Noob to ATI Cards.

[Wolfehunter]

Ya I'm not really a fan of ati cards. But I'm tired of waiting till nvidia comes out with there GTX400 series...

I'm kinda forced to buy ati because my GTX280 burnt on me 3.5 weeks ago. I've been using my old laptop to do my posts and emails. I need my uber rig working god dammit.. :x I have a lot of work to do and I'm kinda behind.

http://www.xfxforce.com/en-us/products/graphiccards/hd%205000series/5870.aspx#3

This is the card I'm looking at purchasing.
This is sorta within my price range.

There are a few models the store has in stock, HD-587A-ZNF9,

But I see two others newer ones above it. ZNE9 or XT and D9 or XXX.

I've seen the clock speeds and mem speed are abit higher? Is this because there OCed? or newer tech?

Also I've herd that the default clock speed is lowered by default from the factory. I never used catalyst before. Is that the program I need to edit the clock speeds? If not I herd of a program on majorgeeks to download that can fix this?

I've done some reading but I need to know how to properly setup this card in my rig.

So I'm asking you ati vets to give me the abc's and 123's on how to setup the card properly. I don't OC cards. I just want it running as it should be normally.

My system is as below,
http://www.xfire.com/profile/wolfehunter/

Thanks,:up:

WH

[Arclight]

Just install the driver, not CCC. Instead, install ATI Tray Tools (http://www.guru3d.com/article/ati-tray-tools-/). Either can do the OC, but I much prefer to work with the latter.

(ATT works with CCC installed, so you could just install both and ignore CCC)

Cards come with reference clocks; the clockspeeds determined as normal by the chip manufacturer (Nvidia, ATI, etc). Any card that deviates is overclocked by the board manufacturer (XFX, Asus, etc). Such cards are tested and confirmed to work reliably on those speeds, though you can usually take a reference model and do the OC yourself, but you have no guarantee it will manage it then. Might void warranty in that case as well.

Can't you get the 280 replaced under warranty? :06:

*edit: I mean, why go for an ATI, that you say you'd rather not get, that's only marginally faster than your 280? If it's still under warranty, you'll probably get a 285 as replacement and you're good to go for another 2 years.

[Wolfehunter]

Just install the driver, not CCC. Instead, install ATI Tray Tools (http://www.guru3d.com/article/ati-tray-tools-/). Either can do the OC, but I much prefer to work with the latter.

(ATT works with CCC installed, so you could just install both and ignore CCC)

Cards come with reference clocks; the clockspeeds determined as normal by the chip manufacturer (Nvidia, ATI, etc). Any card that deviates is overclocked by the board manufacturer (XFX, Asus, etc). Such cards are tested and confirmed to work reliably on those speeds, though you can usually take a reference model and do the OC yourself, but you have no guarantee it will manage it then. Might void warranty in that case as well.

Can't you get the 280 replaced under warranty? :06:

*edit: I mean, why go for an ATI, that you say you'd rather not get, that's only marginally faster than your 280? If it's still under warranty, you'll probably get a 285 as replacement and you're good to go for another 2 years.I've read the stastics and 5870 is better than 285. Also has Directx 11 support.

The 280 was oem by dell. And my warranty was void after the first year. I've had it for a year and a half before it died. I've tampered with the card making any warranty void by default. When the GTX280 start showing those artifacts at the beginning of a win7 boot up I opened the card case and cleaned it. Also putting new silver paste. I got 2 more months usage before it finally died on me.

Thanks for your input.

[Arclight]

Once you get artifacting not caused by heat it's only a matter of time. Weird it already died, still relatively new models. :hmmm:

Yeah, definitely faster, and DX11 to boot... just realize what you're getting into. :lol: :O:

*1 last thing: your PSU is up to the task? It's an efficient card, could get away with just a 500W supply, maybe 600 to be on the safe side.

[FIREWALL]

The biggest difference between ati and nividia imo is Price.

But I've always been a Nividia user without any problems.

