Powerplay slipping into 2d while gaming...

[RealyPssd]

i've played Guitar Hero at my friends' houses and i'm not sure how the game's graphics could possibly pose a problem for a 3870. something is wrong on your end. my friend has (dual) 3870's and plays at 1920x1080 on his TV. no problems on his end. it isn't a graphically demanding game.

When I play GH3 @ 1920x1080 with everything in-game at the max, I get a constant 60FPS (vsync is on) with FRAPS.

This is what happens now, GPU usage drops to 0% for no reason.

http://www3.sympatico.ca/k.jess/POS2.jpg

[Waymon3X6]

Well I presume that's ok - maybe you entered a menu or something. As long as the clocks dont fall back to 2d when gaming.

[RealyPssd]

No, it isn't happening at a menu, it's happening in the middle of a song.

The clocks aren't falling, but the same thing is happening, the game locks up for a few seconds then resumes.

I was going to try the "DaidalosBiosPack73v1" to see if it was any better, but when I tried to flash with ATIWinFlash v2.0.0.2 I got a mismatch ID number error or something...

Anyone else have this problem with that BIOS? I have a HIS 3870, got it in nov/dec.

[Jungle+=]

Just tried the Catalyst 8.3 drivers with the Daidalos bios pack bios and I'm getting crazy video driver freezes and crashes....the preinstall cleanup of ati drivers and files went smooth. So did the install.On first reboot...windows booted to a blank screen and froze.It now crashes in ut3 and even in desktop at random times.
Is anyone else having issues with Cat 8.3 and these Daidalos bios?

Description
A problem with your video hardware caused Windows to stop working correctly.

Problem signature
Problem Event Name: LiveKernelEvent
OS Version: 6.0.6000.2.0.0.256.1
Locale ID: 4105

[Waymon3X6]

Hmm. You must've installed the drivers incorrectly as I mine are working fine.

Try uninstalling/reinstalling via add/remove programs.

[Jungle+=]

No, it isn't happening at a menu, it's happening in the middle of a song.

The clocks aren't falling, but the same thing is happening, the game locks up for a few seconds then resumes.

I was going to try the "DaidalosBiosPack73v1" to see if it was any better, but when I tried to flash with ATIWinFlash v2.0.0.2 I got a mismatch ID number error or something...

Anyone else have this problem with that BIOS? I have a HIS 3870, got it in nov/dec.

You have to use ATIflash 3.49 http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads...lash_3.49.html....Just unzip the ATIflash files and copy all of them to a floppy along with the bios file that you wish to use( it has to be used in pure DOS mode outside of windows...at boot )
Make sure that you have the floppy drive set as the primary boot device ( in mobo bios ) and reboot.
Type atiflash -f -p 0 <name of bios> (use the numeral 0 for 1 card...numeral 1 for next card/<insert bios name without arrows>) BTW: these bios' are sapphire bios' .Using them on an HIS card would be risky.

[Jungle+=]

Hmm. You must've installed the drivers incorrectly as I mine are working fine.

Try uninstalling/reinstalling via add/remove programs.

Every install so far went smooth. I used DriverSweeper to remove al vestiges of old drivers and registry entries after uninstalls. Same crashy rollercoaster ride so far. The PC acts normal the minute I uninstall 8.3.

EDIT: the install of 8.3 and it's hitches in booting properly afterwards seems to have affected my system as i was forced to cold boot repeatedly while vista was locked up from the 8.3 drivers. Now even 8.2 is locking up.....with the same event veiwer report as 8.3 (186 in 12 hours of testing) :

Log Name:      System
Source:        atikmdag
Date:          05/03/2008 8:11:57 PM
Event ID:      6145
Task Category: POWERPLAY
Level:         Error
Keywords:      Classic
User:          N/A
Computer:      Slash2
Description:
System shutdown due to graphics card overheating
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
  <System>
    <Provider Name="atikmdag" />
    <EventID Qualifiers="49152">6145</EventID>
    <Level>2</Level>
    <Task>6</Task>
    <Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2008-03-06T01:11:57.302Z" />
    <EventRecordID>665406</EventRecordID>
    <Channel>System</Channel>
    <Computer>Slash2</Computer>
    <Security />
  </System>
  <EventData>
    <Data>
    </Data>
    <Binary>000000000100000006000000011800C0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000</Binary>
  </EventData>
</Event>

The only issue with this message that I have is that at those shutdowns...the max. temperasture was NEVER more than 60 degrees at 100&#37; load in UT3
I will update with Rivatuner results.

