Trouble with Mobility Radeon HD 2600

[ho0dzy]

Hi Guys,

recently this summer, I purchased a custom laptop from CyberPowerPC.com (the X64-7000 model, located here.)

I've upped some of the system specs, which you can view through looking at my own system specs (4gb RAM instead of 2, 2.2 ghz AMD Turion x64 processor, Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit) etc.

Anyway, down to the problem I'm having - I'm only pumping out an average of ~25 FPS in World of Warcraft!!! A game I consider to be relatively low end on the graphics requirement deparment.

I've tried many things in an attempt to fix this, such as turning Anti Aliasing and Anisotropic filtering from "use application setting" to the lowest setting available, and back to the "use application setting". I've also done this for Anisotropic filtering. I've also attempted to mess with the Standard Settings by moving them all the way to the left and setting it to "Optimal Performance" with both the "Use custom settings" box checked, and unchecked.

I've also used mobility modder on the latest PC version of the Radeon HD 2600, and made the same sort of tweaks in an attempt to boost performance. I saw a minimal difference at best when I did this, and none of the overclocking tools I've attempted to use seem to even load. I get an error that is usually similar to "Failed to init the lower level driver".

Any help / thoughts / suggestions? I'm going to be calling CyberPowerPC tech support later to help me solve this issue if I don't see anything posted here that I can try first. When I initially bought the PC the gaming performance was phenomenal, and I saw an average of ~45 FPS in World of Warcraft. I'm not exactly sure what I did over the past week or so, but I think I may have tweaked something improperly and effected my FPS as a result.

Note: I've also tried uninstalling the video card, and reinstalling it with the driver CD that came with the laptop. Below is the catalyst version & driver installed by the driver CD provided by CyberPowerPC:

Driver Packaging Version: 8.391.2.1-070721a-051380C-MSI
Provider: ATI Technologies Inc.
2D Driver Version: 7.01.01.658
Direct3D Version: 7.14.10.0510
OpenGL Version: 6.14.10.6652
Catalyst® Control Center Version: 2007.0721.2201.37459

[Monkeywoman]

download the latest ATI driver from....ATI, then use this (http://driverheaven.net/modtool.php ) to make it work with your video card.

P.S. the reason i say download the latest ATI driver from ATI is that ur driver version is old, could be problem. newest version is 8.53-080820a-068906C-ATI

[ho0dzy]

Originally Posted by Monkeywoman

download the latest ATI driver from....ATI, then use this (http://driverheaven.net/modtool.php ) to make it work with your video card.

P.S. the reason i say download the latest ATI driver from ATI is that ur driver version is old, could be problem. newest version is 8.53-080820a-068906C-ATI

There is no available ATI driver for the Mobile version of this card on the ATI website. If I forgot to post it in my original post, I actually already took the Radeon HD 2600 Desktop drivers from the ATI website (that they actually provide) and used the mobility modder on it. From there, I then tweaked with the settings through Catalyst without much in the way of results. Maybe a 3 FPS increase at best =\.

It just seems I've dropped 20 FPS recently and I can't figure out for the life of me why.

[Monkeywoman]

are you having this problem with only this game? if not, can the card be overheating ans its down clocking? download rivia tuner and increase the fan speed manualy. once you've done that check with ATItools spinning cube and see if your fps are static or if u notice a drop in clocks. i dont think its a driver problem if you have done what you said you done.

[ho0dzy]

Originally Posted by Monkeywoman

are you having this problem with only this game? if not, can the card be overheating ans its down clocking? download rivia tuner and increase the fan speed manualy. once you've done that check with ATItools spinning cube and see if your fps are static or if u notice a drop in clocks. i dont think its a driver problem if you have done what you said you done.

I open up to Rivatuner, and it shows that I'm using an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 but, shows no options on any of the tabs to increase the fan speed manually... is there something I'm doing wrong???

Also, when I try to load ATI Tray Tools it gives me an error stating "Failed to init the Low Level Driver". When I load ATI Tool itself, it gives me the following error:

"The Kernel Mode Driver does not seem to be running. A device is required for communication with your video hardware. If you just upgraded from an older version it may help to uninstall ATITool, reboot, then install th enew version".

