6990M Crossfire Guide

That's a pretty cool option Vanhausse!, seems more simple than risking Hwinfo64 crashing or glitching in the middle of a game and then getting a thermal shutdown (a little paranoid). Since i use the intel all the time i would just have to switch cards and during that switch-restart use your solution --did I get that right?--

My only question would be; what does optimal default settings actually modify, like specifically? do I have to change it back when i go back to the intel 3000 or does it change itself?

Thanks, that was some EPIC advice.

 

Yep true, no need to risk using Hwinfo64. And yes you're right you need to do the "load bios default" during that switch-restart from Intel to AMD.

I'm not sure what it modifies myself, but you don't have to do anything when you're switching back to intel HD. So only when you're switching to/are using the 6990m ones. If you do the load-bios default when you're using the Intel-HD, you will automatically switch to AMD 6990m GPU.

It's so weird since I never ever changed anything with my BIOS setup, yet setting this to default actually fix the issue.

Glad that help

 

i worked like a freakin' charm!, Vanhausse to you i say; thanks dude!!! you've made my year with this. Crysis 1 in CF here i come! finally after weeks i can finally enjoy my rig and of course sleep at night

 

You're welcome! Let's hope Dell can find the solution for us soon!

 

I suspect I am having the same problem on my new replacement system. I see the fix was to "load bios default" but i only see load optimized default. is this the same thing? What is the best way to tell if its working?

 

load default optimal settings is right. The best way to tell that its working is to see if all your fans are turning on, monitor your temps with hwinfo64 or cpu-z, make sure your temps arent over 85 on load, should be around 50 to 70 in idle; or just put your hand back there see if all 3 are running, first time i played in CF i did NOT notice my right fan kicking in, im glad i payed attention and fixed it, because heat is the number one killer when it comes to pc's.

Note: Im not 100% sure if our right fan should kick in when CF is enabled (while not gaming) mine turns on when im gaming immediately, turns off at CGI-in game because its only video of course, but then again im just stating the obvious.

 

Thanks for the info, +rep! I have noticed that the right side of my system has been getting really hot (not when i'm gaming just surfing / watching movies). I used HWINFO to crank up the fans and it stays nice and cool. I havn't had much of a chance to game, but I know that before this replacement the system never got warm to the touch like it is now. I wish Hwinfo wasn't so buggy or complicated to use. I find the thermals are very hard to read. I didn't notice a difference when i loaded optimal defaults but like you i don't know if the right fan is supose to kick in while watching movies and surfing. I am ready to sell this system and go green I wonder if i can get what i paid for it since i got a nice 20 percent discount and it is a brand new replacement.

 

Please post your motherboard revision here so your issue can be resolved in a timely manner. There was a faulty batch of motherboards that don't seem to agree with the 6990m sensors, causing a 'cold boot fan issue' that can lead to thermal shutdown. Mr. Fox posted a Pic showing exactly where to look to obtain your motherboard revision.

 

I'm curious if anyone thinks that changing graphics cards to 580m SLI would be available as a fix to the coldboot issue. I'm okay with paying the difference I guess... anyone have thoughts on the subject

 

From what I have learned, MB revision doesnt play a part if you have Nvidia 580m Sli.....those cards work on what are "supposedly" faulty MB's for AMD owners....I'm not buying that its a MB issue....I think its gpu related.

Personally, I would rather a change of cards over a MB swap out. If the problem persists...go from there....thats what warranty is for, right?

 

I agree that it is most likely a defective lot of AMD cards. There could be something about the motherboard revision contributing to the situation, but the fact that the same motherboard revision is working just fine with NVIDIA cards leads me to believe the fault is most likely with the AMD cards. These serious issues are recent developments that did not exist on the earlier 6970M and 6990M video cards... all the AMD problems seem to have developed in the last 30-45 days. I am confident Dell/Alienware will get it sorted and make things right.

 

Not much seems to be going on with this thread. Here is a bump with some AMD/ATI wallpapers that some folks may be interested in. I have enjoyed them on my AMD-based systems. I made the one with the red gradient background.

I always found it difficult to find nice AMD wallpapers. Most of what I found on the web usually had tacky looking stuff. Those that I thought looked nice were usually pushing a specific CPU or GPU model instead of simply celebrating the brand name. (Nobody wants wallpaper touting some hardware that they don't have, especially when it becomes obsolete.)

