graphics bugs with ATI 4800 series (4850/4870/4890)

[Saint Warrior 10]

hmm ok I see, u have a f*** damn rig :)any suggestion for a low to mid budget card that I could set in crossfire and that DON'T have the bug that's the subject of this thread ?

Well, my only suggestion would be to pair an either 4870 1GB, 4870 X2 2GB or 4890 1GB card with one of Phenom II X4 processors. Those CPUs are rather cheap, but in conjunction with 4800 series card you get what AMD calls a "Dragon gaming platform". They optimize Catalyst software for such hardware combinations.

My system is:

AMD Phenom II X4 3.0 Ghz 940 Black Edition

Gigabyte Ultra Durable 3 MA-790GP Motherboard

4GB DDR2 800 Mhz

XFX ATI Radeon 4870 X2 2GB GDDR5 2x256 Bit

Seagate 1.5 TB HDD

Cooler Master 850W (1000W Peak) PSU

Pioneer BlueRay

2 moths ago I paid something about 2000 USD for the total set. It must be much cheaper now, as newer Phenom models came out.

So, the basic advice for you would be to grab the fastest Phenom II X4 you can afford and pair it with the most powerful Radeon card you can afford. And you will have an AMD gaming system.

I don't see any sense in purchasing latest ATI cards without the latest AMD processors.

As for Crossfire cards, 4870X2 is dropping it's price much faster then lonely 4890 one. So, a Crossfire set of 4890s will be at least 40 percent more expensive then 4870X2. But 2GB of video memory is definately a worthy investment as it is a 2010-2011 gaming standard.

a quick question with setting this all up in the CCC, what effects can it have on other games with less anti in game options, that you may play without resetting any CCC values specifically made for Arma2

If there is no AA and AF options inside those games you will not have any of these effects. In this case, you should force AA and AF manually in Catalyst and reset them back to "Application Controlled" when starting Arma II. Edited August 21, 2009 by Saint Warrior

[highfly 10]

this is what I have, but I don't think I'll change my CPU, is it really necessary ? Maybe I added 2 other GB of RAM, I have to check that (and am currently at the office...)

Case: Full Tower - CoolerMaster CM Stacker

Power Supply: 650W Antec Trio

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo Conroe E6700 (Dual Core 2.67GHz - 4MB L2 - 1066 FSB)

Graphic: ATI Radeon X1900

Mainboard: Intel Bad Axe (Intel 975X - 8 x SATA RAID - 3 PCIe x16)

Memory: Corsair TWIN2X DDR2 PC2-6400C4 2 GB Kit (800MHz)

Sound: Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic

Storage :

2 x WD Raptor SATA - 74 GB (16MB - 10'000RPM) - in RAID

1 x 250GB (7200RPM - SATA2 - 16MB)

[Saint Warrior 10]

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo Conroe E6700 (Dual Core 2.67GHz - 4MB L2 - 1066 FSB)

I think this is one of the weak spots. New quad-cores all have 6MB level 2 caches. And their stock clocks are higher (3.0 Ghz and over). Your CPU reduces approximately 30 percent of your game performance and you will not get maximum out from any Crossfire cards using this CPU either.

I think you have two options - to buy a powerful GPU which would not realize all it's potential or build up a new budget gaming system.

New 4870X2 now can be purchased for something around 400 $. New Phenoms II X4 go around 300 $. Motherboards around 200 $.Basically, for 900$ you can build up a brand new quad-core/Crossfire system now.

And Arma II does not use more then 1.6-1.7 gigs of RAM, so I think it is not worth investing.

[highfly 10]

Thanks for that, but 900$ for one game is way too much (I use my pc only for gaming and less and less...)

I'll see what to do, but thanks for help

[kklownboy 43]

Thanks for that, but 900$ for one game is way too much (I use my pc only for gaming and less and less...)

I'll see what to do, but thanks for help

Your kit is fine except for the vidcard. You can get nice cards for under 200$. You just have to be realistic about the game resolution you play at.With the latest Bios from Intel and another 2gb(20$) you could OC the CPU to a easy 3.2, a lil bump is good. Think 1024/768 resolution, not some 1900/1200.There is even a HD4770 from ATi that is a great lil card and brand new tech. And you can crossfire on your current MB if you went down the dual card path.

---------- Post added at 04:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:41 AM ----------

you can create your own profile.

He could, be he doesn't no how. And ATI has a ARMA2 profile in the drivers since 9.2 or 9.3....

---------- Post added at 04:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:46 AM ----------

"...

What are those sliders in Catalyst for then? AMD would leave just a tick box, if they are not completely necessary.

AMD/ATI recomend that you use ingame settings, and leave the CCC settings on APP pref. The CCC settings (AA,AF) are mostly for Older games, and some new ones , but not ARMA. Been playing ARMA since day one have had CF with ARMA since day one (1950xtx's) and using the CCC AA and AF breaks the in game fillters. your screen shot proves it...

