Need help with HD 5970 issue

[GenocideOwl]

So this is a long tribulation. if you want to jump to the last sentence then go for it but I feel the need to spell it all out to ensure nothing could have happened through the process that could be causing problems

So recently NewEgg had the HD5970 for a huge discount on Black Friday( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103195 ). I managed to snag it. My current machine is a little old but was upgraded a few years ago. Running a 9800GTx, Gigabyte motherboard, 4 GB Ram, core2quad 2.8.

I have never owned a high end gaming card, so this seemed like a great jump. I ordered it and then the card was too large for my case. Went to local store and bought a Corair R500. Put it in only to realize that my PSU was old and didn't have a 8-pin PCI-e power connector. So I went back and got a Corsair TX750W PSU.
Take it home. plug everything in. Card boots just fine and seems to run well on the desktop after installing all the drivers(and I made sure to turn off all the nvidia services and other things). So I boot a game(Left4dead2 just to start) and max everything only to notice my FPS actually isn't very good. I boot Skyrim and crank it up and it actually looks worse than my 9800GTX!

I run Furmark and another benchmark tool and notice that just by turning on AA or any effect my FPS just get crushed to nothing. I look around online about potential problems and I figure out that my mobo is old and does not support crossfire. This, to me, seems like the problem since the 5970 is essentially two cards natively crossfired together.

I will be buying a new CPU/Mobo soon if that is indeed the problem.

So is the fact my motherboard doesn't do crossfire the reason the benchmarks are only hitting half what they should or should it still work and I need to think about RMA'ing the card?

 

[GenocideOwl]

Running windows 7 64-bit. If that somehow makes a difference. I can't find the exact model of my mobo online(I am not at my home computer right now) but I will post later if requested.

 

[Warmacblu]

That is one reason why these dual cards are made, for people who don't have CrossFireX or SLi boards. Honestly, I do not know what the issue is but it sounds like some sort of driver problem.

 

[GenocideOwl]

When I plug the card in both GPUs show up in the device manager. I went to AMD's site and downloaded the newest drivers(catalyst 11.11 I think).
what should I be looking for as a potential problem?

 

[phatman2600]

Hi Genocideowl, I am having the very same issues as you are. I also bought the Diamond 5970 and about to RMA it. My GTX 480 destroys this card for some odd reason. I have installed in two of my computers and have been getting horrible frame rates. I have also installed 11.11c, which hasn't changed a thing. Even when I change graphics from low to high, I don't see any differences and my frame rate is the same. Changing the settings doesn't change the fps at all!

 

[GenocideOwl]

So the fact my motherboard doesn't support crossfire is not the issue for sure then?

 

[phatman2600]

That is not the issue. Crossfire is being performed internally in the 5970.

 

[dalethepcman]

If you are using applications like furmark to test your crossfire theory, make sure you run the crossfire version of furmark and run through the required configuration changes to run in crossfire mode.

http://www.geeks3d.com/20081207/furmark-how-to-enable-crossfire-support/

 

[GenocideOwl]

this is the motherboard I have
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3499#ov
I have the card in right now, maybe trying to install the drivers from the manufactures website and try it out.

 

[dalethepcman]

In furmark, does it show 2 GPU's if you enable temperature monitoring? if not use the previously linked article to enable crossfire in furmark.

 

[GenocideOwl]

yes, it shows both GPUs
should both GPUs be running the same clock speed? one is running at 820 and the other at 725.

 

[dalethepcman]

I don't have a 5970, but running at different clocks doesn't sound normal. you might want to check the manufacturers website to see if an updated BIOS was released for your card. As a warning though, do not perform a bios update on any component unless you are comfortable with the procedure, and have clean stable power.

You may want to set your windows power profile to "maximum performance" just to make sure windows isn't messing with your video

 

[Mcpepsii]

This is funny, Cause i am having a very simmilar problem... I bought the diamon 5970 from newegg thinking it was gonna be a beast card considering its original price was around 500$ and up, however i cant even run A.V.A or GTAIV on max settings, Im also having problems with black screens ingame... somone help

 

[phatman2600]

So if many of us are having a problem, could it mean this batch of cards are defective or are there some driver issues?

 

[GenocideOwl]

I really wish I would get a more solid answer from somebody about this issue.
I have uninstalled and re-installed the drivers several times now(from different sources) and got nothing(hell CCC won't even open now for some reason)
my last effort is to put the card into my friends computer and see if it runs, else I guess I will RMA it and hopefully get a working card in return.

 

[Mcpepsii]

To be honest i think its uselss to RMA it, Im not sure if its a defective card. It seems like so many people are having this issue, there has to be somthing we are all missing, because 30-40 fps on GTA IV maxed out on a small 17in monitor does not seem right for such a beastly card, and mine is having issues with overheating on stock cooling right now... Im pretty bummed out, if somone has an answer please share it.

