ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 problem...please help.

anthonyhua

As the title suggests, I have an ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 128mb graphics card.

From the beginning, I have had a seemingly unique, if not mind-boggling, problem with the graphics. The graphics itself are very good and smooth, just as one would expect. But all my games will, more often than not, run either faster or slower than it should do e.g. a 2 minute Counter Strike game will run for 3 minutes, even though the clock says it lasting 2 minutes. Similarly, my F1 game may run at near 50% quicker than it should. This slow/fast problem alternates and also affects Unreal, Worms and Colin McRae.

Why is this? It's getting very annoying now as it runs at the wrong speed more often than not.

What can I do? I have tried some different drivers but they don't seem to do anything. Does anyone have any suggestions? Any help is much appreciated.

redsolar

I have a feeling your video card is the last place you should start looking. It sounds like there is something wrong with your PC clock generator or something. Have you tried actually timing your game with a watch? See what result that gives you.

Does it matter if you play with power settings (Max Performance vs Max Battery)

What drivers are you using, what OS?

anthonyhua

I am running XP.

I am not entirely sure what drivers...I got someone else to do it for me....I have tried ATI ones as well as non-ATI ones? Sorry, I am not too good with stuff like that. I have downloaded the latest DirectX 9 stuff - again, I'm not sure what that does either.

Sometimes, the games run at normal speed before slowing or speeding again.

Yes, I have tried running my games with a watch before. I haven't timed it to precise seconds, but I am definitely sure there is a speed difference. For example, tonight, I tried driving a lap around a race track in my F1 game. It was going probably about a third faster than it should i.e. a 40 seconds time would have actually been done in 30 seconds. It's weird and hard to explain...I hope you understand what I am trying to explain.

redsolar

Well some games are not 100% precise when it comes to time inside the game vs real world time, though one would think F1 is not one of them .

I would try installing Omega Drivers, in particular the ones based on Catalyst 4.12, and see if the problem goes away.

Tipstaff

Which laptop are you running on?

One thing I would suggest is that you look in your bios settings, and if it's there, disable Intel SpeedStep. Do you have this problem when your are running on battery only, or using both battery and the AC adapter? See, SpeedStep will alter the clock rate on a laptops CPU in order to save battery life, and reduce heat. This, in turn, can fool around with games that are tied closely with the CPU clock rate as they can speed up or down when this kicks in. Doesn't always happen, but I have seen this happen in rare instances, especially in older games (like some old EA games, Privateer for one, and some Lucas Arts titles), and even on some new ones.

Also, check your power options too. I would suggest making a profile based around gaming.. one that has everything on high, and suspension items turned off. That way you can switch settings on the fly, and in turn maintain a certain power level necessary to play certain games properly.

- Tip

chris.flack

Hi guys, looks like i have finally found the site for me. Having a torrid time with my Tiny/Time laptop. Lost the hidden partition so had to reinstall windows xp and use the rip off Tiny restore cd that did not restore. I have a radeon 9700 pro 128mb and thought i had loaded the drivers properly, but for some reason i keep getting bothered by the Fly Tv Mini card report. I am going to have a look at the crystal drivers and load, see if it helps my prob. In the mean time anyone out there have any pointers in trying to get ahold of the right 3rd party utility ? If there is such a thing that is.

Thanks in advance..

anthonyhua

Thank you. I will try those once I have finished responding to the other posts.

I see what you mean that some games do not work in real time, but I know there is a problem because sometimes during one game, it can go from fast normal and back to fast again, if that makes sense?

Cheerr - will try those soon.

anthonyhua

My laptop specs are:

Intel Pentium 4 Processor 3.0ghz
512 RAM
ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 128mb
60GB HDD

I think that's about all the specs you need to know.

So given my specs, can I change my Intel SpeedStep? It's interesting you ask about whether I play with the battery or AC/battery because I have never actually noticed that. I will try to see if there is a difference, although I am not so sure about what effect it will have.

