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The Asus HD7970-DC2-3GD5 and MSI R7970 Lightning; the solution for tearing in the 79XX family

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Haldi

Post subject: There is still NO guarante

Posted: 06 Feb 2012, 22:30

Editors

Joined: 08 May 2011, 18:58
Posts: 2286

There is still NO guarante that you will get Tearing! And even if that small possibility shoul happen, cant' you bring the card back because of insufficent quality of the Product?

@Project-x
Yeah, shure you shouldn't overheat a GPU!
Oh, and did you know that XFX Dual Dissapation Cards get 103C hot on the back site? Reference design is 80C. So that would Mark all XFX cards right from the begin.

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Wijkert

Post subject: I would indeed recommend the

Posted: 06 Feb 2012, 23:00

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Joined: 06 Sep 2011, 09:29
Posts: 552
Location: Haarlem, the Netherlands

I would indeed recommend the asus to you. It makes you limited in your choices though (e.g. if its not in stock you have to wait). Also, the CUII cooler isn't the best cooler, its cheap though. Twin frozr/sapphire oc/windforce and powercoler ones are better. Besides it takes up three slots instead of two. The price and the connection is what makes this card interesting.

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Moose

Post subject: Haldi wrote:There is still NO

Posted: 06 Feb 2012, 23:07

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

There is still NO guarante that you will get Tearing! And even if that small possibility shoul happen, cant' you bring the card back because of insufficent quality of the Product?

Well, I've got three DVI/HDMI monitors, so if I pick a regular 7970 I'd have to use adapters, and until now everyone that uses adapters has the line. If you have 'evidence' that the new 7000 series don't have that, please share with me

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mattsimis

Post subject: I already said I use an

Posted: 07 Feb 2012, 00:29

Joined: 19 Mar 2004, 15:19
Posts: 298

I already said I use an adapter and Ive no idea what this tearing is about. I cannot believe you are out to solve a problem you have never experienced and most people dont even see. Besides the adapter only changes the mechanical aspect of the connection, DP transmits a DVI type signal when a single link passive DP-DVI adapter is connected (same signal x3), outside a problem with the adapter, the card has no idea anything has changed.

Im also using 2 different monitor types, my middle 24" is an S-PVA panel, sides are TNs.

Fill me in here, what and where is this bad tearing problem Im meant to see?

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Bifurk8

Post subject: It's too bad there's usually

Posted: 07 Feb 2012, 01:15

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Joined: 31 Mar 2011, 02:10
Posts: 244

It's too bad there's usually no convenient way to try Eyefinity before you buy. Bezels bother some people, but not others. Likewise, some people want 30 FPS while others need 60 FPS for things to seem smooth. Some people want v-sync and others don't care about tearing from v-sync being disabled. Lot's of folks care about anti-aliasing, but some don't. Micro-stuttering bugs a lot of folks, but I hardly ever notice it (some games are worse than others).

I think you're in the same boat. There's no way to know if tearing will bother you or not. I run 2x 5870's at 6052x1080 bezel-compensated on 2 X DVI ports and 1 native display port and I've never noticed any tearing. But, I'm also the kind of guy that doesn't mind v-sync disabled tearing (I can see it, but usually am not bothered by it).

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BHawthorne

Post subject: It's a bit silly, because you

Posted: 07 Feb 2012, 03:40

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Joined: 06 May 2006, 12:46
Posts: 1640

It's a bit silly, because you have no context or real frame of reference on taring. Taring is inconsequential IMHO.

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Moose

Post subject: Okay, okay, I get it. Tearing

Posted: 07 Feb 2012, 09:17

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Okay, okay, I get it. Tearing isn't an issue for me anymore. There. Now talk about the technical aspects. Let's say I'm playing BF3 on max with AA. A 2GB card will hit the VRAM limit. This means getting a 7970 or a 7950 (since tearing is not an issue, remember?). What would you do? Or am I asking the impossible now?

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BHawthorne

Post subject: What would I do? I'd wait for

Posted: 07 Feb 2012, 09:23

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Joined: 06 May 2006, 12:46
Posts: 1640

What would I do? I'd wait for quantity levels of the 7000-series to settle down a bit and for shops to quit price gouging. Really depends upon where the prices settle though and if NVIDIA causes a price war with Kepler later in the year. I fully expect the 7970/7950 to adjust down to 6970/6950 pricing plus $50 or so for the 3GB ram upgrade.

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Wijkert

Post subject: Moose wrote:Okay, okay, I get

Posted: 07 Feb 2012, 10:14

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Joined: 06 Sep 2011, 09:29
Posts: 552
Location: Haarlem, the Netherlands

Okay, okay, I get it. Tearing isn't an issue for me anymore. There. Now talk about the technical aspects. Let's say I'm playing BF3 on max with AA. A 2GB card will hit the VRAM limit. This means getting a 7970 or a 7950 (since tearing is not an issue, remember?). What would you do? Or am I asking the impossible now?

If you are a guy that is easily annoyed by low fps, no aa, tearing;), stuttering etc. then playing bf3 on ultra (msaa enabled) and on triple 1080p resolution is not going to be possible. You need two 79xx cards for that and then you get horrible microstuttering. Fraps will tell you the game is running at 60 fps for example and it would feel like under 30 fps to you, so the second card would be useless. You might as well just buy one 79xx and play on high-ish. That is what I am going to do and that is also what I would recommend to you.

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Moose

Post subject: BHawthorne wrote:What would I

Posted: 07 Feb 2012, 10:33

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

What would I do? I'd wait for quantity levels of the 7000-series to settle down a bit and for shops to quit price gouging. Really depends upon where the prices settle though and if NVIDIA causes a price war with Kepler later in the year. I fully expect the 7970/7950 to adjust down to 6970/6950 pricing plus $50 or so for the 3GB ram upgrade.

Well, I don't have time to wait. I have a buyer for my MSI R5870 and he's waiting on the damn thing nearly two months now, since I have such a hard time picking a good card. I am obsessed with it really. Look at my post history :p

If you are a guy that is easily annoyed by low fps, no aa, tearing;), stuttering etc. then playing bf3 on ultra (msaa enabled) and on triple 1080p resolution is not going to be possible. You need two 79xx cards for that and then you get horrible microstuttering. Fraps will tell you the game is running at 60 fps for example and it would feel like under 30 fps to you, so the second card would be useless. You might as well just buy one 79xx and play on high-ish. That is what I am going to do and that is also what I would recommend to you.

Low fps, no AA: that's why I'm getting a high end card;
Tearing: That's why I'm thinking about the Asus card;
Stuttering: That's why I ain't getting Crossfire (or SLI for that matter)

I was in doubt whether to add that I ment high and not ultra settings, I should've done that.
Anyways, I think my quest has come to an end. I think the only good choice for me is the Asus HD7970-DC2-3GD5 or the HD7970-DC2T-3GD5.

Unless someone comes with some really good arguments why I should not buy this card before it releases in the Netherlands.

Thank you all so much for your help, and I might write an article about the Asus when I get it.

Moose

PS: Wijkert, I'd like to stay in touch and see what your experiences will be with your new card.

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Wijkert

Post subject: Moose wrote:PS: Wijkert, I'd

Posted: 07 Feb 2012, 10:38

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Joined: 06 Sep 2011, 09:29
Posts: 552
Location: Haarlem, the Netherlands

PS: Wijkert, I'd like to stay in touch and see what your experiences will be with your new card.

Sure mate, will do.

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Moose

Post subject: Oh, nearly forgot! What

Posted: 07 Feb 2012, 10:46

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Oh, nearly forgot! What adapters should I order with it? Link with choices.

Keep in mind that I need DVI to Displayport, not DVI to mini-Displayport. What would you guys recommend?

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sparx1981

Post subject: Am I missing something? Every

Posted: 07 Feb 2012, 12:22

Joined: 13 Dec 2011, 09:47
Posts: 142

Am I missing something? Every graphics card I've had always comes with adapters? In fact all of my ATI cards come with a selection of Display port adapters. Why do you need to buy more? Sadly the mini display port adapters I already have wont be of any use but wont the card come with the correct adapters?

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sparx1981

Post subject: Ah I see what you mean. Sadly

Posted: 07 Feb 2012, 16:49

Joined: 13 Dec 2011, 09:47
Posts: 142

Ah I see what you mean. Sadly my rig is without a graphics card at all at the moment. So although it may be nice to have the new DCII card when it comes out. I dont think I can live

a.) without the PC up and running for another couple of weeks at least
b.) run the risk of these being silly money when they do come out. The XFX Black edition DD is £499 here in the UK... the Asus is better quality and rumours are of good pricing for this, if XFX can charge that much Asus definately can.
c.) need to spend extra cash on top of the card to get adapters
d.) limit myself if I wanted trifire any time in the future because fitting three of these in one machine could be a squeeze
e.).... who am i trying to convince I'd love two of these but I cant wait....

Looks like I'll be getting two standard 7970s again.

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Moose

Post subject: sparx1981 wrote:Am I missing

Posted: 07 Feb 2012, 17:16

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Am I missing something? Every graphics card I've had always comes with adapters? In fact all of my ATI cards come with a selection of Display port adapters. Why do you need to buy more? Sadly the mini display port adapters I already have wont be of any use but wont the card come with the correct adapters?

Yes, this graphics card comes with some adapters, but not three DVI to Displayport! It would be nice but totally unrealistic if they did that :p

And about the release date, here in Holland I guess it's around two weeks from now. I think that counts global though, I'll snif around for some more info.

Moose

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Moose

Post subject: sparx1981 wrote:Looks like

Posted: 07 Feb 2012, 19:18

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Looks like I'll be getting two standard 7970s again.

I think that's the right way to go for you.

Oh, nearly forgot! What adapters should I order with it? Link with choices.
Keep in mind that I need DVI to Displayport, not DVI to mini-Displayport. What would you guys recommend?

Bump, for I don't want to start a new thread about this.

Also, for the people interested, I will be writing a very in-depth review about the Asus HD7970-DC2T-3GD5. I'll post the link in this page when I've finished it!

Moose

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Haldi

Post subject: Try to ask People who own a

Posted: 07 Feb 2012, 21:02

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Joined: 08 May 2011, 18:58
Posts: 2286

Try to ask People who own a Asus HD7970 DC to buy theyr Displayport --> DVI Adapter.

Find somehow out where Asus buy's their Displayport --> DVI adapter. I Bet they're not producing them! maybe the Producer sell's them under another name ?

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Moose

Post subject: The problem is that the card

Posted: 07 Feb 2012, 21:21

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

The problem is that the card isn't released in the market yet. That's why there is so little info on the web. I guess I'll have to google some more about adapters

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BirdOtt

Post subject: What to do?

Posted: 11 Feb 2012, 06:59

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

Hi guys.
I have been reading this thread because I am about to buy and build a new PC using the ASUS Rampage IV Extreme MOBO and have been considering getting two ASUS HD7970 graphics cards for triple monitor gaming on 3 Dell Ultrasharp U2410 monitors. However, the discussion about microstutter and tearing has made me reconsider doing this.

I had planned to get two ASUS HD7970-DC2T-3GD5 3-slot cards plus an ASUS Xonar Essence STX sound card; however, I do not believe it is possible to put all three cards onto the ASUS Rampage IV Extreme MOBO without creating overheating issues for one of the graphics cards, and causing one card to run at X.8. Is that true based on your experience? The ASUS HD7970-DC2T-3GD5 cards would be my preferred approach as I could connect the three Dell monitors to one of the graphics cards using 3 Displayport cables. :)

So I have been considering getting two of the smaller 2-slot ASUS HD7970-3GD5 graphics cards instead and installing them in slots 1 and 4 on the MOBO, and putting the sound card in slot 3 on the MOBO. I think this would work.

But after reading this thread, it appears that microstutter and tearing could occur because the connections for the monitor would use a mixed connection arrangement: 2 Displayport cables to 2 miniDisplayportsn the graphics card plus 1 DVI-D cable to 1 DVI-D port on the graphics card. Is this a correct understanding?

So perhaps one ASUS HD7970-DC2T-3GD5 3-slot card would be preferable. Any comments or advice?

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Wijkert

Post subject: BirdOtt wrote:So perhaps one

Posted: 11 Feb 2012, 09:25

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Location: Haarlem, the Netherlands

So perhaps one ASUS HD7970-DC2T-3GD5 3-slot card would be preferable. Any comments or advice?

The microstuttering is far more severe than the tearing is. But yes I would go with one card and not two. If you want to completely het rid of tearing the CUII cards are the way to go. Personally I don't notice much tearing if it is not on my center monitor.

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Moose

Post subject: BirdOtt wrote:But after

Posted: 11 Feb 2012, 11:08

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

But after reading this thread, it appears that microstutter and tearing could occur because the connections for the monitor would use a mixed connection arrangement: 2 Displayport cables to 2 miniDisplayportsn the graphics card plus 1 DVI-D cable to 1 DVI-D port on the graphics card. Is this a correct understanding?

You haven't got it quite right sir. Microstuttering is a CrossfireX problem. The tearing on the other hand is caused by different outputs. You will need to connect your monitors displayport to displayport. All three of them.

So, with one card you'd have no microstuttering and when correctly set up, no tearing.

Moose

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Haldi

Post subject: @BirdOttYou cant just use

Posted: 11 Feb 2012, 12:58

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Joined: 08 May 2011, 18:58
Posts: 2286

@BirdOtt
You cant just use any Pci-E Slot of the Mainboard. 1 got 5 (or 4?^^) PCI-E 3.0 16x Slots on my Mainboard! Bit only slot 1 and 4 are capable of using 16x!

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BirdOtt

Post subject: Thanks for the comments

Posted: 12 Feb 2012, 01:04

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

Thanks for the advice Wijkert regarding the microstuttering (caused by Crossfire) being far more severe than the tearing (caused by using different connectors). I would rather get the CUII card because I could connect the 3 monitors using Displyport cables without any adapters.

Would using a single CUII card negatively affect the graphics quality in any significant way when using 3 monitors?

And thanks Moose for your comment regarding microstuttering being a CrossfireX problem and the tearing being caused by different outputs. Also for advising that with one card there would not be any microstuttering, and when correctly set up using Displayport to Displayport there would be no tearing.

