Dell ATI 8.763 (M15x/M17xR1/M17xR2) Driver/AMD 5870 VBIOS **READ POST 1 AND 2!!!!!**

So when the final version of 5870 driver comes out on Dell website, will I have to update the vbios separately or will it be included in the driver setup package?

 

it will be one package... i hope it will be auto installing and flash vbios etc..

 

I'm happy with the way things are going. I haven't had any real issues since updating the vbios and drivers. However I am using the Dell Beta driver without any catalyst profiles installed.

Profiles seem to have caused some issues.

 

Even the newest ones?

 

I've been forced to update my graphic drivers after some kind of crash resulting in the imposibility of loading ATI previous driver stack at reboot...

Long story short, I'm quite happy with the update so far (BIOS, VBIOS and Dell Beta Driver).
Unfortunately I don't have much references with the old driver (as my m17x is rather new), so I couldn't compare any fps or esle... same for the game profiles for CrossFireX I've never used before.

I've installed the 10.8a Cap, but how do I know that they are being properly used, for instance in BFBC2?
I've noticed they have installed in Program File (x86) but I think Dell drivers are installed in the default program file folder (the x64 one), is it correct?

Anyway, the small test I did with BFBC2 showed me the the game runned smoother than before which is good.
In Crysis I had to enable VSync to have proper graphics.

 

Just a thought but have you aplied the patches for Crysis from the Crytek site? - alot of people seem to forget these....i know once i applied them, even on old drivers, the game ran well (but i suffered from wavy line syndrome without vsync...with vsync enabled it was more or less spot on i think in my limited gaming expereince)

I am looking forward to gaming without the wavy lines more than anything else.....im not a benchmarker or overclocker (yet) so will be good to see how well the new "stuff" works.....

 

yes I did install the patches.
Previous driver: Crysis was running more or less ok (I also suffered wavy lines)
New driver: balck flashes on screen when firing or else, without VSync... enabling VSync made the game run as before.

 

That looks promising for the Dell drivers/CAP 10.8 combo....any different with Ati drivers Ash?

Also, have you expereinced any issue whilst playing Crysis?

 

yeah I need to reinstall that game on my system and see how it plays...

 

New problem when playing BC2. The screen will go black for a few seconds then back to normal. It has done this several times when playing. Anyone else have this problem on BC2?

 

This has always been there for me. The fix is to quickly change in game screen resolution and it should go away. You can change it back to your default afterwards.

 

Just caught up with all the posts since last night and want to say thank you for all the hard work everyone on this thread has been doing. A special thanks to Brian for giving us the chance to test. It was an option because he allowed it to be.
In a perfect world Dell would have a large team of engineers with multiple configurations of software. They would do all this work ahead of time and release a driver to the public consecutively with AMD's offering of drivers. Personal experience says... keep dreaming about Eutopia and live in the real world.
I am just glad that we were given this opportunity. Complaining about why we are part of the testing process or how inefficient Dell is, is counterproductive in the sense that Brian may get fed up with it and simply give us the heads up when engineering has come up with their own solution. Biting the hand that feeds, comes to mind.
I chose to test because I felt I was knowledgable enough and knew that there was a way back no matter what happened. I read carefully, more than once, followed instructions and now have a solution I am very happy with.
At some point I would like to know what was changed in the vbios, drivers to make it possible. For now I can enjoy my laptop that is performing as it should.

-Installing Crysis, Mass Effect 2, & Mafia 2 tonight will double check for the issues people are seeing in those.
-BFBC2 was giving me CTD's during loads of maps or new objects and tearing in cutscenes. Installing profiles 10.8a did not stop the CTD. Forced DX10 in settings.ini and the CTD's stopped. That game needs some serious tweaking in Radeonpro, at least for me. Maybe we should start a thread for optimal settings for games either with CCC &/or Radeonpro
-BioShock2 runs amazingly from 15-20fps old driver up to averaging 60fps with new driver.
Falcon - I saw others with issues of the BSOD but it was associated with conflicts with remnants of older drivers. Did you flash the vbios or just update the drivers?

 

Ah nice Infernia, yes we maybe should create a gaming thread for the beta drivers and how everyone is performing with them in specific games along the settings they used.

