GA-970A-UD3 and Crossfired 5770

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bigbadbrad23

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Hey Guys,

I just got a custom computer from Cyberpowerpc this week. I got two 5770's installed and hooked up with a crossfire bridge. There is no crossfire tab in my Catalyst Control Center. In My GPU-Z it shows that my second card has a maximum of 16x but I think it's only electrically set for 4x. But the Graphics card is only running at 2x.

I'm assuming that this is why I have no crossfire option because the Graphics cards are running at two different speeds. I'm very frustrated that I was sold A motherboard that said it could do Crossfire but can't technically do it. Is there any way to adjust the PCI-E speeds to make them both even speeds? Or to somehow force the 4x slot to go up to at least 8x or lower the other 16x down to match the other card?

Thanks, I'm pretty new to all of this stuff but I really wanted to have a powerful gaming rig and it looks like If I can't figure this out than I need to just sell back my 5770's and go with a 5870 but I really didn't want to have to spend the extra money for that.

Thanks,
 
Solution
If you're unsure then don't replace your MOBO. The first time can be difficult, you can damage your CPU, or face issues with new drivers, etc.

My "feeling" is to get the single faster GPU AND have CyberPower replace the MOBO so it won't interfere with your {warranty.}

The "big" advantage of CF is that you can ~ effectively double your GPU performance. So in the future you could add another HD 5870 which in a year will be considerably less $. So that said and thinking of tomorrow I would send it back to CyberPower; a PITA {pain in the a$$} today but you'll be much happier tomorrow...and as long as you own your rig.

Keep in mind if you don't have an {HD} high-definition monitor {1920 x 1080} or better the HD 5770 works just fine...
Not knowing what exact MOBO that you have I'll give you a generic answer. Not all PCIe slots are the same, and in most situations the top PCIe slot closest to the CPU is the fastest and you may need to skip a slot to the next slot.

Cyberpower uses a non-shrouded HD 5770 which inturn allows closer proximity.

If you post your exact MOBO I'll post the correct locations.

X58-UD3R example:
1. PCIEX16_1 - single
2. PCIEX16_2 - CF/SLI 2 cards
3. PCIEX8_2 - CF/SLI 3 cards

refer to your manual.

I could not find the "GA-970A-UD3" MOBO.
 
In a word, no. This is not a MOBO that I would recommend for CF. The proper chipset is needed; there is no mention of CF in your manual. In addition, read (note 2).

(Note 2) The PCIEX1_1 and PCIEX1_2 slots share bandwidth with the PCIEX4 slot. When PCIEX4 slot is populated with a x4 card, the PCIEX1_1 and PCIEX1_2 slots become unavailable.

GA-870A-UD3:
PCIEX16
PCIEX4

Just in case, how (many) bridges are connected to the HD 5770's?
 

bigbadbrad23

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Sep 6, 2010
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Man this is really frustrating. It said on CyberPowerPC that the motherboard supported Crossfire, but all of my research is coming up otherwise. I can't afford to send the whole computer back to them and wait for a rebuild (if they will even do that).

I had read that note in the manual but I don't have anything in those other PCIE slots and it still doesn't explain why the video card in the x4 slot is running at x2.

I only see room on the 5770's for one bridge and that is the only one that is connected, would another bridge help?

Would I be better off just returning the 5770's for a more powerful card? or upgrading my motherboard and requiring a whole rebuild?

Thanks for all the help man.
 
Suggestion, {I too noticed Cyberpower's error} call them an tell them to exchange your MOBO with one that does support CF. As a smart suggestion -> research the MOBO before requesting a replacement. They will do this but they'll require a credit card hold until you return the old MOBO <or> send it into them and let them do the work. However, the second will take 2-3 weeks...

Good Luck!

RE: 2x vs 4x ~ To my best knowledge ~ maybe the lack of chipset for CF.
 

bigbadbrad23

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Sep 6, 2010
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So is replacing the motherboard really hard? I'm looking into my PC and this is the first time i've done anything like this and I worry about how much time it could take and whether it would be better to replace the two video cards with just a 5870 (which would about 100 more than the video cards I have now) or replace the MOBO (which would only cost like 20$ more than the one I have).
 
If you're unsure then don't replace your MOBO. The first time can be difficult, you can damage your CPU, or face issues with new drivers, etc.

My "feeling" is to get the single faster GPU AND have CyberPower replace the MOBO so it won't interfere with your {warranty.}

The "big" advantage of CF is that you can ~ effectively double your GPU performance. So in the future you could add another HD 5870 which in a year will be considerably less $. So that said and thinking of tomorrow I would send it back to CyberPower; a PITA {pain in the a$$} today but you'll be much happier tomorrow...and as long as you own your rig.

Keep in mind if you don't have an {HD} high-definition monitor {1920 x 1080} or better the HD 5770 works just fine, and as much as I can appreciate 70 FPS you won't notice {smooth} much more than ~40 FPS and you can only see 25 FPS.

Good Luck!

HD 5770 vs 5870 - http://www.overclock.net/ati/644665-radeon-5770-cf-vs-5870-vs.html
 
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