XFX 5770 and Battle field 3

[Currency]

(Copied and pasted from BF clan forum since no one there replied)

Minimum requirements for Battlefield 3

OS: Windows Vista or Windows 7
Processor: Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or Althon X2 2.7 GHz
RAM: 2GB
Graphic card: DirectX 10 or 11 compatible Nvidia or AMD ATI card, ATI Radeon 3870 or higher, Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT or higher.
Graphics card memory: 512 MB
Sound card: DirectX compatibl sound card
Hard drive: 15 GB for disc version or 10 GB for digital version

Recommended system requirements for Battlefield 3

OS: Windows 7 64-bit
Processor: Quad-core Intel or AMD CPU
RAM: 4GB
Graphics card: DirectX 11 Nvidia or AMD ATI card, Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 or ATI Radeon 6950.
Graphics card memory: 1 GB
Sound card: DirectX compatibl sound card
Hard drive: 15 GB for disc version or 10 GB for digital version


Of course I've not played since my net was back up the other day. But I have been playing SP a lot, working on beating it on hard. Since then I have been monitoring performance of my 5770 using cpuid's gpu-z.

One thing I love about this little program is being able to select highest amount used or whatever they call it for memory usage, fan speed, several GPU temps and so on.

I noticed this the other day and wrote it all down. Here it is.....

Core clock: 850Mhz
Memory clock: 1200Mhz
GPU Temp: 97.C
Fan Speed: 74%
Fan RPM: 3516
GPU LOAD: 100%
Temps: 91C
97.5C
95.5C
Memory Usage dedicated: 892MB
Memory Usage Dynamic: 212MB
VDDC: 1.0000V (really 1.125V)
VDDC % OCP: 19.2%


The last thread I posted about BF3 crashing was a month or two ago, At that time I pulled the reference plastic shroud from the GPU and cleaned out all of the dust. Pulled my CPU/Mobo and cleaned the entire case. Looked nearly new.

I've never seen my 5770 hit over 75C in any game. You guys have any idea's?
Perhaps monitor your cards and let me know what GPU-Z shows for you?

I know Nvidia cards are said to run hotter. Also XFX said 115 C would start causing graphical issues. Should I purchase some high-end paste and polish the GPU and apply better than stock thermal paste? Could do the CPU while I am at it.

Thoughts?

System is, Emachines ET-1331G-03W Purchased new Nov. 2009 weeks after Windows 7 was released.
Systems specs are as follows since I don't think anyone wants to google them.

Motherboard: ECS MCP61PM-GM Never found an exact manual online either
CPU: Athlon II x2 235E 2.7Ghz dual core of course
Memory: 6GB's DDR 800
HDD: (Think it's a) Seagate 750GB
Video card: XFX 5770 Jupiter 1GB
PSU: Antec Earthworks 650watt's

ATI CCC: 11.12
Video Drivers: 8.92 (I know there is an update.

Thank you for your time and input. Hopefully someone here plays BF3 with a 5770 which could give me more insight. Otherwise any other thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.

 

[linkin]

I played BF3 with a 5770. You want all medium settings and no deferred AA (use post-aa high instead) for a smooth framerate. 91c is also very hot for a GPU. Getting into the danger zone. I'd suggest you take it apart, clean out the dust of the fan and fins, and replace the thermal paste with Arctic Silver 5. You will need a cleaning solution like arcti-clean as well. Also you will need a quad core for better performance in game.

If you've got money to upgrade, new motherboard, CPU, GPU, RAM.

 

[Currency]

Thanks for the tip, will do that. Highest I seen it hit was close to 100C.

Runs fine with all settings on high with AA off and I believe AF 8x. Recommended settings.

I've been in and out of work for a few years now, but I had planned an I5 2500K build. I'm an AMD fan but all the benchmarks I seen showed the quad core I5 besting six core AMD processors in games. Planned this system build months ago, of course new products are being released and prices are falling.

My tax checks going to get my 99 Caviler back on the road and the engine in my 94 explorer rebuilt. The rebuild was quoted by a family friend @ $800 so I can't pass it up.

 

[linkin]

How much would you have for a computer? You could re use the PSU and the HDD at least.

