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Only 1 GPU Running In CF.

Hi there,

What do you mean by one GPU running in CF mode? By definition to run CF you need more than one GPU and windows recognises them as separate GPUs - but the driver software combines their computational power (using alternate frame rendering) to produce big increases in game performance compared to running a single GPU of the same type.
 
I have two 5870s though in ATI Control Panel when ever i click the GPU Identify it only shows up 1 GPU.

Also just now I disabled CF under ATI option ran Arma2 OA and my Framerate went up from around 36 max to 43 after.

Is it best to leave it this way now?
 
On the page that has the identify GPU button, do you see a drop down menu? Does that menu show two GPUs?

As for "identify GPU" if i'm not mistaken the first card remains the primary in crossfire configuration (it's the one where the display connections come out from), so pressing that button would only show GPU1.

Also, in ARMA2 (and by extension OA) there are issues with SLI/CF. I would suggest having a look at this thread and see if the suggestions help, I would also read this.

Are you running the latest catalyst drivers? (11.5b I believe)
 
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Cheers for the links a lot of useful info there which i will read in full at some point.

I have the latest 11.5b drivers installed.

Can't see nothing under the drop down list though it does say CF when games are played.

Changing the Subject a bit I just got a Hazro 27b and my games seem to run slower even with two 5870s 1GB.

Would you recommend two 6950 or one 6990 or wait for the new 7series to come out?
 
Changing the Subject a bit I just got a Hazro 27b and my games seem to run slower even with two 5870s 1GB.


May I ask what monitor you are coming from? The hazro has a massive resolution of 2560x1440 and this will heavily test even the most powerful graphics cards in modern games. If you are coming from a ~1200p (or less) monitor then a big drop in framerate is certainly to be expected.

Would you recommend two 6950 or one 6990 or wait for the new 7series to come out?

If you are having issues with running out of VRAM then you are in a tough situation - since you have a powerful (and expensive) graphics setup with "only" 1GB of available video memory and a very high resolution. If you can hold off upgrading (by scaling back memory intensive game settings) then I would and wait for the 28nm cards to come out - which should offer a big performance jump. If you want a new setup now - the 6950 2GB in crossfire is probably the best value for money - so long as you put a bit of space between the cards.
 
I'm coming from a Dell 24wfp 1200p.

Scaling back? do you mean leaving in game settings to medium to low? and not high.

I would much prefer to wait for the 28nm cards if it does mean lower settings.
 
If you're going from 1920x1200 to 2560x1440 then your GPU has 60% more pixels to process.

Your frame rates are going to be considerably less than before even without considering you may run out of VRAM at the higher resolution which would slow things down even more.

You'll need to turn some quality settings down or face running at much lower frame rates than before.
 
I'm coming from a Dell 24wfp 1200p.

Yea, that explains it, the Hazro has 60% more pixels to drive - so a lower performance with the same graphics cards is understandable.

Scaling back? do you mean leaving in game settings to medium to low? and not high.

Pretty much, though even with the Hazro monitor your HD 5870CF should still be able to drive games at high or very high settings, though you may need to leave AA and AF off or on low settings (as these really eat up VRAM).

I would much prefer to wait for the 28nm cards if it does mean lower settings.

If you can wait and don't mind running games at slightly lower settings then I would - as the new cards should be a big step up in processing power due to the pretty huge die shrink (40nm to 28nm) which should allow for many more processing units in the same area of silicon.
 
Just tried taking of all AA and AF and now getting Framerates pass 60 which is much much better thanks so much for all the info.
 
Run Furmark in multi GPU mode, and see if you get both temperature graphs increasing at the bottom of the screen. If one card stays cold there's something wrong with your crossfire setup.

You can achieve the same thing by running afterburner while you are gaming, then alt-tab back to the desktop. Afterburner has graphs for GPU usage, so you can see if both cards are working or not.
 
Yeah I'm sure.

The 2nd GPU went up and down only one C after another try.

I would really like to get this other GPU running is there something that can be done.
 
Hi All

I just tried the 2nd GPU on it's own and no Bios or anything came up though ATI says CF is working with both Cards.

Should I just RMA the Card?
 
I am not sure is BIOS flashing to the latest if a company realeases it like XFX did with my card breaks the warranty, maybe custom clock flashes do I am not sure, you will have to ring them and ask.
 
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