshua1187

I don't know how to set it to auto but i can set it to performance mode so its manually knocked up, if that will work.


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## joh06937

Joshua1187 said:


> I don't know how to set it to auto but i can set it to performance mode so its manually knocked up, if that will work.



performance mode? are you talking about in msi afterburnder (not furmark)?

for the fan, go into ccc and go to overdrive and make sure the "enable manual fan control" is unchecked.


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## Joshua1187

HA! you meant for my GPU, yeah thats unchecked and the performance setting comes with a program on with my Mobo.


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## joh06937

which program? just use msi afterburner (the left side of the afterburner window) and change the sliders to the desired settings (1.5 on the core voltage, 850 on the core clock, and 1010 on the memory clock).


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## Joshua1187

TurboV EVO, I'll use MSI, 1.5? or 1.15 as instructed earlier? Mem is already at 1010

Also you said memory should be 1200 first time as well, should I leave it at 1010?


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## joh06937

Joshua1187 said:


> TurboV EVO, I'll use MSI, 1.5? or 1.15 as instructed earlier? Mem is already at 1010
> 
> Also you said memory should be 1200 first time as well, should I leave it at 1010?



oh shit, sorry 1.15 and 1200  it's late


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## Joshua1187

ok, it goes by 2s or somthign so i set it at 849 (or should it be 851?) Set mem at 1200, it wont let me change the voltage.

Update: It also wont let me turn fan on Auto.


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## joh06937

oh yeah, click on settings, and under general select "unlock voltage control" and "unlock voltage monitoring". either one is fine.


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## Joshua1187

ok i checked them both, the voltage is at 1049, should it be 1150? also AUTO FAN is still greyd out, cant change it.


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## joh06937

Joshua1187 said:


> ok i checked them both, the voltage is at 1049, should it be 1150? also AUTO FAN is still greyd out, cant change it.



yeah there is another option for the auto somewhere. don't worry about it  yep the voltage should be at 1150. after clicking apply, run furmark and monitor temps. if they go above around 85 or so, then you might need to change the fan to a higher setting. it shouldn't crash but that is a possibility so don't panic if it happens  all will be ok. you'll just have to reboot and up the voltage a tad.


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## Joshua1187

ok, hit save, GPU is going up, currently at 50C from somwhere around 37-40C


UPdate: 55C now :/, FYI im not running any games or anything.


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## joh06937

Joshua1187 said:


> ok, hit save, GPU is going up, currently at 50C from somwhere around 37-40C



awesome :good: keep watching them and watch the furry donut and make sure you don't get any artifacts.


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## Joshua1187

thats the thing, im not even running that program, also i dont know what an artifact is!

What should i be running? Stability test or benchmark? what heat should i stop the test at? (Currently 58C)


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## joh06937

since the fan is on auto, it'll let the temps get higher than idle temps because it keeps the fan at only 30% for a while (until the temps get high enough, at which point it'll go up and help with the temps).

just watch and see if you see spots or weird pixels. basically any visual errors.


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## Joshua1187

FURMARK benchmark or stability test?


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## joh06937

Joshua1187 said:


> FURMARK benchmark or stability test?



stability test. just leave all the settings on the defaults and hit go.


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## Joshua1187

Ok i did that, it looked fine but the heat got up to 88C the fan was only at like 48% isnt 88 a little high? I thought anythign close to 90C was bad, no?


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## joh06937

Joshua1187 said:


> Ok i did that, it looked fine but the heat got up to 88C the fan was only at like 48% isnt 88 a little high? I thought anythign close to 90C was bad, no?



the 5970 can handle it but i wouldn't recommend it. go into ccc and (enable the fan control first) set the fan to something like 60%-75%.


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## Joshua1187

ok so lets say this works, how should this be managed on a daily basis?XD


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## joh06937

Joshua1187 said:


> ok so lets say this works, how should this be managed on a daily basis?XD



i would only have the stock clocks when using the desktop and doing non-tasking things. but when you want to play a game, turn the settings to the oc'ed ones. with msi afterburner, you can set profiles with shortcut keys to make life easier  i have mine setup so that i can hit ctrl+alt+# for an overclock.