 

[Currency]

Overall plan was to, for a little while at least. Purchase new case, mobo, processor, memory, little extra things. Put the stock PSU in the Emachines and pull the 5770 which I would use until a time came where I could afford a better card. Then the 5770 would be sold.

So I would use the PSU and video card, then donate the Emachines to my mother or sell it. Tigerdirect has them priced at $470 with office student. I paid $399 new.

Just ran the numbers, the I5, mobo, case, and CPU cooler run just over $500. Could budget it more since I had planned for $800 tops but wanted the Corsair H80 cooler, wanted the H70 but last I check they were MIA on newegg. so $92 for the H80, planned to overclock the CPU around 4.0 to 4.2 or less whatever is more stable.

The Emachines case is rather small. But, I have a HP DC7700 or something, full tower in the other room running a Core 2 duo @ 1.86Ghz. Was purchased from community college for $20, I bought three and sold two for $100 each.

Could build the AMD system cheaper which is still an improvement upon what I have now. Since the I5 is around $25 more than an 1100T. Could do 4GB's or DDR3 now and another 4GB's later. I could make it work but it would be ordering one thing at a time with next to no income.

 

[linkin]

$800 is enough for a good build. You might have to settle for an AMD 955BE or 960T, about half the price of a 2500K with ~75% of the gaming performance just as an estimate. I like mine. I'll do a build based on that.

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103995

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157267

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500190

SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233188 (Re-use the emachines HDD if you wish, they're quite expensive to buy due to flooding)

PSU: Re-use the Antec 650W, it will be more than sufficient

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139008

Total: $766.94 before shipping/rebates.

This system will be more than sufficient for BF3, especially when overclocking/unlocking the CPU (it can potentially be unlocked to 6 cores)

 

[Currency]

Very nice build none the less. Very nice motherboard as well.

I was looking at this card,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127578

Same thing but overclocked from the factory with a warranty. Overall though I don't think the performance increase of the MSI 560TI-Hawk compared to the Zotac 560 TI would be enough to justify the increase in cost. $250 Vs $190 after rebates.

Oh, and the 5770 is currently reading 66C at more or less idle. Browsing the web.

 

[linkin]

Yeah the hawk is a nice card. Your 5770 shouldn't be idling that hot. Does the case have any ventilation? Intake or exhaust fans? You can always take the side panel off.

 

[SuperDuperMe]

Very nice build none the less. Very nice motherboard as well.

I was looking at this card,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127578

Same thing but overclocked from the factory with a warranty. Overall though I don't think the performance increase of the MSI 560TI-Hawk compared to the Zotac 560 TI would be enough to justify the increase in cost. $250 Vs $190 after rebates.

Oh, and the 5770 is currently reading 66C at more or less idle. Browsing the web.

I dont think it should be idleing that high.

Have you tried going into CCC performance and takeing fan speed off auto and putting it somehwere up in near 70-80% higher if this doesnt work?

 

[Currency]

Nope, just stock Emachines case. If I have the plugs, which I should. I'll toss in a rear exhaust fan tonight.

Just restarted while I was in the shower, updates.
CCC is reading 60C
GPU Z is reading
GPU TEMP: 62C
#1: 60C
#2: 62.5C
#3: 62C

Just jumped to 63C, now its 64C and back to 63C according to main GPU temp in GPU-Z
That is with the side of the case off and room temp is 72F. Fan is on auto at 45%.

Sometimes I do run it a bit overclocked, from 800Mhz core to 850, and 1200MHZ memory to 1250. Nothing major and I set fan speed at 75%. Ah. I logged the GPU-Z last night while playing less than two games of BF3, my modem reset and took 30 minutes to do so.

Log shows after 10 minutes of gaming overclocked with fan at 75% it went from 58.5C at start to 77C @ 84% load. Then after that it appears load went anywhere from 60-85% and temps stayed around 75-85C.

The temps I listed in the first post was from single player and these temps are from mulitplayer. 48 and 64 man servers across large and mid sized maps, not counting operation metro.

Appears the PSU exhaust heat down, which it shouldn't. I thought the downward fan pulled air from the case and shot it out the back through the holes. GPU is warm to the touch, touch the shroud anyways towards the rear of the fan.

