[Guide] Installing AMD Radeon Mobility 6970 / 6990 in your M17x R2 (Single GPU and CrossfireX)

It's always nice to build a new fresh install. But then I run CCleaner and try and get rif of stuff updates made unneccessary. Then I create an image backup once all tweaks are applied. I rebuilt about a month ago and need to do my image backup. For me to do a fresh install and install all programs and apps, just takes way to long. Thats where the image helps. Just secure erase the SSD, then reimage, and let it run it's course. I like to keep an initial image, and then an up to date image as well. I'm going to be looking into getting a 2-3TB USB 3.0 external drive purely for image backups. Just leave it on the desk so it doesn't move. Wouldn't want it to get currupted.

But I definately recommend creating a backup image before any driver install. They can be so difficult to figure out and correct. Half the time it's just not worth the effort. I even keep image backups of my benching SSD since thats the SSD I update drivers on more so when testing for benching purposes. Havn't benched in a while though. Right now I have my images on a 750GB 2.5" USB3.0 enclosure, but want something more permant. This way I can rest assured my 6990's will always be running great...Had to throw the last part in to tie it to the topic

 

hahaha nicely done

Seems like you have got things nice and organised over there! You are right, I should be creating the image immediately after installing windows before any drivers go on....depends on how lazy I am feeling

What programs do you guys use to do so? I was just going to use Ghost.

I have a thought, do you think my undervoltage could be causing my issues? I do have it quite low @ 0.95....but it was working before i dicked around with 11.11

 

Could be, but I doubt it if it started after 11.11. I use Achronis True Image. But I do the backup image after dell stock drivers, or what ever is working. 11.10 now. That way it's like I have a clean system once everything is installed and fresh. Thats when I creat my image so that way if I have to reimage, it's done and I don't need to install anything else. Trying to minimize work because I'm lazy

 

SO....after all that..

I thought I might as well flash the cards back to stock before commencing the reinstall..

Turns out this has fixed my issue with 11.10 drivers, but the 11.11 still didn't work.

Flashed them to 0.96 instead of 0.95 so hopefully this wont happen again.

Something to think about if you have issues with an undervolted card and drivers.

 

Ah, good point. I think I flashed mine to 1.0. I had them at .96v, and was getting driver crashes in BF3 MP. Flashed to 1.0v and still have the same occasional driver crashes, so I may as well flash back to .96v

 

Yep I use AcronisTrue Image as well, and I really like it a lot. I backup to my external 2TB HDD over the esata port and that way I don't have to re-install everything.

After the multiple re-installs of windows when initially trying to get my cards working, I decided to invest in Acronis..and what a good investment it has turned out to be.

 

I think I will use Acronis as well. This isn't the first time it has been recommended to me.

Has anyone had the annoying issue with Skyrim where GPU usage drops and your have alt tab out and back in for it to be around 90% again?

Hopefully some CAPs get released soon!

 

anyone tried 11.11 ati drivers? well i get blue screen when i install them. thus i found them only on 3rd party websites. when i download through official ati website it only downloads the 11.10 driver. anyone knows whats going on? maybe they found issue on 11.11 drivers and removed it?

right now i use 11.10 drivers (thanks to system restore) and 11.11 cap1 profiles

 

Yea, 11.11 was a fail.

@Douse, Yea I got Achronis a while back and have definately put it to good use. The only features I've used are Creating images, and used the Cloning disks a few times. I need to learn more about it, like the incremental backups. I've never done that. Where it updates your image based on the changes from the last time you backed up. If I get an external HDD, I will learn to use that and let it run once a week.

I have Acronis 2010, and I think Achronis 2012 is out, but I don't know if it would be worth it for me to update to 2012.

 

ok i read a few of the latest posts. do you think that gpus at 0.96V cause the 11.11 driver to crash? or is it ATIs fault?

 

I actually bought 2011 a few months ago (right before 2012 came out) and they upgraded me to 2012 for free. Didn't even have to ask, they just sent me an e-mail with the link and the new license information.

I didn't use 2010, but I can tell you that the difference between 2011 and 2012 was pretty nominal. Definitely wouldn't have upgraded from 2011 to 2012 if I had to pay for it.

That's not to say 2012 isn't fantastic, it is...and would be the version I'd recommend if buying it new. But if you have an older version I don't see any real benefit into upgrading.

