JackStoneS

I have a problem with my video card: it will stutter on virtually any game I try to play, and it is having problems with on-line flash video's as well.
I have no clue why this is happening, so I'm hoping to get some ideas here.

Some information about my system:

Video card: Sapphire RADEON HD 4850, 512 MB GDDR3
CPU: AMD Athlon X2 6000+
Motherboard: ASUS M2N-CM DVI
RAM: 4GB Kingston HyperX
PSU: ANTEC EA-380 (I guess, 380W)

Catalyst Control Center version: 2009.0520.1631.27815
XP SP3
GPU temp: 50 degrees C

emosun

Yea that card is power starved. It'll need a 600w or higher quality unit with 26amps on the 12v rail.

JackStoneS

Ok, I'll buy a bigger one I guess.
But does that matter that much it will even stutter on youtube video's?

Riskyone101

It should be stuttering once your at the desktop or flickering from
running way underpowered here.

Go with this one here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139006

Its a 750 watt psu, I know you may not need this much wattage but
its good price for what your getting compared to a 600 watt, same price
or maybe a bit lower, also Corsair`s run quieter, makes the pc more enjoyable.

Tumbleweed36

In addition to the recommendation, wanted to mention that if you keep running this card with a "power starved" power supply, you risk doing damage to computer components. Might be a good idea to get it done ASAP.

JackStoneS

Ok, thanks! I'll run to the computer shop this afternoon. I'll let you know if it solves my problem

Riskyone101

Yes tumbleweed I agree with you 100% dont run the pc until you have the psu replaced
so as not to do anymore damage or keep anything from becoming damaged.

JackStoneS

So I bought a new PSU: a Corsair TX650W, which has 52 amps on the 12V rail.
I need 26 for one card, so that should cut it. My problem, however, is not solved.

I was trying out the crysis demo to see how well my card performed, and I noticed something odd while running GPU-Z in the background.
My GPU load will be around 50% for about 8 seconds, and then drop to 0 for about 11 seconds. I've attached a nice chart to clarify this. I also uploaded the raw log, in case anyone wants to see the raw data.
I also noticed that my GPU core clock will jump between 500 and 625 MHz, for about the same periods, but out of phase with the load.

Any ideas on what might be wrong?

Attached Images

GPU load.jpg (26.7 KB, 7 views)

Attached Files

GPU-Z Sensor Log.txt (33.2 KB, 2 views)

Riskyone101

Ok now that have the new psu, lets make sure your using the newest update for the video card:

Go here for the graphics card driver:
http://support.amd.com/us/psearch/Pa...ords=&items=20

Download driver Sweeper here:
http://downloads.guru3d.com/Guru3D--...er)_d1672.html

1. Uninstall the video driver through add/remove in control panel
2. Look into C; drive and program files folder and delete folder there too.
3. run drive sweeper and remove all traces of video drivers
4. reboot pc
5. upon reboot if a new found hardware wizard appears, cancel it out
6. install the video driver you downloaded
7. reboot pc

JackStoneS

Ok, I did that. No effect, although it did uninstall my nForce ethernet drivers.
Any more ideas?

dai

in the device manager uninstall the video card
reboot tapping f8 and choose vga mode
when windows finishes rebooting
disable a/virus
install your drivers
reboot the computer

JackStoneS

That didn't do the trick either.
Although I did notice that since the first driver reinstall the GPU loads have been jumping between 0 and about 35.
I see I didn't notice before, that during the stutters, my CPU will max out to 100%, without any obvious difference in the percentage one program will take.

That didn't do the trick either.
Although I did notice that since the first driver reinstall the GPU loads have been jumping between 0 and about 35.
I see I didn't mention before, that during the stutters, my CPU will max out to 100%, without any obvious difference in the percentage one program will take. Any clues on why that might be happening?

dai

check in the task manager as to what is pulling the cpu

JackStoneS

I did, but I didn't find anything conclusive.
Crysis will normally be taking up about 50-60%.
During stutters it will either remain at that level or rise to about 70%
System idle process will drop from about 35% to 0-5%
Task manager will rise to 15%
GPU-Z will rise from 1 to 10%
Firefox will rise from 2 to 20%
Some other processes will get 1 or 2% usage too.
I know the percentages do not add up to 100%, but these are approximate values.
Memory usage will not really vary.

I think it's really odd that it is not one single process. Has anyone seen this before?

dai

what does the bios list the cpu temp as

JackStoneS

only 47C

dai

redo the paste with some arcticsilver

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_s...structions.htm

JackStoneS

Ok, I'll buy some cooling paste tomorrow, but I'm fairly certain this is not the solution to the problem.
Running my CPU at that temperature might be a bit high, but it's not extraordinary: it will get dangerous at 62C.
I checked the temperature, while playing Crysis with ASUS PC probe II, and the maximum temperature I've seen it run at, was 49C, not dangerously high.

I'm starting to suspect this might be a software problem, but I have no clue what might be the cause.. Anyone get more ideas?

dai

47 in the bios you would expect it to be in the high 60's under load
see what temps this gives in running

http://download.cnet.com/Core-Temp-3...-10794077.html

JackStoneS

Asus Probe told me, that while playing Crysis the temperature doesn't go higher than 49 degrees.
That still seems safe to me..