Crossfire Users Thread

[rbV5]

I know there are few Crossfire users, but I've also noticed that there are a slowly growing number, so perhaps a thread to discuss your Crossfire setup and user experiences with their Crossfire setup.

I was lucky to find a decent price on a used 1800 Crossfire Edition card from a member here at AT, so I decided to give it a go since I had the other required components. I got it up and running yesterday, and am testing various applications as I get time.

My current setup (Crossfire gaming rig in my signature)

*(2x) BBA Retail X1800 XT cards stock mem/core clockspeed
*Retail AMD64 X2 processor 3800+@2540MHz (10*254) stock HS/F
*ASUS A8R-MVP motherboard
*2048 MB of A-DATA PC3200 DDR
*HITACHI Deskstar 160GB SATA + Seagate 200GB SATA+ WD 200GB IDE + Maxtor 60GB IDE
*Sapphire Theatrix analog TV Tuner PCI
*ATI HDTV Wonder PCI
*NEC 3550a DL DVD Burner
*Mitsubishi 22" CRT
*FSP AX400 powersupply
*Windows XP MCE 2005 fully patched
*Latest ATI beta drivers w/CCC installed
*Latest Rivatuner

My setup appears stable at this point despite the inexpensive 400 watt powersupply (I was suprised it would power all this)
---------------------------------
Issues encountered so far:

*I'm experiencing display interference when connected to the Dongle(CRT or analog LCD). It is amplified with mouse movements and far more noticeable with the CRT, but not seeing it connected to the DVI port. I've tried different DVI>VGA adaptors with no difference.
*Rolling display and mismatched rendered tiles in Source Games. Workaround was to switch the Dongle to the other DVI port on the slave card.
*Have to manually set the fan control on the slave vcard in rivatuner, else it uses the default dynamic fan control.
----------------------------------
I'm using Rivatuner 2.0 RC 158 for hardware monitoring and fan control. I use a static fan setting of 60% for both cards:

Riva:
CF card = 56C/75C idle/full load
CR card = 51C/75C idle/full load
ambient 43C
voltage regulator 65C/60C

PC probe:
vcore 1.50v
CPU 40C
+12v=11.98v
+5v=5.12v
+3.3=3.26v

Any other Crossfire users here at AT? List your Crossfire Specifications and user experience in your post

-------------------------------------

Driver Profiles used: (I created seperate driver profiles in the CCC profiles manager, and then activate them from the ATI Tray icon)

Perform Crossfire Highest Performance driver settings
Max Crossfire Max quality driver settings(no vsync);HQAF+QAAA enabled; 14xAA+16xAF standard AI
Max w/6xAA Same as "Max" only w/6xAA to ~ match "Single Max"
Single Perform Single Card-Highest performance driver settings
Single Max Single Card-Max quality driver settings(no vsync);HQAF+QAAA; 6xAA+16xAF standard AI

--------------------------------------
(scores approx~)

3Dmark06 Perform: ~7450; sm2.0~3250; HDR/SM3.0~3300 CPU 1921
06 Max: ~3500; sm2.0 ~1250; HDR/SM3.0 ~1400 CPU 1907
06 single perform: ~4500; sm2.0 ~1750; HDR/SM3.0 ~1750 CPU 1922
06 single Max: ~3700; sm2.0 ~1300; HDR/SM3.0 ~1500 CPU 1929
---------
3Dmark05 Perform: ~11900; GT1~43.0fps GT2~32.5fps GT3~76.5fps CPU 5867
05 Max:~7100; GT1~30.5fps GT2~21.0fps GT3~35.5fps CPU 5296
05 single perform:~8900; GT1~38.0fps GT2~26.5fps GT3~44.5fps CPU 5519
05 single Max: ~7600; GT1-32.5fps GT2-22.0fps GT3-38.5fps CPU 5407
---------
3Dmark03 Perform: ~28150 GT1~441fps GT2~249fps GT3~180fps GT4~187fps
03 Max:~7700 GT1~289fps GT2~45fps GT3~38fps GT4~55fps
03 single perform:~16700 GT1~405fps GT2~138fps GT3~96fps GT4~106fps
03 single Max: ~8650 GT1~288fps GT2~55fps GT3~48fps GT4~60fps (CPU 1100)
----------
CS:S
Max Video Stress Test: 2048x1536~81fps; 1280x1024~140fps
Max w/6xAA Video Stress Test: 2048x1536~123fps; 1280x1024~156fps
Perform Video Stress Test: 2048x1536~165fps; 1280x1024~180fps
single Max Video Stress Test: 2048x1536~81fps; 1280x1024~137fps
single Perform Video Stress Test: 2048x1536~126fps; 1280x1024~170fps

