How the heck do I set up 4870X2 Crossfire???

Y

yenniedn

2[H]4U
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Nov 26, 2007
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I'm sure this topic has been covered before - although I DID do a search and could not find anything on it.

I recently went back to ATI for the 4870x2 after several generations of nVidia cards. Had no problems setting up SLI in the couple of instances I did do it. But typical of ATI drivers/software, setting up Crossfire has not gone as smoothly.

I have two Diamond 4870x2's - each card will work fine by itself running Catalyst 8.10 (so I know they're both fully functional). When shut down the system to add the second card and the Crossfire bridge - system will not boot up on next reboot. Computer boots up but screen is pitch black.

I have the LCD connected to the top card on the DVI plug closest to the motherboard. I've also tried moving it to any of the other three available plugs without anything showing up on the screen.

I'm sure it's something very basic I'm missing . . . anyone care to point me in the right direction?

Thanks!
 
wouldnt this be crossfireX? and wouldnt only certain boards support this? correct me if im wrong.
 
I'm not sure. I know the previous generation ATI cards you needed one of the two cards to be a Crossfire Edition card but I don't believe that is the case with the 4870x2's.

In any event, the move to ATI (while the card is much faster) has been buggy and difficult at best.
 
Something is up. It may be the actual driver install itself. Since it is just a blank screen before you even enable crossfire I suspect that crossfire isn't causing the problem. Normally when you first boot after adding the card you have to go into CCC and enable crossfire, and I believe reboot.
I would first try wiping the driver, use driver-cleaner and then retry.
 
Nah, shouldn't have anything at all to do with drivers. Drivers aren't loaded before windows start loading.

I was about to suggest insufficient PSU, but with 1000watts that shouldn't be a problem either. Are the cards and card fans powering on properly? Do the cards have red/green lights to indicate if they're properly in place?
 
Definitely sounds like a power supply issue, ATI says 1000watt minimum for 2 4870x2's
 
yen try to plug only 2 4870x2, 1 stick ram and CPU and see if it POST?

good luck
 
vertigomhs said:
wouldnt this be crossfireX? and wouldnt only certain boards support this? correct me if im wrong.
Click to expand...

According to wikipedia crossfireX is
wikipedia said:
"setup has been updated with support for a maximum of four video cards with the 790FX chipset; the CrossFire branding was then changed to "ATI CrossFire X". The setup, according to internal testing by AMD, will bring at least 3.2x performance increase in several games and applications which required massive graphics capabilities of the computer system, the setup is targeted to the enthusiast market. A later development include a dual GPU solution that was released in early 2008, the "ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2", featuring only one CrossFire connector for dual card, four GPU scalability."
Click to expand...

I think you are right, maybe the board doesn't support it?
 
Raap said:
Nah, shouldn't have anything at all to do with drivers. Drivers aren't loaded before windows start loading.

I was about to suggest insufficient PSU, but with 1000watts that shouldn't be a problem either. Are the cards and card fans powering on properly? Do the cards have red/green lights to indicate if they're properly in place?
Click to expand...

I'll try again tonight and check - only fiddled with it late last night for less than an hour before giving up due to sleepiness. Will try again tonight.

Exeodus said:
Definitely sounds like a power supply issue, ATI says 1000watt minimum for 2 4870x2's
Click to expand...

If you look at my sig, I do already have a 1000w PSU. This was tried on a recently acquired Corsair hx1000w which most people here on [H] rave about. I also have an Ultra X3 that I can try as well as needed.

PAo_ReVoLT said:
yen try to plug only 2 4870x2, 1 stick ram and CPU and see if it POST?

good luck
Click to expand...

I think this is all your fault!!! You sent me too many goodies and I tried to cram it all into the system last night and now everything's going to blow up :)

But I'll definitely pull some of the RAM and see if it solves the problem.
 
Make sure that you are connecting your monitor to the primary card in the BIOS. Turn off your PC and connect the monitor to one card then boot. If it doesn't work, turn off the PC and connect the monitor to the other card and the boot.
 
OK, I actually got it to work.

It had something to do with the wires on the HX1000W PSU. If you're not familiar with this PSU, it is modular with the exception of the main 24 + 8 pin ATX cables and 2x 6/8 PCIe cables - which are hardwired in. I used both of the 6/8 cables as an 8pin and connected one cable to each separate card. I then added one modular 6pin PCIe to each card.

In this configuration, the computer would boot up but there was no video to the LCD. I tried many times (even tried a different Crossfire bridge to rule out that possibility) and got the same result. Then, one time, even as the screen was pitch black, I heard the Windows Vista chime so I knew that it had fully booted into the log-on page . . . I just couldn't see anything on the screen.

So I took out the two hardwired PCIe cables and substituted each one with a modular 8pin PCIe cable. Rebooted . . . and again, black screen . . . waited and waited and was JUST about to power off when the power light on the 3007wfp-hc went BLUE . . . which means I've FINALLY got a video signal!!!

YIPPEE!

It took a long time but it booted and the Vista logon screen was prompting for my password. Got in and CCC promptly recognized the Crossfire setup and asked me if I wanted to enable Crossfire - which I did. YEA!

Only problem with this was that it added two more cables onto the PSU in an already cramped area - so now that it was working, I took these two modular 8pin PCIe cables out and re-inserted the hardwired ones . . . reboot . . . and it still works!

Weird thing is - upon each reboot, I don't get any video until the Windows logon screen (which means that I don't see ANY of the BIOS POST info etc.) . . . this could be problematic when I need to enter the BIOS to mess around (which we all do a lot if you OC).

