***M18x - AMD Crossfire (Driver Questions, Performance, Problems) Discussion Thread***

can some one tell me why when playing left 4 dead it only allows me to run settings of the video card just up to 8mmsa not to 16qmssa or whatever

 

Got my replacement 6990s last night, i installed A05 and the new dell ati drivers and i was getting 76/78C on my cards respectively while running FurMark for about 3 minutes.

 

Hey guys, I have a question: It concerns the 6970m crossfire setup vs. the newer 6990m crossfire cards.

Anyway I can score a good deal on an alienware laptop featuring a pair of the 6970m's in crossfire(About 3-400 cheaper than getting a newer version with the 6990m's). And when I look here at the benchmarks: Computer Games on Laptop Graphic Cards - Notebookcheck.net Tech I notice that the 6970m's are very comaprable to the 6990m's. In fact normally within a few frames give or take shockingly. EXCEPT FOR ONE. Crysis 2.

On Crysis 2 the 6990m's are hitting the 60fps range. But with the 6970m's its around 45. Reason behind this? Older drivers maybe? Anyone know if the 6970m crossfire will actually do better than whats posted for this specific game? The rig with the 6970m's has an i7 2670QM processor and 12gigs of 1333 RAM that I can get for a great closeout price. Just curious what I can expect for performance. Starcraft 2 and Crysis 2 are the 2 games I normally play. I want a card setup that will hit 60fps maxed out on a 1080p screen. I know the 6990m's do it, was hoping the older 6970m's will as well? They will on SC 2, but whats the deal with Crysis 2 Thoughts please? Especially considering the 6970m's normally are within a few FPS of the newer 6990ms at 1080p resolution(and in some cases showing a bit better?).

 

Has anyone seen any reliability or stability issues with enabling crossfire 24/7?

 

You're correct... there's not a lot of difference between 6970M and 6990M. They perform very similar and in some cases nearly identical, as you have discovered. Crysis and Crysis 2 are very demanding. Awesome games, (my favorites, in fact,) but they take horsepower to reach high frame rates. The 6970 has fewer shaders. That will not hurt you on most games, but you need all the power you can get using CryEngine games. Crysis and Crysis 2 are very playable with 6970M, with decent frame rates. You may need to run with slightly lower settings with the 6970M. The visual differences are not profound on "high" versus "very high" settings.

None that I'm aware of. Are you referring to the registry hack or just leaving it enabled in CCC? Leaving it enabled in CCC is pretty much expected. There is no reason to ever disable it unless you have a game that is buggy and does not work well in CrossFire.

 

I was referring to the registry method .

 

I have never had a single issue with the registry method. It has always worked super for me.

You have to re-do it every time you update drivers. The registry changes are not persistent across driver installations. They get overwritten when installing new drivers.

 

Hey guys

So I took the secondary video card out of the M18x and the pins on the crossfireX port are all over the place - but by the time I noticed this, I already butchered the crossfireX cable. How much are the cables to buy from Dell? As soon as I get the replacement cable, I will remove the Clevo 6970M from the M17X R3 and try to get it running in crossfire with the primary card in the M18x. This should work if I flash it with the M18x vBios right?

Cheers

 

Hey,

Can somebody give me the vbios for an m18x crossfire setup? I am trying to get them to work on a m17 r2, but haven't a lot of trouble with the clevo bios. Lots of artifacts, bsod. I want to give the dell vbios a shot. Thanks!

Mak

EDIT: Ok, some mod please delete this before I get the lecture about searching. I think I might have mispelled something in my original search. Just found it.

 

Be carefull with ATI drivers. Make sure you run driver cleaner/sweeper proggy before running new drivers. Also if your running Xfire I would only run the latest Dell drivers as some of the others recent ones out there will cause lots of issues with Xfire setups.

 

You need to get a hold of ichime. Here's a good link http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/601838-hd-6970-crossfire-x-m17x-r2-2.html .

 

I'm sorry if this has been asked before or if this is easy to find. But its been a while since i used the forums. I just got my m18x with 6990m cx. I tried the dell drivers but they have performance issues with skyrim. Are any other new drivers around asides from the dell ones?

 

I've read a number of positive posts about 12.1. You may find a good answer in this thread, since it is specifically for AMD driver discussion. While you're waiting for comments, you might want to browse this thread and see if the answer is already posted, and if it's not have a look at this one... http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...mance-problems-general-discussion-thread.html since your interest is in Skyrim.

 

Anyone remember which mobility version comes with amd overdrive tweaks? I remember I had one installed amd overdrive inside the c.c.c list.

 

I think it was 11.9 or 11.10. You can enable it yourself. Check it out here LINK or LINK

 

Hey guys,

Just got the m18x how do i update drivers?
And what tests should i run on computer? ie. for graphics, video card performance, benchmarks etc

ty!

 

nappy - This is the thread for questions related to the AMD CrossFire setup in your M18x. Start reading on page 1 and work your way forward. The answer to your question about the drivers will be found with very little reading, including information in the opening post.