 

[nitromullet]

Does your A8R-MVP take a long time to POST? Mine took a long time initializing the USB interface(s). It would just sit there for like 20-30 seconds before it completed POST. Once it got to Windows and loaded up .Net and the CCC, it was fine. Although, even that part took longer with dual cards than it did with a single card.

I had:

Athlon 64 X2 4400+
A8R-MVP
ATI X1800XT
ATI X1800 CrossFire Ed

Overall, the gaming peformance/IQ was great. No issues like your's to report, although I did experience repeated VPU recovers in HL2 which were never present with a single card. This was ultimately the reason I got rid of it, plus I just really didn't care for the motherboard too much (in comparison to the A8N-SLI Premium).

 

[rbV5]

Does your A8R-MVP take a long time to POST? Mine took a long time initializing the USB interface(s). It would just sit there for like 20-30 seconds before it completed POST.

No, it POST and boot to windows very fast, fastest PC I've had infact. I've read that there are issues with initializing the USB ports, and users report using a USB keyboard is out of the question because of it. However, I use a USB belkin keyboard and have no issue with entering the BIOS, or a slow POST, so it appears to not be tyhe case with me anyway.

I've not had any VPU recovery errors at this point, but have only briefly run through games just to see if they worked at all. I'll update my OP as I get benchmarks completed with issues I find etc.

 

[CCityInstaller]

I've noticed that both of you are runing 2GB of ram. I am using the same MOBO and ram as NitroMullet, however I am running a single HIS X1800XT until I can afford to add another. I was wondering if you guys could tell me the timings you are running your ram at? I cannot get any tighter then 2.3-3-2-7 1T @208mhz without failing Prim95 right away. I cannot run CAS 2 regardless of the command rate, as I tried 2T as well. This is a very fast system, I just wish Asus would setup and deliver a BIOS that would fix these ram issues. On a side note, the X1800XT works great @ 1680x1050 all settings cranked up on my Gateway. I can't wait to add another. I would also recommend picking up an AC Accelero2 for your X1800's.

 

[rbV5]

I was wondering if you guys could tell me the timings you are running your ram at?

I'm using the 166MHz divider giving me 210MHz @ 2.5 3 3 7 1T timings.

 

[Ackmed]

A8R32-MVP
Opty 165
X1900XT's in Crossfire
PC P&C 510 SLI PSU
2x1gig Ballistix PC4000
X-Fi Music
150gig Raptor
etc.

I have only played a few games, but didnt have a hard time at all settings it up. The only issue I had, was with the motherboard. It wouldnt let me use my USB keyboard to get into the BIOS, even though on bootup, it recognized it. I had to use an old PS2 KB. Flashing it to the newest BIOS to see if that fixes it. Other than that, zero issues. But as I said, Ive only played a few games. BF2 mainly.

 

[rbV5]

The only issue I had, was with the motherboard. It wouldnt let me use my USB keyboard to get into the BIOS, even though on bootup

Sounds like the usb issue nitro was referring to above.

I'm redoing some tests to make sure I had the driver settings right, but I'm not being overly critical for my benching test bed. Its my gaming PC, and everyday PC with mult-users as well. I'll have a browser running in the background, rivatuner ect. I don't kill any system processes ect, basically as if I sat down and fired up a game after doing some work, or checking email and whatnot.

I'm thought it proper to use approximated scores since I'm running beta drivers. I also notice that in 3dM anyway, that performance is pretty close for CFHQ vs SingleHQ.

 

[framerateuk]

Ive been seriously thinking about getting a ASUS A8R-32 motherboard and a x1900 master card to go with my XTX.

I was under the impression that the problems with Crossfire had been ironed out now? Are there still some problems with it then? :-B

 

[rbV5]

I was under the impression that the problems with Crossfire had been ironed out now? Are there still some problems with it then? :-B

Depends on what you mean by "problems". Some "problems" like the Dongle and highend requiring CF edition cards remain. There are issues of course, so I'll share the ones I run across, reviewers have noted some, and users are encouraged to post there's here of course.