Also, CrossfireX has killed the optical output on my X-Fi Titanium!!! I could no longer get sound from the optical connection (even after a re-install of the X-Fi drivers). I had to revert back to the black/green/yellow RCA cables to get sound back. Oh well.

Now . . . it's time to do a little gaming to see how much CrossfireX makes!
 
yenniedn said:
OK, I actually got it to work.

It had something to do with the wires on the HX1000W PSU. If you're not familiar with this PSU, it is modular with the exception of the main 24 + 8 pin ATX cables and 2x 6/8 PCIe cables - which are hardwired in. I used both of the 6/8 cables as an 8pin and connected one cable to each separate card. I then added one modular 6pin PCIe to each card.

In this configuration, the computer would boot up but there was no video to the LCD. I tried many times (even tried a different Crossfire bridge to rule out that possibility) and got the same result. Then, one time, even as the screen was pitch black, I heard the Windows Vista chime so I knew that it had fully booted into the log-on page . . . I just couldn't see anything on the screen.

So I took out the two hardwired PCIe cables and substituted each one with a modular 8pin PCIe cable. Rebooted . . . and again, black screen . . . waited and waited and was JUST about to power off when the power light on the 3007wfp-hc went BLUE . . . which means I've FINALLY got a video signal!!!

YIPPEE!

It took a long time but it booted and the Vista logon screen was prompting for my password. Got in and CCC promptly recognized the Crossfire setup and asked me if I wanted to enable Crossfire - which I did. YEA!

Only problem with this was that it added two more cables onto the PSU in an already cramped area - so now that it was working, I took these two modular 8pin PCIe cables out and re-inserted the hardwired ones . . . reboot . . . and it still works!

Weird thing is - upon each reboot, I don't get any video until the Windows logon screen (which means that I don't see ANY of the BIOS POST info etc.) . . . this could be problematic when I need to enter the BIOS to mess around (which we all do a lot if you OC).

Also, CrossfireX has killed the optical output on my X-Fi Titanium!!! I could no longer get sound from the optical connection (even after a re-install of the X-Fi drivers). I had to revert back to the black/green/yellow RCA cables to get sound back. Oh well.

Now . . . it's time to do a little gaming to see how much CrossfireX makes!
Click to expand...
Sounds like you didn't connect your monitor to the primary card. Try connecting the monitor to the other card.
 
Just a FYI in most cases you plug the DVI into the BOTTOM card as the Master just like you would in the TOP card. A little unkown issue !! If you put it in the TOP card then you may get a black screen till your actualy in windows.

LOL
T&B
 
TURNnBURN said:
Just a FYI in most cases you plug the DVI into the BOTTOM card as the Master just like you would in the TOP card. A little unkown issue !! If you put it in the TOP card then you may get a black screen till your actualy in windows.

LOL
T&B
Click to expand...

On my CrossfireX (2x4870x2 eaxct same like you) My monitor has to be pluged into the bottom card to get a signal durring bootup (before vista), took me a while to figure this one as well and found out my accident when I had all 3 (at the time, sold the other 2) of my monitors hooked up
 
Lest you guys think this is an ATI-only thing, I have had precisely the same problems listed here with a couple SLI setups on my now secondary machine. It is frustrating. Yennie, glad you're humming along now. Did you buy marshmallows to roast over your case now?
 
Kil4Thril said:
Lest you guys think this is an ATI-only thing, I have had precisely the same problems listed here with a couple SLI setups on my now secondary machine. It is frustrating. Yennie, glad you're humming along now. Did you buy marshmallows to roast over your case now?
Click to expand...

LOL - it is definitely toasty! I was concerned about it causing an increase in my CPU temps but that hasn't been the case at all as the CPU temps have stayed pretty much the same after Crossfire.

The air coming out the back of the case, however, that's a different story - holy hotness! Oh well, just in time for winter.

I'll move the DVI's into the lower card and see how it goes . . .

[edit: above poster is correct . . . moving the DVI's to the lower card did the trick. Everything works as it should now and computer boots up and shows the POST screens right from start up. Thx!]
 
You can use the upper card but you need to change the primary card in BIOS. If it already works now, you can can leave it that way because you shouldn't fix something when it is not broken.
 
IOf you have the regular cards and would like the Bios for the XOC version I have them for the Diamond crads, just PM me or Aim and ill send them to you.

NOTE: These are direct form (D) easy to use already set up in a ulitilty just run it has both the Master which you do first and DONT REBOOT then the Slave once done you just reboot and Wamo you now have 4870X2 XOC overclocked cards.

I recomend you go on water with these cards as they run super HOT and if you crank up the fans then you have a blow dryer running great if you live in a cold climate hehe.

T&B
 
TURNnBURN said:
IOf you have the regular cards and would like the Bios for the XOC version I have them for the Diamond crads, just PM me or Aim and ill send them to you.

NOTE: These are direct form (D) easy to use already set up in a ulitilty just run it has both the Master which you do first and DONT REBOOT then the Slave once done you just reboot and Wamo you now have 4870X2 XOC overclocked cards.

I recomend you go on water with these cards as they run super HOT and if you crank up the fans then you have a blow dryer running great if you live in a cold climate hehe.

T&B
Click to expand...
I like big white letters too!
 
About your digital in, the ATI card has a digital audio for HDMI support, you might have to reconfigure vista to use your creative one instead.
 
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