Anyone here have a 9800GX2?

[nx02nx02]

I am thinking of getting a 9800GX2 for SH4 and other games.

I used to have a 8800GTX and it was ok but struggled sometimes with Silent Hunter 4 at max settings and especially struggled with Uboat missions.

I am wondering, how does the 9800Gx2 perform in SH4? Someone here has one?

What framerates do you get with it in Sh4?

What framerates in say pearl harbor?

[Quillan]

An 8800GTX struggled with SH4? What, were you trying to run at 4096x3072 or something? I don't have one, just ordered the new computer which is going to have an overclocked 8800GT in it.

[nx02nx02]

When it Struggled it was with max settings and say in pearl harbor or during task forces, engaging.

[Wilcke]

When it Struggled it was with max settings and say in pearl harbor or during task forces, engaging.

I do not understand how an 8800 would struggle anywhere. Just curious but what CPU did you pair this with...I am sure that there are plenty of people here that could help you tune that card to work well with SH4.

AMD X2 4800
2 gigs of ram
7950 GT OC

20-25 FPS in harbors 60 plus open ocean and in combat...

1280 by 960 100 mhz refresh rate

AA 4
AF 8

[LZ_Baker]

Just fyi if you don't know, but pairing the greatest video card you can get with an average cpu leads to the cpu being the weakest link. If your going to get a 9 series card, you better be pairing it with a decent dual core cpu or your just wasting money.

[Skyhawk]

My system is not a "maxed out" system by any means, but it gets the job done, didn't cost me $10,000 USD (as a matter of fact less than $3,000USD including a new SAMSUNG gaming LCD, Saitek Eclipse II keyboard, and Logitech G5 mouse) and hasn't left me wanting yet.

All settings in SH4 V1.5 maxed out and running with the following mods currently enabled:

Rel_TriggerMaru_Overhaul_15
TMO_Enable_Uboat_ver3
RSRDC_TMOv15_V371
RSRDC_V371_Patch6
Environmental 4.3 Mod
John Hamm's Uniform Mod V2.2
Map Labels 1.3

I run the game at the native resolution of my SAMSUNG 226CW (1680x1050x32 @ 60MHz refresh rate).

Don't get less than than 30fps anywhere at anytime, and only hit this low a framerate when in a heavily populated/high traffic port (such as PH).

I run SH4 on my Vista OS because Vista doesn't have the the 3Gb RAM limit that XP has.

Again all settings in the game maxed and enabled. Yup, I'm very happy with my hardware. Don't ask me to explain all my hardware choices, some were due to budget constraints, some for upgradability, some simply because of the "bang for the buck" thing. Nope I can't run Crysis maxed out, but I'll tell you what, it looks downright amazing with framerates in the 30+ region. And I mean it looks incredible, no exaggeration whatsoever.

My system:
-Dual boot Windows XP Home(32bit) and Vista Ultimate(64bit) on a pair of Raptor 150GB 10,000rpm harddrives.
-Intel Core2 Duo E6850 @ 3.00 GHz
-4Gb Corsair DDR2 XMS2 RAM @ 800MHz (2x2048)
-EVGA 780i Mobo
-Antec 900 case w/850W Truepower Quattro PSU
-Nvidia GeForce 9800GX2 dual gpu 512Mb DDR3 (1024Mb total)

And a few other odds and ends not really important enough to mention.
I'm not a hardware "guru", just someone with enough knowledge to build my own machine and dangerous enough to screw things up really bad if I start "tweaking" too much (precisely why I stay away from OC'ing my components until I am ready for my next upgrade and/or genuinely won't care if something gets fried. Although I do know that I could easily do some OC'ing with my rig without the need for additional cooling. This Antec 900 case keeps everything nice and cool, moreso than most other air-cooled cases could think of.

My intention here is to give you something to compare your rig too in order to help you better gauge how much the addition of an 9800GX2 might help you out. There are other things you might consider like x2 nVidia 512Mb 8800GT's depending on your other hardware such as mobo, CPU, and RAM.

I build my rigs to "play" on them, not to brag about them, don't feel the need to prove anything, to anyone, anymore, that transition happens somewhere around 50 years old or so, lol! :lol:

Just thought I'd give you some info for comparison purposes.:yep:

Take care and I hope that whatever you decide to do you are happy with the results, lots of options these days for pc gamers when it comes to hardware, that's for certain.