You can join the discussion in the M18x benchmark thread with your questions about benchmarks. The first page on that thread is also the best place to start reading http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...alienware-m18x-benchmark-thread-part-2-a.html

 

Thanks again. Mr.Fox even thou both link are same.

 

Hmm, they were not the same threads, unless I made a mistake. Anyway, I hope the info was helpful.

 

I don't think this is posted yet: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/573379-clevo-driver-thread-8.html#post8252795

and I'm not sure if there is a driver thread in this section.

 

Sorry for off top but how come your sig shows 95% gamut screen when the best 17.3" screen out there (non IPS) is only 90% and glossy? Is it something new or just a typo?

 

Its a DELL XPS screen.

 

noob question,

I have 6990m Xfire, I use GPUz to check my cards and it shows 715 @ 900 MHz.

How come its too low? I saw other people have like over 1000 Mhz

 

Those figures of 715@900 are your base gpu clocks - if you see higher clocks then those, they are overclocked.

 

Anyone having issues with the "Cold Boot bug" that seems to affect the 6990ms? I thought it was just me but after from fishing I realised it even had a name.
The A05 update apparently fixes this but I still get a blank black screen after the 18 has been off for a few hours. Its not as bad a before where would get blank black screen much more often on the A03 BIOS. But my problem is why is it still happening?

A little more info here: http://forum.techinferno.com/alienw...s-a05-bios-fixes-amd-6990m-cold-boot-bug.html

 

Do you have any razer accessories plugged in? I had this problem when I used my razer mouse unhooked it now no black screens Hope this helps you

 

I have a strange issue or something I didn't notice before. When my master GPU0 heats up, it's fan also increases its RPM but when I close the application that uses GPU0 (e.g. furmark), GPU0 Fan won't lower its rpm until the temp goes below 50 degree centigrade. There is no smooth rpm reduction. Cards are AMD 6990m.

It is like GPU0 fan reach 3600 rpm at 80 degree centigrade but even after I close the program and temps go down, fan stays at 3600 rpm until temps go under 50 degree centigrade. GPU1 (slave) fan is not like this and it starts to lower rpm smoothly as temps go down. I tried different bios versions but always the same issue.

Has anyone have the same behaviour ?

 

I think I remember others posting that a variety of USB devices being connect at boot where causing this, including notebook coolers with USB-powered fans.

This is normal and nothing to worry about. Changes were made in A05 to address 6990M overheating and thermal shutdown. The behavior you are describing helps to keep the cards nice and cool, so it's a good thing. It also makes sense that GPU1 (the secondary video card) has different behavior. It is generally not as loaded and warm as GPU0.

 

I'm not sure, I tried A02-03-04 they all do the same behaviour. Can you also check the scenario below with HWInfo when you have time ?

Because I'm doing different tests and so far, if I run only CPU burn test and no graphical job (master gpu at 50 centigrade), as soon as Compal EC CPU sensor hits 55, master GPU fan kicks in with 3600rpm and shutsdown after Compal EC CPU get back to 48 centigrade which is odd because there is no graphic job running there is 0 chance of gpu overheat.

 

I too can assure you that its normal behaviour. gpu0 gets HOT under load, gpu1 maybe not as hot...then fans stay on to ensure your system is kept as cool as it can be. Dont worry about it....its perfectly normal. After a gaming session, my system fans stay on at their highest level reached for a while after closing the game. Its just natures way of making sure things are working at optimal temperatures. Think of it like a car....hitting the brakes doesnt mean you immediatley stop does it?

 

You may not have the right settings in place for HWiNFO64 to work properly. With HWiNFO64, I have found there is no need to use the HW64inst.exe driver. I have found that installing the driver (or using wrong settings) can sometimes cause hangs during shutdown.

If you cannot find the right combination of configuration check boxes in the HWiNFO64 configuration, you may want to send a PM to NBR member residualvoltage and/or click the link in his forum signature.

 

Yeah i actually have few things connected at boot. Ill try that next time I do the first boot.

 

Hey, just got my m18x in the mail today. Fantastic looking and running laptop. But Im getting some odd red pixelization on the screen(Not a dead or defective batch of pixels). I definetly think its driver related. The driver date seems old(3/11) and the driver is: 8.800.6.1000. I do not see any CCC control panel installed. Am I supposed to use Dell proprietary drivers or? Link to good STABLE drivers that are recommended for these video cards?

 

Running 12.2 Preview here and all is fine. You can get it directly from AMD.

 

Hi there,

Anyone has some performance data with Saints Row the third with high settings? (1920x1080, 2xAA, 16xAF, all high, vsync on/off)

Spec is : 2670qm, 6990m CF

With 12.2 Preview, Im getting around 35-50 fps, but the fps is the same with crossfire enabled / disabled even with the correct amd pre-defined profile selected...I suspect this is just because the driver is not finalized and CF is not utilized? or something wrong with my driver?

EDIT: Unrelated to CF, with Witcher 2, the FPS between low settings and ultra settings are almost the same, could it be a CPU bottleneck....?

 

Probably no CF support for those games. Just in case, could you run 3Dmark Vantage and check if your GPU score is 23-24k?