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## Joshua1187

Turned that fan up to 70% and then shortly after computer froze.

I have the setting saved, FURMARK looked great, just... the computer froze. perhaps i should turn it down a bit? are these standard settings for the 5870 or somthing?


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## joh06937

Joshua1187 said:


> Turned that fan up to 70% and then shortly after computer froze.
> 
> I have the setting saved, FURMARK looked great, just... the computer froze. perhaps i should turn it down a bit? are these standard settings for the 5870 or somthing?



try putting the voltage at 1200. what temps did you get?

also, what psu do you have?


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## Joshua1187

77C when it froze.


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## joh06937

it is probably just the voltage then. which power supply do you have?


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## Joshua1187

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207001&Tpk=xfx 850


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## joh06937

yeah that should be plenty. did you try the new voltage yet?


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## Joshua1187

not yet, is freezing ok, nothing bad on the video card??


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## joh06937

Joshua1187 said:


> not yet, is freezing ok, nothing bad on the video card??



it was most likely just instability. just means a tweaking of the settings is required.


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## Joshua1187

ok, jacked it up to 1200, how long should i run FURMARK for?


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## joh06937

Joshua1187 said:


> ok, jacked it up to 1200, how long should i run FURMARK for?



i'd run it for a good 5 minutes or so. some people might suggest longer to make sure but i only really ever run it for that long.


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## Joshua1187

computer froze, it freezes before it asks me to log on, trying to fix it now, any suggestions?


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## joh06937

it keeps freezing during boot up?

hmm, sounds like it isn't going to overclock well. i'd just keep it at stock clocks.


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## Joshua1187

joh06937 said:


> it keeps freezing during boot up?



Well it did, but i allowed windows to fix itself and it removed those settings, back in buisness.


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## joh06937

Joshua1187 said:


> Well it did, but i allowed windows to fix itself and it removed those settings, back in buisness.



alright. not all gpu's overclock the same. you might just have a horrible overclocker  like i said (way earlier) i'd just keep it at stock settings until you get ffxiv and see what kind of frames you get.


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## Joshua1187

thats what im thinking XD. Its working now so i think im going to wait till later. ffxiv is better with a working video card then without


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## joh06937

Joshua1187 said:


> thats what im thinking XD. Its working now so i think im going to wait till later. ffxiv is better with a working video card then without



yeah no kidding  you can always try going a little lower later down the road (maybe to like 800/1150). for now though, you should be fine :good:


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## Joshua1187

alright dude thanks alot for the help! one last thing, there shouldnt be any resulting problems from these test later on down the road right?


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## joh06937

Joshua1187 said:


> alright dude thanks alot for the help! one last thing, there shouldnt be any resulting problems from these test later on down the road right?



no problem. i have nothing better to do 

you should be fine. the instability-caused freezing shouldn't harm the gpu at all.


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## Joshua1187

joh06937 said:


> no problem. i have nothing better to do
> 
> you should be fine. the instability-caused freezing shouldn't harm the gpu at all.



OOps, forgot to say last crash was a BSOD :/


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## Joshua1187

so I'm wondering, do you think the fail in overclocking is because my 750w power supply? I notice the 5970 requires at least a 650w supply.


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## Aastii

Joshua1187 said:


> so I'm wondering, do you think the fail in overclocking is because my 750w power supply? I notice the 5970 requires at least a 650w supply.



It is a possibility. What brand/model of power supply is it?


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## Joshua1187

Aastii said:


> It is a possibility. What brand/model of power supply is it?



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...cm_re=xfx_power_supply-_-17-207-003-_-Product

IN ADDITION..... I finaly got FFXIV and ive been playing it on ok settings in windowed mode so i decided to knock the graphics up and roll with full mode but it FREEZES before playing EVERY TIME... I even turned them down and its still freezing... Whats the deal?

