Crossfire sync problem

[Adol007]

Hello,

I've been having a problem with my crossfire setup for some time now and can't figure out what's wrong.

I have 2 4870's 512mb cards. Everything is connected and xxfire is enabled in ccc.

Here is my problem.

From time to time I lose sync on my screen and the picture starts to run across the screen upwards(don't know how to describe it better). This happens when playing 3d games. Many of them so it's not isolated.

I turned on vsync with but it doesn't help.

Any ideas what's causing this?

Also I tried using one and 2 bridges but same trouble.

Thanks in advance

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

they wouldnt happen to be Unreal engine 3 based games would they?

 

[human_error]

first - welcome to TPU

now onto your problem - it does sound like tearing which should be fixed by enabling vsync - can i ask where you enabled vsync (in the options for the games, or in the catalyst control centre)? If you did it in-game go to the catalyst control centre then go to 3D>all and scroll down to "wait for verticle refresh" - change the slider to anything other than "always off" - i use "off, unless application specifies" as vsync can make some games behave badly, and this option will let it run if the game tells it to.

 

[qubit]

So the picture is rolling with an upward motion? This sounds like a video synchronisation problem - it's just the same as on a TV when it won't sync properly (doesn't happen much on modern TVs).

Check your video cable is ok, not damaged, kinked etc. Try to get a double verify: connect the monitor to another computer and connect this computer to another monitor and see if you can induce the fault. This is quite an important troubleshooting step. It sounds more like a hardware problem than a software one, although you can't rule that out.

 

[erocker]

If VSync doesn't help, it's probably a bridge not making proper contact. Try switching them around/change direction to see if it helps.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

well hes not alone i have the issue as well but only in certain games most of them Unreal Engine 3 based examples UT3 The Last Remnant etc where as other games do not but for me its barely noticeable so il lsee what happens ive subscribed to see what the issue is out of curiosity

 

[Adol007]

Hello

thank you for all the responses.

I enable vsync in the advanced tab of ccc but it doesn't help.

It's happening now in mass effect 2 which is unreal but it also happens in civilization 4 and pirates(an old game).

I don't think it's my display or a cable because when I don't enable crossfire I never have the problem.

My next step is to change the cards around to see if it's my linked card that's the problem.

Qubit is correct it looks like a video sync problem. Like when the traking is of on a VCR.

Keep the suggestions coming.

 

[Adol007]

Could this be happening because of heat problems?

I noticed my main GPU gets to 89C when playing a game.

Do you think this would cause a sync problem.

In the past is my gpu got too hot (Using an 8800gt sli) It would just freeze up not cause a sync problem.

For crazyeyesreaper can you tell me what temps you get when it happens to you?

 

[human_error]

Hello

thank you for all the responses.

I enable vsync in the advanced tab of ccc but it doesn't help.

It's happening now in mass effect 2 which is unreal but it also happens in civilization 4 and pirates(an old game).

I don't think it's my display or a cable because when I don't enable crossfire I never have the problem.

My next step is to change the cards around to see if it's my linked card that's the problem.

Qubit is correct it looks like a video sync problem. Like when the traking is of on a VCR.

Keep the suggestions coming.

which drivers are you using? (i ask because ati released a hotfix to the 10.1 drivers for crossfire setups and mass effect 2 due to various issues, if they are older than those drivers then it could be causing a problem in me2).

Forcing vsync through the catalyst control centre doesn't always work - AFAIK there is no vsync option in the game menu or config for mass effect 2 as the game is meant to cap the fps automatically - i assume you had the same problem in mass effect 2 before forcing vsync?

As for the older games showing problems chek to see if they have their own in-game vsync options. Also what is the refresh rate of your screen? If you go into catalyst control centre and go to desktop properties next to the available resolutions should be a refresh rate - what is that set to? If you open the dropbox for the refresh rate does the currently used rate appear to be in italics?

**edit**

I noticed my main GPU gets to 89C when playing a game.

Do you think this would cause a sync problem.

89 degrees is not too hot for a gpu - they should be able to handle upto 100 degrees before having problems.

 

[nt300]

In CCC, set all your video quality settings as Application Controlled and do the saem for vsync. Then run game on low to moderate video quality setting and see if you have issue. If you still have issue, something may be wrong with hardware, if you don't have issues then your video quality settings are just too high for your setup and you need to reduce them.
You can always install the OS on a different partition and install the CCC drivers on it just to test it out. Most of the time format/istall OS fixes a lot.

 

[qubit]

Hello

thank you for all the responses.

I enable vsync in the advanced tab of ccc but it doesn't help.

It's happening now in mass effect 2 which is unreal but it also happens in civilization 4 and pirates(an old game).

I don't think it's my display or a cable because when I don't enable crossfire I never have the problem.

