X1950 PRO - Crossfire problem

bundlebr · Mar 17, 2007

Hi,

Couple days ago I got second Sapphire X1950 Pro card, and installed it in crossfire configuration. Tested it initially in single mode - everything worked fine, was able to overclock it to 621/756 with ATITool (GPU hit 75 C with stock cooler), ran 3DMarks.
After I've enabled Crossfire - everything fine, but all 3DMarks show double pictures (shifted horizontally) with horizontal strips of distorted image running up and down the screen. If I hit "escape", the monitor shows perfect still pic for a moment, then the program exits.
If I disable crossfire, everything runs fine.

BUT, if I keep the marks running, they give me the scores: ~5500 3DMark06 disabled, ~9100 - enabled! :wtf:

MS flight simulator X works fine - still have to verify any gains.

Changed versions of Catalyst (6.9 - 7.1 - 7.2), fully removed, cleaned registry, reinstalled - same.
Killed Windows, formatted, reinstalled all clean - same.
Reshuffled video cards - same.

Sapphire tech suspectes crossfire bridges - still waiting for something clearer from them.

Zalmann · Mar 18, 2007

Have you installed both of the crossfire bridges, as you will need 2 for crossfire to work properly.

tkpenalty · Mar 18, 2007

lol... imagine he didnt. 9100 is normal isnt it? What sorta cooling you got anyway?

bundlebr · Mar 18, 2007

Yeah, installed both bridges. Then swapped bridges, cards, etc.

Cooling - second card still has stock cooler, and goes up to 75 C with ATITool artifactscan in single installation. First card got Thermalright HR-03 cooler + added HS's everywhere. Heats up to low 50-s. Don't think that it's related to overheating, 'cause there is no any time lag, the screen is screwed instantly...

Still trying to make it work...
What do you think?

Pinchy · Mar 18, 2007

Sounds like the bridges are stuffed

bundlebr · Mar 18, 2007

Pinchy said:
Sounds like the bridges are stuffed

What's that?

Zalmann · Mar 18, 2007

bundlebr said:
Yeah, installed both bridges. Then swapped bridges, cards, etc.

Cooling - second card still has stock cooler, and goes up to 75 C with ATITool artifactscan in single installation. First card got Thermalright HR-03 cooler + added HS's everywhere. Heats up to low 50-s. Don't think that it's related to overheating, 'cause there is no any time lag, the screen is screwed instantly...

Still trying to make it work...
What do you think?

If I were you, i'd make sure they both have the same or similar cooling, in that way they both work evenly.

I assume they are both clocked the same?

freeboy · Mar 18, 2007

cooling could not hurt, but crossfire is SUPPOSED, not verified by myself, to work with ANY two crossfire cards.. so two different speeds should make no difference.

Zalmann · Mar 18, 2007

That's two X1950 pro's, your right there. I'm not saying that the thermal problem is the cause of the issues, but 1 hot GPU (not both) is a bit suspect don't you think?

freeboy · Mar 18, 2007

erhaps the thermal issue is the indication of a different issue?
I was told by HIS tech support to have my card not above 55c for more than one hour.
no issue as it runs really cool ice3 cooler

tkpenalty · Mar 18, 2007

Yes, heat does and will create bottlenecks...

freeboy · Mar 18, 2007

If you had a third card you could play russian rullette with the problem and see if it is the HOT card

bundlebr · Mar 18, 2007

freeboy said:
If you had a third card you could play russian rullette with the problem and see if it is the HOT card

Third card - I'm not there, yet. Will buy couple new bridges in Fry's tomorrow, and try again.

bundlebr · Mar 21, 2007

Pinchy said:
Sounds like the bridges are stuffed

Yeah, realized that. Went to Frys, but they don't sell bridges w/o cards :banghead:

OK, an associate advised me to buy another card, replace its bridge with the faulty one, then return the card to the store :ohwell:

Not in the mood to screw them that way :nutkick:

Anyway, here is Sapphire response:

> If that is the case then I would have to suspect it
> could be the CF
> interconnected bridge. Please provide me a copy of
> the purchase receipt and
> I will try and located 2 extra connecter for you to
> test out.
>
> Tech
> Sapphire Technology
> Tech Support Center

:wtf:

Waiting for the connectors now :mad:

cjoyce1980 · Mar 21, 2007

if you cant get hold of any then contact these people
http://www.connectorpeople.com/
they are able to get hold of the crossfire connector, the part number is 79609500

bundlebr · Mar 21, 2007

Thanks,

will wait for Sapphire for now. Newegg also sells them thou...

Darius00 · Mar 22, 2007

hello, the two cards was the same?, i have the same problem and, one card is new design (Cooler, VRM...) the other is old, and two cards are shappire x1950pro 256Mb...

another friend has the same problem and the same cards ¿?¿?¿?

