Just got a 9800 Pro!!!!!!

[big4x4]

Got one today for 189. So far, I am not very happy with it coming from my bfg 5900. First of all, the text on the 9800 looks blurier in 2d mode. Here are the scores I got (stock): 3dmark01 - 17.1k 3dmark03 - 5810 AQM3 - 40.3k. The aquamark score is a little low...no? Aside from the blurry text, I like it. BTW, the thing feels SOOOOO light and little compared the the 5900!!!!

 

[big4x4]

I DO NOT like the 9800 pro after using it for a few games. 1st of all, NFSU still has studdering! Also, I was just playing generals, and the game crashed 20 minutes after I got into it!. I really dont think it is overheating because I have a vantec spectrum fan card blowing on it!!!! Back to the tried and true 5900. BTW, I am using the newest catalyst!!!! I do notice an increase in performance in Call of Duty

 

[g3pro]

hahaha. i hoped you learned your lesson: never buy ATi.

 

[Keysplayr]

Ok, I have a few questions.

1. Where did you get the 9800 for 189.00 and is it new, used, or refurbished. (When I say new, I mean you had to peel the plastic wrapper off of the box.

2. What method did you use when you switched from you 5900?
a. Did you uninstall the nvidia drivers?
b. Did you just swap the cards and install the CAT drivers over the nvidia drivers?
c. Did you run "Driver Cleaner" to make sure all traces of the nvidia drivers were gone?

3. What are your computer specs? ( cpu, mobo model, memory, peripheral pci cards ) Is your sig up to date?

Unless you have a defective card, there are reasons for your troubles. Especially when you say that the text is blurrier on the ATI (which is known to have clearer 2D quality )

BTW, this is coming from a BFG 5900U owner. I'm just trying to make sure that this is not a flamebait thread. There are plenty of people in here who are willing to help you work it out.

Keys

 

[Dman877]

Why did you buy it when you had a 5900 Ultra? Only reason I can think of is if you really like aa/af but even then, there isn't a huge dif... that's like switching a A64 3000 for a P4 3.0 and saying why isn't my comp way faster....

 

[Todd33]

Ya, you hardly notice anything, because there isn't much to notice. I also think the Nvidia driver are a bit more polished, oh well.

 

[big4x4]

The sig is up to date. Here is what i did to swap cards:

1) Uninstall the nvidia driver from add/remove programs
2) boot into safe mode and run drive cleaner
3) Turn off computer
4) Install 9800 pro
5) Install drivers

This cards was NEW, still shrink rapped from frys.

The reason I bought it that I needed another vid card for another cpu, so I just decided to do a little upgrade.

 

[CaiNaM]

about the only time there's enough difference to notice it is in areas that make use of PS2 shader effects, so maybe 5% of the time in FarCry, and that's about it.

there may be certain bugs with certain games on one card or the other, but for the most part they perform similarly overall. you may also notice a difference if you run something @ 1600X1200 while running 4xaa/8xaf.. but there's a whole other argument, heh... but i don't even run my 9800p at 1600res except in 2d, the perf is inadequate for any of the games i play.

 

[compfreak999]

on generals it might not be ur system at all, ea is really glitchy, i play it a lot ever seen [ihateclans]Em? yea thats me im like 110ish/38ish but w/e i get that messege sometimes like it says it can be a virus or its overheating, try a few more games and c if it stil happens

 

[big4x4]

I would play generals online, but unfortunately I cannot. Although I bought the retail zero hour and general, I installed a no cd because I really HATE putting in cd's for some reason. I usually play over a network though. Back on topic, I put in the 9800 pro, and still the same hard to read text in 2d!~!!!! You think the card is the problem?

 

[McArra]

Originally posted by: big4x4
I would play generals online, but unfortunately I cannot. Although I bought the retail zero hour and general, I installed a no cd because I really HATE putting in cd's for some reason. I usually play over a network though. Back on topic, I put in the 9800 pro, and still the same hard to read text in 2d!~!!!! You think the card is the problem?

