Are my FPS right?

[Noir]

it was a 5770, which is a pretty low range videocard, and I gave it to a friend so I don't have it anymore. I will install ati tray tools to check my settings then uninstall it, and check my vram speeds. I will also run aces high on an alienware x11 and a custom computer equipped with an E8500 and a radeon 5870 and see what happens...

[FLS]

What I would like to find is the breaking point.  What is making the most impact.

We know AA settings will have the greatest impact, but we do not know at what point and in what combination it becomes tought to keep the game playable.

I got that, my comment wasn't directed at you. I think a lot of players using CCC just set the first AA slider and ignore the AA performance/quality slider.  I expect Gianlupo can double his frame rate.

[FLOTSOM]

if i unstall my CCC then how do i get any of the function from my card? with just bare bones windows drivers will i really be able to maximize the use of the card? will the applications auto adjust the settings when required?

[Skuzzy]

if i unstall my CCC then how do i get any of the function from my card? with just bare bones windows drivers will i really be able to maximize the use of the card? will the applications auto adjust the settings when required?

Catalyst Control Center is separate from the ATI drivers.  You do not have to install it if you just download the base drivers from ATI.

[FLS]

if i unstall my CCC then how do i get any of the function from my card? with just bare bones windows drivers will i really be able to maximize the use of the card? will the applications auto adjust the settings when required?

You can use a utility like Ati tray tools.

http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=733

[Noir]

IS it normal that the game doesn't exploit the GPU at 100%? I was monitoring GPU activity, and it topped around 75% online

[Skuzzy]

IS it normal that the game doesn't exploit the GPU at 100%? I was monitoring GPU activity, and it topped around 75% online

We have no direct control of that.  That is up to DirectX and the video card driver.

That said, the game has a lot to do aside from graphics, which is all done on the CPU side.  I would say if a game can use 100% of a GPU it is doing little else on the CPU side.

On the other hand, I have no idea what "exploit the GPU" actually means.

[Noir]

I have no idea either, I was just displaying that indicator in an ati tray tools overlay in an attempt to find something wrong with my computer.

[Skuzzy]

Without knowing how they derive that value, it makes it difficult to assess any real weight to it.

[Gianlupo]

Ok Gian, the problem seems to lie with forcing the highest quality AA mode.  I'd like to see what the frame rates are using each notch of the AA mode, from performance to highest quality.

Skuzzy, I didn't forget about this, I just need some quiet time to make the test. Just to be on the safe side, could you write me down the exact procedure you want me to follow (AH and CCC initial settings and following steps)? Thanks!

[Skuzzy]

Trying to keep it simple.

Using the game defaults for everything, simply kick the AA mode slider in the ATI CCC once notch at a time and repeat the ndisles test.

Do the same for each of the "Bump Mapping options" in the game and then for each shadow option.

Appreciate anything you can do Gian <S>.

[Gianlupo]

Rgr that Skuzzy, thanks.

I'll probably do the testing in the weekend.

<<S>> to you, customer care has always been a strong point for HTC.

[Noir]

I second that, thank you for the support, I know I can be a pain sometimes

[715]

I don't know if this is relevant but I'll mention it anyway.  The last image in Gianlupo's post looks like what CCC used to call "Adaptive Antialiasing".  In my version of CCC it refers solely to antialiasing the interior of textures, like the metal fence shown, not the edges of polygons, and it murders frame rate.  AH used to have a chain link fence that was pretty much the only texture that improved with the use of "Adaptive Antialiasing" but that is long gone.  Now I don't have the latest CCC so maybe they now combine texture AA with polygon edge AA; I don't know.

[FLS]

I don't know if this is relevant but I'll mention it anyway.  The last image in Gianlupo's post looks like what CCC used to call "Adaptive Antialiasing".  In my version of CCC it refers solely to antialiasing the interior of textures, like the metal fence shown, not the edges of polygons, and it murders frame rate.  AH used to have a chain link fence that was pretty much the only texture that improved with the use of "Adaptive Antialiasing" but that is long gone.  Now I don't have the latest CCC so maybe they now combine texture AA with polygon edge AA; I don't know.

There are currently two places to adjust AA in Catalyst. You can set the level of AA, the filter ( box, edge detect etc), and check the box for morphological filtering, on the first AA setting in CCC.  Adaptive multi-sample AA is the middle position of the AA mode setting, which is the second place to adjust AA in the current CCC. Setting the filter above "box" or setting the mode above "performance", which is multi-sample AA, will reduce your frame rate without giving you a noticeable difference in picture quality in Aces High.