4870 x2 Really Unstable

Eggman · 14 Sep 2008 at 19:57

Recently bought the computer in my spec and installed the hardware fine (including a new 750watt corsair PSU). I used a previously installed version of Vista on a HDD that I transfered from another computer and it booted fine into windows and I installed all the mobo and 8.8 ati gfx drivers.

I then went to play some games to test the new gfx card out. Grid, played for about 20 mins and then crashed and rebooted. I then tried crysis wondering if it was specific for one game - seemed ok and then crashed and rebooted after about 30 mins after a barrel exploded on a pier. Crysis also crashes on nearly every run of the gpu benchmark (although there doesnt appear to be any artefacts noticeable before crashing or any specific point). Ive also ran 3dmark and that crashes either to windows or reboots.

Ive tried 8.8, 8.7 and 8.5 drivers all with a fresh install (including driver sweeper and ati reg files deleted). Still crashes. Fans on gpu never spin at full speed as I can hear that they are relatively quiet.

Anybody any ideas of why it might be crashing? Post if you need more info - need this sorted please!!

GJ02 · 14 Sep 2008 at 20:26

use the fan hack and increase the fan speed for a start
i had the same issue with my 512 4870 card
its a bit hit and miss at the mo with the drivers 8.8 were no good for my system so i tried 8.9 betas and they seem " touch wood " to be ok
increase the fan to say 40 - 45 % and see what happens
i had random reboots with 8.8's playing portal. installed 8.9 betas and no reboots

Eggman · 14 Sep 2008 at 20:46

Do you think its software based problem, a heat problem or a power issue?

Running rivatuner and the temps dont get above 90C and the fans dont get much above 1500rpm becasue of this - making me think it aint a temp issue.

How do you do the fan hack? - tried on rivatuner and it says to reboot so it can detect the "default fan controller's state" but it dont work. Trying the "detect now" doesnt work either...

Bradley8988 · 14 Sep 2008 at 23:14

do you have a link to the 8.9 beta?

Benny · 14 Sep 2008 at 23:42

Here we go mate from another post:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17916784

B

MR.B · 15 Sep 2008 at 03:27

It could be this problem that affects nearly all of ATI's range of cards. Some people get it, but most dont. Hope it isn't that though 'cause theres nothing you can do to fix it if it is... believe me i've tried.

Does it ever just crash to desktop?

Eggman · 15 Sep 2008 at 14:25

Sometimes crashes to desktop but i'd say more frequently to a black screen then reboot or a blure screen with system dump and then reboot.

Using 32bit vista and a single monitor.

Its crashed once on desktop (when I was closing a browser window), blue screened and system dumped.

CPU is prime95 stable and mmory is memtest stable - definately graphics card or PSU - from everyone elses complaints it sounds like its most definately a similar gfx problem. Want to try a different PCI-E card in my ystem just to check but aint got one...

Basically cant play any kind of game or graphics test as it crashes and reboots within 20mins usually.

Think I could get an RMA?

Bizarre · 15 Sep 2008 at 18:31

Eggman said:
then crashed and rebooted after about 30 mins after a barrel exploded on a pier

Could be a faulty psu, infact I've just returned a dodgy Corsair 750 myself.

System rebooting mid game sounds like the card may not be getting sufficient enough power, especially as it seems to be worse when playing Crysis, which will push your card harder than pretty much any game in existence. I had to run a 600 watt Gamexsteam with a gtx280 for a few days after returning the Corsair, and whilst games like cod4 and tf2 would play fine, albeit with the odd crash, I couldn't even pass the first few seconds of the Crysis benchmark without my system rebooting. All is fine with my new psu though.

Eggman · 15 Sep 2008 at 18:48

how could I check its my PSU convincingly?...

Bizarre · 15 Sep 2008 at 19:25

I guess the only way to be 100% sure is if you had another 4870x2 to test it with:/

The reason I rma'd my Corsair 750 is a bit more clear cut than the issue you're having, basically it would power a 4870x2 without issue but wouldn't boot the same pc when hooked up to a gtx280.

Shaddow · 15 Sep 2008 at 20:22

Bizarre said:
I had to run a 600 watt Gamexsteam with a gtx280 for a few days after returning the Corsair, and whilst games like cod4 and tf2 would play fine, albeit with the odd crash, I couldn't even pass the first few seconds of the Crysis benchmark without my system rebooting. All is fine with my new psu though.

Hi Bizarre

I'm having terrible trouble with my new 4870x2 and I have the Gamexstream 600w psu... - in my case i get artifacting followed by a reboot; I'm sure it is overheating but cannot be 100% certain..

Which PSU did you get in the end that works with both ?

Thanks

Eggman · 15 Sep 2008 at 20:24

Have a akasa 500W PSU which I could change it for but its only 500W so even if it crashes with that (which it probably will?) I still dont know if its the psu or the gfx.

Shaddow · 15 Sep 2008 at 20:43

I recon there is something a little 'out of spec' on the requirements for these 4870x2's and that is why some people are having trouble.

My 600W PSU is Nvidia SLI certified (Now I'm thinking that was a good idea from Nvidia) - It only has 2x 4 pin connectors but my Powercolor 4870x2 came with a converter 4-6 for the second power connector (so one would assume it should work).

But I am getting what I am assuming is overheats (95c+ in rivatuner) because it artifacts then reboots soon after.

But I have read posts that say these cards can 'artifact' when they cannot draw enough power .........

That doesnt really explain the overheating issue (maybe it can normally hit 95C) - but to me that is really is to hot anyway.

My PSU does not seem to be struggling (it is not getting hot exhaust) it says it has 4x 18amp 12v rails and is as I said SLI ready..

So either I have a defective card or the PSU really is the problem.

Luckily I have 2 friends with same mobo but more powerfuly PSU's who are testing tonight so I can possibly give them mine to test.

I really dont want to spend another £100 on a psu but if it fixes the problem and means I dont have to go thru the OC returns procedure all the better!

fornowagain · 15 Sep 2008 at 21:06

Don't forget when looking at PSU figures you can't add the rail values together to get the actual rail capacity. Look for the combined 12v wattage. With the OCZ you meantion it's 580W/48A@12v. Although it doesn't leave you a lot in reserve, should be enough even with a quad.

If you haven't already try disconnecting everything you don't need and drop the cpu clock way down, see if it still crashes. Do you have a multimeter? Monitor the 12v values as the card loads up and see how much it sags under load. Something else to try is crossloading the 12v rails, assuming they are actual separate rails. Its possible that the card is taking too much current from one rail and tripping out. Try feeding one of the pci-e connector from molex to bring another rail into play.

As for temps, I'd be uncomfortable seeing 95C. Try Expertool if you can't get Rivatuner to work and see of the temps have any effect.

Bizarre · 15 Sep 2008 at 21:17

Shaddow said:
Hi Bizarre

I'm having terrible trouble with my new 4870x2 and I have the Gamexstream 600w psu... - in my case i get artifacting followed by a reboot; I'm sure it is overheating but cannot be 100% certain..

Which PSU did you get in the end that works with both ?

Thanks

This one mate, comes highly recommended.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...er 750 Quad-Crossfire PCI-E 750W Power Supply

Edit:

Shaddow said:
My PSU does not seem to be struggling (it is not getting hot exhaust)

My Gamexstream didn't get warm when powering the gtx either, but it would still shut down the pc within seconds of the Crysis bench, and randomly during cod4, tf2, ut3 etc.

Eggman · 15 Sep 2008 at 22:02

Try feeding one of the pci-e connector from molex to bring another rail into play.

Is there an adapter for this in the 4870 x2 box??

edit - ok i think i get it

Final8y · 15 Sep 2008 at 22:58

90C was the norm when the 1900xtx was top & no one bat an eyelid.
But the 4870 is on a smaller process so it it should run a little cooler.

Eggman · 20 Sep 2008 at 13:09

Pretty sure my problem is a faulty Corsair 750W PSU. As I've said, it crashes very frequently in crysis (usually within a minute at high detail) but can play COD4 fine. Put prime95 running in the background and then run COD4 - instant reboot.

Sent it back for an RMA. £15 postage! Hope i get it back; will I?

Eggman · 27 Sep 2008 at 12:31

PSU turned out to be faulty (low voltage on the rails overclockers said), so they sent out a new new 750W corsair PSU. I installed it and now the systems even worse and crashes in crysis within seconds and cant even handle COD4 now. The games usually crash with a black or grey screen and then reboot immediately.

Dont understand whats at fault...

The system is memtest86 stable and Prime95 stable. Its still either the another faulty PSU, there is something wrong with the gfx card or the motherboard is faulty.

Ideas please!?

Vimes · 27 Sep 2008 at 12:50

Considering everything you have done already I would do the following...

Try and set all your PC overclocking to STD, regardless of whether you believe they are the cause or not and then test. Then...

Remove all your ATI drivers and CCC etc and then you must use driver sweeper.

Having already downloaded the 8.9 drivers only ( NO CCC). Then install the drivers and reboot.

Now install ATT...

http://cid-a50350ea7a969f0c.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Public/attsetup.exe

I really hope that you know how to use the above tool but what is MOST important is to make sure that you create a 2D and 3D profile, wthat will switch when entering a game and then back when exiting.
I have it set so that when I play a game it will switch and play a wav file to let me know that the switch to 3D mode has been activated. It will then do the same when going back to 2D mode.
For the purpose of this test you will need to make sure that the 3D mode clocks are 10mhz above normal for the GPU core, leave the memory on normal speed for your card.

you could create a fan profile with the above 2D and 3D profiles which will improve the cooling.

The reasoning behind the above...

Whilst I appreciate I haven't got the X2 card I found that my 4870 is VERY problematic when it comes to using Powerplay - ATI's own method of 2D / 3D switching. Mine would constantly switch between 2D (500mhz) and 3D (750mhz) when using a browser or almost any 2D application. That wasn't too much of a problem but when it entered a game it would switch to 3D BUT, and here is the problem, it would switch back in the game to 2D speeds when the game is in the menus or there is little GPU activity needed. This was causing constant and total lockups or crashes etc etc etc, in particular Spore would always freeze on the title screen.
Using ATT to switch profiles to 3D overclocked by 10mhz means that overclocking the GPU core will disable the Powerplay function and, for me, has meant total stability in all of my games etc since I now load that 3D profile and 2D profile via ATT.

You might be able to use the overdrive function within CCC to set a higher core speed for the GPU but, for me, total stability was achieved by a combo of 8.9 drivers only and ATT to control all of my 2D / 3D switching.

I even used the RBE to edit my 4870's BIOS to fix the loud fan spin up problem during boot, but that is really incidental to your problems.

The above might be of some help and whilst I appreciate I haven't got a X2 it gives you something to think about.

EDIT:

An image of my 2D 3D switching without Powerplay being disabled...

http://img526.imageshack.us/my.php?image=graphxpcx3.jpg

using the same 2D applications and browser but having disabled PP...

http://img229.imageshack.us/my.php?image=xp64as4.jpg

Double edit - dislexic fingers