M17 Video Card issue.

My laptop has been running great for the past week until today I ran into a issue. For some reason, I keep getting a flicker from certain textures while playing games in full screen. If I play the game windowed then the problem seems to go away. I tried doing a clean install of the drivers, using the driver cleaner method, but still no luck, problem is still there.

I am using Erecked's modded 8.12 drivers, I tried the 8.11's as well. Any idea what the hell the problem is? Maybe just a hardware fault from the cards themselves?

 

What game wow?

 

Is it all games or just one game?

 

well the M17 is just full of surprises

 

sounds like a crossfire issue... what if you run the game on one card only?

 

Silarious, couple of quick ideas depending on the game/flickering textures. In CCC disable the Direct3d Gemoetry Instancing check box at the bottom of "3D->All Settings" or possibly even enable it. Then, try adjusting the Mipmap quality to performance mode.. and make sure you dont accidentally have Vsync conflicting with in-game settings.. Just some ideas. Play around with the CCC options and see if it helps. Oh, and try setting Catalyst AI to Standard. Hope this may be a solution.

 

It does this with every game I try. Thanks to E-wrecked, I found a solution. Disabling Catalyst AI all together corrected the issue. Any ideas why it would do that and does anyone else have to do the same?

 

Well..what mode were you running AI in? Standard or Advanced? I believe if entirely disabled, some games won't be able to utilize the crossfire capabilities. AI is just driver side tweaks.. What games you have problems with? And, did you try adjusting any other settings?

 

I tried all the AI settings, none except off work. I tried the other settings as well. All games it does this, Archlord, Supreme Commander, even 3dmark 06.

 

you say "flickering" - What exactly do you mean? 3dmark for example..can you please describe when and what it looks like?

 

It just looks like utter crap. The textures just literally flicker and the game in general runs like crap.

 

ok.. can you get a couple screen shots by chance?

 

I tried, the flicker won't show up in a screen shot though. My 3dmark score is extremely low though, around 7500.

 

since turning off AI it disabled crossfire..that's why. Try this, re-enable AI. Go to device manager, and do a Have Disk method with my modded .inf - download the latest one in the 8.12 thread. If you have any issues doing have disk lemme know..but basically you gotta select the file manually to install. Dont do a clean install.

 

Should I do it with the 8.12 driver? I reinstalled the factory drivers to see if it would help and no such luck.

 

Done, that seems to have fixed it. Can you explain to me why installing it using the Have Disk method would have corrected it?

 

not sure.. but I think it happened to me a while back and that's how I resolved it.

 

Nevermind, it didn't work. I used the Have disk method on only one card and that's when it was working fine. When I installed it on the second card too using the Have Disk method, it did the same thing again. Flickering textures are back. It's like as soon as the second card is brought into the mix, there is a problem.

 

ok..you should only have to use it on one card. not both.. Just delete the drivers via device manager..then reboot and do have disk on only the first card..then reboot and you're golden. The driver is set to install on both GPUs without you manually doing so.

 

Did that, no luck. I'm beginning to think this is a hardware issue with my second card.

 

Ok.. My comp died. On iPhone, sorry. Check out my driver thread and follow from step 1-8 taking your time. Don't rush. And, go into control panel and uninstall all references of Microsoft c++ before installing the new driver.

 

Tried it, no luck. This really sucks.

 

I had the same thing happen to me on the Crysis demo. But I didn't bother fixing with it, I just uninstalled it and the only left 'flickering' I get is on WoW (but that's already a known issue if you have the Shadow Detail setting on High).

However, I have yet to install E's mod

 

Yeah, this problem isn't centered on just one game or set of drivers though. It does it on every game I play with any driver I have installed. No matter what I do, unless I play the game windowed or turn of Catalyst AI, it will start to flicker and run very poorly. It seems like whenever the laptop uses the second card is when I run into the issue.

This is really a bummer. I leave next week to go over seas for a year and now I got this problem. I sure hope they don't plan on having me send this back to them to get repaired. I kinda need it to entertain me for a year. =/

 

lets fix this before you go.. wish an AW rep would step in to assist, seeing as they get paid for it kidding! really.. Check it out, let's start from the top. What kind of issues appear? Do you have a digi camera to post? Also, can you please give me a screen shot of gpu-z? And one final request..please give me a rundown of all "3D settings" enabled/disabled in CCC. I can help you fix this, just need a hand to do so. Nothing vague, only details. Let's hammer it out.

 

The only issues that appear are in 3D software. The main ones I have tried are Archlord, Supreme Commander, Crysis, and 3Dmark06. Best I can describe is the half of the textures flicker and the game runs very sluggish. If I let 3Dmark continue even though it looks like crap, it still only scores somewhere in the 9k's.

I do have a digi camera and here is a SS of GPU-z




The 3D settings I have right now are as follows.

