Samsung Series 7 Chronos AMD graphics card help needed :(

Hey guys,

I’m new to the site, I’ve just joined to ask this question as I’m a bit confused about my new laptop, would appreciate any help 

I’ve recently bought the New Samsung Chronos series 7, touchscreen with i7 and the AMD Radeon 8870.

I’m a gamer, not so much a pc/laptop gamer, but I know the basics when it comes to graphics cards and one of the reasons I bought this laptop was the good specs and potential for gaming such as mmo’s etc.

I’ve downloaded a couple of game demo’s just so that I can test the machine, however, non of the game’s seem to recognising that AMD Radeon 8870 and are using the default HD4000 graphics card instead? I’ve looked everywhere for an option to switch defaults cards, I’ve even reinstalled the radeon’s driver? Still not change, the game demo’s still run fine but I can’t settle knowing I’m not getting the best from it. I even downloaded the 3dMARK demo this morning and when I got the results it said it had used the HD4000 card rather than Radeon 8870? I’ve change the laptops power settings to high performance, I’ve change the graphic settings to high performance. Under display on the hardware section, I can see the Radeon and it says it’s driver are up to date, it just doesn’t seem to be kicking when it’s needed??

Can u Help 

 

Welcome

A quick checklist:
Is silent mode off? (go to settings through fn F1).
Have you used the switchable graphics app to use the 8870m for the demo's? (right click on desktop > switchable graphics > choose the game and set it to high performance
Is your laptop plugged in?

Most of the time programs only recognise the HD4000 but actually run on the 8870m. If your games run good on demanding settings you can be sure the 8870m is running. 3Dmark11 does this for example, there is no way I can get 3200 points with the HD4000 yet 3Dmark11 says that was my graphics card.

 

Thanks for you help! I did read your review and wondered about your 3d mark results as it said HD4000 and you seem to know your stuff, so that helped

Yes I have turned silent mode off I think, I used the hot key but there isnt a light or anything to say it's on or off, but I will try pressing fn and F1? I have also gone into the switchable options and clicked high performance for the games. I tried out the bioshock demo on max settings and it ran beautifully. I didnt realise that it may switch to the Radeon when needed, but still show the HD4000, thats helps alot thank you. I will let it run the full test on 3D Mark and see what score I get I think it's because it doesnt say it ran on that. You spend that much money on something you want to know it's working properly.

Other than this, It is a incredible laptop, money very well spent

Thanks again, I will ticker with the settings again and see what happens

 

One quick question, on the switchable graphics options, it only gives me the option to choose high performance, rather than the option to choose the graphics card itself? is that right?

 

Yes that's right. Essentially choosing high performance means choosing the 8870m.

 

Ah ok thank you!

I just did the full 3d mark demo and under graphics card at the end it says it used the radeon drivers, but it says next to each test that the card was not recognised? Is this standard?

I got 48099 points on Ice Storm
10784 on cloudgate
and 2051 on Firestrike?

That sounds about right you?

Again thanks for the help, im a bit on a ametuer...

 

There are some test results for the 8870M at notebookcheck. See how you compare.

John

 

Hi there, i have exactly the same laptop with the thread starter. It says the graphic card is 8870M, but when i check through properties of My Computer and go to hardware, it says 8800M, is that the same?

Also, the weird thing is that I have checked from dxdiag in the windows,through the game Path of Exile, and via systemrequirementslab.com, still they only detect my HD 4000M instead of HD 8870M, is there any solution?
thanks.

 

I think the 8800M is the series and that may be what it reports to your computer. If it says 8870M on the box then I'm sure that is what is in there.

I suggest you work through this thread for the various tricks and tips needed to get things working properly.

John

 

Hi John, thanks for you response. Yes I have done everything that the link suggests, so to clarify this, when I have done the setting to high performance in every application, so it automatically uses the Radeon, eventhough it says that I still use intel 4000? Because the only thing that makes me questioning is that there is no option or statement that I currently use my Radeon instead of intel. Thanks.

 

There's an old saying "the proof of the pudding is in the eating", so the test is how are your graphics performing. WEI may not be a good indicator but you can compare FPS in games with the results here.

John

 

SOLUTION!!

Hey guys, I had the exact same problem with my series 5. I'd play games and they'd still be running off of the Intel hd 4000 graphics, which blew.

The solution isn't on the AMD website. Your series 7 should have come with an app in the start menu called SW Update - I know, I thought it was just more bloatware that I'd never touch - but surprisingly enough it has an update for 1) System BIOS and...wait for it... 2) The AMD Graphics Driver.

Run the update (make sure your AC adaptor is plugged in or the BIOS update will fail). Once the update is completed, right click on your desktop and select Configure Switchable Graphics. Under the applications list, select a game/program you'd like to run with the more powerful graphics card and under Graphics Setting, select High Performance.

