Noob to ATI Cards.

Wolfehunter · 03-01-10, 02:45 AM

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..

I have a lot of work to do and I'm kinda behind.

http://www.xfxforce.com/en-us/produc...es/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,

WH

Arclight · 03-01-10, 04:14 AM

Just install the driver, not CCC. Instead, install 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?

*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 · 03-01-10, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arclight

Just install the driver, not CCC. Instead, install 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?

*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 · 03-01-10, 12:11 PM

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

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

*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 · 03-01-10, 12:16 PM

The biggest difference between ati and nividia imo is Price.

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

Wolfehunter · 03-01-10, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIREWALL

The biggest difference between ati and nividia imo is Price.

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

Same until now.

Wolfehunter · 03-01-10, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arclight

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

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

*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...

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..

03-01-10, 02:45 AM	#1
Wolfehunter Crusty Capt. Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 2,752 Downloads: 40 Uploads: 25	Noob to ATI Cards. 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.. I have a lot of work to do and I'm kinda behind. http://www.xfxforce.com/en-us/produc...es/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, WH __________________

03-01-10, 04:14 AM	#2
Arclight Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Land of windmills, tulips, wooden shoes and cheese. Lots of cheese. Posts: 8,467 Downloads: 53 Uploads: 10	Just install the driver, not CCC. Instead, install 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? 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. __________________ Contritium praecedit superbia.* Last edited by Arclight; 03-01-10 at 06:27 AM.

03-01-10, 12:11 PM	#4
Arclight Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Land of windmills, tulips, wooden shoes and cheese. Lots of cheese. Posts: 8,467 Downloads: 53 Uploads: 10	Once you get artifacting not caused by heat it's only a matter of time. Weird it already died, still relatively new models. Yeah, definitely faster, and DX11 to boot... just realize what you're getting into. 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. __________________ Contritium praecedit superbia.*

03-01-10, 12:16 PM	#5
FIREWALL Eternal Patrol Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: CATALINA IS. SO . CAL USA Posts: 10,108 Downloads: 511 Uploads: 0	The biggest difference between ati and nividia imo is Price. But I've always been a Nividia user without any problems.