# *Official* ATI Radeon HD4850X2 Thread



## rico2001

*Official ATI Radeon HD4850X2 Thread*

*Created and administered by: Open1Your1Eyes0*
*Co-owned and moderated by: rico2001*










This thread is for all *Sapphire Radeon HD4850X2* owners to refer to for comparison in performance so the rules to this thread are very simple, be as thorough as possible and post the following things on your post.

Average FPS on *Crysis* or *Crysis Warhead* on all "*Very High*" or "*Enthusiast*" settings with at least 1280x1024 resolution or higher.

Any Overclocking information on your entire system (if overclocked).
[Include *CPU* OC, *RAM* OC, and/or *GPU* OC]
Also provide the following pictures as attachments for support

Screenshot of *GPUZ* on "Graphics Card" tab.
Screenshot of *CPUZ* on "CPU" tab.
Screenshot of *CPUZ* on "Mainboard" tab.
Screenshot of *CPUZ* on "Memory" tab.
Screenshot of *3DMark06* results on default settings.
Screenshot of *3DMark Vantage* results on "Performance" mode.
Screenshot of *Crysis Benchmark Tool* results with all settings on "*Very High*".
Screenshot of *Crysis Warhead Benchmark Tool* results with all settings on "*Enthusiast*".
*Please put this code in your signature to support this thread*

Code:



Code:


[CODE]
[CENTER]:devil:[URL="http://www.overclock.net/ati/429656-official-ati-radeon-hd4850x2-thread.html"]Official [B]ATI Radeon HD[/B][B]4850X2[/B] Thread[/URL]:devil:[/CENTER]

[/CODE]

Also any other information applicable would be great. Thank you all in advance and I hope we can all help those in desperate search of this information.









*Results by Open1Your1Eyes0*

I used the following system to obtain these results:

*Motherboard*: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L (rev. 2.0)
*CPU*: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 (Overclocked to 4.00GHz)
*RAM*: G.Skill 4GB DDR2-PC8500 1066MHz (5-5-5-15-2T Timings)
*GPU*: Sapphire Radeon HD4850X2 (ATI Catalyst 8.12 Drivers from Sapphire's Website)
*PSU*: Corsair TX750W (750 Watts)
*Hard Drive*: Samsung HD080HJ 80GB (SATA II 3.0 Gbps)
*OS*: Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit SP1

*The following photos are of the system used*:





































































*The following are results for stock clocks*:





































*The following are results after overclocking*:














































*End of results by Open1Your1Eyes0*

*Temperture, Sound Level and Power Consumption For The* *Sapphire Radeon HD4850X2*


























*Radeon HD4850X2 LEDs*

D1601 : ASIC CTF Enable (GPU overheat protection)
D29 : 8 pin external connector no power
D30 : 6 pin external connector no power
D25 : Boot up fault LED (Re-plug the VGA board or D1601,D29,D30 all failed)
D1250~D1252 : Turn on with normal behavior in the left ASIC
D1253~D1255 : Turn on with normal behavior in the right ASIC

At BOOT/POST, the card's fan will spin @ 100% for a short while, the LEDs will light up for a brief period and then go out. This is NORMAL behaviour as the card is performing it's own type of POST test.

Green LEDs lit mean the VGA card is working normally. A RED LED will show on D1250~D1252 / D1253~D1255 to show normal operation.

*Latest Drivers (ATI Catalyst 10.3) For The* *Sapphire Radeon HD4850X2*

Click Here To Download Drivers Windows XP 32-bit
Click Here To Download Drivers Windows XP 64-bit
Click Here To Download Drivers Windows Vista 32-bit
Click Here To Download Drivers Windows Vista 64-bit
Click Here To Download Drivers Windows 7 32-bit
Click Here To Download Drivers Windows 7 64-bit

*Download The Tools Used Above*

*GPUZ v0.3.9*: Click Here To Download
*CPUZ v1.53 32 & 64bit*: Click Here To Download
*3DMark06 v1.1.0a*: Click Here To Download
*3DMark Vantage v1.01a*: Click Here To Download
*Crysis Demo*: Click Here To Download
*Crysis Benchmark Tool v1.05*: Click Here To Download
*Crysis Warhead Benchmark Tool v0.32*: Click Here To Download
*Devil May Cry 4 Demo and Benchmark Tool v1.0.0*: Click Here To Download
*OCCT Stability Testing Tool v3.1.0*: Click Here To Download
*FurMark Benchmark and Stability Tool v1.7.0*: Click Here To Download
*MSI AfterBurner Overclocking Tool v1.5*: Click Here To Download
*GPUTool CTP1 Overclocking Tool*: Click Here To Download
*Unigine Heaven Benchmark Tool v1.0*: Click Here To Download
*Street Fighter IV Benchmark Tool v1.0*: Click Here To Download
*Resident Evil 5 Benchmark Tool v1.0*: Click Here To Download

*Owner's List*

*
aamir3kk
Aeonus
Battlestar
Bluzeboy
Bruenor
chanster
Chewman
ciprianni
cody0707
Col. Newman
d4martin
daellum67
Danny Boy
djthechemist
DuckYy
dynoman101
equlizer34
ESS_Eisenkreuz
etiennedefqvx
frankydee
Gatroo
guscol
jadawgis732
jaybrn1
Jon A. Silvers
kairi_zeroblade
kimosabi
Kyle659
legend999
lesstutrey
lurkingdevil
Maxers
Meaker
mrhandy65
MrMan
oulzac
Pete1burn
phreakboy
porksmuggler
po-chi
qoobeq
Redbull1985
Renfeld
reptile!
rico2001
ritchwell
Sacre
Shroomalistic
Seekerx
sprout
sulphur
TheFoister
theOriginalContra
thunderstar
tool918
twm.7
vtech1
Wolfeshaman
XeqtR
xgeko2
xz3rorom3o
ymetushe
Zaid
ZTR17*


----------



## Brythe

I think you're the first person I've seen with this card on OCN.

You should post benches.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

I've seen a few people with this card on OCN but I will update my post as soon as I get some testing done.


----------



## benko

well we are waiting for results









i also think that you are first with 4850x2 on OCN


----------



## MrMan

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Brythe* 
I think you're the first person I've seen with this card on OCN.

You should post benches.

then u need to pay more attention. im pretty sure i got mine first. i just didnt bother getting on here and announcing it. to busy killing with it.


----------



## gsk3rd

yea i am curious what marks you get.


----------



## FieryCoD

Yeah man, this card looked great in the charts. Bench this with many games!


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

I'll be posting some screenshots within the hour. Give me a few minutes, almost done testing.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

OK guys, I have updated my post, you can check it all out and tell me what you think. I will post 3DMark06 results soon.


----------



## daellum67

ill run vantage on mine

there WILL be cpu bottleneck


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MrMan* 
then u need to pay more attention. im pretty sure i got mine first. i just didnt bother getting on here and announcing it. to busy killing with it.

LMAO


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Great job guys keep posting but I would like to see some results please also. Thanks.


----------



## daellum67

http://service.futuremark.com/result...&resultType=19

there is my result

ive got a replacement board coming tomorrow (same model, the one i have now had a dead pci-e slot) as well as a replacement 9950 (the board it was in caught on fire), ill post results with tri-fire and a decent processor after that stuff arrives.

even though the 3dmark is kind of pathetic i can still play games, maxed, at 1920x1200.


----------



## BiG O

This is a very specific thread. Why not just a 4850X2 thread without the specification of brand?


----------



## daellum67

afaik only sapphire is making these cards, it was the only one out when i bought mine in mid november.
now it seems that there is a version with only 512mb of framebuffer for each gpu out, but it is also a sapphire card

although i agree that all 4850 crossfire configurations should be allowed in here, if it wasn't for the dead pci-e slot on my board my config wouldn't be "allowed".


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Yeah I had also wondered why Sapphire is the only one making this card. I think they have some kind of agreement with ATI to be the exclusive seller of this card. After all they are considered to be the top ATI partner. Good stuff...


----------



## MrMan

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Yeah I had also wondered why Sapphire is the only one making this card. I think they have some kind of agreement with ATI to be the exclusive seller of this card. After all they are considered to be the top ATI partner. Good stuff...










i think its because sapphire probably has one of the better teams and thus can produce better quality stuff. but i have always bought sapphire ati stuff, or atleast preferred it.

scores in sig


----------



## MM-K

Can you turn down the fan speed to keep this thing quiet and still have it operate at safe temps?


----------



## ESS_Eisenkreuz

MEEEE! ill throw up some benches when i get home.


----------



## xz3rorom3o

I've had this card since...Thursday

http://www.overclock.net/ati/417537-...rs-thread.html


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MM-K* 
Can you turn down the fan speed to keep this thing quiet and still have it operate at safe temps?

Usually auto is the best choice because they program it to keep as quiet as possible until its needs to seriously cool down. But I would imagined you can keep it at a relatively quiet speed. Even 100% fan speed compared to many other cards I had before is much quieter.


----------



## Ledge68

Have you tried OCing this card yet? I would like to see some 3Dmark 06 or Vantage scores when OCed.

I have been eyeing this card for a bit. Looks like a great card.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

OK no problem Ill post a 3DMark06 score at stock soon and Ill do Vantage and 3DMark06 and Vantage at OC soon. Thanks for mentioning.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

This thread is still young but you can expect things like an Owners List on the first page soon. So if you guys want, acknowledge yourselves those who of you own this card and also include your Max stable overclocks too. Thanks again to everyone. Keep on posting!


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

To xz3rorom3o:

I noticed you had an owners thread going so if you want to contribute to this thread let me know and I'll post some things for you. You deserve much credit too so we'll help each other out if you like.


----------



## Nirran

Just ordered a 4850 x2 today. Hopefully it'll get here by tomorrow (Amazon prime) but if not it'll be friday. Can't wait to get it and mess around with it.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Nirran* 
Just ordered a 4850 x2 today. Hopefully it'll get here by tomorrow (Amazon prime) but if not it'll be friday. Can't wait to get it and mess around with it.

Remember to download the drivers from Sapphire's website only. When you got it all up and running let us know what your 3dmark06/3dmark Vantage scores are and what you have for crysis on all very high (DX10).


----------



## 45nm

You should list the 4850 X2 owners in the original first post.


----------



## Marin

Mind taking pics of the card? From what I have seen it may be larger than a 4870x2.


----------



## 45nm

It is. It is approximately 12" compared to the 10.5 of the 4870 X2. I'd imagine the trouble it would have fitting in an 1200 and doing cable management.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

I will be posting an owners list very soon. Make sure that all owners posting in this thread have their system up to date saying that they own this card and I will add you to the list. I will also post some pictures of the card itself and how i have it installed in my computer. I'll keep everyone updated.


----------



## Nirran

ll keep you updated when I get the card. Looks like it'll arrive Friday since it hasn't shipped yet. I got the drivers off of sapphire's website since I seen ati's don't work.


----------



## skunksmash

Great thread & card!









i thought the 4850x2 was currently out performing the GTX280 in some cases..??, by that reasoning it must beat the GTX260 out right..?? does it not..??


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *skunksmash* 
Great thread & card!









i thought the 4850x2 was currently out performing the GTX280 in some cases..??, by that reasoning it must beat the GTX260 out right..?? does it not..??

The *HD4850X2* is out performing the *GTX280* in actually almost everything that allows two GPUs. However my motherboard is bottlenecking me because I have PCI-express 1.0. Fitting two PCI-express 2.0 cards on one PCI-express 1.0 slot is like trying to shove two giant pipes in one thin pipe. So you can understand it's kinda slower. Also this card is very new so drivers are still unsupported. Even ATI's official drivers don't see the card at all. I will soon be getting a new P45 motherboard so I will post new benchmarks/results when I get it.


----------



## skunksmash

thanks.....


----------



## daellum67

http://service.futuremark.com/result...&resultType=19

i got my new board in today, there is my tri fire result, still on the sempron. should be getting my 9950 back from RMA soonish so i can bench with that. additionally, the eta on my deneb 940 preorder is december 30th, so add shipping to that and maybe jan 1st-2nd for some respectable results off of these cards.


----------



## Nelson2011

I have a sapphire 4870 when i want to crossfire should i get the 4850x2 or another 4870 the price in only 100 bucks difference


----------



## daellum67

if you are running an x38 or an x48, then i'd go for the x2. if your 4870 is a 512meg model, all you need is the 1gb 4850x2 and you'll be set.

you'd probably want to clock your q a bit higher though.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

daellum67 said it best. Pretty much all you need to know. You will benefit from getting the HD4850X2 in most cases but it's would be a good decision anyways. HD4850X2 is a great card.


----------



## Nelson2011

Im going to get an x48 and my 4870 is 512 model. May send it back and get a 1gb


----------



## daellum67

if you are planning on that, then go ahead and get the 2gb x2. keep in mind that the extra framebuffer wont add to your performance until you upgrade your current 4870.

on that note, it would definitely be more economical to get a 1gig 4850 and the 2 gig x2, instead of a new 4870 1gig and the x2. its unlikely that there would be a difference in performance between those two setups.


----------



## Nirran

I got the card today and just getting everything set back (reformatted once I got the card) What is to hot for the card? Running 690/1100 and hit 78 at load. Never really oced before and most of the 4870's ran this hot in the beginning so wasn't sure.


----------



## Nelson2011

My 4870 died.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Nelson2011*


My 4870 died.










Man i'm so sorry to hear that, 4870 is a great card.







What happened?


----------



## Nelson2011

IT just started artifacting and i restarted and now no video comes out. Im going to send it back for replacement on Friday.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Nelson2011*


IT just started artifacting and i restarted and now no video comes out. Im going to send it back for replacement on Friday.


Good luck man. I know how much that sucks. I had my mobo BIOS flash go bad and had to wait so long without a PC. It was borderline torture but I was so happy when I got it back.


----------



## Nirran

So far not impressed at all with this card. It's so freaking buggy. I can't run 3dmark vantage because the second gpu test crashes and fallout 3 keeps crashing. Uninstalled and reinstalled the drivers twice now with no luck.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Nirran*


So far not impressed at all with this card. It's so freaking buggy. I can't run 3dmark vantage because the second gpu test crashes and fallout 3 keeps crashing. Uninstalled and reinstalled the drivers twice now with no luck.


Uninstall everything ATI and install just these drivers: Click Here To Download

Make sure you have updated the drivers for your chipset and every other driver as well. It could be a corruption in the OS sometimes.


----------



## nitd_kim

Drivers from sapphire or ati?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *nitd_kim*


Drivers from sapphire or ati?


Sapphire drivers only, ATI drivers will not work (at this time), click the link in my previous post to download the latest working drivers.


----------



## Nirran

Yeah I got those drivers from Sapphire's website already. Maybe it'll work itself over time but hopefully the next release is less buggy.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Nirran*


Yeah I got those drivers from Sapphire's website already. Maybe it'll work itself over time but hopefully the next release is less buggy.


Try taking another hard drive, installing Vista on it, installing all the drivers you need and just install a few games and benchmarks (3dmark vantage, 3dmark06). You wanna do this to be sure its not software thats giving you this conflict and so you can test out your card. Also make sure the have Crossfire enabled wherever you get an option too and the HD4850X2 is still technically two cards (just "on a stick").


----------



## Nirran

Has anyone had any luck at all with the 8.12s? I can not run them what so ever without all my games crashing with a blue screen error. It's getting to be very annoying and this happened on a second hdd install also.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Nirran* 
Has anyone had any luck at all with the 8.12s? I can not run them what so ever without all my games crashing with a blue screen error. It's getting to be very annoying and this happened on a second hdd install also.

Personally, I haven't had an issue with them. However the only thing i can think of is you might have defective hardware, try running memtest and intelburntest to check for stability. If everything is good then the only thing I can think of is a driver conflict with some of your other hardware. Last thing try to RMA the card.


----------



## Nirran

Well after trying everything possible (tested ram and processor to make sure they're fine) and trying all the drivers I'm going to have to say it's a defective card







Time to get a hold of amazon to replace it now.

edit: Amazon's rma seems nice so far. They're shipping me the new card Monday and I'll ship mine back once I arrive the new one.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Nirran*


Well after trying everything possible (tested ram and processor to make sure they're fine) and trying all the drivers I'm going to have to say it's a defective card







Time to get a hold of amazon to replace it now.

edit: Amazon's rma seems nice so far. They're shipping me the new card Monday and I'll ship mine back once I arrive the new one.


Best of luck man. I hope you get a really good card this time with high overclocking capabilities.


----------



## dynoman101

Specs of my system are in my sig.
Here is a pic of my rig.

















Here are some of my benchmark results with everything in stock.
I will post pics later of results
3DMark06-17314
Vantage-12520


----------



## Karlz3r

Where's all the dust, dynoman101









New build?


----------



## dynoman101

just built it about 2 weeks ago. If any dust touches this baby it gets swepped.


