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

Dammit. Im getting kinda annoyed here. (Real Question) Is this laptop realiable?

Ive had the M18 for 3 months and Ive had 3 repairs now on the way for a replacement. I dont want this laptop to have a bad rep, honestly it looks too good.

(Honest question) Are the 580s more reliable?

 

I would say so from my limited experience with Nvidia. I had many systems with AMD and the vast majority of them had some problems in the gpu department. Many may disagree but I would say the grass is definetly greener on the "green side" - just my opinion (and it aint a fanboy one either) - I would have stuck with AMD had they have been up to scratch for me but they weren't.

 

Worth a shot - even if you have to put some cash to 'em, that would be another option possibly....

 

Hey everyone...

I have my 6970s OCd with Sapphire TriXX and I'm having the following problem with and without the OC active

When I run 3DMark11 it says my clocks are at 100/150 instead of 825/1176 and my score maxes out at 2573. Any idea what's up?

Linky: http://3dmark.com/3dm11/2792060

 

That is a known issue with AMD 6970M cards. Fortunately, it does not affect all of them. They sometimes get stuck in "PowerPlay" mode and will not clock up like they should. Sometimes changing the clock speeds with TriXX will get them unstuck and sometimes it will not.

The second set of 6970M cards that I received from Dell for replacement of the defective first set of 6970M cards in my first M18x were stubborn and the only way I could get them to perform properly was to change all power states to the default maximums with Radeon BIOS Editor. The 6970Ms performed flawlessly after I did that, but they lacked a power saving mode. It was actually kind of nice having them run at full speed 24/7, but this was a temporary fix while waiting for backordered parts to become available. Their life probably would be shortened, so I would not consider that to be a permanent solution. (The replacement parts never became available, so I received a replacement M18x with 6990M CrossFire and those video cards failed within about 20 days.)

Before declaring your AMD cards defective, when did this problem start for you? Did something change to coincide with the problem, such as a driver update? You are running on AC power and not trying to game or benchmark on battery, correct?

 

I don't know, I only really invested time into my M18x and taught myself about laptop hardware very recently (December) I have noticed ungodly slow gameplay in pretty much every game I've played. I'll try to roll back drivers to 12.1 or 11.9 if I have to and see if that works. The weird thing is on GPU-Z it says my clocks are 825/900 when I'm playing Skyrim...could this be just a 3DMark error?

I always run on AC power when I'm using the Radeon cards, and always battery on the Integrated.

 

No, it's not a 3DMark error... at least I don't think it is. I got screaming benchmark scores from my systems that had AMD cards and never had any issue with gaming performance. I had only hardware integrity/quality problems. Your 6970M CrossFire should handle 3DMark11 with ease and have no trouble running current games. It sounds like you are experiencing a malfunction with PowerPlay to me.

Have you updated your system BIOS and vBIOS with the latest from Dell? If not, I recommend doing so. It might fix the issue. Try running Dell's latest recommended driver and see if the problem is corrected. You can update to a newer driver afterward, but I recommend troubleshooting using the Dell recommended driver.

Here are a couple of my old AMD benchmark runs...

http://3dmark.com/3dm11/1850806

http://3dmark.com/3dmv/3486996

 

I updated the the A05 bios, I wasn't aware there was an updated bios for the video cards available. When I was using Dell's driver release I was getting significantly worse gameplay problems than I am now.

 

There is not an updated AMD 6970M vBIOS. At least I don't see one posted. I may have been thinking of the 5870M vBIOS update. Sorry about that. Sounds like your 6970M cards are performing similar to what mine did without the temporary fix I mentioned above. If you're still under warranty, I would recommend calling 1-800-ALIENWARE for hardware support.

 

Dammit all...yup I'll call them Monday morning.

 

Install the " Dell Recommended" driver before you call them. They need to see that you have the problem with the AMD driver version that they support, even when the recommended driver performs poorly and is generally undesirable for use with the latest game releases.

 

Gotcha. Thanks for the help Fox! I would rep if I could.

One more thing actually

On my 3Dmark it also has a lower speed for my processor...did you have an overclock on yours or is my Turboboost not working?

Alright, I tried the fix with the BIOS editor...

http://3dmark.com/3dm11/2792731

Still says the clocks are 100/150 but my score is almost 3x better. I'm confused.

