ati 5870 does not respond to MSI Afterburner?

[ensign_lee]

http://bensoutlet.com/products/ati-5870

Hi y'all,

Bought one of the cards above, and I'm havin gsome trouble I washopnig y'all had some insight into.

For some reason, I can't seem to control the fan settings on this card. I can unclick auto and change the fan around all I want - the card does whatever the F it wants instead. This is a problem, as it's throttling itself even though the fan is stuck at 56%.

How do I fix this? Anyone else encountered this problem?

 

[Schmide]

Have you tried unlocking overclocking the the Catylist ConTroll Center?

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Have you tried unlocking overclocking the the Catylist ConTroll Center?

This.

And you spelled control wrong. Lol. ConTroll?

 

[ensign_lee]

Sorry, forgot to mention I still have a 5770 on this system (not crossfired ldo ). I can control its fan settings with no problem at all?

If I can edit the settings for the 5770, surely I should be able to for the 5870, yes?

 

[Don Karnage]

Sorry, forgot to mention I still have a 5770 on this system (not crossfired ldo ). I can control its fan settings with no problem at all?

If I can edit the settings for the 5770, surely I should be able to for the 5870, yes?

Why are you running a 5870 and 5770 at the same time in a system?

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Why are you running a 5870 and 5770 at the same time in a system?

Yeah you can't crossfire themn

 

[Termie]

Sorry, forgot to mention I still have a 5770 on this system (not crossfired ldo ). I can control its fan settings with no problem at all?

If I can edit the settings for the 5770, surely I should be able to for the 5870, yes?

Take the 5770 out and try again. Afterburner can't control the card if it's getting mixed signals from another non-matching card.

 

[notty22]

In MSI AB settings tab in lower right.
general tab
you choose master graphic card option.

 

[Sunny129]

Why are you running a 5870 and 5770 at the same time in a system?

why not? the OP never mentioned anything about gaming. if he's only crunching DC projects with them, there's absolutely no reason why those cards can't be in the same box, especially when you consider that they'll run on the same unified drivers.

Yeah you can't crossfire themn

the OP already knows that - in fact the OP mentioned in his 2nd post that they aren't being crossfired. if he's looking to play games, i can see where this would be a problem. but if he's crunching DC projects, then it would actually be counterproductive to run a pair of cards in crossfire, as 2 GPUs will get more work done as individuals than in crossfire. so he's either not running them in crossfire b/c 1) you simply can't crossfire the 5870 and the 5770, or 2) his GPUs are doing DC work.

Take the 5770 out and try again. Afterburner can't control the card if it's getting mixed signals from another non-matching card.

if it were getting mixed signals, the OP wouldn't be able to control either card...yet he's able to control the 5770. i have a 5870 in one of my rigs as well. while its the only discrete GPU in the box, it is not the only GPU (i run the display with the motherboard's integrated HD 4290 GPU, while the 5870 is dedicated to crunching Milkyway@Home, SETI@Home Astropulse, and Collatz Conjecture 24/7). both the discrete GPU and the integrated GPU are recognized by Afterburner, both have a free range of parameter adjustability (even though there is no fan speed adjustability for the integrated GPU b/c it is passively cooled), and both run off the same set of unified drivers. i also have another machine with both a GTX 560 Ti and a GT 430, both of which have full functionality in Afterburner while again sharing the same set of drivers.

In MSI AB settings tab in lower right.
general tab
you choose master graphic card option.

i have to assume that the OP already knows how to toggle between different GPUs in Afterburner. how else would he have figured out that the 5770's fan speed can be adjusted but the 5870's can't?


OP, while i don't specifically recall whether or not enabling ATI Overdrive in the Catalyst Control Center was enough to allow me to adjust fan speed, there are some additional steps you can take to gain access to more functionality in MSI Afterburner. below is an article that briefly describes how to unlock additional overclockability. it doesn't really mention fan speed, but it might be worth a try just to see if it affects the functionality of the fan speed adjustment parameter in Afterburner:

HOW TO: Enable UNOFFICIAL overclocking mode in MSI AfterBurner

 

[Termie]

why not? the OP never mentioned anything about gaming. if he's only crunching DC projects with them, there's absolutely no reason why those cards can't be in the same box, especially when you consider that they'll run on the same unified drivers.


the OP already knows that - in fact he mentioned in the first post that they aren't being crossfired. if he's looking to play games, i can see where this would be a problem. but if he's crunching DC projects, then it would actually be counterproductive to run a pair of cards in crossfire, as 2 GPUs will get more work done as individuals than in crossfire. so he's either not running them in crossfire b/c 1) you simply can't crossfire the 5870 and the 5770, or 2) his GPUs are doing DC work.


