Help getting more performance from CROSSFIRE

[cadaveca]

How did you guys come to the conclusion that the OP needs a new psu?

Who even concluded that there was any problem at all?

I will say, though, each bit of silicon can differ from the next so much, there is no way you can say a 650w psu will work for the op...especially since you are probably both going to be using your pc for different things. This is a big reason my estimates, when posted as an estimate, are always based on the absolute extreme...my suggestions always leave room,even for users who may even push further than I do.

 

[jonathan1107]

There are hardware differences, that is issue #1. Memory timings could be different from some 6970's to 6950's. Thing is none of this is proven whether there are any "long-term" effects from it. These cards haven't been around that long yet. I would say that the safest bet is just doing the shader unlock as if the timings are different, things will be more stable.

But I thought it was a known thing that the 6970 have 6000mhz ram vs 5000mhz ram for radeon 6950... And to clarify a little bit my question: Even tho we might not know the precise memory timings of the 6970... wouldn't it be visible what differences there are in memory timings via RBE when loading the 6950 with it's originial bios and then loading the 6950 with the 6970 bios and compare the differences...

Apart from the memory issue, is the 2x 6pin power connectors an issue vs the 6pin + 8pin from the 6970? What difference does it make to have different numbers of pins if you can push the same voltage anyhow? Oh and isn't it possible to just use the 6950 voltage in CCC overdrive even if it's flashed to the 6970 bios?

And the reason why I'm that curious about the 6970 bios is that I remember the considerable performance boost I was getting from my single 6950 when it was flashed with the 6970 bios...

 

[jonathan1107]

One more question, what are safe temps for long life span for the 6950 in crossfire???

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

cards are safe up to 100c but most try to keep them under 90c, it goes without saying the cooler an electronic device is the longer its potential life span will be.

 

[jonathan1107]

Hey guys, to determine if my PSU is really the culprit, do you think I should look @ the GPU load % in GPU-Z and see what the average is?

Is there something I could monitor with GPU-Z (or other program) that would let me know if anything odd is happening due to lack of power?

And in this particular case, would one of you mind checking your own GPU-Z "gpu load" avg so I can compare with mine and see if I've got something wrong... ?

 

[jonathan1107]

What do you guys think of these PSUs:

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4558892&CatId=2534

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6077245&CatId=2534

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=57625&vpn=ST1000-G&manufacture=Silverstone Technology#Specifications

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=13220AC6971&vpn=OCZ-ZX1000W&manufacture=OCZ

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

ill just let cadaveca do the shopping around the TPQ 1200w he picked was the best deal around tho hands down.

 

[AlienIsGOD]

Grab an HX1000 from Corsair and don't look back Srsly tho, the Corsair is one of the best units out there still and can be had for a respectable price in CAN $$$

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

it can but a TPQ 1200w can be had for less then a corsair HX and was posted above, $209 fora 1200w

 

[AlienIsGOD]

My browser is a bit sluggish today...

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

lol its all good i just wonder if the OP wants a quality supply or not we keep going lower and lower wattage with the same shitty brands that arent known for there reliability or quality, aka it being all over the place.

also none of the above units compare in quality to the TPQ 1200w yet cost about the same. common sense tells me to walk away from this thread at this point.

Reviews
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=177

http://www.futurelooks.com/antec-quattro-tpq-1200-modular-1200w-atx-power-supply-review/

 

[jonathan1107]

Before you get discouraged about the OP not getting the picture, you should give him time to reply lolzzz

Antec TPQ 1200w ordered! (209$), on it's way to its new home hehe...

So no... it's not that I didn't believe in the Antec TPQ 1200's worth... but more that I'm a perfectionnist... and I'm obsessive about details. I like to ask "More questions" and be certain, then take a advice here and there and formulate an early idea that will get me dissapointed in the end.