Hey Fox...I followed the steps you laid out in another thread to enable Overdrive, and I can't find it using Regedit. I think that's what's screwing me up here.

 

You don't want to use Overdrive with TriXX. You need to use one or the other. (I ran into weird glitches trying to run both.) I have also heard that enabling Overdrive with newer AMD drivers does not work so good. Here is a step-by-step to enable it, so maybe you can use that to "un-enable" Overdrive. (Slide 15 and 16, change "All" to "Nobody" and that may disable Overdrive.)

Yes, I did have my CPU overclocked. Look at the link in my signature right above the graphic and go to the thread for stubborn GPU and CPU throttling for tips on overclocking your non-XM CPU. You should be able to hit between 7.5k and 8k in 3DMark11 with the 2720QM and 6970M CF setup.

OK, your benchmark score shows you are making excellent progress.

Do not rely on the information about GPU core/memory speeds or CPU speeds displayed in the benchmark web page. It will only report what it sees at the moment it is capturing system information. Your CPU and GPU speeds may be throttling down faster than the time it takes for the Futuremark System Information utility to capture the maximums.

For your video cards you can run two instances of GPU-Z in the background. Set one for GPU0 and the other for GPU1. Go to the sensors tab, click the drop down for each reading and select "Show Highest Reading" and then run your benchmarks again. When the benchmark finishes, look at the saved maximums on the sensors tab and that will reflect the maximum speeds your GPUs achieved during the benchmark. (See first example thumbnail.)

Even better, you can also see maximum speeds and temps for CPU and GPU using HWiINFO64 sensors as well a lot of other details. Let it run in the background while benching and look at the details in the "Max" column after running the benchmark. (See second example thumbnail.)

 

Flashed my vBIOS (realized I missed that step) and now I have absolutely no display. Replacement GPU time? (Using my other laptop)

 

Perhaps. It depends on what happened and why, which would be nearly impossible to answer without access to your machine.

You should be able to switch to the IGP. Disconnect from AC and boot on the battery and it may switch automatically. If you have trouble with that you can remove the GPUs and that will force the M18x to run from the IGP. I had to run on the IGP about a month while waiting for replacement AMD 6990M GPUs that never arrived.

 

Don't regal me with tales of Alienware support...please...my brain.

Turns out 1-800 ALIENWARE isn't 24/7 anymore. Couldn't I run single GPU with the one I didn't mess up?

 

Sure, if you only flashed one of the cards, just switch PCIe slots with them. You will need to transfer the heat sinks and re-paste. You may be able to re-flash the card that is not working after doing so. Use the original vBIOS ROM.

I have never had an issue with Alienware Support. I have found them to be quite good and they have always come through for me. Sometimes an extra measure of patience is needed with Level 1 reps, but Level 2 and 3 reps have been awesome to deal with.

I doubt you will have problems, but if you do run into difficulties getting good warranty/technical support service, tweet @DellCares.

 

Have any extension numbers for good reps you could send my way? I'm gonna try swapping them and reflashing, but either way I'd like replacements. I've been meaning to repaste anyway.

*edit* Looks like I'm sending it back in. The rep I spoke to had too strong of an accent to understand I was trying to get an upgrade out of him

 

I typed a lengthy response only to have to forum ask me to log in again. If something similar appears twice, I apologize. I have read through these forums until my eyes are near the state of bleeding.

First, thank you to the moderators and members. This has been helpful reading.

I am experiencing BSODs while playing games. The temperature never seems to raise or spike when this occurs. On occassion, the system simply locks up during game play and I get the speaker buzz until I do a hard shutdown. Sometimes, although rarely, I get the driver recovered error and the screen becomes extremely dim. I can not adjust the brightness when this happens. I can usually see just enough that I can do a restart and it corrects the issue. Other days, I can play for hours without issue...

I called support in Costa Rica and after some conversation and showing a few tests they sent out new (well, different since they are refurbs) cards. Nothing changed. I had originally thought it a MB problem and the tech agreed. He called support and got a 'hardware tech' in India since Costa Rica was closed. When he spoke to me and had me pull up the BS logs on bluescreen viewer and it indicates a DirectX error. He then decided with no further discussion that it was a software issue. I tried to explain that a card failure would generate this issue, but he repeated to me that it was a software issue. He got so good at saying "It's a software issue" that he would actually cut me off in the middle of a statement and then proceeded to close my case. He then called the field tech back and told him "It's a software issue" and no MB would be sent out. I am working on starting a new ticket.

