Paladin

Hi all,
I'm new to this forum, so I am still going through a lot of this info here, but I am curious if this is a common problem after installing new drivers. I've not previously had a systme that would benefit from a lot of tweaking, so I'm trying things I haven't played with before.

Along that line, I've just installed the new ATI driver set, and my performance has gone to pot. I ran a 3DMark before and after, and I've gone from about 13,400 down to 8,150, and my GPU Crysis bench-mark has droped from 40.3 to 35 frames on all high settings.

My system is:
Q6600 quad core, 2.4Gig
2x Saphire 3870's in CrossFire (both are recognized by the CCC)
WinXP 32 bit
4 gig RAM @1066 (well, 3Gig with Windows...)

I did an un-install and reg clean-up before installing the new drivers, but haven't yet tried another re-install.

Any thoughts on what could have happened? Should I do another un-install and re-install? Dose anyone have any results on performance improvements the latest set offers, and can I get the older drivers from ATI? I didn't see them on their web-site.

Also, what third party drivers are 'the best' to use? There are more options available than I was aware of before finding this site. I'm seriously considering some other card tweaks with all the keen tools you folks have, but I'd like to start from a strong base-line (like I had with the OLD drivers!!!)

Thanks for the help!


Any help is appreciated.

Murlocke

Odd... Ontop of uninstalling and reg-clean up did you also restart your computer inbetween installs?

I'd try reinstalling the drivers again maybe something messed up.


Also, not sure if CF can be enabled/disabled but are you sure you reenabled CF? With nvidia SLI gets turned off when updating drivers and you have to reenable it.

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Mr_Torch

Well hopefully you used Driver Cleaner Pro to get rid of all the "leftover files" before you installed the new drivers, if you didn't.....DO.. http://www.overclock.net/downloads/1...eaner-pro.html

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Paladin

Yep.

I did a normal Control Pannel un-install, a re-boot, a reg clean-up using ZoneLabs System Mechanic, and an install. The install seemed to go without a hitch untill I ran the bench-marks.

Now, I realize that I didn't shut down my my anti-virus sofware prior to the install, which I usually do (I'm running ZoneAlarm Internet Suite). The previsous drivers were on a clean install (the rig is only a few weeks old). The CF is enabled, and both cards are recognized in the CCC, so everything looks like it's running right, just much slower....

Mr_Torch

Well you don't mention that you used DRIVER CLEANER PRO.....it works well...other programs do NOT when it comes to GPU old file cleaning.....

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Paladin

I must have been typing my response to Murlocke when you posted your response, as I didn't see it before I answered. I had not used driver cleaner, but I did use it last night. I agree, it is much better, as it did find a lot of garbage that was left over, even after using other tools.

In any case, this problem seems to be related to some bug that is preventing the new drivers from properly cross-firing. I wiped the drivers clean, and loaded the latest Omega drivers, and had about the same problme (though the Omega drivers were MUCH smoother than the stock ATI drivers). But, when I loaded the Omega Drivers, and tried to Cross Fire using ATI tray tools to cross fire, I got an error message saying something like "CFEnable not Found". I got no such indication using the CCC. It looks like there is a problem with XP 32Bit, the newest drivers, and crossfire recognition, as a search for that fault led me to a few sites with reports of similar problems.

In any case, I re-loaded 8.2 drivers, and am back to my original performance. Hopefully, this will get sorted soon, as I'm now very eager to try the Omega drivers, after seeing how much better they performed with only the one card.

alexgheseger

Alot of people are having troubles with the catalyst 8.3s. I would say just stick with the 8.2s unless you are going crossfireX. I had to uninstall the catalyst 8.3s, use Driver cleaner, install the preview drivers, uninstall them, but NOT use driver cleaner, and then reinstall the 8.3s before they worked properly.

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grunion

Yeah I just don't get the 8.3 cats, they suck for 3d Mark06 but they gave me a nice boost with games.

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alexgheseger

TBH i think ATi pulled the old switcharoo. crossfireX does not scale worth a crap in 3dmark, but your gaming performance gets a real boost. I went from 38 FPS (DX 9 all high 1680*1050) on the crysis bench to 51.4 with the 8.3s and my new 3870.

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Gollie

First time I have heard that kind of performance boost...

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