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

I installed the new beta dell drivers over the VGA adapters (no ATI drivers - used drive sweeper to get rid of everything). Do you think I'd still need to reformat?

 

Will this sequence be necessary when Dell release the official vbios or will we be able to just go to support and get both vbios and then drivers? - i for one have had enough headaches without having to reinstall the OS.

 

A reformat won't be necessary, I didn't need it. I think Grim just recommends it to avoid possible snags that might come along.

 

What happens when you uninstall catalyst on express, will it revert back to any previous ati drivers or will it load into windows with vga drivers and not install anything ati again even if you have automatic windows driver update enabled? (I only recommend this to avoid any form of BSOD upon a previous installed ati driver <10.8)

On my clean windows install i can uninstall cat,reboot, back on vga, install dell beta drivers, reboot, uninstall again, reboot, back on vga, install official ati drivers, reboot, running those at the moment, since i'm actually more interested in how the official ones perform (also didn't have to use driversweeper so far, nor safe mode)

 

After installing this driver i had issues with the sleep/hibernate and also with shutting the system down using Start->Shutdown ...display would shut off but the system never completely turned off. I used the VBios from Brian and everything magically went away. System is back to its 'ole feisty self. Haven't seen anything else pop up.

I was looking forward to this new video update since having problems with not being able to run the FFXIV Benchmark or the FFXIV Beta Downloader...since changing to this new version both run smoothly.

Just wanted to convey my gratitude to Brian and the rest that are responsible for the great job in keeping us up to speed on updates/fixes.

Thank you !

 

I'm in exactly the same boat. Dell is currently building me an entire replacement system, (tech support didn't have any better ideas) but this would be a lot better.

 

You guys can share the VBIOS with others, but please be sure to qualify it first (with my list of items). The VBIOS is production level, but we can't post it on support.dell.com because of the problems with earlier drivers. Engineering is working to create a script that installs the video driver first and then the VBIOS, but this isn't complete yet...

 

is it just me or is there anyone else having problems with backlight auto dimming when watching video/movie with the latest dell driver+vbios?

 

Reading Roidz experience has me very hopeful -- I'm seeing horrible gaming performance and the same symptoms he was seeing. I'm looking forward to trying these settings at home tonight.

 

For reborn and those that might be interested in an O/C'ed i7-720qm + HD5870 CF Vantage score on ATI 10.8 CPU FSB 143Mhz and 850/1200 GPU's running without any external cooling or hardware mod, solely by software OC with SetFSB and RivaTuner:



Cheers!

 

O/C'ed i7-720qm? How did you do this???

 

So is this vbios ever going to get released on dell support? - because if it isnt, whats the point in putting the drivers there?......

 

Your answer was 5 posts up....

 

Ok. Just installed the driver and the vbios. So far, so good.

When I went to flash the bios, I received an error message the first two times about a "rom fail". On the 3rd time, it worked and asked me to restart.

For those who want to ensure that it worked, look at GrimFan's picture on page 4 of this thread. When the flash is successful, it will display two adapters like in his picture in the atiwinflash popup. That picture was incredibly helpful to me. Thank you, Grimfan.

 

Well with that said, if there's anyone that wants to take the manual (dos) based flashing route, I've got a guide ready to go for that--see my sig.

 

Oooops .....sorry!

This is gonna be a bit of a noob question.

Assuming that this new vbios does get released, does it mean that we will be able to use reference drivers? - from my limited understanding, i think we will using the workaround=true thingybobs.....is there going to be any difference between reference and Dellized versions? - im presuming not in terms of performance, im thinking that it will just mean that we can support our gpu's for longer once dell stop releasing driver updates for them?

