If you're worried about buying the 7970

I keep seeing a lot of posts where people are delaying purchase of their computer, or are changing GPUs because they are too nervous to get the AMD 7970. If you are one of those people, this post is for you!

Firstly, you have to understand that you are on a forum. Almost every single person who posts on here needs help with something. This is a VERY small portion of the people who actually purchase these computers. In fact, Sager/Clevo have some of the most dedicated followers, because they make some of the most reliable machines. Plus, you can't go wrong with their prices.

As for the 7970... (Since almost every post I see is about it) The 7970 is the top of the line for mobile GPUs. The minor hiccups that you hear about on this forum do not apply for every single 7970. Not even close, in fact. The main issue that people are having is the lack of drivers out, currently. This is still a very new product and drivers are being worked on! That's not to say that the GPU won't work properly without better drivers. That's not true at all. The 7970 is a masterpiece and will out perform any game you throw in its path. I also hear a lot about heat above 90c. I've talked to numerous tech specialists about this. Direct X 11 and Ultra graphic settings are going to cause any mobile GPU to get warmer. That's the price you pay. It's not dangerous to your computer or your GPU. Your computer is not on fire. It is just WARM.

So if you are worried about any of these... DON'T. Sager/Clevo are fantastic companies and they are backed up by amazing hardware and technical support. I hope this post helped a few people.
(And if you feel the same way about this post as I do and you're sick of constantly explaining to people that there is nothing to worry about, send them to this post.)
THANKS!

 

The only problem with mine is that I don't have it yet.

 

I'd never be comfortable with temperatures above 90 degrees Celsius.

To me, that high temperatures indicate either a bad thermal paste application or poor cooling (design).



Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk 2

 

Well considering it's a very huge percentage of people getting those temps, I would imagine it is due to high GPU usage. Direct X 11 is doing that to almost every mobile GPU. I don't think it could be summed up as being bad thermal paste.

 

I'm afraid I'll have to cut you there. There's no doubt anyone happy with his/her purchase just won't seek help here. However, for those that do, the difference in the ratio of reported problems with the 7970m v.s other gpu's (mainly 675m) is enormous. (well I actually did went through around 50 pages of threads already, searching for problems with the various cards).
Saying it happens just because the number of 7970's sold is much larger, is not exactly accurate. Remember the 675m did sell well with Sager/Clevo, when it was launched (ok, revised).
Also, as I said in a 675m thread not long ago, some people just don't like to buy freshly released hardware, as they actually fear bumping into unexpected problems down the road. This group (where I "kind of" fit into) prefers to buy equipment with some time in the market, as most of its problems are fixed, capabilities are tweaked, and so on. Basically a sort of "safe" buy.

 

I definitely agree with the point you're trying to get across, but this post was more for the people who want the high end of GPUs but are too afraid to purchase it because of things they have read in the forums.
If they want the higher benchmarks, as you know, the 675m is not going to do that. (In comparison to the 7970.)
Point I was getting across was a very small percentage of people who buy the 7970 actually run into hiccups. :]
I'm just trying to give a little bit of reassurance, for people who are worried.

 

Got it, point taken

But it doesn't apply to me, though. I recently had to cut my budget a bit (to 1200€ which puts the 7970m out of my price range. However I'll try to play with specs a bit, and hopefully fit a 675m in it. Sure, not the fastest available, but for what I want (Solidworks, and gaming TDU2, Skyrim and ME3) it does the job nicely. Also a bit of personal wish (coming form 2 AMD mobile gpu's, want to check this time how Nvidia is doing )

 

Of course the 675m is rebadged 580m which wasn't to different to the 485m, so has been out for some time so will have mature drivers.
It is annoying that the 7970m was released without better driver support, but that will improve. I've had no driver issues with my 6970m from the beginning, so and can do it.

 

to be honest, most people dont know they have a problem with 7970m because even when its under performing you still get semi decent fps in games. My complaint is because I'm coming from a machine that already had decent fps and I know on paper 7970m should outperform it by a mile, but it doesnt.
Also, 90c is too high for a 7970m. You should repaste - mine hardly ever reaches 80c in Kombustor on DX11 setting (only reaches 75c on DX9, but thats because its under performing).

 

In that case, the 675m is perfect for you, Man! You're definitely going to be able to run those programs with no problem!

 

Since AW machines max in the 60s in Furmark then I'm certainly not thrilled to see my rig hit 90 after 7 minutes in the same test. They certainly designed the 7970 to operate in the 90s but I think you're fooling yourself if you think temps that high for an extended period of time are good for the long term health of your card.

That said, I'm loving my machine after reinstalling Windows due to an attempted driver upgrade crashing my system.

 

Maybe your 7970 is under performing? That would explain why your temp are so low and your FPS is not great. I have near flawless FPS on Crysis 2 with Ultra + DX11. Granted my temps rise to 89c or 90c. (My room is also fairly warm)

 

Your temps shouldn't hit 90. Not even in Furmark, this is a 28nm card... it's supposed to RUN COLDER, NOT HOTTER, than the past generation.