So I think using a single 3-slot ASUS HD7970-DC2T-3GD5 graphics cards installed in slot 1 and an ASUS Xonar Essence STX in slot 4 on the ASUS Rampage IV Extreme MOBO would work best.

Or should I put the sound card in slot 5 or 6 on that MOBO?

One last question: In the pic of the CUII graphics card provided by Moose, it appears that there may be sufficient air space in the third slot area with the grating such that sufficient air could be used by the fans in the graphics card to cool its components, and that a sound card might be used in slot 3 of the ASUS Rampage IV Extreme MOBO, while allowing a second 3-slot ASUS HD7970-DC2T-3GD5 graphics card to be used in slot 4. Microstuttering would occur with this arrangement though, based on your comments. I wonder if this would work. I suppose someone will try crossfiring the 3-slot ASUS HD7970-DC2T-3GD5 graphics cards at some point when they become available.

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Exmortis

Post subject: Really good thread, been

Posted: 12 Feb 2012, 04:18

Joined: 13 Dec 2010, 22:01
Posts: 62

Really good thread, been keeping up with it, and time chime in.

I HAVE seen tearing on my screens. Currently run Sapphire ref 6970 DP/DVI/DP 3x1L ASUS VE248/VE278/VE248 monitors. These babies have DP connectivity so use two miniDP to DP cables for the "wings" and DVI for middle. Until Skyriom io never noticed tearing, but it can really be appearant with Skyrim, especially when looking at wooden walls.

I am too looking at the new ASUS CUII 7970 for the use of three DP screens for eyefinity. This should remove all tearing and give best quality.

However as of this evening it appears one of my DPs has died on my card. I have been for a few weeks getting link error messages in win7 but it didnt cause any grief. Now today I went to boot up and system booted with no video, but it did not fully post, it hung on AA post code which is a legacy error code. The CPU_LED on the board was solid red, bad sign CPU will not engage on post. ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe/Gen3.

After much mucking around I realized the LED went out once i disconnected the DP cables. I plugged them back in, system posted fine but i get a flicking screen on one monitor(liek soem 4yr old was hammering the power button for fun). When I shut down LED lights up and system wont post as before. IF i switched cable connection the flicker followed the connection, switching with the different monitor connected. This means it isnt a cable or monitor issue. From this I am led to believe (led get it?) it is a failed DP on my card.

So for now im gonna go single screen, when i buy my new 7970 I will RMA the card then sell it.

kinda disappointing, but what does one do?

New 7970 will also come with new Cosmos II case, I have run out of space in my heavily modded Lian-Li PC8FIR.

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Moose

Post subject: BirdOtt wrote:Would using a

Posted: 12 Feb 2012, 12:23

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Would using a single CUII card negatively affect the graphics quality in any significant way when using 3 monitors?

Well, the 7970 has 3 gigabyte of vram, which is enough to run Battlefield 3 on high with some AA and still get 30+ fps on average. So, I guess the tiny bit less performance would weigh out any trouble regarding a CrossfireX setup.

Also for advising that with one card there would not be any microstuttering, and when correctly set up using Displayport to Displayport there would be no tearing.

This thread covers microstuttering, so I would highly recommend looking around there. There is always the chance that you won't get microstuttering, but the odds are high. However, I believe they found a fix of some sort. I'm not yet fully informed about the stuttering problems, so you should check that thread out before you believe me ;)

Moose

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Wijkert

Post subject: Moose][quote=BirdOtt

Posted: 12 Feb 2012, 13:00

Insiders

Joined: 06 Sep 2011, 09:29
Posts: 552
Location: Haarlem, the Netherlands

[quote]There is always the chance that you won't get microstuttering, but the odds are high. However, I believe they found a fix of some sort.

There isn't a change you get no microstuttering. It might be less depending on the rest of your hardware. There is a change you won't be bothered by it though. The fix isn't all that great. It reduces the microstuttering, but not to a point that I would consider running xfire/sli.

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BirdOtt

Post subject: Thanks Moose!

Posted: 13 Feb 2012, 07:08

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

Thanks for the advice Moose. I will probably go with the single ASUS HD7970 DirectCU II TOP graphics card and the ASUS Xonar Essence STX sound card. That will meet my needs and save me $600. :)

I will read the thread you included shortly.

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BirdOtt

Post subject: Thanks Wijkert

Posted: 13 Feb 2012, 07:12

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

I was thinking of crossfire prior to the new cards coming out. Now with the DirectCU II TOP card announced, I think it will meet my requirements without going crossfire and getting into problems, which seems to be an issue identified by many on the web. Now if only ASUS would ship the product so I can buy it with my new PC build!

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Moose

Post subject: BirdOtt wrote:Thanks for the

Posted: 13 Feb 2012, 09:21

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Thanks for the advice Moose.

No problem mate, I'm glad I could help. Although some rep might help, I'm trying to make it to insider ;)

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sparx1981

Post subject: Hey Moose,Just wondering,

Posted: 14 Feb 2012, 09:53

Joined: 13 Dec 2011, 09:47
Posts: 142

Hey Moose,
Just wondering, did you decide or find out which display adapters to get to go with the DCII card? Now my standard Asus 7970's are heading their way back to the retailer I'm going to join you in the DCII club.

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Moose

Post subject: Well, since I have monitors

Posted: 14 Feb 2012, 10:34

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Well, since I have monitors with DVI connections I'll get three of these. They're from Sapphire and I think those will do the job for me. However Sparx, you can always wait one day and I'll send you a PM if any tearing etc has occured. I'm sure you don't want any unpleasant surprises. But it's your call.

Moose

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sparx1981

Post subject: Cheers Moose, Definately will

Posted: 14 Feb 2012, 12:28

Joined: 13 Dec 2011, 09:47
Posts: 142

Cheers Moose, Definately will be interested in the update on how it goes. I've heard the cards are possibly out on the 22nd and I'm away then....

I saw one magazine unbox one of these cards and it doesn't look like it comes with any display port adapters at all.. Just DVI to VGA??

So looks like we'll have to get three active display adapters seperately.

I just ordered one Saphire adapter off amazon... guess I'll be ordering another two!

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Moose

Post subject: And not a single adapter was

Posted: 14 Feb 2012, 12:31

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

And not a single adapter was given that day... Yep, no DP adapters, I believe VGA and HDMI are the only adapters send with the card.

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Exmortis

Post subject: Moose wrote:And not a single

Posted: 14 Feb 2012, 20:57

Joined: 13 Dec 2010, 22:01
Posts: 62

And not a single adapter was given that day... Yep, no DP adapters, I believe VGA and HDMI are the only adapters send with the card.

THe ASUS website seems to quantify this as what we get. Of couse add the custome CFX bridge as well as power adatpers for the 8 pin.

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sparx1981

Post subject: Something to add to the

Posted: 15 Feb 2012, 09:26

Joined: 13 Dec 2011, 09:47
Posts: 142

Something to add to the excitement about this card coming out...

The Making of Asus TOP graphics cards

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Moose

Post subject: sparx1981 wrote:Something to

Posted: 15 Feb 2012, 13:34

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Something to add to the excitement about this card coming out...

The Making of Asus TOP graphics cards

Link added to the first post. Thanks.

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sparx1981

Post subject: Possible confirmation of

Posted: 16 Feb 2012, 09:06

Joined: 13 Dec 2011, 09:47
Posts: 142

Possible confirmation of release date????

Store expecting stock 22nd Feb 2012

Additional Store Expecting Stock 22nd Feb

3rd Store expecting stock 22nd Feb 2012

I'll stop now, but unless all these stores are pushing the same generic date... 22nd looks quite promising.

Not sure on the pricing though. I've seen some stores saying anything from £445 to over £600.

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sparx1981

Post subject: So Moose, I guess the

Posted: 16 Feb 2012, 19:35

Joined: 13 Dec 2011, 09:47
Posts: 142

So Moose, I guess the expected release of this could be.... Christmas. GRRRRRR
I have no graphics cards in my rig and it is crying out to be played.

I'm away next week in France so hopefully we'll have some news through the week. If not I may end up having to buy a standard 7970. I know MSI did an OC version which is the fastest yet... It will still have the tearing problem though.

ASUS I WANT TO GIVE YOU MY MONEY... PLEASE HURRY

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BirdOtt

Post subject: Your help and plan to get Asus HD7970-DC2T-3GD5

Posted: 19 Feb 2012, 01:58

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

Thanks Moose for the info.

I look forward to your review of the Asus HD7970-DC2T-3GD5. If they do indeed go on sale on 22 February, I would definitely like to know your views on how this card works to run three monitors in eyefinity. I am about to pull the trigger too.

Only two more days to go! :)

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Moose

Post subject: BirdOtt wrote:Thanks Moose

Posted: 19 Feb 2012, 09:58

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Thanks Moose for the info.

I look forward to your review of the Asus HD7970-DC2T-3GD5. If they do indeed go on sale on 22 February, I would definitely like to know your views on how this card works to run three monitors in eyefinity. I am about to pull the trigger too.

Only two more days to go! :)

Certainly sir, I hope I can order it too on the 22nd here in Holland.

_________________
Music is my life. You are my music.

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sparx1981

Post subject: So people, today is the

Posted: 22 Feb 2012, 10:39

Joined: 13 Dec 2011, 09:47
Posts: 142

So people, today is the day.... Or is it? Has anyone managed to find a 7970 direct cu ii card so far??? A quick look in the uk and i cant find one so looks like its not out today....

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Moose

Post subject: Well, here in Holland there

Posted: 22 Feb 2012, 12:58

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Well, here in Holland there are a few stores changed from 10+ days to 4 - 10 days. So I guess they're out on the market. But stocks aren't in apparently. :/

_________________
Music is my life. You are my music.

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sparx1981

Post subject: I bought a standard saphire

Posted: 22 Feb 2012, 17:47

Joined: 13 Dec 2011, 09:47
Posts: 142

I bought a standard saphire 7970 instead today. I cant keep waiting for the direct cu cards. Also my saphire card was £410..... Direct cu ii will not be below £450 and then i will also need an additional two adapters... So looking close to £500.

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BirdOtt

Post subject: No ASUS HD 7970 DirectCU II at Newegg,com or .ca Today

Posted: 22 Feb 2012, 19:11

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

I checked both web sites just now and there are no ASUS HD 7970 DirectCU II at Newegg,com or .ca today. Both show out of stock.

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aolsen

Post subject: Asus HD7970-DC2T-3GD5 is not

Posted: 22 Feb 2012, 20:05

Joined: 21 Nov 2011, 17:24
Posts: 24

Asus HD7970-DC2T-3GD5 is not in stock in Denmark yet. They just changed expected delivery date to March 5th.

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Moose

Post subject: sparx1981 wrote:I bought a

Posted: 23 Feb 2012, 00:04

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

I bought a standard saphire 7970 instead today. I cant keep waiting for the direct cu cards. Also my saphire card was £410..... Direct cu ii will not be below £450 and then i will also need an additional two adapters... So looking close to £500.

I've got one of my screens on RMA so I have the time to wait for the CUII card, since my 5870 doesn't support three monitors without adapters anyway.

Good luck with your regular card, I hope it works for you.

_________________
Music is my life. You are my music.

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BirdOtt

Post subject: I made a purchase today!

Posted: 24 Feb 2012, 02:24

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

Well, I made a BIG purchase today. Not what you are thinking! I bought a new Hyundai Santa Fe! :)
My 9 year old van has 260,000 KMs on it and is rusting from the salt used to keep the streets free of ice. I am still waiting for the DirectCUII cards to be in stock. I have "almost" decided to get a single ASUS HD7970 DirectCUII at this time. If it works out well, GREAT. If not, Kepler is coming soon too. :)

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CY:G

Post subject: Im considering getting this

Posted: 25 Feb 2012, 02:34

Joined: 16 Apr 2008, 17:16
Posts: 273

Im considering getting this card(whenever they are available), my question is, can i just use one DP - DVI active adapter with this card and another 2 DVI monitors no problem?

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Wijkert

Post subject: CY:G wrote:Im considering

Posted: 25 Feb 2012, 09:23

Insiders

Joined: 06 Sep 2011, 09:29
Posts: 552
Location: Haarlem, the Netherlands

Im considering getting this card(whenever they are available), my question is, can i just use one DP - DVI active adapter with this card and another 2 DVI monitors no problem?

Yes you can, but I believe one of the two dvi connectors has a maximum resolution output of 1920x1080. So the question is what monitors are you planning to connect this card to?

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Haldi

Post subject: Wijkert wrote:CY:G wrote:Im

Posted: 25 Feb 2012, 12:07

Editors

Joined: 08 May 2011, 18:58
Posts: 2286

[quote]Im considering getting this card(whenever they are available), my question is, can i just use one DP - DVI active adapter with this card and another 2 DVI monitors no problem?

Yes you can, but I believe one of the two dvi connectors has a maximum resolution output of 1920x1080. So the question is what monitors are you planning to connect this card to?

No Way????
A Normal 7970 has 2TMDS with 4 Signals, for DL-DVI you need 2 signals. I don't think that ASUS modified the card that there is only 1 TMDS (equal 2x SL-DVI)
Other possibility is that 2nd DVI Slot has only 1 Signal and 2nd signal is for DP so that you could use passive DVI/HDMI adapters. But i dont think so! imho

_________________
We gonna send it to outa space!

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compres

Post subject: I think that was an issue

Posted: 25 Feb 2012, 18:34

Joined: 25 Feb 2012, 18:28
Posts: 6

I think that was an issue with the previous DCII, aka the 6970. The new one has 2 full dual link DVI connectors, last I checked.

Anyhow, I pre-ordered this card yesterday (Germany) I will post when it arrives.

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Moose

Post subject: Just got back from a short

Posted: 26 Feb 2012, 22:44

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Just got back from a short holiday, my card hasn't arrived yet (Netherlands)

Moose

_________________
Music is my life. You are my music.

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sparx1981

Post subject: So Moose, you managed to

Posted: 27 Feb 2012, 13:35

Joined: 13 Dec 2011, 09:47
Posts: 142

So Moose, you managed to order one of these cards then? Just out of curiousity I've kept an eye out for them here in the UK but still haven't seen them being available.
How much did you end up paying?