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## Open1Your1Eyes0

Sweet lookin setup dynoman101! Two thumbs way up!


----------



## intel ftw

don't know about u guys but i have the 8.12 drivers and they run my games fine








Crysis warhead ' farcry 2 ' fallout 3 ' cod 5 ' cod 4 ' UT 3 ' GRID ' eve online and then some older games like wc3 frozen throne ' flatout 2 ' counter strike source and then i guess guitar hero 3


----------



## dynoman101

Quote:



Originally Posted by *intel ftw*


don't know about u guys but i have the 8.12 drivers and they run my games fine 








Crysis warhead ' farcry 2 ' fallout 3 ' cod 5 ' cod 4 ' UT 3 ' GRID ' eve online and then some older games like wc3 frozen throne ' flatout 2 ' counter strike source and then i guess guitar hero 3


I have tried reinstalling the drivers for about 5 times and can't get them installed.


----------



## Nelson2011

Quote:



Originally Posted by *dynoman101*


Specs of my system are in my sig.
Here is a pic of my rig.

















Here are some of my benchmark results with everything in stock.
I will post pics later of results
3DMark06-17314
Vantage-12520


The card looks like it's at a angle.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *dynoman101*


I have tried reinstalling the drivers for about 5 times and can't get them installed.


Are you sure you used the ones from Sapphire's website, not on ATI's site? Because no other driver besides the one that comes from Sapphire's site will work. You can get it here: Click Here for Vista or Click Here for XP


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## Open1Your1Eyes0

OK everyone, owner's list is online and up-to-date (as of December 28, 2008) and I will be adding more people as you all post. Remember, in order to get added to the list you must have the card listed in the "*Graphics Card*" section of your *Official System* (not additional system). And always remember to keep on posting! Great job so far everyone!


----------



## dynoman101

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Are you sure you used the ones from Sapphire's website, not on ATI's site? Because no other driver besides the one that comes from Sapphire's site will work. You can get it here: Click Here for Vista or Click Here for XP


After two tries this time I was able to install 8.12.


----------



## dynoman101

After installing the new drivers, I ran 3dmark06. I noticed my score dropped by 1000 points. My original was 17314 and it dropped to 16306.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *dynoman101*


After installing the new drivers, I ran 3dmark06. I noticed my score dropped by 1000 points. My original was 17314 and it dropped to 16306.










What were the original drivers you used?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

OK folks, I have fully updated the first post and put up photos of the actual system I used and the card inside it so you all can check it out. So far the one thing that's left, that I will post sometime later this week or next week, is 3DMark06 results but I will keep everyone updated so keep checking in. Let me know what you guys think, any suggestions are much appreciated.


----------



## dynoman101

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


OK folks, I have fully updated the first post and put up photos of the actual system I used and the card inside it so you all can check it out. So far the one thing that's left, that I will post sometime later this week or next week, is 3DMark06 results but I will keep everyone updated so keep checking in. Let me know what you guys think, any suggestions are much appreciated.











seems like we have the same juice powering these babies. 750TX FTW


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *dynoman101*


seems like we have the same juice powering these babies. 750TX FTW


Yeah man Corsair power supplies are crazy. Awesome looking and won't die no matter what you do. That's why I bought one. Good stuff man.


----------



## guscol

hi all new menber
i got my new 4850x2 and i cant make it work is crashing in all 3d games i tried everiting even a psu only for a vpu but nothing works 
is for the os?


----------



## guscol

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Nelson2011*


The card looks like it's at a angle.



yes in my case too i put a elastic band to pull up


----------



## dynoman101

after trying out the 8.12 I have had nothing but problems. I can't get the gpu scaling to work now.


----------



## guscol

Quote:



Originally Posted by *dynoman101*


after trying out the 8.12 I have had nothing but problems. I can't get the gpu scaling to work now.


me either the only thing ,is try with vista sp1


----------



## mfb412

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 

*Official Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 Thread*

This thread is for all *Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2* owners to refer to for comparison in performance so the rules to this thread are very simple, be as thorough as possible and post the following things on your post.

Average FPS on *Crysis* or *Crysis Warhead* on all "*Very High*" or "*Enthusiast*" settings with at least 1280x1024 resolution or higher.

Any Overclocking information on your entire system (if overclocked).
[Include *CPU* OC, *RAM* OC, and/or *GPU* OC]
Also provide the following pictures as attachments for support

Screenshot of *GPUZ* on "Graphics Card" tab.
Screenshot of *CPUZ* on "CPU" tab.
Screenshot of *CPUZ* on "Mainboard" tab.
Screenshot of *CPUZ* on "Memory" tab.
Screenshot of *3DMark06* results on default settings.
Screenshot of *3DMark Vantage* results on "Performance" mode.










Also any other information applicable would be great. Thank you all in advance and I hope we can all help those in desperate search of this information.









*The following are my personal results*

I used the following system for these results:

*Motherboard*: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L (rev. 2.0)
*CPU*: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 (Overclocked to 4.00GHz)
*RAM*: G.Skill 4GB DDR2-PC8500 1066MHz (5-5-5-15-2T Timings)
*GPU*: Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 (ATI Catalyst 8.12 Drivers from Sapphire's Website)
*PSU*: Corsair TX750W (750 Watts)
*Hard Drive*: Samsung HD080HJ 80GB (SATA II 3.0 Gbps)
*OS*: Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit










































*The following photos are of my personal system*:





































*Owner's List*

*45nm
daellum67
dynoman101
ESS_Eisenkreuz
MrMan
Nirran
Open1Your1Eyes0
xz3rorom3o*

_Turbine_

why do i find it VERY weird that my single 512 mb 4850 has more memory badwidth than your 4850X2?


----------



## Karlz3r

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mfb412* 
why do i find it VERY weird that my single 512 mb 4850 has more memory badwidth than your 4850X2?

Don't quote the whole first post please


----------



## 45nm

It appears I am on the list but I own TWO Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 X2's not 4850 X2's. Great pictures in this thread.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *45nm*


It appears I am on the list but I own TWO Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 X2's not 4850 X2's. Great pictures in this thread.


My mistake I must have mixed up. I'll fix that right away.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *guscol*


hi all new menber
i got my new 4850x2 and i cant make it work is crashing in all 3d games i tried everiting even a psu only for a vpu but nothing works 
is for the os?


I just put you on the owner's list. Thanks for letting me know. As far as your problem is concerned, it's really hard to say what is wrong because it could be a software conflict, driver conflict, corrupted data/registry, defective cpu/ram, or lastly defective card. Your best bet is to run some tests on a blank HD with only the OS installed and test all your hardware to check it's working and stable. Run Prime95, IntelBurnTest, memtest, and ATI Tool. Also make sure you have all the latest drivers installed. If everything works then try to RMA the card. Thanks again I hope that helps, good luck.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *mfb412*


why do i find it VERY weird that my single 512 mb 4850 has more memory badwidth than your 4850X2?


You can't have more memory bandwidth unless you overclocked your card or it's OCed from the factory. Refer to this link for more information: Click Here


----------



## JCasper

Quote:


Originally Posted by *guscol* 
hi all new menber
i got my new 4850x2 and i cant make it work is crashing in all 3d games i tried everiting even a psu only for a vpu but nothing works
is for the os?

I'm having issues as well. Weird thing is mine was working for a month and now only HL2 and CSS work. All others crash at startup or shortly after. I have reinstalled drivers, used driversweeper, installed driver only and not ccc. I'm stuck with hoping a reformat will work.

No clue how this happened btw.


----------



## 45nm

Will the 4850 X2 have any problems fitting into an Antec 300 ?.


----------



## mkosem

Quote:


Originally Posted by *45nm* 
Will the 4850 X2 have any problems fitting into an Antec 300 ?.

Nope, it'll fit just fine.

--Matt


----------



## ev0styLe

All i see available are the 1GB versions of the 4850x2







? Why did Sapphire make a 1GB version anyway?

If i were to purchase two 4850x2`s, what PSU would i need? I can imagine them being very hungry.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *45nm*


Will the 4850 X2 have any problems fitting into an Antec 300 ?.


Yeah, it's exactly 11.25" long so it'll be tight but will still work because the Antec 300 is pretty much the same size as the Antec 900 I used. And as you can see in the first post I got pics up. It fits good. Now I can brag about having the longest graphics card in the world.







But anyways you'll be fine.









P.S: I am currently running Crysis and Crysis Warhead benchmarks. Will post the pics in a few minutes.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ev0styLe*


All i see available are the 1GB versions of the 4850x2







? Why did Sapphire make a 1GB version anyway?

If i were to purchase two 4850x2`s, what PSU would i need? I can imagine them being very hungry.


1000 watt PSU is fine. Even that new 850w Corsair PSU will be perfect. They actually don't take a lot of power and the second card won't use up full power anyways.


----------



## ev0styLe

CPU? What would u say shall i go for the 1GB or 2GB version. Im running at 1920x1080.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ev0styLe*


CPU? What would u say shall i go for the 1GB or 2GB version. Im running at 1920x1080.











Sorry mistype. Fixed







Yeah, definitely wanna go for the 2GB version. It such an amazing card like wow. I am thoroughly impressed with it and I think you will be too. In fact the price difference between the *HD4870X2* and the *HD4850X2* doesn't justify the performance difference. It's very minuet. So to answer your question get the 2GB version.


----------



## ev0styLe

Alright thnx for the heads up, one last question, is the size of the card an issue when running in CrossFire? &what about the noise? Reviews say the card is very noisy is it that bad? I cant imagine what the noise would be like if two of the cards were to be running


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ev0styLe*


Alright thnx for the heads up, one last question, is the size of the card an issue when running in CrossFire? &what about the noise? Reviews say the card is very noisy is it that bad? I cant imagine what the noise would be like if two of the cards were to be running










No the noise is fine. It's not overly noisy because the fans on the card are big so it's quite good. Running in CrossFire I can't say whether size will be an issue but I doubt it will be a problem most cases account for that and Antec 300 definitely isn't an exception. Not to worry.


----------



## ev0styLe

Ok so if the case has the all clear, its just the motherboard i have to worry about now. Thanks for the info


----------



## Nirran

Well I got my new card and it still locked up so I reinstall vista (again). It is working so far but in 3dmark 06 on the first part and some of the third gpu test the textures would flicker. Is this normal? I'm hoping it will work fine in games this time because it's been a long wait so far.


----------



## Munchkinpuncher

Nice looking rigs people.

@Nirran, Is your card firmly seated? Do you use a tooless setup to hold the card in place, or is it Screwed in?
Im just asking these questions because with my card I would get flickering, and also artifacting once in awhile. I had been using my case's tooless setup but found out that it wasnt as secure as I thought, once I screwed it in place the flickering/artifacting stopped and hasnt been back since.

Hope you get it sorted out, im sure you will.
cheers.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Nirran*


Well I got my new card and it still locked up so I reinstall vista (again). It is working so far but in 3dmark 06 on the first part and some of the third gpu test the textures would flicker. Is this normal? I'm hoping it will work fine in games this time because it's been a long wait so far.


Make sure you install it properly and remember to use those Sapphire 8.12 drivers. Not the ones on the CD. Those gave me errors too.


----------



## Nirran

I'll try and reseat and yeah the driver's are from your link you had a few pages back from sapphire's website.

At least the card is not crashing so far like the other one was.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

OK folks, I am having a few issues with the Crysis Warhead benchmark tool because it's being really slow so it's not the real FPS. It's almost as if it's not using Crossfire properly and seeing as how it is still in beta I won't post the result just yet. However, I have posted the results for Crysis on the first post. It's after the Vantage pic so you all can check it out. I'm glad everyone is participating so far but remember the original rules of the thread. Please post the appropriate screenshots to back up your results. I also would like to see some Crysis and Crysis Warhead FPS info so please keep posting. Great job so far though!


----------



## Nirran

Well I really don't know what the hell to do anymore. Ran 3dmark vantage and a complete lockup once again. This is two cards now lol. I am starting to regret my decision of rebuying this same card instead of a 280 now but guess I'll keep working at it.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Nirran* 
Well I really don't know what the hell to do anymore. Ran 3dmark vantage and a complete lockup once again. This is two cards now lol. I am starting to regret my decision of rebuying this same card instead of a 280 now but guess I'll keep working at it.

One question, are you doing these tests on a completely clean OS or on your old one? Which OS? 32-bit/64-bit? Are the chipset drivers up-to-date (latest)? Have you ran Prime95 and memtest and intelburntest to check to system stability? Remember to enable Crossfire and set ATI Catalyst to Balanced. Don't give up. In most cases I would probably say it's a hardware related issue because I am using all standard software and it's working fine for me. If you checked all your hardware and it's fine I would suggest flashes your motherboard to the latest BIOS and if that doesn't work you might wanna replace it. Motherboards are very funky and they will give you errors you might think it's something else so you might wanna look into that.


----------



## Nirran

I just installed vista on the other hdd a few hours ago so completely fresh. All I have is chipset drivers (up to date), ati drivers, 3dmark 06 and vantage and SP1 installed.

I ran all those programs last time and they all went fine. I didn't have problems until I installed this card. My 8800 gts 512 worked fine.

Crossifre is enabled and set to balanced. I'm going to try going to the newest bios now.

Edit: Flashed the bios and it made it through 3dmark vantage without crashing or texture flashing! Going to try 3dmark06 and some games but the bios flash may have fixed my problems.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

OK I have some very important information for everyone. I just found out that the Crysis Warhead Benchmark Tool does not work properly in Vista 64-bit. I was getting really low FPS (lower than when I actually play the game) in 64-bit. I went onto my Vista 32-bit installation and ran the Crysis Warhead Benchmark Tool there and now it shows the FPS correctly. In a few minutes I will upload my Crysis Warhead results so everyone can see. By the way, if anyone is looking for the benchmark tools I will upload links to all of them in the first post very soon.


----------



## Nirran

So ran 3dmark 06 and on gpu test 2 this is what happens.










It almost looks like it is overheating but it is sitting around 65 during this test. I really have no idea what is going on and about to send this back to newegg and order a gtx 280 unless I can figure out what is going on.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Nirran*


So ran 3dmark 06 and on gpu test 2 this is what happens.










It almost looks like it is overheating but it is sitting around 65 during this test. I really have no idea what is going on and about to send this back to newegg and order a gtx 280 unless I can figure out what is going on.










Do one more thing. Turn your CPU fan and GPU fan both to 100% (temporarily) and run the test again. Post back as soon as you're done.


----------



## Nirran

GPU is at 100%. Let me go turn up the cpu fan and try again.


----------



## Nirran

Seems to be random. Ran the first two gpu tests twice and it occurred the first time but not the second. I'm gonna try redoing the drivers and test again.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*Notice To Everyone*: I have just updated the first post by including links to all the tools I used to get my results and have also posted a screenshot for the result on the *Crysis Warhead Benchmark Tool*. For those who need those link I hope that I provided some assistance.


----------



## JCasper

I'm in the process of reformatting in hopes that my games won't crash... I will keep you guys updated.


----------



## cky2k6

Nirran, it could be an issue with your mobo. I clearly remember issues with dfi boards and the 4870x2, granted they were x38/48 boards, but it could be that your board is also affected. Unfortunately, that doesn't really help you, but with two cards very unlikely being faulty, I think you have that dfi bug...


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

To *Nirran*: I'll have to agree with *cky2k6* on this one. If you are sure that your system is 100% stable then most likely your motherboard has issues. I don't know much about *DFI* but I read they are supposedly low quality boards. If I were you I would purchase a new motherboard, preferably from *Gigabyte* or *ASUS*. If you want I can help you out. Let me know what your budget is and what price range you are looking for and I will find you a great board. It will benefit you in many ways.

_This post was updated to fix an error based on misinformation. The underlined words are changed to correct the error._


----------



## Nirran

That is what I was worried about. So what would be the best pcie 2.0 board for around $100-140 max? I saw a few msi boards but not sure since it has been awhile since I have upgraded my mobo.

Edit: Is this a good motherboard to go with? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...20GA-EP45-UD3P

If so I'll probably purchase it tomorrow.


----------



## ev0styLe

cky2k6 your comp specs are sickening









Guys im still unsure on whether to pay that little bit extra for the 4870x2, reviews are saying the DDR5 bandwidth comes in handy as well as the different architecture


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Nirran*


That is what I was worried about. So what would be the best pcie 2.0 board for around $100-140 max? I saw a few msi boards but not sure since it has been awhile since I have upgraded my mobo.

Edit: Is this a good motherboard to go with? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...20GA-EP45-UD3P

If so I'll probably purchase it tomorrow.


These are actually boards that I am looking to buy myself and they should be perfect for you too. Either one should be good so you can choose one of them and purchase at any time.

*Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R*: Link Here
*ASUS P5Q*: Link Here


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ev0styLe*


cky2k6 your comp specs are sickening









Guys im still unsure on whether to pay that little bit extra for the 4870x2, reviews are saying the DDR5 bandwidth comes in handy as well as the different architecture










Honestly the truth to this is that the price difference between the *HD4850X2* and the *HD4870X2* doesn't justify the performance difference. There is a huge price gap but the performance gap isn't so big. So really the answer is based on price. If you a little extra power and you can afford it, go for the *HD4870X2*; however, if you want to save a little money and get something that's almost as powerful, go for the *HD4850X2*. Either way they are both great cards and you'll be happy with either.


----------



## Nirran

Decided to go with the ASUS P5Q. Hopefully it will be here Friday and it will solve all my problems.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Nirran*


Decided to go with the ASUS P5Q. Hopefully it will be here Friday and it will solve all my problems.


Yeah ASUS makes high quality boards so you'll be really happy with it. Best of luck to you. Keep us updated.


----------



## Nirran

Amazon comes through again. I checked my account and they shipped the motherboard a half hour ago and I'll have it Friday even though they originally told me Monday. Report back once everything is in and working.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Nirran* 
Amazon comes through again. I checked my account and they shipped the motherboard a half hour ago and I'll have it Friday even though they originally told me Monday. Report back once everything is in and working.

Nice!


----------



## daellum67

i put a phenom in my work rig (the one with the 4850x2+4850 setup) and clocked it to 2.99

i'll run 3dmark on it tomorrow if my OC ends up stable


----------



## ev0styLe

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Honestly the truth to this is that the price difference between the *HD4850X2* and the *HD4870X2* doesn't justify the performance difference. There is a huge price gap but the performance gap isn't so big. So really the answer is based on price. If you a little extra power and you can afford it, go for the *HD4870X2*; however, if you want to save a little money and get something that's almost as powerful, go for the *HD4850X2*. Either way they are both great cards and you'll be happy with either.










Yeh thats what im thinking too, but in the back of my mind its been said ATi and nVidia have a concept of "unleashing" their cards to out do each other as competition. In other words unlock more power or capability with a driver release. So if im right, the 4850x2 was released to combat the GTX280, what if ATi unleashed the 4850x2 to pretty much all its potential to accomplish a better card than nVidia? What if their still holding back on the 4870x2 to combat nVidia in their newer cards such as the GTX295? Theres where the difference may lie.
Anybody know anyone who works for ATi lol







?


----------



## Ledge68

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
OK no problem Ill post a 3DMark06 score at stock soon and Ill do Vantage and 3DMark06 and Vantage at OC soon. Thanks for mentioning.









Did you do any OCed benches yet and I missed them? Or have you not gotten to them??

I am wondering how well this card OC's and scores in Vantage?

I had 2 8800GTS 640Mb in SLI on my 680i OCed and scored 11528 in Vantage. I am hoping that this single card would out do those pretty easily...


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ledge68* 
Did you do any OCed benches yet and I missed them? Or have you not gotten to them??

I am wondering how well this card OC's and scores in Vantage?

I had 2 8800GTS 640Mb in SLI on my 680i OCed and scored 11528 in Vantage. I am hoping that this single card would out do those pretty easily...

I am having a few stability issues so far when OCing but as soon as i can get it 100% stable I will post the results. However keep in mind Vantage has a higher score for quad core cpus. Even though E8500 is better, Q6600 scores more in Vantage.


----------



## Ledge68

Cool and thanks. Hope you get your rig stable.









Why do you mention the Q6600? I have a E6400 in the 680i clocked at 3.2Ghz when I scored the 11k+ Vantage and yes I do know that Vantage and 3Dmark scores are effected by the cpu and how high it's clocked.


----------



## tool918

Hello everyone, I just purchased a 4850 X2 the other day. One thing id like to ask about is the 3dmark vantage cd that came with the card. It's suppose to be the full version but mine did not have a registration number with it. Did you guys get a registration number?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *tool918*


Hello everyone, I just purchased a 4850 X2 the other day. One thing id like to ask about is the 3dmark vantage cd that came with the card. It's suppose to be the full version but mine did not have a registration number with it. Did you guys get a registration number?


Yes there is a sticker on the CD paper case it's on. Check it for a number. Mine was slightly worn off so I called up Futuremark and asked them for another key. Post some benchmarks when you got everything set up. By the way, just put you up on the owner's list.


----------



## Nirran

Got the new motherboard today! Installed it got windows reinstalled but then had to go to work. I just got home and tested out L4D as when playing before it would artifact to hell most of the time it looked like then crash with a blue screen error. The game plays perfectly fine and runs great!

Can not wait to mess with some other stuff but it seems my old motherboard was the problem. Thank you much for helping me find the problem.


----------



## xz3rorom3o

I don't know about you guys but I used the most recent drivers from Sapphire's website and the card OCs like crap. I'm hoping it's the drivers.

Also it might help if everyone knows that *when you have more than 2 displays connected, you cannot run CrossfireX in CCC...meaning you're only using one GPU if you have more than 2 monitors connected.* I found out the hard way.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Nirran*


Got the new motherboard today! Installed it got windows reinstalled but then had to go to work. I just got home and tested out L4D as when playing before it would artifact to hell most of the time it looked like then crash with a blue screen error. The game plays perfectly fine and runs great!

Can not wait to mess with some other stuff but it seems my old motherboard was the problem. Thank you much for helping me find the problem.










I'm glad we could help. Motherboards are funky things so you would never know if there was something wrong with it or one of the parts, or both. Great to hear you got it working though. Post some benchies of 3DMark Vantage/06 and try to get Crysis and Crysis Warhead up and running and let us know what you get. Good luck and have fun!


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*Notice*: I want to apologize and give full credit to *cky2k6* on mentioning the DFI bug. I was wrong to say that DFI made low quality boards as I have been informed that is not the case. Please disregard that post as I spoke only on based on a few reviews I have read in the past because I don't have much experience with DFI. I will make sure to confirm what I read before I make my own opinions from now on. I'm sorry if any inconvenience or misleading opinions were created based on that post. DFI just happens to have a bug with ATI at the moment but don't let that deter you from purchasing their products. DFI is a great company and is in fact very reputable and widely respected.


----------



## skugpezz

i game at 16x10 rez would it be ok if i got the 4850x2 1GB card?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *skugpezz*


i game at 16x10 rez would it be ok if i got the 4850x2 1GB card?


16x10 would be the aspect ratio, what resolution are you planning to play at? 2560x1600, 1900x1200, 1680x1050, 1440x900, or 1280x800?


----------



## skugpezz

the rez is 16**x10** i dont remember it full but it is 16x10


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *skugpezz*


the rez is 16**x10** i dont remember it full but it is 16x10


In that case, there is a 90% chance your resolution is 1680x1050 and for that resolution it's hard to say whether 1GB will be enough. Seeing as how there isn't much of a difference in price between the 1GB and 2GB version, your best bet is to get the 2GB version. Think of it as an investment for the future too, in case you ever choose to upgrade your monitor.


----------



## ev0styLe

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xz3rorom3o*


I don't know about you guys but I used the most recent drivers from Sapphire's website and the card OCs like crap. I'm hoping it's the drivers.

Also it might help if everyone knows that *when you have more than 2 displays connected, you cannot run CrossfireX in CCC...meaning you're only using one GPU if you have more than 2 monitors connected.* I found out the hard way.


Thank u for that! & if thats the case it puts this card and CrossFireX at a massive disadvantage. Why should using two DVI outputs affect CrossFireX anyway?


----------



## Derp

I was looking into buying this card but the noise really bummed me out.... how are you guys with these 4850x2's? i like the performance for the price but all the reviews say the fan drives then absolutely nuts. even at 12% fan speed its 42 dbA....







from this review:http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/S...850_X2/25.html

Quote:



For me this test is the deal breaker. The card is extremely noisy in both idle and load. I have never had a card that noisy on my test bench. Under no circumstances could I imagine myself using a system that noisy for longer periods of time.
Please note that the fans running at 12% already result in 41.9 dbA fan noise. Recent versions of the Catalyst Control Center offer fan speed adjustments, but only down to 20%. So if you use the CCC fan speed control feature your card will be even noisier in idle.


 So does this bug you guys that are already running this card?


----------



## tool918

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Yes there is a sticker on the CD paper case it's on. Check it for a number. Mine was slightly worn off so I called up Futuremark and asked them for another key. Post some benchmarks when you got everything set up. By the way, just put you up on the owner's list.










K cool I found the darn thing, it's so freaking small you need a microscope to see that **** lol.


----------



## tool918

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Auld*


I was looking into buying this card but the noise really bummed me out.... how are you guys with these 4850x2's? i like the performance for the price but all the reviews say the fan drives then absolutely nuts. even at 12% fan speed its 42 dbA....







from this review:http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/S...850_X2/25.html

So does this bug you guys that are already running this card?


The card comes stock at 50% I haven't tried lowering it yet. But it is decently loud. To be honoest it's not much louder than many high end cards that ive had so It doesn't even bother me. My seven case fans drown out most of the noise the card makes.

But if your one of those people that likes a silent computer then you may want to look at different cooling options for it.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Auld* 
I was looking into buying this card but the noise really bummed me out.... how are you guys with these 4850x2's? i like the performance for the price but all the reviews say the fan drives then absolutely nuts. even at 12% fan speed its 42 dbA....







from this review:http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/S...850_X2/25.html

So does this bug you guys that are already running this card?

Yeah this card is quite loud but I just put on my nice 5.1 surround headphones and it all goes away.


----------



## tool918

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
Yeah this card is quite loud but I just put on my nice 5.1 surround headphones and it all goes away.
















Hey bud I just ran 3dmark vantage and I got a score of 10398. When comparing it to your score I noticed I had a GPU score of 9921 and CPU score of 12149. I understand why your CPU score is lower than man cuz I have a quad but why is my GPU score lower than yours?

Looking at your record of GPU-Z all our information looks the same. When I go to the "Sensor" tab in GPU-Z it shows my Core clock at only 500mhz and memory clock at only 750mhz.... maybe thats why? but on the graphics tab it says its 625 GPU and 993 memory.


----------



## Nirran

Well I have finally ran out of options. I am still having problems with this video card. I keep getting the crashes with the blue screen error and texture flashing in 3dmark06 and 3dmark vantage.

Summary:
New Motherboard
2nd card with same problems
Tested ram and cpu with no errors
New PSU

Result:
Same damn problems


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *tool918* 
Hey bud I just ran 3dmark vantage and I got a score of 10398. When comparing it to your score I noticed I had a GPU score of 9921 and CPU score of 12149. I understand why your CPU score is lower than man cuz I have a quad but why is my GPU score lower than yours?

Looking at your record of GPU-Z all our information looks the same. When I go to the "Sensor" tab in GPU-Z it shows my Core clock at only 500mhz and memory clock at only 750mhz.... maybe thats why? but on the graphics tab it says its 625 GPU and 993 memory.

That's normal I get the same. The card downclocks itself when not in use but puts the clocks back to normal when you turn on a graphic intensive application or game. Make sure you have the Sapphire drivers from their website and that they're 8.12 Catalyst. Also make sure to set everything to default settings in ATI Catalyst set to Balanced.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Nirran* 
Well I have finally ran out of options. I am still having problems with this video card. I keep getting the crashes with the blue screen error and texture flashing in 3dmark06 and 3dmark vantage.

Summary:
New Motherboard
2nd card with same problems
Tested ram and cpu with no errors
New PSU

Result:
Same damn problems









Try this, put everything at stock (don't overclock anything). Try the same thing again. I wish I were there to help you man. Im really interested in what is wrong cause everything works for me so it's definitely not the software or driver issue unless something is corrupted. As a last thing I'm thinking though I still doubt it. Hard drive could be messed up. Try installing clean on a hard drive that 100% works for you. Don't install anything else besides drivers for the graphics card and one software to check if you have errors. Run that software, like 3DMark Vantage or 3DMark06 as long as you can until you see you have no errors. If all else fails there is a very good chance you are unlucky enough that you got a defective card again.


----------



## Nirran

I figured out the problem I believe. I reinstalled drivers and disabled my sound card under devices because someone said that could cause a conflict between them and my video card drivers. Either reinstalling drivers or disabling my sound card drivers has fixed it because I played tr:u and PoP for a awhile now with no problems.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Nirran*


I figured out the problem I believe. I reinstalled drivers and disabled my sound card under devices because someone said that could cause a conflict between them and my video card drivers. Either reinstalling drivers or disabling my sound card drivers has fixed it because I played tr:u and PoP for a awhile now with no problems.


Yeah man I knew something was funky there. Sound cards have really weird errors sometimes. I remember back when I had XP Direct3D sound was embedded with the kernel of the OS and it gave a lot of blue screen if there were corruptions or wrong drivers or something. As a way to fix this, Microsoft got rid of the embedded sound and thus removed hardware sound acceleration in Vista. However drivers are always going to be an issues, but the good thing is they will improve as they go on.







I'm really glad its working now though cause I was really mind-boggled trying to figure out what could be wrong.


----------



## skugpezz

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


16x10 would be the aspect ratio, what resolution are you planning to play at? 2560x1600, 1900x1200, 1680x1050, 1440x900, or 1280x800?


ion newegg.ca the 1GB version is for $366 and the 2GB version for $402 cad... too much..the 1GB version splits it 512MB per gpu so would it be better to just get a 48701GB card?


----------



## DesertRat

skugpezz, glad I'm not the only one who saw that there's a cheaper 4850x2 w/ only 2x512MB of mem now...

and the X2 would still be better because of the other rv770pro core. Still alot more power than a 4870 1GB right there









http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102813

edit: i wonder if the 1GB ver. still whups the GTX280?


----------



## skugpezz

Quote:



Originally Posted by *DesertRat*


skugpezz, glad I'm not the only one who saw that there's a cheaper 4850x2 w/ only 2x512MB of mem now...

and the X2 would still be better because of the other rv770pro core. Still alot more power than a 4870 1GB right there









http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102813

edit: i wonder if the 1GB ver. still whups the GTX280?


yes the 1GB version of the 4850x2 beats the gtx 280 in every test by this review
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/...850_x2_review/


----------



## DesertRat

Quote:



Originally Posted by *skugpezz*


yes the 1GB version of the 4850x2 beats the gtx 280 in every test by this review
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/...850_x2_review/


In that review according to the test setup they're using the full 2GB model, but mention the 1GB.


----------



## skugpezz

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DesertRat* 
In that review according to the test setup they're using the full 2GB model, but mention the 1GB.

i wonder if it is an error... on the graphs there is the 4850 x2 1GB


----------



## DesertRat

Quote:


Originally Posted by *skugpezz* 
i wonder if it is an error... on the graphs there is the 4850 x2 1GB

very confusing...

I wonder if I can shoot them an e-mail and ask which was actually benched?

edit: Sent 'em an e-mail asking for clarification. I'll post their response whenever I receive it


----------



## fr33dy

Pretty video card, but isn't here results 3DMark06 ?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *fr33dy*


Pretty video card, but isn't here results 3DMark06 ?










Will be posting soon, I need to get it installed first and I'm kinda lazy to download it. I promise I'll post next week.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *skugpezz*


ion newegg.ca the 1GB version is for $366 and the 2GB version for $402 cad... too much..the 1GB version splits it 512MB per gpu so would it be better to just get a 48701GB card?


Sorry man, didn't know you were canadian. In US in not that big a difference but in your case I would go with the 1GB version then. It will be slightly better than two HD4850s in Crossfire only because its "on a stick". It's hard to say whether it will beat the GTX280 for sure though. What I would do is, buy the GTX280 and the HD4850X2 1GB version (if you can) and compare them. Then send the one you don't want back for a refund.


----------



## tool918

Came by to say I overclocked this card last night, and I got about 2k increase on my GPU score in 3dmark vantage. I got a stable overclock with 700 core and 1135 memory. I tried 690 core and 1188 memory all the way down to 1135 memory but it was unstable until I boosted the core to 700.

A good way to Overclock these cards is run Auto-Tune in CCC. Both of my GPU's Auto-Tuned at 690core and 1188memory. Then run graphic's Test 2 in 3dmark vantage. If you dont artifact you should be good. If you do artifact, reduce your memory in increments of 10 until it's stable. If you drop your memeory by 50 or so and are still unstable boost your core up by 10 and try again.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Thanks *tool918* for the info. I would also like to point out something very important I just discovered today. *If you have two monitors set up with this video card, you will not be able to overclock at all and will in fact get artifacted and then get a blue screen and reboot. However, you will be able to use CrossfireX still, but only with two monitors, not 3 or 4*.

Also I'd like to quote *xz3rorom3o* on this one: "*When you have [3 or 4 monitors] connected, you cannot run CrossfireX in CCC...meaning you're only using one GPU if you have more than 2 monitors connected*".