Also BSOD is given only, when you have older drivers installed WITH the new vbios, you need atleast 10.8, if it's compatible with future releases we'll see next month with 10.9. For backward compatibility you will have to wait for a new vbios, so there is no turning back at the moment. I'm sure Falcon read that

Also here the normal issue WITHOUT Vbios WITH Beta Drivers. Dell ATI 8.763 BSOD Post #136.

Anyway for the time being, whenever i get Flickering or Tearing, i just enable V.Sync and everything is smooth. Was no real complain, only confusing for me as i did not know if it was meant to be like that.

 

who knows how to check if your video cards have been re-flashed properly and that they are indeed flashed.

 

1. GPU-Z and check grimfan images on page 4. The bios version should match

2. Run the flash program again. it will say they're already flashed and do nothing.

 

Last night I played SC2, COD4, and Worms Reloaded <--hehe, with one problems.



Grim,
I don't care about what everyone else says, I think your helpfull jk

 

Updated to the beta vbios n 10.8s So far so good

 

Well I might as well post what I get.. its not quite what Grim has so someone point me what's up.. or down.

 

This is correct, enjoy!

 

@Jubbing thats the BIOS version on my GPU-Z after a successful flash !!

 

Oh good.. guess I'm not as retarded as I think I am lol. If I messed it up, I'd be hard pressed to justify those vantage scores lol

 

Good advice.

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Keep up the great work on the testing and feedback notes to Brian.

Thanks,

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Hi,

This is my first post here but I've being reading for a long time in this forum. I would like to say thank you all for making all the great discussions and testing really learned alot from you guys. Now Im getting my M17XR2 later this week really looking forward to it, what do you recommend for me so I can play all of my games which are FSX and Steam games which are CCS and BC2 also crysis and SC2.

Thanks guys keep up the good work

 

Hi all, I tried to install this driver and then I couldn't start my pc, I tried to start many times but it still show blank screen, any advise? Thanks in advance!

I' ve forgot my specs is

i7 720
xfire 5870
System Bios A07

 

Sounds like something went wrong during the install, assuming your system was working fine before. Boot into safe mode and uninstall all video drivers, then ensure you can boot up in VGA mode. Assuming you can, reinstall the video driver...

 

I'm only aware of one person attempting to flash the wrong card/wrong system (still not verified) and another tweaking the flash and toasting their card. Beyond this, everyone has been successful as far as I know.

The 5870 flash is A-rev equivalent, so it shouldn't be toasting cards unless you are doing something you shouldn't be with it. If you are using it to flash a 5870 card on an M17xR2 system and are toasting cards, PLEASE PM ME IMMEDIATELY...

The only reason this isn't posted on support.dell.com as an A-rev is due to the incompatibility with our A00 video driver... Posting to support.dell.com would be suicide for most of our customers who are running the older driver....

I am still happy to share the VBIOS with those who are in need and agree not to try to hack it...

Thanks.

 

Installed last night and all is well. Finally I can play SC2 with everything on ultra and no missing units.

 

Thanks for the info/heads up Brian....i think the instance of the incorrect flash was misleading as the guy posted a snapshot of gpu-z with a 5850 by mistake....its my belief that he is fine as he does has 5870's and seems to be happy/working.

I was wondering as i havent flashed etc yet as my current system is due for return, wether you have any idea of lead time for release of vbios via Dell support.....im gonna assume my new system wont come preinstalled with it so i think i would rather wait till its fully out of beta and on Dell.com..

Any infor greatfully received.

 

I have the new drivers installed, however when I tried to flash the vbios I receive a rom failed message. Any ideas and how can I tell what bios versions my cards have?

gpuz shows a bios version of 012.020.000.027.037640..

Maybe mine computer came with the latest vbios?

 

Thank you for your advice! I did it successful earlier, I uninstalled the old one and used driver sweeper for clean, and then I flash to new beta Vbios, everything is ok but I couldn't get crossfire card, I don't know how and then I tried with crossfire profile but it didn't work so final I was all back in stock! Everything fine now but I'm still curious how to get all of that news thing working directly!thanks...