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sparx1981

Post subject: So Moose, you managed to

Posted: 27 Feb 2012, 13:37

Joined: 13 Dec 2011, 09:47
Posts: 142

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Moose

Post subject: Like I said in the previous

Posted: 27 Feb 2012, 15:39

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Like I said in the previous post, I ordered one. It costs me 517 euro for the card and 73,40 for the adapters

_________________
Music is my life. You are my music.

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compres

Post subject: My card got delayed 2 to 3

Posted: 29 Feb 2012, 18:39

Joined: 25 Feb 2012, 18:28
Posts: 6

My card got delayed 2 to 3 weeks...

Any updates from anyone else here?

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BirdOtt

Post subject: USA & Canada Stock

Posted: 29 Feb 2012, 22:30

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

The newegg,com and .ca sites still state out-of-stock with no time indication. They state "This product is currently unavailable."

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Paradigm Shifter

Post subject: My bet is that Asus have

Posted: 29 Feb 2012, 22:58

Editors

Joined: 14 Oct 2003, 13:52
Posts: 5706

My bet is that Asus have pulled cards from retailers due to this problem:

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

Seems like the heatsink is so heavy that it will pull off the GPU, resulting in insane temps...

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BirdOtt

Post subject: newegg.com just advised ASUS HD7970-DC2T-3GD5 IN STOCK

Posted: 01 Mar 2012, 00:08

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

NEWEGG.com just advised me that "The ASUS HD7970-DC2T-3GD5 has come in stock as of 02/29/2012.

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BirdOtt

Post subject: Heavy heatsink problem

Posted: 01 Mar 2012, 00:38

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

Thanks Paradigm Shifter for this BAD news. :) This may help explain the delay in the release of the HD7970 DC2T model which was previously attributed to voltage regulation, I believe. Given that Newegg.com just advised me that the HD7970 DC2T model is now available (but the web site still says out of stock when I checked minutes ago), I hope that means they have resolved the problems that caused the delay. However if the 7950 directcu II version is faulty as the article indicates, then perhaps we should wait and see before buying one. That's what I am going to do. DAMN. :)

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compres

Post subject: Thanks for the info guys.I

Posted: 01 Mar 2012, 01:13

Joined: 25 Feb 2012, 18:28
Posts: 6

Thanks for the info guys.

I suspect it was resolved since otherwise 3 weeks on top of an already late product would seem excessive. I am waiting for the T model, the regular one is actually stated to be available in 8 days at this particular store in Germany.

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BirdOtt

Post subject: Hi compres

Posted: 03 Mar 2012, 00:49

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

Hi compres

I truly hope your suspicions are correct; however, I am not willing to make that assumption just yet and spend over $600 to find out it has not been fixed. Therefore, I shall be patient once again and wait to see what the experience of other users will be.

I have started to buy the components for my new system. So far I have ASUS DVD R/W, ASUS Blu-ray R/W, Corsair H100 cooler, Corsair AX1200 PSU, MS Office Home & Student, ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Logitech G9X mouse.

Items to come: Corsair 800D case, i7-3630 CPU, ASUS Rampage IV Extreme MOBO, Corsair Force GT 240GB SSD, WD Caviar Black 2 TB HDD, Windows 7 Pro, ASUS HD7970-DC2T-3GD5, Corsair Vengeance K90 keyboard and G.Skill Ripjaws 16 GB 2133Mhz RAM.

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compres

Post subject: I am a bit lucky in my case

Posted: 03 Mar 2012, 12:19

Joined: 25 Feb 2012, 18:28
Posts: 6

I am a bit lucky in my case that the store is a brick and mortar one; in the worst case, I can show up and return it quite easily and without cost.

I can post here how it goes, but it seems that 2 weeks is the minimal expected time.

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BirdOtt

Post subject: Me too

Posted: 03 Mar 2012, 23:34

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

I am using a local bricks and mortar store too. So far, they have had competitive or best prices for the items I have purchased. They will match internet competitors' prices with shipping added. I hope that they will be honorable if something goes wrong such as a faulty Video card or whatever. :)

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BirdOtt

Post subject: Where art thou Moose?

Posted: 03 Mar 2012, 23:40

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

We haven't heard from Moose in awhile. I guess Moose is still waiting for his card to come in. I am looking forward to his review and experience with it.

On another forum there have been reports of high VRM temperatures, sometimes exceeding 100 degrees. I am hoping to buy a graphics card, not a room heater, although where I live, a room heater could be a good thing (in the winter only of course)! :)

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Moose

Post subject: Oh sorry mate, I just got

Posted: 04 Mar 2012, 14:56

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Oh sorry mate, I just got back from the busiest week ever. The card has been delayed, my retailer says till the 18th of march :/. I don't like where this is going, I really need that card. I've asked some questions here and there about the delays, will get back to post any useful answers.

Happy waiting!

_________________
Music is my life. You are my music.

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BirdOtt

Post subject: Hi Moose

Posted: 06 Mar 2012, 00:36

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

Hi Moose. There is little sign of the card in the stores here in Canada either. I have my order in for one and am waiting patiently for it to arrive. Bye for now.

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Moose

Post subject: BirdOtt wrote:Hi Moose.

Posted: 06 Mar 2012, 12:28

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Hi Moose. There is little sign of the card in the stores here in Canada either. I have my order in for one and am waiting patiently for it to arrive. Bye for now.

I've contacted the store, and they've called different suppliers. They all tell that a date can not be set yet. No word from Asus either :/

EDIT:

Well, about the ASUS problems:

Ive orderd mine a while ago, they changed the delivery date from middle feb to 31st march, which is a bummer. When i asked why there was such a delay on Swedens biggest computer community (Sweclockers.com) i got the answer that the reason for the delays is that ASUS apperantly found some problem with the Voltage Regulation to the GDDR5 memory that the could not fix with software and had to re-design something. A twitter comment is all the sources i have on that however, but since they have direcct dialogues with the manefacturers over at sweclockers i think that information is accurate.

Another explenation ive heard as to why the ASUS Radeon HD 7970 DirectCU II cards are delayed is due to that they missed their european shippment thanks to the chinese new year, this ive heard from two different retailers when i phoned them and asked why the card was changing release date each day.

The stock ASUS 7970 cards should not have this Voltage Regulation problem however since its the very same chipset and components on that card as ATI have on their own 7970 cards.

I'll look around on the web for more info on that.

EDIT:

This is a report going out on the 7950, but it counts for the 7970 as well.

_________________
Music is my life. You are my music.

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Exmortis

Post subject: Well the ASUS never came in

Posted: 06 Mar 2012, 16:47

Joined: 13 Dec 2010, 22:01
Posts: 62

Well the ASUS never came in to stock to buy and just got dethroned:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?279501-MSI-7970-Lightning-revealed

4xmDP ports, dual slot, better OC and appears to be better cooler??? MSI FTW.

MDP is huge for me, means I can keep and use my two mDP to DP cables that cost me like 75spacebucks. So even if a premium over ASUS its still probably cheaper.

Also with so many reports of the cooler on the ASUS being assembled wrong and cards overheating a dieing, I was really not looking forward to that being an issue, especialyl since ASUS would not acknowledge it.

So will wait for this to come into stock and get it.

Added sites for info:
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?act=url&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.ca&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://lab501.ro/stiri/cebit-2012-msi-7970-lightning-si-alte-noutati&usg=ALkJrhiF3bfleyW0s3SYnqffXBRdhXAWZw

http://translate.google.ca/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Flab501.ro%2Fstiri%2Fcebit-2012-msi-hd-7970-lightning-update&act=url

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CY:G

Post subject: So i got inpatient and

Posted: 06 Mar 2012, 20:47

Joined: 16 Apr 2008, 17:16
Posts: 273

So i got inpatient and ordered a regular 7970 since the DC2 its just never in stock..

So sad, i have worse tearing problems than i did with a 6950!

Now both my external monitors have it instead of just one.

I have 4 screen, 1 connected to DVI, another to HDMI, and the other 2 with m-DP to DVI Active adapters, and both of the latter show tearing, is there anything i can do?

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Wijkert

Post subject: CY:G wrote:So i got inpatient

Posted: 06 Mar 2012, 23:02

Insiders

Joined: 06 Sep 2011, 09:29
Posts: 552
Location: Haarlem, the Netherlands

So i got inpatient and ordered a regular 7970 since the DC2 its just never in stock..

So sad, i have worse tearing problems than i did with a 6950!

Now both my external monitors have it instead of just one.

I have 4 screen, 1 connected to DVI, another to HDMI, and the other 2 with m-DP to DVI Active adapters, and both of the latter show tearing, is there anything i can do?

Make sure your primary monitor (doesn't have to be the center one) is connected via mDP. Then you only have tearing on the one connected via DVI.

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Exmortis

Post subject: Wijkert wrote:CY:G wrote:So i

Posted: 07 Mar 2012, 14:19

Joined: 13 Dec 2010, 22:01
Posts: 62

[quote]So i got inpatient and ordered a regular 7970 since the DC2 its just never in stock..

So sad, i have worse tearing problems than i did with a 6950!

Now both my external monitors have it instead of just one.

I have 4 screen, 1 connected to DVI, another to HDMI, and the other 2 with m-DP to DVI Active adapters, and both of the latter show tearing, is there anything i can do?

Make sure your primary monitor (doesn't have to be the center one) is connected via mDP. Then you only have tearing on the one connected via DVI.

When i had it all setup on my 5870, I had 2 DVI one DP to DVI and I only had tearing on my DP monitor. I now have 2xDP native and DVI, and I have onlyu tearing on my DVI, which is my centre monitor as it is connected to my 7.1 4 port DVI switch box.

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Moose

Post subject: Exmortis wrote:Well the ASUS

Posted: 07 Mar 2012, 17:21

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Well the ASUS never came in to stock to buy and just got dethroned: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?279501-MSI-7970-Lightning-revealed. 4xmDP ports, dual slot, better OC and appears to be better cooler??? MSI FTW.

Looks really good. I'm currently still running an MSI R5870 Lightning and man, it is good. However, it was also very expensive compared to other 5870's, so I wonder what the price on this thing will be.

MDP is huge for me, means I can keep and use my two mDP to DP cables that cost me like 75spacebucks. So even if a premium over ASUS its still probably cheaper.

Remember that not all people have mDP displays or cables, so you can't judge a card by looking at required accesoires custom to your rig.

Also with so many reports of the cooler on the ASUS being assembled wrong and cards overheating a dieing, I was really not looking forward to that being an issue, especialyl since ASUS would not acknowledge it.

The fact that Asus still hasn't acknowledged it buggs me. Anyway's, my supplier couldn't pinpoint an exact location here in Holland, so I have some time left to decide whether to go for the Asus or the MSI. This new card might turn the whole thread around..

One question though: is there any difference between mDP and DP what so ever? Power usage, different signals, you name it. Because like 99% of problems in Eyefinity involve mDP ports or cables at some point, never DP. Can anyone shed some light on that?

Moose

_________________
Music is my life. You are my music.

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BirdOtt

Post subject: DisplayPort versus MiniDisplayPort

Posted: 08 Mar 2012, 01:22

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

I looked into this recently and discovered that some cables/adapters that use DisplayPort to MiniDisplayPort do NOT work properly with some monitors. It appears that if the cables are designed for Apple they may not work with non-Apple products. So it appears that there may be some issues with the way some manufacturers implement the two different types of DisplayPort. I do not know what the exact issues are, but I do know there are some problems. I also checked the AMD web site for "certified" adapters for "Eyefinity". Sorry I cannot provide any more info.

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Exmortis

Post subject: One question though: is there

Posted: 08 Mar 2012, 05:50

Joined: 13 Dec 2010, 22:01
Posts: 62

One question though: is there any difference between mDP and DP what so ever? Power usage, different signals, you name it. Because like 99% of problems in Eyefinity involve mDP ports or cables at some point, never DP. Can anyone shed some light on that?

Moose

As far as I am aware there is zero difference, it is really just a smaller connector. I have currently two mDP to DP cables for my Asus monitors, they work great. The DP connector is more robust though, and the cable is much more secure with the metal latches then the plain old plugin of the mDP. I really liked t he ASUS full DP, but MSI seems to be right now (pending reviews and ASUS issues) the better card. Also every MSI lighting owner seems to have been really impressed with their cards, and that speaks volumes.

I know not everyone has DP monitors, but it should be a consideration, it is the future, and unlike previous connectors it is not a signal but data a packet technology which means even if they upgrade the spec, they will not be a reason to change connectors for some time. Kinda like ethernet, in fact I have heard it referred to as "video over ethernet".

Since I have time and even if its 75 dollars more its still same for me, keeping my two cables is huge, DP cables are not cheap.

I pick up my new case this weekend, I have out grown my modded Lian Li PC8FIR. I will pick up the third DP cable i will need as well.

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Exmortis

Post subject: BirdOtt wrote:I looked into

Posted: 08 Mar 2012, 05:52

Joined: 13 Dec 2010, 22:01
Posts: 62

I looked into this recently and discovered that some cables/adapters that use DisplayPort to MiniDisplayPort do NOT work properly with some monitors. It appears that if the cables are designed for Apple they may not work with non-Apple products. So it appears that there may be some issues with the way some manufacturers implement the two different types of DisplayPort. I do not know what the exact issues are, but I do know there are some problems. I also checked the AMD web site for "certified" adapters for "Eyefinity". Sorry I cannot provide any more info.

That does not surprise me, there is a reason I avoid anything Apple like the 7th sign.

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BirdOtt

Post subject: Ottawa Ontario Canada eh!

Posted: 08 Mar 2012, 19:57

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

I see that you are located in Ottawa Ontario Canada! So am I! Blackburn Hamlet! :)

I also avoid Crab-Apple!

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Exmortis

Post subject: WOW small world, I live in

Posted: 08 Mar 2012, 21:51

Joined: 13 Dec 2010, 22:01
Posts: 62

WOW small world, I live in Ottawa south, but work downtown as a silly servant.