Just my 2 cents

 

Nah, I had that thought as well after I flashed my cards back to normal voltages and 11.10 worked. So i gave 11.11 another crack and same issue. BSOD after restarting following the install.

So I am pretty sure they be an epic fail.

@DR650, incremental backups sounds like a good idea, but I will never do it on this setup. Maybe when I had a file server running continuously but unfortunately I no longer have those luxuries since moving to the UK

 

Honestly, I haven't had trouble installing 11.11, but I have seen some random bluescreens related to the driver.

I didn't have that before, so I'm pretty certain the problem is with the driver itself. Also curious that AMD removed it from their site. Maybe they are fixing the issue and will make it available for download again.

Currently I'm running them, but if I start seeing more blue screens I'll revert back to 11.10. Hopefully they'll release a fix and I can just install over the top of the current ones.

 

ok all have more or less blue screens with 11.11 and actually official 11.11 driver downloads 11.10 makes me think there must be something wrong with it.

Also i think its released too soon as every new driver comes at the end of every month and not in the middle (i mean the official download). at least thats what i ve seen for years now.

 

Yeah, my guess is they pushed them out for Skyrim, and maybe they weren't quite ready.

 

I hope at least for a cap for the curent 11.10.
I'm using them witout cap since i believe that the info for profiles of an old driver should be embended on a new driverset
release

 

i use ati profiles 11.11 cap1 with 11.10 drivers. i think i said that before. i dont see any issues. i also installed 11.11 Catalyst only.

 

Well, I been enjoying Skyrim every chance I get and this is on my 4870's xfire on 11.09 drivers, the game is definitively addictive and some of the scenery is breathtaking, for example if when you coming down the mountain of the Greybeards there is a full huge moon with an aurora borealis like sky in the back, some fog and snow, simply gorgeous! check the screenshot below

http://i.imgur.com/7gfLJ.jpg

Glad you figured out your issue with the 11.10s after the 11.11 instal ad removal Douse, oh, and I have not have the alt-tab issue at all, only thing is I got to highlight the game window twice to get it to work, the first time is a black window...
I will continue Skyrim on my 4870's for a while till I decide if I want to get a single 6990 or a pair for Xfire, must be sweet playing this gorgeous game on Ultra if I am impressed with High settings

 

Hey guys,

Question again.

Finally got the screws to seat the heatsink, installed, booted, but no pic on screen. Could this be because the card has to be in the left bay rather than the right for a standard single card set up?

edit: Nvm definitely is the issue. Dammit, brought the wrong heatsink to work .

 

I have been playing Skyrim on my desktop PC all week, Ultra looks magnificent, I find it funny that they managed to get the water effects to look better than (imo) Bf3s.

 

Yeah my opinion has definitely changed since being able to up the graphics on Ultra!

There are so many times that I want to take a screenshot but cant because I don't have fraps installed!!!!

I don't know about the water, I think it is looking better since I followed these tweaks.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim tweaks improve graphics, disable Vsync, change FOV and more | PC Gamer

And this game is definitely addictive. BF3 has taken a break since I started playing this!!!!!

EDIT:: So I installed fraps. Here are some random screenshots I took, in the first one I was only getting 30 fps but GPU utilisation for both cards was only at 50% Seems to be a big problem for me. Hopefully CAPs will resolve this

Also, I have been playing with 'Edge Detect AA' enabled in CCC which has made everything look amazing.

 

Yeah same, Skyrim is the only game I am playing at the moment, so much to do and it looks pretty awesome for a game that obviously wasn't made with PC gamers first in mind.

Oh yeah. Also thanks for everyone's help over the last few weeks, finally got my 6990m installed and can't be happier, well unless I had a second... but that will have to wait. Temps seem fine so far so can't complain.

 

What do you think about selling CF 5870s and buying one 6970m/6990m?

 

From what I understand, the performance will be roughly the same if you purchased a single 6990m compared to overclocked 5870m's.

I was considering this but decided it is only worth it if you have finally had enough of the crossfire issues and want a single card that will perform as well, maybe slightly better once it has been clocked a little.

 

Agreed with Douse. If what you have doesn't give you crossfire issues, and runs your games fine, I wouldn't bother. If you don't want the hassle brought with crossfire, then the switch would be worth it. Upgrading to crossfire 6900 series will be a big improvement though, but the downside is price.