 

hi guy..my m18x had a problem last week when i was playing bf3. My fps normal was ~70-80 but after 5 minutes my fps droped ~30.However my cf was enable. somebody know what wrong is this ? i'm using
AMD Catalyst 12.3 RC (8.950.0 January 31) + CAP 12.1.
i'm tried to use AMD Dell but the same problem..drop pfs when playing game after 5 minutes ( bf3, skym..etc )

 

Just got my second pair 6990M's installed by Dell after CrossfireX gave me a flashing screen on my few weeks old M18X.
Now the enable Crossfire option disappeared in CCC. The diagnostics complaints about the Crossfire bridge not properly installed.
Tech reseated it without result, closed the system and left.
Tomorrow another tech will be back with a new cable allthough the cable looks good.
Both GPU's show up in the HW and the status shows both working okay
Is it just plug and play or are we missing something before Crossfire can be enabled?
Or any other thoughts/tips?

Appreciate your help!

 

After trying multiple drivers to make Rage stable, I ended up screwing up my drivers pretty seriously. I just noticed it after trying to play crysis where I saw sub par performance. In device manager, it appears that windows disabled one of my gpu's. I also do not have the usual CCC icon in the windows task bar nor can I launch CCC. On my factory install HDD, I was able to hit the stock 3dmark11 crossfire scores so I can rule out the gpu's. I can't boot into safe mode when using my SSD so I can't just run drivesweeper and remove them via that way. I also have lost the ability to run on igp using my SSD since it won't boot into windows. I have a feeling that I'm going to have to reformat my SSD and reinstall all my drivers and CAD programs from scratch unless anyone can come up with an idea.

I'm now getting an 8 beep motherboard error code and it will not boot into windows going from igpu to 6970s while using my factory install HDD after Fn-F7 on the first restart. After restarting the laptop a second time during the error code, it will boot into windows with 6970s.

 

Did you try a system restore to a point before you messed up the drivers?

 

---fixed---

 

Brother Räy, what steps did you take to fix it? Did you figure out why it was giving the 8 beep code? If so, please post the steps you took to correct it.

 

In all honesty, I never managed to fix that problem. My fresh reformat and windows install doesn't have any trouble switching from igpu to 6970s. My factory install HDD still gives me the 8 beep code.

My testing went like this which still resolved in the 8 beep code:

-Absolutely stock factory install from default HDD I ripped out after doing preliminary testing of my m18x when I first received it. There was never an error while using this drive switching from 6970s to igpu and vise versa until recently.
-W/ Battery installed or uninstalled
-W/ Extreme Edition Disabled/Enabled
-W/ latest dell hd3000 drivers

Simply swapping to my crucial m4 fixed this problem but I have no idea why I would be getting this error. These are my second set of 6970s since my first set would no allow me to change the brightness of the screen. I also had the motherboard replaced as well during that time. That did fix the brightness problem since for whatever reason the fn-f5/f6 buttons did what they were supposed to on both my factory HDD and person m4 with no change between the two hard drives between sets of 6970s. I'm still using the default A00 bios which could be the problem since I believe I might have updated them to A02 when diagnosing my brightness problem 7 months ago on my factory install HDD. Though the bios being the problem doesn't seem to make sense since bios are stored on the cmos on the motherboard and not on the HDD.

 

I noticed that when I connect an external monitor using HDMI, some artifacts or weird colors appear on the screen at random times, for example, when gaming, or internet surfing or just at idle. This has been happening since 11.12 and 12.1, and also on 12.2 preview. I am not overclocking anything, but it happens only on crossfire enabled. This is becoming very irritating.
any idea guys?

Edit: moved from a wrong thread...

 

After installing the 12.2 preview I am getting 9 fps in Unigine and a WEI of 5.8 with Graphics being the lowest. I have followed every single step mentioned in the guide, any recommendations ?

 

redownload, uninstall and try again.....might have been a corrupt download.

 

Done, still getting the same issue my problem is something like this

1. Everything is working normally
2. I switch to Integrated GPU
3. When I switch back to the GPU's everything is messed up
4. If I reboot around 4 to 5 times thing start becoming normal and then it becomes normal again

This time I must have rebooted at least 10 times still getting 9 fps in Unigine. Will post the MD5 of the file once I login from the beast

 

Tried this and it works

Change these, the first two were mentioned in the first post but the last key EnableUlps_NA was not. Most of these are found in this path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> SYSTEM -> CurrentControlSet -> Control -> Class -> {4D36E968-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

EnableCrossFireAutoLink = 1
EnableUlps = 0
EnableUlps_NA = 0

 

I have 12.2 installed and I fixed my Crossfire enable issue. The wire was indeed loose.

Now the problem is that GPUz is reporting that CF is possible, but disabled. And That the 2nd 6990m is at 100mhz core the entire time even during games like Bad Company 2 and BF3 and receives no load.

EDIT Never mind, its fixed. I had to plug in the machine. Powerplay "disables" crossfire when not plugged in and drops the PCI link to x1 1.0, meanwhile plugged in to x8 2.0


Edit2
Noooo!!!

 

Omg!!! I cant win with this laptop!!! ANOTHER PROBLEM!!! Thats 6 and I barely use the damn thing!