6990M Crossfire Guide

I am having issues with my crossfire setup. I have done two fresh installs of ATI drivers, one using the 11.8 and the other using the 11.9. One of the cards is not being fully recognized. I went on hwinfo and this is what it showed for GPU#1.

http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff509/Morgoth_Bauglirr/weirdgpustuff.png

Is this a driver issue? or is this a hardware problem that I need a replacement for. I really hope its not a hardware issue because I literally just got this laptop today :/

 

Here's a shot of my vbios showing the vendor/model/etc. I also opened up HWinfo64 to show my temps as of now (800/950). The problem is definitely fixed for me. We'll just see if it's permanent or if I have to do this trick every time I install new drivers.

 

That looks as if crossfire is just disabled. Could be a bad driver install. Check CCC and make sure it's enabled, if there's not an option, check a page or so back where I linked the 11.10 drivers and driver sweeper. Do a fresh install and see what happens. If it's still acting up, you may want to check your crossfire cable.

This is a pretty simple task. Remove the battery, take out the 4 screws on the lip around the battery bay. Slide the bottom cover off. Now look at the plastic bezel surrounding your keyboard. Every screw around that needs to be removed. They are labeled on the bottom of the computer with either a "P" or "I". Gently pry the bezel off (I like to start from the bottom - you can get your fingers under it pretty easily around where the spacebar is located. Open your monitor as far as it will go so you can get the hook-shaped plastic pieces off without breaking them. Just lay the bezel across your motherboard, remove the 5 tiny screws holding the keyboard on and lay that across the palm rest. No need to disconnect any ribbon cables at all for this project. The crossfire cable is blue and runs from one card to the other. Check the connections and put that bad boy back together.

Let me know if you need any assistance.

 

This is what it shows when i enable crossfire:

http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff509/Morgoth_Bauglirr/weirdgpustuff2.png

Is it supposed to have those low clocks even when its in crossfire? I noticed the fans dont seem to turn on alot either on that card, and its like its not even being utilized despite the crossfirex option being enabled. I played a bit of Battlefield: BC2 and only the left graphics card fan was really blow out alot of air, the other one was very quiet.

I attempted to download the 11.10 modded drivers from the previous page but the file is not there anymore apparently.

So is this still a situation where i can avoid having to send it back? I really would like to, cause as I said before I just got it today XD

 

It won't bump up to 3d clocks until you enter fullscreen 3d mode. Monitor the cards while playing some battlefield. Make sure you don't have the problem that we have where the fan isn't turning on and that 2nd card is roasting.

 

nope, the clocks for the first card are bumped up to 715 / 900, the clocks for the second stay at 100/150. Is this a driver issue or am I going to have to open up my laptop and check the cable?

 

Are you playing in windowed mode? Change it to fullscreen if so. If you are able to enable crossfire then the cable is fine. You can always reinstall drivers to be sure.

 

Well the thing is, the fan on the left side gpu is blasting while the other side is quiet, so thats why im assuming the lower clocks are actually accurate readings while playing the game. No, I am definately playing it in fullscreen mode.

Edit:

Ok, so my computer froze, and now whenever I turn it on, it beeps 4 times and wont startup. I had half way attempted to take a look at the xfire cable, but past taking out 7 screws, i couldnt get the rest out due to my screwdriver being too thick, so I just put them all back in and went back to trying software solutions out. Soooo did I knock something loose? I guess ill just call in and try to get a replacement :/ Just my luck, the day I get my new laptop XD

 

Sounds to me like that second gpu hit max temp and shut your system down. I've been giving myself a headache trying to figure all of this out. The profile fix definitely was temporary. My cards went back to idling at 70ºc+ so I used RBE to change the vendor to dell, then flashed the cards with that and reinstalled drivers. The fans are kicking in automatically again and working like they should. I really hope this is the end of this madness. If not, I'll be getting myself some new cards in the mail.

Edit:
Restart #1: Fans worked normally, didn't go past 80ºc in Furmark.
Restart #2: Card 0 idled at 82ºc and I fired up Furmark again to see if the fan would WAKE UP and it went to 105ºc before I just ended the test.
I quit. Demanding new cards in the morning. Dell can seriously suck it.

 

So I think I am just going to call tech support because the fact that after I shut it down and attempted to turn it back on and it beeped 4 times, I am assuming somethings gone horribly wrong :/ I just want to get whatever I need replaced replaced and move on with this.