Thanks.

anthonyhua

Hello...probably be better if you start a new thread so that it gets more attention from others

BTW, mine's a Mesh. I decided against a Tiny because, although you get more bang for buck, I heard that their aftersales was slightly crap so I decided with Mesh, who I knew were good and reliable because my old desktop was from them.

If I can't sort out my problem here, I think my next step will be to e-amil or call the guys at Mesh to see if they know!

anthonyhua

Okay, so I've now tried the Omega drivers. Both Counter Strike and Need For Speed slowed down midway through the game. I used my watch compared to their clock to confirm this. Also, this happened while I was on AC mains.

How do I go about changing the BIOS settings for that Intel SpeedStep thing? I think I press F2 at the start or something? I understand that, if I am not careful, I can do some damage to my computer?

I am really lost with what could be wrong. Is there, by any chance, that it is a hardware problem? I have never thought that because the graphics have always been very smooth and clear, even when it slows/speeds the game.

redsolar

SpeedStep settings should be somewhere around the battery settings, but it may vary depending on which brand it is (my Dell has them in the Advanced setttings).

When the clock/time slows down, does your FPS change too? Get something like FRAPS and see if it does.. This may shed some light as to what's happening.

It's a really wicked problem, don't think I ever heard of anything like that.

anthonyhua

I installed the FRAPS thing. The number at the top appears to be continuously changing to the point where comparison between my notebook's 'slow', 'normal' and 'fast' speeds are not really possible.

I then went into BIOS...have I not looked hard enough or can I just not see where the SpeedStep thing is? I can't seem to find it. Is it definitely there for the type of processor that I have? If so, I will see what other ways I can go about finding it.

redsolar

It should be, since all intel notebook CPUs have some sort of scaling mechanism for batter conservation.

The number at the top should be changing all the time, since FPS varies as you move around. I was more asking whether FPS appears to drop when it slows down or rise when it speeds up.

anthonyhua

I will probe furhter into the FPS thing. It's late here so I will play my games again tomorrow to check it out.

In the meantime, I still cannot find the SpeedStep thing. I understand that BIOS differ slightly from manufacturer to manufacturer? If it helps, mine says PhoenixBIOS Utility at the top. I cannot see a SpeedStep thing in sight. Is it possible that it is called something else? In Boot sectoon, there is something that says Hard Drive but nothing happens if I press Enter. I have seemingly looked in all the sub folders of the other sections but I still can't find anything to do with SpeedStep .

Tipstaff

Thanks for posting the specs, but can you post the maker of the laptop and model number? That way I might be able to find you specific bios settings.

As red suggested it might be called something else. Most laptops will adjust their CPU speed to save battery life. On the newer M based processors Intel added SpeedStep. The added bonus is that you can actually control this function with a program from within Windows. On my Dell Precision M60s that listing is under the 'Power Management' section within the bios that lists what they laptop should do when it is running on the battery or AC power.

Here's something to look for: In the bios look for something similar to 'Boot Speed', 'Processor Speed', or as red suggested, in the power management options for anything mentioning CPU adjustment. If you have one called 'Boot Speed' you can change this to be more compatible with, and I quote "...allows you to choose between the computer's processing speed, and are more compatible, slower mode for use with certain speed-sensitive apps."

If you don't find anything in the bios you should also check the power management functions inside Windows.

If that fails remember to post your specific laptop brand and model number so that I can narrow down things for you.

-Tip

anthonyhua

Laptop brand: Mesh Computers i.e. www.meshcomputers.com

As for the specific model number, on the bottom of my laptop, it says:

Model: D4V
Product Code: D40EV

Is that what you mean? I remember that on the website, it was known as some 'PowerView 3ghz' or something like that...but I'm guessing that's just for marketing reasons rather than anything useful. A similar one is on the site but as I got my laptop several months back, the specs have changed somewhat so I wouldn't suggest looking on the website - I certainly can't find the same one.

Also, by 'power management options', do you mean the 'Power Options' section in Control Panel? If so, I can't seem to find anything in there.