UPDATE:
The company bought this card from has agreed to take the card back at full refund but before i send it back expecting that to fix the problem, could it be my PSU? dosn't window mode take more power then full screen mode? Windowed mode works alright its just full mode that im having a problem with.


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## Joshua1187

Bump


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## Joshua1187

I just looked again and its acctualy the XFX 850W. Anyone have any ideas?


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## joh06937

shouldn't be the psu. excellent psus and well over what you need in order to run it. no clue why you are having problems with the game. did you maybe try different drivers with it? have the crossfire profiles installed?


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## Joshua1187

Hey Joh,

Ive tried 10.3, 10.8, 10.9 and crossfire 10.8 and 10.9, nothing helped. FYI its not just FFXIV, i also tested L4D2 and the same thing in full mode. Its driving me nuts! If its the card ill just send it back and replace it.... although its a pain to take out an dput back in XD. i can run FFXIV on windowed with everything turned up with no freezing (Except its mega laggy which seems right).

-Edit-
Someone told me its something called Hardware Acceleration within Flash player but that doesn't sound right, isn't flash player for internet browser based games?


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## Joshua1187

*Resolved*

Hey Guys,

Bought a replacement and slapped it in! fixed the problem! thanks for all the help!


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## joh06937

Joshua1187 said:


> Hey Guys,
> 
> Bought a replacement and slapped it in! fixed the problem! thanks for all the help!



Good to hear dude. Are you going to attempt an OC again?


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## SeN

can you give me the exact length of the 5970? i was planning on getting one but i was afraid it wouldn't fit in my case (antec 902)


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## joh06937

SeN said:


> can you give me the exact length of the 5970? i was planning on getting one but i was afraid it wouldn't fit in my case (antec 902)



fits in mine. but check your sata ports: it will cover some of them. i can take a pic a little later and post it if you want...


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## SeN

yes please. i'm planning on selling my twin 4870x2's for a single 5970. the 4870x2's been guzzling down energy like water for too long.


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## joh06937




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## SeN

ah, i see you had to remove the middle fan cage box thing to fit it..

but cool, thx for the upload

and wow, i had no idea u could mix a 8800gt into that build just for the physx


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## joh06937

i actually didn't have to remove it for the 5970, i just redid my hard drives so the cables didn't stick out and look like crap. i think (if i remember correctly) you can still have the cages in.

and you can, we just aren't allowed to talk about it here (8800gt and 5970).


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## SeN

ah okay, i see


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## Joshua1187

joh06937 said:


> Good to hear dude. Are you going to attempt an OC again?



Hey Joh,

I think I may try overclocking again somtime however there is an existing potential problem I would like to enquire about. When watching the opening vid for ffxiv for the most part it looks great however, it fest lines through the screen and one second white/blackout flashes and weired stuff like that.... on any settings, any ideas?


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## Joshua1187

*Bump*

Bump


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## joh06937

Joshua1187 said:


> Hey Joh,
> 
> I think I may try overclocking again somtime however there is an existing potential problem I would like to enquire about. When watching the opening vid for ffxiv for the most part it looks great however, it fest lines through the screen and one second white/blackout flashes and weired stuff like that.... on any settings, any ideas?



just the video or gameplay as well? videos tear sometimes :shrug: just happens in some games, even with v-sync on.


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## dtiao7eb

hey joshua,

would u mind posting a 3dmark of ur 5970 (which one do you have btw?) so i can see if my card is running correctly... i dunno why but i just don't feel like my card is running properly

thanks!


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## Joshua1187

At one point I moved my card from the first slot to the second slot, think this has somthing to do with it?

I,ll post a 3dmark when I get a chance.

Thx!


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## kyleswitch

SeN said:


> ah, i see you had to remove the middle fan cage box thing to fit it..
> 
> but cool, thx for the upload
> 
> and wow, i had no idea u could mix a 8800gt into that build just for the physx



You can, but it's not legal.  you need custom software.  Its cool if you like to us ATI cards and want that extra frame rates and better looking graphics with a cheaper nvidia card.


