4870 Crossfire Built and Working!!!

[darkmatter7]

Hey guys, I finally did it. All of the components are together, everything is working. Got a G0 Stepping processor =) . Turned on and worked first time like a charm! Thanks for all the help!

Heres what I'm using:

MOBO: Gigabyte X48 DS4
RAM: OCZ Reaper 4gb
CPU: Q6600
HD: WD 640GB
GPU: Visiontek 4870 x 2
Power Supply: Corsair 750TX
Optical: Samsung SH-S203N
Case: Antec Nine Hundred
Cooling: Xigmatek HDT-S1283

As I said, everything is working. However, performance is quite a bit short of what I expected. Tested World in Conflict on Very High 1920x1200, on the benchmark thingy the FPS got as low as 7 and never got higher than 30. Seems to me like that's single 4870 performance. I know I obviously have a lot of minor tweaking to do, but could there be any obvious major problems? In Catalyst it say's Crossfire X is enabled, but it never says anything about 2 4870's. Anyone know what's up?

 

[andyc52042]

Take one card out and see what happens. Then report it back to me because I'm about to go with almost the exact same build

 

[darkmatter7]

Holy ****. I need help quick, I may know the problem. First I noticed that my bios was keeping the cpu at 266 x 8, so I was like, hey what's up, bumped it to 333 x 8, then looked at bios temp, said 76C for the processor when it was at 2.13ghz, thought, that can't be right. Booted up at 2.13 GHZ, downloaded speedfan and hwmonitor, hwmonitor said 95C per core at load! speedfan is saying 70C at complete idle! ****. The only thing I can think of is that, on the motherboard, I had the option of using just 4 pin for the cpu or 4 x 2 pin, I opted for 4 x 2 cuz I didn't know. Is that it?!?!? **** I need help soon, I'm kinda freaking out!

 

[JDocs]

The power connector doesn't matter as long as it delivers. Sounds like your CPU cooler isn't plugged in or is not mounted properly. Those high heat levels will cause the processor to throttle itself to prevent burning out, this badly hampers performance.

 

[guanyu210379]

?????
70'C @ idle?
1 . Reinstall your Xigmatek dude...perhaps it is not correctly installed.
I have one of those HDT-S1283, and I use it qith Q6600@3GHz. It won't go higher as 54'C at full load.
I use Zalman CNPS9700, and the Q6600 won't be any higher than 51'C at full load. hmmmmm...perhaps you are installing your HDT-S1283 without an extra bracket, I mean, you have done all the push pins?....hehehehehehe....I hate push pins!
http://www.xigmatek.com/product/accessory-crossbow-adk-i7751.php#3

2. Read the mobos manual, are suppose to install 4x2 or 4x1? Read it well!

 

[kelfen]

Your case is pretty solid I have it and it keeps things cool. Those graphics cards are hot

 

[JDocs]

The 4x2 and 4x1 issue is just for power delivery. 4x1 connector can deliver 75W + what the motherboard can. 4x2 can deliver 150W + motherboard limit. If your overclocking 4x2 is fairly useful as you can use it to avoid pushing to much power through the motherboard but it not it really doesn't matter.

 

[darkmatter7]

Alright, I think I figured out the problem. Yes, I have the extra retention bracket, but I didn't screw everything in enough, which is going to be a bitch w/ everything on :/ . Alright, I'm keeping this this cool till tommorow when I can fix it. If anyone has reccomendations on how to tighten the HDT-S1283 w/ extra retention bracket with it in case with all components in, please let me know. The problem is the two back screws on the side of the case w/o the clear panel. Anyhow, sorry for freaking out and doubleposting. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[redjaztin]

I agree with sir JDocs...G0 steeping should be a cooler batch. but in your case your processor doesn't seems to perform well. it has to do with your processor installation.

 

[one-shot]

It sounded like a HS problem from the start. I don't have that cooler and am not familiar with it. Good luck with the issue and nice Crossfire setup.

 

[darkmatter7]

Hey, I fixed the heatsink problem (temperatures now idling 29C-37C) which makes me very happy. However, when I check clock speeds in CPU-Z it shows the speed very variable changing from 1.6 - 2.4GHZ. It shows that it is the multiplier that is changing. How do I get this to run stably?

 

[darkmatter7]

Also, CPU-Z shows my ram running at 400mhz 2:3 5-5-5-18

 

[darkmatter7]

Also, my core voltage in cpu-z is 1.424 in idle

 

[mexpedip]

The mobo you are running has a power saver mode on it that when idle will slow down the CPU and use a lower voltage. To get an accurate read after you do your OC you need to download the CPU utility from intel or shut off the energy saver.

FYI, it's not actually called energy saver. Gigabye has a different name but it essentially is the same thing.

 

[darkmatter7]

how do I shut off energy saver?

 

[mexpedip]

It's in your bios. I don't remeber where exactly but I have the same board at home and will check when I am done with work (2 hours). If you have not found it by then I'll post the exact instructions on how to get to it.

 

[mexpedip]

its under the "advanced Bios" the scroll to "cpu enhanced halt CE1". Switch to disabled.

FYI, this board has some goofy settings out of the box so make sure it is set for sata dives etc. Also, I don't know anything about your HDD but I know mine came with a jumper on it that limited it to 1.5gbs vs the 3gbs it was supposed to be. Make sure your HDD does not have the jumper. jumper = little peace of plastic that covers part of the connector pins.

 

[darkmatter7]

I did that and it's still switching between a 6x and 9x multiplier :/ I also tried downloading gigabyte's dynamic energy saver utility, but it said that I didn't have that feature installed.

 

[darkmatter7]

Oh, and the core voltage is idling at 1.120v now.

 

[darkmatter7]

Yeah, when I run prime95, the clock speed stays right around 2.4. I'm going to test COD4, hope I can fix this quickly

 

[mexpedip]

one other thing, are you running a x32 or x64 operating system?

That board (probably most) defaults to x32. To change to x64 go to "power management steup" and scroll down to "HPET Mode" then select "64-bit mode".

If it is not set correctly that will cause problems as well. Good luck and I hope this helps.

 

[darkmatter7]

I'm running x64, so yeah, I'll change that

Thanks

 

[darkmatter7]

Ok, I'm slowly getting everything working. I tweaked a lot of stuff in the mb. Running the ram at 1:1 4-4-4-15, CPU 355 x 9, Idles at around 38C, voltage is ok. Now I've been running benchmarks + stress tests. Having some issues. OCCT quit after about 2.5 minutes in. I've ran prime95 twice, both times I've gotten an error on core 4, first time about 2 mins in, second time 9 mins in. Anyone know what's up and what else I need to tweak?

 

[licid24]

up the voltage.
Its all a balancing act between OC the proc having hig enough voltage to keep it stable and having low enough voltage so that the temps dont go to high.
Find your sweet spot.

 

[darkmatter7]

Ok, I upped the voltage to 1.35 in the MB (Is that good). Problem is that CPU-Z shows the vcore fluctuating from 1.296-1.312. Is that normal, or do I need to get it static?