Yes, 2d quality is great in my 9700pro and 9800pro. Maybe a problem with the ramdac. Try DVI output with the dvi to vga plug and see if it looks ok. If it does then your card is faulty definetly. If not maybe a driver related issue or a faulty card

 

[Somniferum]

Originally posted by: big4x4
I DO NOT like the 9800 pro after using it for a few games. 1st of all, NFSU still has studdering!

Go into driver options and turn off Fast Writes. That should fix your stuttering -- might help with "studdering", too . NFSU is smooth as glass for me @ 1280x1024, 4xAA 8xAF.

 

[big4x4]

"studdering"

LOL

 

[Keysplayr]

Download Driver Cleaner 2.7 found here and follow the directions to the letter. Make sure you unplug your network cable like it says to do.

If this doesn't help your problem and you also turned off fast writes, I would RMA the card.

 

[Kuznetsov]

Hahahhahahahahahahaha
now you know not to buy ATi.
i got rolling lines all over my monitor, i suppose thats why the 2D is better.
On 3d mode definitely is better when the rolling lines just keeps on rolling.
Not to mention my PSU makes crazy noises all the time for as long as it is stuck on my mobo.
Excellent piece of engineering!!
ATi Radeon features:
Rolling Lines
PSU high pitch noises
DX9
Excellent 2D and 3D graphics.

Enjoy!

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: Kuznetsov
Hahahhahahahahahahaha
now you know not to buy ATi.
i got rolling lines all over my monitor, i suppose thats why the 2D is better.
On 3d mode definitely is better when the rolling lines just keeps on rolling.
Not to mention my PSU makes crazy noises all the time for as long as it is stuck on my mobo.
Excellent piece of engineering!!
ATi Radeon features:
Rolling Lines
PSU high pitch noises
DX9
Excellent 2D and 3D graphics.

Enjoy!

Yah, I know what you mean. The last 5900 I bought had thick vertical lines even in bios. So now I know not to buy ATI or Nvidia. Hmmm.
What does that leave me with as far as choices go, hmmmm. I KNOW!!! Matrox here I come!!!.

Get real n00bie junior man.

 

[Kuznetsov]

Well a junior simply becoz i have other things to do than being stuck on this forum.
I guess you have a full-time job considering youre a golden member already.

Clearer 2D quality you say?
Are you aware of the rolling lines issue across 9500/9700/9800 cards?
No?


Now, 4 Radeons all with rolling lines even in BIOS!!
i have no problems with GF cards so far.

And yes im aware of the 5900 rolling lines issue.
I heard no problems like that so far on the 5900XT and 5950
On the other hand, ati carry the rolling lines across to 9800pro!!

 

[Zen0ps]

It could be your monitor is still set for the Nvidia card.

Reset your monitor and play with the convergence if it looks blurry, turn off moire reduction if you have it on.

Vertical/horizontal or colour convergence can make things look really blurry if you slide the scale from one end to the other. It could very easily have been that your Nvidia was blurry and the ATi is crisp, but your monitor its calibrated for blurry

Rolling lines is usually interference, a lot of cards that use the internal power connector (Radeon 9700/9800 GFFX 5800/5900) will exhibit this problem when you use a poor powersupply that is leaking electromagnetic interference. (Radeon 8500 and earlier, and GF4 and earlier do not have the problem) Either that or a poorly shielded videocable.

Not enough people own a 5950 to complain.

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: Kuznetsov
Well a junior simply becoz i have other things to do than being stuck on this forum.
I guess you have a full-time job considering youre a golden member already.

Clearer 2D quality you say?
Are you aware of the rolling lines issue across 9500/9700/9800 cards?
No?


Now, 4 Radeons all with rolling lines even in BIOS!!
i have no problems with GF cards so far.

And yes im aware of the 5900 rolling lines issue.
I heard no problems like that so far on the 5900XT and 5950
On the other hand, ati carry the rolling lines across to 9800pro!!