Could always drop a support ticket in. Last one I did with XFX was answer, not joking, 13 minutes later. Was regarding crashes while playing BF3. Admin logs showed something nearly unreadable about BF3 and CCC.EXE not doing something. Worst thing XFX would do if RMA it. Then I'd be stuck with the 6150SE onboard card.

EDIT: @Mike, will try a higher setting when gaming while not overclocked. 80-85%, fans loud and sometimes my three year old is sleeping in my bed just a few feet away. Temps still showing in low 60's C at idle.

 

[SuperDuperMe]

Hmmm :/ I would shoot for some more fans for the case if i were you. Theyll do some good all around and would be better than rmaing if this is the probelm, plus you can always rma if this does not sort it out.

How were your temps before all this?

 

[M1kkelZR]

you could find a simple GPU watercooling set, im planning on buying one only for my CPU, and this is a simple radiator with built in fan to CPU cooling block.

the prices vary between €50-€100,- no idea how much that would be in pounds or dollars really.

 

[Currency]

Here recently was the first time I really did check the temps while playing BF3. The reason I stuck in the 5770 and PSU was to play GTA IV I grabbed off Ebay for like $5 with free shipping, lost it and bought another copy.

Before when I checked, my idle temps were always in the lower 50's C and I had never seen it go above 73C in a game until recently. The only things that have changed in the past year or so is more installed games, newer drivers, and windows updates. Nothing really to warrant an increase in temps.

There is a cold draft blowing in around the baseboard area of the wall/floor right behind the tower. My feet get cold at night, we run an electric heater in the bedroom because if I closed the door and turned the heater off, the room temp will drop 10 degrees F in under an hour.

I honestly believe there is only room for one fan since it's a stock mass-produced computer case built for the retailer giant now known as Acer. Emachines had far better support. They would help me with BSOD's on my old W3052 which I just took apart next to me. Pulling the spare fan out.

Now one question before I clean my system and add the new fan.

Should it be blowing in or out?
I don't think it will make much of difference. RMAing the card appears to be about my only option other than voiding the warranty by removing the shroud, once again

Going to go to my fathers here in a bit and use his air compressor to blow it out. His spray (whatever you want to call it) can be adjusted for different amounts of pressure. So I can turn it down low to remove the fuzzy dust that always appear inside my systems.

 

[Currency]

Submitted a ticket to XFX. Will let everyone know what they suggest doing. Going to clean it either tonight or tomorrow. Going to nap now since I'm running on an hours sleep.

 

[Currency]

Figured they would do this.

Response from XFX.

"[KEVIN_C 1/12/2012 9:28:34 PM] We are sorry to hear that this has happened. Please double check that your serial number is registered correctly. Verify that your Account information (http://xfxforce.com/en-us/Help/Support.aspx) has your current contact phone number and shipping address that someone will be able to sign for a package (no PO boxes allowed for FedEx shipments) when a product is returned to you, FedEx requires these things when shipping anything in case they have to contact you about delivery, and we can escalate this for RMA evaluation. When we issue an RMA it pulls the address that is in your account information at that time. Updating your account information after the RMA is issued will not update the address that the package is being returned to. Thank you. Kevin"

It won't kill me to have to ship it back when it's RMA'ed. The 6150SE built in video card will still allow me to play some games at ultra LOW settings. BF3 won't run of course but I have tons of games on my system. Minecraft is consuming some time and others I've not touched in a while are the entire NFS collection minus The Run, all the Anno's minus 2070. A local retailer went under and I picked up the NFS collection years ago for like $4 from NFS all the way to hot pursuit 2.


Guess this is the ultimate question, ship it back or apply new paste myself?

I've never dealt with an RMA before but have heard most companies do not ship the same or new card back, it's a re-manufactured one.

Chances are, something larger could perhaps be wrong with the card, and it would be best to ship it back and get a different one.

I got my card early, therefore mine is the stock style or reference design. Not the new phoenix revision two or whatever it's called. It's going to be like watching a child leave for college. I may cry since we have always been together since the first power up.

http://www.tweaknews.net/reviews/xfx_hd5770_videocard_review/index4.php

EDIT: According to XFX warranty information. The place I purchased the card from should handle replacement and such. I purchased the card from BestBuy. Sure XFX knows this or should anyways. Was at Bestbuy today and only seen one ATI card, all others were NVidia 265's, 560's, and one 570. Hum....

