[Guide] Installing AMD Radeon Mobility 6970 / 6990 in your M17x R2 (Single GPU and CrossfireX)

[Greywolf22]

Intense...I've used 90% (minimum) in the past. Now I use ArtiClean...fantastic stuff:

http://www.amazon.com/ArctiClean-60m...5881824&sr=8-1

[aarpcard]

As long as the cards aren't overheating though, you're problems aren't the result of a bad paste job.

Using a tooth is fine - just don't be forceful.

[DR650SE]

Using a tooth is fine - just don't be forceful.

I'm picturing somone trying to remove the paste with thier teeth Bet it tastes funny. I bet IC Diamond is the best tasting paste Give you that Platinum Grill effect. Bling!

IC Diamond 24, number 1 recommended paste, endorsed by Paul Wall



Gotta have a sense of humor

[IntenseIGFX]

As long as the cards aren't overheating though, you're problems aren't the result of a bad paste job.

Using a tooth is fine - just don't be forceful.

What do you think it is? What do you think I should try? Dried paste on resisters don't cause any performance issues? Also, is it normal for games not to utilize the GPU @ 100%?

[Ghost_AWP]

Which one is for master card?

X648M is the left card and I think that is the master. If I'm wrong, someone correct me. Been awhile since I opened my rig up.

[IntenseIGFX]

Sigh I'm so damn frustrated. Does anyone have ANY ideas I can try?

[Greywolf22]

Hey Intense, as a last resort the only thing I would consider is a fresh re-install..if you have an extra HDD lying around you could temporarily do that. Can't remember when you did your last re-install, but with all the driver swaps and stuff being loaded it could very well be something with windows itself (the starcraft issue, still not sure what's causing the issue with the screen shaking).

I'd do a fresh install with drivers you know worked previously, and then load Starcraft. It's entirely possible that some other application is consuming resources and causing performance to degrade as well.

Also, I've had issues where Battlenet itself is congested and causes serious performance problems even when not playing against other people.

Just some thoughts...I know a re-install is a huge pain but it would be the cleanest way to eliminate other potential issues and go with a stock windows load, graphics drivers, and the game and see how it runs.

Otherwise, I'm out of ideas as to what might be causing it....I suppose it's possible your cards are throttling due to power issues as well, although I don't know if other folks see this type of behavior or not when the cards are pulling to much power, plus that wouldn't explain why it worked for awhile and now is no longer working.

Good luck man, I know how frustrating this type of thing can be

[Douse]

Also, I dont know any game to uses both GPU's at 100%.

Even BF3 at best I get 98% and that always varies. Skyrim is much worse....This comes down to drivers and game design.

I don't know why SC2 was giving you 100% of awesomeness on both, but it does not surprise that it doesn't.

All comes down to the drivers, caps and the game... and a bit of luck....especially when xfire is concerned.

[thenzfarmer]

Sigh I'm so damn frustrated. Does anyone have ANY ideas I can try?

Flash your cards back to default vbios.
Flash your M17X A10 Bios.
Uninstall the video drivers using express uninstall all ATI and then driver sweeper in safe mode.
Restart the system and check both your cards are found by typing "atiflash -i"
Let your system install the standard vga adapter.
Restart your laptop and install the beta 12.1 drivers, I have NO performance issues with them whatsoever.
Restart your laptop and disable crossfire.
Run Starcraft 2 and compare your results with Fraps to other benchmarks you can find online. If you are satisfied with the performance with that single GPU, bin the other one.
Just kidding... SC2 doesn't support Xfire as far as I know (As far as I know abbreviation was so tempting ) so no need to enable crossfire. If you still get that issue of yours, get back to us and we shall look deeper into that issue.
My opinion is it is all a driver optimisation issue for specific video cards, Meaning the driver you were using for the 5870s supported passive crossfire better than the 6990s do. Using the 5870s with an older driver might restore these performances you crave.

Maybe start a new thread for this specific issue with a summary of what you have tried and where your experiments have failed?

Keep us informed.

Cheers,

Mike.

Edit: As Greywolf mentionned a clean install might be a solution and I recommend running CCleaner in the meantime before going through this 2 hour procedure

[IntenseIGFX]

Did a clean install of the drivers earlier. It happens in LoL too. Those are the only two games I've really played lately. It aggrivates me because a week ago everything was fine.

EDIT: Also, both gpu's mirror eachother in usage %. Usually between 40-70. I removed the undervolt from my cards and the performance got better (I think). Again, @ the start of the game everything is fine. I go against AI and I throw in a bunch of cheat codes to build my base and army up really fast just to scroll around with a lot on the screen and test it. Its normal for a cluster of crap to bog down performance. I know that. I also know that a week ago I could be in a 4v4 with everything on ultra and be in the middle of 8 maxxed armies and still able to micro (as well as I can even micro). In a 1v1 against a maxed army fighting in one of our bases my micro goes to hell because everything is lagging. The second the army is dead or I move my camera away from it my fps goes back up to 60. I just don't understand is going on. Last night in LoL everytime we were in a team fight my fps dropped to 35 / 40. That should NEVER happen. Honestly just don't understand it. I'll try LoL with the undervolt removed.