AMD Dragon Kit!

Mac Daddy · Apr 22, 2009, 12:23 PM

Hmmm if that PSU has 3 x 20Amp 12V power rails it might not be enough because you can only hook up 2 x 20Amp rails to the card. All I can suggest is make sure you are using a separate rail (set of PCI-E power plugs) for each plug on the 4870x2.

nicnik · Apr 22, 2009, 12:31 PM

it's 4 rails, misread the psu.

using molex for 1 and 2 pci-e 6 pins for the 8 pin. so 3 seperate cables.

It does have 6+2 well, but i tried it and it wouldnt boot into windows

It could be the overclock that is causing it. although saying that I tested the same overclock a few days ago with the gtx 260 and it worked flawlessly. i do have to test more to be sure that running stock cpu + 4870x2 works fine with no stutters or shadow flickering; inconclusive with just 5 minutes testing.

Mac Daddy · Apr 22, 2009, 12:33 PM

You need a separate cable for each plug otherwise you are only using one rail.

mos2k · Apr 22, 2009, 01:09 PM

ermm was there a competition going on?

Tyrsonswood · Apr 22, 2009, 01:25 PM

Nope, just DH looking out for it's own........

mos2k · Apr 22, 2009, 04:17 PM

okay are/were they sending it out to members randomly?

Judas · Apr 22, 2009, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicnik

seriously, that's really bad luck!

I have mine running now, and I'm not sure if it's my psu that's not holding up. It could be. I'm using a moderately priced psu Hipower 800W, 20A x 3 on 12v rails. I want to make sure that it is the PSU that's not pumping enough juice into the 4870x2. Right now with the system overclocked at 3.6, rock stable tested fully and tested with my gtx 260 as well, I am getting little stutters in some games with the 4870x2 (crysis etc), and in some games I will get shadow corruption of some sort, the shadows will flash and blink sometimes. especially if game camera is moved, or after a reload of new area. Downclocking CPU back to stock will make the problems appear to disappear. However, I only found this out this morning and had only 5 minutes on the PC at stock settings so i cannot fully confirm that this is the case until later this evening.

If it is for sure the PSU not good enough then that's fine. Any other way to test to be sure?

GPU-Z shows the 4870x2 VDDC Current at 12.2 and under most games it hits 40A, and in crysis full load it reaches 50-51A.

So your hd4870x2 is working again?

My combined PCI-ex rails are 36amps... but for sure, i should at least be able to install the ATI drivers without it BSODing under any case, even the windows supplied ATI driver. I just find it extremely strange that if i disable the primary adapter, the system won't BSOD, but then again when running like that, i'm only getting half the card working.

I'm trying to get a more powerful PSU, but i was fairly sure that this OCZ GamerXStream 600watt would be able to muscle the load, considering it's more powerful then the PowerStream 600watt which only had 2 rails, running FAR more stuff.

Maybe i'll hook up 2 500watt PSU's to a single rig and see what happens.

Tyrsonswood · Apr 22, 2009, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mos2k

okay are/were they sending it out to members randomly?

Zardon picked the lucky recipients

nicnik · Apr 22, 2009, 04:47 PM

I'm not sure about the OCZ 600. Firstly, it's not a certified psu for the 4870x2, but more importantly it may not be able to take the quad core overclocked over 3.8ghz, and especially if the 4870x2 is overclocked.

power consumption of the 940 phenom and the 4870x2 is very high when u overclock them allot.

