gc issue or a cpu issue?

[DrGT]

iv recently built a pc with the following hardware:

535 watts enermex psu

asus a8n-sli se
amd athlon 64 3700+ san diego (overclocked to 2.6ghz)
2gb corsair xms 3200 2.5 3.2.5 at 1T
xfx nvidia 7600gt at 610/810


when playing bf2 @ 1152x864@75htz with everything on medium 4xaa and vsync forced on with tripple buffering... the fps often dips below 50 when i want it to stay at a stable 75fps. to fix this i want to get a Sapphire ATI Radeon X1800 XT 256MB but am worried im going to get the same results because of my cpu. Is the cpu i got now really an issue?? meaning will i have to get a better cpu for an X1800 XT to properly work to its potential??

to play bf2 at a stable fps with vsync on @ 1152/864.. i have to turn all the advanced settings to low/off and take off aa/af. do you think this is a cpu or a graphics issue? or ram maybe? i cant work this out and would really apreciate any help i get, and please only post a reply if you know what your talking about. thanx. DrGT

[kalniel]

Please be a bit more respectful - Hexus is a very helpful community and telling people to only reply if they know what they are talking about isn't neccessary.

You are currently very much gfx card limited, as evidenced by the improvement when you turn settings down.

A X1800XT 256 probably isn't going to be fast enough for your required settings - I'd suggest a 1900xt 512mb to be honest.

If you're running at 2.6ghz on the CPU you won't need to change that, or the ram. Just pop a 1900xt in and you should be fine.

Also have you considered getting an X-fi soundcard with onboard ram?

[The Codfather]

I play a lot of BF2 (System specs at the side) everything set to Max with 4xAA and I average 70-90fps, but there's still points in certain maps where it'll drop below 50fps.

BF2 is a big ol' game and achieving a constant 75fps on it is no easy feat, you may do it with a dual GPU setup, but without that or a top end card (X1900XTX or 7900GTX) I don't think it's possible from what I've seen at least.

[Dark Horse]

I don't really think you are cpu limited, the 7600GT doesn't pump out enough for the equivalent of an FX-57 to not cope with. Here is a link to a cpu performance article for Oblivion which is more demanding than bf2 and you can see that above 800x600 cpu frequency doesn't play a huge part:

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/...ce/default.asp

The main ask in your graphics settings is V-Sync. Do you really get that much tearing that you can't have V-sync off? Also when you say "the fps often dips below 50 when i want it to stay at a stable 75fps" is this from the point of view of the gameplay being affected severely affected or just Fraps numbers?

I would also have a read of the battlefield 2 tweak guide as it should give some options for settings.

http://www.tweakguides.com/BF2_1.html

[DrGT]

im sorry for the stupid comment on my first post. not a good start is it.

with vsync off, i get an amazing amount of tearing in most games i play, to the extent where its not playable. im not sure if this a monitor problem or a graphics problem but for me its unplayable. (fraps on or off)
I tried turning vsync off, and putting more stress to the graphics card to bring down the fps under the monitors refresh rate but it didnt really help.

so you think the extra money for an x1900xt is the best way to go?

also about this soundcard.. i always thought soundcards just improves sound quality, making it more crisp and bassy. do they increase gaming performance too??

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme

thanx, again sorry for the ghey comment

[The Codfather]

The two top end cards in the X-Fi range, The "Fatality" and the "Elite Pro" have something Creative have tagged X-RAM, which is the sound card's very own RAM, when used with compatible games the card uses the X-RAM to effectively cache sounds and take some of the load of the CPU and System RAM increasing perfomance slightly. (I think that's right?)

Beside that fact the X-Fi will also let you select Ultra quality sound on BF2 which is always nice and really does make a difference.
I was stunned when I upgraded from a Soundblaster 5.1 to that at least

[charleski]

You could take a look at this test page from Anandtech to get an idea of how much the fps can improve with a dedicated sound card.

Unfortunately the XRAM feature of the higher X-Fi's is dependent on the game actually using it I think. Not sure how many are coded to do so atm.

[kalniel]

Yeah, it was your interest in BF2 especially that lead me to recommend the X-Fi. If that's your main game and you're concerned with squeezing out all the performance you can, then that is one game that does benefit from X-Fi.

Personally for my kind of gaming I don't think the 1900XT is worth it, however you have very hard to meet demands of Vsync@75hz, which unfortunately require a top range solution.

If you can drop your requirements a little (maybe 70hz, or play with other options than VSync - it's possible to reduce tearing by playing about with things) then you might get away with an X1800XT 512mb card. Again, 512 wouldn't normally make much of a difference, but on a very few games that are texture heavy (oblivion, BF2) it can make a difference, especially where you are very critical about minumum frame rate and/or tearing. Also consider a 7900GTX 512mb card.

[DrGT]

im buying a new widescreen monitor soon, Acer AL1916WS

the resolution is 1440 x 900 @ 60htz which i shall try playing at, (well at least try)

i have no experience with tfts so i havnt a clue if tearing is as bad, but im sure it will be worse as it will be at 60htz refresh rate so vsync is a deffinite yes. looks like the x1900xt is the one to go for.

i wish i could stand the tearing

[kalniel]

Well the non-vsync tearing might be more, but on the other hand the 60hz (and the fact that pixels only update when needed on LCD) may mean that you don't need such a powerful card to run with Vsync - getting to 60fps minimum is possible on a X1800XT.

But seriously, have you tried other refresh rates to fix tearing without Vsync? I have bad tearing at some, but at others it's virtually non-existant.

[DrGT]

best i can do is 1028/768 at 85htz, it doesnt tear as much as 75htz but still tears alot

[shaithis]

I get minimal tearing with a X1900XTX @ 1920x1200x60Hz

You should be fine at that resolution with one but I wouldn't recomend anything less. Some maps are inherantly worse then others.

[DrGT]

what average fps you getting at that res?

another question, the asus a8n-sli se has a nvidia chipset designed for sli cards, do you think the x1900xt will still run to its potential?

[The Codfather]

Is the tearing not down to the monitor? In the time I've been playing BF2 (since it came out) I've not noticed any tearing whatsoever.

[kalniel]

another question, the asus a8n-sli se has a nvidia chipset designed for sli cards, do you think the x1900xt will still run to its potential?

Yes, without a doubt.

[DrGT]

alright thanx, well the monitor i have is a crap old ugly beige 17" pos crt. cant stand the thing

maybe the Acer AL1916WS might clear tearing up a bit?