Radeon 4870x2, no game will use second GPU

[dimes and nickles]

Hello, Ive just bought a brand new OEM radeon 4870x2 to upgrade from my radeon 4850. I am seeing an improvement in FPS, but the problem is Im seeing an improvement from a 4850, to a 4870, not a 4850 to 4870x2, as the second GPU is never used on any game Ive tested it with (Tribes: Ascend (Lobby menu WILL use second GPU, actual in game will NOT), Obvliion, Natural Selection 2 (has predefined profile), and Crysis (also has predefined profile). Im using techpowerup GPU-Z to watch the GPUs statistics.

3Dmark vantage, however, will utilize the second GPU just as much as the first GPU, and provide what I see to be the boost in FPS I was expecting to see (over 100%). Also sometimes 3dmark vantage will show brutal artifacts from the water in graphics test one, the trails from the ships in test two, and the flag test. Researching this Ive seen other people have had this same problem. I dont know if this is related to other games not using the second GPU, though. I say it sometimes happens, because yesterday I decided to try running it again, and all the artifacts were gone. Today, they are back. Later today they might be gone again. (edit: due to catalyst AI being enabled. Disabled they go away).

No actual game shows any artifact.

I fresh installed all the drivers after uninstalling them, then sweeping them in safe mode. I asked in the motherboard forum if it might have been my motherboard that is causing this somehow (Asus M3A78-pro), which was my first thought, and someone responded it shouldnt be the board thats the problem.

No idea whats going on, and I have no idea how to fix it. Im sure someone has run into this problem before, though!

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Motherboard: Asus M3A78-pro with 780G chipset (only has one PCIE 2.0 16x slot. Its "hybrid crossfireX" enabled, but doesnt say anything about crossfire, which is why I thought it might be the motherboard at first)

Windows vista 64

8GB ram, DDR2 running at 800mhz (4/4/4/12)

Corsair TX750W power supply

And of course a new radeon 4870x2

 

[dimes and nickles]

I thought it might have been the mobo too, that was my first thought.

I emailed ASUS with that exact question, can this mobo support a dual GPU graphics card. They said yes, it should have no problem.

And 3dmark vantage uses both cores fully, and gives the increase in performance I would expect. Just nothing else will. If it was a hardware problem, would any program use both?

 

[ricardois]

yes it is indeed really strange, but it really is looking like an SO + Motherboard problem... maybe with another Motherboard and another windows that could be different, like you have said, it is working at least on the benchmark.

i would check if i can use it in a computer with another SO and another mobo.

 

[maxh22]

Maybe your PSU is going bad and its not supporting the second GPU, I mean you probably had the 4850 for a while and your psu isn't supporting enough power to your 4870x2. Or maybe the second gpu is loosely plugged in and isn't working? try opening up the card, or give it to someone who knows how to open it up.

 

[dimes and nickles]

Well, after searching even more on the internet, I found this problem with 4870x2s is not uncommon. Seen a couple people post elsewhere with the exact same problem; no game will use the second core, but 3dmark always will.

After trying like 6 or 7 different driver versions, catalyst drivers 10.2 finally are allowing at least one game (crysis) to utilize both gpus. Both GPUs look like they are being used relatively symmetrically, and FPS seems over 100%+ improved, which I was hoping for. On the starting beach I used to get around 16-17 FPS, now shows 37-38. Temps are about 47 and 57 while under moderate load... not to bad I think.

But the game crashed after several minutes though. Then crashed again the next time after several minutes, and the clouds around the moon are blinky.

No BSODs though... yet.

I guess I should go one driver more recent and see if that improves anything.

Im disappointed in ATI/AMD for failing to support their "older" model cards. "older" model, cause I dont think 4 years is that old, especially since they are by any normal standard still usable.

 

[maxh22]

Well, after searching even more on the internet, I found this problem with 4870x2s is not uncommon. Seen a couple people post elsewhere with the exact same problem; no game will use the second core, but 3dmark always will.

After trying like 6 or 7 different driver versions, catalyst drivers 10.2 finally are allowing at least one game (crysis) to utilize both gpus. Both GPUs look like they are being used relatively symmetrically, and FPS seems over 100%+ improved, which I was hoping for. On the starting beach I used to get around 16-17 FPS, now shows 37-38. Temps are about 47 and 57 while under moderate load... not to bad I think.

But the game crashed after several minutes though. Then crashed again the next time after several minutes, and the clouds around the moon are blinky.

No BSODs though... yet.

I guess I should go one driver more recent and see if that improves anything.

Im disappointed in ATI/AMD for failing to support their "older" model cards. "older" model, cause I dont think 4 years is that old, especially since they are by any normal standard still usable.

Obsolete technology is not cared for, especially since there are faster,smaller,less power consuming single gpu's out.

They basically realize that who ever bought their old 4870x2 cards were enthusiasts and they most likely have long upgraded their systems therfore they have dropped support for that particular card.

This is why you shouldn't buy old tech!

 

[dimes and nickles]

Youre probably right. A 4870x2 seemed the best bang for the buck though, theoretically. I had no idea it had such problems.

 

[maxh22]

Youre probably right. A 4870x2 seemed the best bang for the buck though, theoretically. I had no idea it had such problems.

upfront, sure why not? But in the end you got to remember that it takes more power ( which adds to your electric bill), gives off more heat, and you got to deal with micro stuttering. Not to mention the problem you are having right now!

So tell me do you still think it is the best bang for your buck?

 

[dangr05]

I've finally found a way to fix this.
First of all sorry for necroing but I want to get this info available for people looking for a way to fix this.

Step by step guide:

1 Open Catalyst Control Center
2 Click on the 'Gaming' tab.
3 Click on the '3D Application Settings' tab.
4 Make sure Catalyst AI is enabled and set to 'Advanced
5 Scroll all the way down to 'AMD CrossFireX Mode for 3D Applications'
6 Change it from 'Default mode' to 'Use AMD Pre-defined Profile'
7 Select one of the 3DMark Applications and hit 'Apply' in the bottom right corner


VOILA!