Run the game and voila! The switchable graphics should now kick in! Hope this helps

 

dont install the sm bus controller or in other works the chipset

 

Hi Zoom, welcome to the forum.

I have to say I would generally advice that owners DO install the Chipset driver for their Series 7, as it can affect a number of other devices in the device tree. In fact, I recommend installing that as the first driver after a clean install.

As for making sure the AMD GPU is being used: Often games are unable to see the AMD GPU and THINK they are using the HD4000 (or HD3000 on earlier models) even when the Switchable Graphics actually DOES switch and is running on the faster AMD chip.

Of course actual performance should be a clue as to which GPU is being used. But otherwise the best way to is to open HWInfo and look at its Summary screen:



Obviously you want to make sure that High Performance is selected for that game under Configure Switchable Graphics:



And finally, members in the 2013 Series 7 Owners Lounge have found success using Beta drivers directly from AMD, starting with the 13.5 drivers, and just recently the new 13.6 drivers.

 

Thanks! But how would you update the drivers? My AMD driver update that I downloaded isn't recognizing the card.

 

Have you tried this? It's from the owner's thread I linked you earlier. These work for me and everyone else i know of who tried them.

 

Thanks pranktank! You've been a great help to me!

Just tried out Mass Effect 3 and it runs great!

 

I have a small issue, and I;m kinda embarrassed that I can't fix it myself. When I started using this laptop, I was greeted with an options menu for my graphics card (amd 8770m) and I can no longer find the menu. Where would I find it? It was not a control panel menu, it was amd radeon, to be clear.

 

Hi GreyWolf, welcome to the forum.

Maybe you are thinking of the options when you right-click the desktop. They'll take you to the AMD Catalyst Control Center.



BTW, for awhile I've been considering adopting an avatar of a beautiful gray wolf. You just made that a lot more difficult for me

 

Alright, now I'm confused - I thought I'd totally sussed this laptop out and had a pretty good understanding of it all - enough to advise and help others - and I use HWInfo on my Chronos 780Z5E with AMD 8870M, but it only shows the Intel HD4000 (admittedly I'm using the stock drivers, rather than updating to a beta driver), I even set HWInfo to High Performance in Switchable Graphics. How on earth did you manage to get HWInfo to show you the AMD?

 

LOL

For what it's worth, I have no doubts or reservations about your understanding of it all, and your helping others

In the HWInfo Summary Screen, don't you have a drop-down box where you can select which GPU to monitor? On that screenshot I've selected GPU #1 (AMD) but the screen initially loads with GPU #0 (Intel). I'm on my phone now (Tapatalk) otherwise I'd make an updated screenshot to highlight the drop-down.

On mine (which is an older Sandy Bridge model) I can always see both GPUs, though the AMD usually has no activity. Maybe it's different on yours, and the AMD only becomes selectable when something actually runs on it.

 

Hello

I am really frustrated with the dedicated graphics card. I cannot tell if its working or not.

I have a Series 7 chronos (NP780Z5E)
It has a Intel 4000 HD and a AMD Radeon HD 8700M


I'm running the FF XIV benchmark, I have silent mode off, I have f11 (auto silent mode) turned off, the program is on "Highest performance" in the catalyst control center, everything is up to date.

Even so, the benchmark keeps telling me Im running the Intel 4000 card.
The option to pick the other card, AMD Radeon HD 8700M, isnt even in the benchpress settings.


Does anyone know how I can tell if the other card gets kicked into activation?

 

Hi bawww,

I took the liberty of moving your question from your newly created thread to here, since this thread discusses your exact issue. I believe the answers are already here if you look back a page or two. Otherwise feel free to post an updated question.

 

Thank you very much Dannemand!
Ill give HWInfo a shot later to see if it kicks in

 

HwInfo was a bust
It could not detect the AMD card even when I was running a game program that should cause the switch

3DMark11 on the other hand! What a surprise! It was able to detect the AMD Radeon HD 8750M! Holy smokes! It said the card wasn't yet approved but still
I'm so happy now that I have explicit proof that it actually does switch over haha

 

OK, great, thanks for the update.

Just to make sure: On HWiNFO's Summary Screen, did you see the AMD GPU at all? You probably have to select it on the GPU dropdown: Change it from displaying GPU #0 (Intel) to GPU #1 (AMD).

The point (as I am sure you gathered) is that many games and apps don't know that they're running on the AMD: Even though it did indeed switch over, they still display the Intel GPU because it's the primary one. But HWiNFO will show if the AMD starts running.