- -

 

fan issue is awesome, use hwinfo64 and problem will be solved.

to prevent shut down hangs or other bsod problems, basically do not use the gadget or enable sidebar gadget report in hwinfo64, other than that set the fan value in manual mode, under digital thermal for cpus you should get a table. my fan values around 2500-3500 which usually keep laptop at around 38-42 degrees idle temp, and about 55 under decent amount load.

when stressed/oc, value should be 4000 max to make sure u destroy your fan, but save your graphic card, and to keep temp under 75 under extreme stress. fans are cheap and easily replaced in m18x laptop anyway.




just a question mr fox.. regards to the 1st page about the quote

registry.. where is DWORD value for every instance of EnableCrossFireAutoLink. a simple walk through with few steps would be great, ie startup -> regedit -> etc... cause registry is huge donno where i can find the DWORD value for "every instance" of EnableCrossFireAutoLink.

if so i would like to delete CCC seems not very useful and i really would like to have my cfx on all time! thanks for your time

 

Simply use the registry search feature. Start off by clicking on the top icon in the tree labeled "Computer" within regedit. Then, go to Edit > Find and enter EnableCrossFireAutoLink in the search box and then click the "Find Next button." This will take you to the first instance. Change the values as described in the instructions, then press F3 (faster than going to Edit > Find again) and it will take you to the next one. Keep repeating and updating the DWORD values until you reach the end of the registry database. You will know you've reached the end because no more instances are found in the search.

 

seems a lot of work, but i will go do just that, and hopefully exporting those registry will help for future reinstallation. thx for the walk through!

 

After you've done it once or twice it's very quick and easy. You can do it in about 2 minutes once you get the hang of it. You don't need to do it again until you upgrade or reinstall drivers. I would advise against export registry keys for later import because something could change with a driver update that might corrupt your registry or leave you with some new EnableCrossFireAutoLink keys that get missed.

 

I have to ask, I am currently running the 11.9 drivers, (after trying the failing 11.11 BSOD issues). I am looking to bump the performance of SR3, BF3,MW3, pretty much all new AAA titles. Will forcing CFX provide any gains on these titles? Or cause any Harm either?

Many Thanks in Advance

P.s i have the dual 6990M's

 

Have any of you replaced the thermal pads on the 6990's? I'm thinking about swapping them out for something better but I need to know the thickness. Any suggestions?

 

It may. If your CrossFire setup is inconsistent (which often seems to be the case) you should see noticeable improvement. If it is working consistently, there will be no difference in performance. All the registry hack does is forces it to work where it normally should without reliance on driver control. The majority of issues with AMD CrossFire are caused by poor quality driver support. The hardware is generally very good.

No adverse side effects have been encountered with this tweak.

 

As much overclocking that happens here and no one has bothered with this?

 

On the dell conference call with the system engineer, he said the pads they use are probably better then anything you are going to find on the market. They did a lot of research to find ones that would not only keep the system cool but also would not break down over 1+ years. The pads actually turn to liquid when they heat up. He (and I) highly recommend not replacing them.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...-re-dell-aw-conference-call.html?nojs=1#links

 

What about using copper shims with thermal grease?

 

i've always seen a noticeable decrease in temps when i repaste and repad. but i wouldn't worry about it unless your seeing higher then average temps. i normally use .5mm but have seen good results with 1mm too.

but a note, i have never repasted or repaded M18x yet, but with M15x, M17r2 and r3, I have seen great results.

 

I ordered this Phobya Thermal Pad XT 100mm x 100mm x 0.5mm - 7W/mk (1 Piece) (17133) - FrozenCPU.com along with some MX4 paste. We'll see how it does.

 

Thank you for you help Mr.Fox +rep
I <3 these cards, but the driver support is like a knife in the back at the moment, almost tempted to go grab the 580's...

 

i haven't tried that brand yet, but maybe will order some just to test. normally i just use the fujipoly stuff.
Fujipoly Premium System Builder Thermal Pad - 1/4 Sheet - 150 x 100 x 0.5 - Thermal Conductivity 6.0 W/mK - FrozenCPU.com

 

Thermal pads are completely thing from the thermal paste on the GPU. In the dell conference the talks were specially about the Thermal compounds on the GPU, not the other components.

The pads Dell used for VRM, VRAM and FET cooling are decent, but there are better pads out there. Dell or any other Vendor doesn't have to put those High quality pads in there because they are not selling 'overclocking' to the customers. They only need to ensure everything stays cool at stock clocks. And that it does.

Most of the complaints are about the poor GPU thermal compound application at factory level. They use phase change materials that shift between semi liquid at high temps to solids at lower temps. Its a way for getting around moisture draining from the grease used over a large periods of time, say 5 years. If this material is applied properly it does a good job of cooling, if badly applied any material fails to get the results.

 

btw i forgot to ask, can i delete catalyst control now? cause i remember the last time i uninstalled one of them, my resolution goes messed up. mrfox how do you uninstall yours without any arising problems.