Uhh..I used to have rolling lines with my 9700 Pro, but ever since I rmaed and got a rev 3, brand new card, I have had zero problems.

 

[Mem]

1) Uninstall the nvidia driver from add/remove programs
2) boot into safe mode and run drive cleaner
3) Turn off computer
4) Install 9800 pro
5) Install drivers

This cards was NEW, still shrink rapped from frys.

The reason I bought it that I needed another vid card for another cpu, so I just decided to do a little upgrade.

You missed out a few steps,I would of done the following, disabled the network connection,uninstall the Nvidia drivers,boot into safe mode,run driver cab cleaner,then SP1 cab cleaner(both found in tools menu of Driver Cleaner) then run Driver Cleaner for "Nvidia".

Shut PC down after,install new card,boot to desktop and install latest drivers,last renable the network connection.

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: g3pro
hahaha. i hoped you learned your lesson: never buy ATi.

you are an idiot.

 

[McArra]

Originally posted by: Kuznetsov
Well a junior simply becoz i have other things to do than being stuck on this forum.
I guess you have a full-time job considering youre a golden member already.

Clearer 2D quality you say?
Are you aware of the rolling lines issue across 9500/9700/9800 cards?
No?


Now, 4 Radeons all with rolling lines even in BIOS!!
i have no problems with GF cards so far.

And yes im aware of the 5900 rolling lines issue.
I heard no problems like that so far on the 5900XT and 5950
On the other hand, ati carry the rolling lines across to 9800pro!!

Rolling lines?? You say it like it is a common thing and that's nowhere near reality... don't be a fanboy.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: Kuznetsov
Well a junior simply becoz i have other things to do than being stuck on this forum.
I guess you have a full-time job considering youre a golden member already.

Clearer 2D quality you say?
Are you aware of the rolling lines issue across 9500/9700/9800 cards?
No?


Now, 4 Radeons all with rolling lines even in BIOS!!
i have no problems with GF cards so far.

And yes im aware of the 5900 rolling lines issue.
I heard no problems like that so far on the 5900XT and 5950
On the other hand, ati carry the rolling lines across to 9800pro!!

Yes, actually I bought a brand new built by ATI 9500pro when they first came out. It had rolling horizontal lines when I installed it.
I have about 7 computers at the time ( I was an IT manager) so I put it in another rig. Lines were still there. So, I RMA'd the card. No more lines.
A little frustrating when you buy a new card and it has problems. But its not the end of the world. Just warranty the thing.
I have bought at least 10 nvidia cards over the last 5 years and only had a problem with the BFG5900 recently. I RMA'd it. Done.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: Mem

1) Uninstall the nvidia driver from add/remove programs
2) boot into safe mode and run drive cleaner
3) Turn off computer
4) Install 9800 pro
5) Install drivers

This cards was NEW, still shrink rapped from frys.

The reason I bought it that I needed another vid card for another cpu, so I just decided to do a little upgrade.

You missesd out a few steps,I would of done the following, disabled the network connection,uninstall the Nvidia drivers,boot into safe mode,run driver cab cleaner,then SP1 cab cleaner(both found in tools menu of Driver Cleaner) then run Driver Cleaner for "Nvidia".

Shut PC down after,install new card,boot to desktop and install latest drivers,last renable the network connection.

Yes I know mem, everything you mentioned is in the readme.txt file in the drivercleaner download. That why I told him to follow
them to the letter. If he does that, he should be good.

 

[Mem]

I DO NOT like the 9800 pro after using it for a few games. 1st of all, NFSU still has studdering! Also, I was just playing generals, and the game crashed 20 minutes after I got into it!.

Also try disabling fastwrites in BIOS and ATI Smartgart tab,should work fine with them on but it`s good to disable them to see if that improves stability and also to rule out "fastwrites" causing the problem.

As to image quality,you tried using the DVI connection via the DVI-VGA adaptor that`s supplied with the card?

Image quality is very good in general with ATI cards ,like the others have suggested you can try it in another PC and monitor ,if it`s still bad,then time to return the card for a replacement.