Crossfire UNSTABLE

[dlxhammer]

ok so i set up my xfire system yesterday:
A8R32-MVP
amd FX-57
2x 1GB XMS pc3200
bfg 600w psu
x1900 CF
x1900xtx

Installation was a breez, but crossfire is very unstable. First thing i tried to do was run 3dmark05. It went through the first video test, then as it was switching to the next my PC shuts off. When im playing BF2 its ok the first few minutes then it gets laggy as hell (pauses every few seconds), but never crashes. Now when i TRY to play FEAR pc shuts off as im making changes in the menu...btw xfire is very loud (i guess thats to be expected), sound like a freakin mini vacume cleaner in my case. Im currently running just my x1900xtx, and everything is stable...

So my thoughts are this is a powersupply issue. This new bfg psu (although cheap and loud) meets the requirements for xfire, but correct me if im wrong - here are the stats http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817702002
Im gonna be hooking up my old psu - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817712003 today to see if this makes a difference...

Crossfire requires a 550w psu and 38A on a 12v rail. now the bfg has 20A on each 12v rail, which would = a total of 40A on 12v, is this correct? The asus will only have a total of 36A on 12v rail but psu requirements are usualy overated...

anyways ill update later..
any help is appreciated
thanks

 

[crispy2010]

I was just reading that crossfire doesnt like the dual 12v line. Artical said that stability was only achieved by hooking up a psu with single 12v!

I will se If I can find the article!

 

[crispy2010]

Here ya go!

 

[dlxhammer]

Sweet, thanks for the info... guess ill be returning that bfg today and setting up my old one ultil i get one that will work.

A link from that article shows guy was stable with a 700w x4 12v rail at total of 60A...
anyways time to shop around

 

[Matt2]

This is why I wont go Crossfire. I may buy a single X1900XTX, but never Crossfire.

I need two cards at $499 each. New Crossfire mobo at $199 and a new uber PSU at $150-$200.

Ridiculous.

 

[ronnn]

Originally posted by: Matt2
This is why I wont go Crossfire. I may buy a single X1900XTX, but never Crossfire.

I need two cards at $499 each. New Crossfire mobo at $199 and a new uber PSU at $150-$200.

Ridiculous.

Totally agree, but some will pay. Several on this forum paid (or wanted to pay) $1500 for 2 - 7800 gtx 512mb. The market must be there or why offer quad sli or whatever?

 

[fierydemise]

Originally posted by: Matt2
This is why I wont go Crossfire. I may buy a single X1900XTX, but never Crossfire.

I need two cards at $499 each. New Crossfire mobo at $199 and a new uber PSU at $150-$200.

Ridiculous.

The MB the OP is using can be found for $95 on newegg, also a good single rail PSU can be found for right around $100, its not that different from SLI: a powerful PSU ($100) an SLI MB (can be found for under $100) and two cards. The single rail requirement for crossfire is a little hassle but for the most part SLI and crossfire have the same requirements.

 

[sodcha0s]

Dual rail is a scam, it has never been needed, just pushed down the consumers throats as the latest and greatest "must have" tech. It's true worth is being realized with the new power hungry cards on the market. As has already been posted, get yourself a nice strong single rail unit. I'm running an XTX on a OCZ 520 Powerstream just fine, but I'm not sure it can handle X-Fire with 12v@33a.

 

[FalllenAngell]

Crossfire is promising new tech going through growing pains. Gotta love that Crossfire AA though!

I'm sure as time goes by they'll make it a more "out of box" solution.

 

[dlxhammer]

So im now runnin my old psu (with just a X1900XTX)http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817712003 but am still having problems with BF2 and only BF2 (at the moment) its still pausing every few seconds and starts as early as the EA logo.... FEAR runs fine!, but seems a bit laggy... these are the only 2 game installed atm... also 3dmark05 score has droped acouple hundred points. my previous mobo(ASUS A8n-SLI premium) had none of thses problems. Im very disapointed with this whole situation...

This cant possibly be a PSU problem still, im only running 1 card. If I have problems with any other games and dont find a solution or find out it is a psu prob, ill be settin up my old rig...help!=\

 

[sodcha0s]

Yes, I'd say you still might have a PSU problem...... you're still using a dual rail PSU, with only 18a per rail. As far as I know, you can't add the rails and say you've got 36a, but you can split.... card only on 1 rail, everything else on the other. Did you do a fresh install when you set this rig up? I would assume yes, but you never know...

 

[nitromullet]

I don't have the X1900XTX or the A8R32-MVP, but I have not had the issues that you described with my CrossFire rig. So far, I've run Quake4, HL2, and WoW (yes, I know it's overkil...) with no issues.

 

[dlxhammer]

Yes i did a fresh install on a brand new HD.
I just got done playing COD2 with no problems runs excelent with max settings @ 1280x1024x75. Its just weird that only BF2 (so far) has this problem...

 

[Elfear]

Here's a good read for you. There are some links in the thread too. Looks like not all dual rail psu's are created equal. The 700W from FSP can have all the load pass through one 12V rail so I imagine it would be great for Crossfire/SLI. A lot of the other dual rail psus can't.