Are you Satisfeid with your AMD 7970m Crossfire?

i think it might just be me thats over the moon with my 7970m CF lol !! i been playing tons of BF3 on ultra with every detail maxed out and my cards sit at 99% useage and 67 degrees on both .. i am getting between 88-100fps .

dont get me wrong i have some flicker here and there but nothing i cant handle , i am running 12.7b from fresh under your advice and has been problem free so far ( touch wood ) lol

Ps Mr Fox i may need your advice soon to get the max out of this 3920xm that i still havent installed lol

 

I'll be glad to provide any help I can. There is a lot of information in the overclocking thread, and conceptually what applies to the SB XM procs should apply to the IB XM procs. As I don't have an R2 with a locked-down BIOS to work with, you might find some good pointers from lancorp, too. He is getting some great performance from his R2 with the XM proc.

 

Mr Fox as always your a gentleman , i will have a look around for lancorp and try and source his methods . i like to do alot of reading before lol

But i gotta say i am really impressed with this 3820QM its a fantastic chip , i just dont have the heart at the min to swap him out lol

 

ScheebalL, in case you had not already found them also look for some screen shots, benchmarks and posts by Electrosoft.

 

any news on stable driver ? ... gosh im tired of this "colored screen" freeze.. i was remotely working on an important customer server. and my m17x froze... really bad timing made me work an extra hours ...

 

Nothing... no news. I just did a from-scratch Windows install last night and it didn't help the 7970M CF work better starting over with a clean slate. Mine are almost always black screen freezes, but I have seen a couple of colored screen freezes.

 

Mr fox I can't wait for you to get replacement cards so we can finally determine what percentage of your issues are due to hardware vs drivers.

 

No need to wait. I can answer that question right now. I already did get replacement cards and they were a whole lot worse than what I already had... very unstable, lots of BSOD, voltage running out of specs, etc. They were pretty much unusable the moment I installed them. I sent the replacements back and kept what I had.

Most of my issues right now seem to be drivers. There is a problem with the memory, and apparently something not working correctly with the voltage regulators. I've put somewhat unorthodox tweaks into place (some old tricks I used on defective 6970M and 6990M video cards) to force the cards into behaving closer to the way they should and I'm actually able to play games with fairly decent results most of the time. I'm having fewer issues than what I have seen some other people reporting here in the community. As long as the game or benchmark I am running does not max out the core or memory use, I'm in pretty good shape.

 

i guess i have been very lucky in that i dont have any problems with my xfire setup however the only games i have tried is WOW ans SWTOR
i did try ghost recon future soldier and that was working fine

 

So how come I don't experience any of the problems you are having? Is there a specific sequence of actions I can try to reproduce your issue? If I can't wouldn't that rule out it being a driver issue? Only reason I ask is because I have never had a single bsod crash. I play skyrim, black ops, supreme commander 2, metro 2033 - all with crossfire on and with 12.8 haven't had any problems.

The only time I have tearing issues is if I don't run native screen resolution. I.e. 1920x1080 on my 1920x1080 external monitor.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

So you are one of the lucky ones.. for most this was a driver problem to begin with and as we used the cards more the problems became more apparent.. so at this point id say 75% hardware issue and 25% driver errors.. but really I cant put a number on it..
You got to look at it this way.. Dell only commented on the issues when we thought it was a driver issue.. once we found out is was more hardware than drivers(although the drivers suck for most) Dell quit commenting on the issues and they wont respond to any direct questions about the 7970s or at least they havent in awhile..


Like here.. Hey maybe a rep could shed some light on the issues with the 7970s.. how much of this was hardware errors? and for that matter if any other companys want to chime in feel free.. I know what was it clevo got told by AMD to start taking Down threads that had to do with 7970s..talking crap about the issues.... and I belive msi also got asked to remove any thread talking crap about the 7970s.. but i may be wrong on the exact reasons but i know amd did ask them to remove threads from there respective forums about the 7970ms..

 

I'm extremely satisfied with my AW18R2 with dual 7970M, since the day I got it in may.
No problems at all, I play mainly MMOs (RIFT/SW:TOR/WoW/GW/GW2) and Diablo3, all in full details (fortunately!). Do some video editing, too.
I use the drivers the machine was shipped with. And I won't update them unless there's a good reason.