Sorry by my bad english....

bundlebr · Mar 22, 2007

Darius00 said:
hello, the two cards was the same?, i have the same problem and, one card is new design (Cooler, VRM...) the other is old, and two cards are shappire x1950pro 256Mb...

another friend has the same problem and the same cards ¿?¿?¿?

Sorry by my bad english....

Yeah, right on the nose! I bought those cards ~three months one after another - and they ARE different: the newer one got analog VRM instead of digital, thus the fan and heatsing were reversed to blow air at the new VRM...
Newer card's core overclock a little better than the older one's (621 vs 608 MHz), while it's memory is worse in overclocking (756 MHz vs 790 MHz)...
According to ATI, there should not be any problem, but apparently, there IS a problem :banghead:

OK, there is small chance that the problem is not in the cards proper, but in the faulty bridge (supposedly, from the first card). So, I'm still waiting for the bridges promised by Sapphire tech :rolleyes:

Darius00 · Mar 23, 2007

Ok! that the problem is the firmware of the cards, is diferent. You can use ATITOOL to check it.
I think that save the Bios of the new card and update in old card. This procedure work only in DOS mode, not DOS windows, you can boot in DOS mode... and force the new bios in old card with ATIflash3.25

If I can I will do a manual this weekend, and post here.

I wait to have explained OK
Please, send feedback if have any problem, this procedure I have verified it, and it works OK!

tkpenalty · Mar 23, 2007

Darius00 said:
Ok! that the problem is the firmware of the cards, is diferent. You can use ATITOOL to check it.
I think that save the Bios of the new card and update in old card. This procedure work only in DOS mode, not DOS windows, you can boot in DOS mode... and force the new bios in old card with ATIflash3.25

If I can I will do a manual this weekend, and post here.

I wait to have explained OK
Please, send feedback if have any problem, this procedure I have verified it, and it works OK!

You mean bios. Apart from that if they were different they wouldnt work at all >_>. Thankfully powercolor has not done this though....

bundlebr · Mar 23, 2007

Darius00 said:
Ok! that the problem is the firmware of the cards, is diferent. You can use ATITOOL to check it.
I think that save the Bios of the new card and update in old card. This procedure work only in DOS mode, not DOS windows, you can boot in DOS mode... and force the new bios in old card with ATIflash3.25

If I can I will do a manual this weekend, and post here.

I wait to have explained OK
Please, send feedback if have any problem, this procedure I have verified it, and it works OK!

Yeah, great idea, how I didn't think about that? :wtf:

Actually, here is reply from ATI guy that points to the same direction, but wrt mobo:

Please ensure that your motherboard's latest bios has been updated first.

Ensure that the chipset for the motherboard is downloaded from here:
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/scr...D=&DwnldId=12150&strOSs=&OSFullName=&lang=eng

Are you using the most up to date version of 3dMark06? Are there any improvements in the games that you play?

Actually, no improvements in the games, but 3DMark scores go up as expected... :wtf:

Anyway, just got in mail couple of new bridges from Sapphire, will try them + your idea regarding the BIOS tonight :rolleyes:

Darius00 · Mar 23, 2007

3dmark 05: 16.550 in 1024x768 :eek:

3dmark 06: 10.106 in 1024x768

No problems COH, COD2, Blazing Angels and FEAR
All the games at 1680x1050 in 22" TFT :cool:

Regards

tkpenalty · Mar 23, 2007

Darius00 said:
3dmark 05: 16.550 in 1024x768
3dmark 06: 10.106 in 1024x768

No problems COH, COD2, Blazing Angels and FEAR
All the games at 1680x1050 in 22" TFT

Regards

... That is crazy. Thats almost is 100% performance increase.

bundlebr · Mar 23, 2007

Darius00 said:
3dmark 05: 16.550 in 1024x768
3dmark 06: 10.106 in 1024x768

No problems COH, COD2, Blazing Angels and FEAR
All the games at 1680x1050 in 22" TFT

Regards

Huh, that's funny!

My 3DMarks06 is lower than yours - 9100,
while 3DMark05 is higher - 18322...

Of course, given that I cannot see any good stuff during the runs :banghead:

tkpenalty · Mar 23, 2007

Drivers are at fault.

System Name	Buck Hog
Processor	Core 2 Quad Extreme X6800, overclocked to 3.73 GHz, 24/7
Motherboard	Asus Striker Extreme
Cooling	D-TEK FuZion + Danger Den 88GTX + Koolance Exos-2 LX
Memory	Dominator 1067MHz 4GB in two sticks @ 1067 MHz 5-5-5-15-2T
Video Card(s)	2x XFX 8800 Ultra XXX 702/1728/2376
Storage	Velociraptor 300 GB + 2x WDC RE2
Display(s)	HannsG 28in
Case	Raidmax Smilodon modded with jigsaw
Audio Device(s)	ASUS Xonar D2
Power Supply	OCZ GameXtreme 1010W + Thermaltake Toughpower 700W Quad/rail
Software	Windows 7RC
Benchmark Scores	3DM06 - 20,950