Could someone clarify this as i think i may be confusing myself LOL

 

Found a Problem guys i confrimed it happen to me like 3 times already. Vbios+8.763- After extensive gaming i go afk alot in between sometime 40min and my hard drive shut off and screen too like they are suppost to i dont think that would be consider sleep because i didnt manual sleep so let say just idle when i try to come back it does but the results are very sluggish response slow system delays for example hitting start will take like 15 20 sec to open same with moving windows like 40~50 delay. I checked my task manager i had no apps open everything was ok just saw a increase in my memory usage by like 9 %. Also my cores tend to be park alot think this is normal could it be throttle issue it all fixes once i restart np sleep is fine everything else.
Windows7 64bit

 

I dont believe there is any certainty we will be able to use the reference drivers in the future but this is a step in the right direction ...

 

Well keep in mind that the latest catalyst driver includes updates for most recent games. Hopefully we won't need many more updates in the near future.

That being said, I most people with the crossfire 4870 are able to use the reference driver and this vbios might just help us get there.

In a few weeks when next catalyst driver comes out we will be fixed.


PS: Quadzilla, your sig states you have a 72K HDD, it must be lighting fast... I need it... 72000RPM... /joke

 

Well lets just say my response was based on what i have been told and we shall leave it at that ..

 

Great thread everyone -- thanks for the detailed info.

Sounds like the green light was given to share the new vbios, and was wondering if someone on the thread would be willing to send it via email (a bit of a pain I know, so thanks in advance if someone is able to accommodate).

Thanks!
Samuel

 

I think you are assuming that everyone with an M17xR2 has the suspend/resume problem. This isn't the case... The driver also supports our other systems as well.

The goal is to release the VBIOS on support.dell.com at some point.

 

Thanks for pointing that out and its fixed ...

PS: i wish i did have a 72000RPM hd ...

 

I have an M17xR2 running the new beta driver. I have started having issues with shutdown where the screen goes blank but the computer never shuts down. It sounds like I need the vbios update. If anyone can email this update.

 

With this new driver: If my laptop is unplugged and the computer screen saver is enabled then I return the screen goes blank and I have to do a hard shut down.

 

List of 5870m vbios mirrors: click here

 

Prior Info: Do not attempt this, if you are A: not comfortable flashing a BETA VBIOS, B: Don't know alot about Windows e.g. restoring Windows, C: you are dependant on a running system (and not actually testing a system on issues that might occur) and D: don't like to read

Installation instructions:

- This VBIOS is for 5870 cards ONLY. Single or dual configs are fine – it will flash both.

- You MUST load the 8.76x (cat 10.8) video driver stack BEFORE flashing your VBIOS. If you flash before you load the newer video drivers, the result will be endless BSODs. Safe mode or VGA mode will work around this… Once you have the new VBIOS, you can’t use any driver stack before 10.8 any more.

- You will not be able to flash back to the old VBIOS. (unless you use the manual method described on Joker's link in the first post of his thread)

- You can use this flash in Windows – run as Administrator (right click).

- Please post comments, positive or negative on the NB Forums.

- Rename the file to .zip, extract to desktop and run .EXE to launch.

If Flash fails, redo install until it has been verified.
Do NOT reboot if you didn't get atleast one of the two images provided below upon finishing the flash or you will end up with a bricked card the next time you start your computer.

Good luck and enjoy.

Here how it should look like when it succeeds on first attempt:



So, if you don't get that image on the first, second, third attempt... Make sure all programms are closed, then retry the Flasher until you get this and you are like 99.8% safe :



Check after rebooting in GPU-Z:

 

Maybe my misunderstanding Brian, but with maybe a few exceptions, the vast majority of posts here concerning sleep/hibernate derive from m17x owners....AFAIK.

Support for the other systems is great, as is the work you are doing here....maybe im slightly paranoid but, hey, im on my 4th brand new m17x in less than 12weeks since ordering so im somewhat lacking in "Alienware Quality" at the moment......i think im kinda justified to be wary or inquisitive.

Also, as i am inquisitve, if this sleep/hibernate problem is random, what is it attributed to given that some m17x owners have it and some dont? - i would be keen to hear as there must be some "constant" which causes these symptoms in the first place.

