Need GPU to run SC2

[Steve-007UK]

Doesn't ATI have driver issues for SC2 like long Alt-Tab times and inefficient AA implementations? If you play that game a lot, I'd suggest using a Nvidia card.

From what i have been reading the SC2 problem was fixed either from a patch or newer ATI driver.

 

[ebolamonkey3]

Which one? I know they implemented AA in 10.8 but it's still not optimal. It might still have problems w/ alt tabbing and returning to SC2 but I'm not sure.

 

[Steve-007UK]

Which one? I know they implemented AA in 10.8 but it's still not optimal. It might still have problems w/ alt tabbing and returning to SC2 but I'm not sure.

Sorry coulden't say exactly but im sure they released a patch that fixed this problem aswell as what ever was fixed in 10.8 drivers.

I don't own or play the game and have no plans to, world of warcraft is enough for me.

I will ask a friend who uses ati and has SC2 and see if he has any probs.

 

[Mussels]

Doesn't ATI have driver issues for SC2 like long Alt-Tab times and inefficient AA implementations? If you play that game a lot, I'd suggest using a Nvidia card.

mine alt tabs fairly quick, and their AA works just as well as nvidias... poorly, since the game doesnt support it.

 

[Dent1]

Doesn't ATI have driver issues for SC2 like long Alt-Tab times and inefficient AA implementations? If you play that game a lot, I'd suggest using a Nvidia card.

Well I have been playing SC2 since its release on my ATI card without problem with AA or Alt+Tab.

Which one? I know they implemented AA in 10.8 but it's still not optimal. It might still have problems w/ alt tabbing and returning to SC2 but I'm not sure.

No the game never had with alt + tabbing issues with my ATI card. However Blizzard doesnt support Alt Tabbing because it can make ones internet connection drop from a currently running online game, it still works though just isnt recommended, nothing to do with ATI though.

 

[xBruce88x]

i got a 9600gt 512mb and it handles SC2 just fine on High settings, 1280x960 res. I know thats an odd res but it works well for SC2 for some reason. something about equal to a 9800gt 1gb would probably play if flawless on ultra settings. but with your current cpu i think the above ati card or a 9600gt would be best... also, any idea what power supply is in that thing? I know E machines aren't very well known for their power supplies being good, in fact the power supply often brings the whole system down with it when it goes out (frying parts), at least that's what's happened with every dead e-machine i had to fix (replacing mobo and psu)

 

[boise49ers]

Doesn't ATI have driver issues for SC2 like long Alt-Tab times and inefficient AA implementations? If you play that game a lot, I'd suggest using a Nvidia card.

I have a 5570 HD and they Overclock real well, run cool and low power draw. I run it with a Bestech 350 watt. I run Battlefield BC2 at Low Setting at 1440x900 or I drop the rez and bump it to medium. Look at my signature and that is the machine with the 5570. I'm getting over 30 gb in bandwidth , and 1 gig of DDR3. I think I spent $80 on it and didn't have to upgrade anything else. Good Card for a budget upgrade!

 

[boise49ers]

i got a 9600gt 512mb and it handles SC2 just fine on High settings, 1280x960 res. I know thats an odd res but it works well for SC2 for some reason. something about equal to a 9800gt 1gb would probably play if flawless on ultra settings. but with your current cpu i think the above ati card or a 9600gt would be best... also, any idea what power supply is in that thing? I know E machines aren't very well known for their power supplies being good, in fact the power supply often brings the whole system down with it when it goes out (frying parts), at least that's what's happened with every dead e-machine i had to fix (replacing mobo and psu)

Yeah they make a low Power Low profile version too. It is around $120"galaxy". I'd buy one if I wasn't such a cheap bastard, I have Elk Season 3 weeks away

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5271084&CatId=3670

 

[Zigg]

Zotac Geforce 9800 GT INTO HP Pavilion a6847c

Ok guys I'm back. After a long delay, I'm finally able to install the new GPU in my ALT computer which is listed in the title of this post. The computer listed in my system specs profile is a different machine than the one I am working ATM. I have never done this before. It seems that getting the right drivers is the hardest part of this process. Right now I am having trouble installing the drivers I got from the nvidia website. I dk if I have the right one or not.

