I could use some help with my Crossfire :S

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imported_Bartender

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Oct 19, 2004
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So I bought two of Sapphires ATI Radeon 3870 HDs and plugged them into my motherboard... First I put one in and benchmarked it and then I put the other in, attached the bridge and enabled the crossfire in my ATI Control Center... I then benchmarked my system again and saw that with one card I was getting 7800 marks and with two I was getting 8100 marks...

Originally I thought it was due to my motherboard only allowing 4x on my second PCI-E slot so I bought a new board: the Asus Rampage Formula w/ DualDDR2 1066, 7.1 Audio, Dual GB Lan, 1394, Dual PCI-E x16 CrossFire but the same thing is still happening.

I have no idea why my second card isn?t being utilized... Do I need to change something in my Bios? Am I missing a driver or something? Any suggestions? Anyone else having similar issues? Please help! :(
 
myocardia

myocardia

Diamond Member
Jun 21, 2003
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It sounds to me as if you're CPU-bound. Assuming the "benchmark" you ran was 3dMark06, you should have gotten alot higher with a single 3870. What CPU are you running?
 
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imported_Bartender

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Oct 19, 2004
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Also just to clarify I am running two of the 3870 HDs not the 3870 HD X2's, although I agree I should still be benching a lot higher... My FPS dropped to as low as 12 at one point. :S
 
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imported_Bartender

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Oct 19, 2004
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I've checked for drivers and every download I find says the drivers I have are the same or better...

I checked my bios and there isnt any settings to change for display...
 
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Aeros

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May 4, 2006
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had same prob... and there is no f'ing info on XfireX anywhere. ATI really needs to put together some kinda FAQ on Xfire.

This is the only way I know to install Xfire that both cards work.

-From a driver free OS - use ATI uninstaller that comes with their drivers

1. Install first card - then driver etc. Restart Windows

2. Install second card - driver should auto install. If not, manually install driver from Device manager. Restart Windows

3. Plug in two (2) Xfire bridges

4. Enable XfireX in CCC,

Check with GPUZ, or Test with 3dmark 06

 
Sylvanas

Sylvanas

Diamond Member
Jan 20, 2004
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Originally posted by: Bartender
Its an Intel D 3.4 Duo 2x2MB cache 800 FBS


And yea I'm running the 3dMark06
Click to expand...

If you are relying on 3Dmark to determine if Crossfire is working that's the first thing that is wrong. 3D mark is HEAVILY CPU dependant- don't bother with it. Instead fire up some games and see if you notice the difference from Unchecking Crossfire in the CCC to enabling Crossfire in the CCC.

I have not come across any convoluted ways to get Crossfire to work but it might be different for Intel Chipsets. I have formatted many times and just left my two cards in there with Bridges attached, Installed windows, first thing before anything is install SP1, reboot and then install the latest cats then Sound drivers and you are done.

Be sure when you are updating or uninstall/installing new drivers you use Guru3d's Driversweeper- this is a must.
 
A

Aeros

Member
May 4, 2006
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Originally posted by: Sylvanas
Originally posted by: Bartender
Its an Intel D 3.4 Duo 2x2MB cache 800 FBS


And yea I'm running the 3dMark06
Click to expand...

If you are relying on 3Dmark to determine if Crossfire is working that's the first thing that is wrong. 3D mark is HEAVILY CPU dependant- don't bother with it. Instead fire up some games and see if you notice the difference from Unchecking Crossfire in the CCC to enabling Crossfire in the CCC.

I have not come across any convoluted ways to get Crossfire to work but it might be different for Intel Chipsets. I have formatted many times and just left my two cards in there with Bridges attached, Installed windows, first thing before anything is install SP1, reboot and then install the latest cats then Sound drivers and you are done.

Be sure when you are updating or uninstall/installing new drivers you use Guru3d's Driversweeper- this is a must.
Click to expand...


3D mark is the easiest and most convienant way to manually see* if XfireX is enabled. It gives a visual output of frames per second, as well as a total score. Why on earth would you not use such a convienant tool? It even gives you a CPU independant score that negates any CPU bottleneck from the results.