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## Joshua1187

I was thinking about getting a 9600GT for about 70 bucks for the PhysX but.... how is that illegal? is the extra performance boost worth the 70 bucks? I read Nvidia has developed most recent drivers to stop working if your using an ATI card as well.

on another note, i just ran the game in full mode and it worked but i kicked up the graphics to:

Multisampling 2xMSAA (goes to 4x and 8xq)
ambient Occlusion ON
Depth of Field ON

This has caused the game even on full mode to lagg.. should this be expected with the 5970??? would a 9600GT help with the lag?

Im downloading 3dMark now to see my score.


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## Leopold Butters

Joshua1187 said:


> I was thinking about getting a 9600GT for about 70 bucks for the PhysX but.... how is that illegal? is the extra performance boost worth the 70 bucks? I read Nvidia has developed most recent drivers to stop working if your using an ATI card as well.
> 
> on another note, i just ran the game in full mode and it worked but i kicked up the graphics to:
> 
> Multisampling 2xMSAA (goes to 4x and 8xq)
> ambient Occlusion ON
> Depth of Field ON
> 
> This has caused the game even on full mode to lagg.. should this be expected with the 5970??? would a 9600GT help with the lag?
> 
> Im downloading 3dMark now to see my score.



Actually, Nvidia just added support for ATI cards. So now you can use any brand for your main and a physx card will still work. In my opinion, it's not worth it, you should look up the list of games it supports first because it only does certain things in certain games.

Are you using eyefinity? Because if you use AA at all it really hurts your perfromance. I play with it off always. or else my FPS drops a ton.


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## joh06937

Leopold Butters said:


> Actually, Nvidia just added support for ATI cards. So now you can use any brand for your main and a physx card will still work. In my opinion, it's not worth it, you should look up the list of games it supports first because it only does certain things in certain games.
> 
> Are you using eyefinity? Because if you use AA at all it really hurts your perfromance. I play with it off always. or else my FPS drops a ton.



hey, another eyefinity user  we should start a club 

do you have any links supporting that claim though?


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## Joshua1187

My 3DMark score


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## Joshua1187

Leopold Butters said:


> Actually, Nvidia just added support for ATI cards. So now you can use any brand for your main and a physx card will still work. In my opinion, it's not worth it, you should look up the list of games it supports first because it only does certain things in certain games.
> 
> Are you using eyefinity? Because if you use AA at all it really hurts your perfromance. I play with it off always. or else my FPS drops a ton.



Im going to have to say Sir that im likely not using eyefinity because i dont know WTF it is XD.


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## joh06937

are you running the 5970 at stock clocks?


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## Joshua1187

joh06937 said:


> are you running the 5970 at stock clocks?



That is correct sir, the new 5970 i just got.


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## Leopold Butters

joh06937 said:


> hey, another eyefinity user  we should start a club
> 
> do you have any links supporting that claim though?



Just give me a bit i'll find the article.

And yes, I will join that club lol.


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## joh06937

just making sure. those are about the right numbers (for both cpu and gpu). i personally have mixed feelings about physx cards, dedicated ones i mean. for the games that use it, it is nice to have. mafia ii and batman arkham asylum are excellent examples. great visuals that are possible for an ati card owner basically only because of the physx card. but for other games, ones that don't utilize the card, it is 100% useless. the fact is that not very many games use physx. if you can get an excellent deal on a card and have some money laying around, i'd say "why not?". but if it something you'd have to save up for at all, i wouldn't.


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## Leopold Butters

Well, this was from June, and as it turns out Nvidia accidentally enabled phys X while and ATI card is present, you need the  257.15 Beta drivers for it to work, so if you can find those drivers it would work. Here is the article. http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/3344/ati_radeon_hd_5870_5970_with_nvidia_physx/index.html

I had thought they added it for good, my mistake.

