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Thread: AMD n00b - setup advice please

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    AMD n00b - setup advice please

    Just "defected" to AMD after being an NVidia loyalist up to this point - switching from GF460 to Radeon 7970 (XFX's Double Dissipation Black edition), and I've got a pair of questions:

    1. The 7970's instructions recommended using two distinct outputs from the PSU. I misread this to mean that a plug (modular PSU) with two PCIe connections on it was okay. I'm having some stability issues (Medal of Honor: Warfighter crashes after a max of 10-15 minutes with with BSOD, Hitman Absolution after about an hour although I've had longer) so I'm wondering if putting in a separate PCIe feed from the PSU would correct these? (PSU is Corsair AX750 Gold - so I should have plenty of power).

    2. XFX's software bundle consists solely of the AMD Catalyst Control Centre. Is there any tool (other than GPU-Z which I'm using at the moment) that I can use to monitor/control fan temps and speeds? I'm not bothered too much about oc'ing the card at the moment (because it's already oc'd) but being able to bump up the default fan level in "auto" mode would be nice.

    By the way, I had some "fun" with XFX's default driver install - with some games (esp MoH:WF) claiming that I didn't have the required DX10 level present! I managed to solve that by overwriting the XFX-installed version with one downloaded directly from AMD's site (which reported as being as the same version as I'd just overwritten).

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    Re: AMD n00b - setup advice please

    Quote Originally Posted by crossy View Post
    1. The 7970's instructions recommended using two distinct outputs from the PSU. I misread this to mean that a plug (modular PSU) with two PCIe connections on it was okay. I'm having some stability issues (Medal of Honor: Warfighter crashes after a max of 10-15 minutes with with BSOD, Hitman Absolution after about an hour although I've had longer) so I'm wondering if putting in a separate PCIe feed from the PSU would correct these? (PSU is Corsair AX750 Gold - so I should have plenty of power).
    If it's a 'single rail' design PSU, then it shouldn't matter whether the PCIe plugs are from two separate cables or one.

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    Re: AMD n00b - setup advice please

    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbobgod1969 View Post
    If it's a 'single rail' design PSU, then it shouldn't matter whether the PCIe plugs are from two separate cables or one.
    Depends on the gauge of the wire. But I expect you would notice things heating up if there was a problem

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    Re: AMD n00b - setup advice please

    Quote Originally Posted by crossy View Post
    2. XFX's software bundle consists solely of the AMD Catalyst Control Centre. Is there any tool (other than GPU-Z which I'm using at the moment) that I can use to monitor/control fan temps and speeds? I'm not bothered too much about oc'ing the card at the moment (because it's already oc'd) but being able to bump up the default fan level in "auto" mode would be nice.
    MSI Afterburner will do this for you.

    More importantly, i'd DSR the card back if you can. I've seen too many XFX returns to even both acknowledging them any more, and here is a comparison of the DD to a reference card:
    http://forums.guru3d.com/showpost.ph...&postcount=141
    Kalniel: "Nice review Tarinder - would it be possible to get a picture of the case when the components are installed (with the side off obviously)?"
    CAT-THE-FIFTH: "The Antec 300 is a case which has an understated and clean appearance which many people like. Not everyone is into e-peen looking computers which look like a cross between the imagination of a hyperactive 10 year old and a Frog."
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    for all intents it seems to be the same card minus some gays name on it and a shielded cover ? with OEM added to it - GoNz0.

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    Re: AMD n00b - setup advice please

    Quote Originally Posted by kalniel View Post
    Depends on the gauge of the wire. But I expect you would notice things heating up if there was a problem
    The 12v rail of the AX750 is rated at 62A, and the maximum drawn by a 7970 is around 17.5, so there really shouldn't be a problem. The easiest thing would be to try two separate cables and see if it solves the crashing problem?

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    Re: AMD n00b - setup advice please

    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbobgod1969 View Post
    The 12v rail of the AX750 is rated at 62A, and the maximum drawn by a 7970 is around 17.5, so there really shouldn't be a problem.
    But what's the gauge of the PCI-E wire?

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    Re: AMD n00b - setup advice please

    Quote Originally Posted by kalniel View Post
    But what's the gauge of the PCI-E wire?
    If the cable is fitted with two 8 pin PCIe plugs, it should be rated up to 25A. So one would assume that Corsair would be sensible enough to use a gauge of cable able to take such current?

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    Re: AMD n00b - setup advice please

    Did you fuly remove the nVidia drivers from the system before installing the 7970, or did you just slap in the 7970 and boot up the system? You could have some old nVidia driver crap stuck in there (and to appease the nVidia fanbois, if going from AMD > nVidia I'd be talking about the AMD crap... ).

    Maybe if you've had fun with the driver installation you should run a cleaner then install the latest driver package available from AMD anyway.

    And doesn't the AX750 come with 2x PCI-E cables?

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    Re: AMD n00b - setup advice please

    Quote Originally Posted by ajones View Post
    Did you fuly remove the nVidia drivers from the system before installing the 7970, or did you just slap in the 7970 and boot up the system?
    I removed as much as I could before banging in the 7970 and the removed the rest AFTER it was installed. Couldn't see the point of having, as you put it, "some old nVidia driver crap stuck in there" (lol)
    Quote Originally Posted by ajones View Post
    Maybe if you've had fun with the driver installation you should run a cleaner then install the latest driver package available from AMD anyway.
    Hmm, that's what I'm starting to think too. That said, a bit of further research seems to show that MoH:WF isn't exactly a model of stability even with proven good setups. I'll maybe dig out BF3 or FarCry3 and see whether they've got the same issues. Hitman's maxed out for graphics, and someone's just reminded me that the weather at the time I was "testing" that might have been causing mains spikes. All the DX10 stuff I've got is rock solid stable (so far) and again, with all those sliders slipped to the max.
    Quote Originally Posted by ajones View Post
    And doesn't the AX750 come with 2x PCI-E cables?
    Yes it does. It was sold (at least at the time I bought it) as being suitable for at least two-way Crossfire or SLI with a pair of "big" cards (i.e. ones needing two power inputs).
    Quote Originally Posted by Terbinator View Post
    MSI Afterburner will do this for you.
    Cheers.
    Quote Originally Posted by Terbinator View Post
    More importantly, i'd DSR the card back if you can. I've seen too many XFX returns to even both acknowledging them any more, and here is a comparison of the DD to a reference card:
    http://forums.guru3d.com/showpost.ph...&postcount=141
    DSR?
    Bad news about XFX cards in that post (thanks for sharing) although that tallies with what I'm seeing - or rather feeling ... that card does run a little on the "warm" side.
    I've had past good experiences with XFX (7800GT's in SLi - which were granite solid) which is why I jumped at the chance of this special offer. And to be honest, the call I logged with XFX over their crappy software installer etc for this card was answered pretty well/quickly.
    I'll probably stick with it for now, I can always try palming it off on someone else when then next gen comes out in a couple of months...

    ALL: Thanks for the feedback - always welcome to hear from my betters, which is why I like Hexus! I'll take the advice given and give a dual port solution a spin (as Jimbobgod1969 says) and also try and find a decent driver cleaner (one that doesn't end up trying to delete half the OS - very bad experience of an iolo product in WinXP days) as ajones suggests. Plus do a bit more testing to see if I've just got a bad WF install and external issues with the Hitman crashes.
    Last edited by crossy; 11-03-2013 at 05:52 PM.

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