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BirdOtt

Post subject: WOW Small World

Posted: 10 Mar 2012, 07:38

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

I used to work in downtown Ottawa for Bell. I am retired now but working part-time. :)

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BIGGRIMTIM

Post subject: I see that the cards are

Posted: 10 Mar 2012, 19:17

I Donated

Joined: 28 May 2010, 02:21
Posts: 86

I see that the cards are starting to become available again. Is it worth it to sell my Sapphire reference card and get one of these? The tearing is really starting to drive me nuts. I have tied the mDP to DVI adapters and they id not help at all. I m using 3 DellU2410s.

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compres

Post subject: I canceled my order since the

Posted: 10 Mar 2012, 19:30

Joined: 25 Feb 2012, 18:28
Posts: 6

I canceled my order since the delivery date got pushed again 2 weeks...

Enough time to wait and see what nVidia has to odder, in addition to the MSI lightning...

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BIGGRIMTIM

Post subject: compres wrote:I canceled my

Posted: 10 Mar 2012, 19:43

I Donated

Joined: 28 May 2010, 02:21
Posts: 86

I canceled my order since the delivery date got pushed again 2 weeks...

Enough time to wait and see what nVidia has to odder, in addition to the MSI lightning...

I haven't heard anything about the MSI lightning. What is the ETA for this card?

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Paradigm Shifter

Post subject: A 6GB MSI Lightning 7970 was

Posted: 10 Mar 2012, 21:18

Editors

Joined: 14 Oct 2003, 13:52
Posts: 5706

A 6GB MSI Lightning 7970 was shown at CeBIT, from what I understand... no ETA.

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compres

Post subject: There is no ETA for either

Posted: 10 Mar 2012, 21:31

Joined: 25 Feb 2012, 18:28
Posts: 6

There is no ETA for either the MSI or the ASUS, at least at my retailer... :(

Equally unavailable so perhaps I even wait for kepler, in spite of me always going ATI at least it should lower prices due to competition.

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BirdOtt

Post subject: ASUS HD7970-DC2T UNavailability

Posted: 11 Mar 2012, 00:13

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

We have been waiting for this ASUS card for quite some time; however, the problem that has been reported about it (e.g., VRM overheating) has made me reconsider getting this card unless ASUS addresses the issue publicly to ensure me that the problem has been addressed.

I am seriously considering an MSI or Saphire HD7970 card that has three identical monitor connectors, either 3 DisplayPort or 3 miniDispayPort for my Dell U2410 monitors. I would rather not use the 3 minDisplayPort cards because that would require miniDisplayPort to DisplayPort adapters or special new cables for my monitors and because of issues I have read about some of the adapters and cables not working properly with certain monitors such as mine (e.g., flicker, monitor going into sleep mode and not coming out of it without disconnection and power-off).

The NVidia Kepler G-card is also under consideration as I read somewhere that it may be in stock before the end of March. I hope it would allow me to use 3 identical monitor connectors to avoid tearing, and on a single card too.

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BIGGRIMTIM

Post subject: After doing a lot of reading

Posted: 11 Mar 2012, 00:16

I Donated

Joined: 28 May 2010, 02:21
Posts: 86

After doing a lot of reading on this issue and the DCUII in general I am going to wait and see. I guess I can live with the tearing for now. If anyone has one of these cards please post you experience.

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BirdOtt

Post subject: Same Boat

Posted: 11 Mar 2012, 00:33

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

I am waiting too. Your avatar looks great! I am anticipating BBQ season which is just around the corner!

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BIGGRIMTIM

Post subject: BirdOtt wrote:I am waiting

Posted: 11 Mar 2012, 02:57

I Donated

Joined: 28 May 2010, 02:21
Posts: 86

I am waiting too. Your avatar looks great! I am anticipating BBQ season which is just around the corner!

Around the corner? It is always BBQ season. I grill with snow on the ground.

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Exmortis

Post subject: I have given up on ASUS card,

Posted: 12 Mar 2012, 14:51

Joined: 13 Dec 2010, 22:01
Posts: 62

I have given up on ASUS card, I am too afraid of issues with VRM long term. Not worth investing in a more expensive card, and have more issues then reference design.

I also do not want to have the "coil whine or click", seems every OEM went cheap on reference and imroperly insulated the coils and you can hear them, even youtube vids on some being that bad.

MSI has shown the new 7970 lightning but not released it. I also have no info other then rumors on the 6GB card, every bit on info I read shows 3GB only. MSI has not offically announced the new lighting, it uses a new revision of their TF cooler. I am now waiting, but my eyefinity is down now, I have 3xDP monitors and a DP port died on my exsisting 6970, and I need to use DP for my 24' "wings" as they are DP monitors, only my middle 27' has DVI.

I have terrible luck sometimes.

I will RMA the card when I replace it then sell it.

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BIGGRIMTIM

Post subject: I think I am going to stay

Posted: 12 Mar 2012, 20:07

I Donated

Joined: 28 May 2010, 02:21
Posts: 86

I think I am going to stay away from this card also. I found this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBwDvhnaUzA of the MSI Lightning. It looks pretty nice.

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BirdOtt

Post subject: TSMC May have shut down their 28nm production Line

Posted: 12 Mar 2012, 22:52

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

I found the following thread on SIMHQ today that indicates TSMC may have shut down their 28nm production line about 3 weeks ago!

Quote: "Very roughly 3 weeks ago, it is rumored, TSMC shut down the 28nm production line(s). The cause is not known. TSMC is saying "all will be well"."

SEE: http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3534568/TSMC_Shuts_Down_28nm_Productio.html#Post3534568

SEE: http://semiaccurate.com/2012/03/07/tsmc-suddenly-halts-28nm-production/

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Exmortis

Post subject: BIGGRIMTIM wrote:I think I am

Posted: 13 Mar 2012, 17:36

Joined: 13 Dec 2010, 22:01
Posts: 62

I think I am going to stay away from this card also. I found this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBwDvhnaUzA of the MSI Lightning. It looks pretty nice.

Yep looks really slick, it is my next card for sure.

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BirdOtt

Post subject: Me Too!

Posted: 14 Mar 2012, 03:29

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

I am considering it as well! I have all of my new PC parts except for the G-Card. I am tired of waiting for ASUS DC2T and reading about its issues. I want a single G-card with three identical monitor connections, preferably DisplayPort but Mini DisplayPort will do. I will have to buy adapters though.

The weather was great here in the Great White North today! Felt almost like spring. :)

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BirdOtt

Post subject: Placed Order for ASUS HD7970-DC2T Today

Posted: 15 Mar 2012, 01:44

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

I placed an order for one ASUS HD7970-DC2T today at newegg.ca after receiving a notice it is now in stock. Order confirmation came in via email. It should ship within 24-48 hours. I hope I get a new improved version! :)

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BIGGRIMTIM

Post subject: BirdOtt wrote:I placed an

Posted: 15 Mar 2012, 03:54

I Donated

Joined: 28 May 2010, 02:21
Posts: 86

I placed an order for one ASUS HD7970-DC2T today at newegg.ca after receiving a notice it is now in stock. Order confirmation came in via email. It should ship within 24-48 hours. I hope I get a new improved version! :)

Please report back once you get things up and running. I am curious what the VRM temps are I have seen reports in excess of 100C. Good luck.

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BirdOtt

Post subject: Report Back

Posted: 15 Mar 2012, 04:22

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

Will do. The out of stock notice went up about 3 hours after the notification came to me. I was very lucky to get my order submitted and accepted. Now I hope I am lucky enough to get a good version of this G-card.

I also picked up my new Hyundai Santa Fe today! My wife and I both like it a lot over our 9 year old Montana van. Plan to keep it for the next 10 years. :)

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Moose

Post subject: My retailer called me, my

Posted: 15 Mar 2012, 13:02

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

My retailer called me, my card is in! It's the Asus card, I hope I can pick it up tomorrow. Excited! But I hope this is a good card, because I don't want any frying stuff :p

_________________
Music is my life. You are my music.

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BIGGRIMTIM

Post subject: I think the new cards may be

Posted: 16 Mar 2012, 01:50

I Donated

Joined: 28 May 2010, 02:21
Posts: 86

I think the new cards may be in the retail channel now as reviews at newegg are starting to look more positive.

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Moose

Post subject: I got the card! It's beast, I

Posted: 16 Mar 2012, 16:20

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

I got the card! It's beast, I hope I can reïnstall my windows soon and start writing some first impressions once I have everything set up properly. Will get back to you guys.

_________________
Music is my life. You are my music.

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BIGGRIMTIM

Post subject: Moose wrote:I got the card!

Posted: 16 Mar 2012, 16:28

I Donated

Joined: 28 May 2010, 02:21
Posts: 86

I got the card! It's beast, I hope I can reïnstall my windows soon and start writing some first impressions once I have everything set up properly. Will get back to you guys.

What does the back plate look like is it the solid on or the one with the space cut out for the VRM?

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Exmortis

Post subject: Gratz Moose hope it all goes

Posted: 16 Mar 2012, 18:25

Joined: 13 Dec 2010, 22:01
Posts: 62

Gratz Moose hope it all goes well for you!

The MSI has been officially released and exected in retail next week.

http://event.msi.com/vga/lightning/r7970.html

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Exmortis

Post subject: First MSI

Posted: 17 Mar 2012, 14:11

Joined: 13 Dec 2010, 22:01
Posts: 62

First MSI review

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1444/pg1/msi-r7970-lightning-enthusiast-overclocked-graphics-card-review-introduction.html

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Moose

Post subject: Is there anyone else who has

Posted: 18 Mar 2012, 11:31

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Is there anyone else who has an Asus or soon an MSI card? If you do, please let me know. I'll post some more images soon.

Also, the card indeed has a backplate, it feels very well built and decent.

_________________
Music is my life. You are my music.

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BIGGRIMTIM

Post subject: Cards are back in stock at

Posted: 21 Mar 2012, 00:36

I Donated

Joined: 28 May 2010, 02:21
Posts: 86

Cards are back in stock at the egg. Not sure if I should wait for the MSI Lightning or pull the trigger on this?

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Exmortis

Post subject: That can only be answered by

Posted: 21 Mar 2012, 18:35

Joined: 13 Dec 2010, 22:01
Posts: 62

That can only be answered by you.

My new Mobo will be the ASUS Z77 Maximus V Formula. I have a OCZ Revo3 for the top x4 slot, and I also have a SB XFi PCIE 1x. If the onboard sound is still a realtek codec I will keep my sound card, thus I could not CFX with a 3 slot card. So because I love options and hate being crippled, I will go with MSI Lightning for 2 slot. Just in case I want to go CFX (even though I have not run CFX since my pair of 3870s, I just must have the option.

I beleive the MSI is a better card, but thats simply my opinion, and no one elses choices should be made soley on one persons belief.

The ASUS CU cards have always been great cards, but there has been an aweful lot of issues crop up on forums, seems there are shims missing and the cooler does not make full and tight contact on the card. ASUS has refused to admit the problem, but newer cards could be fixed, maybe moose can tell us.

Last one for me is I own 2 mDP to DP cables, thus the MSI allows me to leverage these, their not cheap, so only need to buy one longer mDP to DP and I have my eyefinity back all using DP connection (NO MORE TEARING YAY!!).

Either card im sure wopudl be great, im getting ansy too, my eyefinity has been down for a few weeks now, hate looking at those dark monitors.

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Loganbacca

Post subject: HardOCP has a review of the

Posted: 22 Mar 2012, 09:32

Joined: 11 Mar 2012, 02:08
Posts: 15

HardOCP has a review of the Lightning up now as well: http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/03/20/msi_r7970_lightning_video_card_review

Looks like the only real problem with the Lightning may be the dome on the back if you intend on running it in a crossfire setup with only double (or would that be single?) spacing between the PCI-E x16 slots, or if you have a sound card in the x1 slot that's most likely above your graphics card.

Also, fuuuuuu, look at that overclocking headroom: http://www.techpowerup.com/162729/MSI-Radeon-HD-7970-Lightning-Overclocked-to-1800-MHz-Core-7.70-GHz-Memory.html

The ASUS is a very nice looking card though.

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Moose

Post subject: The Asus card runs really

Posted: 23 Mar 2012, 17:23

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

The Asus card runs really good. Had some BSOD´s, but after a fresh W7 install and a CMOS Clear everything was fine. The card doesn´t run hot and stays really quiet. Even under full load, the fans came to a max of 22% and the GPU temp did not rise above 54 degrees Celsius. Testing out some games at the moment. I really like it, although you should also consider the new 680 from Nvidia. It´s slightly cheaper, slightly faster, a lot hotter. It has 1 Displayport, 1 HDMI port and 2 DVI ports (one single-link, one dual-link). Maybe it can run three screens without tearing since HDMI and DVI are essentially the same, but you'd have to check out the Nvidia forum part if you want to be sure. All I can say is that I am very, very happy with this card. I will be writing a review/article about it when I have some spare time.

Moose

_________________
Music is my life. You are my music.

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BIGGRIMTIM

Post subject: Thanks for the update, glad

Posted: 23 Mar 2012, 19:33

I Donated

Joined: 28 May 2010, 02:21
Posts: 86

Thanks for the update, glad to hear that things are running well for you.

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suiken_2mieu

Post subject: Hey, So I read the review of

Posted: 24 Mar 2012, 19:15

Insiders

Joined: 20 Aug 2009, 04:20
Posts: 2351
Location: Virginia

Hey, So I read the review of the Msi Lightning. It says the DVI ports are single link. I'm trying to run 5x1 Portrait 30"rs here. I'm not sure if it's just that it shares the TDMS clock between the the two DVI ports.

Would it be better for me to pick up this card?

I just know that these two cards exist, where as the sapphire 7970 Flex with 6GB of VRAM and 6 miniDP (what I really need) hasn't been seen physically.

Also, what's the main difference between DC2 and DC2T cards?

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Wijkert

Post subject: suiken_2mieu wrote:Also,

Posted: 24 Mar 2012, 20:11

Insiders

Joined: 06 Sep 2011, 09:29
Posts: 552
Location: Haarlem, the Netherlands

Also, what's the main difference between DC2 and DC2T cards?