 

My pleasure

The AMD GPU did not come up on the summary screen at all. As soon as I opened hwinfo, the default GPU #0 Intel card was there and its information was being shown.
The drop down list did not contain the card, only GPU #0: Intel.
Even while running a game on high performance there was no option to select the AMD card. I kept the game running for a good 10 minutes


Okay I see, I was always worried that it wasn't switching over and I always wanted something to explicitly tell me that 'hey I switched over to the AMD!' haha
Thanks again for the help.

 

Thank you for the update.

It puzzles me that HWiNFO cannot see your AMD. On mine I can display it even when nothing is running on the AMD (like in the screenshot I showed). And I know that gamers in the 2013 Series 7 thread use it. See this post and check a few pages before and after that.

But I am glad you confirmed that graphics switching works!

 

Fantastic!

I followed the instructions to toggle certain setting on from the posts and hwinfo64 was able to see the AMD. As stated in those posts, I did have to run a program that would cause the switch and then open hwinfo, specifically the sensors window.

The summary screen still refuses to show me the card, but for my current purposes that's okay lol
It still stuck to showing me GPU #0 Intel with no other option in the drop down menu.

 

Again, great that you got the switching confirmed, that's the important part. But I remain puzzled why HWiNFO's Summary Screen doesn't show the AMD. Clearly there must be a difference in how graphics switching is implemented in new models (like yours) and older models (like mine) -- even though both are AMD.

But among life's many mysteries, I guess this one hardly qualifies as critically important

 

HWinfo has never shown the AMD on mine without me messing about with settings, either. I don't think bawww is alone in this, I think that this generation of switchable graphics behaves differently to older versions, where HWinfo is concerned, at least!

 

Thanks damouk.

Yes, clearly there must be a difference. Again, it's not that important, just puzzling. And I'll have to be aware of it when answering questions from members with newer models.

 

Haha, yes it is puzzling indeed!

 

Hi guy,
I noticed something recently on my np700z5a. In Hwinfo it says my amd card is always on. The GPU tab always reads 100 and memory it reads like 60. If I start a game itll ramp up to 300 but I have no idea what's going on. Tried a factory reset. And hwinfo registered the card off. But when I update to Samsung's older drivers the card turns back on. Any ideas?

 

Nobody has any ideas?

 

Which Windows version? And which AMD and Intel driver versions?

Use SW Update to get the latest drivers for all Samsung computers, since they stopped updating their website in 2012.

Several NP700Z5A owners have reported issues getting the AMD GPU to kick under Win8, which is puzzling, since it works perfectly on my NP700Z3A (very similar, but slower AMD GPU).

If you use Win7, check this recent thread.

If you use Win8, you could try the following:

1) In SW Update, use Find Model to lookup my model NP700Z3A-S03US and download the Graphics driver version 9.2.0.0.

2) Complete uninstall of current AMD and Intel graphics drivers using using Windows Programs and Features control panel. Reboot.

3) Install that Graphics driver version 9.2.0.0 and nothing else. Reboot.

No guarantees, of course. Make sure you have backups and/or restore points if something goes wrong.

If you use Win8.1, check the thread linked below. I was able to get mine working with LeeKM's modified drivers (Google it) but NOT using Samsung or AMD-provided ones. It is described in that thread.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...pgrade-until-samsung-has-updated-drivers.html

 

Hi Thanks for the reply.

My problem is I noticed that the amd card kicks in even with nothing running. I noticed this problem in my 8.1 install. So I swapped hardrives and installed a fresh copy of 7 with all the old 7 drivers and the same problem starts up. From cold boot the laptop loads then just turns on the amd card. The card is working cause if I play a game it ranks up in frequency. But what I want is to get it turn on only when I need it and not when I boot and open a browser.

The amd is an hd6750m.

 

Ok, thank you for that update. Something is definitely not right with that installation. You should be able to get Win7 working and not have any problems with the AMD. Win8 should work too, although some NP700Z5A owners had issues. Win8.1 is more tricky, it's not supported by Samsung on this model and requires some hacking.

Try another Win7 re-install using the exact steps in this Win7 install guide . Make sure to install only drivers from SW Update, except the ones specifically mentioned. It's all covered in the guide.

Edit: Also, make sure you have installed Easy Settings v2.x (or Settings if you use Win8.x) AND that you use the Samsung Optimized power plan. Of course check under Switchable Graphics settings that only games are set to High Performance.

 

So i did the clean install but it seems the card still turns on this is what i see.

 

Okay, got it. Thank you for trying.

Which power plan do you use? I wonder if the High Performance plan could cause the AMD to always run. Again, I recommend staying with Samsung Optimized -- and tweaking it to your liking.

Other Z5A owners have had the exact opposite problem, where the AMD wouldn't show up in HWiNFO until they started a game. I wonder if this is just newer versions of HWiNFO playing mind tricks on us...

