Four 290Xs killing my 3970X

8 Pack said:
Test each card separately and then try your RIVE to see if the board is an issue. You need to rule out each major component in the system as problematic.
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Just started and the problem is pointing to slot 4, I have run trifire using slots 1,3,4 and got the problem. I have tried slots 1 and 4 in CF and got the problem.

On Sunday I will change the CPU to my 4930k to rule out the CPU.

If the above does not work I will also test the other cards in slot 4.

I did a quick test on the PSU leads by swapping them around but the problem has stayed on slot 4 so I don't think it is the PSU/leads.

I have tested these cards in another PC in CF and had no problems with them even running them @1250/1625.
 
Maybe slot four then. One of my boards had a problem on slot four. I am sure its not in manufacturing but never rule out the slot. It may be a bent pin or guff actually in the slot. Check the integrity of the slot its self.
 
I am starting to think it is the CPU that is not up to it, I did get slot 4 running properly for some runs in 3dmark firestrike. The problem with the CPU is when it crashes I need to let it stand for a couple of minutes with the power off, if i just reboot like with a normal bsod the CPU will not even load windows even at stock however many cards I have turned on or off.

I think the next step has to be for me to swap out the 3970X for my 4930k.
 
I have the exact same issue with my 3930k and my 4 x 290x. But with Three and OCed CPU at 4.6Ghz and memory at 2133mhz its fine. But as soon as I put 4 cards, even if CPU is at stock I get crashes into games. But the odd thing is that my system can pass Prime95 for 12 hours with CPU at 4.6 Ghz and mem at 2133mhz with 4 x 290x but in games its not stable.

Thats why I wonder whether its CPU or driver issue. The odd things is that I was able to run my Quad HD 7970 with the exact same system.

I asked for help on the x79 Guide from 8 Pack and I had no answer.


Kaapstad said:
Just installed my 4930k and big improvement, it looks like IB-E is stronger when running 4 x 290Xs
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Are you sure the 4930k fixes the issue? I will put my hand on one tomorrow if you confirm.

Thanks man.
 
I am an inexperienced quad Xfire noob but i will throw my two cents into the mix.

I would have thought the motherboard is supplying unstable power to the components due to the 290x massive power draw. Normally with other cards it is not an issue but a 290x can drawn a fair bit more through the PCI slots than other cards due to their power hungry nature and only having a 6pin + 8pin. If they are capable of munching through 300w each and the most they get through the cables is 225, that is a fair bit taken through the PCIe slots when you have four of them together.

The motherboards 6 pin slot for extra PCIe power might not be enough with a high overclock at high temperatures, as the cards are a fair bit more power hungry when they are running on the hotter side of things. I dont know how the power management for PCIe slots work, but i expect there are contact points somewhere on the motherboard where you can use a multimeter to find the current being supplied to the PCI slots.

Stab in the dark guess but that is where my money would be.
 
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I could run 3dmarks at 5ghz (3930k) and 2400mhz RAM with Quad Fire at 1260/1600 and I was able to pass the tests. I was using 2600w of PSU. One lepa G 1600 and one EVGA SuperNova 1000W.

I tried everything so far, I have put a couple of weeks in solving the issue and I litterrally tried all drivers for AMD R9 290x cards, all mobo drivers, all Rampage IV BIOS.

I tried Trifire with cards 1-2-3 no issue even at 4.8Ghz CPU, I also tried slot 1-3-4 and no problem. So there is no problem with the power into the slots.

I tried windows 7, windows 8 and windows 8.1

I also tested each card seperatly at 1250/1650 for 2-3 hours each.

I am able to play with my QuadFire but it always crash the game after a certain time.
 
I have used Quad fire a lot for benching. Infact team GB are doing more at HQ this week. Drivers etc have not been an issue. a lot of the time with quad its a bad OS. I had this problem a long tie ago before I found a really efficient fast and compatable OS.

Install teh OS with all four cards in. No drivers, Gen two. Then just install GPU and see where that gets ya. Chipset, IME etc etc no need!!!!!!!!
 
8 Pack said:
The PSU cable change made a massive difference for me. Massive!!

1200 AXi are the worsed Corsair high end PSU by far sadly. Don't believe a word of reveiws etc just test em your self. In SF we changed AXi for AX for much more stable power. In 8Pack builds I used AX not AXi again after testing experience. Corsair have sadly removed AX from there product catalogue now.
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Don't say that! After being reccomended the AXi as being the best on the market, spent WEEKS trying to track one down!!!
 
whyscotty said:
So are you happy with your 4930K?
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Yes the 4930k is going fine.

I am starting to think though that CPUs and PCI-E lanes are similar to CPUs and RAM. The more workload you give them the more likely you are to run into trouble as no two CPUs are the same. The problem I have had will not come up that often as not many people want to run four cards, so who knows how common a fault it is.
 
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