Bad Graphics

Sathel · Dec 26, 2008

I just built a new system and I am getting bad graphics when i try to play games like Assassin's Creed, Hellgate:London and COD4. I am running the following.

AMD 4850e X2 2.50Ghz
Corsair 4gigs DDR2 667
GeForce 8400GS ( latest drivers )
xFx Mobo Geforce 8200 ( Hybrid SLi is off )
Vista Home Premium 32bit

Now when I got to play the games even when the settings are on the lowest setting they still run like crap. I have done 2 clean installes on the system. I did however notice this little message when I was running some small tests:

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 12/26/2008, 03:10:55
Machine name: SYS1
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6001) Service Pack 1 (6001.vistasp1_gdr.080917-1612)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
System Model: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
BIOS: BIOS Date: 10/20/08 17:12:23 Ver: 08.00.15
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) Dual Core Processor 4850e (2 CPUs), ~2.5GHz
Memory: 3262MB RAM
Page File: 1570MB used, 5178MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 6.00.6001.18000 32bit Unicod

This is honestly the first time i have ever seen this as long ans I have been building pc's. So i went and updated my DX and still no change. I thought my 8400 was supposed to be DX10. I even tried the Hybrid Sli and to my surprise nothing. Any one with an ideas let me know.

darkassain · Dec 26, 2008

these games all usually run dx9 (know COD 4 does)

have you had windows updated???

did you disable the IGP from the bios???

i want to eliminate as many variables as possible
have you updated your games??
do you have any programs running in the background you can disable??
services you can disable (meaning not MS or critical (such as av)??
can you also disable the aero and try to see if that works???

BTW you should invest in 64 bit vista (or if not in windows 7 64)
you are not using all of your memory as you can see here (the OS can see it but cant access it)
also a IGP will eat up memory that you may need for other tasks....
(such as gaming)

Dwarf · Dec 26, 2008

Hi Sathel and welcome to Vista Forums :party:

Your problem would seem to stem from the performance of your graphics card. The only way of improvement would be to upgrade the card.
Have a look at the following table taken from NVidia detailing the GeForce 8xxx series of cards. Your card is at the bottom of the list. In particular, note the Memory Interface for your card. This is only 64-bit, and as such, will severely limit the performance of the card. Compare this card with the one listed immediately above it and you can see the difference. My current card is the 256MB version of the one highlighted, i.e. 8800GT. Although this is a mid-range card, it still gives good performance (my WEI scores for the graphics sub-section are both 5.9 with this card).

MrNeeds · Dec 26, 2008

Dwarf said:
Hi Sathel and welcome to Vista Forums

Your problem would seem to stem from the performance of your graphics card. The only way of improvement would be to upgrade the card.
Have a look at the following table taken from NVidia detailing the GeForce 8xxx series of cards. Your card is at the bottom of the list. In particular, note the Memory Interface for your card. This is only 64-bit, and as such, will severely limit the performance of the card. Compare this card with the one listed immediately above it and you can see the difference. My current card is the 256MB version of the one highlighted, i.e. 8800GT. Although this is a mid-range card, it still gives good performance (my WEI scores for the graphics sub-section are both 5.9 with this card).
View attachment 8904

i agree, if hes running an 8400 gs hes not going to play anything, i had a 7300gs and that barely run Call of duty 1 never mind call of duty 4 and that was on xp.

Sathel · Dec 26, 2008

Thanx! How would a GeForce 9500GT 1GB GDDR2 card work out for me. IGP is off and yes I have considered 64bit (the jury is still out on that decision)

darkassain · Dec 26, 2008

Sathel said:
Thanx! How would a GeForce 9500GT 1GB GDDR2 card work out for me. IGP is off and yes I have considered 64bit (the jury is still out on that decision)

from what i see you will be able to run said games good enough

the bottleneck though is going to be gddr2....

calhounhusker · Dec 27, 2008

Why do people buy these cheap ass cards and expect to play games well?

In the nvidia series anything below the x600(8600, 9600) series is going to suck for gaming. x800(8800, 9800) series is highly recommended, and its not like they are that pricey anymore

Dwarf · Dec 27, 2008

Agreed. Check the specifications in the table from my previous post and you will see the values shown for the Memory Interface. You should choose a card with 256-bit or greater.

darkassain · Dec 27, 2008

while i know it still low he will be able to play older games to some extent...
just dont hope to play these (or newer ones) games in native resolution...
if remember correctly this card has a 128-bit memery interface...

Sathel · Dec 27, 2008

I also fogot to add that I had the same problem under windows xp pro. I think imma just switch to an ATI setup.

mansrm81 · Dec 27, 2008

Why do people buy these cheap ass cards and expect to play games well?

I don't have any problems playing games with my 8400GS card.

sygnus21 · Dec 27, 2008

Sathel said:
I also fogot to add that I had the same problem under windows xp pro. I think imma just switch to an ATI setup.