 

I hope its that. But I'm just going to back to 8. I had good battery life with it. Is there someway to just manually disable the card until I need it. I have read your words of wisdom and had data on a separate partition. Also have you moved to 8.1 yet?

 

I installed Win8.1 on my test partition (as an update), and was able to get everything working by using LeeKM's modified AMD drivers (Google it. They require disabling Signature Enforcement, which is unfortunate). I posted about it in the 8.1 Update thread.

I am still using Win8 as my primary, since everything works so well. Most users report less battery time in 8.1, and it provides no benefits that a 3rd party Start Menu cannot do better.

I will take a look at 8.1.1 (8.1 Update) once it's out officially and I have time.

Edit
I was rushed when I posted the above, and forgot: Good job keeping a separate data partition. I have saved countless hours over the years by keeping my OS installation (of which I have two) separate from my data. And it can be a real life saver too, as in dariusf's case here.

 

Ahh yes that makes a lot of sense with how your doing your partitions and data. Its thanks to you that in learned how to copy that recovery partition and Samsung recovery solutions. So thank you for that.

I also found something interesting.I did the windows 7 factory restore on the unit and to my surprise the card turns off now. But if I update from this 2011 driver then the card comes back on and stays on. Very interesting so the card is working properly but something with the newer drivers causes it to go crazy. But after dully updating when I open explorer 11 the card turns on. So any thoughts?

 

Interesting, thank you for that update. So it is indeed the driver that messes with the AMD.

Did you happen to notice the versions of AMD and Intel graphics drivers after factory restore and update, respectively?

 

Well I am still on the factory drivers now.

So the intel 3000 called intel hd graphics says its by ATI technologies driver number 8.863.1.2000.

That same information above is said for the AMD HD6750m so same driver number..

 

Good! That means you are using the combo driver package from Samsung that supports both Intel HD3000 and AMD 6xxx. SW Update should be able to provide you with the later AMD/Intel 8.951.9.3000. That is what I used with Win7 on my NP700Z3A-S03US with AMD 6490M.

Again, With Win8 I am using version 9.2.0.0 (also a combo driver). With Win8.1 I used Windows built-in Intel HD driver in combination with LeeKM's modified AMD driver (and disabled Signature Enforcement).

As for HWiNFO showing the AMD always active, I think I found the explanation: I have been using version HWiNFO64 version 4.0.2 for a long time, which shows my AMD as dormant (when I am not actually using it) but still viewable in the Summary screen:



I just now downloaded HWiNFO version 4.36, and it reports my AMD as running at 100MHz, like you are seeing as well. The explanation can be found in the Wake disabled GPUs option in HWiNFO's Settings:



Once I disabled this option, it behaves the same as earlier HWiNFO versions and displays my AMD as dormant. But I do recall several members (including Z5A owners) who were unable to display the AMD at all in the Summary Screen, unless they actively started a game first. This feature is clearly there for such cases.

 

Wow now this is one of those Homer Simpsons (DOH!!!!!) scenarios.

I didn't think that HWINFO would have been the cause of all these non existent problems. Well I guess I will just swap back to my 8.1 Drive.

Thank you for all the help, this has been a very educational thread for me and im glad its just some simple error like that on my part and not a hardware problem.

Though the battery life in windows 7 is pretty good. What causes 8.1 to reduce the battery life so much?

 

This was useful to me as well, as I didn't know about those changes in HWiNFO either. Again, a few other Z5A owners have reported HWiNFO not detecting their AMD, and we have answers to that as well now.

I don't know what causes the reduced battery life that members are reporting for 8.1; it seems more background tasks running when the CPU is idle. In fairness, I also did see one member report better battery life in 8.1. I'll be looking at 8.1 Update (just out today) as soon as I get some time.

I'd say we're done here

 

I'm not sure we ARE done... HWiNFO 4.36 with the wake GPU option enabled doesn't wake the AMD/ATI 8800 on my NP780Z5E - though I have still got the default Samsung factory ATI drivers and not updated!

 

LOL

It's great to hear from you again, damouk. Glad to see you are still around!

The Wake disabled GPUs tooltip in HWiNFO's Settings screen says that this is for Nvidia Optimus and AMD PowerXpress, which includes the AMD 6xxx series used in the NP700ZxA models. The AMD 8xxx series used in the NP770/780/870/880 models is Enduro, which uses an entirely different switching technology -- and presumably not addressed by this feature. Enduro has been around for a long time now, I am surprised HWiNFO hasn't added support for it.

I may give the impression that I know something about this subject, but in fact, what I posted here is just about the extent of my knowledge, and is mostly from member spincel's excellent post here.