Crossfire is just not stable? Or is it my PSU?

[TitusPullo]

Hi everyone,

I just installed a second Radeon 5870 into my PC.

My first problem was just the classic "no DVI signal" message on my monitor, then I realized that with Crossfire, there is no signal until I reach the Windows 7 login screen. All the previous DOS screens, motherboard splash screen, Windows 7 loading screen, none of that displays anymore (they used to with one 5870).

First question, is this normal?

My second, and biggest issue, is that sometimes my PC will freeze on startup, after logging in. Some apps will load, then everything just freezes. Only fix is to reboot. This does not happen every time, but it seems frequent (like 1 in 3 boots). The CrossFire graphics work fine in games, assuming the PC boots into Windows successfully. I am recording a 20% to 40% boost in most games, higher to like 60% in FPS games.

Now, I have a few wrinkles here. My first 5870 is the Gigabyte 1 GB card, and my second (new one) is the Sapphire 2 GB. I know this should not make a difference, but there it is.

I am using the latest drivers, and CCC correctly detects CrossFire and enables it. My PSU is an 850 watt Corsair, rated for double 5870s, so far as I know.

I do have 2 high-performance hard drives, both WD Caviars, and two Blu-ray drives, so 850 watts doesn't exactly offer a barn's worth of safety margin.

Still I do not think the PSU is the problem. Any ideas?

 

[Cuular]

1. You should still see the whole bootup process, it is probably just going to a different dvi/display port output then you expect.

2. With the 80% rating onat psu you can expect to be able to pull 650 watts, when it's not warmed up under load and hot.

So if usually the problem happens after some period of time of gaming, I can see the PSU maybe heating up, and dropping below the 650watts. At that point with the 2 blu ray drives pulling quite a bit, the CPU pulling hard, it could be causing an issue.

In a perfect world where everything was running cold, and the power supply was only driving the 2 gpus, it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Have you tried running your new card by itself? I'd run the new card alone and game with it and stress test it.

 

[TitusPullo]

I will test the new card alone.

But I Googled out this possible explanation:

http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=260&threadid=128103&enterthread=y

Basically I am running Lavalys Everest and apparently there is a feature called ULPS that causes Everest to crash and lock up Windows sporadically. This was a problem with Catalyst 10.2 drivers, but who knows if it's a problem with Catalyst 11.2, which is what I have installed.

When I get home I will uninstall Everest... unless you guys feel this couldn't be the problem thanks to Catalyst 11.2? In any case Everest is discontinued anyway.

 

[bryanW1995]

an 850 w corsair will have no problems at all with 2x5870. I probably game 4 hrs per day and I have for years, my hx 520 has run 24/7 DC, plus a gtx 260 (and now also a 9600 gs) for years plus sporadic gaming episodes with nary a blink.

 

[TitusPullo]

an 850 w corsair will have no problems at all with 2x5870.

Do you have Lavalys Everest or any other similar system monitoring program installed right now?

 

[OVerLoRDI]

The lack of video prior to the drivers being loaded is likely the card output the video to a different dvi/displayport, try plugging your monitor into different ports and that should solve that problem.

The instability, you should try testing the cards individually and see if the new one is faulty.

Unless your PSU is faulty you should have plenty of power. I use the same PSU with dual 6970s, and they run 24/7 at full load for DC, so you will have plenty of power for dual 5870s

 

[TitusPullo]

The lack of video prior to the drivers being loaded is likely the card output the video to a different dvi/displayport, try plugging your monitor into different ports and that should solve that problem.

I have tried switching the DVI ports, but they do not change anything. On boot, the PC displays nothing till the Windows login screen appears, regardless of which DVI port is placed in.

I have not tried the other output ports on the card as my BenQ monitor lacks cables other than DVI.

Question -- is there any setting in the motherboard BIOS to force the display to one of the DVI ports instead of an HDMI or displayport?

 

[Zargon]

isnt the 2gb a eyefinity 6 card?

 

[TitusPullo]

isnt the 2gb a eyefinity 6 card?

Yes. Does that matter?

 

[TemjinGold]

2. With the 80% rating onat psu you can expect to be able to pull 650 watts, when it's not warmed up under load and hot.

Incorrect. An 850w with 80% efficiency means that unit pulls 1062.5 watts from the wall to give you 850 watts, NOT that it pulls 850w to give you ~650w. Corsair and other quality units can actually provide MORE than they are rated for even.

 

[TitusPullo]

We seem to have gotten off topic.

I still get no visuals until the Windows login page. How do I specify which port is used before drivers are loaded?

Removing Lavalys Everest stopped the freezing on startup.

 

[james1701]

http://www.aida64.com/

Get this instead. Everest was discontinued, and you had to download a beta of the last version to get it to work with ULPS and CF. It also sounds like you don't have your monitor plugged in the right card. You should be able to see boot up just fine.

 

[TitusPullo]

http://www.aida64.com/ It also sounds like you don't have your monitor plugged in the right card. You should be able to see boot up just fine.

There are 2 DVI ports to choose from, I tried both, the result is the same in both. My monitor doesn't support displayport. My HDMI is tied into my PS3.

There is no BIOS setting or anything like that?

 

[james1701]

Nope, what card are you plugging into, top or bottom? Are you waiting on your monitor to auto power on or do you hit the on switch before you turn on the computer? Did you look at your card and see if it has a 1 or 2 buy the dvi port? What monitor are you using?

 

[TitusPullo]

Nope, what card are you plugging into, top or bottom? Are you waiting on your monitor to auto power on or do you hit the on switch before you turn on the computer? Did you look at your card and see if it has a 1 or 2 buy the dvi port? What monitor are you using?

I tried plugging into the top and bottom card, they behave the same (blank screen/no signal until Windows login screen).

Actually what is happening is, the monitor is usually always on. When I hit restart, it goes black and the light turns yellow. When I hear the Windows login screen audio cue, I turn the monitor off and on, and it receives signal.

If I attempt this during POST, it says "no DVI signal."

The cards do not have any type of labels by the DVI port. The top card is the 2GB Sapphire 5870, with 6 eyefinity ports, HDMI and displayport. The bottom card (my original card) is the 1GB Gigabyte, which only has a single DVI port.

The monitor is the BENQ 2400W.

 

[james1701]

What happens if you swap the cards in the pcie ports and plug in to the single DVI port?

 

[TitusPullo]

What happens if you swap the cards in the pcie ports and plug in to the single DVI port?

I am reluctant to try that. I had the cards swapped during the initial install, then when I powered on I heard a terrible scratching noise.

I realized the Gigabyte card has rather exposed fans that extend outside of the coverplate, just far enough to actually strike the surface of the top of the Sapphire card, when both cards are placed together on the motherboard.

I would have to put some sort of thermal-conducting buffer material to prop the Gigabyte card high enough so the fans don't hit the Sapphire card's top.

Can you tell me why swapping the PCIE slots makes a difference??

 

[betasub]

^ It might be that the Eyefinity6 card is currently in the primary PCIe slot for boot display, but you may require the other card with native-DVI in the slot to allow display pre-OS/drivers.

 

[james1701]

^ It might be that the Eyefinity6 card is currently in the primary PCIe slot for boot display, but you may require the other card with native-DVI in the slot to allow display pre-OS/drivers.

Ding ding ding, I think we have a winner.

How many pcie slots do you have? Can you put space between them, and use the long bridge adapter? Like this.