For that matter GPUZ will also tell you.


The method I described above for installing XfireX works. There is one catch regarding ASUS boards. In BIOS you might wanna check the Enable ASUS CGI, and set PEG as the default Adapter.

As for driver cleaner; why not use the sanctioned too from ATI, it's faster and safer for those who don't know what their doing to use.


 
Sylvanas

Sylvanas

Diamond Member
Jan 20, 2004
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3D mark is the easiest and most convienant way to manually see* if XfireX is enabled. It gives a visual output of frames per second, as well as a total score. Why on earth would you not use such a convienant tool? It even gives you a CPU independant score that negates any CPU bottleneck from the results.
Click to expand...

Download Fraps and walk around in a game and you will notice the difference between single and multi-GPU, its not hard to detect, its a night and day difference. 3D mark is optimized by different vendors in order to give you a shiny big number at the end- it is not indicative of actual 3D performance- for example the 2900XT usually beat the 8800Ultra in 3Dmark, now obviously that's not indicative of reality.

For that matter GPUZ will also tell you.
Click to expand...

GPU-Z can tell you but under Vista 64 it can be a bit off in some circumstance (this has been reported alot of the Techpowerup forums), that's why usually it will say 'Crossfire enabled...Unsure on Vista 64'.

The method I described above for installing XfireX works. There is one catch regarding ASUS boards. In BIOS you might wanna check the Enable ASUS CGI, and set PEG as the default Adapter.
Click to expand...

I am not disputing that you're method works, I'm sure it does. I am just saying that I have never had to do it that way to get it to work.

As for driver cleaner; why not use the sanctioned too from ATI, it's faster and safer for those who don't know what their doing to use.
Click to expand...

ATI's uninstaller, like any vendors uninstaller leaves behind bits and pieces here and there which can cause conflicts later on down the track if left hanging around. Driversweeper removes ALL traces of any vendor selected from the list from the registry and elsewhere and is a very easy to use and safe tool- Open Driversweeper and hit 'Clean' what could be so difficult about that?

I always use ATI's uninstaller first then follow it up with a driver cleaner scan and then reboot and install the new drivers- that way it is a fresh installation with a minimum for conflicts.
 
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imported_Bartender

Member
Oct 19, 2004
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So should I use drive cleaner then reformat? And reboot then reinstall windows and service pack 1, reboot again and then my drivers it should work properly?

I'm confused on this line:

" reboot and then install the latest cats then Sound drivers and you are done."
 
Sylvanas

Sylvanas

Diamond Member
Jan 20, 2004
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Originally posted by: Bartender
So if I use drive cleaner and reboot then reinstall windows and service pack 1, reboot again and then my drivers it should work properly?
Click to expand...

Yeah a fresh install is usually the best way to go with new hardware IMO just to be sure- it removes any possible chance of software conflicts. Format--> Fresh windows install---> service pack 1---> itll tell you to reboot then install the latest 8.6's itll say reboot and you are done.
 
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imported_Bartender

Member
Oct 19, 2004
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okay cool I dont really have anything to lose on my HD I dont think but I have 3 other comps I can back things up on so I might try that...

Unfortunately I am between games right now (waiting on warhammer :D) so I can't really check my FPS in a game... Any other suggestions how I might test that my crossfire is working properly once I am done?
 
Sylvanas

Sylvanas

Diamond Member
Jan 20, 2004
3,752
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Originally posted by: Bartender
okay cool I dont really have anything to lose on my HD I dont think but I have 3 other comps I can back things up on so I might try that...

Unfortunately I am between games right now (waiting on warhammer :D) so I can't really check my FPS in a game... Any other suggestions how I might test that my crossfire is working properly once I am done?
Click to expand...

Use Fraps to check framerates in game.

next question... do you have a link to Guru3d's Driversweeper ?
Click to expand...

here
 
schneiderguy

schneiderguy

Lifer
Jun 26, 2006
10,801
91
91
You're CPU limited by the P4. You could pick up a cheap e7200 or e8400 which would be a big boost over your current CPU.
 
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