if it were getting mixed signals, the OP wouldn't be able to control either card...yet he's able to control the 5770. i have a 5870 in one of my rigs as well. while its the only discrete GPU in the box, it is not the only GPU (i run the display with the motherboard's integrated HD 4290 GPU, while the 5870 is dedicated to crunching Milkyway@Home, SETI@Home Astropulse, and Collatz Conjecture 24/7). both the discrete GPU and the integrated GPU are recognized by Afterburner, both have a free range of parameter adjustability (even though there is no fan speed adjustability for the integrated GPU b/c it is passively cooled), and both run off the same set of unified drivers. i also have another machine with both a GTX 560 Ti and a GT 430, both of which have full functionality in Afterburner while again sharing the same set of drivers.


i have to assume that the OP already knows how to toggle between different GPUs in Afterburner. how else would he have figured out that the 5770's fan speed can be adjusted but the 5870's can't?


OP, while i don't specifically recall whether or not enabling ATI Overdrive in the Catalyst Control Center was enough to allow me to adjust fan speed, there are some additional steps you can take to gain access to more functionality in MSI Afterburner. below is an article that briefly describes how to unlock additional overclockability. it doesn't really mention fan speed, but it might be worth a try just to see if it affects the functionality of the fan speed adjustment parameter in Afterburner:

HOW TO: Enable UNOFFICIAL overclocking mode in MSI AfterBurner

You might be right about all of this, but the OP has a new OEM card that has had some people up in arms on this forum, so he should probably make sure that the card actually works on its own before trying to run it in a mixed environment.

By the way, is it possible to control the voltage on one GPU if the other one can't be voltage-controlled by Afterburner? My experience with this was what led me to believe Afterburner just defaults to zero control with mixed cards. My reference 5850 could be run undervolted in Afterburner, but my late-model Sapphire 5850 cannot be voltage-controlled by Afterburner. With both in, I lost all voltage control, including over the old card, it seems.

 

[Sunny129]

You might be right about all of this, but the OP has a new OEM card that has had some people up in arms on this forum, so he should probably make sure that the card actually works on its own before trying to run it in a mixed environment.

i see - i didn't realize others were having issues w/ the same card. a have a completely different 5870 (specifically, i have the Sapphire HD 5870 2GB Eyefinity 6)...so i have to agree with you then on this point.

By the way, is it possible to control the voltage on one GPU if the other one can't be voltage-controlled by Afterburner? My experience with this was what led me to believe Afterburner just defaults to zero control with mixed cards. My reference 5850 could be run undervolted in Afterburner, but my late-model Sapphire 5850 cannot be voltage-controlled by Afterburner. With both in, I lost all voltage control, including over the old card, it seems.

i cannot confirm this. i ironically don't use MSI Afterburner for OCing so much as i use it for fan speed control and memory clock control. i do not game at all with any of my GPUs - the HD 5870 and the GTX 560 Ti are strictly used for distributed computing, and the HD 4290 and the GT 430 are strictly used to run displays. different DC projects put different loads on the GPUs, hence the need for fan speed adjustment. also, different DC projects require memory quantities and memory bandwidth, hence the need to control the memory clocks. i typically leave my GPUs at their default core clocks (regardless of whether they've been OCed by the manufacturer or not), and so i've never had to adjust voltages.

that being said, i suppose i should have refrained from saying that i have full functionality over both GPUs in either rig since i haven't confirmed the adjustability of every last parameter. rather i should say that i know for sure that i have full adjustability of the parameters i absolutely need (fan speeds and memory clocks) for any and all GPUs in both of my rigs. hopefully the OP can make adjustable the parameters he needs, and that complete functionality of MSI Afterburner isn't a must for him...

 

[Dark Shroud]

I don't mean to hijack this but are people having problems with the Bensoutlet 5870s? I ask because I have 3 from there and noticed I could not over-volt them last night using Sapphire Trixx.

 

[RavenSEAL]

I don't mean to hijack this but are people having problems with the Bensoutlet 5870s? I ask because I have 3 from there and noticed I could not over-volt them last night using Sapphire Trixx.

Trixx only works for Sapphire cards from what I know.

 

[ensign_lee]

Slightly more info. I can TRY to adjust the 5870 settings. It's not greyed out or anything. The problem is that the change just doesn't take.

For instance, I can try to tell it to go to 100% fan speed, it says it will. Then 2 seconds later, it auto adjusts back to display the fan speed that it damn well wants to do instead of the one I just told it to.

And yes, to answer questions: distributed computing. I figure I won't use the 5770 for anything else. May as well use it for DC.

Can anyone point me to the thread where people were having problems with Ben's outlet 5870s?

 

[Termie]

Slightly more info. I can TRY to adjust the 5870 settings. It's not greyed out or anything. The problem is that the change just doesn't take.

