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    AMD 7970 Driver and M18x R1 and M18x R2 compatibility thread

    Discussion in 'Alienware 18 and M18x' started by Alienware-Mark_O, Jul 16, 2012.

  1. GTO_PAO11

    GTO_PAO11 Notebook Deity

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    I agree. Right now on games, the 7970m crossfire is on par with 680m sli. Difference is the driver stability.

    It is my birthday today and one of my birthday prayers is we get a stable driver for gaming on the 7970m crossfire.
     
    GTO_PAO11, Aug 4, 2012
    #101
  2. deuceduzit

    deuceduzit Notebook Evangelist

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    Hate to say it brotha... But your setting high hopes there... But I too *Hope* they come out with something stable soon...
     
    deuceduzit, Aug 4, 2012
    #102
  3. Enkeixpress

    Enkeixpress Notebook Geek

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    Happy Birthday babe :p
     
    Enkeixpress, Aug 4, 2012
    #103
  4. GTO_PAO11

    GTO_PAO11 Notebook Deity

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    Thanks. Hehehehehe

    They can do it. I'm sure of that. It's just a matter of when.
     
    GTO_PAO11, Aug 4, 2012
    #104
  5. i3adme

    i3adme Notebook Enthusiast

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    Wholly crap man you're not supposed to tell us your wish, or it won't come true. Nooooooo! :)
     
    i3adme, Aug 4, 2012
    #105
  6. GTO_PAO11

    GTO_PAO11 Notebook Deity

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    Don't jinx it please. Hehehehe
     
    GTO_PAO11, Aug 4, 2012
    #106
  7. deuceduzit

    deuceduzit Notebook Evangelist

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    deuceduzit, Aug 5, 2012
    #107
  8. Nafura

    Nafura Notebook Guru

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    I use the Dell 7970m Driver.
    I have 60 fps in World of Warcraft but it drops to 47.
    when i switch to the desktop und back in the gme the fps swith back to 60.
    What can i do, pls help.
    Sorry for my bad englisch
     
    Nafura, Aug 5, 2012
    #108
  9. GTO_PAO11

    GTO_PAO11 Notebook Deity

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    With this CAP 12.7 2, do i have to clean install my drivers again or just install this driver without any clean installing?
     
    GTO_PAO11, Aug 6, 2012
    #109
  10. deuceduzit

    deuceduzit Notebook Evangelist

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    Nah, I just installed it on top of the 12.7.
     
    deuceduzit, Aug 6, 2012
    #110
  11. GTO_PAO11

    GTO_PAO11 Notebook Deity

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    Great.

    So how's the new cap working for you? You have Arkham City?
     
    GTO_PAO11, Aug 6, 2012
    #111
  12. deuceduzit

    deuceduzit Notebook Evangelist

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    No, never even played it... But I have heard good things about improvements to deus ex in the thread I started... I didnt really have any time this weekend to play around with it.
     
    deuceduzit, Aug 6, 2012
    #112
  13. GTO_PAO11

    GTO_PAO11 Notebook Deity

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    Does anyone who have Arkham City try dx9 and see if it freezes?
     
    GTO_PAO11, Aug 6, 2012
    #113
  14. Mr. Fox

    Mr. Fox BGA Filth-Hating Elitist

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    Hey, I just played about 20 or 30 minutes of Arkham City using DX9 and DX11 and no freezing problems whatsoever. It played great for me.
     
    Mr. Fox, Aug 7, 2012
    #114
  15. GTO_PAO11

    GTO_PAO11 Notebook Deity

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    Really? What drivers are you using? I have some trouble using dx9 on Arkham City. I'm using 12.7 beta with the new CAP installed. Should I reinstall the driver?
     
    GTO_PAO11, Aug 7, 2012
    #115
  16. Mr. Fox

    Mr. Fox BGA Filth-Hating Elitist

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    I'm using the same one I keep posting about (12.7b hotfix), but people may be assuming it is the same driver as Catalyst 12.7 beta. It's not the same driver.

    http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...sink-7970m-crossfire-upgrade.html#post8568527

     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 6, 2015
    Mr. Fox, Aug 7, 2012
    #116
  17. GTO_PAO11

    GTO_PAO11 Notebook Deity

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    Amazing man mr fox, do I have to do a clean install on the 12.7 hotfix driver? After, should install the new cap 12.7 ver 2 over the hotfix driver?
     