AA = Use application settings
AF = Use application settings
Catalyst AI = Standard
Mipmap = Quality
Vertical Refresh = Off unless application specifies
Adaptive AA = Unchecked
Triple buffering = Unchecked

I have also tried all of the factory default settings with no luck. I have also tried the factory drivers, 8.11 modified, and 8.12 E-wrecked modified. All done with a clean install using driver sweeper as well as the have disk method. Right now I have the factory drivers installed.

Thank you very much for all the help. I appreciate it.

 

Here is my 3DMark06 score too. It actually scored about normal. Yesterday it was scoring alot worse. The graphics problem is still there though. I noticed during the CPU tests the flicker happened on every other frame. One frame it would be normal, the next the textures would be discolored. Hope this helps.

 

I'll assist when I'm at my comp. In the meantime, have you downloaded the newest Direct X? I believe there is a November, maybe even December release. Also, do you have CCC Powerplay Performance enabled and set to max performance? And is Vistas power scheme set to Performance?

 

Yeah, both the power scheme's are set to performance. I even manually went through the options to make sure they were set for best performance. As for Directx, I did all the windows up dates as well as the installs that came with the games. I never went and manually initiated a new DirectX install though. That may be something to look into when I get home.

Keep in mind, the laptop worked flawlessly for about 2 weeks before this (with the exception of my keyboard issue). This problem just recently showed up out of the blue a few days ago.

 

Hmm.. just wondering.. What version of Vista u running? You only have 2GB of RAM - Maybe that's part of the problem? I know that can hinder the performance..never looked into this issue and RAM - but ya never know. I'm not trying to point fingers, but trying to troubleshoot. If you are running 64bit Vista, then this is likely an issue when sharing memory with the GPUs. Anyhow, shot in the dark

 

I just got the m17 3 days ago and I am having the same issue playing WoW. The gameplay is great for a while but then all of a sudden the card will stutter and flicker and fps drops horribly to the point I have to quit the game. I have the q9100, 4GB RAM and Win64. I have tried all of the suggestions in this thread thus far but no luck. Here is some info from CCC. Let me know what other info you need and thanks in advance for any assistance.


Graphics Hardware:

Primary Adapter
Graphics Card Manufacturer Powered by ATI
Graphics Chipset ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3870
Device ID 9509
Vendor 1002

Subsystem ID 207A
Subsystem Vendor ID 161F

Graphics Bus Capability PCI Express 2.0
Maximum Bus Setting PCI Express 2.0 x8

BIOS Version 010.081.001.000
BIOS Part Number BK-ATI VER010.081.001.000.030047
BIOS Date 2008/08/29

Memory Size 512 MB
Memory Type DDR3

Core Clock in MHz 660 MHz
Memory Clock in MHz 850 MHz


Linked Adapter
Graphics Card Manufacturer Powered by ATI
Graphics Chipset ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3870
Device ID 9509
Vendor 1002

Subsystem ID 207A
Subsystem Vendor ID 161F

Graphics Bus Capability PCI Express 2.0
Maximum Bus Setting PCI Express 2.0 x8

BIOS Version 010.081.001.000
BIOS Part Number BK-ATI VER010.081.001.000.030047
BIOS Date 2008/08/29

Memory Size 512 MB
Memory Type DDR3

Core Clock in MHz 660 MHz
Memory Clock in MHz 850 MHz


Graphics Software:

Driver Packaging Version 8.52.4-080724a-067553C
Provider ATI Technologies Inc.
2D Driver Version 7.01.01.809
2D Driver File Path /REGISTRY/MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet001/Control/CLASS/{4D36E968-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}/0000
Direct3D Version 7.14.10.0603
OpenGL Version 6.14.10.7867
Catalyst® Control Center Version 2008.0724.2347.40767

 

Did you check the temps ? Sounds like overheating.

Run a 3dmark test as well just to make sure your cards are working properly.
Ah, and update your drivers

 

I am running the 32bit version of Vista Home Premium. The GPU's share system memory? I thought they had their own, dedicated memory.

 

They "borrow", but that's only in 64bit if I remember correctly. CooL, you got 32bit right? Help this guy out. I have 64bit and am not sure of what he's got going on.. You didn't have issues, right? Maybe send him the .inf I sent you originally?

 

So far i didnt have any issues and i played a lot (!) of games Im using the "beta" .inf though (the one you made when i asked you ), not sure if something is different. Gonna post it though in case he wants to give it a go.

Silarous, keep in mind that if you dont do a proper uninstall of the other drivers they will not work as they should. Took me 2 installations to find out since i was too lazy to reboot into the save mode

Since the problem goes away when he disables the AI seems like a card issue. If it does that in all games and not only one.

 

There's so many "what if's" it makes it difficult for me to trouble shoot.. and since no 32bit OS here, that's another issue. Oh! You know what?! I may know my problem! The 32bit full zip I uploaded I modded with 64bit Vista. CooL, can you possibly zip up your 8.12 folder, finalized version and post a link for download? repping you now.