 

[phatman2600]

To be honest i think its uselss to RMA it, Im not sure if its a defective card. It seems like so many people are having this issue, there has to be somthing we are all missing, because 30-40 fps on GTA IV maxed out on a small 17in monitor does not seem right for such a beastly card, and mine is having issues with overheating on stock cooling right now... Im pretty bummed out, if somone has an answer please share it.

Why would you think it is useless to RMA it? I really want this card to work because it was an awesome deal. Could it be bad drivers?

 

[Mcpepsii]

Your right its not useless, I think i chose a bad choice of words, But i do think it would be useless to RMA the card so quick, For all we know it could a driver issue or somthing easier. I want this card to work to, im looking foward to getting it to work properly so i can enjoy my new PC

 

[phatman2600]

Your right its not useless, I think i chose a bad choice of words, But i do think it would be useless to RMA the card so quick, For all we know it could a driver issue or somthing easier. I want this card to work to, im looking foward to getting it to work properly so i can enjoy my new PC

I know how you feel! The only issue is that we have less than 60 days to RMA with Newegg before having to deal with horribad Diamond.

 

[GenocideOwl]

I just wish some well versed members would come and give some sort of guidance on the issue for all of us. Now I can't even get CCC to launch and everything I have tried simple doesn't work

 

[Mcpepsii]

I just wish some well versed members would come and give some sort of guidance on the issue for all of us. Now I can't even get CCC to launch and everything I have tried simple doesn't work

Hmm thats pretty strange that you can't get CCC to launch. For that issue i would uninstall CCC and the drivers for your card, then reinstall it all fresh. Other than that I can't really think of anything else off the top of my head.

 

[GenocideOwl]

I tried that, didn't work. I actually had to system restore to get CCC to work again.
one question I have is what should windows think my video card is? Right now the CCC says I have "three" 5970s running(though I believe those are just there for each display port). But when looking at the device manager for windows it says my video card is "ATI Radeon HD 5900 Series" and doesn't list the specific card type. Is that what it should say?

 

[Dsa44]

I really wish I would get a more solid answer from somebody about this issue.
I have uninstalled and re-installed the drivers several times now(from different sources) and got nothing(hell CCC won't even open now for some reason)
my last effort is to put the card into my friends computer and see if it runs, else I guess I will RMA it and hopefully get a working card in return.

Don't RMA it just yet......Holy cow, I don't know why I am so lucky with my HD 5970! With the 11.10 amd driver, I get a firm 60 fps in all areas of Skyrim. (I think the game is capped at 60 fps internally) Both gpu's are active as reported by MSI afterburner and radeonpro and each gets up to 99% utilization at the same time. When I "upgraded" to 11.11c, performance plummeted and I could barely get 15-25 fps. I did a system restore to get back to the 11.10 driver and I am now happily at 60 fps again, seemingly using both gpu's. Maybe try the older driver...do a backup first. Maybe xfire is already working with a dual-gpu/single card as opposed to a true dual-card xfire setup. I know lots of folks are having a problem with the xfire scaling and Skyrim, but the 5970 seems to be fine with 11.10 ( and I think I have cap4 installed as well)
Give it a shot and let us know...
DSA

 

[Warmacblu]

Don't RMA it just yet......Holy cow, I don't know why I am so lucky with my HD 5970! With the 11.10 amd driver, I get a firm 60 fps in all areas of Skyrim. (I think the game is capped at 60 fps internally) Both gpu's are active as reported by MSI afterburner and radeonpro and each gets up to 99% utilization at the same time. When I "upgraded" to 11.11c, performance plummeted and I could barely get 15-25 fps. I did a system restore to get back to the 11.10 driver and I am now happily at 60 fps again, seemingly using both gpu's. Maybe try the older driver...do a backup first. Maybe xfire is already working with a dual-gpu/single card as opposed to a true dual-card xfire setup. I know lots of folks are having a problem with the xfire scaling and Skyrim, but the 5970 seems to be fine with 11.10 ( and I think I have cap4 installed as well)
Give it a shot and let us know...
DSA

Great information, thanks. It's definitely worth a try for any users having issues with their HD 5970.

 

[GenocideOwl]

Don't RMA it just yet......Holy cow, I don't know why I am so lucky with my HD 5970! With the 11.10 amd driver, I get a firm 60 fps in all areas of Skyrim. (I think the game is capped at 60 fps internally) Both gpu's are active as reported by MSI afterburner and radeonpro and each gets up to 99% utilization at the same time. When I "upgraded" to 11.11c, performance plummeted and I could barely get 15-25 fps. I did a system restore to get back to the 11.10 driver and I am now happily at 60 fps again, seemingly using both gpu's. Maybe try the older driver...do a backup first. Maybe xfire is already working with a dual-gpu/single card as opposed to a true dual-card xfire setup. I know lots of folks are having a problem with the xfire scaling and Skyrim, but the 5970 seems to be fine with 11.10 ( and I think I have cap4 installed as well)
Give it a shot and let us know...
DSA

where did you get the 11.10 download, should that just be on AMD's website?