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

[OnePunchAdam 1]

I was able to play Arma2 Free until yesterday, but after installing the latest driver (12.4) I started having terrible glitches. I have a Hd3650 gfx card. I didn't edit config files or anything. Tried reinstalling, didn't work. I have directx updated. Problem started only after updating the driver the 12.4. Anyone else having the same problem?

Edit: Seems like the problem is not only related to ArmaII. Tried with also America's Army 3 and also having glitches. Will roll back to 12.3 driver and see if the issue is solved.

Edit2: Back to 12.3, problem solved.

Edited April 28, 2012 by Finnbhennach

[Dwarden 1125]

what glitches? please share screens

do you mean white vegetation ?

[OnePunchAdam 1]

Well, as I've switched back to 12.3, I can't get any ss but I'll try to describe. Sky was divided into boxes--black, gray-- and everything was stretching, like the wing of helos, heads and arms of soldiers. Buildings were partially transparent, and also weapons were showing behind them. It was a total mess. If I can find an ss on the net, I will put it here.

[KrIxXuS 10]

Have been getting the dreaded 'white out' and flickering again after re-installation and re-editing of config..cant remember for the life of me what stopped it...had it running fine before with v sync off cant remember whether it was catalyst AI setting's :S in the meantime if any of you helpful lot can help me get my ailing memory back i'd be grateful... ..still getting great frame rate's out of this old 4870 x 2 and as soon as i get a new card i will consider donating it to someone that need's it(yes that's right give it away!!). Running latest beta patch and 1.60 patch...and drooling at the thought of ArmA 3.

[theblueyowie 1]

I'm getting this bug too, but I have an ATI Radeon HD 4300/4500 card. It's probably the latest update for drivers, but I can't seems to fix it by reinstalling an older Catalyst or drivers.

http://oi49.tinypic.com/155sxmr.jpg (221 kB)

http://oi45.tinypic.com/wv66hk.jpg (230 kB)

[Horus 83]

For all ATI/AMD users on Win7 and if you play DX9 game(s) best driver is AMD Catalyst 12.4a hotfix driver

...this probably is from correct branch of driver

which probably again is really bad on any DX10-11 titles...

[KrIxXuS 10]

Nice one Horus ;-) will give that a blast over the weekend and report back.

[theblueyowie 1]

For all ATI/AMD users on Win7 and if you play DX9 game(s) best driver is AMD Catalyst 12.4a hotfix driver

Thank you, this fixed my issues.

[Dwarden 1125]

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?131403-Video-Setting-Lock-Cannot-Go-Above-Normal-for-Video-Memory&p=2153367&viewfull=1#post2153367

it came to my attention there is already solution available via commandline parameter -maxVRAM=

^ for everyone who is sure his game detect incorrectly amount of VRAM

[pusb365 1]

Hello, my first post here.

I recently downloaded Arma 2 Free. I opened it up and got horrible graphical glitches, as described by a lot of you in here. As it was the first time I had run the game, i presumed maybe my system just wasn;t up to it. But now I see others had the game running fine before, but have these issues now. I was just unfortunate that i didnt get a chance to play it before these issues kicked in!

Anyway, i have tried the hotfix download above, and still have the same problem :(

Has anyone else's problems not been solved by the Hotfix download?

[liquidcactus 1]

Hello !

Ok, ive got a serious problem playing dayZ that i havent been able to fix for 2 weeks since i purchased arma2 arrowhead on steam.

Now i have read through alot of replies on the thread here but all the suggestions i have tried have failed. I get a snow like white effect in the grass and trees depending on where my cursor is facing

I tried most of the ideas from suggestions on the dayz forum.. i have even dealt with Amd support center and those bastards couldnt help me either !