[ho0dzy]

Here's my GPU-Z after changing over to the newest Drivers & Catalyst Control Center after using Mobility Modder on the Desktop version for my video card:

[driver66]

Did it start after a tuesday patch? Or is your server highly populated?

[ho0dzy]

High population yes, but I don't think it happened after tuesday patch. But what would your suggestion be if it did happen after a Tuesday patch?

[ho0dzy]

the issue seems like its fan related... i see a significant drop in fps when my fan kicks on heavily.

[overclocker]

Okay here is what i think your in power play on your video card. you mem should be at 600mhzz not 350mhz and your core should be 500mhz not 450mhz so maybe download ati tool and bring the clocks back up ? i have the same card so lol

[ho0dzy]

When I attempt to run ATI Tool I get a Kernel error. From what I've read, that's due to Vista 64 bit... but I'll try reinstalling ATI Tool again.

"The Kernel Mode Driver does not seem to be running. A device driver is required for communication with your video hardware. If you just upgraded from an older version it may help to uninstall ATITool yadda yadda"

except I'm not upgrading to a new version of ATI Tool

Using ATI tool 0.24 (read fromt he overclocking section of the forums that this is best for Laptops)

[ho0dzy]

Catalyst Software Info:

Driver Packaging Version: 8.53-080820a-068906C-ATI
Catalyst® Version: 08.9
Provider: ATI Technologies Inc.
2D Driver Version: 7.01.01.821
Direct3D Version: 7.14.10.0612
OpenGL Version: 6.14.10.7976
Catalyst® Control Center Version: 2008.0820.2135.36847

[ho0dzy]

Update: Spoke with Technical Support for this problem. The suggestions they gave:

Run a RAM Test (done, no errors)

Upgrade the Drivers for Video Card, and Network Adapter from here. (The actual producer of my laptop).

Run an Antivirus to scan for Spyware / Malware / Viruses etc.

[Dixxhead]

Originally Posted by ho0dzy

Here's my GPU-Z after changing over to the newest Drivers & Catalyst Control Center after using Mobility Modder on the Desktop version for my video card:

Hey, try clicking on the sensors bar and check what clocks you are running.

Have you checked wheter PowerPlay is enabled? On Laptop gpus there is no auto-2d/3d switching happening (at least on my HD2600), if you have set it to Maximum Battery-life it will run at 250mhz, which obviously will reduce your performance quite a bit. Also, check if you have underclocked your Processor; in Vista use the energy saving options to use Maximum Performance and select everything CPU related to 100% there.

Hope this helps.

[ho0dzy]

Originally Posted by Dixxhead

Hey, try clicking on the sensors bar and check what clocks you are running.

Have you checked wheter PowerPlay is enabled? On Laptop gpus there is no auto-2d/3d switching happening (at least on my HD2600), if you have set it to Maximum Battery-life it will run at 250mhz, which obviously will reduce your performance quite a bit. Also, check if you have underclocked your Processor; in Vista use the energy saving options to use Maximum Performance and select everything CPU related to 100% there.

Hope this helps.

PowerPlay is enabled. I have my computers battery settings set to High Performance while testing these issues, and have gone through the energy saving options. There doesn't appear to be anything that needs to be changed in that section to increase performance at all, as everything is already maximized to its highest potential.

My clocks currently read 445 / 346. If I'm not mistaken, these SHOULD read 600 / 450 or something along those lines... I wonder if they got turned down somehow - and how I would go about turning them up on Windows Vista 64 bit (as ATI Tool / ATI Tray Tool don't have driver signatures from M$).

Edit: Also, on the main "Graphics Card" tab I sometimes see spikes in my GPU Clock numbers, like right now it reads 450 MHZ GPU Clock and Memory at 15508, 6559 etc etc... which DEFINITELY isn't correct.

[ho0dzy]

Update:

So I found a working version of ATITool for Windows Vista 64 Bit (being ATITool 0.27 Beta 2). It opens up and shows my Core clock at 445 and Memory clock at 346 - just as my sensors show on GPU-Z. Part of the problem that I'm having is that ATITool won't allow me to increase the clock on my Video Card. It simply reverts right back to the position it is at (445 and 346 respectfully) whenever I move the sliders.