The DC2T is a higher clocked and higher binned model. Physically I believe they are the same, not 100% sure though.

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Exmortis

Post subject: Wijkert wrote:suiken_2mieu

Posted: 26 Mar 2012, 03:01

Joined: 13 Dec 2010, 22:01
Posts: 62

[quote]Also, what's the main difference between DC2 and DC2T cards?

The DC2T is a higher clocked and higher binned model. Physically I believe they are the same, not 100% sure though.

That is my understanding as well. End of day doesn't mean much really, often you can OC just as good as higher binned. Binning isn't the holy grail it once was. You can buy 10 cards and get 10 different OC, I hate reviews tha1t score based on OC, as unless you test 10, it isn't really a fair test.

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Exmortis

Post subject: suiken_2mieu wrote:Hey, So I

Posted: 26 Mar 2012, 03:10

Joined: 13 Dec 2010, 22:01
Posts: 62

Hey, So I read the review of the Msi Lightning. It says the DVI ports are single link. I'm trying to run 5x1 Portrait 30"rs here. I'm not sure if it's just that it shares the TDMS clock between the the two DVI ports.

Would it be better for me to pick up this card??

It means each DVI has its own TDMS, to go above the 1920 res you require two chained TDMS. DVI was half baked rushed spec when the two consortuims coudl not agree on anything for HDMI, so it is a cosnumer TV spec not a computer spec. DVI was rushed to hold us over for DisplayPort. Not sure you can do 5 30's with the lightning. The ASUS has a full dual link DVI port.

Seems like the ASUS may be the better card for that setup, unless you hold out for a flex card. I have no idea of the sales of the original, so no idea on how likely a new one is. 7970 is powerful enough to run 6 screens, much more so then the 5870, so possible its coming. Been alot of rumors on it, just no hard facts.

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Exmortis

Post subject: MSI lightning in stock with

Posted: 27 Mar 2012, 01:42

Joined: 13 Dec 2010, 22:01
Posts: 62

MSI lightning in stock with Newegg.ca. Mine is ordered, verified and now awaiting shipping (hopefully tomorrow).

I waited to post until my order was through. Sorry, but thats the way she be.

Should get it in a few days, hopefully by the weekend!!!

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Moose

Post subject: I'm having so problems with

Posted: 28 Mar 2012, 10:31

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

I'm having so problems with my GPU. I've been doing a lot of troubleshooting and now I'm almost certain it's my power supply. I'm going from 600 to 700 watts now, I'll get back to you when the problem is fixed. Excuse me for postponing my article.

_________________
Music is my life. You are my music.

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Wijkert

Post subject: Moose wrote:I'm having so

Posted: 28 Mar 2012, 17:21

Insiders

Joined: 06 Sep 2011, 09:29
Posts: 552
Location: Haarlem, the Netherlands

I'm having so problems with my GPU. I've been doing a lot of troubleshooting and now I'm almost certain it's my power supply. I'm going from 600 to 700 watts now, I'll get back to you when the problem is fixed. Excuse me for postponing my article.

I am sure you realize that 600 watts should be more then enough for a single gpu, so the amount of watts should not be the problem. Let me know if you need help troubleshooting?

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Haldi

Post subject: Wijkert wrote:I am sure you

Posted: 28 Mar 2012, 18:07

Editors

Joined: 08 May 2011, 18:58
Posts: 2286

I am sure you realize that 600 watts should be more then enough for a single gpu, so the amount of watts should not be the problem. Let me know if you need help troubleshooting?

_________________
We gonna send it to outa space!

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Exmortis

Post subject: Moose wrote:I'm having so

Posted: 29 Mar 2012, 04:50

Joined: 13 Dec 2010, 22:01
Posts: 62

I'm having so problems with my GPU. I've been doing a lot of troubleshooting and now I'm almost certain it's my power supply. I'm going from 600 to 700 watts now, I'll get back to you when the problem is fixed. Excuse me for postponing my article.

Wow sorry to hear you having so many issues. Hopefully the new PSU solves your issues. If its old or weakened over time, you may be pushing it just over the edge.

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Exmortis

Post subject: Haldi wrote:Wijkert wrote:I

Posted: 29 Mar 2012, 04:52

Joined: 13 Dec 2010, 22:01
Posts: 62

[quote]
I am sure you realize that 600 watts should be more then enough for a single gpu, so the amount of watts should not be the problem. Let me know if you need help troubleshooting?

QFT!

but you never know! Maybe a problem inside the PSU? If not i'd say problem from MB!

I wonder how the OC potential of that Cards are. DCUII should do 1200mhz with Air!
I wonder how the MSI Lightning will do. With LN2 up to 1800mhz... But thats a special sample!

Well mines (MSI LIghtning) in transit as I post this I am hoping to have it by Friday. So I will post my initial feelings then.

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Moose

Post subject: PSU

Posted: 29 Mar 2012, 13:36

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Well, at first I thought the problem was indeed located elsewhere. However, the freezes where always somewhere ingame, never on desktop. Then I started fiddling around in AMD Overdrive. I clocked my card back from initial speeds to standard clock speeds and turned down energysettings to -20%. This drastically reduced the amount of freezes.

Also, a 600 watts PSU should be enough, however I've had mine for over two years now, so the wattage capacity isn't 80% anymore.

Electrolytic capacitor aging. When used heavily or over an extended period of time (1+ years) a PSU will slowly lose some of its initial wattage capacity. We recommend you add 20% if you plan to keep your PSU for more than 1 year, or 25-30% for 24/7 usage and 1+ years.

That's why I decided to get a new PSU.

Moose

_________________
Music is my life. You are my music.

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Exmortis

Post subject: Moose wrote:Well, at first I

Posted: 30 Mar 2012, 01:04

Joined: 13 Dec 2010, 22:01
Posts: 62

Well, at first I thought the problem was indeed located elsewhere. However, the freezes where always somewhere ingame, never on desktop. Then I started fiddling around in AMD Overdrive. I clocked my card back from initial speeds to standard clock speeds and turned down energysettings to -20%. This drastically reduced the amount of freezes.

Also, a 600 watts PSU should be enough, however I've had mine for over two years now, so the wattage capacity isn't 80% anymore.

Electrolytic capacitor aging. When used heavily or over an extended period of time (1+ years) a PSU will slowly lose some of its initial wattage capacity. We recommend you add 20% if you plan to keep your PSU for more than 1 year, or 25-30% for 24/7 usage and 1+ years.

That's why I decided to get a new PSU.

Moose

That is true, but alot also depends on build quality. I own a Corsair AX850 Gold. One thing I never skimp on is PSU, I bvuy the best tested PSU in the range of power I want. When I bought mine the Corsair was the cleanest most stable power HardOCP had ever tested. I wanted 750ish, so 850 was a fit. Was not cheap, but its a great solid unit.

It is also enough for CFX, if I ever go that way again.

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Haldi

Post subject: Moose wrote:Also, a 600 watts

Posted: 30 Mar 2012, 13:54

Editors

Joined: 08 May 2011, 18:58
Posts: 2286

Also, a 600 watts PSU should be enough, however I've had mine for over two years now, so the wattage capacity isn't 80% anymore.

Electrolytic capacitor aging. When used heavily or over an extended period of time (1+ years) a PSU will slowly lose some of its initial wattage capacity. We recommend you add 20% if you plan to keep your PSU for more than 1 year, or 25-30% for 24/7 usage and 1+ years.

That's why I decided to get a new PSU.

Moose

Lol. How much did you pay for your psu? 50$ ¿

We're talking about Gaming PSU's not 24/7 industrial use! I payd 300$ for mine (Enermax Max Revo 1500W Gold) and im sure that in 5-6 Years when i'm gonna buy a Quad GPU high end Monster PC i'd still be able to use the exact same PSU!
Beside... 750W doesnt mean it'll shut down at 750W ! Most PSU can handle 10-15% over usage.
If there's a Problem with the PSU, its not because you drain to much but more because the PSU itself has a problem. Well still ends in same^^ need to replace PSU.

_________________
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Exmortis

Post subject: Well My MSI came in, and man

Posted: 30 Mar 2012, 20:49

Joined: 13 Dec 2010, 22:01
Posts: 62

Well My MSI came in, and man is it a BIG ass card, I do not mean width I mean all over!!! its hugely longer then reference, taller as well.

I work to an unknown hour tonight, and I have to get a third mDP to DP 6' cable before I install it, so will be tomorrow sometime.
I will post my feelings, and some benchmarks.

I own all 3Dmark, I will install, run them on my system as it is with my 6970, then my new 7970 at stock speeds.

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Moose

Post subject: Exmortis wrote:Well My MSI

Posted: 01 Apr 2012, 10:56

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Well My MSI came in, and man is it a BIG ass card, I do not mean width I mean all over!!! its hugely longer then reference, taller as well.

Haha, I know that feeling. These cards really are monsters. I hope everthing works out for you, my PSU is due to come in on tuesday.

_________________
Music is my life. You are my music.

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Crysto

Post subject: Solution to tearing? Really?

Posted: 02 Apr 2012, 09:35

Joined: 07 Mar 2012, 04:26
Posts: 5

Well I'm new to the ATI camp but picked up this card (the TOP version) just recently. Temps and noise are great, but the VRM cooling limits overclocking headroom. (1.2v 1200mhz cannot be sustained even at 100% fan due to VRM's getting over 105C, tested stock clocks at this voltage and crashes occur at the same VRM temps.) If that were addressed or this card was to be water cooled (now that EK are producing blocks for it), I'd imagine it would overclock very well.

However the reason myself (and most people on this forum) would buy this card is for the apparently tearing free eyefinity- with 3 monitors in extended desktop, all appears fine, however when running 5760x1080 or any amount of bezel correction I am seeing consistent tearing on one screen with Vsync enabled (this one is using an active DP-DVI adapter).
Is there any specific setup configuration that will remove the tearing, or is (for whatever reason) this card just not *the* solution to tearing?

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Moose

Post subject: Crysto wrote:However the

Posted: 02 Apr 2012, 10:08

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

However the reason myself (and most people on this forum) would buy this card is for the apparently tearing free eyefinity- with 3 monitors in extended desktop, all appears fine, however when running 5760x1080 or any amount of bezel correction I am seeing consistent tearing on one screen with Vsync enabled (this one is using an active DP-DVI adapter).
Is there any specific setup configuration that will remove the tearing, or is (for whatever reason) this card just not *the* solution to tearing?

Well, apparently you are using a DVI port in combination with a DP port. That will give tearing. I have three DVI screens with three DP to DVI adapters. That way you're not messing up different digital signals, you're just converting three DP signals to three DVI signals.

Hope this helps!

_________________
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Crysto

Post subject: Probably should have

Posted: 02 Apr 2012, 10:39

Joined: 07 Mar 2012, 04:26
Posts: 5

Probably should have clarified, I am using two 'passive' DP to DVI adapters for two of my monitors, and one active DP to DVI adapter (my understanding was this was required for eyefinity). Is this not the way I should be connecting my screens to prevent tearing?

I have tried running one of my screens through the 'switched' dual link DVI port (as it is a 120hz monitor, and my active adapter apparently isn't up to the task of that - even though it can do 2560x1600), and I get identical tearing in eyefinity (but none with extended desktop).

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suiken_2mieu

Post subject: Crysto wrote:Probably should

Posted: 02 Apr 2012, 14:19

Insiders

Joined: 20 Aug 2009, 04:20
Posts: 2351
Location: Virginia

Probably should have clarified, I am using two 'passive' DP to DVI adapters for two of my monitors, and one active DP to DVI adapter (my understanding was this was required for eyefinity). Is this not the way I should be connecting my screens to prevent tearing?

I have tried running one of my screens through the 'switched' dual link DVI port (as it is a 120hz monitor, and my active adapter apparently isn't up to the task of that - even though it can do 2560x1600), and I get identical tearing in eyefinity (but none with extended desktop).

You need to run all active adapters. When you go into CCC, go under desktop management, then creating and arranging desktops. Hover over the monitor icons. If any of them say DVI, you need active adapters.

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Crysto

Post subject: After all the research on

Posted: 02 Apr 2012, 16:00

Joined: 07 Mar 2012, 04:26
Posts: 5

After all the research on Eyefinity I never knew you needed to run all active to remove tearing... Makes sense, and in CCC it does show two DVI and one DP monitor. The one active adapter I have is USB powered, I assume the other adapters with no external power are basically just single link versions of what I already have? Something like -this- would be appropriate?
Appreciate the help getting to the bottom of this, it's really unsurprising (although altogether dodgy) that this isn't made clear by AMD.

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Moose

Post subject: Crysto wrote:Something like

Posted: 03 Apr 2012, 08:29

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Something like -this- would be appropriate?

Yeah, those should be fine. I've got the Sapphire ones. I'll get back to you hopefully this afternoon, since the odds are high I will recieve my new PSU today.

Appreciate the help getting to the bottom of this, it's really unsurprising (although altogether dodgy) that this isn't made clear by AMD.

And the understatement of the year goes to... Crysto!

_________________
Music is my life. You are my music.

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metalnwood

Post subject: So I am guessing that none of

Posted: 04 Apr 2012, 01:20

Joined: 02 Dec 2008, 11:55
Posts: 75

So I am guessing that none of the other 7970 cards have enough clocks to use the 2xdvi's and the hdmi together?

Looks like my country may be out of stock of the asus EF6 until beginning of next month. Hoped there would be another option!

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Moose

Post subject: Hello fellow WSGF'ers,

Posted: 10 Apr 2012, 08:50

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Hello fellow WSGF'ers,

okay, I'm not sure how to put this but I am probably going to sell my third monitor and trade in my 7970 for as 7950/7870. This means no more Eyefinity for me. The reason behind this is quite simple. I've got a new study coming up, which is sort of my life goal. I really want to do this study and succeed. Also the study is quite far away from my home, so I'm gonna rent a room. Having an Eyefinity setup at home which is only used in the weekend is a bit too expensive for me. Rooms here in Holland cost quite a lot and I also need money for a new laptop for the study. That's the reason.