The system facts: I have the 2760 processor. I am running on A05 BIOS. Using your guide for installation, I have tried every driver out there from ATI and both of the drivers posted on the Dell website. I have even done two fresh installs of the OS just in case there was any hidden artifacts. I have a Samsung 830 256GB SSD in route, but tested the 320GB 7200RPM factory hard drive with no errors. The 16GB@1600MHz factory memory checked good as well. As stated, the cards and crossfire cable have been changed out. Neither the old ones or the 'new' ones have ever been overclocked.

I noted others stating that they see no voltage on one of the cards in GPU-Z but no mention of it since. Has anyone figured anything out on this? I have the same issue. It doesn't show on SpeedFan, either, save the rare occassion. I don't remember if it did this before the cards were replaced, but I am rather certain that it never occurred until post replacement. Oddly enough, when I run the render test on GPU-Z, the power comes on to the second card at 1.1vdc. When I stop the test, though, it drops to the normal .9vdc reading and then goes back to zero shortly thereafter.

Does anyone have anything to offer? Anything else to try that I am not thinking of? If I have to talk to talk to another 'certified technician' I am going to fly over there and hurt someone. I had this problem with an Alienware desktop for two months until someone in Texas called me after I threatened a supervisor in India with bodily harm. The American tech reviewed my case with me for about five minutes and immediately said that it was ridiculous that I had gone through what I had and ordered me a new system. All was well after that. I am well outside of my 21 day return or I would simply send it back. I ordered this system while still in Iraq in October and it arrived in November and was waiting at the house when I returned in December.

I am a Red team player, but I am ready to go Green if they would offer it to me for the now current difference of about $100 if it is a card issue. I just want to be able to use my $3000 system as it was intended to be used.

 

Coercion Shaman - I moved your post into the thread for AMD problem discussions. The 6990M CrossFire Guide is a thread better suited to tuning systems with AMD video cards that are working properly.

I have experienced all of the issues you are describing with multiple sets of the AMD cards, and all I can say is déjà vu to what you are describing. I had a preference for AMD video cards for many years, but the 69x0M series in the M18x put an end to that long-term relationship. It sounds like at least one of your cards is defective. If they send you replacements cards (especially if they are used system pulls called "refurbished") they may also be defective, just like the replacements you already received. I think they have had several batches of bad AMD cards. When they work right, they're great. When they don't, they're absolutely horrible. I never experienced ownership of an M18x with properly functioning AMD cards, finally abandoned the effort and asked them to replace the 6990M's with 580M's.

If you can get them to replace the AMD cards with GTX 580M or exchange your system for one with GTX 580M you will most likely have fewer problems. If you cannot get them to do that for you, see if they will commit to sending you brand new 6990M modules.

As soon as they transferred you to tell India, it would have been better to hang up and call back and talk to a rep in Costa Rica the next day. If you do not get anywhere with Level 1 Support, ask for a Supervisor and get your case escalated to Level 2. If they give you any push-back (which is unlikely) then tweet @DellCares and ask for assistance getting this resolved.

 

Well, I have had trouble getting in touch with the same rep in Costa Rica and everyone else wants to basically start over. That being the case, I sent an email to the original requesting either new 6990M's or new 580's and I would pay some difference. I requested that he give it to someone above him if he couldn't get it done. He has pushed it up to his manager and I should hear something tomorrow. I will advise for others that may be having issues as well.

On a side note, the Samsung 830 arrived and I installed it last night. All I can say is that I will NEVER go back to platters. Wow!

UPDATE: Friday came and went and I never heard from the tech or the manager. If I can't reach either tomorrow, I assume the next step is to send a tweet.

 

hi guys
i have not had problems with my m18x since i got the laptop just recently updated the drivers and now i seem to run even mw3 really choppy sorta feels like my mates nvidia cards when he was getting throttling problems at the moment i go from 30fps all the way up to 70 fps and straight back down anyone know what it could be or should i just revert back to 11 drivers?

 

You might try the trick posted in this thread to see if it works for your situation. It may work for more than RAGE.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...-you-want-keep-amd-11-9-official-drivers.html

Is MW3 the only game with this problem? If you are having issue with multiple games since you installed 12.1, then I would say the best option is to go back to what you were using before since it worked well. Remember, the latest driver is not always the greatest driver. The old saying, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" applies to drivers.