Nevertheless, thank you guys for all the help. My rig is on its way to being Perfect :O) and I owe that to my perseverance and yall's patience ;O)

There's only one thing that sucks about the antec 1200 tpq: A lot of the main wires aren't modular... so that means big mess in my Case that will require cable management...

It would have been handy to have all wires as modular cables... so I can put away the ones I don't need as of right now...

 

[erocker]

Jonathan please edit your posts instead of double posting.

Thanks!

 

[Scrizz]

oh yeah, you need a new case too!
must be all aluminum.
>_>

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

indeed good chap aluminum is best yup yup it maximizes the awesomeness in the same space where steel was inadequate its a shot of viagra straight to your PCs balls, lolz

 

[jonathan1107]

lolz... aluminium... gotta be kidding me :OP I have an NZXT phantom case... if that isn't cool enough lolz :O)

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

yea your fine were just derailing the thread for fun or well scrizz was i just jumped on the bandwagon to show some TPU support

 

[jonathan1107]

Alright guys, I have another little problem I'd like help with:

I have "screenlag" kindof.... when playing MW2 on my PC... To describe it better: The FPS sticks @ 60 the whole time and V-Sync is on but every now and then, it's like the screen skips frames... Especially if I move the mouse slowly (180 degrees) as I move with the W-A-S-D direction keys...

I tried lowering the AA sample quality in CCC and it helped a little... I also set CCC to use only 1 of my 6950 to see if it helped and it did...

But I can't get rid of that screen lag.... The image is perfect, but camera movement lags and stinks because of that weird issue... Anyone else have experienced this?

 

[manofthem]

Maybe it's your mouse crapping out.

 

[jonathan1107]

Ok guys, I'm finally back with news of my discoveries for my problems with 6950 Crossfire and Crysis !!!

So I got my new antec tpq 1200w as you guys suggested... I can see a difference in my benchmarks with my CPU and my GPUs, but I must admit that "in game" wise, I don't see much of a difference due to the new PSU...

Nevertheless, I trust this PSU to do a better job than the dumb Xion I had (in keeping my parts alive longer and saving me $ on my electricity bills)

ABOUT CRYSIS ::::::

I have found what the issue seems to be: I have tried every combination of settings possible to see what was causing the major FPS drops in Crysis EVEN THOUGH I was playing with 2x6950 in crossfire... I even Boosted them like crazy through MSI AB...

When all of this failed dramatically, I started thinking about the fact that this is an old game that was designed to work with DX9 and DX10... So I started trying the game in DX9 and DX10 (64 bit)... and AGAIN I was very dissapointed... I even got artifacts and poor performance. UNTIL I TRIED THIS::: DX10 in 32 bit... I dunno why... but this runs the game SMOOTH as heck.

So to everyone out there trying to get a better FPS, I suggest you try it. Now here are more details of the exact context in which this setting worked:

I set my CCC to use application settings in everything (AA, Tessalation and the like...) I set my "texture filtering quality" to performance and OCed both my 6950 to their overdrive limits (840/1325)... I was running Crysis @ Very high settings (everything) with 4xAA (in game option) with a 1920x1080 resolution. All this @ DX10 32 bit.

With these settings, I kept a nice 50FPS average... Sometimes I'll drop to 40 in intense sequences... but that's MUCH better than my previous attemps which led to to a 50FPS max that would drop all the way to 20 !!

EDIT: Crysis locks my FPS @ 50 when in dx11 or dx10 with V-Sync on (the in-game option that comes when you patch the game to 1.2 I believe...) which is just as good as 60 (to me at least)

Try it, and let me know what you think... If you ever need the Crysis dx10 32 bit shortcut, let me know and I'll send it to you

 

[kn00tcn]

really need to find out why you're stuck at 50, are you sure your monitor is at 60 during crysis?

for me, with warhead, what i found was that 64bit was useless, more ram usage with no change in performance, so staying at 32bit is fine

also noticed dx10 is smoother than dx9, even if the fps is ~5 lower

1 more thing, across certain catalysts, in game vsync would be broken upon launching the game, you would have to toggle it off & on for the scaling to fix

did they ever fix the dx9 zoom/binoculars = turns off CF bug?

