Two things, one post (gmail + hardware issue)

Hey,

So I just recently upgraded my video card. I went from an ATI Radeon 4850 HD 1gb pci-ex 16x 2.0 to an ATI Radeon 6970 HD 2gb GDDR5 16x pci-ex 2.1. I didn't swap out my motherboard, cpu, or ram. It should have increased performance in wow by ... well, a LOT, but instead, it's actually lowered it. All of the drivers are up to date for everything, so that's not the issue. I'm running windows 7 premium 64bit, 2.8ghz Intel Core2Duo CPU, with 4gb DDR2 RAM.

What could be causing the DROP in performance that I've noticed, and how can I fix it?

Also, gmail. Has anyone else noticed a HUGE increase in spam emails that completely bypass gmail's built in spam filters? It's always "people" emailing me with login/pw information to sites (I haven't clicked any of them) or attaching .html files to the emails. I'm getting 6-7 of these every day in my inbox, but I haven't changed any of my email or browsing habits. This one's just curiosity - is it just me, or have other people noticed this, too?

No increase in my gmail junk here.

Is there a way to tell if your processor is the bottleneck?

I'm not a tech guy and it might not be the issue, but its one of the things that comes up sometimes in product reviews when I read them.

No spam in gmail here. Like, at all.

What is the wattage on your PSU? The only thing I can think is that your new card is drawing too much power.

Also, just because your drivers are up to date doesn't mean that they aren't contributing to your problem in one way or another. The fact that you're running an intel chip/MOBO with an ATI card makes me want to scream "CONFLICT!!!" YMMV.

I've had more issues with intel mobos and nvidia than ati video cards. Wattage can be an issue indeed tho -- that's how I ended up burning my previous PSU

Anyways, what kind of rig is it? did you build it yourself or was it a dell/hp/something else computer? Cuz if it's an OEM machine, those PSUs are not designed with beefy video cards in mind.

I built it myself. I'm running a 750w power supply. But there's a thought - it IS drawing all of its power off a single rail (I lost the modular bits, and the card requires both an 8-pin and 6-pin connector, so I've just got it plugged in to the same cable). Could that really impact it that much?

And I've never had a single problem with ATI GPU/Intel mobo. Unless this would be it - it'd be the first time.

Newegg links:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819116091 (processor)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231241 (RAM)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128380 (mobo)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814161382 (video card)

I bought the PSU awhile back after my last one fried - picked it up at Best Buy, so don't have a link readily available.

Check that you run wow on DX11 and not 9 possibly. I'll take a longer look come saturday, exams lining up for me now, although it could be a cpu bottleneck. You can test this by a synthetic GPU test with either card on.

I'm not exactly sure what a synthetic GPU test is. I'm running DX11 for sure, though.

http://unigine.com/products/heaven/

Run the older card first, record the running settings, then run the newer one. Should show a difference in speed. Are you sure you're running WoW on DX11 and not 9? I had an issue with wow switching to DX9 on its own after a small patch.

How can I tell if WoW is running on DX9? According to Dxdiag my system is running on 11, is that even possible?

I'd really prefer to leave the new card in. It's monstrous, and I had a bitch of a time trying to get it into the case. Every time I'd try to put it in when I installed it, something would come unplugged somewhere. I finally ended up just taking it to the Geek Squad and having them do it. I'm sort of ashamed to admit it, but it was $30 well spent - I'd been tinkering with it for 3 hours before I finally gave up and brought it in.

Download process explorer from Sysinternals, it'll show you what DLL's are being loaded.

As a breakdown by program using them, Fridmarr? Or is it like the task manager where I'd have to guess.

WoW options > advanced > DX11. Make sure you have this on, and not DX9

Fivelives wrote:As a breakdown by program using them, Fridmarr? Or is it like the task manager where I'd have to guess.

It breaks it down...even by thread if you want.

Id be inclined to blame the processor if your performance simply didnt improve, but if it got worse, something else is wrong. A 6870 (backed by a strong cpu) will run wow at ultra@1920x1200 with 4xAA and 8xAF and still hover around 50-60fps in a crowded city, And a 6970 should be at least 20-30% faster than a 6870.

If it were me, i would first download and run driver sweeper, then reinstall the drivers. If the problem persists, i would then download gpu-z, core temp, and open task manager to track cpu and gpu load/temperature while gaming to ensure nothing is throttling. If your cpu is at high load, but your gpu isnt, then its a cpu bottleneck.

I uninstalled and reinstalled the video drivers before anything else (and THAT was fun. Took me a good hour or so to figure out where I was supposed to click). Sounds like the most likely culprit is a bottleneck - ever since moving to the 64 bit OS, I've been (according to the desktop widget, at least) pinning my cpu usage at 100% for a LOT of things.