 

So in addition to my other post, my computer went into sleep mode and when I tried to wake it I got nothing but a Black Screen. I rebooted and now it will not even post.

Any suggestions?

how I love my alienware! /sarcasm off

Edit:

Numerous reboots and nothing. Laptop will not post and boots to a black screen only. Please any help/advice.

 

If your vbios flash failed (failed rom) and it went to sleep, then you try wake it/boot it... shiny brick.

You have the same issue as me now. One or both of your GPU's are a brick.

Call dell support, explain what happened, and get your new cards.

-Ash

 

Thanks, still not sure what went wrong. Drivers were installed first, vbios attempted second..shrug

 

There is a bug with the installer where sometimes it fails the first (and sometimes second) time, but works the third time.

Obviuosly you had this bug, but didnt find the thread where it was instructed to repeat until it worked.

-Ash

 

K, tried it twice but then got distracted with the kids, by the time I came back it was in sleep mode.

 

Hence why I bothered to create .rom files that you could use to manually flash the video cards via dos and have nearly zero risk of bricking your video card. If people bothered to read the instructions and feedback in this thread, there would be no problems. We can only hold your hand so much.

 

What's the best way to install the new drivers? I don't want to do a clean install since everything's already installed on there, but I'm still running the stock drivers it came with and haven't screwed around at all.

From what I can tell from posts here and there you uninstall the previous driver forcing it into VGA or something and then run the new installer?

 

I'm hopeful that this will happen relatively quickly (a few weeks), but as mentioned before, the beta VBIOS is the A-rev candidate. It will almost certainly be the version that is posted on support.dell.com, so if you're waiting for that, I'd just load the beta now... It will 99% be the same exact thing.

Getting the new VBIOS and driver into the factory will take longer - there are lead times associated with those changes. Support.dell.com is always first, factory will follow...

I'd guess it will take a couple months before we're shipping the new stuff out on brand new systems.

 

69 pages of stuff. I used what was pmd to me and followed the directions but yea I missed what u posted. Wish I hadn't. Lol. Oh well talked to AW they r sending new cards.

 

Well BC2 is unplayable with the major lag. I want to revert back to 10.5, does anyone know if I can go back even though I have flashed the cards?

 

I was excited about buying an AW laptop...but after reading this thread...
hope this problem would be fixed soon, don't really feel like spending 3 and half thousand dollars for a laptop with defects...

(sigh)

 

I had the same sentiments only I had already purchased my M17xR2 and was bitterly dissapointed. I had already submitted my request for refund, when I came across these forums. If it wasn't for The guys on this forum I would have let Dell pick it up last week.

The new vbios that Brian allowed us to test with resolved ALL my issues. Initially my AW was bluescreening, factory default, straight out of the box. After many many days and hours of reading, testing, then retesting I got nowhere. The system in my opinion was a POS, and it was dissapointing after hearing so many awesome things about Alienware.

I guess what I didn't take into consideration is the fact that AW is putting the latest and greatest hardware into cases and trying to get them to market as fast as possible. And also you need to consider that having an Alienware is essentially an enthusiasts PC much like a Hotrod.

Yes you are paying premium, and you expect a premium product ( I know I certainly did), however from what i have seen there is an awesome community built around Alienware products that stand by them and actively support them.

The vbios fix for the ATI cards has been pretty prompt considering the consequences of releasing something that will brick your card. Consider how Sony get pressured to fix things and release system upgrades that brick consoles. Dell have been using these forums and possibly other avenues to get feedback on the issues and resolve them.

As far as I am concerned the problems are resolved, but the final release will need to be tested thoroughly before public release. The fact that I can use the laptop now for what I intended is fantastic. If I had sent it back to dell for refund i would be pretty dissapointed, because lets face it, what else is there that rocks your pants off like an Alienware. It is the ferrari of pc hardware. It turns heads, it won't get you the ladies, but it will give you a boner!

Hang in there

 

Sorry chiefs, you won't be able to use any of the older drivers. They will BSOD when you try to load them up. The only 2 drivers that I know of to date that will work are 10.8 8.763 dell's driver and you could also try AMDs 10.8 driver. Some have give AMDs catalyst a go with great results.
Also give the dell or amd driver a go and also install the 10.8a CAP profiles.