I am really sorry and I want to apologise to all the people who have been waiting for my review on the Asus card and/or further help with Eyefinity on this card. I hope I can still be a part of this great community.

Moose

_________________
Music is my life. You are my music.

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AussieTimmeh

Post subject: Moose wrote: I hope I can

Posted: 10 Apr 2012, 09:30

Editors

Joined: 14 Oct 2009, 03:11
Posts: 1441

I hope I can still be a part of this great community.

Moose

Absolutely mate! Shame for downgrading but yay for following your life dreams. 8)

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skipclarke

Post subject: Moose wrote:I am really sorry

Posted: 10 Apr 2012, 12:37

Founder

Joined: 13 Oct 2003, 05:00
Posts: 7358

I am really sorry and I want to apologise to all the people who have been waiting for my review on the Asus card and/or further help with Eyefinity on this card. I hope I can still be a part of this great community.

Moose

I'm sorry you're having to sell your Eyefinity rig, but I can certainly understand the need for having the right priorities. Congrats on getting the opportunity for the education. And, you don't need to run multi-monitors to be a part of the community. There are plenty of people who run just a single widescreen. If you wanted to jump into one of the niches we represent, you could always get a laptop with a 3D panel. Both NVIDIA and AMD have offerings out from different manufacturers.

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Wijkert

Post subject: Moose wrote:Rooms here in

Posted: 10 Apr 2012, 15:33

Insiders

Joined: 06 Sep 2011, 09:29
Posts: 552
Location: Haarlem, the Netherlands

Rooms here in Holland cost quite a lot

I can second that... :(

Anyway, good luck! Can you tell us what you will be studying?

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Haldi

Post subject: Moose wrote:I hope I can

Posted: 10 Apr 2012, 18:17

Editors

Joined: 08 May 2011, 18:58
Posts: 2286

I hope I can still be a part of this great community.

Moose

just kidding ;) i'm pretty sure you will return to play in triple monitor as soon as you get the possibility to. Like pringles! once doped never stopped.
It's good to have a goal you want to achieve. Wish you best luck and hope you success.

_________________
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Moose

Post subject: Wijkert wrote:Moose

Posted: 11 Apr 2012, 08:54

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

[quote]Rooms here in Holland cost quite a lot

I can second that... :(

Anyway, good luck! Can you tell us what you will be studying?

I'll (hopefully) be studying Game Creation & Producing after the summer. I need to do assignments, hand in a CV, resumé, a motivational letter and spend a day there to do assignments with a group of fellow students. It's an english study. Some of the courses I get: Storyboarding, Design, 2D en 3D animation, Modelling, Art Skill, Audio, Flash, Creative Thinking, Brainstorming, Photography en Interaction Design, Concept Design, Multidisciplinair Development, Interactive Storytelling, Advertising, Mediapsychology, Game History, Gameplay en Ethics. The third and the fourth year focus on specialization and internship.

I'm really looking forward to this study, although I'm quite nervous as well.

To Haldi, skipclarke, AussieTimmeh and other people; thanks for the support!

Moose

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Moose

Post subject: Minor update

Posted: 16 Apr 2012, 13:44

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

So, I've changed a few things in the original post and the title. The MSI R7970 Lightning has globally hit the market so I thought, why not make this a thread for that card as well. I believe quite a few people want the MSI over the Asus because of Mini-Displayports. Anyway, discuss whatever you like!

Moose

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overstitch

Post subject: Headaches with the DC2T 7970

Posted: 16 Apr 2012, 17:07

Joined: 01 Apr 2012, 17:30
Posts: 13

So I'm hoping the gurus here can possibly help me with my DC2T which has been heartache and heartbreak. My system specs are in my sig. I've tested different driver revisions, disabled PowerPlay, disabled ULPS, tried slightly increasing the voltage to see if that stabilized it, upgraded my PSU, removed my XFi and am now planning to disconnect hard drives and disable onboard SATA controllers this evening to see if that will help. I've gone so far as to take it to the retailer for RMA and they turned it down since it worked in their bench system without glitch. I need to try again to see if I can find out their testing process and what they used though.

My card only throttles down the VRAM if you have a single monitor, doesn't matter if all of the monitors are connected via ActiveDisplayPort adapters or not. It also doesn't throttle down the GPU unless a single monitor is connected.

What is the problem? 3DMark11 and Battlefield 3 (Generally also Mass Effect 3) upon kicking the GPU in to full 3D will cause the system to hard crash-I either get 3 different screens with different colours or one screen with a colour on it. All of those screens either feature vertical lighter lines or horizontal lines.

My system is at stock clocks. I've only seen zaniness like this once before with my Radeon 5750 which on release the drivers didn't work in Windows 7 64-bit. Things were quite a bit more stable in Windows 8 oddly enough, but I wanted to be able to play Battlefield 2 (yes, 2) without Punkbuster kicking me.

Thanks!

_________________
Proteus:

Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 | Catalyst 12.3 w/o CAP | ASUS P8Z68-V Pro/GEN3 | Intel Core i7 2600K @ 3.4 GHz | 16GB PC3 12800 Corsair Vengeance LP | ASUS DirectCU II 7970 TOP | Creative X-Fi Titanium PCIe (PAX 1.40) | Intel 520 120GB (Intel Smart Response) | 2x WD Black 500GB RAID 0 (Intel Rapid Storage 10.8.0.1003) | 2x WD Black 640GB | Corsair AX850 850W PSU | 2x Dell 2007WFP 20" @ 1680x1050 (via HIS DisplayPort Active SL Adapter) | Samsung SyncMaster F2380 23" @ 1920x1080 (via HIS DisplayPort Active SL Adapter) -- Storage: NexStar NST-400MX-SR w/ 2x WD Black 2TB (via eSATA)

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Moose

Post subject: You might want to try these

Posted: 16 Apr 2012, 17:47

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

You might want to try these drivers: http://www.download3k.com/Install-AMD-Catalyst-Driver-for-AMD-Radeon-HD-7900.html
The 12.x are so far quite buggy with 7970's and x64 W7's

Moose

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Music is my life. You are my music.

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overstitch

Post subject: Thanks Moose, I'll be giving

Posted: 16 Apr 2012, 20:06

Joined: 01 Apr 2012, 17:30
Posts: 13

Thanks Moose, I'll be giving that a shot before I start disabling more hardware. Did you have GPU Tweak installed while you were testing out your DC2T?

Thanks!

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Moose

Post subject: No I didn't, sorry.

Posted: 16 Apr 2012, 20:29

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

No I didn't, sorry.

_________________
Music is my life. You are my music.

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overstitch

Post subject: Well, the drivers worked

Posted: 16 Apr 2012, 21:46

Joined: 01 Apr 2012, 17:30
Posts: 13

Well, the drivers worked great for 3Dmark11, however running BF3 hard locked the system (testing remotely... So, can't really do much till I'm back in front of the comp). I manually removed any trace of the previous drivers, then installed the new ones (yeah, not ideal, but I'm impatient). Funny enough, those drivers actually let the GPU throttle down to 350 MHz with three monitors active (not eyefinity though). VRAM still ran full speed though. I'm going to try using system restore to restore to before I installed GPU Tweak to see if it put something somewhere that doesn't play nice with the Catalysts. I'll also be disabling some of my onboard features just to see if they are interfering (JMicron JMB362 eSATA controller and the Marvell 9128 SATA 6G controller).

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Moose

Post subject: Well, since you've fiddled a

Posted: 17 Apr 2012, 07:58

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Well, since you've fiddled a lot with it you might want to try and just use a clean install with every piece of hardware connected. Then use the R-drivers I recommended. Fiddling with drivers and such always leaves a trace. I suggest you do it if you have faith it will work.

Moose

_________________
Music is my life. You are my music.

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overstitch

Post subject: Hi Moose,I've system

Posted: 18 Apr 2012, 00:49

Joined: 01 Apr 2012, 17:30
Posts: 13

Hi Moose,

I've system restored back to the first driver install on my system to see if I can save time. I've installed necessary drivers without additional hardware (no sound enabled, no additional SATA controllers, no USB3, no Firewire, no Bluetooth). I only have the Intel INF and Intel RAID drivers installed. I'm going to proceed with installing the drivers you linked to, testing Battlefield 3 to see if it is stable then testing from there.

If that doesn't work, I'll do a clean re-install.

I'll post back once I've finished this phase of testing.

Thanks for the help!

UPDATE: System restore was a bust. It left crud kicking around. Re-install it is again...

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overstitch

Post subject: Found the issue. Once the

Posted: 19 Apr 2012, 01:14

Joined: 01 Apr 2012, 17:30
Posts: 13

Found the issue. Once the Intel Management Interface driver is installed, having any AMD DisplayPort Audio outputs enabled will cause BF3 to crash (confirmed with Catalyst 12.3, no CAP). It also looks like the Intel Rapid Storage drivers don't play nice with BF3 either, when I moved back to my original configuration with a RAID 0 array to have Windows on, it crashes no matter what.

Funny thing is, it worked just fine with my old Radeon 6850, so it is specific to the drivers of the 7970.

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Moose

Post subject: Hm, quite odd indeed.

Posted: 19 Apr 2012, 17:22

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Hm, quite odd indeed. Exquisite you found the problem though. What drivers did you use in the end, if I may ask?

Moose

_________________
Music is my life. You are my music.

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overstitch

Post subject: Found the issue. Once the

Posted: 20 Apr 2012, 15:00

Joined: 01 Apr 2012, 17:30
Posts: 13

*Doublepost* Sorry!

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overstitch

Post subject: Here is the conclusion to

Posted: 20 Apr 2012, 15:07

Joined: 01 Apr 2012, 17:30
Posts: 13

Here is the conclusion to this harrowing experience....

If using Intel RAID (latest version, which I am) on Windows 7 64-bit SP1 (all updates applied) and the Catalyst 12.3 drivers, using my middle monitor (the 1080p Samsung, doesn't matter what DisplayPort port it is connected to OR if it is connected via DVI) as either the primary or when moving Battlefield 3 to it, the game WILL hard lock and crash the system. If moving the game from a primary monitor on either side of the middle one, in order to not crash after a minute, you must not use onboard Realtek audio drivers. In the end though, if you try to launch the game, it WILL crash.

So, it runs on my left 1680x1050 screen without issue and I've bunged my XFi back in to see how that fares. Things seem okay though. I'll be testing with Starcraft 2 again and Team Fortress 2 to see how that goes. Mass Effect 3 works just fine.

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BirdOtt

Post subject: Congratulations & Good Luck in your new studies

Posted: 21 Apr 2012, 18:39

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

Hi Moose.

Congratulations on pursuing your dreams as you enter the next "student" phase of your life. I wish you all the best!

I recall my "student" days fondly; they were many years ago when I took business studies at The University of Manitoba in Wiinnipeg. I am sure you will have a great time since you are keenly interested in your "field of dreams"!

I am in the process of completing my new PC build using the ASUS Radeon 7970 DC2T I received recently. I have been preoccupied with other parts of the build, accessories, Gamepod, shelving, etc. It should be completed this weekend, barring mis-steps! :) It is my first build so I have been doing a lot of reading, investigating, etc. before actually doing anything. Plus a further excuse: it is "hockey playoffs" time and my home team is battling the villans from the "Big Apple"!

Take care and I still look forward to reading your commnets and interacting in the WSGF.

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Moose

Post subject: BirdOtt wrote:Hi Moose.

Posted: 21 Apr 2012, 20:49

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Hi Moose.

Congratulations on pursuing your dreams as you enter the next "student" phase of your life. I wish you all the best!

Thanks for those kind words. (:

I am in the process of completing my new PC build using the ASUS Radeon 7970 DC2T I received recently. I have been preoccupied with other parts of the build, accessories, Gamepod, shelving, etc. It should be completed this weekend, barring mis-steps! :) It is my first build so I have been doing a lot of reading, investigating, etc. before actually doing anything.

Exquisite! I hope everything works out for you. Doing research and stuff is half the work, I am very pleased to see you did that. I like you.

Moose

_________________
Music is my life. You are my music.

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Exmortis

Post subject: Sorry for long hiatus, Life

Posted: 29 Apr 2012, 18:51

Joined: 13 Dec 2010, 22:01
Posts: 62

Sorry for long hiatus, Life got in the way, the kind where we are all standing around playing pin the pick slip on the employee. Very stressful waiting for those times. they come out next week. Man the waiting.

Anyhoo my Lightning is working perfectly. It is a dream of a card, buit it is NOT so quiet as I rea din thereviews, fans can really spin up. I installed two side fans and the mesh instead of window on my Corsair 600T and that has helped.

Other then MSIs afterburner isn't too great right now, I have had very little driver issues, but I have not OC'd yet, I tend to wait a few weeks to make sure all is stable. I have had one blue screen, damn VirtuLogix driver, not AMD.

Also......wait for it.....NO TEARING!!!! I run all monitors with DP and not once have I seen it in Skyrim and it used ot be rather bad.

I have had no time to do benchmark, Just wanted to chime in, as I said I would. Damn RL.

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BirdOtt

Post subject: New PC Build with ASUS Radeon 7970 DC2T

Posted: 30 Apr 2012, 22:02

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

I assembled my new PC this past week and did the first power up and boot on the weekend. :) Nothing came up on the monitor. :( MOBO LED read AE and then AA. Caused some concern initially. Then I learned that this was OK. But it meant I had a monitor issue. I changed from one monitor hooked by Displayport to DVI. It worked. Will be changing back to DP shortly to see if the problem is resolved. Hope so. Installed Windows 7 and MS Office. Planning to do more this week. Hope to get 3X1 landscape eyefinity running and check performance. Bye for now.

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Exmortis

Post subject: I have had that issue, for me

Posted: 01 May 2012, 22:48

Joined: 13 Dec 2010, 22:01
Posts: 62

I have had that issue, for me it was a dead DP port.

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metalnwood

Post subject: I am thinking about this card

Posted: 04 May 2012, 01:20

Joined: 02 Dec 2008, 11:55
Posts: 75

I am thinking about this card to get rid of tearing as well as hopefully improved AA over the 6970 series (dont know if I will get that?)

Right now I use 2xdvi and one dp with an active adaptor.