System Name	HP Pavilion dv6
Processor	Intel Core i7-2630QM
Memory	8GB (2 x GEIL 4GB DDR3 SO-DIMM C9 1333MHz)
Video Card(s)	ATI Mobility Radeon HD6570
Storage	750Gb WD 2.5" WD Scorpio Black
Software	Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

System Name	Buck Hog
Processor	Core 2 Quad Extreme X6800, overclocked to 3.73 GHz, 24/7
Motherboard	Asus Striker Extreme
Cooling	D-TEK FuZion + Danger Den 88GTX + Koolance Exos-2 LX
Memory	Dominator 1067MHz 4GB in two sticks @ 1067 MHz 5-5-5-15-2T
Video Card(s)	2x XFX 8800 Ultra XXX 702/1728/2376
Storage	Velociraptor 300 GB + 2x WDC RE2
Display(s)	HannsG 28in
Case	Raidmax Smilodon modded with jigsaw
Audio Device(s)	ASUS Xonar D2
Power Supply	OCZ GameXtreme 1010W + Thermaltake Toughpower 700W Quad/rail
Software	Windows 7RC
Benchmark Scores	3DM06 - 20,950

System Name	UltraPC
Processor	E8500 Core 2 Duo, 1333Mhz FSB, 3.16Ghz @ 4.5GHz (got into Windows @ 4.75GHz)
Motherboard	ASUS P5Q-e
Cooling	CPU Cooler - TT V14 Pro, 2x120mm CM Blue LED fans, 1x90mm CM Blue LED fan
Memory	G.Skill Pi 4GB (2x2GB) Dual Channel DDR2 PC8000 (1000MHz), 5-5-5-15
Video Card(s)	Sapphire HD4850 512mb with ASUS EAH4850 BIOS
Storage	2x 500GB Seagate 7200.12 Raid 0
Display(s)	Acer AL1912, 19" LCD screen
Case	Thermaltake Soprano Black ATX case
Audio Device(s)	Onboard 7.1, Speakers - 5 + Sub + Monitor speakers
Power Supply	Thermaltake 850W Toughpower Cable Management - Quad (2x18A and 2x30A) 12V rails
Software	Win 7 Pro x64, MSN, CS:Source, etc etc

System Name	Buck Hog
Processor	Core 2 Quad Extreme X6800, overclocked to 3.73 GHz, 24/7
Motherboard	Asus Striker Extreme
Cooling	D-TEK FuZion + Danger Den 88GTX + Koolance Exos-2 LX
Memory	Dominator 1067MHz 4GB in two sticks @ 1067 MHz 5-5-5-15-2T
Video Card(s)	2x XFX 8800 Ultra XXX 702/1728/2376
Storage	Velociraptor 300 GB + 2x WDC RE2
Display(s)	HannsG 28in
Case	Raidmax Smilodon modded with jigsaw
Audio Device(s)	ASUS Xonar D2
Power Supply	OCZ GameXtreme 1010W + Thermaltake Toughpower 700W Quad/rail
Software	Windows 7RC
Benchmark Scores	3DM06 - 20,950

System Name	beastybuild
Processor	4670k
Motherboard	GigabyteZ87X-UD4H
Cooling	SR-1 360 and GTX 360 custom, Koolance 380Iblock, swiftech355 &xspc"restop"
Memory	2X4gig G Skill Ripjaw 2400
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte gtx660ti(OC) windforce
Storage	western Digi sata
Display(s)	Acer 24 LCD
Case	modmantasticca
Audio Device(s)	basic onboard
Power Supply	Sea Sonic G550m
Software	Win 7 Enterprise 64
Benchmark Scores	4.9 stable with mem at 1333 4.8 stable with mem at 2133

System Name	Xbox 360 Super Elite
Processor	3.2GHz PowerPC Tri-Core Xenon
Memory	512MB 700MHz GDDR3 RAM
Video Card(s)	ATI Xenos @ 500 MHz
Storage	250GB
Display(s)	26" Samsung LCD HDTV
Case	Super Elite (COD:MW2 Edition)
Audio Device(s)	5.1
Power Supply	120w
Software	NXE

Processor	Core 2 Duo 6600, ovecloked 3.0 Ghz
Motherboard	Asus P5W DH Deluxe
Cooling	Zalman CPNS8000
Memory	2 x Kingston HiperX 800 1Gb
Video Card(s)	2x Sapphire Radeon X1950Pro stock cooler
Storage	System Seagate 250Gb 16Mb Buffer, Raid 0 (2x Seagate 250Gb 8Mb Buffer)
Display(s)	Benq FP222WH 22" wide 1680x1050
Case	Raidmax Smilodon
Audio Device(s)	Onboard Realteck 7.1
Power Supply	Be-Quiet Straigforce 700W
Software	WXP Pro

X1950 PRO - Crossfire problem

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