Radeon HD4850 or GeForce 8800GT?

[CoFarmer]

Hi folks, newbie here.

I just got a new custom-built computer last week and it has the ATI Radeon HD4850 video card in it.

I'm getting the whited-out text labels when I run any of the three Combat Mission games.

I've read the various threads regarding this issue.

Neither changing the anti-aliasing setting nor running the game in Win95/Win98 or any of the other modes has any effect. Minimizing and then maximizing the window also doesn't have any effect.

I'm running XP Home Edition with Service Pack #3 and I have no plans in the foreseeable future of having anything to do with Vista.

Questions:

The people that built my computer have indicated that they would be perfectly willing to exchange the ATI card with a GeForce 8800GT card - should I do it?

Will changing to the GeForce 8800GT card actually resolve the issue - in other words, is there anyone here who is running XP with the GeForce 8800GT card with no problems?

What are the chances that the graphics problem might be fixed with a future driver for the ATI card presently in my system?

Is there yet another comparable video card I should try instead of either of the above?

My system specs:

Windows XP Home Edition SP3

Intel 2 Quad CPU

Q9300 2.5GHz Motherboard

2GB RAM

and of course the ATI Radeon HD4850 video card

Any opinions and advice is appreciated - thanks.

Rob

[152mmDumbRocket]

I know I don't play the game you're playing, but I am on top of all things computer hardware-wise, so I feel compelled to tell you this: Don't exchange if you can help it. The Radeon HD 4850 is an incredible steal for the money, as CPU Mag noted:

"We don't expect the 4850 to keep up with Nvidia's recently released GeForce GTX 260, but two 4850s in CrossFire should give the GTX 260 a run for its money, at roughly the same price."

Keep your card if you can, and work out your problems if you can. If you can't, feel free to get the 8800GT. And yes, there's the chance that a new ATI driver will fix your problems. (BTW, it's now AMD, not ATI)

[CoFarmer]

Thanks for your reply.

I just noticed another thread which mentioned a fix for the issue I'm having, which indeed fixed the problem.

It involves exchanging three bmp files in each of the CM games. A link for downloading the three files can be found in this thread (thank you, Panama Red).

While this indeed appears to fix the issue, I hope I don't run into problems somewhere down the road, as it is not an official patch from Battlefront.

I don't apply mods, or at least I haven't yet, so that's not an issue. (EDIT: Well, these three bmp files are mods, aren't they? Ok, I'm a modder now.)

Yes, I know ATI is now part of AMD and perhaps AMD will straighten out those former ATI "slackers", as someone else mentioned on another thread.

I'm still hoping this will get a "proper" fix with a future driver from AMD, as they seem to be released on a monthly basis.

[Panama Red]

CoFarmer:

The fix you applied is about as official as you can get concerning this problem. The reason that I posted it is that Battlefront currently has broken the link on their website that allowed you to download this "fix".

What sort of FPS do you get playing a large or huge scenario using your new PC ???

[CoFarmer]

CoFarmer:

What sort of FPS do you get playing a large or huge scenario using your new PC ???

I haven't played any huge scenarios lately. In fact, I haven't played the game at all for about a year, but I wanted it to work, since it's the best thing since sliced Spam. The three games have been on my hard drive(s) ever since their releases.

How do I check FPS while playing? I'd like to find out for you.

[Panama Red]

I use a program like FRAPS to check my FPS on all of my 3D games. This way you know if you need to "tweak" your system if you drop below an exceptable FPS limit (mine is 24 FPS which is what the normal eye can see).

You can use FRAPS free if you do not want to make movies of any of the other fancy stuff that it can do.

[CoFarmer]

I use a program like FRAPS to check my FPS on all of my 3D games. This way you know if you need to "tweak" your system if you drop below an exceptable FPS limit (mine is 24 FPS which is what the normal eye can see).

You can use FRAPS free if you do not want to make movies of any of the other fancy stuff that it can do.

Oh, I thought there might be a built-in Windows utility I could use.

I'm sorry, but I'm not going to download something just to check the FPS. I don't download programs I deem unnecessary off the 'net. Kind of a rule of mine to keep my computer clean. After a while, I'd just end up with all kinds of add-ons, plug-ins and so forth which I only used one time and then never again. And if I start to run into problems, I don't have the technical knowledge to deal with them, so I'm better off not going that route.

I do appreciate other, more knowledgable folks doing it though.