ATI problems

[donschmidt1]

I have read and read all the info you guys pass out, and have tried most all the recommended fixes for the ATI 9700 Pro,(drivers,win XP sys. settings, etc.). I also have an Nvidia factory G4 4600. Compairing the two cards, the 4600 runs stable and never freezes. Frame rates are consistant 17 to 25 when locked at 25. Graphics w/directX 8.1 are fairly good. The ATI 9700 Pro using directX 9.0b blow the 4600 away. Better frame rates, etc, BUT !! the 9700 has ramdom frame freezes, crashes my computer to a soft boot, not just freezes, But, past blue screen to Monitor OFF, and system restart. Thank ##### for Win XP fixing the crash on restart. My money will be with Nvidia untill ATI recognizes FS9 is a popular game and gives it the attention it deserves. ATI drivers have ALWAYS sucked. Game programers I've talked to say the FX series is NOT the best way to go for DirectX 9.0b...too many holes for textures to be lost in. Archecture structure needs a little work.

Don Schmidt

AMD Athlon 2400+
Winfast KNS8 mobo
Nvidia Chipset w/extended vidieo pipline
1.5 gb DDR PC2700 memory
Creative Audigy2 sound
Altec c305 digital sound w/subwoofer
Envision 21" monitor
Wingman Strikeforce 3D Pro
Windows XP Pro

[rstansbury]

questionable gpu? Captain, we all know you are a Nvidia lover, but can you crank up the sliders along with AA & AF and get good performance with your Nvidia card, I don't think so. Like the other poster recommended, get up to snuff with the latest news. Your wise cracks about ATI, really shows that you are stuck in a dark Nvidia tunnel and have yet to see the light. Like I have stated many times before, I currently own 3 nvidia cards and one ATI card, I can not say for certain, but as of today I would never buy another Nvidia card. The latest ATI drivers are stable and trouble free on my machine. questionable gpu?? Microsoft has choosen ATI for there next version of Xbox, do you think they would pick ATI if they didn't have their act together? 2 years ago, I had the same feelings about ATI as you do now, please do some research before you make such a silly comment. You seem like a very smart guy! I will sell you my FX5800 for dirt cheap and will even through in a free pair of hear plugs, you will need them!

[rstansbury]

I have zero stability problems with my 9800pro. I can set auto-pilot with unlimited fuel and let fs2004 fly all night long, over 8 straight hours and when I wakeup its still going strong! ATI driver installation is a little funny, I recommend that you really clean out your old drivers and reinstall. If you have any remains of Nvidia drivers left on your machine, it is known to mess up ATI cards.

[ponyboy]

Hey rstansbury (or anyone who knows),

You say to "clean out" the old drivers especially if uyou have remnants of Nvidia, which I might. How do you actually wipe out old drivers? And after deleted, and reboot, doesen't Windows have to put someing in their place for the time being in order to just get video before you have installed the new ones?

I currently have the Omega drivers installed. No Flicker, No shimmer using my ATI 9700 Pro but now what has creeped up is a noticable stutter while flying in Spotview about every 8-13 seconds consistant.

I assume it's caused by driver incompatibilities so I would like to try your suggestion.