Need help with my HD 6970M Drivers

i have just received my M17x r3 and noticed that it had old drivers dated to 2010. i have downloaded this driver (AMD_RADEON-HD-6970M_A01_R300041) m18x driver from the dell website buy my 3dmarks 06 (free version) score was around 15000+ (but less than 16000).

i have been looking for the 6900 Series 8.850.0.0 driver but couldn't find it. will that help my score?

i am relatively new in these areas and hope someone can help/direct me to resolve this issue

thanks in advance.

 

What clocks were you running?

 

thanks allot for your reply i think i have everything stock, i dont know where to check.
this is my page results Health Check from the test. they recommend updating the drivers.

 

Are you sure you have High Performance mode enabled and you are plugged in(not on battery)?

I'm also running those M18x drivers. I got almost 20000 on that while OC'd to 825/1150. I'll try a stock run and see how I do.

 

according to CCC i am running on "High-performance GPU" and plugged in

is it the driver? although i installed the driver i mentioned above, i get this info from the control panel : version 8.800.6.1000, date 3/11/2011.

Also the windows graphics index is 7.6.

 

I have the same info as you. I just ran 3dmark06 at stock and got 19300+. That's around what you should be getting. Try downloading GPU-Z and check the info on you GPU. techPowerUp! :: Downloads

 

make sure you have performance set as your power options and Max performance set in you ccc powerplay options.

 

i have both on max performance, GPU z shows the following: GPU core clock max reading in 680 and GPU memory clock is 900.
8.8000.6.1000 is the driver highlighted.

 

When you installed the M18x drivers did you uninstall the stock ones first or just install over top of them?

 

this is my result just now:

Result


regarding the drivers, i have uninstalled the old ones and installed the M18x ones. it still shows older version of the driver. plus the results above shows i have only 1 gb of memory in the GPU, although GPU z shoes more?

 

Don't trust those results about your hardware, it shows 1mb of GPU memory actually lol. I don't know why you are getting those results. Maybe you could try uninstalling the M18x drivers, going back to the original M17x drivers that came with you R3 and running the test again. If you still get a low score than that would rule out a problem with the drivers. If you get a better score then it would show that the drivers were the problem.

 

stock drivers get me 17135 3DMarks. driver 8.800.6.0, dated 12/2/2010.

what should i do from here to get better score??

 

Have you tried running other benchmark tests like FurMark? If not, try running it on 1366/768 and let me know what your average FPS and temps are after about 1-2mins.
(GPU Tool) FurMark 1.9.0: The Return of the Furry Donut - 3D Tech News, Pixel Hacking, Data Visualization and 3D Programming - Geeks3D.com

 

i will try it as soon as i get home, i am at work now

what do you think of that score, is it good for the stock driver. notebookcheck states that 17000s are the average and 14000 are the minimums, and ofcourse 20000 is max. will the new driver improve that?

thanks allot for your help. how can update to the new driver? do i need to install the new CCC 11.6 also. how can i do these because when i install them they show older versions. appriciate your help.

 

That score still seems a little low to me. I have the M18x drivers and got 19k. I don't think those drivers should be adding 2k to my score. If you wanna try 11.6 go for it, you must go into the control panel and uninstall CCC. Then when CCC asks you what you want to uninstall choose everything. You must then reboot and install 11.6 drivers. I hear they are better for benchmarks but I don't think they allow you to switch to the IGP.

 

i tried the 11.6 yesterday and switching is fine without any issues. however, had issues with the 8.860 display drivers and had to install the 8.800 old ones in addition to the integrated GPU intel 3000 drivers.

i get 17600 score now in 3dmarks06. the heathcheck stated that i am equal or above similar systems although processor (although i updated chipset drivers!) and GPU drivers are outdated.

 

I have exactly the same problem, owner of clevo p151hm1 with 6970m. Check this. http://forum.notebookreview.com/7612399-post2758.html
At first, 3dmark06 score waw great, 19500+. Then suddenly, it dropped. Now, i can't have more than 16500 points, same with 3dmark05 (it should be 23000 and it's 19000). However, every other benchmark (heaven, 3dmark11, vantage etc) give me a perfect score, no drop there. I have been testing some games and frames seem perfect as well. There wasn't a single software or hardware change on my system when it happened, it just happened...