How do I hook this up? I guess I need another 2 active adaptors of DP->DVI and 3 three adaptors to convert from DP to mini DP so I can plug in the active adaptors.

Thats it, good to go with no tearing? Seems like an obvious answer but I am just checking that active adaptors are still used and that tearing will go with three of them in the solution.

Thanks!

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metalnwood

Post subject: Hmm, I currently have 2

Posted: 04 May 2012, 01:29

Joined: 02 Dec 2008, 11:55
Posts: 75

Hmm, I currently have 2 active mini display port to dvi adaptors.

It looks more likely that I need to buy three entirely new regular DP -> dvi adaptors at around $160nzd on top because I can't source any adaptors that will let me use them in this card..

That puts a damper on it as the price hikes up fast.

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BirdOtt

Post subject: More New PC Problems - Ugh!

Posted: 12 May 2012, 02:37

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

Things are NOT going smoothly in my new build. After multiple hours long sessions with Windows 7 updates, and hours long downloads of a few games from Gamersgate and STEAM, I am steamed! Then the BIG problems started! I am now getting lockups where sometimes the mouse won't move and others where it will move but clicking on any icon does nothing.

I am also encountering repeated messages where the screen goes blank and then a message pops up saying "Display driver has stopped responding and has recovered, Display driver AMD driver has stopped responding and has successfully recovered." (Yes, it says it twice with different wording). Sometimes it happens only once and then I can go on to use the PC for awhile. At other times, it keeps happening in quick succession with very little time between occurrences (e.g., less than 60 seconds). It does not seem to occur when the Windows start screen is on. It seems to happen when I try to use programs within Windows 7.

I am also having issues with Windows 7 Updates. I did a new install of Windows 7 and it said there were 91 updates available. I tried to install them all, but only 77 were successful. 12 of the 14 that failed were said to be "important". Over a few additional update attempts, 4 of the 12 were subsequently installed successfully. 8 have never been attempted since the first attempt and thus those 8 appear to be "not installed". Perhaps they have been addressed by subsequent updates that have different serial numbers. I don't know about that though. I have noticed that Windows Updates keep indicating that 2 updates are required, yet those two updates have already been installed three times successfully. I think the Windows update process is screwed up. I have now taken Windows recommendation to install updates automatically. Maybe that will help.

Another problem is with Winamp. It downloads, installs and gets the data off my NAS. However, it will not let me click on "audio" and create a "query" to create a "Smart View". It will also not let me select any of the individual sound files under audio and sometime will do strange things that I have not selected. HOWEVER, today I started Windows in SAFE MODE and then started Winamp. It allowed me to create a smart view. When I shut down and rebooted in normal mode, the new smart view (genre) was there, BUT it would not work and I could not play any of the files. So, it weorks in SAFE MODE but not regular mode. I don't know why.

So, those are the problems at this time. I am describing them all here so that you have a complete picture of the problems.

My current system is as follows:

Corsair Obsidian Series 800D, Intel Core i7 3930K, Corsair H100 CPU Cooler, ASUS Rampage IV Extreme MOBO, G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 8 stick set X 4gb = 32GB RAM, OCZ Vertex 3 240GB SSD, WD Caviar Black 2TB HDD, ASUS HD7970 DirectCu II TOP (DC2T), ASUS 12X Blu-ray drive, ASUS DVD-Writer 24X, CORSAIR AX1200 PSU, Corsair K90 Keyboard, Logitech G9x Mouse, 1Dell Ultrabright U2410 Monitor.

I have not installed all 3 monitors nor a PCIe sound card yet.

This new PC is a nightmare. I think it is the ASUS graphics card that is the culprit. Any thoughts?

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BirdOtt

Post subject: Dead DP Port

Posted: 12 May 2012, 02:40

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

I hope it is not a dead DP port, Exmortis. I will try the DP port again soon, once I get some stability in the PC. I hope that occurs soon. :)

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BirdOtt

Post subject: Then I uninstalled the AMD Drivers :)

Posted: 12 May 2012, 03:52

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

I decided to read a few of the other threads to see if there was a solution I could use. Based on that, I decided to uninstall the AMD drivers. The current installed driver was 8.961.0.0. I uninstalled it and shut down. On reboot GPU Tweak did not start and said it "failed to load DLLs. Please install VGA." Upon clicking to close that window, the PC automatically went out and installed ASUS drivers version 8.921.5.0. I launched Firefox and no troubles occurred. I launched Winamp and it started up fine. I clicked on the genre smart view and it worked! No more messages about "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered." So, I think I found the solution. Time will tell. :)

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Wijkert

Post subject: There are some known issues

Posted: 12 May 2012, 07:49

Insiders

Joined: 06 Sep 2011, 09:29
Posts: 552
Location: Haarlem, the Netherlands

There are some known issues with 79xx cards who go into save mode (zero core). For example when you let Windows turn your monitor after 10 min power saving features of your gpu will kick in and the system hang when you wake up your monitor. I have been having these problems as well. I am getting random blue screens(one a week) when watching gpu accelerated video content. Also when I start up my system, but leave the monitors off and after 15min turn the monitors on I get the 'Display driver stopped responding' message. Different drivers seem to let the above errors occur often or less often, so your solution might work for the most part.

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Haldi

Post subject: BirdOtt wrote:I decided to

Posted: 12 May 2012, 13:15

Editors

Joined: 08 May 2011, 18:58
Posts: 2286

I decided to read a few of the other threads to see if there was a solution I could use. Based on that, I decided to uninstall the AMD drivers. The current installed driver was 8.961.0.0. I uninstalled it and shut down. On reboot GPU Tweak did not start and said it "failed to load DLLs. Please install VGA." Upon clicking to close that window, the PC automatically went out and installed ASUS drivers version 8.921.5.0. I launched Firefox and no troubles occurred. I launched Winamp and it started up fine. I clicked on the genre smart view and it worked! No more messages about "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered." So, I think I found the solution. Time will tell. :)

8.961 is 12.4 right ? i knew this drivers were bugged, but that much ?

Was running 12.1(or 2 pre?^^) 8.921.5 had some driver crashed, but only when OC'ing near at the limit!
Right now i'm on 12.5Pre 8.970 and that seems fine too! Crossfire works, ZeroCore also. and again only get driver crashes when i OC around 1250mhz. But i did NOT do a clean install! never in the last few months!

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g0del

Post subject: I upgraded to a 3 monitor

Posted: 12 May 2012, 19:06

Joined: 23 Mar 2012, 17:15
Posts: 4

I upgraded to a 3 monitor setup this week, and bought the referenced Asus 7970 so I could avoid tearing. I've got all three monitors attached using displayport adapters, and I'm seeing constant tearing on my middle monitor in eyefinity. Always in the same place, about a quarter of the way up from the bottom. Does anyone have any clue what could be causing it?

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Moose

Post subject: g0del wrote:I upgraded to a 3

Posted: 13 May 2012, 21:20

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

I upgraded to a 3 monitor setup this week, and bought the referenced Asus 7970 so I could avoid tearing. I've got all three monitors attached using displayport adapters, and I'm seeing constant tearing on my middle monitor in eyefinity. Always in the same place, about a quarter of the way up from the bottom. Does anyone have any clue what could be causing it?

The 'reference' 7970 does not have three equal display ports. You need to buy the MSI R7970, the DCII 7970 or the DCII 7970 OC. So you've bought the wrong card.

I decided to read a few of the other threads to see if there was a solution I could use. Based on that, I decided to uninstall the AMD drivers. The current installed driver was 8.961.0.0. I uninstalled it and shut down. On reboot GPU Tweak did not start and said it "failed to load DLLs. Please install VGA." Upon clicking to close that window, the PC automatically went out and installed ASUS drivers version 8.921.5.0. I launched Firefox and no troubles occurred. I launched Winamp and it started up fine. I clicked on the genre smart view and it worked! No more messages about "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered." So, I think I found the solution. Time will tell. :)

I assume that you have installed the special 7970 drivers released by AMD? The 'normal' drivers don't work too well with the 7970 series. This driver will install an older, modified version of CCC.

Moose

PS: That's one fine rig you have there. But as always, the more expensive things are, the more problems you get with it.

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Music is my life. You are my music.

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g0del

Post subject: I didn't say "reference", I

Posted: 14 May 2012, 03:33

Joined: 23 Mar 2012, 17:15
Posts: 4

Sorry, I guess I wasn't clear. I didn't say "reference", I said "referenced". Specifically, I have this HD7970-DC2-3GD5 card.

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Moose

Post subject: g0del wrote:Sorry, I guess I

Posted: 14 May 2012, 08:31

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Sorry, I guess I wasn't clear. I didn't say "reference", I said "referenced". Specifically, I have this HD7970-DC2-3GD5 card.

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Music is my life. You are my music.

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overstitch

Post subject: Are you using active

Posted: 14 May 2012, 17:10

Joined: 01 Apr 2012, 17:30
Posts: 13

Are you using active displayport adapters for all three? What brand and type? Have you tried swapping them around to see if the tearing is perhaps adapter related?

P.S. Catalyst 12.4 final seems to be working for me now (knock on wood) and it is actually throttling RAM speeds down properly.

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Haldi

Post subject: Moose wrote:PS: Could you

Posted: 14 May 2012, 21:16

Editors

Joined: 08 May 2011, 18:58
Posts: 2286

PS: Could you tell me what monitors you use? There are users here that have native DVI monitors mixed up with native DP monitors, connected to their cards without adapters, and experience no tearing.

Using Dell U2311H with 1x DP nativ, 1x DVI Nativ and 1x HDMI-->DVI-Adapter Never experienced Tearing! And when i was using 3+1 setup with an addition miniDP-->DVi Adapter i didn't get tearing either. (Used Adapter that were in the Box of the Sapphire HD7970!)

@Overstich, thats unbeliveable! 12.4 are the worst drivers ever ^^ you're the first i hear complementing them, just heard bad things about them till now ^^

To be sure use 12.1Previev aka 8.921.5(or 8.921.2) they work flawless. Even though 12.5Pre 8.975 also works kinda fine for me.

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overstitch

Post subject: 12.5 Pre worked for me for a

Posted: 14 May 2012, 22:10

Joined: 01 Apr 2012, 17:30
Posts: 13

12.5 Pre worked for me for a while, then one day they started causing Mass Effect 3 to crash (hard lock) without reason or justification, even after a clean restart. I'm betting that this is a case of the drivers work when they want to work :P I swear AMD has to have something they can't understand in hardware causing all of this grief with drivers. *sigh*

I was able to play Mass Effect 3 for a few hours on the 12.4s before the hard locked my system just as a I made it to the final decision point. Luckily the game auto-saved and prevented me from destroying my computer uncontrollably :P

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g0del

Post subject: Moose wrote:g0del

Posted: 15 May 2012, 00:25

Joined: 23 Mar 2012, 17:15
Posts: 4

[quote]Sorry, I guess I wasn't clear. I didn't say "reference", I said "referenced". Specifically, I have this HD7970-DC2-3GD5 card.

Excuse me, I didn't catch that. Well, if you have tearing, then it must be either;
1. Plugged in the monitors wrong;
2. Somehow drivers are wrong;
3. A defect card (probably the clock generator).

If it's the first case it's easy; with this card you need to hook up all three monitors on the Displayports. You can't mix the DVI outputs with the Displayports (not even with adapters) because that causes tearing.

If it's the second case; you need to make sure you have the correct drivers. AMD has released special drivers for the 7900 series, you need to download those. If the problem still occurs, clear the harddrive and do a clean install to make sure any previous drivers aren't screwing up.

If it's the third case; good luck. I have no idea how to prove that your card's hardware is actually broken, so I suggest you send it back to the shop and let it get tested there.

Moose

PS: Could you tell me what monitors you use? There are users here that have native DVI monitors mixed up with native DP monitors, connected to their cards without adapters, and experience no tearing.
I have a Dell U2410 as my center monitor (the one experiencing tearing), and two Dell U2412M monitors on the sides. All three monitors are connected by displayport, no adapters or converters. Just ordinary displayport cables right from the card to the monitors.

I don't have the driver you listed installed, when I installed the card I simply got the latest driver from AMD (cat 12.4) and installed that. When I get home I'll try those drivers, and maybe try switching the monitors around to see if its' a particular port on the card that's giving me issues.

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suiken_2mieu

Post subject: g0bel: You may also want to

Posted: 16 May 2012, 22:43

Insiders

Joined: 20 Aug 2009, 04:20
Posts: 2351
Location: Virginia

g0bel: You may also want to pull the edid data from all three monitors and check that they all are running at the same refresh rate. Sometimes you get the edid saying to run at 59.99Hz and 60Hz etc. Making an edid mask might fix your issue.

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BirdOtt

Post subject: Further Experiences

Posted: 18 May 2012, 01:05

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

A quick update on my trials and tribulations:

Things have settled down a bit. I put Windows on auto-update. The lockups have been reduced significantly. When I start Windows, I must be patient and wait for GPU weak to boot up and run for maybe 30 seconds before minimizing it, and also wait for the HDD Activity light to stop blinking. If I do that, the Display driver does not fail and recover. I do not know why waiting works; perhaps it is related to STEAM or Windows booting up and doing whatever they do! As indicated previously, this display driver failure NEVER occurs when the Windows start screen is on. It only happens occasionally now when I try to use programs within Windows 7.

The problem with Winamp has been solved! One person on the Winamp forum advised me that if I use 150% text size with the BIG Bento skin, it will not work. He said it is a known BUG! He was right! So I changed the text to 125% and it now works flawlessly. :)

I now have a new problem to address. :( I am running Railworks 3 Train Simulator 2012. Initially it would NOT load and I had an error message saying AGP driver was missing. It definitely was missing. :) I had installed the drivers from the disk that came with the graphics card and for some reason the CCC was mucked up. The download of the AMD driver 12.4 solved that and the Catalyst Control Center now works. Railworks 3 works too. I can now drive sim trains! De-rail them too! :) I am now trying (several days so far) to install the RailDriver software and hardware. So far no success there. I am conversing with the PI Engineering folks who designed the RailDriver hardware and software.. I hope to solve that sometime this year! :)

I have not tried the Displayport connections yet, nor 3 monitors. I might do that this coming weekend. I try to do things one at a time, or else I get them all mucked up and I get confused. I've been confused a lot lately.