Keep up the good work! - thanks!

 

5150Joker,

I don't know if you can but I have edited my original post and removed my email address. Could you edit your post with my quote and remove my email address.

Thanks

 

Hey everyone that has UPDATED to the new vbios can you please check how games perform with your crossfire 5870s, i am noticing flickering in every game i try with crossfire enabled, it might be a bad flash or faulty gpu or maybe the new vbios brings the slight flickering back, anyways can everyone have a CLOSE look at the games they play and tell me if you guys notice ANY amount of flickering at all, thanks.

 

Reset in Catalyst Command Center to factory default under options->settings in the upper right corner. That seemed to work for someone earlier once.

Let me know if it works out for you aswell...

 

No flickering in any game I've played so far which include:

-bad company 2
- mafia 2 (retail release)
-gta IV
-crysis warhead
-alien swarm
-mass effect 2
-singularity

EDIT: I take that back, I noticed some very faint flickering in Mafia 2 just now when I got very close to a brick wall and the fps shot above 100. I haven't noticed it in other games yet, will keep testing.

EDIT 2: So far only Mafia 2 has it very faintly. No other game that I've tested. But we all knew this would happen, ATi has to update their drivers to add more games to optimize for CFX and do away with the flickering.

 

Not really flickering but if I calibrate my rgb screen by tweaking channels, contrast, ect. I notice on the login screen of WoW after selecting a character, the colors shift back and forth between my settings and factory. This is also noticeable within game as well but its easier to see there. I'm sure it happens in other games as well since when this happened once before with a driver update it did. I would check but hey, I'm a tank and my raid needs me. lol

This is annoying but I can live with factory color settings I guess... that red is just SO vibrant.

EDIT: Thanks for the VBIOS Grimfan. +rep

 

I have seen flickering playing COD4 Modern Warfare on the menu screen (darker screens)

ATi Radeon 5870m Crossfire (8.763 Catalyst + new Dell vbios)

 

5150Joker,

Thanks for doing that for me.

 

Ive also noticed flickering on darker textures in wow and sc2 with these dell drivers. Using the official ATI 10.8 i dont see the flicker.

The performance of the dell 10.8's however with the 10.8a application profiles do seem better in games like sc2/wow/disciples 3 then the ATI 10.8s or any of the previous drivers.

As per most others without the new vbios sleep/shut down display still doesn't work.
I also experience the failure to shutdown the system where the display goes black but power remains on. This has been a constant random problem no matter what vid driver i've tried since getting the system.


-----------------------------------
Spec:

M17xR2, I7 920xm, 8gig ram, 2x5870CF (OLD vbios), 2x500gig HDD, RGB LED, Win7 Home (default dell install), System Bios A07

 

Yeah, i did revert back to Dell's drivers for once, and SC2 is having some heavy flickering and tearing when i move the mouse. Didn't see that with official 10.8 and app profiles installed...

 

I wonder if the Catalyst 10.9 will have the same problem since Dell's 8.763 build comes directly from AMD. Hopefully not...I'll be sticking to the 8.763 for now, apart from Mafia 2, I don't see any flickering and they run great. I'm finally fully happy with my 5870 Xfire setup.

 

So i'm assuming that no one has actually bricked there card from using this new vbios then? I'm sure some people are deathly afraid of bricking their card(s) from using the beta vbios but from what I've been reading it sounds like when using the new dell driver + vbios things satisfaction is almost guaranteed save for a few minor mishaps. Though flashing from Windows is more of a no-brainer type of deal would any of you recommend flashing manually versus using the flashing from Windows? But most importantly besides Ash almost bricking his card has anyone else ran into this problem? If not then it does seem like this combo package is rather stable.