 

Having recently made the switch to 580M SLI from 6990M CrossFire, I would recommend doing so if it is an option at your disposal. The 6990M cards are beasts... I think potentially more powerful than the 580M as well... but the generally poor drivers AMD has been putting out makes the 580M SLI a better set up for gamers. It also seems that most recent games are optimized for NVIDIA. This was a bittersweet change for me, as I have been an ATI GPU (not AMD CPU) enthusiast for quite a long time. The Radeon Mobility HD 69XXM series has not been good for me.

By the way, Motev. Welcome to the NBR Alienware Community. We are very glad you joined us.

I did not uninstall CCC, as that can create some issues (as you noticed when you tried doing that). I merely did a driver-only installation. You would do a clean uninstall with DriverSweeper and CCleaner as usual. Then, extract the Catalyst package, but cancel before proceeding beyond the first step of the installation where you can select Express or Custom mode. From that point you go into Device Manager, open the properties of each video card and browse to the folder where the drivers where extracted, manually selecting the INF file for installation there. This results in a CCC-free installation as well as not installing the Catalyst Installation Manager.

Rather than not installing CCC, you may want to grab the NBR Alienware Community's preview of the soon-to-be-released Dell driver first. Give it a go to see how well it works for you. It is getting good reviews by our Community. You can download it here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...md-driver-release-scheduled-dell-shortly.html

If this new Dell driver works well for you, then there is no reason to go the route without CCC. That was a workaround I had implemented quite some time ago to avoid problems that were caused by AMD's sloppy Catalyst package development. It served me well as a workaround, performed very well with RadeonPro in place of CCC, but the ideal circumstance would have been to not need to resort to a workaround to achieve good results.

 

it seems like a lot of work, but id definitely try both of these things. however, the new released dell drivers still not preventing overheating issues correct?

 

Oh my gawd... i honestly can't believe how gigantic this thread got! It really looks like Mr.Fox has done an absolute amazing job keeping everyone up to date and informed... I honestly can't thank you enough... Originally i intented to make a very simple guide to help the new 6990'rs get started but WOW... mad props to you! I wish i can give you control of the thread if i could - ive been way caught up with college and gf issues and been somewhat offline last couple months... Ill update the OP with newer links to drivers and etc

 

im glad they released some fixes, i wonder if it'll fix heating issues but i highly doubt it.

im also glad to see you update this thread, but i will probably wait for at least a couple of months before i update the bios. i just had my bios updated from 03 to 04 cause of some freezing issues, and i didnt think it was safe to update the bios when microsoft security client was still running, but dell was the one remotely did them so wat the heck!

i tried installing CCC 11.11 or 11.10 version. after i updated the amd drivers, i cant seem to change brightness anymore, all brightness stays on the brightest and this is even after i reboot my laptop several times. i had to use system restore and get my 11.8 back.

unless bios 05 can work with 11.10 and adjust screen brightness i probably wont touch them for a long while. im pretty satisfied of what i got now lol.

 

Good news... it appears the the A05 BIOS update has cured that problem for M18x owners. http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m18x/629157-m18x-bios-a05-released-discuss-here.html Personally, I would jump on applying A05. It was released specifically to fix the problem with fans malfunctioning, overheating and thermal shutdown. I would not wait if I were you, but ultimately the decision is yours. I can understand the hesitancy to flash a BIOS update when there is nothing that needs to be fixed. In this case there is much to be gained and little or nothing to lose.

Hey, no sweat. I do have control of the thread as a moderator, but it's your masterpiece. You deserve the credit for setting it up and putting things into motion.
+1 Rep

All I have done is hang out with our friends here in the Community and try to provide good answers to their questions. I would be doing that anyway, LOL.

 

hey fox i got another issue up now.. for the registry thing to enable cfx. i changed value from 0 to 1 for EnableCrossFireAutoLink and now in GPUZ it says crossfire is disabled =/

ive also changed the enableUlps which is right below each EnableCrossFireAutoLink, from 1 to 0 just like you said on the 1st post quote of this page. still no good, any idea?

honestly i donno which program to believe anymore, registry seems the right way to do it but it does opposite effect on gpuz. at system default b4 the registry changes, GPUZ and CCC shows crossfire is enabled while speccy shows crossfire disabled. now after the registry change, gpuz and speccy shows cfx disabled while CCC still says its enabled.. just what is going on lol

with all these issues with my brightness freezing up + window boot up problems, i really think theres something wrong with my graphic card or motherboard.

 

I think there is something wrong with one of your graphics cards. Try a clean driver installation again and install the Dell beta from the thread here in the forum that I linked yesterday. If that doesn't fix things up you're going to need to get resolution through Alienware with hardware replacement.

 

Mr.Fox:

The mobility Drivers 11.11 posted on the first page of this threads are bsod's free?

I'm getting suttering problems playing BF3. I'll try tomorrow morning if this drivers are bsod's free.