I tried all different catalyst drivers 12.3, 12.4, 12.6.. Its the Anti Aliasing that is the problem, when its turned off its fine.. but it looks like crap !! plus i have 2 sapphire cards but they arent connected/crossfired.. would this help ? perhaps the card is overheating maybe ?, ive spent alot of money on my new pc so i need AA on >:*(

So many people suggested adjusting in game graphics etc but this is useless when its the AA alone causing the bad, bad, bad, bad issue, its defenetly game destroying.. but yes other people have had the same graphics issue but what suggestions they had for me that helped them fix their problems hasnt help me at all so far !

please help... 2 weeks and havent even got close.. so so desperate..

thanx

ps i tried to upload a screenshot of the problem but its asks me for the URL ? what the f*** its on my desktop not the internet ? haha ok i guess ima noob then ??? >:(

[domokun 515]

@liquidcactus: Welcome to the community! I think that you've correctly identified the problem - AA with your 7770.

As a 7870 owner, I can recommend a few steps to improve this:

1) Open ATi's Catalyst Control Centre and, under AI Texture Filtering, increase the Quality to High Quality (slide cursor to left).

2) Edit OA's config file (...\My Documents\ArmA2\Arma2OA.cfg), find AToC=7 and change it to AToC=0

3) Edit OA's config file, change PPAA=0 to PPAA=3

4) Set Video Memory to Default, leave AA disabled, increase AF to Very High, set Shadows to High and set Post-Proc to Low

5) Ensure you're running the latest beta patch

Together these should help getting the game running smoothly but looking purdy.

Let us know how you get on.

If you're interested in more tweaks, check-out these tried and tested optimisations:

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?85124-ArmA2-OA-%28low%29-performance-issues&p=2081466#post2081466

[liquidcactus 1]

well thanx for the fast reply but none of those options worked for me..i had already tried most of them the thing is i really want AA turned on.. but its really starting to seem that it cant be possible >:( im so so so so so so so unhappy about this f**King ongoing problem, defently nvidia in the future !

the thing that really f***ing scares me is will this happen with arma3 ? same engine i heard .... waste of 400 f***ing dollars for x 2 sapphire 7770 !

ok now im ranting time to stop ^__^

oh and thanx again for the help.. & any future help 2 of course

and also i cant find this ppaa thing u said to set.. i found the atoc ? it wasnt in any of those files

a very frustrated cactus

[SouthSaturnDelta 1]

Hi all,

I too had major gfx glitches with strange shapes popping up and certain textures being transparent but one of the above listed tweaks and fixes solved anything.

I've resolved the issue by uninstalling current ati drivers and installing an older ati catalyst v 12.1

I'm working away from home and using an older laptop with hd3650 gfx and these newer ati drivers have caused merry havok with all my BIS games.

Hope this helps out anyone using an older mobile gfx card like me.

All the best,

SSD

Hello, my first post here.

I recently downloaded Arma 2 Free. I opened it up and got horrible graphical glitches, as described by a lot of you in here. As it was the first time I had run the game, i presumed maybe my system just wasn;t up to it. But now I see others had the game running fine before, but have these issues now. I was just unfortunate that i didnt get a chance to play it before these issues kicked in!

Anyway, i have tried the hotfix download above, and still have the same problem :(

Has anyone else's problems not been solved by the Hotfix download?

Edited June 14, 2012 by SouthSaturnDelta

[GTnik 1]

I have the same problem on HD 7870

Downloading hotfix...

[domokun 515]

well thanx for the fast reply but none of those options worked for me..i had already tried most of them the thing is i really want AA turned on.. but its really starting to seem that it cant be possible >:( im so so so so so so so unhappy about this f**King ongoing problem, defently nvidia in the future !

the thing that really f***ing scares me is will this happen with arma3 ? same engine i heard .... waste of 400 f***ing dollars for x 2 sapphire 7770 !

ok now im ranting time to stop ^__^

oh and thanx again for the help.. & any future help 2 of course

and also i cant find this ppaa thing u said to set.. i found the atoc ? it wasnt in any of those files

a very frustrated cactus

Did you apply the latest beta

[thegogsunit 1]

Has anyone worked out how to get round this yet? This isnt a new game, how can there still be game breaking bugs in it?

Im using a AT1 HD 4570 and am patched to the newest version of Arma 2. I cant play this game despite only buying it a few days ago so if anyone has got round this and is able to play it, please let me know!