 

Best of luck to you man. I've given up on dell. 7 replacement computers and they have yet to get it right. Will the system still not boot?

Update on my situation:
I decided to play around in the bios since I have the unlocked A03. I went through all of the PCI-express options and anything that said ASPM (active state power management) I set to Auto. Some of them were randomly set to L1 even though I've never altered these settings. After 6 restarts and testing with Furmark and random games/videos, I can't duplicate the problem. I truly hope I've gotten to the bottom of this. Why would Dell send out a motherboard with.... nevermind it's Dell and I expect nothing but the worst from them. I'll continue to test these cards out over the next few days. Even now just typing on the internet, I can physically feel both gpu fans moving air. Things might be looking up?

 

Here are the new GPU idle temps. Note that the cards are still overclocked. The fans work.... for now.

So many emotions all at once...

 

Ill try the unlocked bios later on this morning and see if that trick works for me. This whole situation has me sick to my stomach. As much as I paid for this thing and tech supports best suggestion was "return it and re-order it". Oh and when I voiced my doubt the new system will be any better he said this is the first M18X he has heard of that isnt perfect, lol.

It has to be some kind of software though. The cards are reporting the temp like they should everytime, the fans arent broken as we can manually turn them on. Its frustrating.

 

Just an update, I installed unlocked 03 bios, went to PCI-E settings and changed all the random ASPM's that were on L1 to Auto and as soon as I saved and exited I ran furmark on bootup and it shot up to 90* with no fans. Restart and sure enough the fan roar on bootup and next round it stays at 82* with the fans going. Shut down and start back up and no fans.

I figured it out the fans will run almost everytime as long as the laptop is restarted. If its shutdown and then started back up then they wont work.

 

Rossi,

I tried following your solution, I compared my version with the screenshot you posted and all are exactly the same (i didn't get any error about overdrive either). As in your screenshot, the fan settings isn't clickable after i load my vBIOS, so I click the CCC profile editor and loaded profiles.xml.

A window pop up with Card 0, Card 1, Card 2, Card 3, but they're all blank below and can't be clicked. Are they supposed to show something and changeable? because mine aren't

 

Thats the same thing I had, blank screen and nothing could be modified.

 

Ya man, im with you. this is BS, why should I even have to go through all this after spending a load of money on a new comp, and right out of the box it has hardware issues? Im going to call dell tomorrow and have them build me a new one, not settling for a motherboard swap. this is BS..
I appreciate your time and effort in assisting me and others .. +rep

 

OK something weird just happened. I restarted this morning after posting and the fans were working so I figured I would install Crysis 2 and play while I could before I sent this thing back or whatever happened. Played for a bit, everything is great and then had to take my kids to school. I closed the lid, laptop went to sleep. When I got back I tried Furmark to see if they would work when after I woke it up and the temps got up to 90* with no fans.

I was bummed but decided to change some settings in Alienfusion so it wouldnt go to sleep when I closed the lid while windows finished doing some updates. I changed it to high performance profile and went to advanced options. I disabled password, went to "power buttons and lid" and turned both lid close actions to none then clicked apply and exited. The fans came on! Cooled the card down to 52* and its holding. Im waiting on windows to finish updating before I was going to restart.

I doubt its fixed but figured I would share anyway.

**EDIT** Still waiting on windows to finish, the fans stopped and card got to 63* with no fans. Ran furmark got up to 90* then I stopped Furmark frustrated. All of a sudden about a minute later fans start roaring again. GPU-Z shows fan to sit at 1rpm the whole time whether they are on or off so thats odd too.

 

My computer seems to still only beep 4 times in a row every few seconds when I turn it on, the screen does not turn on. On top of that, I have a CD i didnt take out of the slot load drive and its stuck in there :/

 

Wow that is weird.. Man I dunno what to do now..

 

You can pop the bottom cover of your laptop off and remove the CMOS battery if you're feeling froggy. Your system will still beep for at least 1 startup after that, and you'll have to redo your bios settings and reset your time in windows or you'll have constant certificate errors online.

 

Mine is still going strong. The only other option I changed in bios was enabling the ACPI 3.0 T-States. I just woke my computer up and ran furmarrk - 81ºc max. The fans work and I remain happy at the moment. Let me get some pics of my bios settings and I'll post them for you guys to copy if you want.

If you go into your video config, at the bottom there's another PCI-express menu where you need to change the ASPM to auto. I went into all of the "PCI Express Root Ports" and changed those to auto as well.