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: rbV5

The only issue I had, was with the motherboard. It wouldnt let me use my USB keyboard to get into the BIOS, even though on bootup

Sounds like the usb issue nitro was referring to above.

I'm redoing some tests to make sure I had the driver settings right, but I'm not being overly critical for my benching test bed. Its my gaming PC, and everyday PC with mult-users as well. I'll have a browser running in the background, rivatuner ect. I don't kill any system processes ect, basically as if I sat down and fired up a game after doing some work, or checking email and whatnot.

I'm thought it proper to use approximated scores since I'm running beta drivers. I also notice that in 3dM anyway, that performance is pretty close for CFHQ vs SingleHQ.

I never actually tried the A8R-MVP with a USB keyboard, so I don't know about that. Regrettably, the Illumex keyboard is only available in PS/2... My issue was with the abnormally long USB initialization at boot. Another kind of wierd USB tidbit: the motherboard required the drivers on the Asus cd in order for USB2 to work. This isn't a big deal, but in the past I have always understood that it was preferable to install XP SP2 to provide USB2 support, as opposed to using drivers that were required pre-SP2. Once the drivers were installed, USB2 worked fine.

 

[rbV5]

My issue was with the abnormally long USB initialization at boot. Another kind of wierd USB tidbit: the motherboard required the drivers on the Asus cd in order for USB2 to work

I've been running this MB for awhile now (since it was available on Newegg) I don't recall if I installed the USB drivers from the driver CD (I believe I actually did) but, usb works fine here.

Boot delay, I'm not seeing here, I'm at the login in <30 seconds I'm sure, and thats with the what 9 second countdown prior to tthe windows boot. I'll time it my next reboot to get a #.

I have noticed an issue where I have to manually enable the fan control on the slave vcard in rivatuner, otherwise it is using the dynamic stock fan control. Perhaps there is a setting in riva, but I've not found it.

 

[blane]

I have a question since I'm new to Crossfire. I have an X1900XTX on a Gigabyte SLI nForce4 board. This 1900 card is not a Crossfire model. If I wanted to make this a Crossfire machine what would I need to do? Do I need to purchase another X1900XTX Crossfire card? Can I use a lesser expensive card or would the results not be worth it? (I don't want to bottleneck anything.) Which card would you suggest using that would be the best bang for the buck? Thank you.

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: rbV5

My issue was with the abnormally long USB initialization at boot. Another kind of wierd USB tidbit: the motherboard required the drivers on the Asus cd in order for USB2 to work

I've been running this MB for awhile now (since it was available on Newegg) I don't recall if I installed the USB drivers from the driver CD (I believe I actually did) but, usb works fine here.

Boot delay, I'm not seeing here, I'm at the login in <30 seconds I'm sure, and thats with the what 9 second countdown prior to tthe windows boot. I'll time it my next reboot to get a #.

I have noticed an issue where I have to manually enable the fan control on the slave vcard in rivatuner, otherwise it is using the dynamic stock fan control. Perhaps there is a setting in riva, but I've not found it.

That's USB2, USB worked out of the box. Not a big deal anyway, just mentioning it as a sidenote.

 

[rbV5]

That's USB2, USB worked out of the box. Not a big deal anyway, just mentioning it as a sidenote.

Oh, thanks for making that clear. I did mean usb2, I transfer from my digicam quite a bit using USB2, so I do need it to work roperly, and it has for me.

I have a question since I'm new to Crossfire. I have an X1900XTX on a Gigabyte SLI nForce4 board. This 1900 card is not a Crossfire model. If I wanted to make this a Crossfire machine what would I need to do? Do I need to purchase another X1900XTX Crossfire card? Can I use a lesser expensive card or would the results not be worth it? (I don't want to bottleneck anything.) Which card would you suggest using that would be the best bang for the buck? Thank you.

You would need a CF x1900 plus a Crossfire supported motherboard. You don't have a best bang for the buck solution without selling some parts. EDIT: or standing pat

 

[blane]

Originally posted by: rbV5
You would need a CF x1900 plus a Crossfire supported motherboard. You don't have a best bang for the buck solution without selling some parts. EDIT: or standing pat

Ah, I see. My motherboard supports SLI via nVidia but not ATI's Crossfire. Well that rules out this upgrade. Just out of curiosity, what is the Crossfire supported Chipset called?