I see two different video cards in your specs, or is that a typo?

AMD 4850e X2 2.50Ghz
Corsair 4gigs DDR2 667
GeForce 8400GS ( latest drivers )
xFx Mobo Geforce 8200 ( Hybrid SLi is off )
Vista Home Premium 32bit

At any rate, the 4850 is a good card for the price to performance ratio - Look here - Rate the 4850 ! - Rage3D Discussion Area. I have a Visiontek 4850 and I have no DX10 gaming issues -

Crysis
Crysis Warhead
Bioshock
Lost Planet
Dead Space (DX9)

All ran flawlessly (well, except for Crysis - had to switch to DX9 on the last level due to severe lag). I game at 1280x1024 though.

Everlong · Dec 27, 2008

The only things a low memory interface seriously limits is high resolution with anti-aliasing. It can still perform well in games with the right levels of detail.

calhounhusker · Dec 27, 2008

mansrm81 said:
Why do people buy these cheap ass cards and expect to play games well?

Click to expand...

I don't have any problems playing games with my 8400GS card.

Annnnd what games do you play?

And Sathel, you will have the same issue under XP as the video card is junk. It has NOTHING to do with the OS or anything. Also, switching to an ATI card isn't going to be any better unless you get a quality card.

mansrm81 · Dec 27, 2008

Crysis
Crysis Warhead
Bioshock
COD4
Timeshift
All FEAR games
Gears of War
Oblivion
Clive Barker's Jericho
Kane and Lynch

darkassain · Dec 27, 2008

but see hes running 1024x768 native (and its a crt)...
and the 256 (gddr3?) helps....
but wow crysis....
im shocked...lol

calhounhusker · Dec 28, 2008

darkassain said:
but see hes running 1024x768 native (and its a crt)...
and the 256 (gddr3?) helps....
but wow crysis....
im shocked...lol

Crysis on a dual core Athlon 1.9Ghz?
He most likely is running crysis on low settings, and in 1024x768.

I cant imagine he gets any more than 15fps on low with Crysis on that machine.

The 8400GS is junk. Period.

Everlong · Dec 28, 2008

How is it "junk"? Not everyone can afford and needs to get the top of the range graphic cards. An 8400GS is fine for some people for media PCs or casual gaming. I could run Crysis on my old 7600GS on low, and I'm pretty sure my fps wasn't as low as 15.

Your 9800GTX would struggle maxing out Crysis, does that mean it's junk?

calhounhusker · Dec 28, 2008

Everlong18 said:
How is it "junk"? Not everyone can afford and needs to get the top of the range graphic cards. An 8400GS is fine for some people for media PCs or casual gaming. I could run Crysis on my old 7600GS on low, and I'm pretty sure my fps wasn't as low as 15.

Your 9800GTX would struggle maxing out Crysis, does that mean it's junk?

Oh boy, Here we go again. Just becuase one cannot afford a "top of the line" video card doesn't negate the fact that an 8400GS is junk when it comes to gaming.

As far as your comparison of a 8400GS to a 7600GS, the 7600GS is a far better card, and it can only manage low, you can imagine what an 8400GS can do.

If you don't believe me that the 7600GS is a better card, here is a few specs.

8400GS
Chipset Chipset Manufacturer
NVIDIA GPU GeForce 8400 GS Core clock 567MHz Memory Memory Clock 800MHz Memory Size 256MB Memory Interface 64-bit Memory Type GDDR2
7600GS
Chipset Chipset Manufacturer NVIDIA GPU GeForce 7600GS Core clock 400MHz PixelPipelines 12 Memory Memory Clock 800MHz Memory Size 256MB Memory Interface 128-bit Memory Type GDDR2
The 8400GS has a slightly higher core clock but the memory interface is only 64 bit, while the 7600GS is 128bit which makes a HUGE difference.

As I have stated before, anything below the X600 series with Nvidia is NOT made for gaming. If you want a media PC or something to just run older games a 8400GS is FINE, but to play newer and more graphically intensive games it is not fine. Period. If you want to sit there and argue about it then we can, but you will lose.

And what exactly is your point about my 9800GTX+ not being able to max out Crysis? Not many single cards can max out Crysis BUT my card can run any other game just fine. Your try at a comparision/insult failed.

My opinion stands, the 8400GS is JUNK when it comes to gaming. At least get a x600 series card.

Everlong · Dec 28, 2008

At 1024x768, the memory interface difference doesn't mean anything. The extra 4 cores an 8400GS has will make up for it.

The point is you're saying just because a card can't max a game out, it's junk. Anyone who has an 8400GS obviously isn't an enthusiast and wouldn't care about maxing games out, and even then, it's not the graphics that make a game good.

You said your 9800GTX can run games fine, Mansrm said his 8400GS can run the games he listed fine...maybe not at full graphics, but that's something else.

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