 

Hey guys,

So I received my new 6970 yesterday from the eBay seller. I went to install the card last night and found a problem: the heatsink screws from my 4870's do not fit the soldered posts that came in the 6970.

I'm trying to find some screws locally at the moment, but buyers beware.

Finally, I did the BIOS update from the file that Greywolf posted a little while back and took a screenshot. Can folks verify that this is a good bios for a single 6970 to run on? I want to make sure that the fans and whatnot are running to keep this baby cool.

GPU-Z Screenshot

Thanks

 

Hey guys I am getting some pretty crazy flickering in games, like the screen is rolling.

Thought it was just Skyrim but it is doing it BF3 now. I think it is the crossfire cable mod and it is getting some crosstalk between the fine wires.

Some people mentioned that there was a specific crossfire cable that fitted perfectly. Which one was this? I cbf'd going through all the previous posts

 

The right size screws normally come with the card. But not sure about ebay sellers. It may be difficult to find as they are really small.

The CF cable I used that fit perfectly was from Mythlogic. It was a Clevo cable and it cost about $20USD. I bought 2 of them in case one died. They work good but the individual wires are unwrapped so be careful handling and running it.

 

sorry, I have to correct what I've written.
I've got now 2 R2 systems. Both rgb but one with single card.
I don't want to change anything in that one with cf. I consider what to do with that sigle card system.
Should I buy second 5870m or single 6970m/6990m.

I'll also have in a few days m6600 with m8900 (6970m) and 2720qm.
but as you know there is no rgb option.
imo rgb is like a drug. once tried never let you forget

 

Haha, good point on the RGB. I'm keeping this system for several more years. At least two. As for the single card system, A single 6990 replacing the single 5870 will be a huge perfomance upgrade, and in the future, if you want to upgrade, it will be another significant boost in performance.

 

I've put in a request with the seller to overnight me the screws, but that is costing me an additional $30. Since the system is torn down / useless without them now, I pretty much want them ASAP.

I have the part number on the right screws but can't find a local place selling them.

 

Hey Armin,

The screw size you need are 1.6M x 3.5mm

I have a seller on e-bay I can recommend, but sounds like you got it taken care of. Typically Eurocom (upgradeyourlaptop) will send them to you, but you have to request them.

That's how I got mine

anyway glad you got it sorted out...very disappointing to wait for something and not be able to install it right away. Trust me, I know.

 

Grey-

Particularly because I didn't discover the problem until I stripped my system down and removed the heatsinks and thermal materials. I have the HS sitting on top of the card until the screws arrive, which caused the temps to be quite a bit higher. Eurocom is sending me the screws overnight but I had to pay $45 in shipping. Sucks, but having my machine back is worth it to me at the moment.

Is the BIOS from my picture above what you would currently recommend for a single 6970?

 

Where did you guys get the Clevo versions of the cards? The CrossfireX version.

 

Hi Armin,

Looked at your screenshot and it looks good to me. Ouch regarding the price to get the screws, but I guess in the grand scheme of things if it gets you up and running sooner it's worth it.

I'm not entirely sure why Eurocom doesn't ship the screws with the cards by default (it seems as though it would make sense too), especially on the ones with the soldered on posts.

I was concerned they'd forget to send me mine, so ended up buying them in bulk on e-bay (well 10 of them), they aren't exactly the correct length but seemed to fit never the less. I didn't end up using them, but figure it's good to have a set of backups just in case.

Anyway let us know how it goes, and congrats on at least getting the card set up.

 

Hi Weinstein, I initially ordered my Clevos (as a number of other folks here did), from NBR member Phketan.

He unfortunately no longer sells them though, so not sure where other folks have been getting them.

I have since replaced my Clevo's with Eurocom cards. Will be selling my Clevo's in the near future, but can't confirm that they work in crossfire (they should, but I haven't had to desire to take my system apart now that it's working to test them), so will probably be selling them as singles when I do.

 

So Armin, are you currently running your system with the heat-sinks just resting on the cards?

Maybe not a good idea!!!!! Couldn't imagine anything worse happening if the heat-sink for some reason shifted..