    GTO_PAO11, Aug 7, 2012
    #117
  18. aungoun

    aungoun Notebook Guru

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    If I install this hotfix driver, 7970m gpu clock always set 850Mhz? that means don't use powerplay?
     
    aungoun, Aug 7, 2012
    #118
  19. Mr. Fox

    Mr. Fox BGA Filth-Hating Elitist

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    Clean driver install, please. Otherwise the "fix" part of "hotfix" might not be successful.

    No, the vBIOS would do that, not the drivers. And yes, that means PowerPlay becomes ineffective. (The technology is still present, but the resulting behavior is like it does not exist.) PowerPlay has had issues working correctly for the past 2 or 3 years and can sometimes cause more harm than good in terms of performance. The M18x has an excellent cooling system, so there is no issue with idle temperatures. And, AMD PowerPlay doesn't need to exist on the M18x. If power saving for battery life is important, just press FN+F7.
     
    Mr. Fox, Aug 7, 2012
    #119
  20. aungoun

    aungoun Notebook Guru

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    Thank you Mr. Fox :)
     
    aungoun, Aug 8, 2012
    #120
  21. GTO_PAO11

    GTO_PAO11 Notebook Deity

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    Do we have updates on the new driver?
     
    GTO_PAO11, Aug 8, 2012
    #121
  22. Mr. Fox

    Mr. Fox BGA Filth-Hating Elitist

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    Update: there is no new driver. ;) I think what we have is all there is for the time being.

    Remember my Alien Autopsy vRAM errors and BSOD vRAM errors? Look at this... that's messed up.

    7970m vram errors.png
     
    Mr. Fox, Aug 8, 2012
    #122
  23. sponge_gto

    sponge_gto Notebook Deity

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    Warnings to those itchy to try out the hotfix driver: if your current driver is working fine you really should leave it alone until further stable updates come along.

    I had 12.7b all this while and it had not been giving me any problems after I figured out the suitable crossfire modes for Skyrim and Prototype 2. However, one can hardly resist Mr. Fox's sweet temptations of the "hotfix"..

    One clean install later my 3dMark 11 score went from 10.3k to 2.7k. I disabled Powerplay and all that but to no avail. Attempts at running games were met with either freezes or at best, picture slideshows. At this point I was doubting if I had done a sensible thing installing the driver on my boot drive instead of my data drive as I have done before. Not that I saw any reason at all why that might make a difference but.. one does craaaazy things in desperation.

    Another clean install in the data drive and no miracle for me. I was slightly panicking by now and just wanted to get back to the way things were. Sadly I had turned off system restore so that was a no-go.

    Third clean install of the evening with the good ol' 12.7 Beta and finally I'm back to 10.3k.

    Anyone else feeling lucky?
     
    sponge_gto, Aug 9, 2012
    #123
  24. steviejones133

    steviejones133 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Nice clock speeds, Bro ....... ;)
     
    steviejones133, Aug 9, 2012
    #124
  25. DumbDumb

    DumbDumb Alienware !Wish money wasn't the problem.

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    Id assume if those were real Mr. Fox should have his own personal holodeck from star trek lol..

    Mr.Fox you holding out on us Brother?
     
    DumbDumb, Aug 9, 2012
    #125
  26. Mr. Fox

    Mr. Fox BGA Filth-Hating Elitist

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    It's a secret, LOL. 167.8 GHz synchronized core and memory clock! Let's use it for time travel.
     
    Mr. Fox, Aug 9, 2012
    #126
  27. DumbDumb

    DumbDumb Alienware !Wish money wasn't the problem.

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    ID take this machine back in time and give it to a computer designer to play with lolololololol
     
    DumbDumb, Aug 9, 2012
    #127
  28. Mr. Fox

    Mr. Fox BGA Filth-Hating Elitist

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    That was not necessarily the driver version as much as it is buggy AMD drivers in general. They have been extraordinarily finicky for several years now. And, removal and installation is one of their most finicky areas. You could have potentially experienced the same thing by uninstalling and re-installing exactly the same driver. But, your advice in general is very good, especially for AMD and CrossFire. If it is working well, leave it alone. As BatBoy used to say, "the latest driver is not always the greatest driver" and nothing captures the truth of that statement as effectively as AMD video drivers.
     
    Mr. Fox, Aug 9, 2012
    #128
  29. GTO_PAO11

    GTO_PAO11 Notebook Deity

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    Alright. It's the end of the week. Where the heck are the updated drivers?
     
    GTO_PAO11, Aug 11, 2012
    #129
  30. Heihachi88

    Heihachi88 Notebook Deity

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    12.8 WHQL coming out at next week
     
    Heihachi88, Aug 11, 2012
    #130
  31. TBoneSan

    TBoneSan Laptop Fiend

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    I hope the 12.8 isn't just some recycled trash.
     