Not sure if this is the issue, but it makes sense. Have you tried the Installation method #1? Step by step..maybe that's the problem

 

I only saved the .inf file

But it wont be hard to just download the drivers, mod them and just replace the .inf file like i did Takes like 3mins

Basically in my case i uninstalled the drivers, booted in save mode, cleaned whatever was left using Driver Sweeper, booted back to normal mode, used the setup.exe, installed the drivers, rebooted and everything was fine.

(sec making a new .zip )

 

But if that is the case, why would the other drivers not work either?

 

Not many have 32bit Vista, so not sure how many people actually tested that version (the final one). Since these are the drivers im using at the moment (the ones E-wrecked made for me before publishing the "final" ones) and they work for me, hopefully they will work for you too. Or at least we will know its not a driver issue.

Just made a new link of the drivers i used since i would be faster for you to just download and install them instead of just downloading all the apps and drivers to mod them etc.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3LTDKXTK

Make sure to use the same steps i used. After that if you still got issues its probably a problem with your card/s or a cable (crossfire).

 

Ok, guys. I had been off the forum for few days, and you guys are in a mess.

Here is what you do to TRY to solve it:
1. Do not play the games after the laptop wake up from sleep, it's vista issue. Always cold start or reboot.
2. Check the temperature of both GPUs before/during/after playing the games with log too. If the temperature is not normal, then we can discuss further about this.
3. If you played with drivers too much and messed up some system driver files. Restore the system back to original and test again with original driver. (hopefully you did image your partition at the beginning)

 

I know for a fact it is a hardware issue now. I did a clean install of Vista over the night. Loaded in all of the fresh factory drivers, installed 3Dmark06 before I installed any other programs on the machine. Guess what, the problem is still there. It has to be something with the hardware. It doesn't seem to be overheating either, this problem happens the second you start a 3D app, not a little while after.

I wonder if reseating the video cards may help?

 

Silarious, it does sound hardware related. Simple idea would be to open the case, and make sure the Crossfire cable is seated properly. In the event it is and the problem persists, then swap the cards internally. To troubleshoot and find out which card, or even which slot is having problems you can always just remove one card and test individually if it gets to that point. For now, just make sure your DirectX is current, your Intel Chipset and Matrix Manager is current, and then make sure Vista doesn't give you any problems installing the video drivers. Once that's done if the problem continues then move to hardware. Check crossfire cable, then swap cards, then remove each card and run off only one to find out if one is bad. That would be my method.

 

I've seen a few folks here ask what your GPU temps are. I was only skimming, but I didn't see a reply with any temps.

If the temps on BOTH cards appear to be normal, you can rule out the fact that one of them didn't get thermal paste, or the plastic was left on the GPU core.

Remove the rear access panel and do a visual inspection of the CF cable. If you have the technical knowledge, I'd AS5 the GPU cores.

I personally would have ruled these things out at the very beginning.

I downloaded the newest desktop driver from ATI, and used the Mobility Modder.

 

After a single session of 3DMark06, the GPU's were at 69c. I'm gonna physically check out the cards right now.

 

Well, I found something very interesting after opening the Laptop. For some reason, some genious at Alienware decided it would be ok to leave tape on the thermal pads and across the thermal grease on the slave GPU! Because of this, the GPU had zero thermal grease on it and the ram chips had no contact with the thermal pads. Here are some pics.


Tape across the thermal pads and what looks like a piece of masking tape across the thermal grease. This was on the slave card.




This is the one that was on the Master card. Notice there is no tape. Imagine that.




This is the slave card BEFORE I cleaned it off. Had plenty of thermal grease on there eh?




This is the master card, properly greased from the factory.




I cleaned off the GPU's on both cards and applied some good old Artic Silver 5. Hopefully this will take care of my problem. If not, Alienware's stupidity ruined a prefectly good 3870.

 

Wow, I've really been on the fence about getting an M17 or OCZ WB and its not looking good for Alienware. The matte finish is nice on the M17, but not worth all the headaches I see people posting on the AW thread.

 

didn't the tape thing happen to another fellow with the m17....you gotta wonder how something like that slips by the 200+ point inspection.....hopefully you haven't damaged your hardware, and you can remove the tape, clean the pads, reapply thermal paste and be good to go...good luck Bud

 

.......

I was thinking about replacing my Dell this summer with an Alienware, especially considering how perfectly built my friend's was =/

 

Already done. So far the problem seems to have been fixed. Funny thing is, the second I took the cover off I could see the tape sticking out from under the heat sink. I know well they had to of seen it when building it, they just didn't care to take the time to remove it. That is just plain pathetic. You think they would have a bit more pride in their products then this.

What's sad is even if I called up about this, I bet I would get the run around and they wouldn't do a thing about it. Either that or I would have to send it in to them (at my expense) for them to take a month to remove the tape, even though this is clearly their mistake.

 

agreed...if you're all fixed up hopefully that will be the end of your troubles.

If I do end up getting one of these m17's you can rest assured I will be pulling the heatsinks, cleaning and putting some AS5 before I even turn it on...

I'm kinda surprised the tape didn't melt on the heatsink and make a real mess...