[thegogsunit 1]

Downloaded latest beta drivers for my ATI and problem solved! Looks pretty good actually, looking forward to getting started after work!

http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles/Pages/catalyst126legacyproducts.aspx

[domokun 515]

Downloaded latest beta drivers for my ATI and problem solved! Looks pretty good actually, looking forward to getting started after work!

http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles/Pages/catalyst126legacyproducts.aspx

Thanks for the feedback. What kind of bugs did you experience with your HD 4570.

I'm not sure about the rest of your system but a HD 4570 doesn't sound very powerful so here's a few tips to get the game running smoothly:

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?85124-ArmA2-OA-%28low%29-performance-issues&p=2081466#post2081466

[Myriad 1]

I have an ATI 4800 series HD. After scouring the internet I still haven't found a fix for my issue. I'm running the latest beta Catalyst Driver and I've tried several others. I've tried manipulating my in-game graphics settings in every which way I can think of. Occasionally the game will run perfectly fine, but most of the time it looks like the enclosed screenshot. Sometimes it will be so bad that I can't play because it's too hard to see. There's not pattern to when the problem will occur. Sometimes it happens after I've been playing a while and other times it happens as soon as I start the game. I don't think it's an overheat issue. Any help would be much appreciated.

---------- Post added at 21:07 ---------- Previous post was at 21:05 ----------

Here's a couple screenshots since the forum wouldn't let me post them in my first post:

http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/4941/arma2oa2012072515443074.png

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/8899/arma2oa2012072516164843.png

Edited July 25, 2012 by Myriad

[BasileyOne 10]

played Arma1 and Arma2 on 4850 before for a lot of time[now its working on separate box(crunching some radio stuff)]

after long time of tries, up to 11.7 version of Catalyst, i giveup and rolled back to 8.8 and 8.10 versions.

in my opinion, at least for Arma2[aswell as fro FarCry1/FarCry2/X3Tc/SupCom1/UT2004 and etc] its best drivers made.

basically most AMD-related issues - seriously related with Z-Space compression tech[fast z-space clr, compression itself and etc], employed by AMD devs to conserve/save onboard memory bandwith&size so disabling[or toning down] it may help alot and also it may help geometry look more natural[warning: such tweaks are for advanced users: do BACKUPS !!].

Edited July 26, 2012 by BasileyOne

[thegogsunit 1]

Thanks for the feedback. What kind of bugs did you experience with your HD 4570.

I'm not sure about the rest of your system but a HD 4570 doesn't sound very powerful so here's a few tips to get the game running smoothly:

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?85124-ArmA2-OA-%28low%29-performance-issues&p=2081466#post2081466

The issue I had was black / grey triangles or blocks all over the textures / sky / ground and some areas going transparent. I originally thought it was an issue with shadows as a lot of them looked to be in areas where i would expect to see a shadow rendered but there was also small triangles making up peoples heads etc and massive long blocks flickering across huge parts of the scenery cutting people in half.

Installing the beta driver i linked to above fixed all this instantly, this driver was released about a week ago so is about the newest one available. Game runs good now, have it set on 'high' although some effects disabled. This is the first PC shooter ive played in years though so am still getting used to mouse aim again! Got a score of about 5 at the firing range so not going to be saving the planet any time soon!

Thanks for the setup help too! Is good to have a grown up discussion about this as i made the 'mistake' of mentioning it on another game site and got flamed for it!

Edited July 26, 2012 by thegogsunit

[domokun 515]

I have an ATI 4800 series HD. After scouring the internet I still haven't found a fix for my issue. I'm running the latest beta Catalyst Driver and I've tried several others. I've tried manipulating my in-game graphics settings in every which way I can think of. Occasionally the game will run perfectly fine, but most of the time it looks like the enclosed screenshot. Sometimes it will be so bad that I can't play because it's too hard to see. There's not pattern to when the problem will occur. Sometimes it happens after I've been playing a while and other times it happens as soon as I start the game. I don't think it's an overheat issue. Any help would be much appreciated.

---------- Post added at 21:07 ---------- Previous post was at 21:05 ----------

Here's a couple screenshots since the forum wouldn't let me post them in my first post:

http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/4941/arma2oa2012072515443074.png

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/8899/arma2oa2012072516164843.png

I can't be sure but that looks very much like your GPU is overheating.

If the game starts fine and then these little white artefacts begin to appear then it might well be that you 4800 is overheating.