I can't even get mine to work though; so you are lucky -_-.

Drivers seem to just crash my windows even after attempting many reinstalls , different drivers, etc.

 

I think our flawed drivers may also drive up temps some too. AW owners noted increased temps when their flawed enduro was turned on. The temps immediately dropped when they turned it off

 

Very valid point. I guess the best we can all do is enjoy the card as it is, currently, and wait for better drivers in the near future.

 

Dude, I feel your pain every time I see you post a message. I was in your shoes for about 24 hours, I can't imagine not being able to get it fixed. I'd seriously send it back and make them rush the hell out of it.

 

Of course, and I can always upgrade down the road, if for some reason I think it's necessary. However, given my needs, probably won't need to. I'm predicting the 675m will suit my needs for around 5 years (even more if I'm lucky, I actually have no problem tuning down the graphics options if it's necessary).

 

My card goes up to 89C in furmark and then the higher band fan kicks in and the temps start to drop.

In games my card sits in the 70s.

This is all running at 1ghz core.

 

I agree, jonny. But anyway guys, the whole point of this post is to give the consumers a little bit of peace of mind. The 7970 is a great GPU and I'm sure future drivers will make them even more enjoyable.

 

I talked with my reseller yesterday and he said the first 2 batches from clevo were defective(relating to enduro) and that he was waiting for the new batch due to july.

I live in Brazil so i don't know how current this information is to you guys but i thought i should mention it.

Maybe the people having problems have a card from the first two batches.

 

This is completely false. The first two batches were NOT defective. The Reseller you spoke to is flat out wrong. We have shipped many AMD 7970s in both Sager and Alienware and, according to our tech team, had one minor issue which was resolved within Catalyst Control Center.

 

^^^This guy has been the BIGGEST help with my purchase. Another reason why PowerNotebooks has my support^^^

 

Good post, this should help out the skeptics.

 

Seems like I have been asking for a lot of clarification lately. By "one minor issue" are you saying that only one of your 7970m customers has had software problems with the 7970m? Hardware problems, maybe I would believe that, but there is a line of people prepared to disagree with you on the software front. The 7970m needs better drivers. Enduro is not ready to compete in the marketplace. Debate concluded?

 

As far as I understand, the first batch was fine, second had a too high failure rate so was never released. Then there was a delay while that was sorted out. Now it's fine regards supply. The driver issue is seperate, although most seem happy with the 7970m. New drivers soon hopefully.

 

For one, this thread isn't a debate. lol
Secondly, Tmets is correct. The second batch was never released therefore there was a delay. In regards to the driver issue, wouldn't you agree that in the near future, better drivers will be released? In my opinion, since that is the case, I would rather buy the 7970 now, get one of the best mobile GPUs out, and save $300 (compared to the 680m.)

 

Yeah, I'd agree with that. Drivers will improve, and the 680m is just a stupid price.

 

Sorry, I did not intend to suggest this thread was a debate. I was referring to concerns about a potential hardware issue with the Clevo design and the lack of a hardware switch, potentially rendering the performance loss irreparable.

Correct, second batch was withheld.

I hope better drivers are released, and I certainly believe AMD can fix these problems. My problem is an admittedly low tolerance. Unfortunately, I am in a situation where I must leave my desktop behind soon, so I really want decent (not even great) drivers.

Let me put it this way, although it may not be a fair comparison: The 7970m situation reminds me of Mass Effect 3's ending. The product was half-baked, and Bioware had the power to fix it. People waited for months to receive a polished form of the controversial endings that kinda, maybe, sorta addressed some issues. TBH, even after the Enduro issues, I still trust AMD's driver team more than BW atm. Never thought I would say that.

I would even accept a statement from AMD acknowledging the issue. Mythlogic has noted that AMD is aware of the problem, so hope exists (Destroy ending FTW!).

 

not that case anymore.yes, the new technology should run cooler but the vendor will use this advantage to squeeze out the performance and hence the temp still will be around the same as before.

eg. look at mobile phones with those new CPU claimed to be high efficiency in battery life,etc but they will use that advantages to put in new features.

 

Very true, man. I completely understand your logic. I'm actually in the same situation as you. I have to leave my desktop behind so I needed a mobile desktop replacement. Even with the current drivers, this computer is amazing. If it can play Crysis 2 on Ultra + DX11 now, I can't wait to see what it will do with better drivers.
(Thanks for all the great posts on this thread, guys)

 

Can you disable Enduro in the Clevo's? I'm literally one or two days away from ordering. I actually can afford the 680m, but really don't want to spend an extra $300 if I don't have to.

I've been pleasantly surprised by the GT 650m in my little W110ER. nVidia drivers are definitely usually more mature and less quirky. I had many quirky issues with drivers on my HP DV6z. I love AMD for their lower cost alternatives, but when paying top dollar for a laptop and GPU I'll be a bit agitated if it causes issues.

I consider myself somewhat educated and adept with laptops and troubleshooting, but sometimes I just want things to work. Nothing is more annoying than chasing issues you can't correct yourself, but require a hardware fix or driver update. First thing I will do though, regardless is do my own thermal paste job. I never have found a quality paste job from any manufacturer, Sager included.

