HD7970 Off to a great start!

[Shurakai]

Hi, me again, you might remember me from such threads as the one about the dying 5870 bound to be just a couple of threads below this one.

So I received my ASUS HD7970 DCUII today, and let me tell you, Edit: I was a big angry baby, patience is a virtue

Nothing but problems here folks, if you have any clue what could be causing these problems, post away, more than happy to accept these being my fault or something.

Problem No. 1 PCIE 16x running at 1.1 instead of 2.0

(Link state management is off)

Problem No. 2 Drivers
Suggested drivers on AMD's site are 12.2, what a joke that is, ASUS GPU Tweak will crash with 12.2, games get lower performance, this problem is more "are the RC11 drivers I have now the best", or is there different ones?

Problem No. 3 Overclocking
Simple overclocking through CCC is great, maxed sliders with no voltage tweaks, but that's the problem the max sliders and voltage, in GPU Tweak I cannot even get passed the CCC speeds and the voltage is tied to the clock speed so it increases no matter what I do. Also, is there supposed to be memory voltage tweaking? Figured there should be on such a card

Problem No. 4 Time

So if anyone has any suggestions/fixes for these problems, thank in advance.

 

[HTC]

#1 - Have you tried the question mark @ the end of "Bus Interface"? If not, suggest you do.

 

[AsRock]

1st problem is not a problem it's just the power saving so try running a 3d app and see if it changes ( although it ma change back if the demand is not high enough ).

Only drivers i heard ppl using is the ones on the CD that come with it.

Use Afterburner for overclocking ?.

 

[Outback Bronze]

Shit dude i feel your pain. Nothing worse than paying good money 4 a good video card and getn pissed off. Anyway u tried msi afterburner 4 overclocking? Put new drivers(or ones prefered) on and uninstall asus voltage tweak.

Computers...Grrrr.....

 

[Xaser04]

1. Power saving mode
2. Run the HD7970 specific RC drivers (Dated 25/01 on AMD website).
3. Use MSI Afterburner not the hateful piece of crap that is GPU tweak.
4. Enjoy card...

 

[Shurakai]

Thank you all for the quick replies

Afterburner it is, or at least until ASUS release something worth while. Well I'm a dunce for not clicking that ?, so simple (Was kinda hoping it was a problem, but alas i guess Saints Row the Third is just a rushed console port).

Had a feeling I was the one at fault here

Edit: Actually, I'll stick with maxed out CCC for now, I'll have some overclocking fun when everything gets a bit more stable

Edit 2: Also uploaded my BIOS to the VGA database

 

[Horrux]

The ASUS utilities are notoriously bad. Their hardware is notoriously good... Uninstall any ASUS utilities for best performance...

 

[LifeOnMars]

What's the issue with Saints Row The Third? Runs great here at 1080p fully maxed. Driver problem?

 

[Shurakai]

Pretty much perfect except when driving around with the sun shining, sure it doesn't drop below 30fps, but I can "feel" it.

Mega edit: Holy crap, I hadn't actually tested Saints since getting the RC11 drivers, solid 60 AHOY! Amazing how much a bad driver can impact your game.

 

[Xaser04]

Pretty much perfect except when driving around with the sun shining, sure it doesn't drop below 30fps, but I can "feel" it.

Mega edit: Holy crap, I hadn't actually tested Saints since getting the RC11 drivers, solid 60 AHOY! Amazing how much a bad driver can impact your game.

The RC driver really is quite good.

I have noticed some sizable gains in BF3 Eyefinity.

We are talking with the latest BF3 patch; 38FPS average at 6048x1080, Ultra Settings with 2x MSAA & HBAO on a single HD7970 (@1125/6600).

Drop down to my normal playable settings which is basically "high" and I can easily achieve over 60FPS average.

Considering my old HD6970 only managed 35FPS at the same setting (High) it is a pretty big performance improvement.

 

[brandonwh64]

If you dont like it then you can give me the card

 

[ChristTheGreat]

The ASUS utilities are notoriously bad. Their hardware is notoriously good... Uninstall any ASUS utilities for best performance...

I approved. Everytimes I saw someone with asus utilities, there was problem, and this is since a long time ago. I already had Asus smart, and overclocking was having problem, without it, worked fine.

 

[alexsubri]

I have been using Sapphire Trixx program for my 7950 Sapphire OC Edition, I am getting good speeds at 1200/7032mhz 1.25v ...I have my fan speeds at 90% (can barely hear them compared to my 5850 crossfire )

But, like I said in a previous post. The drivers are fairly new. I didn't install my drivers from the CD, but I did install RC11 and it was all butter, but some games (cough BF3) were acting up, so I went with RC12.1 and some improvements in games.

I just downloaded icEnahcer 2.0 for GTAIV and it looks amazing. I just need to install the Car mod and some other tweaks now to make it look better. I can finally play it at max settings (Ultra everything = ~1.7GB VRAM

 

[Shurakai]

Couple of quick questions before we let the thread slip into the unknown.

