DirectX 9 issue on 5900XT

[mrpalmtree]

At the moment i have a FX 5900XT that is directx 9 capable. i got the latest drivers for the card and directX 9.0c, however when i start up halflife2 and go to the video options, it says the hardware is in DX8.1 mode and the software in DX9 mode.

I can play comfortably with the "reflect all" option and pretty much everything else on high, except AF except. the thing is when it comes to the large water reflections, oceans etc, it cant do it. I can slightly see the reflections but there distorted in a vertical pattern and they might as well not be there.

I updated halflife to offline play and thats it becuase ive got a slow dial up. IF there some type of resolution that can be fixed with the update, i could get myself a faster connection.
Anyone?
-Thanks

 

[jwilson02]

if im not mistaken i think the FX5900 could only be played in dx8..maybe im wrong

 

[X|Rolando]

HL2 switches all 5xxx cards to dx 8.1 by default but it can be forced to dx9 with some command... Valve has decided to do this because the performance hit on half-arsed 5xxx cards in dx9 mode is too great for some to bear.

 

[Dark8Master89]

well...

If u really want it on dx9 the command is

mat_dxlevel 90

the others are
mat_dxlevel 81
mat_dxlevel 70

 

[[Matt]]

the FX cards are really slow at rendering SM2.0 hence the reason valve defaulted the FX series to DX8.1 mode. You can run in DX9 mode but the performance hit will be huge!

 

[Washuu]

You can see get a lot of great graphic features out of the game in dx8.1 mode, I was running a fx5900nu for a while, having a dx9 card just gives all the purty reflections ( trust me, "reflect all" will not give you those )

 

[bryanf445]

yea my friend and brotther run the fx5200 on good comps, and it still looks amazing

 

[oni_666]

If you run DX 9.0 over DX 8.1, expect a performance hit of about 20fps, thats what I got.

 

[mrpalmtree]

wow, thanks guys. alot of help! Its just a bit crap to know that the FX 5### cards cant handle the dx9 mode well. Thanks anyway.

 

[mrpalmtree]

yeah, i switched into dx9 mode and it runs 25 - 30 fps, but there is no water! it doesnt texture the water but if you go under it obviously does with the wave refraction etc, Also if i crouch near the waters edge i can see the "correct" reflections but when standing, nothing. Is this expected when i turn it to DX9 mode and can i fix it? i really dont mind though using dx8, but if i could.....

 

[[Matt]]

you fix it by buying a cheap 9800 pro

 

[mrpalmtree]

you fix it by buying a cheap 9800 pro

hehe. believe me. i wish i could, but money is also an issue.

 

[Killing2Live]

I think theres a patch out that lets directx 8.0/8.1 water reflections look like directx 9 with little or no performance hit, if your interested

 

[mrpalmtree]

I think theres a patch out that lets directx 8.0/8.1 water reflections look like directx 9 with little or no performance hit, if your interested

hmmm, interesting. Do tell.

 

[mrpalmtree]

HL2DX8ReflectionPatch.rar if anyone is wondering. Try the steam forums or google and follow the instructions.

 

[pr0nking]

I've got a 5900XT for the time being and its awful. I personally would recommend selling it and buying a 6600GT. I don't understand how they can sell the 5900XT for £169 and the 6600GT for £115 :-/

 

[WaryWolf]

i dunno where you got £165 from, that's pretty high (my friend bought a 5900xt last november for £120). but i do agree, the pricing is silly. the manufacturers would've sold these cards for higher prices when they came out though. i think the 5900xt would've been around £200. but when the new series of nvidia cards came out (6600, 6800 etc) then the FX series was way below par, especially considering ATi's competition. now only mom-and-pop buy fx cards, and large manufacturers like Dell.

 

[Jimmeh]

yeah, i switched into dx9 mode and it runs 25 - 30 fps, but there is no water! it doesnt texture the water but if you go under it obviously does with the wave refraction etc, Also if i crouch near the waters edge i can see the "correct" reflections but when standing, nothing. Is this expected when i turn it to DX9 mode and can i fix it? i really dont mind though using dx8, but if i could.....

If you're not gonna use the patch (I would ) then type "mat_clipz 0" in the console and the water should be back up in DX9.0 mode. Runs like crap though