Also keep in mind that the *AutoTune* utility that ATI has in the Catalyst is not the best way to check for a stable OC, although it is a good place to start. It does not, in fact, stress your GPU to maximum. I can vouch for this myself because I used it and it said I was stable but then I ran *ATITool* and I got artifacts after a few minutes.

*ATITool*, unlike previously thought, is also not the most stressful program out there to check for stability. I ran *ATITool* for a good 2 hours and had no artifacts but then after playing *Crysis* for 20 minutes I got artifacted horribly.

If you really wanna check for stability, I would run the *Crysis Benchmark Tool* for about 20 loops and if you don't get artifacts or crash, then there is a 95% chance that you are stable. If you do artifact I would bring the fan speed up and check again and afterwards bring the core or memory clocks down *on both GPUs* and check again. I hope this helps everyone and good luck getting those extra FPS.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

By the way for those of you who are interested, this is my current display setup. I had two monitors and I made a special backplate for them (lots of drilling) so I could fit them on one stand just so it could look cooler. Let me know what you guys think.


----------



## DesertRat

Quote:



Originally Posted by *DesertRat*


very confusing...

I wonder if I can shoot them an e-mail and ask which was actually benched?

edit: Sent 'em an e-mail asking for clarification. I'll post their response whenever I receive it











Quote:



Hi Alex,

Ugh, it was the Sapphire 4850 X2 2GB. Sorry about that, I can't believe I
messed up on all those graphs!

If this card is going into a HTPC, I highly suggest you look at the noise
graphs. In its current form, I think this board is probably too loud for
HTPC use, it would get pretty annoying while watching a movie.

Brandon


there ya are, it was the 2gb version


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *DesertRat*


there ya are, it was the 2gb version










Thanks *DesertRat* for clearing that up. Props on the effort.


----------



## ev0styLe

Awesome dual monitor setup i love it, nice wallpaper too









But from my understanding i thought u couldnt run dual monitors whilst CrossFireX was enabled? U would either have to run on one monitor and play with CrossFire enabled or run on one GPU and be able to use both monitors?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ev0styLe*


Awesome dual monitor setup i love it, nice wallpaper too









But from my understanding i thought u couldnt run dual monitors whilst CrossFireX was enabled? U would either have to run on one monitor and play with CrossFire enabled or run on one GPU and be able to use both monitors?


Well actually, let me refer you to one of my previous posts on this page. Click here. All you need to know.


----------



## ev0styLe

So from your experience as u have a dual monitor setup, CrossFireX works fine all enabled etc in games? So can watch a film and play games at the same time without having to play on one GPU?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ev0styLe*


So from your experience as u have a dual monitor setup, CrossFireX works fine all enabled etc in games? So can watch a film and play games at the same time without having to play on one GPU?


Yeah everything works perfectly with dual monitors, except you can't overclock, but other than that no issues, same as one monitor. Last night I was watching Gladiator stretched out onto two screens. That was nice as hell. Super-widescreen.







It's a shame that the ATI drivers don't allow two monitors to be used as one, then you would be able play games full screen across two monitors. Oh well, guess we'll have to wait for that later on.


----------



## Drizzt5

Is 4850 crossfire allowed here


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Drizzt5* 
Is 4850 crossfire allowed here










Certainly is my friend. Pretty impressive tubing you got going on there.


----------



## Drizzt5

You should change the title then because I thought this was for sapphire only 4850x2's.

But if 4850 crossfire is allowed also with any brand...










Were do I get the crysis benchmark thing and do you need crysis? I never bothered with it because I already beat the game and wasn't really interested in it after that.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Drizzt5*


You should change the title then because I thought this was for sapphire only 4850x2's.

But if 4850 crossfire is allowed also with any brand...

Were do I get the crysis benchmark thing and do you need crysis? I never bothered with it because I already beat the game and wasn't really interested in it after that.


This thread is strictly for the *HD4850X2* but I will allow posting *HD4850* *Crossfire* results as an exception to the rule if anyone wants to. Also this thread is officially for all *HD4850X2* cards at the moment because only *Sapphire* makes them but if that changes at any time I will be sure to change the title in the first post to accept all *HD4850X2* brand cards.

You can download the *Crysis Benchmark Tool* in the first post at the bottom I posted all the links you need. You do need to have *Crysis* installed as it asks you for the main *Crysis* folder when you load it the first time.

By the way, nice system specs.









I hope that cleared a few things up for everyone.


----------



## Drizzt5

It appears I cannot find my crysis or crysis warhead games, hmmm....

I'll get them a little bit later


----------



## gsymeoni

hey guys, awsome work with the thread, its really interesting! keep it going! anyway, i really want to ask you how you think the OC'd bfg gtx 260 compares against the HD48750x2!
heres a link for ya: http://www.bfgtech.com/bfgrgtx260mc896ocxe.aspx
im really sorry if this is not the place to ask this, but i couldn't find any other, and im in a really difficult buying position


----------



## Drizzt5

the 4850x2 will tear it to shreds in both benchmarks and games. The only time the gtx 260 will get a slight advantage is in games that don't take advantage of multi-gpu.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*Drizzt5* has it correct.







After all the *HD4850X2* is even better than an OCed *GTX280* in every review pretty much.


----------



## gsymeoni

thanks very much!!


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*Notice To Everyone:* I am currently downloading *3DMark06* and will post my results tonight on the first post so keep checking in. When they are up I will post here and you all know.


----------



## Dusty Zee

Hey guys, I'm thinking of buying the HD4850X2 so any tips or information to enlighten me ?.

Thanks in advance







.


----------



## guscol

hey somebody works the drivers released today in saphire???


----------



## guscol

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dusty Zee* 
Hey guys, I'm thinking of buying the HD4850X2 so any tips or information to enlighten me ?.

Thanks in advance







.

men i have a lot troubles with this card i regreat the better card is an 280gtx


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *guscol*


men i have a lot troubles with this card i regreat the better card is an 280gtx


Tell us of your problems *guscol*. I have no issue with this card so maybe I can help you out.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Apparently, *Sapphire* released new drivers that are labeled for January 09, 2009. However, the funny thing is, these drivers are 8.12 also just like the previous ones. Can anyone tell me what the difference is, if any, and whether they are worth installing over the previous 8.12? Thanks in advance.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*Very Important*: *DO NOT DOWNLOAD* the new *Sapphire* drivers for the *HD4850X2*. They are just the Official *ATI* drivers that don't work with the *HD4850X2* card. If you mistakingly got those drivers or need the older 8.12 drivers that do work click the link at the bottom.

Click Here For The Correct Latest *HD4850X2* Drivers


----------



## dynoman101

anyone gotten some overclocking results on this card?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *dynoman101*


anyone gotten some overclocking results on this card?


I will be posting some very soon. So far with my core on 700MHz and the mem at 1100MHz, I got a 2 FPS increase in Crysis Warhead, same settings. Now it averages out at 30.24 FPS. Im still testing the most stable OC for me so once I get that I will post results on the first post.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*Update*: I want to apologize to everyone. I know I promised earlier that I will be posting *3DMark06* results tonight but I am, unfortunately, having some computer issues at the moment (not related to the video card). I should be up and running by tomorrow and will post results tomorrow during the day.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*Update*: I have just posted the results for *3DMark06* on the original post. They are located right above the results for *3DMark Vantage*. Check it out and let me know what you all think.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*To Everyone*: I am currently in the process of doing some stability tests on my overclocks for the card. Once I get my max stable OC I will be testing *3DMark06*, *3DMark Vantage*, the *Crysis Benchmark Tool*, and the *Crysis Warhead Benchmark Tool* and will post the OC results on the original post.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*To Everyone*: I have just posted my overclocking results for the *Crysis Warhead Benchmark Tool* and a screenshot of *ATI Catalyst*. I overclocked to 700MHz on the core and 1200MHz on the memory. Also, keep in mind that the card is downclocked to 500MHz on the core and 750MHz on the memory when on the desktop or not playing games or other graphic intensive applications. That's all for today, the rest will be posted next week. Let me know what you guys think.


----------



## guscol

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Tell us of your problems *guscol*. I have no issue with this card so maybe I can help you out.



i cant make it work with 3d games games like grid,dirt, fallout 3 ,crash a lot ,in games like grid and dirt he start but dont pass from the begining ,crysis run very well ,but the reason for my entire upgrade is grid ,spore run fine and left for dead crash in the midle of the game i tried everything vista sp1,xp, sp3 power suply only for the vpu drivers originals from cd,the drivers from saphire and nothing ,the strange thing put mi 7600 and no work either i think is a problem with the core i7 or x58 plataform, beacuse the 7600 run fine grid in another pc amd x2 4000 with a board asus m2avm ,the only thing is try the vcard in that pc

thanks for the help


----------



## guscol

Quote:



Originally Posted by *dynoman101*


anyone gotten some overclocking results on this card?


men grid work with your pc configuration?


----------



## guscol

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


*Very Important*: *DO NOT DOWNLOAD* the new *Sapphire* drivers for the *HD4850X2*. They are just the Official *ATI* drivers that don't work with the *HD4850X2* card. If you mistakingly got those drivers or need the older 8.12 drivers that do work click the link at the bottom.

Click Here For The Correct Latest *HD4850X2* Drivers


jajaj i been waiting for this release and now dont work lol sapphire is crazy


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *guscol*


i cant make it work with 3d games games like grid,dirt, fallout 3 ,crash a lot ,in games like grid and dirt he start but dont pass from the begining ,crysis run very well ,but the reason for my entire upgrade is grid ,spore run fine and left for dead crash in the midle of the game i tried everything vista sp1,xp, sp3 power suply only for the vpu drivers originals from cd,the drivers from saphire and nothing ,the strange thing put mi 7600 and no work either i think is a problem with the core i7 or x58 plataform, beacuse the 7600 run fine grid in another pc amd x2 4000 with a board asus m2avm ,the only thing is try the vcard in that pc

thanks for the help


*guscol* try installing a clean copy of XP or Vista onto another hard drive and only install the drivers you need and also the appropriate *Sapphire* drivers that you can find a link to in my original post at the bottom. Also don't overclock anything if you have, put everything at stock settings. Tell us if that works for you. BTW, I have GRID working 100% fine for me.


----------



## xz3rorom3o

Random dropping by again. I noticed the cover of the card was pretty warm and thought taking it off would allow the heat to dissipate much faster.

So I took the cover off the card and it did reduce noise a little [still audible]. Temps however, went down to *37C from 43C* on each card at manual fan speed control disabled.

Since the GPUs are running cooler now and because the MOBO NB is sitting near them, the NB also runs cooler at *29C from 34C*.

I want to say the CPU is running cooler, but it is by only 1-2C max so that may not be so important.

I noticed some circuitry that looked like a jumper setting. Could this be a voltage increaser for OC?!?!









[Sorry about the image quality. I was at an awkward angle and had to turn the ISO up because of the dark area]


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xz3rorom3o* 
Random dropping by again. I noticed the cover of the card was pretty warm and thought taking it off would allow the heat to dissipate much faster.

So I took the cover off the card and it did reduce noise a little [still audible]. Temps however, went down to *37C from 43C* on each card at manual fan speed control disabled.

Since the GPUs are running cooler now and because the MOBO NB is sitting near them, the NB also runs cooler at *29C from 34C*.

I want to say the CPU is running cooler, but it is by only 1-2C max so that may not be so important.

I noticed some circuitry that looked like a jumper setting. Could this be a voltage increaser for OC?!?!









[Sorry about the image quality. I was at an awkward angle and had to turn the ISO up because of the dark area]

Excellent my friend! Note that you have a 1200-case though. Excellent airflow in those.







This might have tipped the scale enough to help me decide upon getting this card or not.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xz3rorom3o* 
Random dropping by again. I noticed the cover of the card was pretty warm and thought taking it off would allow the heat to dissipate much faster.

So I took the cover off the card and it did reduce noise a little [still audible]. Temps however, went down to *37C from 43C* on each card at manual fan speed control disabled.

Since the GPUs are running cooler now and because the MOBO NB is sitting near them, the NB also runs cooler at *29C from 34C*.

I want to say the CPU is running cooler, but it is by only 1-2C max so that may not be so important.

I noticed some circuitry that looked like a jumper setting. Could this be a voltage increaser for OC?!?!









[Sorry about the image quality. I was at an awkward angle and had to turn the ISO up because of the dark area]

Great point man! Im gonna try that out when I get back home. Thanks alot for the info. By the way someone should really look into that jumper that is very interesting. +rep


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

OK, I just figured out what that jumper is...Sad to say its not a voltage jumper.







All it does is switch from NTSC/PAL. I found the close up pic on this review.

Click the pic with the jumper


----------



## guscol

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xz3rorom3o* 
Random dropping by again. I noticed the cover of the card was pretty warm and thought taking it off would allow the heat to dissipate much faster.

So I took the cover off the card and it did reduce noise a little [still audible]. Temps however, went down to *37C from 43C* on each card at manual fan speed control disabled.

Since the GPUs are running cooler now and because the MOBO NB is sitting near them, the NB also runs cooler at *29C from 34C*.

I want to say the CPU is running cooler, but it is by only 1-2C max so that may not be so important.

I noticed some circuitry that looked like a jumper setting. Could this be a voltage increaser for OC?!?!









[Sorry about the image quality. I was at an awkward angle and had to turn the ISO up because of the dark area]

men i tried too but the card is too heavy the card is too loose because it tends to bend the cover it supports


----------



## guscol

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xz3rorom3o* 
Random dropping by again. I noticed the cover of the card was pretty warm and thought taking it off would allow the heat to dissipate much faster.

So I took the cover off the card and it did reduce noise a little [still audible]. Temps however, went down to *37C from 43C* on each card at manual fan speed control disabled.

Since the GPUs are running cooler now and because the MOBO NB is sitting near them, the NB also runs cooler at *29C from 34C*.

I want to say the CPU is running cooler, but it is by only 1-2C max so that may not be so important.

I noticed some circuitry that looked like a jumper setting. Could this be a voltage increaser for OC?!?!









[Sorry about the image quality. I was at an awkward angle and had to turn the ISO up because of the dark area]

men i tried too but the card is too heavy the card is too loose because it tends to bend the cover it supports


----------



## xz3rorom3o

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kimosabi* 
Excellent my friend! Note that you have a 1200-case though. Excellent airflow in those.







This might have tipped the scale enough to help me decide upon getting this card or not.

Haha yes I have to agree the airflow in the case is awesome. If you take the cover off, a lot of the airflow will be directed to the side window, which I have a fan on so the heat dissipation is perfect. Tipping the scale? It beats the GTX 280 and is cheaper. What more could you want?

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
OK, I just figured out what that jumper is...Sad to say its not a voltage jumper.







All it does is switch from NTSC/PAL. I found the close up pic on this review.

Click the pic with the jumper

Sadness indeed. I noticed you mentioned OCing is difficult with 2 monitors? Could you expand on that a bit?

Quote:


Originally Posted by *guscol* 
men i tried too but the card is too heavy the card is too loose because it tends to bend the cover it supports

I have the PCI-E power connectors exerting a vertical force UP at the end of the card and it helps the card from bending. May want to try something similar or suspend the card with fishing line or something.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xz3rorom3o*


Sadness indeed. I noticed you mentioned OCing is difficult with 2 monitors? Could you expand on that a bit?


When you have two monitors enabled you cannot OC at all. If you try to apply the overclock you will get a black screen with bars and will have to restart and turn off the OC after.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *guscol*


men i tried too but the card is too heavy the card is too loose because it tends to bend the cover it supports


Yeah the cable helps support it up though. Try propping it in such a way that it helps lift the card up.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Everyone can expect more OC results tonight or sometime during the day. I will be getting started very soon.


----------



## Col. Newman

Sweet someone made a 4850 X2 thread, maybe I should look in the ATI forum more often.









I got mine 2 months ago right after they came out. Kinda depressing looking at their prices now.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*Col. Newman*, you are officially on the *Owner's List*.


----------



## Col. Newman

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


*Col. Newman*, you are officially on the *Owner's List*.










Cool thanks


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*Notice To Everyone:* I have officially finished all the results for this thread. I have uploaded all my OC results so you guys can take a look at that too and let me know what you think. If anyone has any other requests let me know at anytime. And remember to keep posting your results too. *Great job thus far everyone*. *Two thumbs way up!*


----------



## legend999

Hey guys.

New to the forum,and soon 4850X2 owner(arrives tomorrow).This a great thread i just found,if not the only one that helpful for this card.

Anyway knows if two Zalman Fatal1ty FC-ZV9 coolers would fit?(and maybe change the ramsinks too).This way it would be much cooler,since it's made all in cooper,and much quieter too,i think!


----------



## kimosabi

Yohoo! Just pulled the trigger on the 4850x2 2GB so I should expect it to be here before the weekend.








Anyone wants to guess if it fits in my 900? I do not have a clue.