 

Are people having problems using them as dual GPUs. Has anyone ran the 7970M as a single GPU and hasn't had any problems?

 

The only accurate explanation would be that you lucked out and did not receive defective hardware, or your video cards haven't begun to fail as of yet. If you're really lucky, they will last the life of the laptop. For your sake, I sincerely hope so. What you could do to reproduce the problem is either trade video cards with me or come see me and install my defective video cards in your machine. This would remove any doubts you may have rather quickly.

To operate on an assumption that a problem does not exist simply because you're not experiencing it is... well, let's just say "naive" since I am trying to respond in a manner that is not abrasive. It's similar to an ostrich burying its head in the sand and assuming that because it cannot see anything it is hidden from danger. (They don't really do that, but it's the same concept.)

And, whether it is a hardware problem or a driver problem is largely irrelevant. What is relevant is that they don't work properly. If the people with malfunctioning 7970M CF were having only driver problems, then yours would be suffering from at least some of the same maladies.

To an extent, yes. My system behaves better when CrossFire is disabled. But, it does so at a lower performance level. Thus, disabling CrossFire is a totally unacceptable means of addressing the problems. Some of the problems (due to hardware issues) remain the same with CrossFire disabled.

 

Well I'm only interested in running one Gpu so would it be wise to go with the7970 over the 676m? Like states earlier, they must have some new drivers coming soon. Also since I'll be ordering in about a week or two I might not get a defective card.

 

Wise man! Good to know that the problem is not affecting 100% users.Maybe a bad batch of the cards/mobo/etc paired with immature drivers/vBIOS.

 

The 7970M is a whole lot more powerful than 675M. (Two 675M in SLI is roughly the equivalent of one 680M or one 7970M GPU.) So, if you get a good 7970M graphics card you will be happy with it if a dual-GPU system is not your cup of tea.

If you are buying a machine with hybrid switchable graphics (Enduro) such as the M17x R4, be advised that you may experience completely different issues because Enduro technology is seriously flawed. Fortunately, with the M17x R4 you can disable graphics switching in the BIOS so the problems can be eliminated by disabling Enduro. (If you are thinking of a Clevo or Sager, think harder because their BIOS is gimped and you cannot disable the hybrid graphics switching. The problem with those machines is that the display output is routed through the IGP to the LCD, but the output is not routed in that manner with the Alienware.) If you are planning to buy an M18x with one 7970M then there is no concern about Enduro because it has manual switching and Enduro does not exist.

I agree... combo of both, but I think the bad batch of video cards is more significant than the ongoing driver issues. Hopefully, most of the bad ones have been distributed by now and replaced under warranty, or isolated and returned to the vendor that produced them.

 

I'm looking into the M18x R2 with just a single gpu. As stated in my other post, I would be using it for 3d modeling and renderings. With all this talk of this 7970 being so problematic it's starting to scare me. The price of them is the same as the 675m that it's tempting to buy.

 

With a single card there is NO WAY I'd go lower than a 680m in that system, especially if you ever think you might want to upgrade down the road.

 

alright thank you...

im starting to want to call my dell sellsman now .. and return this... or get nvidia card at low cost because i think if a company sell system in that unstable state it should be them who fix it by either changing hardware or provinding software .. i paid 3700$ not 1500 ... it this thing is unreliable.

 

I'm not sure I understand why you can't get your cards replaced if it is a hardware issue.

 

If I'm not mistaken, isn't Enduro AMD version of Nvidia's Optimus? So the M18x doesn't have that option with the 7970? Is this something that is necessary to have, will it help out the GPU or is it something that can be done without?

 

m18x you have to manually switch no intel video card / ati require a reboot but it work (intel video card to save battery)

 

You are correct that Enduro is the AMD version of what Optimus is to NVIDIA. Those are both a brand name for hybrid graphics switching.