My next step is to change the cards around to see if it's my linked card that's the problem.

Qubit is correct it looks like a video sync problem. Like when the traking is of on a VCR.

Keep the suggestions coming.

Indeed, it's not the animation "tearing" problem that one sees with non-vsynced games like everyone here seems to think it is - the whole picture is rolling upwards instead. You're right that heat could potentially be the issue, as it can easily cause components to malfunction while hot - and eventually fail permanently.

I have two suggestions on top of my first one to you:

1 Increase the cooling to the PC. Literally take the side off the PC and have a standard room fan blowing on it. It's crude but effective for troubleshooting and your hot components will love the cooling they get.

2 Switch your cards around on the motherboard. Do not use the room fan while doing this, or you won't know whether it's the extra cooling or the switched cards which is helping. It's quite possible that the card you've connected the video cable to is beginning to fail from all that heat.

And lastly tell me, do you have a digital or analog video connection to your monitor?

 

[Adol007]

Well everyone, thank you.

This thing is really a pain to troubleshoot.

This evening I cant seem to reproduce the problem when I want to. Whenever I change something it seems to have worked and them randomly start again. Last night it was hapening about 90% of the time in games.

Today, I played for 2hr with no problem whatsoever. Then I exited, restarted the program and got the problem again.

More information:

1. I'm using a digital input on my monitor(DVI). The cable is a little old and cheap so I'm thinking it may not be able to handle the high resolution. I'll try another one soon.
   
2. The refresh rate of my screen is 60Hz and ccc is set to 60Hz (1920x1080).
   
3. I tried extra cooling by turning up my case fans(way too lout at 3000rpm). It cooled my case and card by about 7C but still have the issue.
   
4. Lowered the game setting and it didn't happen but that kind of defeats the purpose of crossfire.
   
5. I'm using ccc 10.2 drivers.
   
6. I've had this problem in the past. It really comes and goes but is really annoying when its around. Its been maybe 3 months since I had this problem before and then it just went away.

If I can find some time tomorrow I'm going to try and completely rewire my pc. Maybe the card is shorting out on some wire in my case or something(I'm out of other ideas).

 

[Mussels]

is this the problem where you get horizontal lines moving up and down the screen?

If so, its the same problem i have. I'd bet money on the fact that you're running crossfire on an intel chipset motherboard (most likely P35, P45, x38 or x48).

sadly: you're screwed. in games where Vsync doesnt work (read: tons) you get that nasty flickering and theres nothing that can be done about it. Seriously, i've been fighting this for a long time and the only solution is to get an AMD chipset motherboard, or ATI 5K cards on intel P55 or x58 platforms (i've had confirmations that it works, but dont know if its the 5K cards or the motherboards that solves it)

 

[human_error]

Well everyone, thank you.

This thing is really a pain to troubleshoot.

This evening I cant seem to reproduce the problem when I want to. Whenever I change something it seems to have worked and them randomly start again. Last night it was hapening about 90% of the time in games.

Today, I played for 2hr with no problem whatsoever. Then I exited, restarted the program and got the problem again.

More information:

1. I'm using a digital input on my monitor(DVI). The cable is a little old and cheap so I'm thinking it may not be able to handle the high resolution. I'll try another one soon.
   
2. The refresh rate of my screen is 60Hz and ccc is set to 60Hz (1920x1080).
   
3. I tried extra cooling by turning up my case fans(way too lout at 3000rpm). It cooled my case and card by about 7C but still have the issue.
   
4. Lowered the game setting and it didn't happen but that kind of defeats the purpose of crossfire.
   
5. I'm using ccc 10.2 drivers.
   
6. I've had this problem in the past. It really comes and goes but is really annoying when its around. Its been maybe 3 months since I had this problem before and then it just went away.

If I can find some time tomorrow I'm going to try and completely rewire my pc. Maybe the card is shorting out on some wire in my case or something(I'm out of other ideas).

If you have any spare crossfire bridges i'd try them instead of the ones you're using now, in case one or both of them is faulty. When the problem started again had you updated your drivers immediately beforehand or changed anything else in the system?