I also ordered the CoolerMaster ATCS 840 but it wont be in stock before the 21st.


----------



## legend999

Hey guys,back again.

Imagine the card with two blue orbs like this one:










Beautiful,han?









See this image:










Could someone measure the original coolers and see if this one is compatible?

The main problem would be the heatsink on the middle,but that can be changed too,i hope.

I would appreciate a lot..

Hopefully,we could put it like this(without the copper base?):


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *legend999* 
Could someone measure the original coolers and see if this one is compatible?

The main problem would be the heatsink on the middle,but that can be changed too,i hope.

I would appreciate a lot..

*legend999* that's a really great idea. What would you like me to measure specifically on the cooler. What measurements do you need? Post a picture of the measurements you'd like if possible. I never knew a *HD3870X2* came with quad dvi. I thought the *HD4850X2* set the record with that. Guess not... BTW, you are officially on the owner's list.







Let us know of your results when you can. I'd like to see how my 2GB version compares to the 1GB with the same tests. Thanks...


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kimosabi*


Yohoo! Just pulled the trigger on the 4850x2 2GB so I should expect it to be here before the weekend.








Anyone wants to guess if it fits in my 900? I do not have a clue.








I also ordered the CoolerMaster ATCS 840 but it wont be in stock before the 21st.


*kimosabi*, I have an *Antec 900* too. It's a tight squeeze but it fits perfectly so no worries. Check my photos on the original post.


----------



## legend999

Hey thanks









Yeah,i think the card would run a lot quiter with two of those!(notice that the HD3870X2 is using the duorb by thermaltake,and i'm talking about two VF900-CU by zalman)

What i want you to measure is the distance between the nipple installation holes on the card.

Yes,i should get it today and i'l run some tests to compare to the 2GB version.


----------



## ev0styLe

Guys i think im going to go for the single GPU solution 4870 1GB, i just dont like the hit or miss performance of CrossFire when it comes to dual GPU cards.
With a single GPU solution u know what performance to expect, and i cant rely on the driver team of Sapphire to make this purchase.

If CrossFire proves itself to become more mainstream in the future then i can always drop another 4870 in my board, but its likely by that time new architecture single cards would have surfaced to outperform X2 cards anyway.


----------



## Col. Newman

Has anyone experienced this problem or heard of anyone else with this issue?

http://www.overclock.net/ati/418790-...-crashing.html


----------



## skugpezz

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


*Notice To Everyone:* I have officially finished all the results for this thread. I have uploaded all my OC results so you guys can take a look at that too and let me know what you think. If anyone has any other requests let me know at anytime. And remember to keep posting your results too. *Great job thus far everyone*. *Two thumbs way up!*










is that the highes oc you can get on the card?


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
*kimosabi*, I have an *Antec 900* too. It's a tight squeeze but it fits perfectly so no worries. Check my photos on the original post.









Sorry didnt trackback before I asked. Looks cramped but doable.







Will do.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Col. Newman*


Has anyone experienced this problem or heard of anyone else with this issue?

http://www.overclock.net/ati/418790-...-crashing.html


*Col. Newman*, there is a 90% chance that it is your *DFI* motherboard. Someone on that posted a few pages earlier had a huge problem with that and as soon as they ordered a new board the problems were gone. At this time *DFI* seems to have a bug with *X2* cards so if you want to fix it, try to fully uninstall and put the drivers on from the link on my original post and if that doesn't work try to get a new motherboard or try to RMA the card. I hope that helps. Good luck!


----------



## xz3rorom3o

Quote:



Originally Posted by *legend999*


Hey guys,back again.

Imagine the card with two blue orbs like this one:










Beautiful,han?









See this image:










Could someone measure the original coolers and see if this one is compatible?

The main problem would be the heatsink on the middle,but that can be changed too,i hope.

I would appreciate a lot..

Hopefully,we could put it like this(without the copper base?):












Why are there ATI stickers on the fans of the card? I thought those were VF900-Cu


----------



## xz3rorom3o

*Edit:* The VF900 should fit on the 4850X2. The diagonal holes on the 4850X2 are about 7.5cm apart from center to center. Zalman's webpage states the cooler fits on the 4850 and 3870, so it has to fit on the 4850X2 since the mounting holes are the same. The 3870X2 can accommodate 2x of VF900. I'd have to guess on this part, but I am 2x will also fit on the 4850X2 then.

Also, a thread on XS says the 3870X2 can use VF700. There is a good possibility that the 4850X2 may also be able to use them as well. Spends less money this way. http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=180600

*Original: *Does anyone know if the 4850X2 has the same mounting holes as a regular 4850? The distance between the DIAGONAL mounting holes is 7.5cm [center of one screw to center of another screw] on the 4850X2


----------



## legend999

It could fit,but the heatsink on the middle may screw up the installation.That's the crossfire bridge if i'm not mistaken.

And help:Why games like GTAiV only detect half memory?Even GPU-Z only detects 512mb,and i can't set the graphics to maximum...


----------



## legend999

Double post sorry.


----------



## Guttboy

Hi Folks!

Well my 4850x2 should be arriving any minute now along with the rest of my PC build parts. I have been reading the reviews and have been told by some others on another forum to not even bother with this card. It will be installed in a CM690 case, Corsair 750TX PSU, GA-EP45-UD3P MOBO, all running on Vista Ultimate 64bit.

Since this is my first build and I feel pretty confident about doing it, what should I be worried about on the card? Are there any issues or concerns I should know about when I start building this in the evening card related?

I hope this puppy works out for me as I love the idea of the 2GB mem and the smaller footprint than a full blown crossfire setup.

Appreciate the responses!

Regards!


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Guttboy*


Hi Folks!

Well my 4850x2 should be arriving any minute now along with the rest of my PC build parts. I have been reading the reviews and have been told by some others on another forum to not even bother with this card. It will be installed in a CM690 case, Corsair 750TX PSU, GA-EP45-UD3P MOBO, all running on Vista Ultimate 64bit.

Since this is my first build and I feel pretty confident about doing it, what should I be worried about on the card? Are there any issues or concerns I should know about when I start building this in the evening card related?

I hope this puppy works out for me as I love the idea of the 2GB mem and the smaller footprint than a full blown crossfire setup.

Appreciate the responses!

Regards!


Really there's nothing to worry about for this card specifically other than acquiring the appropriate drivers and having a powerful enough power supply. Other than that, as long as you don't have a *DFI* you should experience no problems. This card really is incredible, I've thrown every test and game at it and it blazes through everything. Price/performance ratio is crazy good. It's not much worse than the *HD4870X2* yet price is a lot cheaper.


----------



## Guttboy

Thanks Open!

Unfortunately for me I have spent the past hour on the phone with UPS and the Egg. The box with all the parts was opened upon receipt....just had the cardboard tabs folded on each other to hold all the stuff in







!

I tried waving the UPS driver down but he was off like a flash...right at the end of my drive way...10 seconds too late.

I took pictures of everything as it sat on the steps and called UPS and the Egg. UPS was not much help but NewEgg was! (box didnt even have the packing or invoice inside)! NewEgg said to try everything and see if it functions properly...if not then just return it for RMA and they will cover the shipping! Not too bad lets just keep our fingers crossed!

*QUESTION:* Since this is a NEW build from scratch, when I get to install everything....how will the graphics card "know" to talk to the monitor? Since there is nothing on the HDD's yet and its all in pieces...sorry for the newbish question but this is my first build from scratch.

Now its time to start building!!!!!


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Guttboy* 
Thanks Open!

Unfortunately for me I have spent the past hour on the phone with UPS and the Egg. The box with all the parts was opened upon receipt....just had the cardboard tabs folded on each other to hold all the stuff in







!

I tried waving the UPS driver down but he was off like a flash...right at the end of my drive way...10 seconds too late.

I took pictures of everything as it sat on the steps and called UPS and the Egg. UPS was not much help but NewEgg was! (box didnt even have the packing or invoice inside)! NewEgg said to try everything and see if it functions properly...if not then just return it for RMA and they will cover the shipping! Not too bad lets just keep our fingers crossed!

*QUESTION:* Since this is a NEW build from scratch, when I get to install everything....how will the graphics card "know" to talk to the monitor? Since there is nothing on the HDD's yet and its all in pieces...sorry for the newbish question but this is my first build from scratch.

Now its time to start building!!!!!

If everything is plugged in correctly and you have cables going to they're proper places everything should just work on start up. You then have to install your operating system and install drivers and see how it performs for games and benchmarks and all your other graphical applications. If everything works then you're lucky. If not then RMA it and Newegg will send you a new one for free. Keep in mind this card is physically made in china so it's a little cheapy, but still very powerful if everything works. Good luck!


----------



## xz3rorom3o

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Guttboy*


Thanks Open!

Unfortunately for me I have spent the past hour on the phone with UPS and the Egg. The box with all the parts was opened upon receipt....just had the cardboard tabs folded on each other to hold all the stuff in







!

I tried waving the UPS driver down but he was off like a flash...right at the end of my drive way...10 seconds too late.

I took pictures of everything as it sat on the steps and called UPS and the Egg. UPS was not much help but NewEgg was! (box didnt even have the packing or invoice inside)! NewEgg said to try everything and see if it functions properly...if not then just return it for RMA and they will cover the shipping! Not too bad lets just keep our fingers crossed!

*QUESTION: * Since this is a NEW build from scratch, when I get to install everything....how will the graphics card "know" to talk to the monitor? Since there is nothing on the HDD's yet and its all in pieces...sorry for the newbish question but this is my first build from scratch.

Now its time to start building!!!!!



You will not be able to use Crossfire [your dual GPUs] if you are using more than 2 of the DVI ports. Don't ask why, it just doesn't work haha.


----------



## legend999

What a lowly score i had on vantage:










Anyway,tomorrow i'll overclock the system and run it on a fresh vista.










Hey,and about only showing half memory,looks like it does the same to everyone,right?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *legend999*


What a lowly score i had on vantage:

Anyway,tomorrow i'll overclock the system and run it on a fresh vista.










Hey,and about only showing half memory,looks like it does the same to everyone,right?


Try to OC your CPU to 4ghz if you can but don't OC the card. Set CCC to "Balanced". You should get around 9,000-10,000 points. But then again, this card is slightly different, it has lower clocks also at stock than the 2GB.


----------



## ESS_Eisenkreuz

Phone Piktars FTW!


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ESS_Eisenkreuz*


Phone Piktars FTW!











Really nice pic! Love the green tubing.







Has this card given you any issues yet, if you have tested it? I know alot of people with *DFI* motherboards are having issues with *X2* cards. Let us know, if that's the case for you. Post the benchmarks that I have on the original post for your results. Thanks in advance.


----------



## Col. Newman

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xz3rorom3o*


You will not be able to use Crossfire [your dual GPUs] if you are using more than 2 of the DVI ports. Don't ask why, it just doesn't work haha.


Wait really that one of the reasons I bought the 4850 X2. O well probably never end up getting a second card for xfire anyways.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Col. Newman*


Wait really that one of the reasons I bought the 4850 X2. O well probably never end up getting a second card for xfire anyways.


Let me redirect you to one of my previous posts: Click Here

To summarize: The *HD4850X2* has two GPUs on the board, and in order to use both of them you must enable "*CrossfireX*" in *ATI Catalyst* otherwise you will be working with only half the power. 

You can use two monitors only with "*CrossfireX*" enabled.

If you want to use 3 or 4 monitors, you have to disable "*CrossfireX*" and you will be working at half power.
I hope that clears things up for you. Don't confuse this with *Quad CrossfireX* (when you have two physical *HD4850X2* cards connected to each other).


----------



## Col. Newman

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Let me redirect you to one of my previous posts: Click Here

To summarize: The *HD4850X2* has two GPUs on the board, and in order to use both of them you must enable "*CrossfireX*" in *ATI Catalyst* otherwise you will be working with only half the power. 

You can use two monitors only with "*CrossfireX*" enabled.

If you want to use 3 or 4 monitors, you have to disable "*CrossfireX*" and you will be working at half power.
I hope that clears thing up for you. Don't confuse this with *Quad CrossfireX* (when you have two physical *HD4850X2* cards connected to each other).


oo IC.

but according to Sapphire support it doesn't matter whether xfire is enabled or not in CCC since it is all done internally.

Edit: I just tried it with crossfire disabled with furmark (I used the exe that uses xfire) and it's only using 1 chip. I guess the idiots have no idea what they are talking about. Typical tech support


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Col. Newman*


oo IC.

but according to Sapphire support it doesn't matter whether xfire is enabled or not in CCC since it is all done internally.


That is completely not the case apparently. I tried working with "*CrossfireX*" disabled and my FPS went way down so you can definitely tell thats not true. Whoever told you that has no clue what he or she is talking about. There are a lot of clueless people working for Tech Support.


----------



## Col. Newman

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


That is completely not the case apparently. I tried working with "*CrossfireX*" disabled and my FPS went way down so you can definitely tell thats not true. Whoever told you that has no clue what he or she is talking about. There are a lot of clueless people working for Tech Support.


Sorry I edit my post at the end 
here

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Col. Newman*


Edit: I just tried it with crossfire disabled with furmark (I used the exe that uses xfire) and it's only using 1 chip. I guess the idiots have no idea what they are talking about. Typical tech support


That why I hate tech support they never have any idea what the heck they are talking about.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Col. Newman*


Sorry I edit my post at the end 
here

That why I hate tech support they never have any idea what the heck they are talking about.


Unfortunately, when it comes to technology you gotta do your own research and teach yourself cause a lot of people give a lot of false information and thats how problems start. Sad but true.


----------



## Guttboy

Hi Everyone!

Well I think I may be in the club soon....got the computer to successfully power on and get a picture on the screen! 4850X2 is ONE HEAVY CARD! Not sure if everyone's does this but the right hand side sags ever so slightly. Here is a pic on my first boot....Like I said I got a good boot up screen and saw the Gigabyte Bios page...went through everything and then needed a system disk....WHOOOHOOOOO


















4850X2 is smack dab in the center of the CM690.....still tweaking some of the cables but pretty clean so far!


----------



## Robilar

Perhaps you could create a poll regarding power supplies used with the 4850X2.

I know ATI specifies at least a 650w unit with one six pin and one eight pin connector but confirmation on lowest wattage power supply would help prospective buyers.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Robilar*


Perhaps you could create a poll regarding power supplies used with the 4850X2.

I know ATI specifies at least a 650w unit with one six pin and one eight pin connector but confirmation on lowest wattage power supply would help prospective buyers.


Good point *Robilar*, thanks for the tip. I'll try to find some info on low wattage PSUs and post the PSU requirements on the original post once I get to it. BTW, compliments on having the world's fastest dual core CPU. (*Intel Core 2 Duo E8600*)


----------



## Guttboy

Hi Folks,

Just finishing up dinner....Quick Question....

Does everyone elses 4850X2 "droop" a little on the right hand side of the card?

Mine sags down a little bit, I assume because of the weight.

I am also going to have to use the slot right below it so that may really impede the airflow until I can come up with an alternative solution (video capture card). My XFI Extreme Gamer will most likely go on the bottom most slot...way out of the way.










PS...once I get this all up and running I will post some scores for your collection Open and thanks for all the help!


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*Update:*For those of you who haven't noticed yet, I posted a poll for what kind of power supplies you guys use for this card. Once you get a chance, please vote and let's see what results will turn up.


----------



## Guttboy

Using a 750 watt Corsair 750TX....JUST got the drivers installed from the disk and have the screen working well at 1920x1200. I'll start looking at the performance in the morning.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Guttboy*


Using a 750 watt Corsair 750TX....JUST got the drivers installed from the disk and have the screen working well at 1920x1200. I'll start looking at the performance in the morning.


I would recommend you download the drivers listed on my original post at the bottom. The CD drivers are old and have issues but the ones I posted are the latest version that works.


----------



## kimosabi

I'm about to install my 4850x2 and was wondering if I have to remove Ageia PhysX driver also? I'm using driversweeper. I'm removing Nvidia drivers.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kimosabi*


I'm about to install my 4850x2 and was wondering if I have to remove Ageia PhysX driver also? I'm using driversweeper. I'm removing Nvidia drivers.


I would keep them installed because they may be related to a certain game and by removing them you have a chance at creating a problem. I wouldn't use driversweeper because when i had used it recently it gave me a lot of problems because it removed too much and was related to other stuff. I would just uninstall everything *NVIDIA* and *ATI* related manually and then use *CCleaner* to clean everything up and scan for registry errors.


----------



## kimosabi

Just installed it with 8.12 drivers. First thing I did was to run a 3Dmark06, no tweaks, 3.8gHz CPU and stock 3Dmark benchie:



It sure is tight but wasnt so hard to install.











Lovely!



Will post more later, we're just getting to know eachother.


----------



## Guttboy

kimosabi,

Did you remove the black cover plate? If you look in my pics mine has it. Just curious.