 

I'd like to buy the cards from here:

ATI Mobility Radeon? HD 6990m GPU MXM 3.0 Type B | eBay

However, based on the warnings in the guide about Eurocom cards and this mod and resolution and the sleep problem or whatever, I'm a little hesitant. Can anyone confirm that these are suitable?

Also, are these good for this mod?

Fujipoly Premium System Builder Thermal Pad - 1/4 Sheet - 150 x 100 x 0.5 - Thermal Conductivity 6.0 W/mK - FrozenCPU.com

Might as well get all my questions out of the way.. Is one tube of Tuniq-TX4 sufficient? I want to get everything right

 

I got my screws from my local hardware store for $1. Too bad you already placed the order.

 

Hi mate.

I bought a 6990m from this seller and it seems to be working fine after flashing it, temps seem right and im not having any issues so there isn't much more I could ask for. Make sure you ask for it to come with screws though or else they will not send any and then you will have to search for them yourself.

 

Eurocom cards work just like they were OEM from Dell. I didn't have to flash the VBIOS on either one that I have gotten from them.

 

Douse - yeah I only booted long enough for the screenshots I needed.

I did spy the top-temp in GPU-Z as 129 degrees.

I got hosed on the screws, but I checked several local hardware companies and no one could verify that they had them. I didn't want to drive around all night, and I was at work, so I bought them off Eurocom.

I'll say this -they did act quickly to solve the issue, but I am very pissed and will give them a negative review for their lack of including the screws. If they used standard sized mounts and didn't include them it would be one thing, but to use a smaller sized mounting hardware and then not include it by default is just bogus.

 

Really?

You've purchased Eurocom cards not Dell/Alienware cards. I'd expect you'd find those to be the exact screws for a Eurocom computer.

Suppliers that are eager to work with the modding community are few and far between, and as such should be valued. These guys have proved to be very helpful, even when they've discovered what we're up to.

The information regarding the screws and the fitted post version of the cards is present in this thread at least a couple of times already, but I appreciate the thread is now getting a little long to read it all. Perhaps we should ask ichime to include this information in the OP.

Please don’t bash/discourage one of the better video card suppliers we have atm, especially as when the 7000 series cards arrive, I may need them

P.


EDIT TO ADD: You were even told by Greywolf to order the screws on post 2376 in this thread.

 

What temps do you have on your 6990m (idle - stress) and the rpm of the gpu fan?

 

A little FYI on my cards, occasionally when it turns my screen off (not actually going to sleep) they dont come back and I have to restart.

Easy to get around this by setting it to dim the screen and not actually turn it off.

 

hdmi audio works?

 

Pretty sure it doesn't...unless someone can confirm differently?

 

99% sure he's talking about the fan tables are 100% operational in the system. No need to use Speedfan or HWInfo64 to over ride the fan states.

 

The boards purchased were modified by the seller with custom mounts for the heatsinks. Regardless if they were Eurocom/Dell/Alienware/Kree/Skrull, that seller should be providing the basic mounting ability for the cards. He/She offers them for free if you ask, so clearly they are stocked and cheap, but does not put out there that the screws are non-standard for anyone but Eurocom. By your own admission this seller is happily providing service to the modding community, so they are well aware that the cards are going to non-Eurocom customers. 10 deconds to add a disclaimer to their sale or just include the free screws and a lot of people would have been happier.

So they should be given a pass on service because they care? Funny, they took my money so I thought this was about them making a profit.

Though I feel bad about missing that, your point is completely irrelevant.

This thread, this site, are not part of that seller's system. No buyer should need to find a third party message board and dig through posts to find a technical "gotcha" regarding a product they are purchasing.

Yes, this is the real world and that is sadly becoming required, but that it no way mitigates the sellers issues.

Regardless, I had already decided to move my recommendation to a neutral status. Not because anything the seller did on the front end of the purchase, but because they did try (a little) to resolve the situation for me when I contacted them. Customer service was at least prompt, though this too should be an expectation and not a feather in their cap.

 

Just to play devils advocate, I guess I should post this, as it was part of thier auction listing:

Source: Ebay Link


All that said, I wouldn't want to recieve the card and not be able to put them in either, so I sympathize with you on that. In the mean time, why don't you just slap a 5870 in the master slot? It's pretty easy to get to the cards. Then you'd at least have an operational system in the mean time.