Fingers crossed that this works. It's hard to judge if you've fixed the problem or not because it randomly fixes itself when you reboot. I can say that it's been restarted around 10 times, and was put to sleep mode when I went to bed - and I have yet to experience these problems again. My fans noticeably kick in during furmark once they pass 70ºc. They go full blast as they approach 80ºc and the temps stop rising. Not really what I would prefer, so I'll still manually control them during gaming. It's just nice to not have to worry about the temps.

 

What drivers are you guys using? I got 2 driver crashes with 11.10 Preview 2 Drivers and I am trying to get 11.9 but all the downloads don't have the driver itself...

 

Catalyst 11.9 WHQL modded by Asder00

Ensure that you download the "mobility" version.

 

Thank do we also apply the CAPs from AMD?

 

Rage 3D CAP Profiles
Download 11.9 CAP2

 

Thank you so much mate, I have also noticed that AMD Overdrive has popped up now +rep you beast.

 

Dell just called to ask me how my replacement computer was, and I lost my mind on them. They're sending replacement fans and video cards...
I guess that's better than assuming the problem was fixed with a few bios setting changes. I'll take what I can get.

 

No clue but I have about decided to send this one back and re-order since Im within my 21 days. Only thing is Im afraid the next one will be just as bad not to mention all the time it will take to get credited and re-order.

Anyone know if any hardware updates are around the corner?

 

possibly seagates 7200 rpm 750gb 8mb ssd cache hybrid will come in stock soon.

cpus were just refreshed, better ram wont be coming any time soon, and these gpus just came out. oh, and also the wireless is brand new (killer wireless n). hard drives are the only thing that are pending an upgrade by dell.

 

I asked the technician if she could open some kind of mass case for you guys so you can get the same resolution. She believes that we may have a bad batch of video cards, and recommended that everyone that's having this issue should call tech support. (1-866-287-6727) She said to give a similar description as I did (video cards randomly overheating and fans intermittently turning on), and you should be approved for replacement cards and fans. I hope we can all get this resolved quickly.

Edit:
As an added note for you Lason: I was informed my cards will be here by Friday. If this truly does fix the problem, that's much more timely than waiting for a new system. I respect your decision either way - it's your money - but I'd prefer to see someone happy with their purchase.

 

I still haven't got the time to call tech support yet.. When anyone has got the replacement GPU & Fans, can you plz update if it solves the problem?

Thanks!

 

just got to ask how are AMD and there driver support atm? better or on pair with Nvidia? as i dont own a m18x just yet, but i'm still deciding on what to go... AMD 6990 or Nvidia 580...

 

Im only on day 3 of my purchase so I have plenty of time to return it. I think Im going to wait and see how it works out for you and go from there. My wiHD doesnt seem to work either so Im making a list of small things and going from there. I may just have them send someone out if it works for you and at the same time ask them to use this IC DIamond I have sitting here and kill two birds with one stone.

I agree though, Im not looking foward to sending this thing back, waiting for a credit then going through the ordering process all over again.

 

I thought Dell charged a restocking fee as well when you return a system within the 21 day window. I could be wrong. You can always just play the system with your warranty. Have them replace the cards and fans and the wiHD adapter, as well as anything else that's going on. They have a standard policy of 3 attempts to replace parts to fix the problem, then you get approved for a replacement system. So at least with this route you'll be able to get a brand new system, and you keep yours until it arrives - you'll never have to be without a computer.

 

does anyone know if each 6990m has a specific part number to differentiate them? You know between the master and slave card? or are the the same? I remember with the M17x-r2 there was a huge problem with purchasing or getting 5870s replaced because DELL would keep sending two slave or two master 5870s, and the laptop would not start. Have they learned from this past mistake? does anyone know?

 

@jstawrr - the 6970/6990 GPUs are exactly the same... no master/slave. My 6970's were replaced under warranty and interchangeable in either slot.

@Axisofevil35 - if you can afford the cost of the 580M, go for it. The throttling situation is on its way to resolution and things seem to be shaping up nicely on the green side. The 6900M Series AMD cards seem to be having reliability issues in the last couple of months. They are generally very good and much more affordable, but lately it seems they received a batch of defective modules... a number of folks are having issues. (Review the last 5 or so pages of this thread.)

 

There is a Left and Right heatsink. That's the only difference. The cards themselves are interchangeable.

 

Hey rossi, any news about the new cards?