You can also review this thread and ask questions relating to MW3. http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...warfare-3-does-not-utilize-sli-crossfire.html

 

cheers i have tried few other games but only really noticed it on mw3 might just drop the drivers back to 11 drivers again thanx

 

AMD Catalyst 12.x 8.960.0 (February 14)

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/573379-clevo-driver-thread-9.html#post8338351

 

Here is a quick question: Are you still supposed to install the intel HD 3000 integrated video driver if your m18x runs dual Ati crossfire cards? Or should you bypass installing the HD 3000 driver altogether?

 

Yes Installing the HD3000 driver is required to use iGFX. The integrated graphics of the HD3000 require the driver to function. Its the same for AMD based systems as it is for Nvidia ones, simply because when you are running iGFX, your discrete cards (wether they be AMD or Nvidia) are turned off so you need a graphics driver to operate in iGFX mode.

Saying that, if you NEVER plan on using integrated graphics, it would not be a pre-requisite....but chances are, you will want to at some time so install it and be done with it.

 

Do you need to install it before or after installing the crossfire drivers/ccc etc? I never installed the HD 3000 driver, but now when I try it says my computer does not meet the minimum requirements for the driver software?

 

The correct procedure is to install the AMD or NVIDIA discreet graphics drivers first, reboot, then press FN+F7 to switch to the IGP. Once Windows reloads using the IGP, then install the Intel HD 3000 drivers. Intel has newer drivers than what you will find posted on the Dell Support page.

You are most likely seeing the message that you do not meet the minimum requirements if you have not switched over to the IGP. When you are running discreet graphics, the IGP "does not exist" as far as your M18x is concerned. The same is true with the IGP. When running on IGP, the discreet display adapters are not visible to the system and the AMD or NVIDIA drivers cannot be installed.

 

Hiya, Just got my new m18x last week. I was just wondering if there were any "Need to get" apps/utilities that that people recommend getting? Also the same for my dual amd 6990m cards. Or even some nice desktop gadgets. Thanks!

__________________

Alienware m18x | Nebula Red | Intel® Core™ i7 2760QM 2.4GHz | 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz | 18.4-inch WideFHD 1920 x 1080 WLED | Dual 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 6990M AMD CrossFireX | 1.5TB RAID 0 (2x 750GB) 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s | Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit | Slot-Load Dual Layer DVD Burner | Internal High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound Audio | Intel® Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 a/b/g/n 3x3 MIMO Technology and Bluetooth 3.0

 

The are not a lot of things. For gadgets you can use with your AMD cards, I recommend GPU Observer sidebar gadget. You can launch two and set one up for each card to monitor temps, clocks, etc. They work very nicely.

If you plan to do any GPU (or CPU) overclocking, you will want to grab HWiNFO64. It has great monitoring features and allows you to ramp up your fan speeds. It also has a sidebar gadget.

For performance tuning, Trixx software is a great tool for the AMD cards.

 

Just what ive been looking for. thanks!

 

You're welcome. Congratulations on the new M18x, and welcome to NBR's Alienware Forums, we're glad you joined us.

Please click the link in my signature on the left side and you will find a number of useful threads. In particular, please look the the forum rules and the tip on the prefix for using Google to search our forum.

Have fun with your awesome new beast.

 

I can't seem to get the second video card to come up it only gives me the first one. and them 5 other option tried them all and none are the second GPU. Any thoughts?

 

Hmm. So none of the other options in the dropdown have read-outs? If only one GPU has readings, maybe it does not work for AMD the same as it does for NVIDIA. I started launching two gadgets after I switched to NVIDIA and assumed that AMD support would be the same. Maybe not.

If you didn't notice it, you can get the Intel Core Series gadged from the same place. It works pretty nice, too.



HWiNFO64 has a customizable sidebar gadget that should provide monitoring for both AMD GPU modules, but it's not an attractive gadget like these.

Trixx sidebar gadget works well also. I used to use that a lot with AMD CrossFire.

 

Works ok for me. No. 3 & 4 are second card read out, you can compare these with GPU-Z. Driver 12.1 WHQL.

 

Wrong thread...sorry.