----------



## kimosabi

Yeah I removed the cover. XZ3rorom3o here inspired me to do that and I noticed that the fan-holes were offset from the fans so I figured that cant be good enough.








The card now idles @ 38C and 25% fan. Lower than my 9800GTX but still a bit noisier.


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kimosabi* 
Yeah I removed the cover. XZ3rorom3o here inspired me to do that and I noticed that the fan-holes were offset from the fans so I figured that cant be good enough.








The card now idles @ 38C and 25% fan. Lower than my 9800GTX but still a bit noisier.

Noisy is not the word for it....OMG...this thing sounds like a vacuum! I haven't gotten into the software yet but do you know of anything that I could do to quiet it down a tad bit? It is like it is running on max even with just Vista running.

Thanks!


----------



## kimosabi

lol It's loud allright. You can always set the fanspeed in the Catalyst Control Center(CCC) in the ATI Overdrive section. Play with your fan settings and see what happens.







However in my 900 it needs to be set @ 30% or below to be quiet though.

Pic:


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*kimosabi*, really nice results and pics! Good job on removing the fan cover I did that on mine too. Props to *xz3rorom3o* on that.







If you set this card to 20% fan speed (lowest in catalyst) it gets louder, which can only mean its running below that when not in use. You can try setting that, remember that you have to enable *ATI Overdrive* to set the fan speed as well. See if it works for you. At the moment, *Rivatuner* doesn't support this card, but once it does get support you can set the fan speed to lower than 20% and that will work for all those who have noise issues.


----------



## Guttboy

Hmmmm.....For some odd reason, I cannot do anything with CCC and overdrive. Please bear with me as I am way new to this card and the CCC. Is there a "primer" somewhere as to what to do with this? I could really use the help on it. I essentially just put the card in and loaded the CD. Do the drivers you suggest for download Open, do they affect the CCC?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Guttboy*


Hmmmm.....For some odd reason, I cannot do anything with CCC and overdrive. Please bear with me as I am way new to this card and the CCC. Is there a "primer" somewhere as to what to do with this? I could really use the help on it. I essentially just put the card in and loaded the CD. Do the drivers you suggest for download Open, do they affect the CCC?


It's all very simple. The drivers come with *CCC *which is an application that lets you fine tune settings on the card. If you are going to put on my drivers please remove the old drivers first completely with *CCC* included then restart and use *CCleaner* to clean everything up. Then install the new ones I have posted.

All you have to do to change the fan speed is click that little lock/key button then checkmark "*Enable ATI Overdrive*" and afterwords checkmark "Enable Manual Fan Control" and slide the slider to 20% or whatever you wanna try. Finally, click the "*Apply*" button to set the fan speed. After that just move the slider again and click the "*Apply*" button again to set a different fan speed.

*Keep in mind, you cannot be using more than 1 monitor if you enable "ATI Overdrive" at all or you will get a black screen with artifacts and have to restart.*


----------



## Guttboy

Got it....I found the little key....man this thing sounds like a BEAST...I mean really loud even on lower settings. Unfortunately for me I cant connect to the net with the PC as there is a problem with the driver...gotta track that down first!

I was able to do the apply and unlock...it was the little key button...thanks!


----------



## BULLATTACK

So after being ripped off by buy.com I am not sure what to buy. I can get the 4850x2 for $280 (plus a combo deal of 4GB of memory for $8 for Win 7 64) or I can get the more expensive GTX 280. Which would you all recommend be best for me? Or should I just spend the extra money and get a 4870x2? My budget is at most maybe like $330


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:


Originally Posted by *BULLATTACK* 
So after being ripped off by buy.com I am not sure what to buy. I can get the 4850x2 for $280 (plus a combo deal of 4GB of memory for $8 for Win 7 64) or I can get the more expensive GTX 280. Which would you all recommend be best for me? Or should I just spend the extra money and get a 4870x2? My budget is at most maybe like $330

Look at my 3dmark06 scores in 1920x1200:



I think my 9800GTX was running 8-9k ish with those settings.







So far I love this card! This card beats the GTX280 in 95% of all areas. And your 24" definitely deserves a double GPU card.









Reviews:
http://www.pro-clockers.com/reviews/?id=116

http://www.overclockersclub.com/revi...pphire_4850x2/

http://www.elitebastards.com/cms/ind...=633&Itemid=27


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *BULLATTACK*


So after being ripped off by buy.com I am not sure what to buy. I can get the 4850x2 for $280 (plus a combo deal of 4GB of memory for $8 for Win 7 64) or I can get the more expensive GTX 280. Which would you all recommend be best for me? Or should I just spend the extra money and get a 4870x2? My budget is at most maybe like $330


I would highly recommended getting *HD4850X2* over the *GTX280*. It beats the card it pretty much every game and benchmark. And the fact that it's cheaper is a huge bonus. You won't regret it.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*kimosabi*, you have the exact specs that I have. Antec 900, 4GB 1066MHz ram, E8500 at 4GHz, and of course the *HD4850X2*.







You should get no worse than me.

I don't have a 1920x1200 inch monitor unfortunatly. Could you do me a favor, can you run the *Crysis Benchmark Tool* at all "*Very High*" with no *AA* at 1920x1200 and post a screenshot of your results. And if possible do the same thing for *Crysis Warhead* at all "*Enthusiast*". Thanks in advance!


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


*kimosabi*, you have the exact specs that I have. Antec 900, 4GB 1066MHz ram, E8500 at 4GHz, and of course the *HD4850X2*.







You should get no worse than me.

I don't have a 1920x1200 inch monitor unfortunatly. Could you do me a favor, can you run the *Crysis Benchmark Tool* at all "*Very High*" with no *AA* at 1920x1200 and post a screenshot of your results. And if possible do the same thing for *Crysis Warhead* at all "*Enthusiast*". Thanks in advance!










I dont have Crysis.







I'll run a 3dmark bench with 4gHz CPU instead if 3.8gHz. See what happens.









*edit* 4gHz benchie:



No 19k+? Hmmm.....


----------



## ZTR1760

woot i just bought this card off of newegg, cant wait to get some benchies done with it, especially in crysis


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ZTR1760*


woot i just bought this card off of newegg, cant wait to get some benchies done with it, especially in crysis


ZTR....

When you get it you will be surprised at how massive it is! Comes with a good deal of software, well packaged, and a ton of associated cables! BTW, this card is LOUD! It drowns out all of the 7 Fans and PSU by far!

I am still working on my "system" as a whole (in siggy) as I got Vista up and running yesterday. I have not had a chance to mess with the card whatsoever. "Open" has posted a link to the latest drivers at the beginning of the thread.

*A question for everyone....What is the "MAX" considered safe temperature for this card?*

Running purely out of the box with no overclocking etc the Overdrive temp states that it is hovering around 48C with no load on the card at all...just Vista. Running monitor at 1920x1200.

I will be DL'ing the new drivers probably this evening and tweaking the system.


----------



## xz3rorom3o

Just got http://www.svc.com/zm-fc-zv9.html from a member to try out. I guess i'll be the guinea pig. The mounting holes definitely fit, so I'm hoping there are no clearance issues. If this works and the other one fits, I may get another vf900 for the other core.

::crosses fingers::


----------



## Aaroman

So is my PSU enough for one of these beasts?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Guttboy* 
*A question for everyone....What is the "MAX" considered safe temperature for this card?*

If you stay below 85*C you should be fine. It shouldn't get that hot even if you OC it.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Aaroman* 
So is my PSU enough for one of these beasts?

Yeah you're PSU is decent. I think you'll run it fine.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xz3rorom3o* 
Just got http://www.svc.com/zm-fc-zv9.html from a member to try out. I guess i'll be the guinea pig. The mounting holes definitely fit, so I'm hoping there are no clearance issues. If this works and the other one fits, I may get another vf900 for the other core.

::crosses fingers::

Let us know what happens in terms of noise, temps, OCing ability. And please do post some pics.


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xz3rorom3o*


Just got http://www.svc.com/zm-fc-zv9.html from a member to try out. I guess i'll be the guinea pig. The mounting holes definitely fit, so I'm hoping there are no clearance issues. If this works and the other one fits, I may get another vf900 for the other core.

::crosses fingers::


Nice!









Since I followed your lead in removing the cover I might as well do that with an aftermarket cooler also. My card runs idle 40C now with maks OC so it could be good to get the temps down a little. Should look stellar and put the stock HSF's to shame.


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kimosabi*


Nice!









Since I followed your lead in removing the cover I might as well do that with an aftermarket cooler also. My card runs idle 40C now with maks OC so it could be good to get the temps down a little. Should look stellar and put the stock HSF's to shame.










So Kimosabi.....you removed the cover and your temps EVEN WITH OCing are around 40C?

How hard is it to remove the cover...I take it you just pinched the plastic push-thrus together and popped it off...did it damage the cover in any way? I would assume that you could put it back on if you liked?

Thanks!

PS....are you using the CCC that was provided on the disk or is there another one that I should be looking for?


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Guttboy* 
So Kimosabi.....you removed the cover and your temps EVEN WITH OCing are around 40C?

How hard is it to remove the cover...I take it you just pinched the plastic push-thrus together and popped it off...did it damage the cover in any way? I would assume that you could put it back on if you liked?

Thanks!

PS....are you using the CCC that was provided on the disk or is there another one that I should be looking for?

To remove the cover just unscrew the eight bolts around the fans on top of the cover. No pushpin-removal needed.







The cover-bolts are threaded into the HSF's so the only thing that comes off is the cover.
And 40C is what I get idle. It loads around 65C on 25-30C ambient. And I have a fair amount of airflow in my case so that surely helps. Did some mods:


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kimosabi* 
To remove the cover just unscrew the eight bolts around the fans on top of the cover. No pushpin-removal needed.







The cover-bolts are threaded into the HSF's so the only thing that comes off is the cover.
And 40C is what I get idle. It loads around 65C on 25-30C ambient. And I have a fair amount of airflow in my case so that surely helps. Did some mods.

Those are some sick mods *kimosabi*. I wanna do a mod on my *Antec 900* but mainly I want leave everything as it is but make it all *Green* with *green* lights. I love how you spray painted the back and inside all black. I'm doing that.


----------



## ESS_Eisenkreuz

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
Really nice pic! Love the green tubing.







Has this card given you any issues yet, if you have tested it? I know alot of people with *DFI* motherboards are having issues with *X2* cards. Let us know, if that's the case for you. Post the benchmarks that I have on the original post for your results. Thanks in advance.

card works fine in both slots, no bios update needed or anything i was actually asking myself if i should buy it because of that. but im having a little trouble installing any drivers but the drivers on the cd even on a clean instal of windows

i actually just ordered a 4850 to go with it...


----------



## Col. Newman

I stuck my HD 4850 X2 in my Server\\Folding Rig (MSI mobo) for 2 days and it ran perfectly fine I was folding on it and having it play TV shows. I stuck it back in my main rig it ran fine for about 36 hours like normal and then BSOD.







then it ran for like another 4 or 5 and BSOD.

server specs here


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
Those are some sick mods *kimosabi*. I wanna do a mod on my *Antec 900* but mainly I want leave everything as it is but make it all *Green* with *green* lights. I love how you spray painted the back and inside all black. I'm doing that.









Thanks! Its not exactly black but a color from Yamaha outboards called Dark Blue Metallic. I wanted a discrete metallic look to it that didnt scream at you and I guess I acheived that. You can see it more clearly in my post #241 here. Still love the videocard BTW.







Just played Fallout 3 all maxed out.









*edit* I had a few issues when playing STCC The Game on full overclock with 30% fanspeed. Doesnt work. I reduced the clock to 600/975 and that did the trick.







I could have tried turning up the fanspeed also but I figured it wouldnt help much since my ambient is 25C


----------



## tool918

You can set these cards at 700/1135 stable with your fan speed up high. But I like to leave mine at 680/1000.


----------



## Bonz(TM)

Question. If you run 2 of these in crossfirex, can you still output to 4 monitors off the first card?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Bonzâ„¢*


Question. If you run 2 of these in crossfirex, can you still output to 4 monitors off the first card?


That I cannot say to tell you the truth. But if you find anything out please let us know.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Col. Newman*


I stuck my HD 4850 X2 in my ServerFolding Rig (MSI mobo) for 2 days and it ran perfectly fine I was folding on it and having it play TV shows. I stuck it back in my main rig it ran fine for about 36 hours like normal and then BSOD.







then it ran for like another 4 or 5 and BSOD.

server specs here


Yeah to tell you the truth, when I'm playing a game for a long time, very rarely but sometimes I get BSOD. I definitely think it's driver related though and seeing as how 9.1 drivers are supposed to come out soon we'll have to wait till then and see if *ATI* decides to give it support officially. *crosses fingers*


----------



## Bonz(TM)

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


That I cannot say to tell you the truth. But if you find anything out please let us know.


Oh I will. I'd like to find this out for myself, because I am putting together a microATX rig for my next PC. I was thinking I'd have 3 monitors though, which would limit me to 1 card for gaming, and 1 card for extra monitors.

I was thinking 4870x2 and a seperate 1 slot card (leaving room for soundcard)

But if I can do two of these and still output to 3 monitors that would be AWESOME!

Logic points to it, since it's crossfired natively and you can still output to 4 monitors. Usually it's the primary card that can be outputted to during crossfire.


----------



## Guttboy

Open....could you please add me to the Users list....Thanks!

Ok...getting the computer up and running was easy enough and I am starting the OCing this afternoon/eve. Just for giggles I ran the 3dMark Vantage program to see where everything was at WITHOUT doing ANYTHING to the card...no drivers, not OC, no Overdrive. The settings were all "Performance" and the display size was changed to 1920x1200. REMEMBER: This is just to see how it ran out of the box without any tweaking or updating.

DONT LAUGH....LOL.....


















When I update the drivers I am hopeful I will get a score....LOL.....


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Guttboy* 
Open....could you please add me to the Users list....Thanks!

Done!









Quote:


Originally Posted by *Guttboy* 
The settings were all "Performance" and the display size was changed to 1920x1200.

Don't change the resolution when you run *3DMark Vantage*, otherwise that will change your score. Keep it at the default settings when you run it (1280x1024).


----------



## Guttboy

OK....cool....do I leave it at defaults so that everyone can compare based upon the default values? Makes sense if this is the case. I will do a run without the new drivers then one with the new drivers.

Anxious to see how it does. BTW...I don't have Crysis so I cant do those tests.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Guttboy* 
OK....cool....do I leave it at defaults so that everyone can compare based upon the default values? Makes sense if this is the case. I will do a run without the new drivers then one with the new drivers.

Anxious to see how it does. BTW...I don't have Crysis so I cant do those tests.

It's ok if you don't have Crysis. You should get it though. Great game!


----------



## Guttboy

Second run on defaults....without updating the drivers.


----------



## Guttboy

This was my run with the updated drivers and having crossfire box checked on the CCC.

Drivers were the 506.exe file from the Sapphire site. In both runs, pre and post driver update there were "pauses" or "staggering" in the tests. After the run and the updated drivers, I get flickering in my Internet Explorer window...very odd and annoying. Not sure what the problem is.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Guttboy* 
This was my run with the updated drivers and having crossfire box checked on the CCC.

Drivers were the 506.exe file from the Sapphire site. In both runs, pre and post driver update there were "pauses" or "staggering" in the tests. After the run and the updated drivers, I get flickering in my Internet Explorer window...very odd and annoying. Not sure what the problem is.

Try uninstalling all the ATI stuff you have, then restart and run CCleaner a few times. Then install the 506.exe file again and restart one last time. Afterwords try it again and show the results. Also try to OC your CPU if you can.


----------



## wolfy87

price of these cards will fall extremely...green reason...I`ll probably get one in future...
what do you think of 4850+4850X2 crossfire?

heard it isn`t working very well in xp...


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Try uninstalling all the ATI stuff you have, then restart and run CCleaner a few times. Then install the 506.exe file again and restart one last time. Afterwords try it again and show the results. Also try to OC your CPU if you can.


OK....I restarted the computer and everything is working fine. Much better on the run. I will start working on the OCing of the CPU most likely tonight. Just want to establish good solid data (prior to tons of programs etc.) so that I can have a good baseline. This run was a tad bit better







.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Guttboy*


OK....I restarted the computer and everything is working fine. Much better on the run. I will start working on the OCing of the CPU most likely tonight. Just want to establish good solid data (prior to tons of programs etc.) so that I can have a good baseline. This run was a tad bit better







.


Nice results!







I knew something was wrong before. Let us know what you get after OC. Try to get 4GHz if you can.


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Nice results!







I knew something was wrong before. Let us know what you get after OC. Try to get 4GHz if you can.



Thanks.....I couldn't tell you what is good or bad but coming from "the Guru" I will take it!!!!!!























