Widescreen Gaming Forum

Alright ive seen youtube videos of dp to dvi issues and stuttering etc but it doesn't seem to be the same as what im having problems with

win 7 64bit
2 x sapphire 5870 toxic 2gb cards in crossfirex
3 x 22" widescreen acer x223 monitors.

the issue, im trying to play games at this resolution and out of nowhere i get a screen freeze but it goes to a (each monitor a different color) black, grey, pale green, beige sometimes. Now it sometimes comes out of it and the game continues and sometimes it doesn't and forces me to restart the computer. When it does it, it looks like a printer is out of calibration, lines from top to bottom that are subtle but there. Also i got some stutters every now and then but that's just normal game load things. I got the cards just the other day and im new to it first hand, i have read about it and that but actually having to deal with it..

Its just starting to anger me. Also to mention because the cards were back to back the top one couldn't breath so i made a spacer to split the cards for air and i flashed the bios with faster fan speeds at lower temps. maybe the bios flash is behind this.. if so then ill revert the bios to the original. ive never had issues like this with a graphic cards, any ideas or suggestions are welcome. thanks

What Power Supply is in your rig and what is its AMP Rating on the +12V Rails?

I ask because you do have a lot of stuff in that rig that might possibly be pushing the system to its power limits.

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~Windows 7 x64 Professional~MSI X58A-GD45~Intel I7-950~6x2 GB DDR3 1600 RAM (Triple Channel)~RealTek Onboard~XFX HD 6950 2 GB GDDR5~3 ViewSonic 24 inch LCDs in Eyefinity~SATA Dual Layer DVD RW~1000 W PSU~And a Whole Lot More!~Done with Vista~XP Pro on the way out, too!~AND....250 GB XBOX 360~

corsair hx1000w and both 12v rails have 40amps

AC INPUT 100-240V, Current: 13A, Frequency: 50-60Hz
DC OUTPUT +12V1 +5V +12V2 +3.3V -12V +5Vsb
MAX LOAD 40A 30A 40A 30A 0.8A 3.5A
MAX COMBINED WATTAGE 500W 500W 9.6W 17.5W
TOTAL POWER:1000W

i got 2 hardwired pci-e power lines, one each on each card and i got 1 pci-e modular cable on each rail to each card.

after looking and running lots of tests, many state that its a crossfire problem with both issues. but no one specifies any further. From the tests i did yesterday i think that the first card is running to hot. after doing unigine test with single, fan auto adjusted for temp. 77c 60% fan or so. then i tested crossfirex with the result of the second card increasing in temp from idle 30c to 66c and the fan adjusting accordingly. The first card however temp went up to 90c with the fan sitting constant at 50%? something wrong there.

I think the issue is that crossfirex is conflicting with the fan on the first card and making it overheat which would cause the card do the dashes and screen freezes. anyway that's what i have observed and i plan to run more tests and keep this thread posted with developments.

I think you're on to something re: the fan controls and temperatures. Have you tried manually bumping the fan speeds to 70% or even more just for testing? Just from memory, I recall reading about the problem with the fan on that 2nd card not increasing automatically and allowing higher temperatures.

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~Windows 7 x64 Professional~MSI X58A-GD45~Intel I7-950~6x2 GB DDR3 1600 RAM (Triple Channel)~RealTek Onboard~XFX HD 6950 2 GB GDDR5~3 ViewSonic 24 inch LCDs in Eyefinity~SATA Dual Layer DVD RW~1000 W PSU~And a Whole Lot More!~Done with Vista~XP Pro on the way out, too!~AND....250 GB XBOX 360~

i have not tested that yet, i will do that soon. msi afterburner can hold i t for me. I bought 2 new hard drives yesterday. my 160gb system drive is sata 1 and it needs to be replaced. so ill start fresh and run the tests. I'm sure its the fans. the auto control is buggy in crossfire. just listening to it run is cause for concern. I think that the fans engage too late or the wait time is to long to start and to short after. if the temp goes up it should go up with it right away. and if the temp is coming down to keep the fan running at the higher speed for longer times incase it comes back up. hat might be causing it to overheat for that short time the fan slows down. just my thoughts so far.

after running a test on dirt 2 while the fan was set to 80% the computer still did the monitor color thing. So rule out the fan, just glitchy drivers for crossfire. ill test single in a little bit and update this post.