Edit: furthermore when I attempt to display the "Fan Settings" and "Memory Timings" from the properties section, I click OK and then they don't load.

Could this all be occurring because I'm using the driver provided by the manufacturer, and not a modded driver...???

Moreover, would a modded driver allow me to start doing these things? (Like, if I were to mod the Radeon HD 2600 PCI-E cards drivers).

[Dixxhead]

Originally Posted by ho0dzy

Update:

So I found a working version of ATITool for Windows Vista 64 Bit (being ATITool 0.27 Beta 2). It opens up and shows my Core clock at 445 and Memory clock at 346 - just as my sensors show on GPU-Z. Part of the problem that I'm having is that ATITool won't allow me to increase the clock on my Video Card. It simply reverts right back to the position it is at (445 and 346 respectfully) whenever I move the sliders.

Have you ever tried AMDGPUClocktool? Dunno if it works for x64 but try it.

[sneekypeet]

Originally Posted by ho0dzy

Update:

So I found a working version of ATITool for Windows Vista 64 Bit (being ATITool 0.27 Beta 2). It opens up and shows my Core clock at 445 and Memory clock at 346 - just as my sensors show on GPU-Z. Part of the problem that I'm having is that ATITool won't allow me to increase the clock on my Video Card. It simply reverts right back to the position it is at (445 and 346 respectfully) whenever I move the sliders.

Isnt there a check box somewhere to enable low level overclocking? That may be why the sliders are returning to the stock position?

[ho0dzy]

Originally Posted by Dixxhead

Have you ever tried AMDGPUClocktool? Dunno if it works for x64 but try it.

From what I've read, AMDGPUClocktool doesn't work for Vista 64.

Isnt there a check box somewhere to enable low level overclocking? That may be why the sliders are returning to the stock position?

If there is, I'm unable to find it anywhere in ATITool.

Edit:

Also, Look at these GPU Clock & Memory speeds that I"m getting right now (without actually playing any video games, or overlcoking etc)

[dark2099]

http://www.visiontek.com/forum/viewt...12c87cf8a526f5

ATIToll 0.27 Beta 4

Top link has a picture to go with what sneekypeet said, bottom link is the latest ATI Tool.

[ho0dzy]

Originally Posted by dark2099

http://www.visiontek.com/forum/viewt...12c87cf8a526f5

ATIToll 0.27 Beta 4

Top link has a picture to go with what sneekypeet said, bottom link is the latest ATI Tool.

Thanks, I'm going to go ahead and try installing the new beta and see if I can get anything going with it.

[ho0dzy]

Update:

No dice. Even with the most recent beta, and those checkboxes enabled - still moves my core and memory clocks back to their defaulted position when I choose to "set clock".

Also, I noticed that the Bandwith line on my GPU-Z reads 1006.6 GB/s which seems totally wrong.

Ugh, this whole thing is just kicking me in the nuts. My laptop is the green guy.

[overclocker]

Hey dont you have a power play option in ati CATALYST? if you dont then you have the rong driver installed!

[ho0dzy]

Originally Posted by overclocker

Hey dont you have a power play option in ati CATALYST? if you dont then you have the rong driver installed!

I do. It's on and it appears to be working.

Also update on AMD GPU Clock Tool - I got the latest version and clocked my Engine up to 594 MHz and my Memory clock up to 450 MHz (which is what I believe they should be up to)

Going to give WoW a spin here and see how it stands up with these clocks.

Edit: Also, ATI Tool and GPU-Z confirm that these clocks have been tuned to 594 and 450 MHz as stated =)

[ho0dzy]

Seems pretty solid at 594 / 450 right now. My FPS didn't really kick up much in cities but out in the world while flying around it seems to be doing a bit better...

Dixx: what anisotropic and anti aliasing are you using (application, low end, high end?) And also, how di dyou push your memory and clock up that high??? Mine actually crashes on me if I push it up over 600

And, anything else that I can do to increase general FPS performance?