 

[jonathan1107]

I dunno why I get stuck @ 50 FPS... I think it's the game that does this... Because when I run it in DX9, I can get it to 60 with V-Sync on...

But to be honest... To have achieved a 50 FPS (47 FPS avg) in Crysis with Very high settings (with 4xAA and 1920x1080 res) is MORE THAN satisfactory for me!!!

 

[BababooeyHTJ]

Like I said with Vsync I've had that issue where the framerate locked to 50 in DX10. I have no clue why. I would try to reinstall the game. You might want to try the latest driver 11.5a and cap profile. I am seeing much better performance in Crysis now. I saw the same framerate dips with 11.4 but like I said performance is much better now with 11.5.

 

[manofthem]

My Crysis also caps at 50fps in dx10 and has even before my current setup. Not sure why.
Previously it didn't matter because I never hit 50 much. Now I'm usually sitting at 50fps and I just accepted it.

 

[jonathan1107]

There you go, I knew I wasn't the only one capped @ 50FPS... Btw, I have the latest drivers and CAP Profiles... It has nothing to do with that... It's the game that caps it @ 50... With 1xradeon 6950 I used to just alt-enter into this other fullscreen mode where the FPS isn't capped and it ran great... but now, in a crossfire setup that particular alt-enter trick doesn't work anymore because the other full-screen mode is worst than the normal full-screen mode...

I can't believe NO ONE has found a fix to this yet !%"$%?/?

I've done so much research on the subject on google and I haven't found a trick that works yet... It's like Crysis forces a 50hz refresh rate on the game... Dang it!

Well, I don't give up easily... I'll keep looking until I find the solution, and when I do, I'll let you know :OP

Alright guys, ready for the scoop ??? I finally found out how to REMOVE THE 50FPS CAP in Crysis !!!
And if you're happy about the 32bit and DX10 tip, you can thank me if you want (would help my rep a little :O)

Ok... before I continue, if you use the following tip, it will give you a fullscreen, V-Sync On, 1920x1080 res, 4xAA with everything set to "use app setting" in CCC... You WILL get a strong 30FPS avg if you have 1xradeon 6950 or around 35FPS if you have a decently OCed 6970... You WILL get a 50FPS avg with 2xradeon 6950, and about the same with 2x6970...

If you want the best performance in Crysis, I suggest you do exactly this (these are done with the 11.5 CCC):

1. Make sure you use the 32bit shortcut for Crysis (btw the Dx11 32 bit shortcut will work just as good as the dx 10 (I've just tested this and it works...)

2. Go to your CCC panel, and go to "My digital flat panels" and you should see somewhere down the page something about your actual res like "1080p60 standard"... Next to this is the "Add button". Click on that and then tick the box that says "maintain aspect ratio"... Next: You should see 4xRed squares, click once on the bottom one and then click "accept"... Then you can apply that resolution if you want (I'm not sure you need to run that res on your desktop prior to using it in Crysis...)

3. Click on your 32 bit Crysis shorcut and go into your in-game "options"... In the "graphics" tab, there should an option to choose your resolution... slide the scrollbar down to your "custom resolution" and apply it.

This will unlock the 50FPS cap and let you have up to 60 FPS... The only downside being that this "custom screen resolution" will take away about 4pixels all around your screen... but I can live with that knowing I have a nice 60FPS in Crysis with very high settings hehehe

Doing this lets me hit 60FPS steadily in less-demanding areas of the game, and it can drop all the way down to 40fps... that's not so cool, but I haven't tested my 2xradeon with much of an overclock on this... They were both @ 840/1325, I'll try again with my MSI AB OC (945/1450 1.2 volts).

LET ME KNOW if this helped you and what results you are getting from it !