Also eyefinity is when you use more than on monitor using the 58xxx series. It's just what ATI called it.


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## joh06937

Leopold Butters said:


> Well, this was from June, and as it turns out Nvidia accidentally enabled phys X while and ATI card is present, you need the  257.15 Beta drivers for it to work, so if you can find those drivers it would work. Here is the article. http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/3344/ati_radeon_hd_5870_5970_with_nvidia_physx/index.html
> 
> I had thought they added it for good, my mistake.
> 
> Also eyefinity is when you use more than on monitor using the 58xxx series. It's just what ATI called it.



figured that was what you were talking about. that is the one "loop hole" here on computerforum because we can talk about ati+nvidia "legally" since we don't have to do anything to those drivers 

you can do eyefinity on the 57xx series as well (and of course the 59xx "series"). not sure about the 56xx series and lower though.


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## Joshua1187

nothing i play is on the list, thanks for saving me the money...

what if I just rolled with a 5870 as my main GPU for windowed mode CFd with the 5970 for Full Mode, would this make a huge difference in high performance?


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## Leopold Butters

Joshua1187 said:


> nothing i play is on the list, thanks for saving me the money...
> 
> what if I just rolled with a 5870 as my main GPU for windowed mode CFd with the 5970 for Full Mode, would this make a huge difference in high performance?



You would not need it' just overclock your card. use this program to do it.

http://event.msi.com/vga/afterburner/download.htm

If you need help overclocking just let me know.

The 5970 can overclock a lot because at stock the clocks speeds are set to that of a 5850, even though the chips on a 5970 are 5870 chips. So you can hit 850 core with no trouble at all. Make sure you increase your voltages though make it 1.162 and set your core clock to 850 and your Memory clock to 1200 then just play some games to try it out, if your computer crashes it wasnt' stable, it shoudl work though since those clocks and voltages i said are stock 5870s

Also, to unlock voltage control, just press on settings, and make sure you  click "apply overclock at system setup" it's in the bottom left corner of the program


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## Joshua1187

Well I,ve atempted that with the last 5970 with Joh,s help but I was thinking would CF help me hit FFXIVs graphic potential much easier or do you think OCing to 5870 clock will be enough?


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## Leopold Butters

Joshua1187 said:


> Well I,ve atempted that with the last 5970 with Joh,s help but I was thinking would CF help me hit FFXIVs graphic potential much easier or do you think OCing to 5870 clock will be enough?



From what I understand you wanted to Tri-Fire your set up correct? Using a 5870 for windowed mode and 5970 for full screen (since crossfire does not work in windowed) you can save 400 dollars just by overclocking the 5970 to 5870 clocks and you will recieve the same results. 

The only other thing I can think of keeping you back is your CPU. I had the 1090T at 4.2 GHz and it was more of a bottle neck than my Core i7 at 4.4GHz with HT off. My FPS were quite a bit lower with my 1090T compared to my i7 930.


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## Joshua1187

so you think OCing my 5970 will be the same as trifiring a 5970 and a 5870? My response to the i7 is, instead of paying 2k or whatever, ill stick with the performance i have XD. Not tonight, but I think somtime this week i will attempt once more to OC my card, it just makes me nervous messing with a $600 anything, ha. I'll let you know how it works out  

BTW, does overclocking the 5970 OC both cards? im assuming it does.


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## joh06937

do you mean both gpus (both of the ones on the 5970 board)? if so then yes.


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## Leopold Butters

Joshua1187 said:


> so you think OCing my 5970 will be the same as trifiring a 5970 and a 5870? My response to the i7 is, instead of paying 2k or whatever, ill stick with the performance i have XD. Not tonight, but I think somtime this week i will attempt once more to OC my card, it just makes me nervous messing with a $600 anything, ha. I'll let you know how it works out
> 
> BTW, does overclocking the 5970 OC both cards? im assuming it does.