I installed the 9800GT without uninstalling the old drivers for the integrated GFX. I tried installing this driver http://www.nvidia.com/object/win7-winvista-32bit-258.96-whql-driver.html while the GPU was still in. FAIL. The error message was saying that my version of windows is not 32 bit. I don't think I am running 64 bit version, but I am downloading 64 bit version of the drivers now.

So what do I do from here? Do I uninstall the drivers, install the GPU and then install new drivers for 9800gt?

 

[Zubasa]

Ok guys I'm back. After a long delay, I'm finally able to install the new GPU in my ALT computer which is listed in the title of this post. The computer listed in my system specs profile is a different machine than the one I am working ATM. I have never done this before. It seems that getting the right drivers is the hardest part of this process. Right now I am having trouble installing the drivers I got from the nvidia website. I dk if I have the right one or not.

I installed the 9800GT without uninstalling the old drivers for the integrated GFX. I tried installing this driver http://www.nvidia.com/object/win7-winvista-32bit-258.96-whql-driver.html while the GPU was still in. FAIL. The error message was saying that my version of windows is not 32 bit. I don't think I am running 64 bit version, but I am downloading 64 bit version of the drivers now.

So what do I do from here? Do I uninstall the drivers, install the GPU and then install new drivers for 9800gt?

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...e=null&lang=en&product=3958539&key=null#N1175
"Windows Vista Home Premium with Windows Media Center (64-bit) with Vista Service Pack 1"

 

[Dent1]

while the GPU was still in. FAIL. The error message was saying that my version of windows is not 32 bit. I don't think I am running 64 bit version, but I am downloading 64 bit version of the drivers now.

So what do I do from here? Do I uninstall the drivers, install the GPU and then install new drivers for 9800gt?

Leave the 9800 GT inside the computer, uninstall the drivers and download the new drivers. You can verify your version of windows by typing "DXdiag" in the search bar of the start menu or by viewing the system property in the control panel.

 

[Jeffredo]

Can that Emachines 250W even handle an HD 5670?

 

[Mussels]

Can that Emachines 250W even handle an HD 5670?

5670's are quite low power, so i'd say so. 66W peak shouldnt be too hard on the PSU.

 

[Zigg]

Ok it's in... but wait there's more

I did what u guys said. It was easy. Then I went to clean out my MAIN PC (the one in my specs "e-machine") and I released the clip holding down the heat sink on the CPU.
Since I couldn't get the clip back into position, I decided to unscrew the heat sink and take it apart. When I saw thermal grease on the bottom of the sink I realized that I don't have any more to regrease the heat sink.
Did I just ruin my PC? I wasn't wearing any antistatic devices or using antistatic tools so I am concerned I may have fryed something. Can I just clean the heat sink really good and grease for installation?

P.S. - I also wanted to let u guys know I installed the zotac card on my alt (ZOTAC ZT-98GES5P-FDL GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card)
and the sapphire on my main (SAPPHIRE 100287VGAL Radeon HD 5670 (Redwood) 512MB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card)...

I never got the HIS ICE card

 

[Mussels]

static has never killed any PC hardware i've ever touched. i never ground myself or take any precaution.

IMO, saying 'static' killed something is just admitting 'i have no idea what broke, so i'm going to sound smart and blame static electricity'

clean it up carefully (meaning: gently) and replace it with thermal paste and you're fine. you dont even HAVE to replace it, its just likely that dust got in there so temps will be a little higher until you do replace it.

 

[Zigg]

Thnx Mussels

Awesome! I am glad to hear it. On another note my GPU in my ALT maybe having problems.
I was playing SC2 on lower than recommended settings to get the most reliable in game experience when the program crashed and windows threw up a message saying that my GPU failed and recovered successfully. Anyone know if this is a problem or just a fluke?