Here are print screens of what I mean:







Thanks in advance of the help. I appreciate everyone's efforts.

anthonyhua

As I am not running a Pentium M (I have a Pentium 4), I'm guessing that it will not be called SpeedStep in my case. I will try to look again for something similar to what you suggested.

anthonyhua

I've just played CS using that Fraps thing to test the FPS. During the game, it went from 'slow' to 'normal' back to 'slow' again. The FPS seemed to average around about 70ish throughout, therefore suggesting that the FPS did not change. I hope that helps.

redsolar

Well, I looked around at intel, and it seems all mobile chips should support Enhanced SpeedStep, regardless of Pentium M, Mobile Pentium 4, Pentium 4-M or any other label intel invents . It may be called differently depending on the manufacturer and the BIOS configuration it uses.

Does "slow" have anything at all to do with the area you are located in? (a lot of objects versus few objects?) Do you have Catalyst AI enabled? If you do - try disabling it.

I am really coming to a point of having no ideas....

anthonyhua

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by that but it seems to happen wherever and whenever so I can't really predict when or where it will happen.

What is Catalyst AI? Sorry, my knowledge on stuff like that isn't too great. Where can I find the enabling/disabling option?

jafaro

Try the "Always On" power profile and see if it still happens

Gravy2k5

Wow, what a coincidence ...
I bought a Mesh Powerview 4 weeks ago. It is the Pentium 4, 3.4Ghz model.
The problem that I have is, I suspect the same one tha you are having.
When I power-on, the machine usually hangs and I have to switch-off by holding the power button for 5 seconds. I then have to press the button again, and it will usually start-up.
HOWEVER, when it does start, and the P.O.S.T [Power On Self Test] messages appear on screen, more often than not, the processor speed is wrong. I can get anything ranging from 1.89 Ghz to 4.53 Ghz. [Very rarely is it the correct 3.4Ghz] If I then enter set-up [BIOS] and I check the chipset configuration, not only is the processor speed wrong, but the core speed and the memory speeds are wrong, and the speed ratios between the two.
I have also got display anomalities when playing 3D games, i.e. there are strange texture shadows and flickers when moving around the rendered environment. [HalfLife 2, Doom3, Virtual Pool 3] I tried getting the driver from the support website, but no change.

The long and short of this is, that I want a fncking refund!! There are obviously some serious issues with the Mesh Powerview model. I am due to have the machine collected by Mobile-Support.net [the people who do the notebook support for Mesh] and they say they are going to have a look at it. I told them about the problem within the statutory 28 days of receiving the machine, so a straightforward refund shouldn't be out of the question. They have told me to do a complete system reinstall, to see if that solves the problem, but obviously, the problems go deeper than the Operating System.
And another thing, their recovery CD is crap. It doesn't have all of the software that the system came with!

Hopefully, I can get my money back, and go with a different manufacturer.
I should have known that the Powerview's spec was too good to be true for that money.

VeteranAce

Hi!

I have exactly the same problem with my Mobile Radeon 9600, and ive spend weeks already trying to figure this out.

After reading all the replies in this thread, I can say that ive tried everything on my Laptop already. I disabled SpeedStep, put in on Performance or Battery mode. Ive put all Graphic Settings on the lowest possible setting. Ive even played around with the Hardware acceleration of the videocard. It happends with Battlefield, Half Life 1, Starcraft - every game, old or new, not just specific ones.

My Laptop specs:
Gericom Blockbuster
2.6 ghz Pentium 4
512 MB DDR Ram
Mobile Radeon 9600
40 gig harddrive

Did anyone figure this Problem out already?

Regards,
VA

anthonyhua

So someone, at last, has the same problem with their computer as I do!

I've tried everything except disable SpeedStep as I can't see to find it, as stupid as that sounds.

I am not totally sure, but I now thing the problem only exists when I'm plugged in through the mains. That could just be a coincidence though.

So for now, we just don't know the answer.