I have not installed my ASUS Xonar STX PCIe sound card yet either.

I am running AMD Display Driver 8.961.0.0 at this time. I will check out the special AMD driver Moose identified. I am not sure which version that is yet.

The AMD driver that I downloaded did NOT include AVIVO and Hydravision as they are apparently considered optional by AMD and I was not given a choice if I recall correctly. Are those needed for eyefinity or any other applications with the ASUS HD 7970 DC2T?

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BirdOtt

Post subject: Wijkert comment re 79XX cards in power save mode

Posted: 18 May 2012, 01:11

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

I disabled power saving features and operate at "performance" with NEVER as the setting for sleep options. That seems to cut down on the PC sleeping and hanging lockups. I have just set up a screensaver today in case I forget to return to the PC before going to bed! :)

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BirdOtt

Post subject: Haldi 8.961 is 12.4 right?

Posted: 18 May 2012, 01:15

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

Yes, 8.961 is AMD download 12.4. I don't know why they do the identification this way! Seems confusing to me :)

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BirdOtt

Post subject: Special 7970 Drivers

Posted: 18 May 2012, 03:07

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

Hi Moose. I went to the site you identified for the special 7970 drivers. The site does not indicate which AMD version it is, but does indicate that it is 130.82 MB and dated 1/18/2012.

When I looked at AMD's site at: http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/previous/Pages/radeonaiw_vista64.aspx , they identify drivers as follows:

SIZE Revision Number Release Date
153.5 12.4 4/25/2012
161 12.3 3/28/2012
162 12.2 3/7/2012
109 11.12 12/13/2012
100.9 11.11 11/15/2011
95.7 11.10 10/31/2011
92.3 11.9 9/28/2011

I did not see an AMD version with the same size and date as the site you provided.

Can you provide any insight regarding this particular driver? Which AMD site did it come from? Is it an AMD driver or a modified version, or a partial version?

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Wijkert

Post subject: BirdOtt wrote:The AMD driver

Posted: 18 May 2012, 08:09

Insiders

Joined: 06 Sep 2011, 09:29
Posts: 552
Location: Haarlem, the Netherlands

The AMD driver that I downloaded did NOT include AVIVO and Hydravision as they are apparently considered optional by AMD and I was not given a choice if I recall correctly. Are those needed for eyefinity or any other applications with the ASUS HD 7970 DC2T?

Both programs aren't essential for your setup. You can use Hydravision to be able to maximize windows to a single screen instead of all three.

I disabled power saving features and operate at "performance" with NEVER as the setting for sleep options. That seems to cut down on the PC sleeping and hanging lockups. I have just set up a screensaver today in case I forget to return to the PC before going to bed! :)

It has been my observation that some power savings settings are indeed causing crashes. Never turning the monitor helps, because the card won't go into a power saving mode when at least one monitor is active. I have not have a display not responding, since I stopped turning my monitor of a week ago. You don't need to use a screensaver though, unless you are using an old crt monitor. All current monitors won't 'burn in' when you leave them on for longer periods of time.

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BirdOtt

Post subject: Thanks Wijkert for your comments

Posted: 18 May 2012, 17:25

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

I did turn the Screen Saver on, but it appears not to work anyway! I went away and came back after the time delay and the monitor was still on without screen saver on. Oh well. Not a big deal as you indicated.

Yes, the power save options seem to be more trouble than they are worth.

I find that if I minimize GPU tweak (which starts all the time on boot-up by default), and click on almost anything before the Notify and Info popup windows shut off, I will get the error message that the Display Driver has stopped working and recovered successfully. However, if I wait until they disappear and the HDD indicator stops flashing, I will not get that message. I wonder what is causing it to occur.

Are you running the same g-card driver that Moose recommended? Or something else?

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Wijkert

Post subject: BirdOtt wrote:Are you running

Posted: 18 May 2012, 21:07

Insiders

Joined: 06 Sep 2011, 09:29
Posts: 552
Location: Haarlem, the Netherlands

Are you running the same g-card driver that Moose recommended? Or something else?

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Haldi

Post subject: Wijkert wrote:BirdOtt

Posted: 19 May 2012, 05:26

Editors

Joined: 08 May 2011, 18:58
Posts: 2286

[quote]Are you running the same g-card driver that Moose recommended? Or something else?

I am running 8.97-120418a (aka 12.5 unofficial beta). It seems that I had more trouble with the different 12.4 versions. That might be why they have a bad rep (also because of artifacts in several game though).

QFT!
8.970 works fine. And i heard of a lot ppl with problems from 12.4!

The Special HD7000 Drivers are either 8.925.2 or 8.925.5 which released in january and where the first real working drivee for hd7970!

(fu smartphone! Cant scroll!)
The special HA7000

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g0del

Post subject: suiken_2mieu wrote:g0bel: You

Posted: 19 May 2012, 17:39

Joined: 23 Mar 2012, 17:15
Posts: 4

g0bel: You may also want to pull the edid data from all three monitors and check that they all are running at the same refresh rate. Sometimes you get the edid saying to run at 59.99Hz and 60Hz etc. Making an edid mask might fix your issue.

Well, that looks like it might be the problem. Moninfo says that the side monitors are running at 60HZ while the center is running at 59.80 HZ. But I have no idea how to make an edid mask to fix that. I've looked at the edids for both monitors in Phoenix edid designer, and I can't see what I would need to change to get the 2410 to run at 60HZ. I've loaded the 2410's edid into Phoenix, and it's already set to 60HZ for refresh in there.

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BirdOtt

Post subject: 8.97 it is

Posted: 20 May 2012, 15:02

Joined: 11 Feb 2012, 06:34
Posts: 39

I shall give 8.97 a try. Thanks Wijkert and Haldi.

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Wijkert

Post subject: BirdOtt wrote:I shall give

Posted: 20 May 2012, 16:18

Insiders

Joined: 06 Sep 2011, 09:29
Posts: 552
Location: Haarlem, the Netherlands

I shall give 8.97 a try. Thanks Wijkert and Haldi.

I have made a new thread about Powerplay and the 7xxx series. Maybe you can check if it helps you as well?

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Count Shagula

Post subject: Just adding my 2c. My second

Posted: 28 May 2012, 16:04

Joined: 05 Mar 2012, 17:33
Posts: 4

Just adding my 2c. My second rig at home here is all new... (Tested a few CPUs and stuck with the one that overclocked the most and sold the others off) Running 3570k @5ghz (Temps under 90c in Prime95, hardly hit 60 when gaming), 32gig GSkill 1600mhz, ASRock Fatality Z77 Professional, Corsair AX1200, Asus Xonar Essence STX and an Asus 7970 DCU2(Non TOP) and another Asus 7970 Reference. 5760x1200 via 3 x Dell u2412m's straight from DP on the vid card to DP on the monitor. 12.4s with CAP2s, i've also tried the Beta 12.5s.

I've been trying to give the rig the benefit of the doubt as all new rigs have problems. But tonight its finally pissed me off to no end (I just want to relax and play a game...). My CPU OC is 100% stable... I can run the pc fine with an Nvidia GTX 580 i have lying around. Running with the dual 7970s is a nightmare tbh... Whether i actually have a hardware issue or its just software i dont really know. My temps never ever go over 80c but im subjected to constant crashes and bluescreens. Getting my first irritation out of the way is to say that its impossible to overclock the DCU2 card as i can find no way of giving it more voltage... http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?15155-7970-DCU-Useless-for-overclockers http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=363117

Both threads created by myself and have had no usefull answers other than get rid of it... I've tried flashing to the bios of the TOP card with no luck, in fact ive tried flashing any and every bios to it with no luck. Asus GPU Tweak lets me set standard voltage and nothing more, even after unlocking Afterburner i cant even touch the slider on the DCU2. So unless anyone can say otherwise its pretty much impossible to get a decent overclock out of it as you cant give it more than stock voltage (Wondering if i have one of the original ones with the problems... My backplate has no VRM cut-out).

After that the endless crashes ensue. Playing Anno 2070 results in a crash, if i try to relaunch the game i see the second GPU is still at 99% usage and i get a atikmpag.sys BSOD. Crashing at desktop all the time with display driver has stopped responding. On a hunch i got rid of the Virtu MVP drivers and all of my desktop/idling crashes have been resolved.

If its not crashing its running like crap. Playing Battlefield in 5760x1200 and im getting 60ish FPS but it feels like im struggling to get ~20... Microstuttering? ... Sigh... Im not buying a third card (Apparently solves micro stuttering), i'd rather take both back and go back to Nvidia at this point.

Running in Crossfire with Eyefinity and Vsync on results in this nasty tearing on the bottom of the right side monitor and half of the middle monitor. I've changed Crossfire bridges and drivers with no luck. Its so annoying i cant actually play a game with it going on, even if it were running smoothly. Just like this, only in games though http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saG2mr6qM_8

Pretty much my old GTX 580 SLI rig was putting out half the framerates this is (If that) but it felt several times smoother than this. I've threatened to take both cards back but have been holding off to see if i could fix things but im at wits end now, i just want to play some games and i dont care what brand hardware im using...

I dont actually expect anyone to give any advice or fixes. Just posting my experiences so that anyone who buys something similar knows what they might expect. Not a happy camper atm!

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Haldi

Post subject: Count Shagula wrote: Getting

Posted: 28 May 2012, 20:59

Editors

Joined: 08 May 2011, 18:58
Posts: 2286

Getting my first irritation out of the way is to say that its impossible to overclock the DCU2 card as i can find no way of giving it more voltage... http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?15155-7970-DCU-Useless-for-overclockers http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=363117

Heard of that! seems like there are more of this Un-overvolteable Asus 7970 Direct CU out there.

And i don't know whats going on with the AMD Drivers... but when i use Crossfire on my two HD7970 and play for more than 1-2hours depending on the game i get a Computer freeze! Skyrim or Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning i .e Works perfectly fine in Single GPU. but using Crossfire crashes them after a while! On contrary Firefall or Need for Speed The Run works fine over more hours!

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Wijkert

Post subject: You probably already have,

Posted: 28 May 2012, 22:13

Insiders

Joined: 06 Sep 2011, 09:29
Posts: 552
Location: Haarlem, the Netherlands

You probably already have, but did you turn off ULPS? Otherwise overclocking cards in crossfire will result in a bsod if you do even a +1mhz and apply.

Running both crossfire and eyefinity is a nightmare microstuttering wise. SLI is your best bet if you want to run 2 cards. Less microstuttering, but still some. Running 7970's in crossfire even on a single screen apears to cause problems for most users. While troubleshooting I would run the cpu at stock, just to rule that out. I am sure you won't notice the difference since almost all games are gpu bound especially in triple wide res.

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Haldi

Post subject: Wijkert wrote: SLI is your

Posted: 29 May 2012, 20:10

Editors

Joined: 08 May 2011, 18:58
Posts: 2286

SLI is your best bet if you want to run 2 cards. Less microstuttering, but still some.

Nope! GTX690 is the only way to go against Micro Stuttering!

http://pics.computerbase.de/4/0/9/5/0/diagramme/104.svgz

i wonder what Two 690 would do...

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LordJuanlo

Post subject: Count Shagula wrote:Playing

Posted: 31 May 2012, 08:47

Joined: 06 Nov 2006, 10:37
Posts: 97

Playing Battlefield in 5760x1200 and im getting 60ish FPS but it feels like im struggling to get ~20... Microstuttering? ... Sigh...

I had that same problem, the solution is to limit framerate in this game. I edited the user.cfg file at the game folder and added the following line:

gametime.maxvariablefps 58

In game I disabled vsync and presto... smooth framerate and no more stuttering or tearing. Those 58 fps feel like real 58 fps.

_________________
Asus Rampage IV Formula / Intel i7 3930K C2 / 32 GB G.Skill RipjawsZ DDR3 2133 Quad Channel
Corsair Force GT 60 GB SATA3 / WD Caviar Black 2 TB / Seagate Barracuda Green 2 TB
3 x Radeon 7970 in Benq XL2420T (EyeFinity 5760x1080 @ 120Hz)
Oculus Rift

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X3R Kefran

Post subject: I had a 2 * reference 7970

Posted: 31 May 2012, 22:49

Joined: 05 Dec 2009, 17:42
Posts: 29

I had a 2 * reference 7970 since the release of the cards. I sold one of the two cards having to much problems with eyefinity (and even more with eyefinity + crossfire).

I decided to give a last try with AMD before moving to Nvidia and I ordered a MSI Lightning 7970 to see if using 3 displayport connections changes anything.
I received the MSI 7970 yesterday evening and started to test it with Catalyst 12.6 beta + 12.6 Cap 1, crossfire and one-card only

After several tests, I must say that it looks very promising :-)
I have had a 5970, 6970 crossfire and 7970 crossfire so I am used to pros and cons of eyefinity. At that stage, MSI Lightning 7970 + 12.6 beta is the best eyefinity experience I have had; even in crossfire.

Edit:
I did some additional tests and results are very good in mono GPU with the MSI ans 12.6 beta.
I had a lot of tearing with the "normal" 7970 in Assassin's creed revelations and batman Arkham asylum. WIth the new set-up, I just needed to turn V-sync on Boum ! No tearing and games are perfectly smooth.

Unfortunately, the situations is not so good in crossfire: Tearing is back.

So crossfire + eyefinity is improved but still not what we expect.

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Moose

Post subject: X3R Kefran

Posted: 15 Jun 2012, 09:32

Joined: 07 Nov 2011, 15:32
Posts: 167

Unfortunately, the situations is not so good in crossfire: Tearing is back.

So crossfire + eyefinity is improved but still not what we expect.

Still the same as years ago. It's a bit sad. Nvidia's new models are a bit more suitable for beginning triple screeners at the moment I believe. Their models have many DVI and a HDMI port, so you can always hook up three reasonably priced monitors without worrying about tearing what so ever. The prices are also going down compared to previous years. SLI still has its problems though, same as Crossfire. But for people who are new to the scene I would really recommend one of Nvidia's new cards.

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