[Jungle+=]

WOW...I've reformatted and reinstalled a clean copy of Vista x64...along with the Vista LDA (Linked Display Adaptor) Technology hotfixes for multiple GPU'S (which the new Catalyst 8.3's rely on )...and every time I start Unreal Tournament 3 (with both patches updated) all these errors happen when the driver crashes the system:

faulting module atiumdag.dll
faulting module kernel32.dll
faulting module UT3.exe
KERNEL-WHEA : Machine Check Event reported is a fatal Bus or Interconnect timeout error.( this one only occasionally )
Event Log : The previous system shutdown at 6:23:52 PM on 08/03/2008 was unexpected.
Event Log : The Ati External Event Utility service terminated unexpectedly. It has done this 4 time(s).(occasionally)

Gladly...I have stopped recieving errant vga overheating messages....
I`m down to 2 options by the looks of it....it`s either a defect in a card or possibly the Daidalos bios is disliked by the new rewritten CrossfireX drivers.

Anandtechs Skulltrail benchmark machine bsod-ed with these new drivers
CrossFireX Arrives: First Look at 3 and 4 GPUs in 2 Card Setups http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3256
...so I followed their advice on cleaning out the drivers before this install of Cat. 8.3... same disastrous bsod's, system lock up's and evidence pointing at the video driver in Event viewer.



I checked my UT3 logs for more info on what's going on...
Hope someone can help me decypher it all, as this system crash and driver failures are getting to me.

UT3 Log

OpenAdapter() Address = 0x6f285a21 (filename not found) [in C:\Windows\system32\atiumdag.dll]

Critical: Windows GetLastError: The operation completed successfully. (0)
Log: === Critical error: ===
Rendering thread exception:
General protection fault!

History: OpenAdapter() Address = 0x6f285a21 (filename not found) [in C:\Windows\system32\atiumdag.dll]
OpenAdapter() Address = 0x6f285a21 (filename not found) [in C:\Windows\system32\atiumdag.dll]


RaiseException() Address = 0x76933843 (filename not found) [in C:\Windows\syswow64\kernel32.dll]
CxxThrowException() Address = 0x73ec8e69 (filename not found) [in C:\Windows\WinSxS\x86_microsoft.vc80.crt_1fc8b3b9a 1e18e3b_8.0.50727.762_none_10b2f55f9bffb8f8\MSVCR8 0.dll]
Address = 0xb9da32 (filename not found) [in C:\Program Files (x86)\Unreal Tournament 3\Binaries\UT3.exe]
Address = 0xe873f24c (filename not found)
Address = 0xe873f24c (filename not found)

Exit: Executing UObject::StaticShutdownAfterError
Exit: Executing UWindowsClient::ShutdownAfterError
Exit: Executing UWindowsClient::ShutdownAfterError
Exit: UALAudioDevice::ShutdownAfterError
Log: Shutting down FaceFX...
Log: FaceFX shutdown.
Exit: Exiting.
Exit: Name subsystem shutting down
Uninitialized: Log file closed, 03/09/08 00:22:43


Any hints or tips ?

[GameFrame]

Hi all. Im new here but back to topic. I received yesterday brand new Gigabyte HD3870 card from warranty which has GDDR4 memory.

This card also suffers for big powerplay issues. I carefully read all posts in this thread and tried the things and different bios`s and Catalyst 8.3 & 8.4 drivers. Powerplay issue is still there

My current rig is: Q6600 @ 3.6Ghz / Asus P5E / / 4GB 4-4-4-12 DDR2 800Mhz

With 3DMark06 i got only 12300 points. With my Club3D 2900XT i get 13500 points! How this is possible? Also i get with my 2900XT from Crysis benchmark avg. fps 35.5 while i got with this Gigabyte 3870 card avg. 28,46fps. What the heck? Should not 3870 be little bit faster than 2900 ..appearently not.

I even downloaded bios Gigabyte.HD3870.512.071123.bin and set fan to 40&#37; speed and low3d gpu speed to 777MHz. It seems i still suffer for heavy powerplay issue or how it can be this is that much slower than my old and good 2900XT !?

By the way, you should guys use latest Radeon bios editor 110 instead of other tools.

Download: http://fileshare.gameframe.net/en/do...p?id=3650AB191

This tool is very pro. because you can set the fan speeds etc.

With my 2900XT i can play Crysis MP with about 35-45fps pretty stable. I tried today with this 3870 card and fps were because of above issue 25-35 wich maded my game unplayable with Very High cvars.

This means i will likely sell this 3870 and put my old and good 2900XT back. What is even more ridiculous is that how came fan speed with stock settings for this card was all of 4% which maded this card temperature 60-65C when it was idle! Also this powerplay bug make me soon change to Nvidia cards ..i still can&#180;t find any official fix for this issue.

If somebody might have any idea how to fix this issue, please tell me thanks.

PS. I forgot to mention, im using WinXP with SP3, so powerplay is not only Vista related issue.

[roadie]

Luckily, the 8.3 hotfix and 8.4 drivers solve the Powerplay issue for me. It is a massive relief!

[chris.y2k.r1]

ATI sucks! I will never buy another ATI product again - they won't allow an upgrade option from their current junk to the new junk, only old junk to new junk. What a waste of money these 3870s/3870X2s are. ATI/DIAMOND had a chance to work with me and chose not to so I'm going to make sure that everyone knows how I feel about the two main video card retailers out there currently. And I don't think ATI can afford bad press right now. NV is worth every penny I ever paid. Never a regret! ATI - first and last purchase, complete regret!