[desertjedi 3]

any suggestion for a low to mid budget card that I could set in crossfire and that DON'T have the bug that's the subject of this thread ?

I don't understand why you're looking to run in crossfire. You're not thinking of crossfiring with your current X1900 card?

Is it better one more expensive or two less expensive but in crossfire ?

The way you have your comparison stated is a little odd as you can pick and choose video cards based on your budget. But I don't think anyone in their right mind would choose two video cards in Crossfire (or SLI) over one video card with similar performance unless there is a significant cost savings or...unless you want to add a second card in Crossfire as a "cheap" upgrade.

But I wouldn't recommend going Crossfire/SLI from the start. A lot has to work right (drivers and games) in Crossfire for it to payoff and often it doesn't.

And yeah, I don't see anything wrong with your rig except that it could use a more powerful video card.

[highfly 10]

I don't understand why you're looking to run in crossfire. You're not thinking of crossfiring with your current X1900 card?

That's what I first thought for a cheap upgrade, but then I saw ATI releases only "legacy" drivers for my model any more, meaning it won't be supported an longer (which is a shame btw), so I forgot it and started to think about buying something new.

The way you have your comparison stated is a little odd as you can pick and choose video cards based on your budget. But I don't think anyone in their right mind would choose two video cards in Crossfire (or SLI) over one video card with similar performance unless there is a significant cost savings or...unless you want to add a second card in Crossfire as a "cheap" upgrade.

But I wouldn't recommend going Crossfire/SLI from the start. A lot has to work right (drivers and games) in Crossfire for it to payoff and often it doesn't.

And yeah, I don't see anything wrong with your rig except that it could use a more powerful video card.

That was exactly the point I wanted to know. I'm in my right mind, don't worry, but if you don't follow those specs day by day, you quick forget the important things about it. Thanks for the update.

I'm now thinking about a 4890 or 70 to start with. Then we'll see.

Glad to read that what was a f***ing big (and expensive) rig when I bought it about 2 years ago is still something usable too :p

But then again, if my 4890 makes me that artifact bug as does my x1900, it will be lost money, as I almost only play Arma, and a little BF2 for nostalgy, and because it's always good to make a little BF2 blast :D

[GLeek 10]

"Lots of jaggies" is a very brief description. Where are the jaggies exactly, point them to me please? M4A1 carbine surfaces are smooth, soldier clothes also.

You persuade me to turn on "Application controlled" AA and AF, what I did multiple times and can say surely - picture is damn terrible, spreaded, not sharp at all. ArmA 2 cannot control AA and AF properly without the help of CCC.

In my screenshot, there is a 8X AA and 16X AF in CCC, High AA and Very high AF in game settings.

What are those sliders in Catalyst for then? AMD would leave just a tick box, if they are not completely necessary.

CCC anisotropic filtering slider , force driver to filter ALL texture. i means ALL. it's , well... perfect. a CCC 4x , will be far better than very high in arma config .

but a sad FPS hit. i wonder how GT200 handle anisotropic filtering. anyone could compare ?

[kklownboy 43]

CCC anisotropic filtering slider , force driver to filter ALL texture. i means ALL. it's , well... perfect. a CCC 4x , will be far better than very high in arma config .

but a sad FPS hit. i wonder how GT200 handle anisotropic filtering. anyone could compare ?

A "CCC 4x" will give no benifit and breaks any AA setting in game. you CANT use the CCC AA and AF to filter in the game. The driver will not force anything (but mipmap,or XP Vsync) but break it all.

[GLeek 10]

A "CCC 4x" will give no benifit and breaks any AA setting in game. you CANT use the CCC AA and AF to filter in the game. The driver will not force anything (but mipmap,or XP Vsync) but break it all.

you are wrong . you can use forced anisotropic in arma2 . in other hand, you can't force antialiasing.

but i don't recommended to use 16x aniso . wast of gpu ressource

---------- Post added at 10:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:07 PM ----------

it seems that last patch make game AF better. not much quality difference between CC and ingame "very high". i think it wasn't case with 1.02

stock

16X CCC

stock2

16X CCC²

Edited August 22, 2009 by GLeek

[kklownboy 43]

I am wrong. About AF. Been testing that for awhile but not AF alone... AA usage in the CCC makes for the jaggies and that got in the way of seeing the AF. I think i hate you now :p It is so much better with 16x in the city IQ wise... ill lower my rez for it to be playable. Nice thanks for the extra effort.

Edited August 23, 2009 by kklownboy

[connos 10]

The problem i had with my Ati card was slow loading textures and a bit of stuttering(ATI 4870 512Ram). I recently install Windows 7 64bit by formating my previous Vista 64bit and the difference is huge. I don't know what actually fix my problem, that i format and its a clean pc now?, Windows 7?, the Ati new hotfix drivers? but for sure the experience now is fantastic.

I use to get slow loading texture all the time from the start of the game but not anymore. And also stuttering is totally gone.