Edit. Changing drivers don't change the score, reinstalling windows didn't do any good either. I still test some games framerates but everything seems normal there. http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-AMD-Radeon-HD-6970M-Graphics-Card.44438.0.html
Edit2. Windows experience index is still 7.6, i have just checked it (again).

 

Then its time to ignore 3dmarks06, make a restore point and test some games

however for infor only, My 3DMarks Vantage is P11689, Unigine Engine Heaven Benchmark v2.5 Basic =FPS:33.8, max is 73.5 and min is 17.1,and P2728 3DMarks 11.
both 3Dmarks say that i need to update the processor and GPU drivers

The only concern now is the drivers and how to get the updated ones coming with 11.6 and keep them there without reverting to old ones due to errors.

 

Ok, i am malakas (you know what it means). It was the bios. I have read again my previous post and remembered that there was actually something that i have recently changed, the bios (the latest version supports 560m which i don't have and i don't care about, which was another clue about what could be responsible for my problem). Reflashed previous bios version and everything is fine again! 3DMark06 shows 19700 and mafia 2 benchmark scored 2 fps more (55 instead of 53). The same with the rest of the games. I can see now that framerate on games wasn't so much affected after all, compared to 3dMark06 and 05. So, i wonder if you have recently updated your bios...

 

i didnt update/flash new bios.
Maybe your are geting higher score bec you have higher system confirguration? what do you think and recommend me to do.

 

Don't compare my scores with yours, compare your scores with the score of similar systems, or exactly the same laptop as yours, if possible. If your 3dmark06 score should be 19000 but it is 16000 or something like that, then you have some kind of problem, like i had. If it's not drivers or bios, maybe it's hardware related, i can't tell right now. I just solve my problems reading a lot, searching and trying different solutions. If nothing helps, i push my mind again to remember if i have done something that could have caused the problem.

 

Just because you didn't update/flash the BIOS doesn't mean you don't have a newer BIOS. On my HP laptop, the newest BIOS made my computer run like garbage. Flashed an older version that still let me use the new processor and works like a champ.

 

Can you link me to where you downloaded 11.6? BTW have you had a chance to try FurMark?

 

sorry for the late reply

i had this guide to use (including its own drivers):

ATi Mobility Catalyst 11.6 Display Drivers For Notebooks (15/06/2011)

and another try with newer drivers here:
AMD Catalyst 11.6 WHQL (8.861 May 24) - Download & Discussion - Guru3D.com Forums
latest display driver:
http://www2.ati.com/Drivers/11-6_vista64_win7_64_dd.exe

however, with stock drivers that came with the R3 and .net updates and directx, i get 17600 3dmarks06. with the newer drivers and 11.6 and cap1, 8.861 i think i get 12000 3dmarks06 score!! maybe i did something wrong.

give them a try and tell me if you succeeded plz .

i tried furmark max tem i think was 82. frames i cant recall but i will run it today and post it

 

i ran furmarks and got the following:

1366x768
fps: min 28, max 36, avg 33
max temp for 1 to 2 mins is 80
from 2 r]to 3 mins is 82
core speed in 679
mem speed is 900

what do you think?

 

The FPS looks perfectly fine. Temps aren't too bad. I think maybe you should stop worrying about 3dmark and get some gaming benchmarks.

 

thanks for everything

did u try the drivers?

 

Yea, no worries. I haven't had a chance yet, I am having issues with switching to IGP on stock drivers so I need to resolve that issue first.

 

i was wrong about my temp running furmarks, its 75

82 was the max reached and dropped to a constant 75, is that ok?, because you commented on that.

 

Yea those are pretty good temps for stock paste. Mine goes to about 77/78 and sits a few degrees lower than 75 on average. Try propping you R3 up a few inched at the back with a book or something to get better air flow. Just make sure you don't block the intake vents on the bottom.