 

Is anyone here a member of Hardforum (forum for hardocp.com)? They're handing out something called CAP (CrossfireX Application Profiles) to members now (thought it'll be released soon to the public). If this was mentioned already, I apologize. Here's a link to it with tests and more info:

CAP 10.8a - ATI CrossFireX Application Profile 10.8a Performance | [H]ard|OCP

 

Both the AMD and these Dell 10.8 drivers are unusable on my system. Not sure if it is due to having the HD 4870 instead of the 5870 that most seem to have nowadays.

Two main problems are:
1. World of Warcraft is unplayable. With hardware mouse enabled (which is fine in 10.7 and prior), every time you move the mouse the system stutters violently. With this setting disabled, the game is incredibly sluggish.
2. CCC is no longer able to launch. I have tried all kinds of ways to start it - right clicking the desktop, clicking the start menu icon, even running CCC.exe directly. You get the "app starting" cursor for a few moments but never get to see the UI. You can see MOM.exe and CCC.exe active for those brief few moments in Task Manager, but they die quickly.

 

ugh,. well 10.8 was giving me flickering that I didn't see using the Dell Beta Drivers, Reinstalled beta drivers and now Battlefield Bad Company 2 is crashing on me. Might try a new install of the drivers.

 

I have isolated the problem, if you tweak your color settings from the desktops & displays tab in CCC at all than you will get flickering so if you have calibrated your display from CCC using the desktop and displays menu try putting it to default, you may still adjust your color settings but ONLY use the Desktop Properties tab to tweak the display and you should be fine, fixed all flickering for me so see if it works for you guys and let me know your results.

 

updated to Dell ati 8.763
does the readings here look normal?

 

Wow you may have found it.
Strangely enough i never tweaked my colour settings once in CCC since i got my system two months ago.
However when i checked the desktops properties and the color tab, I hovered over the 'Reactivate ATI Colour Controls' it said that it was disabled. I clicked the button and so far initial testing of SC2 has eliminated the flickering.

I still have a problem with small red pixels corrupting the screen on any 3D game when catalyst AI is enabled but that seems like a separate issue that i have had from day 1 no matter the driver installed.

Ill test a bit more shortly.


-------------------------------

Spec:

M17xR2, I7 920xm, 8gig ram, 2x5870CF (OLD vbios), 2x500gig HDD, RGB LED, Win7 Home (default dell install), System Bios A07

 

Testing Games SC2 and wow.

In my previous post i was running the ATI catalyst 10.7a drivers WITHOUT xfire profiles.

I reinstalled dell 10.8 drivers WITHOUT xfire profiles and i got the flickering back again. I checked the color settings and this time i couldn't select the reactivate settings.
Installed the 10.8a xfire profiles and the flickering is gone.
However with the 10.8 dell drivers and the 10.8a profiles i got every noticeable red pixel corruption in all games.

sigh fix one issue get another...

 

I could be wrong BUT im sure Brian said that they were ONLY for 5870 as 4870 were not affected......If you read some of his initial posts, thats how i read them....actually, i think he meant the vbios was only for the 5870 setups....the drivers probably are for everyone who requires them.....

 

Im not sure, can anyone say this is right?

 

WoW has an issue in both 10.8 latest drivers afaik i got the right message so far, and will need a Hotfix from ATI as it looks like.

Gonna try changing some values as suggested to get rid of the flickering, heavy screen tearing in SC2.

About that HD 5850, don't know your default clock speeds, but looks good to me, since all the same fields are populated as mine.

That actually worked for me on official 10.8 drivers, upon reinstalling the drivers. Went into CCC and clicked on Reactivate. The tearing was gone. On the dell beta Drivers, the only thing that worked for me was enabling Vertical Synchronization in SC2 ingame. +rep on that, thanks

 

I would really like to try the new vbios... my M17 R2 is only a month old and it has had "Display adapter not responding" errors since i receive it. I've upgraded to the 763 version of drivers on dells web site, and the Display adaper errors have subsided, but I cannot hibernate or sleep, either on AC or battery.....the screen goes dark, the fan goes on to the max, network connections are dropped and it becomes completely unresponsive....I have to a forced reboot to recover.