Thank you as always

 

I don't know that, Nikos. Sorry that I cannot answer that for you. Canious is the thread owner and I no longer have an M18x with 6990M CrossFire to test them. They probably do work very well or Canious would not have recommended them.

For the M18x, we have confirmed that there are no BSOD problems with the driver on this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...md-driver-release-scheduled-dell-shortly.html. (This is the Dell beta that should be released on the Dell Support site real soon.)

 

Thankyou for the welcome Mr.Fox,
Now I have to ask, you said you recently changed to the 580's from 6990's, what was the cost/procedure like?
I too, am like you in that I have always supported the AMD GPU's, in all my customer built PC's I have always found that AMD seem to hit that sweet spot of perf and price.
Seeing these cards being held back by crummy drivers is a real upset to my view of AMD.
Thank you for your continued help Mr.Fox you are a great asset to this forum.

 

Thank you for those words of kindness, Motev. It's definitely my goal to be helpful to all. I don't want to take our thread off topic, so I will send you a PM with my impressions. The only comment I will offer on this thread is that my current system is identical to the one it replaced except for the video cards. The benchmark performance between the two is very close to the same. The 6990M CrossFire setup was slightly faster in benchmarks. I mention this with the intent that it directly relates to this CrossFire Guide and to emphasize there is still very good reason for AMD CrossFire-powered M18x owners to remain enthusiastic about their product; especially with the information in this thread to help extract every ounce of performance possible from their setup.

 

Thank you for your PM Mr.Fox It was most insightful. I have to agree, when the cards are working with drivers/CAPS/CFX, the performance is exceptional, and surpasses what I have seen some 580's Post.
Lets keep hope up that the new DELL specific drivers will give the kick the 6990's need to get them back up the top!

 

My cards can't be enabled at the same time, but both work if the other is disabled. Any ideas?

 

Do a clean driver installation with DriverSweeper and CCleaner's registry tool and reinstall your drivers. (This will undo the registry tweaks.) If the problem persists then you've most likely got a hardware issue. Check your CrossFire cable to confirm the connections are solid. If they are, you need to call 1-800-ALIENWARE to get it fixed.

Spoiler

 

Thank you kindly.

 

I did fresh install that driver as u told me before...it runs good on BF3..but laggy on the new Batman..and I got BSOD after half hr playing Batman..i havent tried to play it again yet..

BTW how come my m18x load BF3 so slow even I upgraded from 4gb to 12gb of Ram ?

 

@dr_gin_rain - I think that question was answered in the BF3 thread by a couple of forum members already. It seems to be common experience and probably not indicative of a problem with your system. I am not posting in the BF3 forum much because I don't own BF3 yet.

Upgrading from 4GB to 12GB of RAM is not generally going to affect program loading times. It can a little bit when the program is too large to fit into physical memory. Increasing RAM capacity has the most benefit in minimizing page file usage, video and photo editing, and multitasking. In most cases, you will see minimal performance increase playing games once you go above 4GB of RAM. For the typical gamer 8GB is more than adequate.

Are you running your video cards at stock speeds or OC? If OC, try dropping them to stock clocks. Taking an OC too far makes the drivers unstable, and so does heat. If you continue to have driver crashes and instability on the clean install at stock clocks, and there is no heat issue, you may have defective or malfunctioning video cards. If that is the case, you should call 1-800-ALIENWARE to get your system repaired or replaced.

 

The hard drive needs to load the game to the RAM. Get an SSD and you will see a major difference in loading times. I have BF3 on a 120gb Hyperx SSD and loading takes about 10-15 seconds for caspian boarder.

 

Eldaren is giving good advice on the SSD. I agree. All programs (and OS) load super fast with SSD. I consider SSD one of the best performance upgrades you can have. Opening a huge program like Adobe Photoshop or Premiere is about 3 or 4 times faster and so are game loading times. Once loaded into memory, there is not a huge improvement in how the program feels.

 

A good SSD, can cut your load times down to a fraction of what a normal mechanical Drive Can.
I suggest one of the new Vertex 3's. Very Fast drives with a good failure rate.
But I do understand if you are like me, and require big HDD space, cause you hoard everything! lol
But As i have had this conversation with a LOT of my friends about this, in this day and age, so many Multiplayer games have mechanisms in place where, the game won't start until a certain % of the players are loaded.
So Understand, yes, you might be first in, but you will still have to watch the clock count down whilst the Mechanical driver players join! =D

 

The same deal with BF3 taking ages to load is being reported everywhere. It's to do with some kind of cloud up-link that's going on. Nothing to do with speed of the PC. Open task manager and watch your network activity when you click on 'Launch Campaign'.

Battlelog is a massive fail. By contrast, MW3 loads almost instantly with my dual Hybrid SSD drives

 

Are we talking about the same thread? It does not seem dead to me... http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...mance-problems-general-discussion-thread.html