[noradbase 10]

Hello,

Yes, i have followed your advice and i've no more artifacts over cities on south coast.

Instead i've some freezes and receiving bugs but it's already a great improvement.

I will continue testing with different graphic settings.

Anyway thanks a lot for this tip,

Turning off texture acceleration in dxdiag seems to get rid of the anomaly errors for me as well, but it does reduce performance, and visual quality seems reduced too, better then nothing though.

[Simon C 0]

Currently, I only get this bug if I change my Video Memory from Very High to Default. Very High is 512MB AFAIK, whereas Default uses all of the card's memory. Therefore, it seems to be a video memory problem, at least for me.

[highfly 10]

I changed my card for a 4890 tonight. Bug completely disappeared for me.

gosh, I went from a 3DMark06 of 6000+ to 12000+

I made a test mission and logged fps with Fraps, I went (exact same settings, one time with old card then new) from 24fps to 45 average!

now I can at last run the game full resolution and some settings a little high!

great improvements

thanks to all who saw the and told me the first upgrade to do was GPU and helped me for this!

Edited August 24, 2009 by highfly

[kklownboy 43]

I changed my card for a 4890 tonight. Bug completely disappeared for me.

gosh, I went from a 3DMark06 of 6000+ to 12000+

I made a test mission and logged fps with Fraps, I went (exact same settings, one time with old card then new) from 24fps to 45 average!

now I can at last run the game full resolution and some settings a little high!

great improvements

thanks to all who saw the problem was GPU and helped me for this!

whooo

[InFireBaptize 0]

please report your issues here:

http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=279&threadid=88116&enterthread=y

AMD game Admin quoted "If you have an issue with a game then report it. The more people report a bug the higher priority it gets."

[moondawg 12]

I had these problems (as previously posted) with my 4890 1gb and XP.

In vista64 it ran fine.

Yesterday i updated my XP install with Cat 9.8 and patch 1.03 (not beta)

And the problems were gone. All smooth, no artifacts, and better performance than my Vista64 install.

Don't know whether it was the patch or drivers though. Or mysterious HW gremlins.

[qece 10]

Got a sapphire radeon 4850 x2 (crossfire) and had the same problem but after an update from sapphire and doing an dirextx update it dissapeared. Not sure which one of the 2 updates solved the problem.

[Skeptic 10]

Under WinXP 32bit I have to set VidMem to Very High (I have HD4890 1Gb), otherwise I get really bad glitches. Under Win7 64bit no such problem.

Edited September 5, 2009 by Skeptic

[Abc94 10]

Could it be that directx 11 with windows 7 is fixing the issue?

I have XP with 4850 and I get massive screen corruption when in an area with lots of objects such as a town like most people.

I thought Directx 10 and 11 were for vista/windows 7 only, but if you search "directx 11 XP" on google, some links for Directx 11 XP come up.

Does anyone know if these files are legitimate or if Directx even has anything to do with this?

[ianpain 10]

i've been trying for weeks to get this game to run then i read a post about large flatpanel monitors.

so i dropped my res down to 1024x768 put all the ccc controls on let app decide except for mipmap.

started game and matched res on both 3d and interface and much improvement. can also go above 100% on 3d i am 125% and game looks much better.

hope this helps

running on vista

[Skeptic 10]

Could it be that directx 11 with windows 7 is fixing the issue?

I have XP with 4850 and I get massive screen corruption when in an area with lots of objects such as a town like most people.

I thought Directx 10 and 11 were for vista/windows 7 only, but if you search "directx 11 XP" on google, some links for Directx 11 XP come up.

Does anyone know if these files are legitimate or if Directx even has anything to do with this?

DX10 or 11 have nothing to do with this. This is simply ATI drivers. W7 is widely expected so ATI driver team probably polished it more than XP.

[von_paulus 0]

DX10 or 11 have nothing to do with this. This is simply ATI drivers. W7 is widely expected so ATI driver team probably polished it more than XP.

I've the same feeling. I'm currently playing "Over Flanders Field - OFF BHaH" and I get better performance in Windows 7 than in XP.

The XP life cycle is coming closer to its end. I think that manufacturers are going, in future, to optimize more their hardware and drivers for the new OS.

[Conkermon 10]

Alright quick update, I tried uninstalling, reinstalling and only upgrading to 1.02 patch instead of the latest and still had the same issue. I tried just to play through it and deal with it, however it eventually blue screened and the computer restarted.

Is there any word of when this is going to be resolved if it is being dealt with at all? Is there an official bug submission site or tracker or anything for this? As of now the game is essentially unplayable for me, I only bought it a day ago so maybe I could try to return it.

Mate this has been going on for months and months. It's pretty obvious that BIS don't give a damn or they'd have commented and done something. I think their policy is to ignore it and let us fix it ourselves, which sucks because this is a complicated problem and many of us don't know how to.

If only there was an extremely wealthy extremely agitated ArmA II gamer as the actions (or inaction) of BIS would definitely stand up in court.