    TBoneSan, Aug 11, 2012
    #131
  32. Mr. Fox

    Mr. Fox BGA Filth-Hating Elitist

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    That makes three of us. The bar on my expectations is set very low so I am not too disappointed if it turns out to be more of the same. I would like nothing more than being surprised.
     
    Mr. Fox, Aug 11, 2012
    #132
  33. GTO_PAO11

    GTO_PAO11 Notebook Deity

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    When is 12.8 coming out?
     
    GTO_PAO11, Aug 13, 2012
    #133
  34. Arestavo

    Arestavo Notebook Evangelist

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    If the recent press release about scheduling driver releases holds true, once per quarter for WHQL drivers. Betas whenever AMD feels like releasing them still.

    EDIT: Link I was off, as they basically state release times when they feel like it. A fair bet it will be close to once every 4 months, however that is just my supposition.
     
    Arestavo, Aug 13, 2012
    #134
  35. steviejones133

    steviejones133 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    IMHO, if that holds true, once every quarter or more.....that's just not good enough from AMD to support their flagship products. It's like saying "Hey, we will try and suport your product BUT we will do it on our own timeframe" - I bet they would'nt like to be paid for their flagship product in "dribs and drabs".....
     
    steviejones133, Aug 13, 2012
    #135
  36. GTO_PAO11

    GTO_PAO11 Notebook Deity

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    Surely we got to have status on this, right?
     
    GTO_PAO11, Aug 14, 2012
    #136
  37. dukerav10

    dukerav10 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I've been using 12.7b hotfix drivers as well as the latest vbios on both my cards (which I had no problems with for my first time doing that) and still getting screen flickers that're sometimes massive as well as intermittent pin-stripping. I've been putting off a call to Alienware to talk of the issue and I guess I put too much hope into using new vbios that it would fix the problem if not lessen it. So I suppose its the drivers or I may need new cards? I wish I knew for sure.
     
    dukerav10, Aug 14, 2012
    #137
  38. Mr. Fox

    Mr. Fox BGA Filth-Hating Elitist

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    dukerav10, when was your R2 with 7970M CF delivered to you? Approximately what date?
     
    Mr. Fox, Aug 15, 2012
    #138
  39. TBoneSan

    TBoneSan Laptop Fiend

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    I can tell you what works for me. I am using the 12.7b with CAP3. I was getting the pinstripe freezes like yourself prior to my update. Also I turned off hardware acceleration in firefox (that was a game changer too).
    The only game I can't play using 12.7 is Batman which should be remedied by Mr Fox's 12.7 Hotfix and bios flash DIY guide.
    I have only had 1 random freeze in about 3-4 week nows :D (discounting some Day Z launch freezes) which was the Yellow screen one for the first time.
    My systems stability is very good now and I'm starting to regain my confidence in it again.
     
    TBoneSan, Aug 15, 2012
    #139
  40. Heihachi88

    Heihachi88 Notebook Deity

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    I hope in 12.8 they will fix HW acceleration bug in FireFox
     
    Heihachi88, Aug 15, 2012
    #140
  41. DumbDumb

    DumbDumb Alienware !Wish money wasn't the problem.

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    Sorry its looking ike they haven't..
     
    DumbDumb, Aug 15, 2012
    #141
  42. Mr. Fox

    Mr. Fox BGA Filth-Hating Elitist

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    If this is AMD's idea of releasing fewer drivers to give them more time to focus on quality, they need to bag it and start doing something they can be successful at for a change. I think that strategy is starting to look like a lie someone at AMD made up to buy themselves more time to figure out how to make their product work well.
     
    Mr. Fox, Aug 15, 2012
    #142
  43. aungoun

    aungoun Notebook Guru

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    Recedently, I was install catalyst 12.5b with 12.7 cap3 and all problem gone with 7970m cfx. It's so cool no more freezing, bsod... ect everything fine in my case :)
     
    aungoun, Aug 16, 2012
    #143
  44. Heihachi88

    Heihachi88 Notebook Deity

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    I did the same for now... :D newer driver == worse driver with each version. They can't fix Firefox hw acceleration...
     
    Heihachi88, Aug 16, 2012
    #144
  45. mp5cartman

    mp5cartman Notebook Evangelist

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    mp5cartman, Aug 16, 2012
    #145
  46. DumbDumb

    DumbDumb Alienware !Wish money wasn't the problem.