But if there are inherent issues with the hardware or drivers it's completely out of my control. Unfortunately there's very little user feedback on the 680m yet to get a clear picture how stable it is. Granted Optimus is much more mature than Enduro too.

I usually don't mind being the early adopter and testing things out, but when it's a matter of $300 I want to have at least SOME level of confidence. If $300 buys me peace of mind, I'll spend it. But if the 680m has issues out the gate, I'd rather save my $300 and deal with issues on the 7970m.

BF3 is the primary game I play ATM, and having random drops to 20FPS is *NOT* acceptable in my eyes.

 

I'm getting confused with what drivers to use.

1) Can someone shoot me a link where I should download the most stable drivers (I've heard the most stable are the original ones on the drivers cd, but I don't know what the version is)?

2) What exactly are the modded drivers? Are they done by a certain person/people, beta from AMD or what?

Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2

 

I wish I was more help than I am but I really don't have a huge wealth of knowledge on the 680m. What I can tell you is currently, you cannot disable Enduro. But I read a few posts back that they tested enduro with the 7970 and it really isn't a set back. It actually performs better WITH enduro. Like the main subject of this thread states, what you read on the forums is not always the case. I personally am VERY happy with my 7970 and it has yet to give me any issues. Playing Crysis 2 on Ultra + DX11 extremely smooth. Now if that's a faulty driver, I can't wait to see what an updated driver will do! The benchmarks are pretty much neck and neck with the 7970 and 680m. Varies on the game you are playing. If $300 is a BIG save for you, save the money. You're going to get an amazing GPU either way you go.

 

I can't believe the OP is trying to justify a 90C temperature on a 28nm GPU. My current GTX 485M doesn't even hit 90C and if a 7970M was reaching those temps, I wouldn't be happy. Of course some resellers will try to convince you that it is normal because they probably don't want to go through the hassle of a return. 90C may be perfectly fine but only under extreme circumstances, not every day gaming. Just because a CPU is safe up to 120C, it doesn't mean I want it to be that temp every day just from playing Tetris and the same goes for my GPU.

 

first of all those temps are under heavy load not tetris...


second of all i dont know of any1 yet who has repasted their heatsinks and gotten those temps (some call me out on this if i am wrong)

furthermore many people are getting much lower than 90 straight out of the box

 

my 7970m doesn't even go over 70c, also I've not had one single problem with it and it runs all my games flawlessly.

 

I hover around 74-77 after 2 hrs of the witcher and my gf keeps the apartment at 75F...

 

Thanks. $300 is $300 if performance is similar, waste of money if everything else equal. Just the whole unexplained FPS drops and performance limiting of the 7970m. All I know is the problems exist, but we know next to nothing about the 680m, however existing Keplar GPU's are performing well and have solid confidence about nvidia's drivers.

So do you go with a GPU with a known possible issue or a more expensive issue with little information about it. I'm actually leaning towards nVidia to be honest. I guess I could also help contribute some benchmarking and my thoughts on it if I do get it.

 

Is it just me or was this post completely unnecessary? lol Comparing a 485M to a 7970 is ridiculous. Completely different hardware. Completely different gaming load.

 

follow your heart

lol

 

If you have the money, there is absolutely nothing wrong with going for the 680M. Like I said, you're going to get an amazing GPU, either way. This post was mainly just to let consumers know that the 7970 is actually a very amazing piece of hardware, and they shouldn't be scared to purchase it.

 

Everyone talking about how temps shouldn't be so high compared to older chips have to remember that these 28nm cores have a greatly increased thermal density, much like Ivy Bridge.

 

Thanks very much, iaTa.

 

So far I haven't had a problem with mine, but then again I haven't run programs to measure temp or do any benchmarking. I just load up some games and play. Perhaps a case of 'ignorance is bliss'?

 

yes lol.... i think i will be just liek you

 

Sager/Clevo are awesome, just not AMD and their newly product "enduro". Alienware users are good to go and do not suffer unstable performance with it off, clevo owners with 7970m on the other hand are posting unstable performance on numerous games left and right... yes drivers will eventually fix it, within the next two months I hope.

 

probably describes the people that do not post on the forums that OP was talking about on the first post. They don't look on forums and post because they haven't tested anything nor do they know how to... It doesn't mean they are not having problems, most likely just haven't noticed it from the lack of testing.

 

nope, before repasting I was hitting 90c temps like you and I had IC Diamond paste. Now I have never seen it go over 81c.
Also, its not my card that is under performing, its everyone with a clevo 7970m (exept old HM series), - as its caused by Enduro which currently cannot be turned off or fixed. I can guarantee that if you run 3dmark06 you will get the same low score as me, or when you run furmark it will say GPU utilization is only at 86%.

 

i have clevo 7970m and after running 3dmark11, Msi afterburner says it was on 99% gpu usage during the testings. But on games like BF3 GPU utilization changes around 40-70%, which i think is why I'm also getting 20-60 FPS...

 

which paste you are using now?