I am going to do a run with the OVERDRIVE enabled and see what that does. Then return it to the baseline I had and OC the computer. Then run again. I'll put up the results when I can! 5 more hours of fun tonight!!!!!


----------



## Guttboy

Hi folks!

Well I just removed the metal cover on the 4850X2 and it is noticeably quieter in my setup. According to GPU-Z the temps are hovering the same as I had it before....right around 47-48C.....

I will try to see how it goes with the cover off and run a Vantage test.


----------



## Maxers

Lets hope that we can enjoy our cards for a [long] time ...the moment Sapphire stops making these special drivers we are screwed.

The last update from Sapphire is from 9 dec '08 and the last update from AMD/Ati is from 12th of jan. '09.
The incremental solutions[hotfix's] that Ati provides its users,are already not for us 4850X2 users ,so we are allready 1 small step behind.


----------



## kimosabi

And I hate that cuz this actually is a good card.


----------



## rico2001

I'm interested, has anyone run the 4850x2 with another card in crossfire yet? I read one review that wasn't too favorable on a 4850x2 crossfire setup. But I wanted to see if others have tried yet, and what scores one can expect.


----------



## Maxers

3DMark 2006 Score 16971 
SM 2.0 Score 6332 
SM 3.0 Score 8538 
CPU Score 4547








i happy with the results to say the least


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*Maxers* and *rico2001*, you guys have been officially added to the owner's list. Congrats!









BTW, very interesting results *Maxers*, *3DMark* seems to take advantage of quad cores correctly. If you happen to have *Crysis* or *Crysis Warhead*, can you please download and run the benchmark tools that can be found at the bottom of the original post. Thanks!


----------



## xz3rorom3o

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Maxers* 
Lets hope that we can enjoy our cards for a [long] time ...the moment Sapphire stops making these special drivers we are screwed.

The last update from Sapphire is from 9 dec '08 and the last update from AMD/Ati is from 12th of jan. '09.
The incremental solutions[hotfix's] that Ati provides its users,are already not for us 4850X2 users ,so we are allready 1 small step behind.

QFT. Atleast it is beating the GTX 280 with the Dec. 1008 drivers. I just hope they can do something about OC not working with 2+ monitors or CF not working with 3+ monitors.


----------



## xz3rorom3o

*ZALMAN VF900 Fatal1ty Edition Mounted* 01.21.09

Just got this today from a fellow OCN member. I am please to report that judging from the room left for the other core, IT APPEARS the 4850X2 WILL ACCOMMODATE 2x VF900.

Shroud removed









Close up









Naked









4850X2 GPU Core









Here it is









Sweet...mirror finish









As you can see there is enough room for 2x [hoping that the heatsink on the end does not interfere:









Mounted inside case









Sweet...









48deg C on load. NICE!









*oh yeah...SO MUCH quieter!!*


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xz3rorom3o*


*ZALMAN VF900 Fatal1ty Edition Mounted* 01.21.09

Just got this today from a fellow OCN member. I am please to report that judging from the room left for the other core, the 4850X2 WILL ACCOMMODATE 2x VF900.

Sweet...









*oh yeah...SO MUCH quieter!!*


That is a sick pic.







I can't imagine how nice two of them will look. Rep+


----------



## xz3rorom3o

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


That is a sick pic.







I can't imagine how nice two of them will look. Rep+










Why thank you, I'm hoping to come up with the funds so that your imagination will become reality. If not, i'll have to go for the copper non-LED one.


----------



## Derp

That zalman vf900 looks great on there, if you ever get a second one i hope it doesn't hit your southbridge heatsink. you said its much quieter which is great! send a pic to sapphire and tell them thats how it should be done







. +rep


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xz3rorom3o*


Why thank you, I'm hoping to come up with the funds so that your imagination will become reality. If not, i'll have to go for the copper non-LED one.










I currently have the regular *Zalman VF900* mounted on a *Galaxy 8800GT* and on 1.2V its temps dont go above 77*C in *Furmark*'s "*Xtreme BurnTest*". On 1.3V it goes really really high though when OCed like past 110*C. But it's definitely a lot better than the stock cooler.


----------



## DesertRat

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xz3rorom3o*


*ZALMAN VF900 Fatal1ty Edition Mounted* 01.21.09

Just got this today from a fellow OCN member. I am please to report that judging from the room left for the other core, IT APPEARS the 4850X2 WILL ACCOMMODATE 2x VF900.

Shroud removed









Close up









Naked









4850X2 GPU Core









Here it is









Sweet...mirror finish









As you can see there is enough room for 2x [hoping that the heatsink on the end does not interfere:









Mounted inside case









Sweet...









48deg C on load. NICE!









*oh yeah...SO MUCH quieter!!*


I've got a spare VF900 Fatal1ty(no fan controller)if you want it PM me and we can work something out









BTW I was dreaming last night about how to/if i could mount vf900s on the 4850x2... yeah I dream about weird crap like that sometimes.


----------



## Maxers

Looks good ,next monday they will be on my 4850X2 + mem sinks









Although the better option i am not going for 2 water blocks ,thats to much work and money for me







.

If only there was a complete waterblock for the 4850X2


----------



## legend999

Why didn't you just switched the cooler position so you(we) can know if it fits on the other side?









One question,what's the difference between those and the Zalman Fatal1ty FC-ZV9?They are very alike :S

EDIT:I got it,the right name is FC-ZV9.









Just don't get why the regular zalman version is more expensive.

I can get two FC-ZV9 for only 60€!









Thanks anyway for the info!


----------



## Guttboy

xz3rorom3o,

NICE pictorial on the Zalman on this cooler!!!







+1 Rep!!!!

How much quieter is this setup than just removing the cover?

I have removed the cover and have noticed that it is noticeably quieter than when it is on.


----------



## xz3rorom3o

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Guttboy*


xz3rorom3o,

NICE pictorial on the Zalman on this cooler!!!







+1 Rep!!!!

How much quieter is this setup than just removing the cover?

I have removed the cover and have noticed that it is noticeably quieter than when it is on.


It is awesomely quiet. It's just like having a graphics card with a normal fan on low. I only hear a whisper. No more of that loud whining sound


----------



## xz3rorom3o

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Auld*


That zalman vf900 looks great on there, if you ever get a second one i hope it doesn't hit your southbridge heatsink. you said its much quieter which is great! send a pic to sapphire and tell them thats how it should be done







. +rep


I don't know what the heck the testing department was thinking when they designed the cooler. Yeah it's pretty decent but way too loud. In the event that the cooler does hit the SB, there is another way you can rotate the cooler and mount it another way so there is more room between the card and SB.

I'm trying to get my hands on another


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xz3rorom3o*


I don't know what the heck the testing department was thinking when they designed the cooler. Yeah it's pretty decent but way too loud. In the event that the cooler does hit the SB, there is another way you can rotate the cooler and mount it another way so there is more room between the card and SB.

I'm trying to get my hands on another


xz3rorom3o,

I suppose I am a bit confused. From your pictures, I am not sure that you would have an issue with the SB. I may be missing something but I just can't picture where you would have the issue...could you be so kind as to use MS Paint or something and draw an arrow to what you are talking about?

Where are you trying to get the Zalman from....is it out of stock somewhere?

I am seriously considering doing this mod.....I am assuming that all I need is the fans and some Arctic Silver 5 or a non-conductive thermal compound.


----------



## xz3rorom3o

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Guttboy*


xz3rorom3o,

I suppose I am a bit confused. From your pictures, I am not sure that you would have an issue with the SB. I may be missing something but I just can't picture where you would have the issue...could you be so kind as to use MS Paint or something and draw an arrow to what you are talking about?

Where are you trying to get the Zalman from....is it out of stock somewhere?

I am seriously considering doing this mod.....I am assuming that all I need is the fans and some Arctic Silver 5 or a non-conductive thermal compound.


One of the members pointed out a possible issue saying that there might not be enough clearance to mount the heatsink on the other GPU the SAME WAY/DIRECTION as shown in the pics because of the heatsink on the SB might be blocking the card from fitting into the PCI-E slot. If this were an issue, you could just turn the heatsink and mount it another way.

I am trying to get the same Fatal1ty edition for aesthetics, which is more difficult to find.

Still confused?


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xz3rorom3o*


One of the members pointed out a possible issue saying that there might not be enough clearance to mount the heatsink on the other GPU the SAME WAY/DIRECTION as shown in the pics because of the heatsink on the SB might be blocking the card from fitting into the PCI-E slot. If this were an issue, you could just turn the heatsink and mount it another way.

I am trying to get the same Fatal1ty edition for aesthetics, which is more difficult to find.

Still confused?


Ahhh not at all any longer! I can see what you mean now....although from the looks of it you may be fine. I was wondering about availability but I comprehend now that you are trying to match the fatality edition! I think I may elect to do this mod in the next month or so....I would not need the LED edition though as my case does not have a window on it.


----------



## legend999

I think i'll do it next month too.

But god,when are they releasing catalyst 9.1?

I hope it's worth the wait.


----------



## legend999

Just some pictures for you guys:


----------



## Guttboy

OMG....is that TWO (count em) TWO, 4850X2s in your rig????????

I like the watercooling setup...nice and clean. I have noticed by removing the fan cover (the big black beast) the card is running cooler by about 4 degrees and is much quieter.

I am thining about doing the zalman thing to it. When you put on your water blocks, how hard was it to remove the heatsinks that came with your card? What did you use to clean the GPUs off (alcohol?). What are you placing on the GPU's as far as thermal compound goes?

If I can get these things answered I am going to buy the stuff and install them in a couple of weeks!!!!


----------



## Bonz(TM)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *legend999* 
4 GPU's







:










Those aren't x2's.

#1. Those are red
#2. Those are single slot
#3. Those are single GPU, look at backplate.

4850's? 4870's? Who are you trying to fool?


----------



## legend999

LOL,that's NOT my rig,though i know where it come from,and know how to assemble the block.

The heatsinks are very easy to remove,you just need a bit of time,to remove the screws on the back.

I clean all my GPU's and CPU's with those babies soft towels(usually to clean the but







).I don't use any particular liquid.

I also use AS5 for the GPU.You'll notice better temperatures even with the stock cooler.

And also,i'm not trying to fool anyone.Posted a wrong image,simple as that.


----------



## tool918

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xz3rorom3o* 
One of the members pointed out a possible issue saying that there might not be enough clearance to mount the heatsink on the other GPU the SAME WAY/DIRECTION as shown in the pics because of the heatsink on the SB might be blocking the card from fitting into the PCI-E slot. If this were an issue, you could just turn the heatsink and mount it another way.

I am trying to get the same Fatal1ty edition for aesthetics, which is more difficult to find.

Still confused?

In that pic the stock heatsink looks larger than the zalman and it fits, so I see no reason the zalman could not fit.

I would really like someone to post pics soon with two zalman coolers on their card so I can hurry up and order them for mine already!


----------



## legend999

I'm waiting for January to come,so i can receive them and assemble.AS soon as i buy and mount,i'll post some pictures.

I have 3 PCI-E slots,so the SB shouldn't be a problem.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *legend999*


Just some pictures for you guys:











*legend999* those are some incredible pics there! What temperatures does it get at load with the water blocks? Also please post some benchmark results with *Quad-CrossfireX* with the two *HD4850X2*. Very nice!!!


----------



## Nelson2011

Wow i want to get two 4850x2's but ill probably get one and crossfire it with my 4870 then sale my 4870 and get another. But first need a new power supply


----------



## legend999

Hehe,it's NOT my rig!









I already talked to the owner,i'll post them ASAP!









Quote:



Originally Posted by *Nelson2011*


Wow i want to get two 4850x2's but ill probably get one and crossfire it with my 4870 then sale my 4870 and get another. But first need a new power supply


Then if you're getting a new mobo,make sure it's 2x2.0 PCI-E


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *legend999* 
Hehe,it's NOT my rig!









I already talked to the owner,i'll post them ASAP!









See if you can get them to come here and post a few things. Tell him/her I will put them on the official *Owner's List* if they do so.


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:


Originally Posted by *legend999* 
LOL,that's NOT my rig,though i know where it come from,and know how to assemble the block.

The heatsinks are very easy to remove,you just need a bit of time,to remove the screws on the back.

I clean all my GPU's and CPU's with those babies soft towels(usually to clean the but







).I don't use any particular liquid.

I also use AS5 for the GPU.You'll notice better temperatures even with the stock cooler.

And also,i'm not trying to fool anyone.Posted a wrong image,simple as that.









Legend999,

Wasn't implying that you were trying to fool anyone...I was tired and did not look at your picture closely enough. Sorry if you mistook my awe for sarcasm, it certainly wasn't intended as such







.

Regards,


----------



## legend999

No problem at all,Guttboy,it wasn't for you.I was also mad at myself because i missed the image.

Regards.


----------



## kimosabi

Guess I failed to make it all the way to the Owners List.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kimosabi*


Guess I failed to make it all the way to the Owners List.










Not anymore!







Must have missed you before if you didn't have it listed in your main system. Sorry...


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Well the poll results are quite interesting...Seems like the majority have a *701 to 800 Wattage* power supply that they use with this card. Kinda interesting though...60 voted so far on using a PSU with this card yet I don't have 60 people on the owner's list (not even close).









Please post here if you would like to be put on the *Owner's List* for this card.

Also I'd like to find out who the one user that voted in the *401 to 500 Wattage* PSU is. Have you really been able to run this card with that PSU. What PSU is it?


----------



## MM-K

Is it possible to lower fan speeds manually and keep this thing at safe temps to keep it quiet? How much does taking off the cover help with noise and temps?


----------



## Derp

Quote:



Originally Posted by *MM-K*


Is it possible to lower fan speeds manually and keep this thing at safe temps to keep it quiet? How much does taking off the cover help with noise and temps?


Check out this post i made ealrier in this thread, the review site had the fan at only 12% which is apparently lower then CCC will even let you set it. and it was still loud. 
http://www.overclock.net/5237759-post134.html

Quote:



For me this test is the deal breaker. The card is extremely noisy in both idle and load. I have never had a card that noisy on my test bench. Under no circumstances could I imagine myself using a system that noisy for longer periods of time.
Please note that the fans running at 12% already result in 41.9 dbA fan noise. Recent versions of the Catalyst Control Center offer fan speed adjustments, but only down to 20%. So if you use the CCC fan speed control feature your card will be even noisier in idle.


No idea if removing the shroud helps, hopefully a 4850X2 owner will reply with results.


----------



## MM-K

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Auld* 
Check out this post i made ealrier in this thread, the review site had the fan at only 12% which is apparently lower then CCC will even let you set it. and it was still loud.
http://www.overclock.net/5237759-post134.html

No idea if removing the shroud helps, hopefully a 4850X2 owner will reply with results.

Thank you. Thats too bad I'm having hard time pulling the trigger on a 4870x2, the Asus tri-fan version will cost me $720+ total


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MM-K* 
Is it possible to lower fan speeds manually and keep this thing at safe temps to keep it quiet? How much does taking off the cover help with noise and temps?

MM-K,

Welcome to the thread!

1. You can manually adjust the fan setting via the CCC (Catalyst Control Center)...just do it under the overdrive portion. As far as keeping the fan quiet...now thats another question. I found that the sound was annoying when running at very low speeds...different freq that my ears did not like. Running the fan at higher RPMs actually sounded a bit less abrasive to me.

2. I am not sure what the exact temp is but earlier the OP posted (post #259) that it would be fine under 85C but shouldn't come close to that even if you OC it. Mind you I have not OC'd mine.

3. Taking off the cover lowered my idle temps by 4 degrees. The BEST part about removing the shroud was that in my mind the noise was SERIOUSLY reduced! Especially when under load! I did it...very easy and well worth it in my opinion. I am considering going with Zalman's to cool it off and make it quieter.

I am running the GPU under a full load doing the Folding @ Home thing. The GPU is showing maxed out under GPUz and it is not much worse than when running at idle...note: I had not tested the maxing of the GPU under [email protected] with the shroud on, however, when running Vantage it was pretty dang loud.
My temps under full GPU load according to GPUz are averaging around 63-66C.

Hope that info helps you!

Regards,










PS...just a side note...I ran Vantage while I was folding and got a score of 7965. I know folding should only use unutilized things but I anticipated a much greater hit.


----------



## Jon A. Silvers

I am the second user that have vote for 401-500,I have Antec EA500d,500w made by delta.
It runs very nice,but sound of the vents it is not nice.I heard about the bios update http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews....=657&pageid=11 but couldn`t find it anywhere,if someone finds it post it in this thread please.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jon A. Silvers* 
I am the second user that have vote for 401-500,I have Antec EA500d,500w made by delta.
It runs very nice,but sound of the vents it is not nice.I heard about the bios update http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews....=657&pageid=11 but couldn`t find it anywhere,if someone finds it post it in this thread please.

*Jon A. Silvers* welcome to the thread.