Is it necessary for the M18x? Thank heaven, no... Enduro and Optimus do not work with multi-GPU systems and I am so glad. Both of those hybrid graphics switching technologies are a real joke. The manual graphics switching is far superior to Enduro or Optimus. Hybrid switching not only tends to hinder performance, but it also frequently does not work correctly. You have to screw around with whitelists to get some games to use the correct video card and all kinds of nonsense that the M18x is completely immune from. And, because the manual switching totally disables (cuts power to) the discreet graphics, the M18x typically has a better (longer) battery run time than a system with hybrid graphics switching.

 

Mr. Fox, you like an encyclopedia when it comes to this information. To understand you comment catered to my situation of running a single Gpu, at what point would it be wise to manually switch Gpu? If I were to go with the 7970m would it be possible to manualy switch? What about with the 675m?

 

mr. fox should change is name to Mr. Encyclopediafox lol

 

Lol I second that

 

I have an open ticket. The first replacement video cards had more serious issues than the ones I already had. It will be resolved.

 

yea it seems that we just have to be patient..

 

I am also very satisfied with my 7970m Crossfire. I recievied my laptop last week after customizing it online with 3920XM.
I never once BSOD or crash in any heavy game and benchmark whatsoever. I even tried installing and re installing older drivers to newer drivers without clean uninstall lol.
I think the only solution for people having problem with their 7970m Crossfire is to return the cards and hope to get a working replacement.

 

I'm still trying to figure out how to tell if they're defective or not. I've not had any issues with anything I can point directly to the cards for, just a lock up exiting FarCry2 while HWinfo and FRAPS was running. Clock speeds look right, temps look good.

I've only run 06, 11, vantage and the AM3 on them so far but no issues running them, no black screens or anything like that.

I'm cautiously optimistic that the cards I have are good to go.

 

Sounds like you might be OK, Slim. Have you tried to OC them at all?

 

Very interesting thread. I had earlier today called powernotebooks asking about the new Sager NP9370 with dual 680m sli and the guy seriously convinced me that it's a waste of money and that the 7970m CF work just as good if not better. When I told him about the many forums I've read about problems with drivers, ect. he said that that's not true, AMD updates their drivers a lot more than nvidia does and that the main problems were happening on the Sager NP9150 and NP9170 models but not anymore. I wonder why he was so adamant on selling the 7970m CF
Either way, to me, I don't really want to deal with what most of you guys are dealing with. It sucks that one would pay so much money for a flagship gpu and have to deal with this many problems.
If you guys had to do it all over again, would you go with the 680m or maybe dual 680m sli?

 

I cant speak for anyone else, but after all the stories i read and i guess your reading im glad i got my 680s and sent the one with the 7970s back. Mine arrived yesterday and im very pleased with it. I dont doubt there are good 7970s that work as intended but i wouldnt want to play the lottery everytime i turned my laptop on.

 

Better late than never in the reply department (think I'm getting old though as I could have swore I replied to this earlier today) but no.........since I don't have the battery out here with me I haven't been able to update the bios to the unlocked version and frankly I'm pretty sure I'll be selling this once I get it home next month anyway. After all the issues with AMD drivers I'm just tired of dealing with them..........there's an 18R2 with dual 680's in my future.

 

I wonder the same... not sure I understand the rationale of a sales person pushing a less expensive product unless they are eager to unload their stock. The fact that he attempted to persuade you that the things you have read about are not true is questionable in my view. I don't know that I would buy a product from someone that told me that. People that post about their problems are generally (a) looking for solutions, (b) frustrated with their poor experience, or (c) both.

Not everyone would agree, especially if they are among those with properly functioning 7970M cards, but I would skip the 7970M and go straight for 680M. The problems affect owners with every brand of laptop that has them as well as desktops with 7900 series graphics cards. It may be a comparatively small percentage of the GPUs that are in circulation, but there is certainly no lack of posts on the web from those experiencing functionality problems. It could be only drivers, but as wide-spread as the issues are and as many drivers as AMD has released since the cards started selling, I'm leaning toward the use of low grade components in manufacturing as a possible explanation for the variance in satisfaction among users. If it is only drivers, that is almost equally inexcusable now that the cards are in their second quarter of distribution. The fact that some users have great results and others do not while using the same drivers on the same hardware configurations suggests to me that crummy drivers may not be the root cause at this point.