For instance, I can try to tell it to go to 100% fan speed, it says it will. Then 2 seconds later, it auto adjusts back to display the fan speed that it damn well wants to do instead of the one I just told it to.

And yes, to answer questions: distributed computing. I figure I won't use the 5770 for anything else. May as well use it for DC.

Can anyone point me to the thread where people were having problems with Ben's outlet 5870s?

Someone posted about a problem on an OEM 5870 from another store: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2210955. Don't know about the ones specifically from Ben's, but I assume they're all coming from the same place. I also read a comment from someone that their OEM card was full of dust and had a bent backplate, but I think they said it worked fine.

If you're not having an obvious problem, you're probably fine. I still say you try all of this without the 5770 in the system and see if it works. And no, Trixx isn't the program to use, Afterburner is. If it works, install the 5770 afterwards. Maybe it will "recognize" the 5870 better that way.

 

[Sunny129]

Slightly more info. I can TRY to adjust the 5870 settings. It's not greyed out or anything. The problem is that the change just doesn't take.

For instance, I can try to tell it to go to 100% fan speed, it says it will. Then 2 seconds later, it auto adjusts back to display the fan speed that it damn well wants to do instead of the one I just told it to.

did you make those changes to the MSIAfterburner.cfg file as suggested in that link i provided in my first post? like i said previously, i can't remember if i was able to adjust the fan speed on my 5870 immediately after installing MSI Afterburner, or if i had to make those changes to the MSIAfterburner.cfg to get a change in fan speed to stick. i do know for sure that i was unable to adjust the 5870's memory clock without editing the MSIAfterburner.cfg. it might be worth a shot before you yank the 5770...otherwise, i would do as Termie suggested and make the 5870 the only GPU until you have everything sorted out w/ MSI Afterburner, and then add back the 5770.

 

[M1A]

Just so you know. You can CF a 5870 and a 5770, but it's going to all get clocked down to the lowest cards settings. This has been proven many times not sure why others say you cannot.

Also not true Trixx only works with Saphire cards, why you guys giving wrong info?

 

[Sunny129]

thanks for clearing that up. i didn't mean to spread misinformation...i guess i was just following the sheep so to speak. the truth is i wouldn't know the first thing about those kinds of crossfire technicalities b/c i don't game at all. tmy original point was that the OP probably has his reasons for not CF'ing them in the first place (regardless of whether its possible or not, in retrospect).

 

[ensign_lee]

I'm pretty sure you can't crossfire a 5870 and a 5770 as they are different architectures (Cypress vs Jupiter).

K, so update. I can change the memory voltage, and I can change overclock the Mhz. Just can't change this GD fan. WTF. Wonder if it's physically stuck or something.

Changing the 5870 to be the only card didn't help. :/

 

[Termie]

I'm pretty sure you can't crossfire a 5870 and a 5770 as they are different architectures (Cypress vs Jupiter).

K, so update. I can change the memory voltage, and I can change overclock the Mhz. Just can't change this GD fan. WTF. Wonder if it's physically stuck or something.

Changing the 5870 to be the only card didn't help. :/

Can you control the fan in Catalyst Control Center? I assume you tried that already.

What is the fan speed, according to Afterburner? Is it too high or too low?

Honestly, if it's throttling at 56% fan, there's something wrong with the card. That's a very high fan speed, and I assume it's very loud. At that fan speed, the card should never overheat. My reference 5850 never needed more than about 42% fan even when heavily overvolted.

 

[ensign_lee]

Well, to be fair, I have it running at 100% doing distributed computing, so it can easily reach up there.

Just sucks that it's stuck at 56% fan. Like I can't make it go faster than that no matter what. I wonder if hte fan physically can't go faster than that...hmm...

 

[Sunny129]

Well, to be fair, I have it running at 100% doing distributed computing, so it can easily reach up there.

Just sucks that it's stuck at 56% fan. Like I can't make it go faster than that no matter what. I wonder if hte fan physically can't go faster than that...hmm...

what does it throttle down to when you let the GPU idle? ~20% or thereabout? or is it stuck at 56% regardless of whether the GPU is crunching or idling? also, what exact version of MSI Afterburner are you running?

 

[ensign_lee]

The fan goes down to like 30% whenever I let it idle. So it's like it doesn't want to give me manual control of my fan at all.

Using catalyst 11.12 on a fresh install, as an FYI.

 

[Termie]

The fan goes down to like 30% whenever I let it idle. So it's like it doesn't want to give me manual control of my fan at all.

Using catalyst 11.12 on a fresh install, as an FYI.

That sounds about right for idle fan. What temps do you hit at load? You said you experienced throttling, so I assume it must have been over 90C.

 

[Sunny129]

also, are you using the latest official release of MSI AB (v2.1.0)? or are you using the latest beta (v2.2.0 Beta 9)?