2nd GPU is underperforming

[mtsnoop]

Hello

I got a nice HDTV lately and I wanted to connect it to my computer that already has 2 tfts connected. So i bought a HD 4350 PCI to run all three displays simultaniously. Using a 2nd PCI-E card would block the vent of my primary card, so I decided to buy a PCI card. Well it has just the purpose to either run the display of the 2nd monitor, or the HDTV, so i thought, that this would work out.

I connected the card, updated all drivers (catalyst and asus board drivers) and both cards are working.

The problem is, that the display of the PCI card is underperforming. When I just scroll this website up and down, it lags and the activity shown in the catalyst control center goes up to 90%. I can't display movies (on the 1440x900 display) without staggering.

I'm aware that the PCI bus is not suitable to display massive 3D action, but as the card is promoted as "FullHD ready" and "an ideal solution for home cinema" i thought, that it should at least suit to run the secondary display (browser, teamspeak, 2D tools) :-(

Maybe there is a bottleneck in my hard- or software configuration i couldn't figure out yet. Any advice is welcome

Cheers

 

[Frostmourne]

Welcome!

Are you saying you connected the card to a PCI slot or a PCI-Express x16 slot? If its PCI, how have you configured it in 7? Also, what outputs does your 4890 have? Try using the guide in my sig to update your chipset and BIOS.

 

[mtsnoop]

thanks for your quick reply,

i'm running a hd4890 on the pci-e slot and an additional hd4350 on a pci slot.

i updated all drivers manually. i took those that are supplied on the asus page and the latest catalyst driver for win7 64bit. when i look into the device manager everything seems to be fine. both cards run without a problem, no conflicts, the new drivers are used.

i looked into the catalyst control center, but no setting changed the performance of the pci card. (well there are some for the 3D display, but i didn't even do 3D stuff... just browser and media player). i also tried to disable aero, but this also didn't affect the perfomance noticably.

what exactly do you mean by saying "If its PCI, how have you configured it in 7?" ?
is there something i'm missing / light at the end of the tunnel?

 

[Frostmourne]

In the Catalyst Control Centre take a look at the various options for connecting tv's. The PCI slot may not be providing enough bandwith for the card - also what psu do you have?

 

[mtsnoop]

well, it would have been nice to run the HDTV on the new card, but as it was really not working out, i'm now trying to use it for the secondary monitor instead (pci-e card can handle primary monitor and tv).

well, not sure if the pci bus does provide enough bandwidth for 1080p videos, but i though that it should be possible to run a win7 desktop with a browser and maybe a hand full of other 2D apps on a pci card :sarc: i even disabled all the gfx of aero (advanced system settings -> advanced -> performance -> Settings -> adjust for best performance) , but with no effect.

i have a 750w psu - should be enough, i guess - but the pci card doesn't have an additional powersource than the pci bus itself... on the other hand: it was designed to work like that...



gpu activity when fast scrolling up and down in a browser window:
http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/8449/grafikkartenauslastungs.jpg

both gpu in the device manager:
http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/2590/grafikkartenirq.jpg

 

[Adrian]

well, it would have been nice to run the HDTV on the new card, but as it was really not working out, i'm now trying to use it for the secondary monitor instead (pci-e card can handle primary monitor and tv).

well, not sure if the pci bus does provide enough bandwidth for 1080p videos, but i though that it should be possible to run a win7 desktop with a browser and maybe a hand full of other 2D apps on a pci card :sarc: i even disabled all the gfx of aero (advanced system settings -> advanced -> performance -> Settings -> adjust for best performance) , but with no effect.

i have a 750w psu - should be enough, i guess - but the pci card doesn't have an additional powersource than the pci bus itself... on the other hand: it was designed to work like that...



gpu activity when fast scrolling up and down in a browser window:
http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/8449/grafikkartenauslastungs.jpg

both gpu in the device manager:
http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/2590/grafikkartenirq.jpg

Looking at the card I don't see HDMI connection, is this right?

 

[mtsnoop]

both cards have hdmi output available.