Well, I just found out that they handed some driver programmers/testers their walking papers about 2 weeks ago. I personally know one that was laid off. So we'll see what happens. Maybe they are making the necessary changes, but if you ask me - it's too late. Out of my 36 years on this planet I've never seen such incompetence nor have I ever been so infuriated. Just disable powerplay in the next driver release - Give up and let the card work right.. anything else is foolish until you get it straight. There's a novel concept - how about not using the public as your beta testers or release day? As in get it right or delay it. You fell behind, so what, don't screw the customer in an attempt to play catchup or try and regain the millions in debt, that ain't gonna work!
Sheesh!

[Waymon3X6]

ATI sucks! I will never buy another ATI product again - they won't allow an upgrade option from their current junk to the new junk, only old junk to new junk. What a waste of money these 3870s/3870X2s are. ATI/DIAMOND had a chance to work with me and chose not to so I'm going to make sure that everyone knows how I feel about the two main video card retailers out there currently. And I don't think ATI can afford bad press right now. NV is worth every penny I ever paid. Never a regret! ATI - first and last purchase, complete regret!

Thanks for you irrelevant opinion!

[xMrBunglex]

i think Coke tastes better than Pepsi! blah blah blah!

[chris.y2k.r1]

Thanks for you irrelevant opinion!

Sorry I hurt your feelings.


And how can an opinion be irrelevant... besides, you all are still stuck on PP issues.. I'm way beyond that. You'll see... When you think you have the card setup correctly (Which is insane to have to do all this BS just to make the POS work the way it should in the first place), then you'll see. Play Crysis (for example) all the way through, watch what really happens to your frame rate about half way through the game.

If you put $800 plus into a GPU solution and you can't maintain a frame rate of 30FPS (At high settings, 1680x1050, No AA/No AF) or better through out one of, if not the most popular FPS title of all time then your hardware is junk. Period. Especially if you've done all the work I've done to get these two cards to do what they should have done (I say it again) from the factory to begin with. It's ridiculous. The cards are crap. They might be the best piece of hardware ever built; But!! the end result, whether it be driver coding or impractical release dates, the end result is piss poor real world performance. I've got two of these things, I've played half a dozen of the top 10 titles out right now (Most of which from beginning to end). The end result is that my aging 8800GTS 640 G80 gives this setup a very good run for it's money. And in some cases, totally outperforms it. Truth. Junk. Truth.

That's my irrelevant opinion and I earned the right to it. It was my $800 and hours of BIOS flashing and driver swapping that construct that opinion. Not to mention having Nvidia prior to this I had some false expectations. Being *spoiled* by Nvidia, I expect these cards to work out of the box! Imagine that.

Anyone wanna buy 2 Diamond 3870X2s? Pre-Flashed BIOS. Power play issues fixed! All other issues remain!

[Waymon3X6]

Well this isn't about ATi vs Nvidia now is it... Read the title of the topic and you will see that! Anyways, 2 3870X2's in CF would kick a 8800GTS's ass.

[chris.y2k.r1]

Well this isn't about ATi vs Nvidia now is it... Read the title of the topic and you will see that! Anyways, 2 3870X2's in CF would kick a 8800GTS's ass.

Sadly, under heavy texture loading... it doesn't. And that happens alot - especially in Crysis....

My bad for the topic hopping....


/Rant

[d4d4cH]

i got a connect3d 3870x2 and i need an bios that will allow me to oc past 866 on the core (PLL VCO DIVIDER BUG)...can anyone point me to one of the fixed bioses?

thanks

[Waymon3X6]

http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/

[d4d4cH]

so which one there is fixed? all of them?

[Waymon3X6]

No, you need to search it lol

It will tell you in the description...

All I saw was a fixed BIOS for the regular 3870, not 3870X2 - I am not sure it will make that much of a difference...

[d4d4cH]

No, you need to search it lol

It will tell you in the description...

All I saw was a fixed BIOS for the regular 3870, not 3870X2 - I am not sure it will make that much of a difference...

ok i know how to find 3870x2 bios lol...also they are all broken, there are 4 slave bioses, and only one master...whoever was dumping them didnt have a clue

[Waymon3X6]

Hmm... Well I guess you're sh*t out of luck man... I am sorry. Do you think you will be able to run 900Mhz on both GPU's without volt modding them too?

[Tatty_One]

Hi Guys, Having read most of this thread I think I might have a similar problem to some, in as much as I received my new XFX HD4870x2 yesterday and installed it last night. I have installed Cat 9.2 but have noticed that the master GPU is running in what I presume is 2D clocks in the desktop at 500mhx on the core but the slave is running at the full 3D Stock clocks of 750mhz.

On top of that, in the quick tests that I did (Furmark, full screen), it appears that the Primary GPU stays in 2D even when running 3D apps but I have not had the chance yet to test the full performance in Vantage or 2006 yet...... anyone have any knowledge of this or idea's??