 

Hi I recently got my M18x and I try to use this guide on my laptop but I have several question.

1. I have 11.8 return on my system so regarding about the cap do I have to use 11.8 cap or I can use 11.9?

2. The radeon pro, can I use it on every game or it only work on certain game.

Thank!!

 

I There,

I just get my m18x and I try to install 11.9 driver with the latest cap3 (bf3) etc .... but when I reboot I get 1400x1050 resolution and I can't get better ...before that I was in 1900x1600 or something like that.

I try everything you said on that quote but it's still doesn't work !
When I check my video card it say " graphiq card VGA standard" ...

Help plz...BF3 is coming in 3 days and I can't play in vga mode ^^ !

Thx

 

Takiana - welcome to NBR Forum. We are so glad you joined us. Congratulations on your M18x as well... you made an excellent choice buying this beast.

The version of 11.9 that you are using may be an update of the Catalyst package that does not include the actual driver files. I have seen several other forum members experiencing the same issue. Download the package from this location and you should be in good shape. AMD Catalyst 11.9 Win 7 | Vista 64-bit driver download from Guru3D.com - if not, please post again.


As a new NBR Forum member, here are a few threads that will help you get off to an excellent start with the Community.

Alienware General Information & HOW TO: Search the forum - *READ BEFORE POSTING*

Forum Rules -and- Reputation Points/Power and User Titles

As soon as you have a total of 5 quality posts you will be able to create a signature in the User Control Panel and send private messages. Including your system specs in the signature will be useful when you need technical assistance from the Community.

Again, welcome to the Community. We look forward to seeing more posts from you.

 

Still no update on the new cards. I checked my wife's M17xR3 since it came in a few days before my replacement did. Her 6990m has the same vbios as mine. I copied and flashed it over to my M18x and the fan controls are still non-existant. I really hope this problem is with the hardware itself. The video cards were on backorder so my replacement parts are taking longer. That's a good thing though, since this may have been a bad batch of cards - I'll for sure be getting cards from a new batch.

The fans DO work, but must be manually controlled. Having reinstalled windows 2x and gone through numerous drivers and bios flashes, this just HAS to be hardware related. GPU or Motherboard...

 

Thank you for your welcoming message and for your fast help !

I try what you told me but still doesn't work :/ ! It was the same 11.9 driver that I already try.

Another solution ?
New pc and can't use it ! killing me ^^
Thx



EDIT : It's ok I found the solution !

First I have uninstall the graphic card crossfire (both)
Then I have uninstall the drivers
I have download a log from maconfig.com that reconize all update possible on your computer.
I have download drivers proposition they gave me and it's working !

I think the most important step was to uninstall the graphic card

Thank you anyway for your help ! Great website !

 

You should be able to use the 11.9 CAP without problems. I've not used a CAP with a newer version number than the driver before, but I have seen where a number of other folks on this forum have.

Radeon Pro has profiles for specific games and you can create your own custom profiles for all games.

 

Just an update on my system. I was going to wait to see if the GPU swap fixed the fan issue but decided today to just send my system back and re-order before my 21 days was up. Really tough too considering I just got my copy of BF3 today. I was hoping to get my money back by the 31st so I can re-order with the Geico 25% off coupon but I doubt that will happen, they said it usually takes 10-12 buisness days to get the money credited back but they said they will try to expedite it.

 

I will give that a try. Thank!!

 

Just an update, today a tech came and tried replacing my memory chips and it still did not fix the computer, so I am sending it off to the depot, and hopefully they can fix it there. I will post when I get it back to tell you all if the issues other than the fact that it beeps now and does not turn on were fixed, which would include the graphics card issues.

 

Well I will try to help you guys out tomorrow.

My m18x will arive tomorrow. Its a brand new build with 6990s in xfire that was just built over the last 4 days so it should have the newest cards.

Let me know what i need to do and where i need to look, what software etc. and i will report back tomorrow evening with my findings.

 

All you have to do is download Furmark and run burn in test on 1920x1080 resolution with the power cable plugged in. You should see the temps of both cards and as soon as it hits 82* you should hear the fans, especially the left side, roaring. If they do then shut down (not restart) and start it back up and try again.

If the temps hit 90*+ and the fans arent going then you have the same issue alot of us do.


furmark
(Updated) FurMark 1.9.1 and FurMark 1.8.5 Released (GPU Stress Test) - 3D Tech News and Pixel Hacking - Geeks3D.com