My R2 is acting up....

Specs are in sig, A02 BIOS installed, stock Dell video drivers.

I think it's likely my second 4870 is shot, or possibly both of them. Honestly the 920XM processor in this system is phenomenal; I love it. But I definitely want to get around to dropping the cash on a SSD to really get the most out of the processor, since my HDD are clearly the bottleneck now.

With that said, I was decently satisfied with the performance of my 4870's until now. I was playing Dirt 2 maxxed with fluid graphics, when all of a sudden slowdown started occurring like crazy. This is with nothing else running and CPU usage at 0% when firing Dirt 2.

I rebooted and started playing again. Same thing. Unplayable framerates at max settings (in....DIRT!). I started BFBC2 and got HORRIBLE performance at the second highest graphics setting. What gives? I was playing this game before maxxed out with almost consistently smooth framerates. I also started noticing some visual distortions, including a blurry line that pops up across the middle of the screen when I move around or pan the camera in certain games. Also, I do notice flickering from time to time, even with A02 bios, in about 50% of the games I play. That is maddeningly annoying.

Interestingly enough, I just did another Vantage run and haven't seen a higher score before today . I did enable the 5% CPU overclock in BIOS, so that's probably what did it. But even the GPU score was up a few points over my last run, hovering right under 12,000.

Also, when opening a Game or running Vantage, there is a rather quiet but odd (definitely NOT a fan noise) coming from the R2. I haven't really noticed this before, so I'm assuming it wasn't like this when I first got the system.

I'm not comfortable opening this system myself, and if replacing the graphics cards are what will be needed, I'm just going to want to hold out until we see the next level of compatible cards in this system, because I'm not totally satisfied with the performance I've seen from the 4870's.

Anything else I can try? 10.3 drivers maybe? I've been kind of hesistant to try them because I've heard mixed things.

I really have mixed feelings about this system. So much to love from build quality to incredible screen, and especially the blazing fast processor.

But this thing has been a literal PAIN IN THE from day 1.

 

You can try 10.3 but Installing them is a chore. I would call Dell and ask for a replacement second card. It sounds like your 2nd card is dodgy.

 

install 10.3 is not a chore at all. they install without a problem. you don't even need dell drivers to be installed prior and you don't need to mobility modd them.

 

To install them for me I needed Dells CCC installed. if that wasn't there they wouldn't install. and even then i couldn't install them correctly with the installer i had to go into the extract 10.3 driver file and Install them through Device Manager.

 

Are you positive that you didn't hit the stealth button at all and also you are plugged in with the appropriate power plan?

I know it sounds trivial and I am not belittling your situation or knowledge.

Just trying to help and you would be surprised by the stupid stuff I have done. lol

 

Also, can you check the frequencies and temp of both cards when the slowdowns occur? You can use gpuz to log these to a file while you game.