 

[Mussels]

If you have any spare crossfire bridges i'd try them instead of the ones you're using now, in case one or both of them is faulty. When the problem started again had you updated your drivers immediately beforehand or changed anything else in the system?

please read my post. this is NOT a bridge problem, a cable problem, or a driver problem. The reason it comes and goes, is because Vsync is erratic - and on light screens the issue is hard to see (and it gets less severe the closer to 60FPS you are, so in demanding games you barely see it, but game menus its clear as day)

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

actually mussels it happens on AMD chipsets and 5k cards ie i can reproduce it in Unreal engine 3 based games and i can do it anytime i choose

 

[Mussels]

actually mussels it happens on AMD chipsets and 5k cards ie i can reproduce it in Unreal engine 3 based games and i can do it anytime i choose

really?

that... f*cks things up.

the easiest game i can find the problem in is stalker: Vsync doesnt turn on in their games no matter what (even forcing in CCC doesnt help) and the games have a dark menu, so the flickering is clearly visible.


we really need someone with a digital camcorder to record some footage of the problem and get it up on youtube - just a 30 second clip would do, so long as the flickering was clear.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

well the Last Remnant has it BAD and it might be possible to get the footage another way send me a PM mussels i might have an idea

 

[qubit]

please read my post. this is NOT a bridge problem, a cable problem, or a driver problem. The reason it comes and goes, is because Vsync is erratic - and on light screens the issue is hard to see (and it gets less severe the closer to 60FPS you are, so in demanding games you barely see it, but game menus its clear as day)

The way Adol007 describes it, it's the whole picture rolling upwards, like a TV not syncing properly to a broadcast - he even confirmed it to me.

That would be weird with a DVI monitor connection though and really unlikely (a blank screen would be usual symptom) so I dunno, perhaps it's the problem you describe. Also, the intermittency of this suggests faulty hardware somewhere to me.

Without seeing it for myself though, it's really hard to say where the problem lies.

 

[Mussels]

The way Adol007 describes it, it's the whole picture rolling upwards, like a TV not syncing properly to a broadcast - he even confirmed it to me.

That would be weird with a DVI monitor connection though and really unlikely, so I dunno, perhaps it's the problem you describe. Also, the intermittency of this suggests faulty hardware somewhere to me.

Without seeing it for myself though, it's really hard to say where the problem lies.

the way i'd describe it, is that there was two images: the one you want to see in the background, and these horizontal lines flickering up/down the screen over the top of them. it really does look like an old TV/VCR being out of sync, except that only the lines move, not the image themselves (at least in my case)

 

[fullinfusion]

If the problem he's describing is the same thing I'm getting there is an easy fix for it, simply start the game and go into the menu to adjust the resolution you normally run it at and just change it to anything but what you would normally run it at and select enter... after that go back and select the proper resolution and bingo, problem fixed

 

[Mussels]

If the problem he's describing is the same thing I'm getting there is an easy fix for it, simply start the game and go into the menu to adjust the resolution you normally run it at and just change it to anything but what you would normally run it at and select enter... after that go back and select the proper resolution and bingo, problem fixed

that never worked for me. the only solutions that worked (disable catalyst AI, run in a window, etc) all disabled crossfire (the tickbox stayed on, but performance would drop back to, or worse than, a single GPU)

 

[human_error]

please read my post. this is NOT a bridge problem, a cable problem, or a driver problem. The reason it comes and goes, is because Vsync is erratic - and on light screens the issue is hard to see (and it gets less severe the closer to 60FPS you are, so in demanding games you barely see it, but game menus its clear as day)

sorry i'd clicked reply before your post appeared.

seems strange that the problem goes away and comes back again..

 

[fullinfusion]

that never worked for me. the only solutions that worked (disable catalyst AI, run in a window, etc) all disabled crossfire (the tickbox stayed on, but performance would drop back to, or worse than, a single GPU)

I always left the CCC settings to auto and would just enable Vsync in the game, I play Gears of war allot and if I forget to do the change res back n forth I would get this annoying almost tearing going up and down the screen depending on if you were moving the player or just as simple as looking left or right... I also seen Unreal tournament doing the same thing unless doing the change back n forth with the res.

 

[Mussels]

sorry i'd clicked reply before your post appeared.

seems strange that the problem goes away and comes back again..

not so much that it goes away and comes back, just that depending on your FPS you dont notice it at the time - or due to a driver update crossfire turned off and you didnt notice, that kind of thing.

In my case i ran for nearly a month thinking it had been fixed, only to find out catalyst AI had turned itself off - meaning that while my crossfire box was checked and i thought all was well, i was really only running one GPU the entire time.


its one of those issues that is always there, but because there is so many ways to 'fix' it (read, disabling crossfire, games that Vsync works in) that you can falsely assume its fixed for good.

You know, someone plays stalker, OMG FLICKER EWWW, then they go play company of heroes where its forced on by default and go "oh yay, its fixed!" (until they go play stalker again)

I always left the CCC settings to auto and would just enable Vsync in the game, I play Gears of war allot and if I forget to do the change res back n forth I would get this annoying almost tearing going up and down the screen depending on if you were moving the player or just as simple as looking left or right... I also seen Unreal tournament doing the same thing unless doing the change back n forth with the res.

curious. that DOES sound like a similar issue - however i know it doesnt work for me, as i tried that earlier with stalker - the game started in a window and i had to drop res, then go back to 1080p to make it work.