 

With 12.5 beta (18 april) drivers + 12.8 CAP2 my system is stable at this moment (overclocked to 900/1250mhz), even firefox with HW acceleration works (with crossfire enabled) as intended, no freezes/black screen's with these drivers... 12.8 is plagued with black screens... or they just incompatible with 7970m...

 

Just did a complete uninstall of amd drivers and ccleaned/ driver sweeped them and reinstalled 12.8 with cap2 and they run even better! Haha with an additional 8 fps in some games !!

Edit: I haven't tried 12.5? Are they seriously better than 12.8? With stock clocks?

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

 

I'd say they are 99.99% stable than 12.8.
Sleeping dogs with 12.5 beta + 12.8 cap 2:

min FPS: 39.9
max FPS: 169.8
average FPS: 59.9

 

Would not buy another amd gpu, shame on me purchased the 7970m based on hype once again. Should have gone with the 675m sli. experience crash everywhere, watch movies, games, even just simple browsing.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

Sorry you have had issues with them, i cannot say i have had any serious problems.. in fact they run pretty much perfectly. 675m sli is just the 580 i believe which is why i went 7970.

 

Mine are stable with 12.7 beta. Tried all the games with them zero issue.
But 12.8 is a no go for me .
I have played 100 hours with my machine so no hardware issue gor me.
I just wish they could release stable driver for latest games.
Gw2 is perfect now.

 

thedinks, I see that you had a 3D m17x before. Is the 3D screen worth it?? Gaming wise that is. Just wondering because I was about to buy one last week then I realized I can get a m18x with dual gpus for just a little more. Also I think it's weird that you can't have a dual gpu on laptops with 3D capabilities since 3D takes so much juice out of your card.

Mr. Fox, what confused me even more is that production time for 7970s was Oct! So they don't have them in stock. Maybe he was giving me his genuine opinion. He was familiar with NBR so maybe I should have emailed him a link or two and broke his heart in the process .
As far as drivers vs hardware issues, I completely agree, hardware's gotta be the main problem here. But even if one lucked out and got one that's good, he still has to get passed the driver issues. Do you think they're not using the same quality of materials in all of their cards?

 

Hi Fuzzi... I can only speculate based on what I see posted here in our community, on the internet abroad, and my own experience with 7970M. They are like the "box of chocolates" phrase from the movie Forest Gump. You never know what you're going to get until you open the box. Good ones are phenomenal... the other ones are not. It could be inconsistent components used in manufacturing, poor CQ by the companies manufacturing AMD cards (Global Foundries does the memory if I am not mistaken), or something else. I think there is an excellent chance you will get a good pair of them. It seems like the high frequency of issues are primarily limited to the folks with the earliest releases of the 7970M GPUs. These are anecdotal statements based on my observations.

 

Im currently using the current AMD Driver for my 7970m crossfire (from AMD website) and NOT a single issue. I got me, my 2 teenage kids and my brother playing games with it everyday for hours and hours (MY own way of stress testing it lol) with NO reported crash / BSOD or any unstability whatsoever.
I kept my m18x R2 on for 24+ hrs over the weekend while we alternately played Mechwarrior Online, Battlefield 3, crysis 2 etc without reboot and the BEAST didnt even slow down or overheated. only the cpu is overclock to LEVEL 1.

I really feel bad for you guys still having problems with your 7970m crossfire. I got this m18x R2 for about a month now. NOT every bad things you hear regarding the 7970m crossfire is true. I believe the newer cards are improved and much better than the pre July ones.

On some games and benchmarks, 7970m crossfire actually performs much better than the sli 680m.

 

Can you try to play DarkSiders2? (what driver version are you using)

 

I dont have that game Heihach.... The driver im using is the current one from AMD website.

Driver Date: 7/27/2012
Driver Version: 8.982.0.0

 

When you bought your M18x R2?

 

I customized it online on Aug. 6 and recieved it on the 15 (free NEXT business day shipping). I guess telling dell that the laptop is for work and must have it ASAP does helps!

 

Seems like we indeed got defective 7970m's.... i bought mine on 25th may