I'm currently using the Dell 10.8 8.763 drivers with the 10.8a CAP profiles. I set everything to default in CCC and then I'm using radeon pro. I've also set Catalyst AI to advanced minimaps to MAX detail everything else on application preference. I get around 60 - 80 odd FPS in BC2. I've been playing it again from the start of the campaign and its been suepr awesome. So much smoother and responsive. I can actually shoot now LOL. I have it running on max settings except for AA running both on 1X.
Cheers.

 

Reread, thanks reborn

 

Hey,

I'm using Dell's 10.8 8.763 drivers with 10.8a CAP profiles. Actually I also installed AMDs 10.8a CAP profiles and the 10.8a ones. Although I'm not exactly sure where your supposed to install them too. Either just C drive somewhere or into the ATi folder or something. I tried both. Then I flashed the Vbios for both GPU cards. Its all running pretty well here for me. Fifa10 runs great as well. Then again that almost always runs great LOL. Can't wait for FIFA11. heeheh

You could try maybe reinstalling either dells or AMDs drivers and then set the CCC to default settings apply and then set the settings you want again. I too was having shocking FPS in BC2 before. It was running around 40fps. Now I'm constantly running above 60fps and averaging around 70 - 80fps.

Edit: Oh eheheh no worries. Hope you can get it working well.

Cheers.

 

I wanted to say that there were two reasons I used Joker's method of a manual vbios flash.
1- I am old school. I don't trust flashing any kind of ROM inside of windows. Back in the day we didn't have that luxury and I know there are a multitude of things that can go wrong and usually do. Too many layers of software + Murphy's Law.
2- I trust Joker and the fact that he went through the trouble to create and explain the steps to accomplish it made me feel confident that it was a proven method. Plus I have followed multiple threads and know he's quite knowledgeable.
Flashing inside of windows is a tempting option. People are used to and comfortable with GUI's. Command lines can be intimidating to some. My suggestion to anyone considering this combo of driver and vbios, is the same as everyone else who has posted here. READ the instructions, all of them, more than once. Best option is to have the instructions open on one computer and flashing on the other.
If you aren't comfortable with it, don't do it. Wait for the Dell solution and a tech rep can talk you through it when it comes online. By then they will be getting an influx of calls on that very issue and will have a nice scripted set of instructions to walk you through any problems you may be having.

BFBC 2 is a difficult game to tweak. But it can be done with this driver + vbios combo. The results are incredible from what I was used to with the older drivers. I am averaging 60fps and according to a prior post (reborn)I can still squeeze even more out of it.

 

Hey,
good for Dell to help us out with this issue
Installed 8.763 and the latest catalyst with no issue but I still get a problem when entering sleep mode (lights stay on, screen goes blank and fans start spinning like a cowboy a a rodeo). I tried to flash the vbios but all I get is (bad command/entry when in DOS).
Did I forget something?

 

Well, try DellsATIWinflasher, until you get both cards flashed with the new vbios and your sleep issues will stop, i haven't got a single BSOD yet from normal usage. You can find the vbios incl. mirrors and an instruction on page 33.

Also thanks Infernia for your nice explanation about flashing. Very welcome oppinion, and i have to agree, Joker is very knowledged and i found many threads in here, he has a good way of explaining things and write guides about it. Always read along some posts, even if it does not concern you, it doesn't hurt to get some information prior to an issue that might occur. Cheers.

 

Hey Grim, thanks
Found a DirtyScrubs on freeforums with a clear procedure explained for flashing, certainly the Joker in disguise^^

 

Yeah, that's his own forum along a wiki for the m17x-r2. It's not only described to flash it manually, it's also along the official procedure we used first with windows. He just applicated it to the normal dos flashing process and grabbed the vbios of from GPU-Z i guess. If you see my instruction on page 33 for the winflasher, you also have the confirmation pictures how it should look like after flashing, and then after the reboot, how it should look like in GPU-Z. It's an easy 1-click-flasher if you want, just hit NEXT If you get an error, do it again until it says both cards are already flashed. Cheers. (Don't have anything running in windows, close gpu-z via tray or task manager, if it's not closed.)