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

I would say that is power throttling, because it will always follow that pattern.

GPU's draw lots of power and FPS is high, power gets reduced, GPU's slowely build up to full draw again, power gets reduced etc etc.

To make sure, you can check your temps to make sure it isn't related too high GPU or CPU temps.

Are your 6990's undervolted? Do you have a watt meter?

Does it happen in any other games?

 

Yes I agree with douse this is exactly what my system did until I undervolted my cards, try turning your screen brightness down if you get less frequent or no throttling its defiantly power throttling

 

^^ Yeah screen brightness is the quickest way to see whether it is power throttling. You can pretty much reduce your watt draw by 10 just by turning your brightness down!

 

or using an external screen will drop it up to 20w

 

Awesome advice, I'll give that a go tonight
I was undervolted to 1.02 and getting freezes/BSODs and that throttling so I'mm going to flash to 1.05V and turn the brightness down.
Cheers ^^

 

Hmmm....I've been having some problems warping and getting some lag in BF3. Basically, I'd run to a spot and there would be a glitch and then I'd end up back where I started a second or two before, normally followed by a hailstorm of bullets. I thought originally this was due to lag and server/network performance. But upon undervolting to 1.02 (stable so far) and dimming brightness as those above me suggested, it cut down on the real reason I've been getting killed (these lagging/warping issues obviously).

Have I not tested this enough or is the power draw the reason I'm warping into negative K/D ratio?

Also I've asked this in a couple of threads but never got a response. Since I consider you guys the finest minds on this forum, allow me to go off topic briefly. Can someone tell me whether I should have TCP no delay turned on and what the TCP ACK freq should be (1 or 2). Maybe this is contributing to my problem with warping?

 

Brussels, Belgium 07/02/2012 7:37 Import Scan
07/02/2012 6:40 Import Scan
07/02/2012 6:05 Out for Delivery
Brussels, Belgium 06/02/2012 21:02 Arrival Scan
Koeln, Germany 06/02/2012 17:40 Departure Scan
Koeln, Germany 03/02/2012 18:38 Arrival Scan
Louisville, KY, United States 03/02/2012 4:41 Departure Scan
Louisville, KY, United States 02/02/2012 23:46 Arrival Scan
Mount Hope, ON, Canada 02/02/2012 22:21 Departure Scan
02/02/2012 21:11 Arrival Scan
Ottawa, ON, Canada 02/02/2012 20:22 Departure Scan
2/02/2012 17:40 Export Scan
02/02/2012 17:40 Origin Scan
Canada 02/02/2012 16:07 Order Processed: Ready for UPS


Omg i can't wait anymore !!! i want my cards now
ALMOST ALMOST 6990's DUAL !!!!

 

^^ Woooot! I bet you are counting the days

Hrrmm, I would be surprised if throttling was causing this sort of behaviour. To be honest your description does sound a lot like lag to me

When I get throttling, it would result in a noticable drop in FPS (sometimes it freezes for almost a second or two) but I don't recall getting pulled back to another location.

I think you would know if it was throttling because it would not just be rubber banding, your FPS would seriously plummet as well.

That is not to say it may not be a combination of lagging and perhaps slight throttling?

Do you have a watt meter that you could quickly check when you get these symptoms?

As per your question, I personally haven't messed with any of those settings, but some of my mates have.

Ripped this from a forum ( http://www.digital-anarchy.com/science-tech/25288-might-help-lag-latency-bf3.html):

From a command prompt (usually in All Programs -> Accessories -> Command Prompt) run “regedit”
Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\servic es\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces
Browse the items under interfaces until you find one that has an IPAddress entry matching the network interface you want to affect (typically LAN IP addresses start with 192.168 or 10.0); note that if your IP address is automatically assigned by a DHCP server you may need to look for a matching DhcpIPAddress instead of IPAddress
Right-click on the interface and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, name it “TcpAckFrequency”
Right-click the new TcpAckFrequency value and select Modify, enter “1″ (Hexadecimal radio button should be selected)
Right-click on the interface and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, name it “TCPNoDelay” (note that TCP is all uppercase this time – that’s intentional)
Right-click the new TCPNoDelay value and select Modify, enter “1″ (Hexadecimal radio button should be selected)
Verify that both TcpAckFrequency and TCPNoDelay now show up in the adapter’s property list with types REG_DWORD and values 0×00000001
Exit regedit and reboot (reboot is necessary for the changes to take effect!)
Play a game and enjoy your new low ping

Have you found any information in the BF3 thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/619962-m17x-battlefield-3-discussion-thread.html ? Not that I have checked personally

 

Damn, I cant beleive this. My video cards are acting up again. After eurocom isntalled them, it was working good for a week, but today after an early swtor boot, the computer froze... and now i can only boot into safe mode, or else with one fo the cards disabled!!!! if i boot with 2 cards normally, computer hangs at windows log on

Alsmt the same thing i was going through before

This is crazy

 

Hi Ricard...

I'm so sorry to hear that. How were the temps while you were running? Ok? Also, can you swap the video cards and see if the cards are the problem and not the motherboard?

Otherwise I don't know what to suggest, other then to say that I'm sorry to hear you are going through all of this.

Another thing, if you have a spare HDD, you might try reloading windows on it and see if that helps. I wouldn't recommend completely wiping your drives to test a fresh install (mainly because I completely understand how much work it can be to reload everything). But it would be interesting if a fresh install works, or hangs on startup. Could possibly be a driver problem or something else which a fresh install might sort out.

 

there is a hope this is only software related.
1)In safe mode open driver sweeper (i hope you have it installed) and clean anything related to ATI drivers.
2) If it boots into normal afterwards, then clean registry (use ccleaner).
3) Do a restart.
4) then install official 12.1 drivers.

Good luck

You may need to uninstall some ati applicaitons manually using an uninstaller program but this is a pain. I hope above method works

 

working on installing 12.1 oficial now

also, i was contantly monitoring temps. Top temp was 80. at one point it got to an 85 spike and then went down.

damn
i can get everything to work with one card, the moment I enable the second card, it freezes in black screen.
The guys at eurocom told me I needed to use old 11.6 drivers.... i tried installing those, but they refuse to install on my machine. So I go with the oficial 12.1, and it locks up.
Yet, with ONLY ONE CARD activated, it works fine

I think i made some progress. Still not fixed but.... basically in safemode I disabled the good card and left the bad one as VGA... i think
It booted in vga mode, but the moment i installed the drivers... it crashed again.... and now when booting it finished the windows logo screen, and THEN it hangs.... so seems the card works with no drivers

ok, noob question. when windows assigns one card pci bus 2, and the other pci bus 3... is that the PHISICAL slot on the machine, or does windows shift the number in the os? Cause card 1 in bus 2 works fine on is own. Card 2 in Bus 3 boots in vga mode, and says there is a problem with the ati driver... if I isntall the driver, the pc crashes

any ideas?

ok, i dont know how, but i was able to get the second card and bus to boot with ati drivers again... but the moment I enabled both cards... it requested a resart... whcih resulted in a widows log on hang... anyone has any ideas?

ok, seems that even though bus 3 card opens now in windows, its performance is very slow... like vga. It also looks less sharp than the other card.... So i am assuming buss 3 card is only acting as vga, even though the driver is set for ati

 

Thanks Douse. Yeah I looked on that forum and even asked a question but noone answered me.

I had Nagles algorithm disabled already (TCPNoDelay disabled). I had TCP ack set to 2 so maybe this was the reason. I am using Killer 1103 wireless so maybe I'll try plugging in if this doesn't work.

My temps have decreased at 1.02v by about 4 degrees on card 1 and 2 degrees on card 2 so that is a plus. I am getting a tad bit of picture distortion (don't know the gamer word for it) when I look around a corner real fast sometimes I see the map redraw. Maybe I should up the volts a tad more.

What you are describing is exactly what happened to me with several of my cards. It was always the 2nd card (right side) that failed for some reason. Unfortunately, each one was a card failure. Others helped me troubleshoot it and I think the most plausible cause was I had screwed the GPU retention bracket down too hard which caused the cards to work fine until extreme heat and cooling separated the soldering and finally made it die. Unfortunately, I had no way to verify this, but with my current cards I didn't tighten them as much and also used 1mm pads and so far so good (2 weeks or so still going strong). If the suspected card doesn't run well in the primary slot by itself than it is probably bad.

 

Damn, this has been the most expensive unsucesful upgrade ever. Just with shipping charges, sending my pc to eurocom and back... i have spent so much money its ridicolous. Also Eurocom at this point is sounding very unhappy about replacing yet another card. Any ideas? I am just about to resign myself to running with one card, and whe it dies (since I am now convinced its a matter of time) jsut install my old cards back
This is just depressing

 

got home from work and i finally got my cards... !!!,They look extremely small when you have them in youre hand also the crossfire cable seems so short...

I hope everything will fit and workout im a bitt scared with all these problems damn...

will give you guys an update when im done !


*Wish me Luck*

 

That's how I felt. I have had one 6970 replaced and one 6990. All second card slots, all exact same symptoms you had. Funny thing is, those first 2 were Clevo cards and I'm pretty sure this one that is currently working is a Eurocom. But I'm at the point where if this one fails I will give up and run one 6990. A single 6990 actually isn't that bad. I ran with one 6990 for about 2 months. I don't think you will have problems with the one card. I would prefer it to CF 5870s just because of the CF driver issues you avoid.

addition: Good luck Trulyfatal! Don't overtighten the retention bracket!

 

Hey Trulyfatal!

Good luck!!!

Ricard, I'd recommend swapping the secondary to the primary slot and see if it works. If the secondary works in the primary slot, then it might be something else. Possibly the crossfire cable, possibly something with your windows install...or potentially a motherboard issue.

Since Eurocom did the install, they should be more then happy to replace the card...it's under warranty and they know it was installed properly because THEY did it.

I wouldn't give up on getting it replaced..if they are willing to exchange the card again then I'd go that route.

Good luck either way, I know how frustrating this upgrade can be...trust me.

 

Absolutely agree Wolf. Ricard, I didn't intend to sound like I was suggesting giving up. Since Eurocom did the install, they should give you a replacement. I'm actually shocked that they were willing to do the install in the first place. But since they assumed the risk, they should support their work.

 

Haha Finnished so far so good !!!!!! Directly enabled 2 GPU's crossfire


damn i am happy with my results never tought it would be that quick and easy
except @ the "c clips" thingy cutted my damn finger blood everywhere seriously !! thank god thats in the past now !

its time for me to enjoy those new 6990's baby yeah !!!

*Do i still need to flash these cards... i didnt do anything yet seems everything is ok ?
does vbios flash still require ?

 

Awesome Trulyfatal!

Looks great (great pics too!).

Yeah those c-clips are the absolute worst part of this whole procedure...never under-estimate the c-clips!

 

Thanks Greywolf ^,^ !

i notice i dont have the overdrive abilty in catalyst control center
guess because i need the newer version ?

amd_catalyst_12.2_preview_32-64

with what program should i clean my drivers with ?

thanks

 

C-clips suck. But I've done it too much lol

 

DR, tell me do still need to do the vbios flash ? cause i dont see no problem hmm ?

 

If it ain't broke don't fix it ain't Just join the NBR F@h team i always say.
(subtle recruiting... )


Put you specs in your Sig so we know about your beast. Don't be scurred to brag

 

Ill be glad to join when I get my computer up and running again. Are desktops allowed? I think my 3960x and 2x7970 would rack up some points fast.

 

Oh man, definitely get rid of the wireless first. I shudder at the thought of gaming over wireless, because sure, the wireless can handle the bandwidth but it will be laggier then over Ethernet.

 

OH???!!!
you MIGHT be able to fix this with a reflow.
need a hot air gun and an extremely flat fireproof surface to work on. since the card is so small, something also fireproof to hold it in place while using the air gun.

my ps3 and mates xbox 360 had similar issues where the chip got too hot and this was the best fix. only unfortunate thing is that once it happens, it has a higher chance of re-occuring. keep those temps down and monitor your temps!!!

on a good day my cards don't get above 70C, yet in a hot room with bad ventilation they can skyrocket over 90C. I cannot stress how important it is you monitor your temps and learn it's quirks with the 6xxx series in an r2.

generally, using a book to raise the back and having cool ambient is enough, but it's easy to forget in the heat of a LAN fragfest.

 

I dont think it is a heat issue. My cards can sit at 90C+ all the time and they are fine. I have had more thermal shutdown then I can count. My 5870's did the same. Out of factory they went over 100C prior to repasting..

Plus the point of a thermal shutdown is if it gets too hot. I am pretty sure GPU's can handle a bit of heat.

Something else must be causing the issue. Ricard, I know it is a pain but the best thing you could have done was get the install done by Eurocom! They will have to support it now and without question!

 

hi guys, just got a eurocom 6990m (single card, will be installed in a m17x r2) and was wondering should i flash it with the clevo vbios? will i have fan, shut down/hybernate troubles with the current eurocom vbios? i bought the card from upgradeyourlaptop off ebay and he said its a str8t swap and everything will work, no need to flash to clevo vbios. Thanks for the help guys...

 

Anything and everything is allowed. We're competeting against teams with tons of systems and dedicated F@h machines. All the help we can get is great

 

I believe eurocom sells Clevo cards that's why they said it's a straight swap. So basically you don't need to flash them.
Best way to know this is to install them and test.

 

ok, awesome. thanks

 

If you want the overdrive ability in any version of catalyst you need you need to enable it on your cards, which will involve modifying your vbios (you might as well undervolt your cards while your at it) if your interested i can dig the thread up which explain how to do this (enable overdrive)

+1

 

ok. I am now basically doing a fresh windows install to check (just in case). The reason is that as I tried to install previous version of drivers in my cards, they would not install. Only the latest official 12.1 would install... all others would install the software, but not the Display drivers....(for either card). If that does not work, then I will call Eurocom and ask them if they want me to open the laptop and switch cards.

I did notice one thing done. SWTOR performance with only one working card was similar to what I had with duals prior to crash. Wonder if card was bad from get go, or if swtor does not support xfire

 

Thanks Douse. I've always been gaming on wireless with my R2 and the funny thing is I didn't start having problems until I replaced my stock card with the Killer 1103. Changing the TCP Ack Freq to 1 helped some, but I still noticed a small amount of lag. I'll go wired and see if it stops all together.

I had a much less painfull fix. I sent the bad card in for replacement. My new card (both cards) don't get over 85c under max load so I'm not worried about temps as much now. But I do monitor them constantly to ensure that my previous problems don't return.

 

Ok I am oficially screwed.

Clean windows install, and installed the oficial 12.1 drivers. Still no luck with 2 cards.

Also, called Eurocom. They wont accept an RMA since this is like the third card that goes bad on this slot (my previous 2.. and apparently the third oen they did after the new install by them).

I will proceed to buy paste and switch ONLY THE BAD card from slot to see if the card works or not. If it does not, SINCE I CANT RMA IT, ill have to try te oven and hope it resolders

 

Hi Ricard,

As great as Eurocom has been I just don't understand their reasoning on this. Especially since THEY did the install, I would hope that they would stand by their work (afterall, maybe THEY didn't install it correctly).

Anyway, I hope that switching the card to the other slot and booting it resolves the issue..if it does, then I'd say it's more likely either the crossfire cable or the system board.

You could also try flashing a different bios to the card and see if that works.

Let us know how it goes...very sorry to hear about your troubles.

 

I agree with you Greywolf in regards to Eurocom.

Ricard, the fact that you paid out of your own pocket (I assume you did) for postage and for the labour, Eurocom MUST support these cards.

It was their choice when they took your hard earned money and provided this service! You may just need be a bit firm because of course they are going to try and get out of it.

Personally, I would be careful doing ANY work on your laptop since they have installed the cards, because it may give them ammo to refuse the warranty. I know it must be disheartening mate, but I think it would be wise to see it through with Eurocom.

Maybe they can provide a refund for them?

 

Yep agree with Douse on that point as well. Best try to work it through them before moving cards around (hadn't considered the point that they could use that against you at first)

They should at least refund you any cost of installation that they performed, or give you a refund for the secondary card (or both if you so choose).

If they sold you the cards and you installed them yourself, then I could see them giving you grief, but I'd hope that as a company they'd stand by their work.

And it may not matter much to them, but personally I think the folks on this board have thrown them a lot of business and I think folks will continue to do so if they can stand by their products...If they are going to "support" the R2...then they should support it..at least from a card perspective.

 

I will give them a call and see if I have better Luck with the sales person that took the order, instead of the tech person. Ill keep you posted.

By the way, if anyone here knows someone at eurocom, and could help me out... please give me a hand

Anymoney I can be refunded would help... since you guys wont beleive my Bill:

1-2 original cards with mail 840

2-RMA card and shipping (490...of which 400 will be refunded, so 90)

3-sending first defective card back 15

4-Shipping laptop next day to them so they can perform install (150)

5-Power/media bar conenctor cable (sicne ot got ffrayed from all the opneing and closing of laptop, and dint power whne it arived) 30

6-Shipping back to my house for laptop 70

$1185 down the hole

 

Hi Ricard,

Ouch! That's a lot to spend on something that isn't working. With any luck they will at least refund you the cost of the card that isn't working (or exchange it). It won't get you back the money for the install and shipping, but would at least lessen the blow a bit.

Afraid I don't have any contacts at Eurocom, but as I said, good luck to you. Please keep us posted.

 

When im on crysis 2, i got stuttering and after 3 - 4 Minute max,My laptop just shuts off... And no more voltage in my adapter

What causes this ? :\

 

You need to undervolt your cards. Your power throttling. And put your specs in your sig. My guess is you have an XM cpu...

 

yeah 920Xm.. Sorry i just got home from work didnt even had time to try out games first try is crysis 2.. will do the specs asaply

Hmm undervolt thats probably it

What are the most comon stable volts ?

 

I know some of us (myself included) have been stable at .96. Some folks have had to go to 1.0 or higher.

Just experiment to find out what works best for you.

*EDIT* For the record Crysis 2 runs fantastically on my 6970's...so hopefully once you get your cards
undervolted you'll have great results on your 6990s as well.

 

Seems like i have it already running at low 0.90 ? hmm

 

Hmmm unfortunately I don't have the same app to compare your results to mine (to see if it's being reported correctly).

One thing you can do is load up RBE and compare the results. If it's truly at .90 then most likely it would be to low and not stable (which could be the problem)

Make sure you save a copy of your bios before making any changes...just in case.

 

Here you go.. so i should go higher hmm ?

 

On the voltages that read above .96...I changed them to .96. The ones that are already below .96 I left alone.

I've heard some folks don't change all of them, but I did and it worked great for me.

So mine read:

00 : .96
01: .9
02: .96
03: .95
04: .96
05: .9
06: .96
07: .95

 

Aight Mate thank you !