M17x R1/R2 - Dell 8.763 Driver (4870/5870 GPUs) + 5870 VBIOS Discussion (non-beta)

eheheheh

Oh not much chiefs. Just a nice simple way to greet people I thought lol. My mates and I are always calling each other chiefs and I guess its caught on. Also I'm a big soccer fan and have a lot of Latino and Spanish friends so we're always Ole-ing each other here and there eheheheh. OLEs! I've kinda been infected lol.

I'll try not to use it as much if its bothering you guys. Its just become a bad habbit I guess. However I do view you guys all as chiefs and as great leaders in your own right eheheh All great chiefs!

So what system are you on now Joker? Since you sold the R2. Do you miss it eheheheh.

I would sure like to see what Dell/Alienware release next. Any GPU updates end of this year or an R3 or who knows maybe a totally new revamped ALIEN

Cheers.

 

Ah awesomes, Thats a great score Stevie. Nice one. Strange ey they haven't implemented the A09 bios and new drivers + Vbios combo.

I noticed on another chiefs machine here on the forums that they had the new dell drivers installed but were still on the old vbios. That was a newly shipped notebook they had received a couple days ago. So thats a definite bad combo just waiting for them to pull the plug and then its BSOD central the next time they restart the notebook.
Wonder why they would update the driver but not the vbios. It was also shipped with system bios A09.
Guess we'll see in the next couple of weeks what they ship with.

Oh thats great to hear that your happy with the system there chiefs. So finally its a good one ey. Awesomes!
So you'll be able to keep this one ey. Nice. Hmmsssss delta adapter ey. Hmmsssss hope i don't run into any of them troubles.

With the drivers I'm currently running the 10.10b beta from a thread here on this forum. Its a modded 10.10 to run on on our systems. So far so good. Also AMD released a new 10.9a CAP profile which I also installed. Seems to be running great. I've been mainly playing FIFA 11 and Medal of Honor Teir 1. Waiting for New Vegas and Black Ops next. I haven't had a chance to try anymore of Metro 2033. However since reading your post it has almost inspired me to give it another go since your getting such great performance with it. That really sounds great.

I too am waiting for AMD to release 10.10 mobility drivers. It seems like an age since they last released a mobility driver since they skipped the 10.9 version altogether. Shocking AMD lol. At least release something a little later but to skip it altogether.
I saw Nvidia just released their new WHQL driver yesterday. So AMD should be on the ball soon I'm guessing. Heres Hoping.

Cheers.

 

LOL
Whenever I read your posts this is the first image that pops into my head. OLES !

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On AMD/ATI Drivers - someone raised a valid point regarding new games - by the time they have adequate driver / crossfire support, we're likely to have finished playing them and have moved on to something else.

It's great that we can now install official drivers (with the new VBIOS) but between Dell's video driver releases (once every 6 months or more?) and AMD's releases (skipped 10.9) we've got powerful but under utilised hardware - which is a tad frustrating.

It would be awesome if AMD worked proactively with game developers to ensure that drivers are released in tandem (or in advance) of games. Granted it may not always be practical but surely it is in the best interests of game publishers to ensure that their customers have a good experience from the outset. (Is there an established process for game devs to focus on specific drivers etc.? What's the process here currently?)

Alternatively, I wish AMD would at least release a weekly beta driver for the community to test/play with, then have a proper supported release at the end of each month.

 

ehahahaha nice pic there chiefs. Slightly different pic in my mind springs up when I OLE. A soccer player nutmegging the ball through another players legs or something great happening and we can High 5 each other ehahaaha. Oles!

Yeh I totally agree with you there chiefs. The AMD driver situation has gotten better over the years but it needs to follow suite with Nvidia. I remember reading a post about beta drivers a while back. That would be a great idea. For example AMD should have like 2 releases per month minimum. One beta and one WHQL or proper driver like Nvidia does. Nvidia does seem to release a lot of drivers sometimes a whole heap in quick succession. Granted it may be just to fix minor bugs or other problems however it is nice when new drivers pop out and at least give us some hope of supporting the new games that come out.

AMD sure have a lot of catching up to do with the new games that have come out lately. The did release the 10.9a CAP profiles however thats not good enough.

We want our 10.10 mobility drivers. They better not dare say to skip them as well due to a bug LOL.

Cheers.

 

I just upgraded to latest DELL BIOS, VBIOS and Dell ATI drivers, and so far the performance seems to have been improved, based on comparing the Vantage marks I've been getting.

One thing I did notice though, was when I ran Furmark to try and see the difference there, I noticed some flickering in two areas during the test, where I didn't see them before

1) On the top left corner, where it increments the number of frames, all that text(in white, I think), seems to be flickering now.
2) The progress meter, the % done that is being incremented, that seems to be flickering now as well

I don't remember the flickering when I ran it on the drivers and vbios I got from factory. Anyone else experienced this?

all in all, not a big problem, because the actual graphics(the donut) doesn't seem to be affected, just the text that gives info on the test.

 

lol so that explains it!

Nah it doesn't bother me at all, it's a unique writing style so I was just curious about it

A system update is definitely coming very soon (part of the reason I sold my R2) and yes I miss mine very much I've been trying to snipe a cheap one on outlet to hold me over (sub $1300) but haven't had much luck. I barely missed one tonight that had i5, rgb led + 5870 xfire for $1300 after 20% but some ebayer beat me to it I guess.

 

Alright ... here is a question.

If I did vBios flash to the latest DELL's version on both of mine 5870s and now my secondary GPU is about to get re-placed (found to be faulty, needs to be exchanged), what would happen if this new secondary GPU would have previous version my its vBios ?
I mean , will the system even boot ? Or the secondary GPU by the defaults would be disengaged and I would be able to to do the vBios re-flash without any issues ?


Thanks guys

 

Oles chiefs. It should be fine.

If it doesn't boot just have your usb flash drive or CD that you made earlier handy. There is no harm running the vbios flash over again multiple times.
If you can boot in just smash up GPU-z and see what vbios its rocking oles.
If its still the old one then BAM go ahead and run the vbios update again. There will be no issues to re-flashing the vbios update again. So your good to go chiefs!

The new replacement card would most likely be on the old vbios. It still seems that new systems now are still shipping with the old vbios.

Cheers.

 

Okay guys! Before i upadate my latop, I just wanna list all steps just to be safe.

1.install Bios a09 - done
2.uninstall Ati ccc
3.uninstall Dell's ati drivers in the device manager (display adapters)
4.restart the latop in safe mode to run driver sweeper and CC cleaner(does the laptop have these programs? What is a CC cleaner?)
5.Restart back into normal OS mode
6.install latest Dell's driver(8.7)
7.Restart the laptop and install 10.8a Crossfire Applications Profile recommended by 5150Joker
8.Restart install/flash the new vbios
9.Done?

Is this all the correct steps?

BTW, How do I shows my laptop specs in my Signature?

Thanks Guys!

 

One more question, I don't have a 2gbs USB flash drive but can I use the 128mb flash drive that came with Batman Begins limited edition giftset?

 

Yup that should be fine to use chiefs.

Cheers.

 

Yup chiefs,

Your good to go.
Theres also a newer AMD driver out 10.10 with 10.10 CAP profiles you can try out later if you like. Do the above 1st though and see how you go.

As for your signature chiefs scroll up to the top left hand corner. There should be something that saids User CP. Click on that and it will bring up all your forum options. I'm not sure if you can put up a sig just yet. You might have to be a member for a little while 1st and also post around 5 or 10 meaningful posts 1sts. Give it a try anyways.

Cheers.

 

Thanks Chief

 

Reminder - please keep posts in this sticky thread confined to the 8.763/VBIOS only. We have threads on AMD reference driver releases in addition to NV driver releases.

Thanks.

 

After all I dunno what I messed up passing from Beta GPU drivers and bios to A09, then official drivers and bios... but I restarted from DataSafe Backup and reinstalled everything.

Result is OK, my movies and games are no longer screwed up and everything works fine, finally

However I have something "new" going on. I have set my laptop to shut down the display after a few minute (save energy, ...), but each time I go back on it, screen is back on but M17x freezes for like half a minute, fans then run faster until i can move the mouse again... weird.
I don't know what is causing this latency and fan usage (??)

 

Reflash SYSTEM BIOS A09 and see if that resolves the issue. If not, proceed with reinstalling the 8.763 driver.

 

Ok thanks, I will try that!

 

Hey guys - amazing info and as usual top notch help in this thread

I just have a quick question since I am not too familiar with ATI GPUs + their drivers (been using nVidia for the longest time and recently my R1 was replaced with an R2)

Why is it that the ATI driver listed on Amd.com for our 5870s a 1.1mb file?
ATI Catalyst? Mobility Display Driver

And then if you cycle the tabs there is a CCC download of 69MB etc?

Yet the official AW ATI Driver is around 129MB?

Im so confused about how ATI handles their drivers ! For nvidia it seems there are just "all in one bundles"

Furthermore is it recommended to upgrade to this "Catalyst Software Suite"

Thank you for taking the time to read this post.

 

Hi there chiefs.

Yeh the one on the AMD site is just a web installer program. So when you dl it isn't the actual driver itself. Once you run the installed it will actually dl the driver off a server somewhere for you then you can install it.

You can also just get the driver off here chiefs. 1st post are the 2 things that you will need if you want to update to this new driver.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/527615-amd-10-10-reference-driver-discussion.html

Welcome to the CLAN of R2s oles!

Cheers.

 

I just recieved my first Alienware m17x and have updated to BIOS A09 and have the new Dell drivers (Not 10.10). I noticed a significant increase in speed simply doing these updates and am experiencing no BSOD or display issues.

Is the vBIOS just to fix problems or does it offer increased performance? I will do it if it will give a boost to performance but otherwise I see no need until I run into any issues with what I have now.

 

You pretty much have to use the vbios update chiefs. It is like the dell drivers wife if you will lol. They are a combo pair. Best not to be separated. Usually the way it goes is to install the System bios A09 then the new Dell driver and then flash update to the new vbios.

The vbios was made to fix all the problems users would be experiencing with new drivers like 10.7 and beyond. It also gives us better support for AMD reference future drivers. IE AMD 10.10 mobility.

So yes you would be highly recommended to install and update the vbios. In terms of performance boosting. Some have seen a little increase. Games are more stable and stuff so its all good. If you want more performance boost you can try out the 10.10 drivers after you have flash to the new vbios. Long term productivity you will eventually have to flash to the new vbios.

It would still seem Dell are lazy LOL still shipping out notebooks brand new with old drivers and the old system bios and Vbios LOL. I would have thought at least they would be shipping them out with the A09 bios if not the new drivers and vbios updates as well.

Cheers.

 

Alright, thanks for the info, I will be updating. I just realized my M17x will not come out of sleep mode when I close the screen. Will the vbios fix this?

 

Ahuhs yup that is one of the many issues that the new vbios will fix for you. Oles!

Cheers.

 

Haha yup, I definitely have to update, I had my m17x turn off during a power outage and now I BSOD on startup. The only problem is I don't have a USB drive under 2GB to do the Vbios update and don't have a CD either. Is there any way I can somehow use a 4GB USB drive to do the vbios?

 

I suppose if you can somehow get the files that are needed to perform the Flash update it should work.
I had to search the whole house for a 1gb flash drive LOL. I too ran out of CD/Rs lol
Burning it onto a DVD should work as well.

Cheers.

 

Hi, Im new to the m17x r2 I have had mine for about 3mths now and have just had it replaced due to video playback of Blu-Ray ISO being over saturated and a bit pixelated. the new laptop is doing the same thing, so before I call Dell I would like to get your advise on the matter. I had this problem since updating the VBIOS and v/drivers from the dell website.

I'm running an 920xm, 80gb intel g2 ssd and the 500gb std hdd, 8gb ram dual 5870's and a Blu-Ray reader. BIOS is A09 and like I said the VBIOS and drivers are the latest from the Dell wabsite and this the second laptop.
Thanks in advance to anyone that can help.

 

Oles chiefs, Any pics of your problem??

Try installing AMD 10.10 mobility drivers perhaps?

Cheers.

 

for some reason I can't do a print screen while I have PowerDVD going. Can I just install the 10.10 drivers or do I have to do a work around?.

 

No need for the work around now if you have the new vbios installed. Just uninstall the dell drivers and then install the new ones.

You should be able to take or make a screenshot using windows built in Snipping Tool. Hit the windows key on the keyboard and type snipping tool. It should come up. Then you just drag over the top of what you want to take a pic of or capture.

Cheers.

 

I have installed the 10.10 drivers from the AMD.com site and no change in the video playback, I still can't get the printscreen or the snipping tool to work right. (it will capture the current screen but when I close Powerdvd and bring up the pic in the windows viewer there is a blank area where I paused it) I using Powerdvd 9.5 that came with the laptop and I have tried vs 10 as well with no change. Just so you know I get perfect playback when using my Dell Adamo

 

Time for bed thanks so much for all your help reborn2003.

 

No worries. If you use a different media player does it look bad as well or the same chiefs?

Cheers.

 

Sorry but I can't find another Player that will play the iso's, the thing is if I use an external lcd the video is fine and then some movies are better the others.

 

So I had a good look around and have found a Player called "Blu Ray Player" and the movies look much better (but it lacks a lot of functions). So therefore the blame is in PowerDVD?, but if so why would the quality change when the laptop is plugged into the LCD TV using the HDMI?.

 

Any fix for bfbc2 ans crossfire ? Is There good driver for this game ?

 

Reminder, this thread is only for the 8.763 driver and VBIOS.

We have a thread on the reference AMD driver - 10.10 as well as a AMD reference driver general discussion thread.

Thanks.

 

My Xfire always crashed and gave me weird dis-coloration in BFBC2
But, when you turn on Vsync in Game everything works great.
Make sure Vsync isnt off in the CCC and turn it on in BC2
There is your fix

 

I have heard there's some lag with the mouse when then vsync is on ?

 

I'm having severe display driver issues. Basically when watching youtube, any video sites, or in windows media player, i get a "display driver has stopped responding error", this happens frequently, even up to every 10 seconds during a video. Usually when the display driver crashes it restarts and I get that error message, but occassionally I get a BSOD error telling me the driver failed to reinitialize.

I've reinstalled the 8.763 driver a hundred times, followed by upgrading the VBIOS to the latest just last week. I know that the VBIOS was successful as it fixed a sleep error for me that many people were having.

Is there anything else I can try? I've reinstalled the driver more times than I can count, and as I said recently the VBIOS.

Cheers

 

I had the same problem when I gotten my M17xr2. I rolled back the BIOS to A06 or A07, I forgot.

The m17xr2 is really loaded with problems when it comes to hardware.

But it had something to do with my BIOS I remember.

Moreover, I followed the instructions on the FIRST Post of this forum. EVERYTHING works like a charm. No problem whatsoever. I am yet to get another BSOD.

 

You won't believe but this same dis-coloration is / was happening on GTA4 also. I tried everything right from commandline.txt fixes to disabling AA etc.

I had 2 problems on GTA4. Video stuttering though my frame rates were 60 fps+ and the weird discoloration.

What worked for me so far.

I disabled "AI" in CCC. That seems to be working for me so far even with Xfire enabled.

You might want to try that on BFC2. Just a suggestion

 

By printscreen you mean pressing the "C" key on Cyberlink DVD am I right?
Print screen command won't work on cyberlink or on media player.

For playback issues, I'd recommend installing the K-lite codec pack. I am into video editing and it works for me pretty well enough. It plays just about everything and my screen captures work just right Hope that helps

 

Still getting this guys, doesn't anyone have any similar experiences? Everything is up-to-date, I followed the instructions exactly on the first post and I still get alot of "display driver has stopped responding" errors. Although I only had the BSOD from it that one time, otherwise usually the display driver restarts fine.

 

I have this problem as well. Anyone know of a fix?

 

Both of you should go into CCC and select the Information screen. Post back a screenshot of both the Software and hardware tabs/screens. I think we are at the point where we need to verify that your driver and VBIOS is at the same rev as everyone else. Not going to hurt to confirm. Please attach screenshots (use the Go Advanced function when posting and select the paperclip icon to attach).

Thanks.

 

I just got both of my GPU's replaced today. Other than 2 blue screens after initial install (remedied by driver re-install), they have worked perfect even after many reboots and games, with crossfire on and off. Benchmarks look great too.

Should I be concerned with the BIOS showing different? I checked with GPU-Z before the tech left and it shows them both being 12.020 so I thought they were both updated already. But here it looks like they are not the same. I am thinking GPU-Z is lying to me and CCC is correct.

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/7312/99099204.jpg

 

the screenshot you provided, this is the VBIOS the cards came with (from the service call)?

For now, as long as there are no issues, I suggest leaving as is. If you run into problems then post back.

 

Yes these were both replaced today exactly as is, I have not done anything other than a reinstall of the drivers. I thought that the newer drivers 10.10 & up didn't work with the older VBIOS?

Looks like they are a mix of an older one and a newer one. The bottom one is older and shows a VBIOS date of January 26 vs the newer one is May 18.

When would you recommend updating the VBIOS? Only if I get more blue screens or odd issues?

 

I still don't get this VBIOS thing. Do I pretty much have to choose between using Dell Drivers v8.763 + the VBIOS flash or the new ATI 10.11 Drivers? I cannot use the VBIOS Flash + 10.11 Drivers? I noticed when I downloaded the VBIOS flash utility and click the exe, it says "This system is not compatible with the 5870's or blahblah" and that's what I have. Why would people be using these old Dell drivers when ATI keeps releasing new drivers?

 

I think that the dell drivers are in use (8.763) as they are the latest drivers offered by dell for the 5870 cards - other users report success with genuine ati/amd drivers but dell do not promise that the AMD drivers will be compatible with their cards. You WILL need the VBIOS flash if you wish to use Dells latest 8.763 driver - otherwise you will get endless BSOD's - that was why the Vbios was released hand in hand with those drivers.


Dell wont guarantee that AMD drivers will work - its something that one of the AW reps said they were working towards - being able to use reference AMD drivers but afaik, Dell loves to be proprietory......if you own a dell, they make it very difficult for you to use anything non-dell.

Take the power adaptor as an example, its dell and its tempremental down to the degree where you get system warnings if you use non-dell PSU.

It would be great if we could have the peace of mind to be able to use reference AMD drivers in future as it means that once dell stop releasing drivers for these cards, we should have some support with drivers from AMD if we could be sure we could use their reference drivers as opposed to Dells.