Judas · Apr 22, 2009, 04:53 PM

thing is... i didn't have either of them overclocked.... .stock all the way around.. low power use.

the hd4870 doesn't even have a chance to go into performance mode, can't get the drivers to install, i'm sure if it were it would have kicked the PSU's kill switch if it were a problem.

nicnik · Apr 22, 2009, 08:15 PM

my 4870x2 is working now yeh, coz i had it replaced ha. I can confirm that the stuttering and shadow flickering is still there even with everything not overclocked, even downclocked. So my original theory that the overclock put too much strain on psu is out the window. I'm guessing I may need a clean install, I've had my 1900xtx and gtx 260 put into the phenom rig before i put the 4870x2 in it. If that doesnt fix it, then it may well be related to the PSU. But surely 20A x 4, using 3 seperate cables to power the card is enough. I doubt I will be unlucky enough to have another faulty gpu

The 4870x2 scored about 14k in 3dmark vantage, which is kind of normal. PRoblem is the stuttering and shadow problem is appearing in most games. Not happening in source games i've got on steam. happens on crysis, and mount & Blade. Don't have many more games installed atm to test.

Another odd thing i've noticed is, compared to when I had the gtx 260 in, the mouse appears to take much longer swipe for a 180 in all the fps games ive tried. however the mouse accelration feels the same, if not faster.

Judas · Apr 22, 2009, 08:41 PM

Yeah my experience with mixing nvidia and ati in the same machine without a fresh install is about as good as your explaining. lol... wipe and reinstall .. see how that goes.

Considering the phenomII... it doesn't take long with vista.. and even less time with win7

Well, i'm still having no luck trying every conceiveable fix i can think of..

I just jerry rigged 2 500watt Power Supplies, each one's PCI-ex 1 plug's power the card and then load balanced the rest of the connection in a brand new machine i just built.

Had a HD4350 in it... made sure everything was working fine, and then i installed the HD4870x2... let vista find the 9.4 drivers , install them... rebooted.... poof still no luck. Voltages and everything couldn't be more spot on (using a PSU tester to start the 2nd psu and check values)

Before i could get something work if i disabled the primary adapter, then enable the 2ndary.. (as the 2nd one appears disabled after installing and BSODing.) But now all i get is Code 43 all the time....

It's not power supply, it's not computer, 3 machines all reporting the same issue...

it's 100% gotta be the HD4870x2 being faulty...

nicnik · Apr 22, 2009, 10:50 PM

jus installed xp on another partition. and guess what, no stuttering or shadow flickering. I'll reinstall vista prolly over the weekend, bet that fixes it.

You waiting for a replacement for the 4870x2 right? Coz you seem to be experiencing very similiar symptoms to what I had. I tried 3 different PSU's and even 2 PSU's to power the card and it wouldnt boot into vista, and when it did no ati gpu was found. 2nd gpu disabled, enabling will get bsod on reboot.

Judas · Apr 22, 2009, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicnik

jus installed xp on another partition. and guess what, no stuttering or shadow flickering. I'll reinstall vista prolly over the weekend, bet that fixes it.

You waiting for a replacement for the 4870x2 right? Coz you seem to be experiencing very similiar symptoms to what I had. I tried 3 different PSU's and even 2 PSU's to power the card and it wouldnt boot into vista, and when it did no ati gpu was found. 2nd gpu disabled, enabling will get bsod on reboot.

Exactly the same thing i did... only i had a little more available to play with in trying to get things working.... but i did use 2 PSU's to make sure it wasn't a power issue.

Zardon · Apr 22, 2009, 11:35 PM

Judas you will get a replacement. check your email.

Judas · Apr 22, 2009, 11:36 PM

Yup, it's all being worked out...

Thanks!

mos2k · Apr 23, 2009, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyrsonswood

Zardon picked the lucky recipients

Wow.. DH is great... Never knew such a site existed.. there is public competitions as well as Hidden.. where we dont knw what we'll get.. i'm really happy to be part of such a community..

LilRazor · Apr 25, 2009, 05:17 PM

wahh congrats =D

nicnik · Apr 26, 2009, 02:37 PM

I changed the psu from my i7 rig into the phenom and I can easily run 3.6ghz with no bsod's or crashes at all. Safe to conclude that my old psu 800W 4x20A didn't have enough juice to handle both the phenom and 4870x2 overclocked. (works fine on stock). I tested the old psu without the 4870x2 and it overclocked fine upto 3.8ghz, jus doesn't work with the 4870x2 installed.

OVerclocking only with the multiplier I can easily hit 3.6ghz with 18 multiplier and 1.45v. Tested 3.8 with 19x multiplier and it seems to work fine at 1.5v, wouldn't work with 1.45v. Advance clock calibration (ACC) is disabled.

What's the +12% to -12% on ACC do? Which setting should it be on to make a difference?

Mac Daddy · Apr 26, 2009, 05:21 PM

Cool stuff on the PSU change nicnik and that ACC setting I am not familiar with it.

***Veridian3*** · May 12, 2009, 08:11 PM

I think 100% stability is what all you guys should be aiming for with your overclocks...

And if you could run Cinebench R10 (multi CPU) and Sisoft Sandra Mem Bandwidth I think those two apps would give a fair representation of what system has been most successful. (Both of those programs are free which is also ideal)

Then post screenshots of each along with AMD overdrive showing the clocks (or CPUz i guess).

longhorn1000 · May 25, 2009, 12:40 PM

OK, i posted my results in my thread... game on!

Zardon · May 26, 2009, 10:36 AM

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/overcloc...ml#post1262608

Apr 22, 2009, 12:23 PM	#31
Mac Daddy DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 7,950 Rep Power: 80 System Specs	Re: AMD Dragon Kit! Hmmm if that PSU has 3 x 20Amp 12V power rails it might not be enough because you can only hook up 2 x 20Amp rails to the card. All I can suggest is make sure you are using a separate rail (set of PCI-E power plugs) for each plug on the 4870x2. __________________ "My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen

Apr 22, 2009, 12:31 PM	Thread Starter #32
nicnik In the Land of Snow Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: London, UK Posts: 569 Rep Power: 46 System Specs	Re: AMD Dragon Kit! it's 4 rails, misread the psu. using molex for 1 and 2 pci-e 6 pins for the 8 pin. so 3 seperate cables. It does have 6+2 well, but i tried it and it wouldnt boot into windows It could be the overclock that is causing it. although saying that I tested the same overclock a few days ago with the gtx 260 and it worked flawlessly. i do have to test more to be sure that running stock cpu + 4870x2 works fine with no stutters or shadow flickering; inconclusive with just 5 minutes testing. __________________ Follow Me on Twitter Battlefield 3 \| youtube \| TwitchTV

Apr 22, 2009, 12:33 PM	#33
Mac Daddy DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 7,950 Rep Power: 80 System Specs	Re: AMD Dragon Kit! You need a separate cable for each plug otherwise you are only using one rail. __________________ "My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen

Apr 22, 2009, 01:09 PM	#34
mos2k HH's Hermit Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Lahore Posts: 865 Rep Power: 69 System Specs	Re: AMD Dragon Kit! ermm was there a competition going on? __________________

Apr 22, 2009, 04:17 PM	#36
mos2k HH's Hermit Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Lahore Posts: 865 Rep Power: 69 System Specs	Re: AMD Dragon Kit! okay are/were they sending it out to members randomly? __________________

Apr 22, 2009, 04:47 PM	Thread Starter #39
nicnik In the Land of Snow Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: London, UK Posts: 569 Rep Power: 46 System Specs	Re: AMD Dragon Kit! I'm not sure about the OCZ 600. Firstly, it's not a certified psu for the 4870x2, but more importantly it may not be able to take the quad core overclocked over 3.8ghz, and especially if the 4870x2 is overclocked. power consumption of the 940 phenom and the 4870x2 is very high when u overclock them allot. __________________ Follow Me on Twitter Battlefield 3 \| youtube \| TwitchTV

Apr 22, 2009, 08:15 PM	Thread Starter #41
nicnik In the Land of Snow Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: London, UK Posts: 569 Rep Power: 46 System Specs	Re: AMD Dragon Kit! my 4870x2 is working now yeh, coz i had it replaced ha. I can confirm that the stuttering and shadow flickering is still there even with everything not overclocked, even downclocked. So my original theory that the overclock put too much strain on psu is out the window. I'm guessing I may need a clean install, I've had my 1900xtx and gtx 260 put into the phenom rig before i put the 4870x2 in it. If that doesnt fix it, then it may well be related to the PSU. But surely 20A x 4, using 3 seperate cables to power the card is enough. I doubt I will be unlucky enough to have another faulty gpu The 4870x2 scored about 14k in 3dmark vantage, which is kind of normal. PRoblem is the stuttering and shadow problem is appearing in most games. Not happening in source games i've got on steam. happens on crysis, and mount & Blade. Don't have many more games installed atm to test. Another odd thing i've noticed is, compared to when I had the gtx 260 in, the mouse appears to take much longer swipe for a 180 in all the fps games ive tried. however the mouse accelration feels the same, if not faster. __________________ Follow Me on Twitter Battlefield 3 \| youtube \| TwitchTV

Apr 22, 2009, 10:50 PM	Thread Starter #43
nicnik In the Land of Snow Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: London, UK Posts: 569 Rep Power: 46 System Specs	Re: AMD Dragon Kit! jus installed xp on another partition. and guess what, no stuttering or shadow flickering. I'll reinstall vista prolly over the weekend, bet that fixes it. You waiting for a replacement for the 4870x2 right? Coz you seem to be experiencing very similiar symptoms to what I had. I tried 3 different PSU's and even 2 PSU's to power the card and it wouldnt boot into vista, and when it did no ati gpu was found. 2nd gpu disabled, enabling will get bsod on reboot. __________________ Follow Me on Twitter Battlefield 3 \| youtube \| TwitchTV

Apr 22, 2009, 11:35 PM	#45
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	Re: AMD Dragon Kit! Judas you will get a replacement. check your email.

Apr 25, 2009, 05:17 PM	#48
LilRazor HardwareHeaven Lover Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Malaysia,Kuala Lumpur Posts: 158 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: AMD Dragon Kit! wahh congrats =D

Apr 26, 2009, 02:37 PM	Thread Starter #49
nicnik In the Land of Snow Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: London, UK Posts: 569 Rep Power: 46 System Specs	Re: AMD Dragon Kit! I changed the psu from my i7 rig into the phenom and I can easily run 3.6ghz with no bsod's or crashes at all. Safe to conclude that my old psu 800W 4x20A didn't have enough juice to handle both the phenom and 4870x2 overclocked. (works fine on stock). I tested the old psu without the 4870x2 and it overclocked fine upto 3.8ghz, jus doesn't work with the 4870x2 installed. OVerclocking only with the multiplier I can easily hit 3.6ghz with 18 multiplier and 1.45v. Tested 3.8 with 19x multiplier and it seems to work fine at 1.5v, wouldn't work with 1.45v. Advance clock calibration (ACC) is disabled. What's the +12% to -12% on ACC do? Which setting should it be on to make a difference? __________________ Follow Me on Twitter Battlefield 3 \| youtube \| TwitchTV

Apr 26, 2009, 05:21 PM	#50
Mac Daddy DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 7,950 Rep Power: 80 System Specs	Re: AMD Dragon Kit! Cool stuff on the PSU change nicnik and that ACC setting I am not familiar with it. __________________ "My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen

May 12, 2009, 08:11 PM	#51
*Veridian3* Administrator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Cloaked Posts: 5,028 Rep Power: 182	Re: AMD Dragon Kit! I think 100% stability is what all you guys should be aiming for with your overclocks... And if you could run Cinebench R10 (multi CPU) and Sisoft Sandra Mem Bandwidth I think those two apps would give a fair representation of what system has been most successful. (Both of those programs are free which is also ideal) Then post screenshots of each along with AMD overdrive showing the clocks (or CPUz i guess).

May 25, 2009, 12:40 PM	#52
longhorn1000 DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 70 Rep Power: 0	Re: AMD Dragon Kit! OK, i posted my results in my thread... game on!

May 26, 2009, 10:36 AM	#53
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	Re: AMD Dragon Kit! http://www.hardwareheaven.com/overcloc...ml#post1262608