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View Full Version : Wondering if anyone has come across this...


Ultraboy
01-07-06, 07:45 AM
Just to forewarn, this is a tech question so if I'm posting in the wrong place feel free to harshly direct me to the right place.

This week I swapped my Radeon 9700 pro (128mb) with an All-in-Wonder 9800 (128mb), I know, not a big difference but it was free. So after I've done this I load up a couple of games and notice slightly better performance in some cases but when I get to SH3, it runs fine but there are little red dots appearing pretty much everywhere. On the crew, the boat, other ships, buildings etc. Doesn't affect the actual gameplay, it's just a pain in the you-know-what.

So after some googling, I'm fairly convinced that there is a physical problem with the card, until I notice someone is having the same problem with another game, F.E.A.R. As it happens, this is a game I have, so I load it up and sure enough, same problem. But in F.E.A.R. there is an option to "force DX8 shaders." Turning this on solved the problem in that game completely.

So my question is, since there is no such option in SH3, is there some way I can duplicate the process with a third-party program or other means? Or perhaps is there a different solution for SH3 that I have not come across/thought of?

I seek guidance because, though I was pretty knowedgeable about computers when I had my old Tandy 1000, I've since fallen off the technology wagon, and don't really have a clue anymore. :cry:

My specs:

ASUS P4PE mobo
Intel Pentium 4 - 2.4 gHz
1024mb PC2700 DDR RAM
ATI All-in-Wonder 9800 pro AGP (128mb)
Windows XP pro
...can't think of anything else that's relevant.

Das_Dutchman
01-07-06, 07:55 AM
This might sound stupid, but are you using the latest Catalyst Drivers (5.13)?

Ultraboy
01-07-06, 07:57 AM
I am, but I also did try rolling back to the previous ones. No difference unfortunatley. :cry:

Das_Dutchman
01-07-06, 08:05 AM
Okay, what about case temperatures? Pixelated artifatcs are the cause of a.) an on it's way out g/card or b.) high temps due to overclocking and/or ambient temps.

Also, if you have Anti Antialising and Anisotropic Filtering on try putting it off (I doubt if this is the cause)

You can also try ATiTool - it has an artifact scanner and if it still shows the same results you might consider the probability of your g/card being kaput.

Hope this helps! :yep:

Ultraboy
01-07-06, 08:11 AM
I should have mentioned I've ruled out a temperature problem, also AA and AF are currently set to "application-managed."

I'm currently downloading ATItool now.

Thanks for your help! :)

Ultraboy
01-07-06, 10:01 AM
Well, I've been playing around with ATItool for a while, and I can't get it to go more than a second without finding errors, so I guess that settles it. I'm perfectly prepared to admit the card is fubar'd and go back to my trusty 9700, but I'm still disturbed that forcing DX8 shaders eliminated all the artifacts in F.E.A.R.

Oh well.

...

I've been up far too long to think about this anymore.

Mowgli
01-07-06, 10:05 AM
Measles. No doubt about it. I had them when I was young. Red spots everywhere.


Just dont scratch them otherwise you will damage the screen and leave scars.

Ultraboy
01-07-06, 10:11 AM
Just dont scratch them otherwise you will damage the screen and leave scars.


Now he tells me! :lol:

gdogghenrikson
01-07-06, 11:15 AM
Just dont scratch them otherwise you will damage the screen and leave scars.


Now he tells me! :lol: :rotfl: :rotfl: