5970 suddenly slowed down in Xfire

Discussion in 'Videocards - AMD Radeon Drivers Section' started by mcfart, Jul 2, 2014.

  1. mcfart

    mcfart Guest

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    GPU:
    HD 5970
    So my 5970 was running fine, then 1 day everything started running slower (namely BF4, but everything was affected). I checked CCC, and it stated that Crossfire wasn't enabled. I checked GPUz etc, so I uninstalled and installed newest 14.4 drivers.

    I got Xfire working again (though only under 14.4/14.6 beta. I tried 13.9/13.12 to see if it would help, but Xfire ONLY works under 14.4 or 14.6).

    However, now everything chugs while under Xfire. Dota 2, a game that worked flawlessly under Xfire now chugs while using Xfire....but runs fine when I disable Xfire under specific application settings in CCC. Other games like BF4 run horribly either way because one GPU isn't enough, and it lags while using Xfire.

    The only problem I noticed is that GPUz states that my lanes are PCIe_16 2.0 X4 for first GPU and X8 for 2nd GPU. I don't know what my GPUz was before the problems started showing up, but I'm wondering if the X4 for first and X8 for the second GPU is bottlenecking my 5970?
    Here's my GPUz screenshots and 3dmark 11 results:
    GPU1:http://gpuz.techpowerup.com/14/07/02/d8d.png
    GPU2: http://gpuz.techpowerup.com/14/07/02/fqv.png

    3dmark11 results: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/8457708

    Also I got 3350 points with Furmark's 1080p benchmark.

    BTW I tried removing the GPU and reinserting it into the slot (2.0 x16 slot), and also tried putting it into another PCIe slot. The results were still x4/x8 in both cases. ALso checked my mobo settings to see if anything was up...but couldn't find anything (mobo is ASUS p8z68-v-pro)

    Thanks guys.
     
    Last edited: Jul 2, 2014
  2. mcfart

    mcfart Guest

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    GPU:
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    Nobody? :(
     
  3. BenYeeHua

    BenYeeHua Guest

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    Asus 650M D3
    It should be still a hardware issues, as the PCI-E need at least 2.0 x8 to working well, I think.
     
  4. AbjectBlitz

    AbjectBlitz Ancient Guru

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    GPU:
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    Could go on forever trying stuff and troubleshooting, TBH I would just do a clean windows reinstall at this point unless you can trace it to something specific that day, driver, windows update, board drivers etc.

    I just retired my 5970 not long ago, new drivers were getting pretty rubbish with it and it was lacking memory. If it had more memory it was still a good card and ran everything. Longest use I got out of a card by far, got it on release and replace with the 290. But the drivers started to get more and more patchy as they concentrated on the new stuff, scaling got worse with new drivers etc.

    I cant remember what GPUz stated now, but it is dual gpu card on a single board in one slot, so only used one pcie lane and should just be 16x.

    It shouldn't say crossfire in ccc , sure they change that at some point, as it counts it as a single card. Just launch afterburner and see if both cores are scaling in games? Try older drivers, 3dmark etc
     
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2014

  5. heroxoot

    heroxoot Guest

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    GPU:
    EVGA 1080ti SC2
    Try resetting the cmos first. Running x4 is a hardware thing. The first card should always be running x16.
     
  6. far-cough

    far-cough Active Member

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    GPU:
    XFX R7990 6GB
    m8 sorry to say it but i think your card is dieing can u try it in a nother machine??
    as i have a 7990 and in gpuz it shows both as pci x 16 3.0
     
  7. mcfart

    mcfart Guest

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    GPU:
    HD 5970
    I dual boot Windows 7/8, and the card ****ed up the same time in both OSES (Xfire disabled suddenly). When I upgraded to 14.4 on both OSes, Xfire returned (GPUz said Xfire, 2 cards), but is slower....I tried downgrading to 14.1, 13.12 etc, but Xfire is disabled when I try those drivers.

    When I run 3dmark/games on older drivers where Xfire is disabled,only 1 GPU is utilized.

    Is it really a hardware issue? :(. I did try putting the GPU in another lane (X8) but it still ran at x4/x8.

    Btw thanks for responding.
    edit: clearing the CMOS didn't help.
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2014
  8. BenYeeHua

    BenYeeHua Guest

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    Easy way to know this, borrow your friend's computer, then put your GPU into his computer to test did it running with x16 or not. :)
     
  9. kawasakizx10rr

    kawasakizx10rr Guest

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    GPU:
    amd 290x 4gb EK block
    your 2500k has only 16x lanes max . so it will be 8x and 8x max . plus if you have a sound card or anything else like a pcie ssd , lan card in the pcie lanes it would be deducted from the 16x. so 1x for the soundcard you have 4x for 1 gpu , 8x for the other and a spare 3x that can only use at 1x if there is less than 4x. as it's only 1x . 4x, 8x. 16x

    ark.intel.com/products/52210
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2014
  10. kawasakizx10rr

    kawasakizx10rr Guest

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    GPU:
    amd 290x 4gb EK block
    so its just your cpu. there is no problem here, just limits.

    take out the sound card and you will have 8x and 8x for the 2 gpus
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2014

  11. mcfart

    mcfart Guest

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    GPU:
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    Does that count for the integrated motherboard sound card? I don't have anything in the other PCIe ports...
     
  12. kawasakizx10rr

    kawasakizx10rr Guest

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    GPU:
    amd 290x 4gb EK block
    No the motherboard audio chip does not count. That's odd then. It should be 8x , 8x . It could just be that you need to go into your bios and set the lanes to 8x each for the 2 you are using. If your motherboard has that option. But probably not.
    I see that your board has 2 16x lanes the top dark blue slot and the white one. They are the two that the gpu,s should be in. Not the black slot or the two light blue slots
     
  13. mcfart

    mcfart Guest

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    GPU:
    HD 5970
    It takes 1 slot, so I have it in the black PCIE_X16_1 slot (black one at the top). The manual says it's X16 for one card and X8 for two. But my slave GPU (GPU1) is at X4...


    Also I've checked my mobo settings many times, and there's no options for PCIE slots except activating PCIE_X16_3 slot to run at X4.
     
  14. mcfart

    mcfart Guest

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    GPU:
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    Called Diamond tech support...dude claimed that it was AMD's drivers fault, even though I ran 13.12 stable for a long time before Crossfire suddenly disabled...
     
  15. kawasakizx10rr

    kawasakizx10rr Guest

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    GPU:
    amd 290x 4gb EK block
    QUOTE : It takes 1 slot, so I have it in the black PCIE_X16_1 slot (black one at the top). The manual says it's X16 for one card and X8 for two. But my slave GPU (GPU1) is at X4...


    Also I've checked my mobo settings many times, and there's no options for PCIE slots except activating PCIE_X16_3 slot to run at X4.

    [​IMG]Motherboards - P8Z68-V PRO - ASUS
    is this your board i can't find a PZ68-V PRO ONLY A P8Z86-V PRO? must be wrong if so. black is NOT the right slot in this picture
    put them in the dark blue slot and the white one if your board looks like that ^
     
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2014

  16. mcfart

    mcfart Guest

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    GPU:
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    Yes that is correct, and sorry, I meant it's in the blue slot (the top one). I also tried the white one, but it was still x8/x4.

    edit: btw does it matter if I have my SATA drive plugged into the blue or white slot?

    Even CS:GO is getting massive stuttering/frame drops while Crossfire's on...and it's not great when it's off either.


    **** Diamond. I didn't register the card in the first 30 days, so I only got a 1 year warrenty....and I can't afford to replace it with a similer card :(
     
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2014
  17. kawasakizx10rr

    kawasakizx10rr Guest

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    GPU:
    amd 290x 4gb EK block
    As seen in the picture the 6gb,s is only 2 slots best for the hdd or a ssd . the other use for dc drive or what ever. performance would only be better if the ssd is 6gbs certified for the 6gb,s sata ports. for that matter you can turn off your pc and move the sata,s around then just make sure the boot order is right.

    try a new bios for the motherboard that could fix this lane problem i hope. if not im out of ideas :(

    IMO get a different motherboard you can buy a maximus iv extreme for £100.which you can look in the bios at the lane speeds ! i just sold a old 6790 today for £35 . so even a different gpu can be cheap . i say this as im not sure why its still showing as 4x and stuttering for you. 5000 series is getting out of date at that :) . but you say that cash is short . so try the bios flash on the motherboard . and the amd 11.6 driver . my 6790,s i used 12.6 for 2 years
     
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2014
  18. Watcher

    Watcher Ancient Guru

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    GPU:
    Asus Dual RX6700 XT
    Don't give up so soon!

    Lets try a couple of things first.

    1) Try each video card by itself in the computer and test it.
    2) Reseat all your video cards.
    3) Reseat all your power connectors to your video cards and your motherboard.
    4) Swap positions of video cards.


    It could be the power supply is starting to crap out.
    It could be a bad connection.

    Lets rule out the other components before jumping to it being the video cards.

    Try these items and tell us the results.
     
  19. mcfart

    mcfart Guest

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    GPU:
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    Thanks for encourgement :)

    It's a dual-GPU, so it only goes in 1 slot at once, but I've tried swapping the active display (plugging into other DVI port), and same issue. Xfire is horribly stuttery/slow.

    Dunno if it's the PSU, but just realized it might've been overheating, since the PSU's on the bottom of the case, with the fan pointing towards the carpet the computer was sitting on...so moved the comp to a floor stat!

    Tried both PCIE slots that I could fit the GPU into, no difference whatsoever.

    edit: I got Crossfire working on the 13.9 and 14.4 drivers. In 13.9, both GPUS are x1 PCIE frequentcy, and in 14.4, they are x4/x8. Is that a possible cause of the slowdown/stuttering?
     
    Last edited: Jul 9, 2014
  20. BenYeeHua

    BenYeeHua Guest

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    Wait...

    x1???
    I hope it is a typo, and it is x16...

    And yes, it should causing stutter as the data is not transfer fast enough.
    You can try disable crossfire to check for it.

    For the driver, it can be it don't compatibility with your card or motherboard.
    Try putting the graphic card on the other computer and check for it.
     

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