[Wolfehunter]

Once you get artifacting not caused by heat it's only a matter of time. Weird it already died, still relatively new models. :hmmm:

Yeah, definitely faster, and DX11 to boot... just realize what you're getting into. :lol: :O:

*1 last thing: your PSU is up to the task? It's an efficient card, could get away with just a 500W supply, maybe 600 to be on the safe side.Power supply was my second guess to the issue. But it checks out. Its a 1000watt.

The artifacts started first it was only when I started up my rig. Just after windows welcoming went to desktop and the drivers kicked in I has particles and then system freeze.

After tinkering and tweaking I found ways to work around it.. like never turning off my rig. But later on it just got worse. At the very end it wasn't even letting me enter safe mod. When I took it out the card burnt my hand. The card was extremely hot. Trust me I've tried everything thing I knew and use the web to find any similar symptoms.

I then went for a second opinion at a tech shop. They've confirmed GTX280 is defective.

Reason for its short life? I push my rigs to the limit. Working on my super mod pack for stalker has burned it out. I was hoping for at least one more year...

SmP can burn out PS, HDD, video cards. memory etc.. You need a powerful rig to use my mod. Even mine as good as it was, died... :arrgh!:

I like nvidia but I knew with dell oem's there is a risk. OEM's tend to be weaker in quality than full versions. So I'm going to try ATI and see how it fairs... At least the warranties are longer muhahahaha..:up:

[Wolfehunter]

The biggest difference between ati and nividia imo is Price.

But I've always been a Nividia user without any problems.Same until now.

[Arclight]

Be sure to check the board manufacturer's policy: some have the warranty period start at date of production, others from date of sale. It's perfectly possible to buy a card that's already out of warranty because it's been sitting on a shelf for 2 years. :-?

At any rate, best of luck. I imagine my 8800 isn't going to last forever either. :hmmm:

[CaptainHaplo]

What Arclight said - it may cost a couple of extra bucks - but there are some really great manufacturers out there that will warranty the board for life - just dont OC it.

[JSLTIGER]

Usually, if you really want, it is possible to get your hands on a factory overclocked version of cards with a lifetime warranty so that you don't have to worry about warranty issues. eVGA, BFG, and XFX I know all have lifetime warranties.

[Wolfehunter]

Be sure to check the board manufacturer's policy: some have the warranty period start at date of production, others from date of sale. It's perfectly possible to buy a card that's already out of warranty because it's been sitting on a shelf for 2 years. :-?

At any rate, best of luck. I imagine my 8800 isn't going to last forever either. :hmmm:http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=RcTBCaKTLKvZNIr0&templete=2

This card was on the self for 10 days so my three year warranty is still good. :yeah:


This is the one I finally bought. The XFX one they had in storage in there warehouse but they didn't know if it was new or refurbished. I didn't want to take a chance.

Anyhow this asus card seems to kickass... Looking good.. All basic drivers and updated drivers are working.. Best part no artifacts.. yay..
:yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah: I'm soo happy.. 3.5 weeks is too long without a rig... its a crime..:rotfl2:

[Wolfehunter]

What Arclight said - it may cost a couple of extra bucks - but there are some really great manufacturers out there that will warranty the board for life - just dont OC it.Thanks and done. :salute:

[Wolfehunter]

Usually, if you really want, it is possible to get your hands on a factory overclocked version of cards with a lifetime warranty so that you don't have to worry about warranty issues. eVGA, BFG, and XFX I know all have lifetime warranties.
I know BFG has OC stuff.. Your right about the warranties too.. I just never liked BFG. eVGA and XFX are both good brands. But ASUS was convenient at the moment.. I have a 7 day return policy or a 15 day exchange... from the store. :D If something doesn't work out.. I'll exchanged it. Asus was more expensive than the XFX...

I have one question about the nvidia's physX. I know nvidia has stopped supporting ati cards. is there a guy out there who is modding or tweaking the drivers to work with ati cards? Some games use physX features I was wondering if there is a way to get this to work. Any thoughts?