Best Regards :)

[walrusbomb]

(1x) 8800 GTX is greater than (2x) 8800 GT SLI.

This has been proven on numerous benchmarking sites, forums, and blogs. Google it, I've already posted several links in the past.

Ok, with that out of the way. If your SH4 is stuttering anywhere with an 8800GTX card, you have some MAJOR problems to sort out:

1. your CPU, RAM, Northbridge and/or 8800GTX are overheating. And badly. Don't worry, this is the best case scenario. Download SPEEDFAN and monitor temps. Games today will stutter badly long before you get "auto heat shutdown" or "artifacts/house_of_mirrors." And yes, your gear can still overheat in a fancy Antec 900. Perhaps moreso because the case has you convinced heat isn't an issue.

2. your OS is trashed. Wipe it. Yep. I said it. In this day and age, you should have all vital data backed up anyway, so just REFORMAT that badboy and install a clean OS. With a clean OS, trim the unneeded processes and scan the registry for junk. It's the only way to get your rig squeeky clean. The first thing any of us gearheads would do with your machine (if it was given to us) would be to reinstall a clean OS. That oughta tell you something about the quality (sight unseen) of your OS.

3. you're lying about your hardware. I'm convinced some of you have to be... My 7950 GT OC never stutters: Pearl Habor, Task Force, or Battle of Midway. It stutters if it's overheating, SEE #1.

[nx02nx02]

I dont think it is overheating at all. I really dont think there is any issues with heat. Clean install of windows and my hardware is, E6850 Asus P5B deluxe Crucial 2 gig 8800GtX, 500 GIG HD, Seasonic 700 Watt.

The game runs slow in ports like in pearl harbor and during task force engagements with this computer.

I get maybe 30 FPS in pearl harbor and maybe 20-30 in task force engagements.

[THE_MASK]

Yeah , but what resolution and hertz are you running at . What are your AA and AF settings on .

[Skyhawk]

Yup, have to agree with this:

(1x) 8800 GTX is greater than (2x) 8800 GT SLI.

This has been proven on numerous benchmarking sites, forums, and blogs. Google it, I've already posted several links in the past.

Quite right walrusbomb, I was merely trying to state a case in point for the fact that there are many possible gpu solutions out there besides a newer 9800GX2. Had totally forgotten about the fact that nxO2nxO2 had stated he was currently using an 8800GTX.

That was my bad/oversight, no doubt about it.

Still, I stand by the rest of my response, it is factual and accurate.

Best Regards :)

[Skyhawk]

Was on my XP OS and had to log out and reboot to get on my Vista OS, wanted to be absolutely certain of AA and AF settings before stating them here for reference purposes. Have set up several custom program settings for various programs in the last couple of months or so since getting this rig up and running.

For SH4, my custom settings forced via the NVIDIA Control Panel are set to:

x8 AF and x4 AA.

Using latest stock NVIDIA 174.74 Forceware version/7.15.11.74.74 Nvidia drivers for my 9800GX2.

Happy to share any other settings/info if it becomes pertinent to this discussion.

Happy Hunting Gents :)

[Zantham]

I run SH4 with Uboat addon, PE2 with the higher graphics setting enabled.
I have everything in the game turned on to maximum settings in the graphics options.
I run at 4xAA.
I have a single 8800GTX 768MB.
I run at 2560x1600, which requires a LOT more GPU power to run than even 1920x1200.
I have not experienced any framerate slowdowns that took me under 30fps, whether it was foggy, clear, raining, storming, sinking ships, or at Pearl Harbor.
I agree with everyone above... If you are having slowdowns with an 8800GTX, then there is something wrong here.
For me the single biggest framerate killer was going to 4xAA, but the game was still completely playable to me.

[walrusbomb]

if your settings/resolution are maxed out and you're getting 20-30FPS in heavy task-force action, what's the problem?

my transitions from 30+ to ~20 FPS isn't noticable.

If you're experiencing <20 spikes that force your screen to stutter, something is wrong.

Get ATITool (works with NVidia) and actually UNDERCLOCK your Grakka by 20%, both core and mem. I'm being serious.

Play SH4 and see if the stuttering goes away.