 

[Zstream]

My current setup is since I got my tax money is 2x1800XL ASUS A8R32-MVP mobo with 2gb of ram. I do not have to use the dongle because it works without it. No problems at all while playing Anarchy Online or UT2k4, WoW and BF2.

 

[rbV5]

Ah, I see. My motherboard supports SLI via nVidia but not ATI's Crossfire. Well that rules out this upgrade. Just out of curiosity, what is the Crossfire supported Chipset called?

Currently only certain ATI and Intel chipsets, here's a link to ATI's marketing for info.
Link

My current setup is since I got my tax money is 2x1800XL ASUS A8R32-MVP mobo with 2gb of ram. I do not have to use the dongle because it works without it. No problems at all while playing Anarchy Online or UT2k4, WoW and BF2.

Thats very interesting, any details you can provide would be great.

 

[Zstream]

Originally posted by: rbV5

Ah, I see. My motherboard supports SLI via nVidia but not ATI's Crossfire. Well that rules out this upgrade. Just out of curiosity, what is the Crossfire supported Chipset called?

Currently only certain ATI and Intel chipsets, here's a link to ATI's marketing for info.
Link

My current setup is since I got my tax money is 2x1800XL ASUS A8R32-MVP mobo with 2gb of ram. I do not have to use the dongle because it works without it. No problems at all while playing Anarchy Online or UT2k4, WoW and BF2.

Thats very interesting, any details you can provide would be great.

Well you do not have to use the dongle The DVI port goes into the slave card and well you have crossfire greatness. I could run some test but no PSU as i just sent my 500 W antec back to newegg.

 

[rbV5]

Well you do not have to use the dongle The DVI port goes into the slave card and well you have crossfire greatness.

You are saying that you connect your monitor to the Top (slave) card for Crossfire? Crossfire entry is available on the CCC advanced view tree, where you enable/disable?

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: rbV5

Well you do not have to use the dongle The DVI port goes into the slave card and well you have crossfire greatness.

You are saying that you connect your monitor to the Top (slave) card for Crossfire? Crossfire entry is available on the CCC advanced view tree, where you enable/disable?

Guru3D had a bit on this in their CeBIT coverage:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/article/328/2/

(scroll past the Ruby ass shot)

 

[rbV5]

Originally posted by: nitromullet

Originally posted by: rbV5

Well you do not have to use the dongle The DVI port goes into the slave card and well you have crossfire greatness.

You are saying that you connect your monitor to the Top (slave) card for Crossfire? Crossfire entry is available on the CCC advanced view tree, where you enable/disable?

Guru3D had a bit on this in their CeBIT coverage:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/article/328/2/

(scroll past the Ruby ass shot)

Looks like its connected to the Master card (bottom) to me, unless the slots are reversed with Xpress3200?

 

[nitromullet]

IIRC, the slots are reversed on the A8R32-MVP Deluxe from how they were on the A8R-MVP.

My question is: does this type of setup require a CrossFire Ed card at all, aren't those both normal cards?

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: nitromullet
IIRC, the slots are reversed on the A8R32-MVP Deluxe from how they were on the A8R-MVP.

My question is: does this type of setup require a CrossFire Ed card at all, aren't those both normal cards?

No, you can just use two 'normal' cards (as you can do with the X1600s). This was mentioned in some of the CeBit articles, but I didn't think the drivers were out yet for it... is it enabled in the Cat 6.4 betas?

 

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: Matthias99

Originally posted by: nitromullet
IIRC, the slots are reversed on the A8R32-MVP Deluxe from how they were on the A8R-MVP.

My question is: does this type of setup require a CrossFire Ed card at all, aren't those both normal cards?

No, you can just use two 'normal' cards (as you can do with the X1600s). This was mentioned in some of the CeBit articles, but I didn't think the drivers were out yet for it... is it enabled in the Cat 6.4 betas?

Exactly, I figured it wasn't enabled in the drivers yet.

 

[rbV5]

is it enabled in the Cat 6.4 betas?

I couldn't say whether is was or not, but I've only a single XL card and couldn't test it anyway.

I am interested however, and whether it supports the full Crossfire feature set "dongle-less".