 

[Mussels]

Awesome! I am glad to hear it. On another note my GPU in my ALT maybe having problems.
I was playing SC2 on lower than recommended settings to get the most reliable in game experience when the program crashed and windows threw up a message saying that my GPU failed and recovered successfully. Anyone know if this is a problem or just a fluke?

it can be a problem, yes.

overheating, bad video overclock, hardware failure.

if it only happens once or twice, or only in the one game - look on the drivers/software side. if it happens all the time in any game, then its overheating or hardware failure.

 

[Zigg]

How do I know if its drivers/hardware?

I was playing for days on moderate settings. The problem occurred when I played the game recently. There was lag, then a blank screen, after that windows threw an error message.

I haven't seen the error message lately, but I have had increasing problems with games getting laggy and even shutting down.




UPDATE: I ran GPU-Z. Does anyone have suggestions on how to troubleshoot this, the problem slowly seems to be getting worse ...

 

[Zigg]

I kinda need help

I am making a new post instead of using the update because I don't know where else to pose these questions. I am sorry for the way I have posted in the past: Not being careful about where I start a thread, forgetting to quote people when I reply to their advice, not being specific enough, making to many reply posts instead of updating my old posts, etc. I am sorry if I bothered anyone with unnecessary clutter or misguided attempts at getting help.

Please tell me what I can do to make my questions more clear or my posts more useful. I may need some direction, but I do read posts in other threads and I do read about my problems before coming here. I just am not sure where to go for help or if I will even be able to resolve this problem without some outside help.

BTW STARCRAFT2 rocks when it doesn't crash

 

[Deleted member 74752]

Look at gpu temps and maybe use the Precision utility to force 100% fan when gaming. I often fall back on older drivers...seem to be less buggy. Maybe try a 185.85...

 

[douglatins]

5 7 7 0 !

 

[Dent1]

I was playing for days on moderate settings. The problem occurred when I played the game recently. There was lag, then a blank screen, after that windows threw an error message.

I haven't seen the error message lately, but I have had increasing problems with games getting laggy and even shutting down.




UPDATE: I ran GPU-Z. Does anyone have suggestions on how to troubleshoot this, the problem slowly seems to be getting worse ...

The problem can be related to anything, overheating processor, overheating GPU, power supply failing, drivers etc. There is no absolute answer, its trial and error until you solve it. I would start by launching GPU-Z whenever you are gaming and monitor the GPU temperature within the sensor tab and pay extra special attention to the average and maximum temperature.

 

[Zigg]

I just started GPU-Z. I will run Starcraft2 settings on low for optimal game play(no lag) to play for about an hour. I will watch the avg/max temps and write them down. Anything else?

Look at gpu temps and maybe use the Precision utility to force 100% fan when gaming. I often fall back on older drivers...seem to be less buggy. Maybe try a 185.85...

Would making the fan run like that compromise the GPU's longevity? I'll see what I can do about the drivers.

Another weird thing. After I installed the GPU and installed drivers my firewall needs to be manually turned on every time I reboot.



Update: 10/22/10 Ok I will run GPU-Z and then game for a while. I can post later on today.

about the firewall... What would fix that?

 

[Dent1]

I just started GPU-Z. I will run Starcraft2 settings on low for optimal game play(no lag) to play for about an hour. I will watch the avg/max temps and write them down. Anything else?

You do not need to constantly watch it, GPU-Z will log the min, max and avg over the duration of your gaming session, you can check the reading afterwards.

Would making the fan run like that compromise the GPU's longevity? I'll see what I can do.

The video cards logevity, no. The fan's longevity will degrade, but its unlikely that it will break during the duration of ownership, which is about 1-2years for a video card if you care about any type of performance. The fan can be replaced anyways, if you do find yourself stuck with this card for donkey years.

about the drivers.

Download and try older driver revisions.

Another weird thing. After I installed the GPU and installed drivers my firewall needs to be manually turned on every time I reboot.

Strange.

 

[Zigg]

The temps are 62 Celsius max and 47.6 Celsius avg.

Sorry it took so long, I kept forgetting to log the temps and my family kept closing the GPU-Z application.