Far Cry Problems

simoncpage · Apr 29, 2006, 07:51 AM

Just got my NVIDIA 7800GS 512MB SE and installed it the other day.

All appears to be running failrly well apart from:

1. Second monitor flickers when I select the Nvidia task bar icon
2. Far cry goes slow after a while

Was using version 84.43 BETA but rolled it back to 84.21 as I thought the problems might of been caused but that but it appears not?

I start playing far cry I have it set to very high on all and 2x AA and all is nice and smooth and responsive after about 30mins and I think when I enter an area where these is a little bit more fine detail than most it goes slow and remain slow even when leaving that detailed part. After I quit the game and go back into it it is still the same which makes me think that its something to do with the card itself...

I'm running it at Enhanced mode 425/1250 - is there anything else I should be looking for or changing?

The monitor flick I'm hoping Gainward will be able to help with but if anyone else has seen this and fixed it I would appreciate it. Thanks

Edit: I have now found that after 30 odd mins of playing far cry and then rebooting the machine I get a message from the nvidia sentinel and that it has been put into a safe mode because it is not getting enough power it says. When checking the experttool it is still on enhanced mode there. When I reboot the computer again the message doesn't show and then I can go into far cry and play it at usual speeds? Here is my psu http://www.pcpowercooling.com/products/viewproduct.php?show=S41D2

Edit2: I have just been playing far cry on "safe mode" for well over an hour and no slow down...surely the power it needs for safe mode or enhanced mode shouldn't be much different?

fobis · Apr 29, 2006, 04:53 PM

Those few second flickers when you go into the nVidia Control Panel are completely normal, so don't worry about those.
As for your FarCry problem, I haven't a clue, sorry. Your PSU looks alright, but certainly not something I would use if I had your video card.

simoncpage · Apr 29, 2006, 05:05 PM

Thanks fobis - The flickering is something I can live with I don't change the display settings that often for it to be a problem I was just concerned it was something wrong.

I have been continuously playing with it in safe mode 400/1000 and its working a treat I have far cry completely maxed out on video option and I have 2 screen running - Far cry and the other 90 deg rotated with outlook and msn on and there is absolutely no problems now - I can only assume that the overclocking that gainward have done to get it to be "guaranteed" @ 425/1250 needs more power than the 400W they state or the 410W my PSU is giving it.

I was going to go for a better PSU but the one I found fits my system better without me having to void any warranty by cutting up the case etc and I've heard people have used 300 & 350W with 6800s so thought this would be fine.

I am kind of okay with it in safe mode as its massive improvement on my radeon 9800 pro - just waiting to hear from gainward support to see what they say really - thanks again.

fobis · Apr 29, 2006, 05:18 PM

Is your card one of those 7800GT's with a bridge chip to make it AGP? That would explain why it needs so much power.

simoncpage · Apr 29, 2006, 05:23 PM

Dunno - how would you tell? - this is the link:

http://www.gainward.net/products/pro...products_id=29

It states: recommended PSU of 400W on the box...

fobis · Apr 29, 2006, 06:55 PM

Yeah, that's basically a 7800GT on AGP. lol. really nice card. Where'd you manage to pick that up?!

And as for your PSU, even though it states that the minimum is 400W, you should have at least a 500W PSU just since PSU's don't output 100% at peak.

simoncpage · Apr 29, 2006, 06:59 PM

www.ebuyer.com

Okay then I think I am destined to stick with it in safe mode unless I change the PSU again - as I said its a massive improvement even in safe mode so I'm happy...

simoncpage · Apr 30, 2006, 05:21 AM

I've solved the flicker problem its dues to the DVI to VGA adaptor. I now have full DVI cabling on both screens and I don't get any flickering - I guess there is now no analogue conversions going on and its nice and smooth...

fobis · Apr 30, 2006, 10:54 AM

Very cool.

But man... you have a killer card. I wish I had the cash for that. I mean, c'mon! A REAL 7800GT on AGP!!! **drools**

simoncpage · May 6, 2006, 09:24 AM

This is all getting rather depressing.

My previous PSU replacement for 410W PSU I have now replaced with a Q technology 560W PSU

http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/pr...plies/qt-08560g

which I thought would of got rid of the not supplying enough power and the game slow down but it doesn't seem to of - I had tried unplugging everything and it appeared that the CD ROM when not plugged it made it work better so I plugged in a different dvd drive and that for a shorttime solved the problem.

I have plugged in is 2 hard drives, 1 cd rom, 1 audigy sound card and the graphics card.

Today I got Ghost Recon 3 was playing it fine then as with far cry the whole game just slows down again

I just can't think what else to try except for sending the card back? I'm going to put in my old radeon 9800 pro

how sad...

Has anyone else got any other things I could try before sending the card back?

Masamune_Howard · May 6, 2006, 10:44 AM

It sounds like Far Cry is mostly giving you these problems, then? If that's the case, don't really worry about it too much. Far Cry still isn't the most stable game in the world, and there are some known issues with the nVidia 7XXX series cards. For example, DO NOT try to force HDR and AA at the same time. That's a sure fire way to KILL performance, and almost positively will cause a total system lock up. I just bought a BFG 7800 GS OC myself and had that problem...

I haven't tried this solution myself - and it is a pretty big long shot. Chances are it won't work, but you can give it a go. I've read that the nVidia Forceware drivers are pretty terrible for Far Cry because they force a profile onto the game that locks the configuration into a specific set that's not optimal.

Try this: Rename "FarCry.exe" to "FarCry1.exe" and run the game from that executable. Things may run more smoothly for you. Again, it is a long shot, but if the safe-mode is running well, then that may work out for you.

Since Ghost Recon is also giving you trouble, this may not be the greatest solution, though. Have you checked the output stability on the 12v rail for your new PSU? The specs look quite good, but I'm not really all that familiar with the reliability of QuitePC PSUs. Could be that your rails are fluctuating, if you're sure that this is a power issue. These cards are beasts when it comes to power consumption. My 7800 GS OC wouldn't run on an Antec 550W TrueControl, but an Enermax NoiseTaker II 600W does the trick just fine. Don't be fooled about this: It has nothing to do with the overall Wattage. It's all about the current on the 12v rail and the stability of the output.

simoncpage · May 6, 2006, 10:57 AM

Well the other PSU I had was 410W and 23A on 12V rail - im told these are one of the best around so it should of been fine - the new PSU is 18A on 12V...

I was also looking in to CPU temperature as I think this could be an issue?

But I have had enough of this and I'm thinking I will try and get a refund and claim it is faulty...maybe spend the refund money on an xbox

Masamune_Howard · May 6, 2006, 11:20 AM

What's the stability of the voltage like on the 12v Rail? I know it's a good company, since you obviously did your research there, but every once and a while even the best company puts out a faulty PSU. My old Antec was putting out 11.4 v on the 12v rail, and I've never had problems with an Antec before. Don't let the voltage readings in the BIOS or Motherboard Monitor fool you. Break out a multimeter and check that thing at the molex connector. It's really the only way to be sure.

But if it is too much of a hassle, I can certainly appreciate going out and getting an Xbox 360. I've got one myself and love it.

To each his own, after all. Such a shame, though. That card you have is proper kickin'.

fobis · May 6, 2006, 01:49 PM

Oh, man. That's a shame... Such a nice card...
Have you tried different driver sets aside from what you've tried already? How about drivers from Gainward?