I used to have both a 4850 and later a 4890.

The 4870 was known for being a ridiculously hot card.

So if it is summer where you live and it's hot inside (30°C+) then maybe consider increasing the fan speed of your case and/or adding more fans.

If you're certain that it's not heat-related, try the 10.4 or 10.6 Catalyst.

From many discussions I had with other 48XX users, these seem to be the last drivers that were really optimised for such cards.

Also, try the tweaks that are described in the link I gave before.

They should help all users.

Let us know how you get on

---------- Post added at 09:21 ---------- Previous post was at 09:17 ----------

The issue I had was black / grey triangles or blocks all over the textures / sky / ground and some areas going transparent. I originally thought it was an issue with shadows as a lot of them looked to be in areas where i would expect to see a shadow rendered but there was also small triangles making up peoples heads etc and massive long blocks flickering across huge parts of the scenery cutting people in half.

Installing the beta driver i linked to above fixed all this instantly, this driver was released about a week ago so is about the newest one available. Game runs good now, have it set on 'high' although some effects disabled. This is the first PC shooter ive played in years though so am still getting used to mouse aim again! Got a score of about 5 at the firing range so not going to be saving the planet any time soon!

Thanks for the setup help too! Is good to have a grown up discussion about this as i made the 'mistake' of mentioning it on another game site and got flamed for it!

Glad I could be of some help.

Sorry to hear that other forums are so intolerant.

This community is not known for being patient or even tolerant, but once you get to know them they really are awesome.

Welcome to the club.

I strongly recommend you try a few mods.

I'd start with the JSRS sound mod, ASR AI mod and/or TPW's Suppression and LoS mod

If you can't be bothered with testing and you want a full overhaul, you could try the COWarMod but beware it was radically change your gameplay experience so maybe you should continue with a vanilla version before adopting such a TC mod.

[BasileyOne 10]

my main advice as owner of this beast - provide/maintain consistent/SERIOUS airflow in you PC case.

my previous card, 4870 - blown my PSU and hdd, by heat and destroyed itself.

mind about 400W of termal power in [relatively]tiny box of [ordinary]PC case.

if you case too old, switch to different.

from inexpensive i can suggest Zalman Z9U3, Antec Two/Three Hungreed, Cooler Master Elite 371x,471x and other, quite simple/minimalistic/entry-level, but ready for serious cooling, cases.

then install extra 120mm/140mm fans in front of case, rear, top, below and aside[but i prefer cover/shut side cover. better for airflow in m cases, except dense SLi/CFx setups].

side note: buy cases with PSU below and NEVER install it with fan pointed inside case, except if its used in EXTREMELY dusty environment, which is bad idea, because its demand more expensive setup/case/modification[for solid/reliable performing].

its both provide prolonged PSU lifetime, reduce PSU noise, provide more stable PSU output[overheated PSU perform worser] and help you fight global warming by more efficient dissipation of local warming !!

think about kids !!

[off-topic]thats can be considered ridiculous off-topic, but presently best option i found is switching to 7870(or 7850 if you display resolution is below 2MP)

7950 even better, of course, but as hot as 48xx or even harder/hotter and more expensive, while main benefit relies in extra 1Gb of memory, rather than shading/texture performance itself[Arma2 is HUGRY for texture memory size/speed].

basically, 7850/7870 with doubled amount of onboard memory would be IDEAL beast for playing Arma2 - cold, small, inexpensive, well-performing.

i buy it[or 88xx, when/if it comes with 4Gb] w/o questions. kinda enough FPS/per Watt/heat output for my purposes.

Arma3 however can change layout/rating, but thats about [distant]time, where 8xxx cards emerge on market, predictibly boasting about 20% performance for same[as 7xxx]price or less.

[/off-topic]

Edited July 26, 2012 by BasileyOne

[kklownboy 43]

...

7950 even better, of course, but as hot as 48xx or even harder/hotter ...]

It is not hotter at all. Having had a 4870X2 x2, so Quadfire, thats hot, nothing will ever be hotter than a 4870x2...and having 260GTXX2 ,4970, they are much hotter than any 7XXX series card...A 7950 is twice as fast as a 4970. And has all the best filters.