1. Would oiling the fans help with the horrible "Whir" noise at 10-30% speed? (Must of got the worst of the batch, audible over all my other components )

Edit: Card going to a friend who plans to watercool, so the horrible cooler won't be a problem. I'll be grabbing a Gigabyte 7970 Windforce, knew I should've went with a card from a company that actually sent out review samples (Asus is releasing a different revision of mine already with half the VRM on the back, probably a good thing as mine get to 110-115c)

2. If I upgraded my current DVI/VGA(DVI Adaptor) dual monitor setup to Displayport/Displayport, would my idle clocks be lower than the current 400/1550mhz clocks I currently have? (Remember reading something about it, but can't confirm) Currently resorting to Windows key+P to turn off the second monitor when not in use, but these are due for an upgrade and I enjoy my Mass Effect wallpaper on that screen

Edit: Still sketchy but it looks like nothing would change.

 

[Shurakai]

Might as well drop some pictures just before I applied some MX4 (helped temps about 2-3 degrees, nice result). Sadly it shows how horrid the outer heatpipes are, look at that contact, 1-2mm lol

 

[Horrux]

Those outer heatpipes will still help when the temperatures climb, but you are right, that setup is far from ideal.

 

[AsRock]

WOW that coolers terrible. es those gaps and not full covering the ram chips lol.. Then i noticed how well packed those fins are on it and i bet air getting though them is fairly low which in turn would mean the VRMs are not getting cooled as well as they could be either.

I would take there fans off that plastic part ( if it unclips\screws ) and put my own on to see if it push some extra air though.

Did they use there own VRM's ?. The VRM's on the 6970 keep cooler than the GPU although i don't know if ATI used the same or better ones on the 7970 by default.

 

[LAN_deRf_HA]

It has a supposedly better than stock vrm design. Honestly as far as aftermarket coolers go for the 79x0 cards this is one of the better ones. They all seem to be funky on the core and most have no vrm/ram cooling at all. All that matters is if it cools significantly better and quieter than stock.

Driver issues will eventually be fixed, but I wouldn't hold my breathe for asus gpu tweak. Which begs the question does afterburner support voltage control on this card?

 

[AsRock]

It has a supposedly better than stock vrm design. Honestly as far as aftermarket coolers go for the 79x0 cards this is one of the better ones. They all seem to be funky on the core and most have no vrm/ram cooling at all. All that matters is if it cools significantly better and quieter than stock.

Driver issues will eventually be fixed, but I wouldn't hold my breathe for asus gpu tweak. Which begs the question does afterburner support voltage control on this card?

Would not say the heatsink on m 6970 was that big but the VRMs have never seen over 70c lol.

So what a saing is that ATI put great VRMs on this card and now other compans go real shading on cooling. How sad even more so for the 7970 as i remember it's a harder card to get a screw on VRM heat sink for.

I use a self modded VRM which was for the 5800 series.

 

[erocker]

Might as well drop some pictures just before I applied some MX4 (helped temps about 2-3 degrees, nice result). Sadly it shows how horrid the outer heatpipes are, look at that contact, 1-2mm lol

[url]http://i.imgur.com/HlYyal.jpg[/URL]
[url]http://i.imgur.com/vVMgwl.jpg[/URL]

That looks horrible. It looks like some pre-production prototype, I can't believe they would sell this card retail.

 

[Shurakai]

Driver issues will eventually be fixed, but I wouldn't hold my breathe for asus gpu tweak. Which begs the question does afterburner support voltage control on this card?

Core and memory voltage actually, which I guess means they still use the same voltage controller (as MSI has only added support for reference voltage controllers).

Capped at 1300mv and 1700mv respectively.

 

[LAN_deRf_HA]

Hows it overclock?

 

[Shurakai]

Not too bad, I know I can get 1200mhz core with about 1200mv, after that no voltage keeps it stable. Memory won't budge past 1575(6300) without an extra 50mv (haven't pushed mem too hard, never see as much results as pure core clocks). Not sure what the expected overclocking capabilities of these cards are, I know HardOCP had a freak of a Gigabyte card doing 1300mhz with just 1250mv, but I don't expect that, that was a golden sample

 

[buggalugs]

There have been reported problems with the cooler on this card. Dodgy mounting of the cooler to the board and erratic temps. If you touch the cooler temps can get much better or much worse.

I had the ASUS 6970 dcuii and got rid of it because the cooler didnt have a solid mounting system, the whole cooler and card would flex when you picked it up. It just wasnt a solid build.

I was hoping Asus would improve with the 7 series cards but it looks like they're much the same.

The cooler is huge is really needs to be fixed to the board better.

http://www.behardware.com/news/12153/asus-hd-7950-directcu-ii-fault-report.html

 

[Shurakai]

Got my Gigabyte HD7970 in the mail today, what a joke of a card it is. Obviously it varies from card to card, but this gigabyte card has the loudest coil whine I have ever heard. No camera on me but the whine is like this video, but literally twice as loud, I wish i was joking. Next up is temperatures, it keeps the same idle temps with dual screens at around 50ish, at load it's actually cooler at only 64-70, and even the VRM are chilly at 70-80, but there's a catch. Fan noise, yup, every review said this card was barely audible over their other components, my arse it is, this thing is almost like having three jet turbines strapped to a heatsink if you card ever has the audacity to reach 64-70.

I've learned my lesson, this is Aus and this ASUS card is two generations higher than my old 5870, sure it's lower nm, but I should not have expected it to be cooler running. ASUS card is back in and after living through the Gigabyte card, it's actually bloody good.

Edit:

Text

I think that only holds true for the 7950, I've had this card apart a few times now and each time I can feel how solid it's put together, excellent contact is made; well, apart from the ram (but even that only gets to 30c max). The back plate locks everything into one big sturdy chunk of cooler (something the 7950 sadly lacks)