Can you please let me know when you purchased your *HD4850X2*. Also, please let me know if you would like to be added to the *Owner's List*. If so, please post that you have the card in the GPU section of your main system. Thanks!


----------



## kimosabi

Even though you do flash your BIOS it will still be noisy under load. I'd say go for a soundproof-mod in your case if the card bothers you THAT much. Remove the fan-cover on the card to reduce the sound a bit further and/or fix the fanspeed @ 29%.
Or go water.


----------



## xz3rorom3o

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
Well the poll results are quite interesting...Seems like the majority have a *701 to 800 Wattage* power supply that they use with this card. Kinda interesting though...60 voted so far on using a PSU with this card yet I don't have 60 people on the owner's list (not even close).









Please post here if you would like to be put on the *Owner's List* for this card.

Also I'd like to find out who the one user that voted in the *401 to 500 Wattage* PSU is. Have you really been able to run this card with that PSU. What PSU is it?


LOL I was wondering the same here about the 60 people not being on the owners list.


----------



## Jon A. Silvers

I`d Like to be in the owner`s list.Posted.
Have someone heard about bios flash for this card or am I the only one?
Where I can find a bios flash update?
Noise isn`t a problem in load I use my headphones,need a quieter pc in 2d applications.


----------



## Jon A. Silvers

I purchased it on 23.01.2009.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jon A. Silvers* 
I purchased it on 23.01.2009.









*Jon A. Silvers*, your card should come with the new bios already installed. That BIOS update came out a while ago. BTW, you are officially on the owner's list.


----------



## Jon A. Silvers

How do I know when it`s made and what is her bios?


----------



## Jon A. Silvers

BTW, on many forums I asked a Questions about the x16 pcie on p35,and almoust no one sad that is x16 the bottleneck for this gpu.


----------



## gsk3rd

Does anyone have any 3dmark06 scores this two of these 4850x2s in quad-fire?


----------



## Jon A. Silvers

A084600093811
the only number that is different from my gpu than the others








it is posible that is made on 8 nov. 2008 ,...


----------



## rico2001

Anyone know the best crossfire X companion to run with our 4850X2? An 4850 512mb, 4850 1gb, 4870 512mb, 4870 1gb, etc.


----------



## equlizer34

Just signed up today and got my 4850x2 2gig last night







She is loud when playing games my GF told me


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *equlizer34* 
Just signed up today and got my 4850x2 2gig last night







She is loud when playing games my GF told me









*equlizer34*, glad to have you here. You are officially on the *Owner's List*.







Please post benchmark screenshots and Crysis results when possible. Instructions on the original post.


----------



## DruidShade

Hello all,

Im considering buying a HD4850X2, however, when not playing games, I have to be able to use at least 3 monitors.
So I was wondering, if i connect 3 monitors and when I want to game I switch off 2 monitors, then should be able to use overdrive and crossfire right? Or do I have to physically disconnect 2 monitors to be able to use overdrive and crossfire. Could anyone try this please?

Thanks


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DruidShade* 
Hello all,

Im considering buying a HD4850X2, however, when not playing games, I have to be able to use at least 3 monitors.
So I was wondering, if i connect 3 monitors and when I want to game I switch off 2 monitors, then should be able to use overdrive and crossfire right? Or do I have to physically disconnect 2 monitors to be able to use overdrive and crossfire. Could anyone try this please?

Thanks

In order to game by using the two full GPUs on the card you have to have a *maximum of two monitors enabled*.

In order to use *ATI Overdrive* you have to have a *maximum of one monitor enabled*.

You can have as many monitors as you want connected but they have to be disabled and not in use in the display manager. Hope that helps.


----------



## DruidShade

Ok, is switching the monitor off enough to disable it in the display manager?
And if not, is it possible to manage enabled and disabled monitors with profiles?

And is this problem specific to the HD4850X2 or is it with any CrossfireX setup?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DruidShade* 
Ok, is switching the monitor off enough to disable it in the display manager?
And if not, is it possible to manage enabled and disabled monitors with profiles?

And is this problem specific to the HD4850X2 or is it with any CrossfireX setup?

This problem is specific to *CrossfireX* and you have to disable the monitor using "*Display Properties*" or *ATI Catalyst*'s "*Display Manager*".


----------



## DruidShade

Ok thank you. If I decide to go for a HD4850X2 I'll post it here








Again thanks.


----------



## Maxers

YEah !!! 9.1 Ati Drivers are here !









*SORRY !!! NOT FOR US 4850X2 USERS YET , WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR SAPPHIRE TO CATCH UP*

Vista 32bit
http://us.sapphiretech.com/driver/508.zip
Vista 64bit
http://us.sapphiretech.com/driver/509.zip

XP 64bit
http://us.sapphiretech.com/driver/511.zip
XP 32bit
http://us.sapphiretech.com/driver/510.zip

Below links are for the normal people with small cards that fit al cases.









http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...=xp/radeonx-xp
http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...xp/mobility-xp
http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...4/radeonx-xp64
http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...ce/radeonx-mce
http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...common-vista32
http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...common-vista64


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Maxers*


YEah !!! 9.1 Ati Drivers are here !










Nice!! Hope they are better than the last ones.


----------



## legend999

Guys,there's a issue with this catalyst.

It seems that sapphire already provided this driver version for us on the 506.exe.

If you go to the site,at the driver section,they say "*Catalyst 9.1 Windows Vista CCC only! (german language)"*

Resuming,no improvements at all for us....


----------



## Maxers

wierd







these drivers have version 8_11 stuck to them .hhmmm what are they doing over there


----------



## Col. Newman

Well that's depressing.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Yeah guys unfortunately, *Sapphire* is being a real downer lately with driver support for this card. It's funny too cause *Sapphire* is supposed to be the #1 most respected ATI partner.


----------



## Col. Newman

Next time I buy a card I am NOT buying a sapphire card. Probably end up being an XFX.


----------



## Jon A. Silvers

https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/674/9206...7_Jan27_09.exe

https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/674/9206...7_Jan27_09.exe

these are directly from ati`s site,and they only for 4850x2 gpu


----------



## Col. Newman

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jon A. Silvers* 
https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/674/9206...7_Jan27_09.exe

https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/674/9206...7_Jan27_09.exe

these are directly from ati`s site,and they only for 4850x2 gpu









those links don't work they say unauthorized


----------



## hxcnero

how do these compare to crossfired 4850s? im contemplating getting one to make room in my case so i can use my titanium sound card.


----------



## Jon A. Silvers

Sorry but this is strange.I will download ,just go to http://ati.amd.com/support/driver.html
and chose os and a card,then will show these ati drivers to dl.


----------



## Col. Newman

I had to switch rendering engines to Internet explorer for it to work. That's gay









Edit:I just installed them and it might be my imaginations but it seem my contrast is different, or it's not as bright or something... weird.

Edit again: and now it's back to normal after the display was shut off.


----------



## legend999

Uhm,seems they didn't left us apart after all


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

As posted by *Jon A. Silvers*, apparently *ATI* decided to give us exclusive support on their driver page.







That really makes me happy now. There is much hope for this card, I can really seeing coming out well now. Since *Sapphire* was no help, hopefully *ATI* will keep up the great job.


----------



## legend999

Umh,strange.Still,it says CCC version 2008,and catalyst version 8.12.

I'll test crysis now.


----------



## ZTR1760

has anyone gotten their 4850x2 to 4870x2 speeds, my core is at 700 and mem is at 1100 i was thinking of downloading a different overclocking tool and seeing if I can get the core clock to that magic 750mhz


----------



## rico2001

It's good to see ati finally giving us some support.


----------



## kimosabi

I've heard so much crap about the 9.1 now so I'm waiting for the 9.2 drivers. Theres no Sideport activation on the 9.1 either. So buhuuuu 4870x2 owners.


----------



## legend999

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ZTR1760* 
has anyone gotten their 4850x2 to 4870x2 speeds, my core is at 700 and mem is at 1100 i was thinking of downloading a different overclocking tool and seeing if I can get the core clock to that magic 750mhz


I think You can't.EVen if it's the same GPU,we still have GDDR3 and not GDDR5


----------



## Chandlermaki

How much slower than the 4870X2?


----------



## legend999

You're referring to the memory type,right?

Don't know exactly.You would need to downclock a 4870x2 to know,i think









But of course we have less bandwidth.


----------



## xz3rorom3o

*UPDATE: Second Zalman VF900 MOUNTED.
*









Sorry for the blurry and lack of pics, just been busy lately.

Conclusion: 2x VF900 = possible









*Graphics card is INAUDIBLE guys*


----------



## kimosabi

Excellent!








No hazzle with the motherboard at all?
*searches through dealers to find some*


----------



## xz3rorom3o

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kimosabi* 
Excellent!








No hazzle with the motherboard at all?
*searches through dealers to find some*

Clears perfectly. If there is a clearance issue with the MOBO you can turn the heatsink 90 deg. and still mount it. Got both for $40 shipped.


----------



## legend999

Gosh,it's really overpriced here(30€ each!)









Post some temps results mate


----------



## kimosabi

Bah, screw the temps. I'd gladly sacrifice a few C to silence up this sucker.


----------



## rammunition

hey, im interested in getting this card. 2 questions i have.

1.) i have a 17" monitor and game at 1240 x 1024, is this card gonna cause a problem for my resolution???

2.) i have a pci-E 1.1 x16 bus, will this card perform ok on it??

thanks


----------



## xz3rorom3o

1) you will be wasting your money on gaming at 1280x1024. You need to be at atleast 1680x1050. 1920x1080 would be where the gains in this GPU would make the most difference


----------



## xz3rorom3o

*Idle:*









*Load ATI Tool 7 minutes 46 seconds:*


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xz3rorom3o* 
Clears perfectly. If there is a clearance issue with the MOBO you can turn the heatsink 90 deg. and still mount it. Got both for $40 shipped.

Just ordered the coolers. This card was the only thing left that I was concerned about noise-wise in my new build. Thank you so much!

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rammunition* 
hey, im interested in getting this card. 2 questions i have.

1.) i have a 17" monitor and game at 1240 x 1024, is this card gonna cause a problem for my resolution???

2.) i have a pci-E 1.1 x16 bus, will this card perform ok on it??

thanks

1.)If youre planning on staying on a 17" monitor for a while, it wouldnt be worth it IMO. The 4850x2 works best at higher resolutions. It would be like throwing money out the window.








I suggest you go for a 4870 1GB or a 512mb 4870 for that res/monitor. Even a 4850 would do you justice.

2.) It wouldnt be performing as fast as it should. PCI-E 1.1 is 500mb/s slower than PCI-E 2.0. I'd suggest you get a motherboard with PCI-E 2.0 before purchasing a higher end video card.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xz3rorom3o* 









Amazing PIC!!! BTW, can you link me to where you purchased the *Zalman VF900 Fatal1ty Edition*? Cause I can't find it anywhere online. Thanks in advance.


----------



## xz3rorom3o

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
Amazing PIC!!! BTW, can you link me to where you purchased the *Zalman VF900 Fatal1ty Edition*? Cause I can't find it anywhere online. Thanks in advance.









http://www.svc.com/zm-fc-zv9.html = rip off

http://www.overclock.net/wanted/ = take your chances [got mine here]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Zalman-Fatal1ty-...3%3A1|294%3A50 = almost got it here but forgot to bid


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xz3rorom3o* 
http://www.svc.com/zm-fc-zv9.html = rip off

http://www.overclock.net/wanted/ = take your chances [got mine here]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Zalman-Fatal1ty-...3%3A1|294%3A50 = almost got it here but forgot to bid

Thanks, I'm gonna try to shoot for the eBay one. Apparently I thought it was a VF900 also but it has a different number. Thanks for the help.


----------



## legend999

Fan speed 12%????

WOW!

Great temps!That's sometimes my card at idle!

I'll order my monday!


----------



## Jon A. Silvers

Catalist 9.1 have improvments thus far in Hellgate london minor in xp 32bit,and big in vista 64 in the same game.In xp nothing has changed except afew frames up and down from 60 that I had on previous catalyst(from sapphire site 506 or 507),and minimum frames was a little higher for around 2 frames,but in vista vas wery different,ex minimum frames was 18,now is 24,and avarega was 32,now it`s around 45,a few less but usualy more.All was on maximum in HL.I will test on Sacred,and warhead next week,and will post it here.


----------



## rico2001

What tools are you guys using for oc'ing your 4850x2s? I don't think the ati ccc works for me.


----------



## guscol

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
Amazing PIC!!! BTW, can you link me to where you purchased the *Zalman VF900 Fatal1ty Edition*? Cause I can't find it anywhere online. Thanks in advance.










man why dont remove the memory plates and put directly the heat sink?
again sorry for my english i speak spanish jeje


----------



## guscol

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
Amazing PIC!!! BTW, can you link me to where you purchased the *Zalman VF900 Fatal1ty Edition*? Cause I can't find it anywhere online. Thanks in advance.










more and betters pictures please


----------



## Derp

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xz3rorom3o* 
*UPDATE: Second Zalman VF900 MOUNTED.
*









Sorry for the blurry and lack of pics, just been busy lately.

Conclusion: 2x VF900 = possible









*Graphics card is INAUDIBLE guys*

If only sapphire or another company would release the card like that, but with matching coolers







. the noise is what bugged me about this card but inaudible 4850X2 = WIN.


----------



## equlizer34

AMD GPU clock tool is what you need to go past 700/1200 on these things







Ill play with it more tomorrow. No other overclocking tool works on this card (atitool, rivatuner, ati tray tools)


----------



## dopebohy

Will this card work on an evga 680i lt?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *dopebohy* 
Will this card work on an evga 680i lt?

Yes, the 4850x2 will run on that mobo but I don't think you will be able to run crossfire if you wanted to.


----------



## ronin07x

Is there any ZALMAN FC-ZV9 FATAL1TY fan that has a blue LED light in it instead of a red LED or another fan that will fit the video card that would have a blue LED light to match the theme that I got going on for my rig.

If not, is there a guide out there that would show me how to change the LED on the fan? Is it hard to do?


----------



## legend999

The VF900 has blue LEDs







!

I just overclocked my processor to 4.0,and i have 40+ frames on crysis *enthusiast* directx10


----------



## d4martin

It's a new build - still testing, but at the heart is the HD4850x2 2Gb- seems to be a great card.

Would love to see the bench marks from other i-7 machines too!!!!

I'll post images of the machine and bench marks when I can.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *d4martin* 
It's a new build - still testing, but at the heart is the HD4850x2 2Gb- seems to be a great card.

Would love to see the bench marks from other i-7 machines too!!!!

I'll post images of the machine and bench marks when I can.

*d4martin*, you are officially on the *Owner's List*.







Please edit your main system and put them in the OCN User Panel's System. Thanks in advance.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *d4martin* 
It's a new build - still testing, but at the heart is the HD4850x2 2Gb- seems to be a great card.

Would love to see the bench marks from other i-7 machines too!!!!

I'll post images of the machine and bench marks when I can.

Should get around 20.5~23K in 3dmark06 with your 4850x2. Welcome to the club.


----------



## tool918

Could someone post pic's again on how you remove the black cover off the card. I'm going to purchase 2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118006 to keep this bad boy quiet.


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:


Originally Posted by *tool918* 
Could someone post pic's again on how you remove the black cover off the card. I'm going to purchase 2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118006 to keep this bad boy quiet.

Theres four screws(black) surrounding each fan opening, eight in total. Unscrew them and the fanshroud comes off. You'll notice them.
Got my VF900's today! Yay!


----------



## equlizer34

Quote:



Originally Posted by *dopebohy*


Will this card work on an evga 680i lt?


Yes it will work but you can only have 1 of these in there at a time


----------



## tool918

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kimosabi* 
Theres four screws(black) surrounding each fan opening, eight in total. Unscrew them and the fanshroud comes off. You'll notice them.
Got my VF900's today! Yay!

ty sir!


----------



## tool918

kimosabi, in your profile it says your graphics card is stock 675gpu and 1100, how did you get that?


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:



Originally Posted by *tool918*


kimosabi, in your profile it says your graphics card is stock 675gpu and 1100, how did you get that?


Oops, I'm sorry, thats from my former 9800GTX.









Fixed


----------



## xgeko2

Seeing as this is the offical 4850x2 thread has anyone got this thing running on gta4? just got that game and it dosnt run at all lol. And also has anyone been sucessful with moding this cards bios to run over the 700mhz clock wall?


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xgeko2*


Seeing as this is the offical 4850x2 thread has anyone got this thing running on gta4? just got that game and it dosnt run at all lol. And also has anyone been sucessful with moding this cards bios to run over the 700mhz clock wall?


Yeah it runs on GTAIV but the game only recognizes one core. Or one cores memory(1GB) for some stupid reason. Just download the drivers on page one here end you're set.








What drivers are you on BTW?


----------



## