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

Yeah your problem is thefollowing i guess:
ATI Radeon™ HD 4870 X2 and ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2 series of products do not use both Graphics Processing Units (GPU) for high performance

Are you running the game in CrossFire, if so, do both gpu's throttle to max. clocks and and full load?

Check with GPU-Z running in the background like this:

Open 2 instances of GPU-Z, go to sensors, assign your 2nd GPU to the second window, select refreshing in background on both windows, then check the log file option, chose a filename "GPU-1" + "GPU-2", play battlefield for like half an hour, after that go back to your 2 GPU-Z windows and unmark log file to stop writing to the file. Attach your log to the forum or upload them on mediafire, rapidshare, whatever you like.

GPU-Z CrossFireX Logging:

That's a bit too much in my oppinion... Try to uninstall all of them, or maybe for the beginning only those i don't have in my screenie. If the CTD still occurs uninstall all of them and try to only use the one that comes with the ATI driver install. What i'm not sure yet, if some of those got installed from windows update. You might need those aswell again, that are URGENT...

BTW: Do you have that Cheers somehow automated, because i tend to use it aswell from time to time, as it's almost like a quote i have to repeat when you said it, cheers

 

ehahahahah lol Cheers I really do mean it though heheheh; If I had a drink hear with me I would raise a glass up and Cheers you eheheh oles!
ehehe yeh its kinda like 2nd nature now when i post here ehehehe.

Thanks for the tip. I'll do some cleanup of them C++ files.

Cheers.

 

Well maybe another Tip then, since i read the word cleanup, use CCleaner Registry Clean, after uninstalling those redistributables

 

Will Do chiefs. Thanks.
I wonder if I can get 15k score again in 3d mark 06. Haven't been able to reach it since the 1st try right out of the box on day one. Can only manage 13 - 14k odd now. I've noticed after the vbios and new drivers the 3d mark score has lowered a bit. No biggy though as games still run well.

Whats the max you've seen on your system Grim? Do you remember your score right out of the box?
You'll be joining the nice 19k + soon when you get your 940XM ey eheheh NICE

Cheers.

 

I never ran 3DMark06 until lately. But hey, if we all get almost the same with our specific setup and the games work, what this laptop is actually advertised as, i'm happy to play all the latest games more or less smoothly, also it comforts me somehow we experience the same issues and solve them or compare numbers that don't differ that much.

'06 is a directx9 benchmark and vantage score was almost always the same, slightly lower by 500 points afair, which is a directx10 benchmark.

We traded some performance into stability and quality. I don't see it that tragedic, if someone likes to score high on this system, flash old bios back, install your favorite old drivers again and bench away, because if you wanna mess with the system, you sometimes have it to do the hard way.

Cheers

 

Well said...

 

eheh yep thats true Grim,

I'm very happy with the latest updates and fixes as well. Stability wise is awesome. I guess it can only go up ey eheheh hopefully with the next batch of drivers we can continue the stability as well as gain a little performance boost.

I will find somehow to reach that ellusive 15k score again though, one day ehahahaahah. Without flashing back to the old vbios and older drivers. eheheh Hmmmm some OCing of the CPU and GPU is calling me I think . ehehe

I like your "Cheers "!!!!!

Cheers.

 

Guys I had forgot about installing the 10.8a profiles with the A01 updates and now BFBC2 is smooth and silky online. So anyone having problems LINK! The link is off the HARDOCP.com

 

I too can't quite reach the 3dMark06 scores I got stock out of the box. 19100 + change. I'm stuck in the high 18000's. It's okay for me thus far since what I'm throwing at it seems to work just fine and that's just a benchmark. Still when I installed BIOS A08 it dropped to the 16000's totally unacceptable in everything I tried to run. As long as it's playing your games and running your apps. .... be happy. Cheers...
**EDIT** Unless of course you have caught the number chasing bug.

 

I did uninstall old driver and install the new dell driver...
in the CCC it shows that my current driver version is Driver Packaging Version 8.763-100810a-104118C-Dell
Its the new driver right... ??

But i still cant install the Vbios AO1...
when i click the setup, its appear a view second of process, and then it gone, nothing happend...
so how can i make a bootable disk and flash the vbios if the setup wont start...??
and is it okay if i didnt flash the bios, just using the dell driver...??

 

Oh thats good to hear chiefs.

Come to think of it I haven't re-installed my CAP profiles yet since installing the new driver. hmmmsssssssss

Cheers

 

my problem has nothing to do with crashes, and i have 4870's which dont run dx11

 

First part of your question, yes that is correct.

Second part, what you did with the VBIOS A01 setup is the create CD or USB Stick method, follow the pictures, if you only extracted the setup, go to the folder you see in the picture in the adress bar, get a cd or usb, follow the onscreen display, continue with the other pictures, you need to reboot and hit F12 to load from meory stick or cd. Should be easy enough...

No, you will have stability issues on battery, sleep bug and other windows releated bugs releated to energy profiles, you WANT the vbios if you like the new drivers in games.

 

ehahahah yep yep I'm very happy with the system so far. Performing really well now. I can't help but keep an eye out to the future though as well. We are right on the edge of something new. I can feel it ehehehe. Maybe some Nvidia 400m goodness or 6870 crossfireX ehehehe

Also yep I'm starting to catch the benchmark chasing for numbers BUG i think however I'm able to keep it at bay for the moment because I'm too lazy to try OCing. I know if I find out how to OC my CPU and GPU easily I will probably be chasing numbers real soon eheheh.

Cheers.

 

I did go to the folder where the address bar show. it show 'setup'. and then i click the setup. iT appear a loading, but the loading didnt complete and there isnt any onscreen picture like in your image...
so what should i do to have an onscreen picture like in your image that you post..
it wont appear any box which give a option to make a bootable usb..

help me..
thx.

 

Ok first question, you do have HD5870 right? This is NOT for HD4870. (Tip: Signature would be cool )

Second question, do you have winrar installed? If not, get Winrar, install winrar with default settings, go to the folder with the Setup again, right click, "Extract here". Then start create.exe. And you should get to the same window as in step 1. Maybe something went wrong there. (Maybe try to run the Setup.exe as (Right Click) Administrator...)

 

Grim, if you want to check out my log, I'd appreciate it.

http://www.mediafire.com/?c21angz6hlvej0w

 

GENIUS.....
WOW...
YOU'RE SUCH A GENIUS...
YEAH, its the winrar problem..
my winrar doesnt work properly...
so i download the new Winrar from the link that you post...
GENIUS...
Finally i can flash my Vbios...
after success flash, it asked to restart..and after it restart, i went to the GPU Z to verify.

and i using the GPU Z 4.4 shows this information :
-BIOS VERSION : 012.020.000.027.037640
-Driver version : atiumdag 8.763.00/win 7 64

is that the correct version of the new vbios and new driver ??
Am i success Flashing the Vbios...???
and what should i do to check and to ensure that i have flash the Vbios beside look from the bios version from GPU Z...??


Thank You very much, friend...
You're such a genius...

 

That is absolutely correct. You are up to date with your gpu's and drivers. Perfect.

Glad that method worked, that was my only idea to your specific problem to workaround anyway lol

Run a 3DMarkVantage Benchmark and post your score along your system specifications.

Cheers

Edit: Damn you reborn lol now i have the same symptoms

 

I'm very Glad and happy to hear that i have succes flashing the Bios...
You're such a nice person and such a genius...

Thank you very much....

I will run a benchmark and post it as soon as i get my new cooling fan that fits my 17x....

Once again, thank you...

 

Oh, well i would be glad if you could run it at stock, just like it is, or is something wrong with the fan or with other temperature?

 

i really want to run a benchmark on it...
But my place is rather hotter than usual room temperature cause i'm currently live in Indonesia.
afraid that it will affect my laptop and affect the benchmarking score...
so i guess it would be perfect if i'm using a cooling pad to ensure that nothing goes wrong when i benchmarking the m17x...
i just order a cooling pad from COOLER MASTER since it was the only cooling pad that i can found in Indonesia which fit M17X....
I'll post the benchmarking result as soon as i have my cooling pad..



Thank you...

 

Klemens, It'll only affect the bencmark score if your CPU hits the thermal throttle point which I doubt will happen. Give it a run anyway, and run a program like RealTemp to monitor temps while it runs.

 

Hehe, that's one hot place indeed, but give it a go anyway, your system HAS to run correctly even under extreme conditions As long your temps don't go above 100°Celsius you should be good for a quick run ^^

 

well...
i accidently deleted the full version of 3dmark06 and the vantage...
so just know, i just run some benchmark using 3dmark06 (not the full version)
and this is the score ;

ORB - World of Performance

and my benchmark score drop from 18889 to 18233 as you can see from above....
does the temperature affect the score...??

by the way, i accidently delete the vantage and 3dmark06 full version. does anyone have a download link of the full version of 3dmark06 and the vantage...??
so that i can run the benchmarking in full vesion..??

and give some comments about the benchmarking score that i just benchmark it...

 

Yeah, you're benchmark score is in the zone for these drivers without the bios overclock at 5% and you are on A09 aswell right?

3DMark 06 is very dependant on what is currently running in the background that eats a small performance percentage. so your score can vary now between 18k and 19k, somewhere in the middle.

Also no, we cannot provide you full version, you have to buy it yourself, online if you like, but the free version does it's job aswell, only if you like to throw money out for it and maybe do alot of benching

 

Yea, you can download the free stuff at futuremark.com and if you want, purchase a registration key.

 

Nope..
i didnt use the AO9 bios...
cause i heard that the some people are getting trouble with the A09..
so i still stick with the AO5 until there's a certainty of the A09..
is the Bios version affect the score...??
i mean, isnt the bios only affect the processor...??

Yeah...i already pay for the 3dmark06 and the vantage...
BUT I ACCIDENTLY deleted it from my Flash disk...
i'm trying to recover it...
hope it will work...
and i dont want to spent any more money, cause i already spent much money just to have this two software,,,,

that why, i'm asking wheteher there's a Free full version or not..cause waste my money if i'm buying it again....

But hopefully it can be restore.....
i'll post the benchmark if i have successfully restore them...
Pray for me...hahahahaha...

 

Uhm, that is some false information you might have, or i'm not up to date, the A09 Bios is the most solid Bios so far, i haven't read about any downside so far vs. any older release, Maximum Performance again. Don't confuse it with the ugly A08

 

I can't believe I missed the whole BFBC2 part in this thread. After my VBIOS and new Dell ATi drivers install, I still get the CTDs in this game... didn't realize it was the C++ issue.

Let me just make sure I understand this: Uninstall VDrivers, Uninstall all C++ packages. CC Cleaner, Driver Sweeper then re-install VDrivers then no more CTDs in BFBC2?

Can I just uninstall the C++ without having to uninstall my VDrivers?

After all this, you think I'll have a higher 3D Mark 06/Vantage Score?

 

I'll second Grimfan's thoughts...the A09 BIOS gets rid of most of the issues (clunky touchpad/extreme edition processor throttling issue)...doesnt really cause any.

 

If you did pay for it login to futuremark (probably with email) and your keys should be saved in your profile. You can get them from there and register. It saves them to your account. Once logged in click profile.

Login to ORB

 

Um...I missed this too. Is this a solution to the lag/crash issues with BFBC2 online MP?

 

I have been following this thread and the majority of the almost 100 page beta thread prior to this one. It appears most people are happy with this but I want to know something before diving into it. I like to play a lot of older games as well as my new games. I know there was an issue with the number of OpenGL extensions in driver releases after 10.4.

1. Do these new drivers really impact old game playability or is the impact rather minimal?

2. If the opengl dll file from 10.4 is used to install with these newest drivers, does it affect newer games having fewer opengl extensions?

I would rather not have to reinstall the drivers to switch between playing newer and older games. I thought I would see what the consensus here was before continuing.

Specs:
m17xR2
Win7 x64
Core i7 Q820 1.73GHz
Radeon HD 4870x2

 

Send a PM to BA0701, I have spoke with him extensively and he has worked out a simple mod or hack that allows the older games to play with the newer drivers. Just let him know I pointed you his way. He plays a lot of the older games. Shouldn't be a problem after the mod. Though i'm not sure what it is since I havn't l=played many older games, or any that needed this.

EDIT: Realized you need to have 10 posts or more to PM.

 

Hey Grim, check my post on page 28 and let me know if I have the right idea brotha! Thanks

 

No it should not increase your score.

The redistributables are installed along the drivers, if you have alot of different ones, uninstall them all and reinstall the driver and the right redistributable gets installed. This is according to Catalystmaker to FIX CTD in BFBC2. Lag is a different issue about scaling of the gpu on the 4870's with some games, i have the same behaviour with FFXIV on HD5870, the game behaves exactly the same from what it looks like, negative gpu scaling (GPU's not in full performance, but clocks are right), this introduces stuttering, i wonder if it's MP releated only then...

Anyone tested another Online Game that shows the same symptoms?

 

Matrix this is an answer from BA0701 when I asked a somewhat similar question: A link to the post where he discusses getting the OpenGL support.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...driver-amd-5870-vbios-read-post-1-2-a-21.html
Here's the actual post on the page.

I hope this helps you too.

 

What about the other version of C++ that maybe be need for my other games/software? Will the other software automatically re-install their own C++ or is the ones the ATI drivers install universal for all?

 

You only need 2x 2005 x86 & x64 then 2x 2008 x86 & x64, should be universal and the latest one should be apllicable, but older drivers could conflict. You should be fine with this method provided, maybe check windows update, if one of the redistributables comes from there.

 

Thank you DR650SE and infernia for the answers. I am aware of using the 10.4 opengl dll workaround as I mentioned. DR650SE: If you are referring to a different method than infernia, I would be interested in hearing more about it. I was more curious if there were alternative methods and/or if anyone has heard of this workaround affecting new games. I am not sure if any new games use the newer opengl functions yet but would be curious if anyone has any insight into this.

 

I gave this driver release another try after flashing the main bios to A09 (which works great by the way).

The problem I was experiencing with the mouse in World of Warcraft is back in this version (just as it was in the beta and the ATI 10.8 release). To recap, performance is outstanding until I move my mouse. Screen updates are frozen until the mouse stops. If I move the mouse in circles for 5 minutes without stopping, then yes the game will not display another frame for 5 minutes. If I leave the mouse alone, then I get 80+ FPS on the login screen, and presumably great framerates in the game itself too (as long as I don't touch the mouse).

This problem does not exist on 10.7 ATI drivers.

I suspect it is something that only happens in this particular game for non-crossfire 4870 owners. The great majority of people on this forum have crossfire setups (or at least the 5870 card), so probably very few would notice it.

App Profiles will not be of any help, since this is not a crossfire configuration.

I guess I will have to fall back to 10.7 again. Or if Dell could do something about their supply chain problem I could just get a pair of 5870 cards ordered and not have to worry about it anymore.


Also, I am still having the problems with running CCC. As in, CCC refuses to launch (appears to be crashing before the UI is shown). This has been happening since the first time I installed the beta of this A01 driver, and persists even when I uninstall all ATI software and drivers from safe mode, run DriverCleaner a few times, and then reinstall an older release.

I suspect that my CCC problem is tied to a version incompatibility with the VC++ runtime files. I have a ton of these on my system, because I also have several versions of Visual Studio installed (requirement for work). I have been hesitant to mess with those updates, but I guess I just need to bite the bullet and clean them out (and then reinstall the ones I actually need).

 

I just did the C++ uninstall with vid drivers then reinstall and no change in game play, still got the lag. I'm just going to wait it out till the new Call of Duty and Medal of Honor comes out, if I still get the lag, the laptop is getting run overed

 

I uninstalled my old driver , ran driversweeper and after the reboot, installed the new catalyst driver .

The problem is that the driver won't install . I keep getting a failure upon the installation of the display driver . I can't seem to find a way to revert to my old driver now and the device manager displayed both my 5870s as standard VGA adapters .

This is my first , did I screw up somewhere ?

 

successfully installed and flashed; many thanks!

 

So we're just waiting on ATI to fix the lag issue?

This whole thing confuses me, It's been a problem for several months now, why are they just now working on it?

 

For the user with single 5870, do we have to update this new driver ?

 

I am still using the Beta Vbios and Beta Drivers, is there any need for me to go with the Non Beta?

 

If you want. It's optional, but i can recommend it, incl. VBIOS Flash.

Only the new Driver if you want, but should be not that much different anyway, you can also skip it and wait for 10.10 Catalyst.

The redistributable have nothing to do with the lag, they conflict and produce CTD, that's all.

The lag is happening in some games, that are running in CrossFireX where the games are not scaling 100% on BOTH GPU's, this concerns the HD4870's as confirmed in BFBC2 and HD5870's in FFXIV. I don't know if it is a WOW64-issues (Windows on Windows 64-Bit) and if it's applied to multiplayer only...

If someone can test this with another MultiPlayer Game, please monitor your Game/play with GPU-Z in 2 instances for both GPU's and post your 2 log files for the test here.

Also for people still saying App Profiles are for CrossFireX only, that is not true. They are for Single and CrossFire Setups, sure most of the time it says CrossFire Profile added, but what does not hurt shoould not be an influence. They are independant Game Hotfixes along the drivers.

 

hi evrybody,
can someone please post download link for all previos versions of vbios, gpu drivers and bios even beta ones for alienware m17x R2 with ati HD 5870 crossfireX.
Any help will be appreciated. Thanks