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    Bwhahahaha lol go to the release note and look at the mobility products it says this driver covers.. 7xxxxm isnt even listed lol

    also looks what is not supported..

    The following notebooks are not compatible with this release:

    • Any notebook launched after this driver release.
    • Switchable Graphics enabled notebooks.
    • Toshiba notebooks (please contact the notebook OEM for driver support for these. notebooks)
    • Sony VAIO notebooks (please contact the notebook OEM for driver support for these notebooks)
    • Panasonic notebooks (please contact the notebook OEM for driver support for these notebooks)

    RESOLVED ISSUES
    This section provides information on resolved known issues in this release of the AMD Catalyst 12.8 software suite.
    Resolved Issues for the Windows 7 Operating System

    • Over/underscan settings are correctly restored on system reboot
    • SolidWorks: Graphical corruption is no longer experienced
    • Crysis Warhead: No longer crashes when launched in DirectX 10 mode
    • System no longer hangs when resuming from sleep mode
    • Audio is no longer disabled if the connected HDTV Is switched off/on
    • Enabling dual graphics mode with a HD 7000 series product no longer displays green video playback
    • Call of Duty- Black Ops : No longer hangs when loading a mission in DirectX 9 mode with Crossfire enabled
    • Shogun 2: Flickering text is no longer experienced
    • Star Wars – The Old Republic: In game cinematics no longer experience flicker when using the arrow keys
    • Dirt Showdown: 8-Ball track no longer hangs with AMD Crossfire functionality enabled
    • Max Payne 3: A black screen is no longer observed when launching game in DirectX 11 mode with AMD Crossfire functionality enabled
    • Max Payne 3: Applying in game settings no longer causes the game to crash
    Resolved Issues for the Windows 8 Operating System (These issues were found in the Catalyst driver for the Windows 8 Preview)

    • Video playback using the Metro video player no longer shows green corruption
    • Deus Ex - Human Revolution: Graphics corruption is no longer experienced during in game cinematics with AMD Crossfire functionality enabled
    • Battlefield 3: game no longer crashes when AMD Crossfire functionality is enabled
    • Need for Speed – The Run: game no longer crashes to the desktop
    • Blocky video corruption no longer seen when using VLC
    • System no longer hangs when using PowerDVD
    • Green video corruption is no longer seen when using various video players
    Resolved Issues for the Windows XP Operating System

    • QQ Dancer: A black screen is no longer randomly experienced
    KNOWN ISSUES

    The following section provides a summary of open issues that may be experienced with the AMD Catalyst 12.8 software suite.
    Known issues under the Windows 7 operating system

    • Max Payne 3: Lights may flicker when run in Direct X 11 mode in a triple AMD Crossfire configuration
    • F1 2011: Vehicle textures may flicker when graphics profile is set to low
    • Enemy Territory Quake Wars: Poor performance may be experienced with AMD Crossfire technology enabled
    • Rage: Poor performance may be experienced with AMD Crossfire technology enabled
    Known issues under the Windows 8 operating system

    • Blocky corruption may be experienced when playing back Flash video content
    • De-interlacing settings may not be applied to interlaced content when using MPC-HC and PowerDVD
    • Civilization V: game may crash when run in DirectX 9 mode
    • Total War – Shogun 2: game may experience random crashes
    • Rage: game may experience random crashes
    Known issues under the Windows XP operating system

    • Diablo 3/Starcraft 2/World of Warcraft: Performance may be affected when run in windowed mode
     
    DumbDumb, Aug 16, 2012
    #146
  47. steviejones133

    steviejones133 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    That's just disgraceful......
     
    steviejones133, Aug 16, 2012
    #147
  48. Mr. Fox

    Mr. Fox BGA Filth-Hating Elitist

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    You're too kind, Brother Stevie. To provide a more accurate description might violate forum rules against vulgar language.
     
    Mr. Fox, Aug 16, 2012
    #148
  49. GTO_PAO11

    GTO_PAO11 Notebook Deity

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    C'mon AMD or Dell. No more false promises. Where is the new driver?
     
    GTO_PAO11, Aug 16, 2012
    #149
  50. jywang

    jywang Notebook Evangelist

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    Personally I have not experienced any of the problems reported with 12.8. I was able to easily un install all, and reinstall Dells latest drivers then install 12.8 on top. I'm even running firefox with hw acceleration on just to try to reproduce the crash. Nothing yet.

    Can someone help me understand what the current issues with 7970m crossfire are? I feel left out.
     
    jywang, Aug 16, 2012
    #150
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