 

Well this is weird... When I switch from GFX to IGP everything is ok. But when I switch from IGP to GFX I get some lag in games. So I open GPU-Z to see my clocks speed and I see that my cards can't go higher than 400/900 which is supposed to be 680/900. So I always have to reboot my system to get everything fonctionnal.

Anyone had this issue before?

Sorry for my bad english.

 

Joce21, I used to experience that all the time. I think it is a problem with PowerPlay not always functioning properly. It does not affect all systems, but it affected the two sets of 6970M modules in my first M18x and my second M18x with 6990M modules did that several times as well.

 

I gave HWinfo 64 a shot yesterday. For some reason it is not showing the temps on GPU 1. Any tips? Fan speed feature works a charm, what setting would you guys recommend for a heavy game like crysis 2 or BF3.
Thanks

 

So any suggestions to fix it? I seem to be having the same problem...... I lose about %15-30 performance for no reason

 

Well, what I did is unorthodox and I cannot recommend it, even though it worked very well for me. It might shorten the life of the video card, and if not done correctly, may cause direct damage. It was a temporary fix to force the machine into working properly while I was waiting for replacement parts that were on backorder for an extended period. I outlined it in this post. But, again, I am not advocating that anyone else do this. (It would be done at your own risk and any resultant damage might not be covered under warranty.)

One simple tweak that often works is to use Trixx to change the clock speeds slightly and it will often jolt whatever is stuck so the cards begin to function properly. This was most effective when only one of the GPU modules in a CrossFire setup was stuck in 2D power saving mode. Using Trixx to change clock speeds would make the misbehaving card start being responsive. This Trixx workaround did not work effectively on the replacement 6970M modules and that is when I resorted to the above.

 

Fox, how do you get the cpu gadget to display the actual clock speed as per your pic above? - I tried checking the option for it but it didnt work for me - where your clock is displayed, I just have wording "cpu usage" instead.....

 

My problem is that I called dell and the reps refuse to admit that there is a problem with my cards, the check the temp and do other stupid test and tell me they dont see anything wrong with my machine. It is very frustrating because I know what scores I should be getting I can tell when my machine is lacking performance....and they dont listen....

 

That's a real shame, bro. What support team are you dealing with? Alienware in Costa Rica, or Dell Support (which is usually in India)? If you have a record of calling in about this more than once, call back and ask them to escalate the case to Level 2 Support because they have demonstrated that they are unable to assist you effectively. You will most likely need to speak with a manager before it is escalated.

See thumbnails for my settings for both gadgets. Do you have the WinRing0 driver installed? If not, maybe that's why it is not displayed.

 

Hi guys i just got my M18X with 6990M Cross Fire, everyhting seems to work fine but one thing, one card seem to aways work harder ther the other

top left card is always working harder then the top right card (the one next to CPU)

e.g. when i play battle field3 top left card is running at 96% - 100% load and the fan is also going crazy, but the top right hand card is running at 0 - 30% fan is hardly moving........
same case with LOL main card is running at 0 - 40% and the right hand one is running at 0 - 5% .......

i have check the CrossFire is enable

is this normal? is there anyway i can change this?

if it's not normal how do i fix it?

i have all the newest drivers

Thank you

 

Hi LoadingError,

it's normal that the primary card (top left) works harder than the secondary card. Crossfire doesn't necessarily always have to work in such a way that the work is evenly distributed amongst cards, and the primary card is often allowed to do more work than the secondary.

That being said, both cards should be somewhat even. I've seen typical loads of 50-60% on both cards when running games that are poorly optimized (Skyrim when it was first released, for example), but a game that's had time to get some of the bugs worked out (SWTOR, for example) loads both cards at 85-100% pretty evenly. Some variation is normal, though, and lately I've noticed that my secondary fan spins up and down while the primary fan remains pretty constant.

Are you using the latest Catalyst drivers and Catalyst Application Profiles (CAP)? When I play BF3, I think both of my cards are fairly evenly loaded. I'm using AMD's official 12.1 drivers and CAP 3. Usually the CAPs offer the most significant performance improvements with regards to Crossfire.

 

That fixed it....thanks Bro.

 

humm.. ill try downloading the CPA then, there is notthing wrong with the performance, just odd how one works 96 - 100% when the other is working 0 - 30%

when i switch CF off BF3 on max gives me 25 - 30 FPS with it on i get 55 - 60 fps with everythign set max and AA x2 is that normal?