Radeon 4870 lags my computer :(

Joe2005

Joe2005

New Member
I recently got a 4870 for my computer, it worked somewhat ok at first, but now my computer runs laggy.

I did some looking around and discovered that my gpu was running at 200mhz and the memory at 500mhz. When I "overclocked" (manually set it at defult levels) catalyst almost immediatly returns it to the previous levels.

I was wondering if:
a) Is the gpu bad?
b) is it too much for my psu and underclocking to compensate (if that's the case why does my computer, not just games, run laggy?)
c) Is something else more likely to be bad, if so what?

P.S. I have a 500watt psu and an athlon 6000+ and I had a radeon 3850 before. I also updated the drivers and reinstalled the operating system.

P.P.S. why did it work for a while and then started to act up?
 
Well if it is that's good, because psu are cheaper and easier to replace :)

Should I just get another 500watt psu or should I up the power?
 
I also talked to my computer instructor and he suggested taking out the gpu and putting my old one back in. Long story short, lots of fiddling and exchanging cards and I have determined this.

Both 6pin power connectors are good.
When the 4870 is installed the computer runs a lot better and hardly ever lags and is almost as fast a normal, (I have no clue in hell as to why), but it crashes like CRAZY, like can't even watch a movie crazy.
The 3850 is good, no crashes and the computer does not run slow or lag.


I still cannot figure out if it is the psu or the gpu that is bad, but I'm strongly leaning towards the gpu now.

P.S. if it really is the gpu that is bad, should I replace the card or return it for my money and get the 1GB version?
 
I assume you have the newest ATI drivers?

If it runs fine with the 3850 it's possible the 4870 is bad, do you know what your temps are?
 
That or the extra power draw by the 4870 is too much for your PSU. Anyone know what the power consumption of each card is?
 
Well I know the minimum req. for the 4870 is 500, that's what I'm running with an Enermax Liberty but it's 80 Plus certified so it's a good strong PSU. If he's running a Corsair, he shouldn't have issues.. though it's possible.
 
:*Update*:
It appears I drew a conclusion about the 3850 too soon. It does crash, just in a different way then the 4870. The 4870 does the VPU recovery thing and works fine afterwards, the 3850 basically shuts down, the monitor goes black and nothing works till I reboot.

I got a new 650watt antec 80+ certified PSU and this is what I have discovered so far:
The 4870 runs better yet again, but still crashes (after about 10 minutes of Crysis it VPU'd).
I have not tried the 3850 yet, will do that after school.

Yes I have all current drivers and a fresh operating system.

Help this is driving me insane!
 
I saw someone with the same problem, with the same card, and his problems only started after he overclocked. Basically what someone on the forums said is that is has something to do with multiple cores or multipliers or something, so while it appears underclocked you have to multiply that number and you will find that it is not underclocked.

Because of this you are severely overclocking your card and probably messing it up. I could be completely wrong about that though. Someone else said something about the current software used to overclck those crds is messed up.

I could have totally misinterpretted what I read yesterday, but it does make sene.
 
yeah, I just found the comment on newegg "The memory on this card has a 4X multiplier..so 900X4 would be 3600mhz." (Daz, on newegg)
 
My last 2 comments might not even be relevent; did you plug power cables into both of the power sockets?
 
Might be something else wrong with your computer. Malware, driver errors, etc.

Any chance you can backup your data and format? Some people maintain their computers pretty well, but some don't. Maybe you have a bunch of crap slowing you down and causing instability.

Just a longshot possibility. Also, are you getting good air flow in your case? If things are too cramped and/or dusty, there might be too much heat buildup.
 
GSAV55 said:
My last 2 comments might not even be relevent; did you plug power cables into both of the power sockets?
Click to expand...

Yes, both cables are plugged in.

If the 4X multiplier is true than when the memory is running at 500mhz it is actually running at 2GHZ which is 200mhz above stock (according to newegg) :rolleyes: I'll try declocking the memory and seeing if it runs better.

Now that might explains why the memory appeard to be running so slow, but what about the processor, I didn't think it had a 3.5x multiplier. All I can find on the internet is that the processor runs at 750mhz...

Another interesting thing is that when I looked at the Catylyst Control Center it reported that the core clock is 200mhz, the memory clock is 500, and the memory bandwith is 56GB/s Which is bothering me becuase they are supposed to be much higher...Gpu-z also mirrors this.

P.S. When I use CCC to look at the 3850 specs it reports that all the values are normal.

@ smoothjk
If you read previously in one of my posts I stated that I just reinstalled the Operating System, so yes I did back up everything I needed and completely reformatted and reinstalled a clean version of Windows XP. I also updated the bios and drivers for everything.

One of my friend's at school suggested the heat thing too, so I checked into that. My cpu temp is around 50c and the 4870 is about the same.

The 3850 usually ran upwards of 65-70 and it used to run fine. I have an 80mm fan in the front and 120mm in the back so I think case temperature is adequate.

I'm still strongly feel that the GPU is bad, but it is really bothering me that my old GPU dosen't work anymore :mad:.
 
I don't know if this is relevent at all, but running crysis warhead at gamer settings at 1680x1050 without any filters I get about 20fps which is way below benchmarks. I don't know if it just the rest of my compuer is an extreme bottleneck (probably) or if the GPU is bad.
 
You might have fried the GPU and even the socket itself when you overclocked it, which would also explain why your old card doesnt really work now.
 
GSAV55 said:
You might have fried the GPU and even the socket itself when you overclocked it, which would also explain why your old card doesnt really work now.
Click to expand...

Ahh ****, what do I do now then? I don't have enough money to replace my motherboard and gpu :( and besides, if I have to do that I might as well just get a new computer. Which I don't have enough money for :(

How would I go about seeing if it really is my motherboard that is bad?
 
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