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    FL90, ATI PowerPlay, and PCI express link width

    Discussion in 'Other Manufacturers' started by kakashisensei, May 17, 2010.

  1. kakashisensei

    kakashisensei Notebook Consultant

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    Hi,
    I just upgraded my fl90 to ati 4650. I am noticing that after some initial time rendering 3d, the pci-express link width changes from x16 to x1. I am using GPU-z to get the readings. I have narrowed the problem to ATi powerplay, which is causing it to change. When I have it disabled, it stays at x16. I can confirm that there is a definite performance slow down in games when it changed to x1 rather than staying at x16, so it doesnt seem to be an error in reporting from gpu-z.

    I have been using various catalyst 10.3's that install with mobility radeons.
    Can any other FL90 users w/ ati cards confirm this? Is there a solution? Thanks.
     
    kakashisensei, May 17, 2010
    #1
  2. henxu

    henxu Notebook Enthusiast

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    Wow, so you were successful at putting a 4650 in a FL90.
    Congrats.
    I've got a 3650 and it's ok, the width doesn't change.
     
    henxu, May 21, 2010
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  3. Ayle

    Ayle Trailblazer

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    People have the same problem with the hd5850 in the msi gx640. Try installing the catalyst 10.4.
     
    Ayle, May 21, 2010
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  4. kakashisensei

    kakashisensei Notebook Consultant

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    After much trying, the problem does not seem to be tied to drivers. The solution in the GX640 thread was to turn off powerplay and/or use cat 10.4s. I've already tried default win 7 wdm drivers (cat 8.xx), cat 9.4, 9.12, 10.3, and 10.4. Also tried it in win xp 32 & win 7 64. Also tried each driver with turning off powerplay and rebooting. Also made sure to use driver sweeper. The problem was still present.

    Another fellow forum member upgraded his fl90 to a 4650 and was not experiencing the problem. His vbios was the exact same as mine, but I tried flashed my card anyways. That didn't work. He was using fl90 bios 1.10, so I downgraded to that from 1.18, but that didn't work either. The only difference was his 8600m was a 512mb, mine was 256mb.

    Tried reseating the card. Also used nvidia's mxm spec sheet to tape up pci-e lanes to try to force it to x8, but it wouldnt boot when even one lane was taped. Other mxm connector pins that seem to be tied to power/thermal sensory data or auto throttling features were also taped up, but that didn't help either.

    My conclusion is the integrated nvidia vbios is causing issues or the card is bugged. Weird tho that the other person has almost the near identical setup and is not experiencing this problem. It will cost me $40 to ship it back for an exchange, and if the problem still persists then the problem was the integrated vbios.

    Anyone have any more suggestions for me? Thanks.
     
    kakashisensei, May 22, 2010
    #4