Overclocking won't be as good as tri-fire, but it will save you a lot of money. The FPS increase you get from your overclock compared to the FPS increase you get from spending 400 dollars on another card, the 400 probably is not worth it. If you really want to know, just search for benchmarks of cross fire and tri-fire setups of games you play. Make sure that the becnhmark is also using a 1090T CPU. If you google it you should find some benchmarks

I didn't mean to imply that you should change your CPU, I was just saying that may be a cause of why your perfromance does not seem as good as others (if you have been looking at benchmarks for the games you play)


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## Joshua1187

ALRIGHT alright, if you insist, ill buy a new Bataleon TBT snowboard instead! Thanks guys for the help, im sure ill be posting for help on OCing my card soon!

Ha


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## Joshua1187

Ok so maxing out settings on FFXIV (all except Ambient Occ and Depth of field because thes are FPS killers) my computer mad lags.... So I decided to try to OC again on the new carD! Heres my furmark (actually at 12 minutes now same heat about 66) does this look good? Should I try going to 900 Mhz? I dont want to get into the unsafe zone, ive got like 9 fans in this thing! haha.

THx


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## Okedokey

Don't have time to re-read 14 pages, but what resolution you playing at Joshua?  The snowboard sounds like a good plan


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## Joshua1187

bigfellla said:


> Don't have time to re-read 14 pages, but what resolution you playing at Joshua?  The snowboard sounds like a good plan



I got the snowboard, that post is super old, haha. Im playing at 1900/1080. In town around people im runnin about 30 FPS, outside 45-60 FPS, when i OC to 5870 speeds i get no FPS increase (FYI I redownloaded the drivers and having better results but still seems like it should be better).

EDIT: I think its 1920/1080


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## Aastii

If you aren't seeing an fps increase at all from OCing, it is something else holding you back. What is CPU load when in crowded areas?


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## Joshua1187

How can i check? Can I use CPU-Z?

EDIT:










Does this help?


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## Okedokey

That HD is getting a smashing.  I would recommend a HD as this is almost always the biggest bottleneck, but seems unlikely to cause FPS performance issue.

I would also check it in a more demanding game, the one on the screenshot looked like 2006 Halo.  Get crysis running or 3DMark11 and then check CPU, i agree, its the next most likely thing. 

Either way, new SSD or defrag regularly.

Also, (again because the thread is so deep), you have a 64bit OS right?


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## Joshua1187

I'm on 64 bit. I'm not really trying to run this computer harder then it needs to be ran, I'm just trying to find the bottle neck to max the performance of this game. What HD would you suggest? What could the current HD I have be slowing down?

EDIT:

I dont have the graphics maxed because it starts too lag however they are pretty high.


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## Aastii

bigfellla said:


> That HD is getting a smashing.  I would recommend a HD as this is almost always the biggest bottleneck, but seems unlikely to cause FPS performance issue.
> 
> I would also check it in a more demanding game, the one on the screenshot looked like 2006 Halo.  Get crysis running or 3DMark11 and then check CPU, i agree, its the next most likely thing.
> 
> Either way, new SSD or defrag regularly.
> 
> Also, (again because the thread is so deep), you have a 64bit OS right?



I would disagree.

Even an SSD will be a bottleneck because the other "main" components for gaming, your CPU, GPU and memory, are so much faster, so you will still see the hard drive getting to 100% load. I'm not saying you wouldn't see performance increase, you would, but only in load times, not in frame rates. It is FF14, which won't sit as low as 28FPS, even with a conventional hard drive.

If you look at the very end of the readings, the hard drive is only transfering 44kb/s, yet on the game, he is still getting just 28 FPS. The hard drive isn't being accessed any more, all of the data is loaded into memory, so it is something else causing the issue.

What results are you getting from playing other games, do they mirror what Final Fantasy is showing?


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## Joshua1187

This is FFXI - Jeuno

I also have L4d2, Warcraft 3, Bioshock, Elders Scroll, Requiem. Would you prefer I test it on any of these instead??


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