Another edit: Sitting at 62C now at near Idle, web surfing and playing stronghold Kingdoms, online game. Nothing that should warrant the temp increase. Just going to watch it over the next hour or so before I clean it. Then will check it again but will most certainly be gaming during that time. Will log the results and edit again. Trying not to have 50 posts in a row by myself.

 

[Okedokey]

Replace thermal paste.

 

[Currency]

After cleaning everything again, which was last done in November (Two months ago). Pulled the PSU and video card, did not pull the mobo this time. It's as clean as it will ever get.

I hit 94C @ 86% load. This was after restarting due to server or computer lag. I restarted the PC and router and returned to kick on BF3 butt. After leaving the game, I turned the fan up to 100% and let it run. It stabilized at 51C with 100% fan at idle.

While in game I spoke to a guy running a dual 570 or dual 570's. Hard to chat in game, said his temps hit 38C at best but we didn't discuss cooling.

I just think it could be more than thermal paste issues. I've heard, at best, I can expect maybe a 7C difference. Still means I'll be hitting mid to high 80 C's while gaming. Which will shorten the life of the card. Best thing may just be to RMA it as XFX is suggesting.

Also read their RMA process/exchanges is a joke.

Edit: Running benchmarking apps to monitor performance and temps.
Mafia II benchmark: Average 30FPS max temp 90C. Started at 60C from Idle and climbed during the maybe five minute benchmark. Max load, 100%.
Not going to perform any more benchmarks as we already know it's running hotter than normal therefore I'm just wasting time and hurting the poor little card.
Will update this thread after XFX RMA's it as the process has already started. Will post whatever they say, if it's bad and what they replace it with, or if they attempt to repair it, new thermal paste. I still don't think that would do enough to keep it cool.

As stated above, before it idled in low to mid 50 C's and I never seen it hit anything higher than mid 70 C's while gaming. So either it's bad or I'm pushing it hard as it's showing age. If I remember correctly this system was purchased in Nov 2009, video card, PSU, and 22" LCD were all purchased between Feb and Mar of 2010.

Perhaps it is time for a new system build

 

[Jiniix]

Any 5770 1GB will run Battlefield 3 @ 1080p easily. I built a computer for my little brother only with Battlefield 3 in mind.

• AMD Phenom X2 555 BE @ 3.8 GHz
• 4GB RAM (2x2GB) 667MHz
• HIS 5770 1GB
• HDTV 1080p

It runs smooth at semi-high to high settings.

The temperatures after intense hours of playing (HWMonitor and CPU-Z) measures CPU temps at maximum 30C and GPU 47C. Stock GPU cooler and no overclocking.

 

[Currency]

Yeah mine runs pretty smooth but I did learn to stay out of the 64 player servers, well 64 per team. Caused some minor lag. I tried lowering settings but it still lagged, restarted PC and router which helped, but still it lagged.

But now the 5770 is out of the computer, had to go purchase a VGA cable so I could use the built-in 6150SE Nvidia chip.

I think my biggest problem right now is the Athlon 235E processor, dual core 2.71Ghz. Last I looked, upgrade wise I couldn't make an improvement worth anything since this motherboard requires the lower TDP processors.

I don't think the 6,144MB's of memory is an issue even if it's DDR2.

Going by the Windows experience thing,
Processor: 6.3
Memory: 7.1
Graphics: (with 5770 = 6.9) Without = 3.4
Gaming Graphics: (with 5770 = 6.9) Without = 3.2
Primary HDD: 5.9

Lowest being the 5.9 rating is the base score. Not bad for a sleeper, a stock appearing Emachines. Now without the 5770, I'm screwed when it comes to most games. WIll run NFS most wanted and I think carbon.

With CCC controlling the fan, temps were highest. 97.5C
With MSI Afterburner, with fan speed matching temps, highest I seen was 84.5C. Still high though.

 

[Okedokey]

Any 5770 1GB will run Battlefield 3 @ 1080p easily.

Rubbish, it will play it on low or medium settings at the desired 40 - 60FPS, but not on high or ultra. On high you'll get about 35, however it will drop below 20 at points. Having owned 2 of those cards, I know first hand. An average of 25FPS is not running easily at 1080P on a first person shooter. lol.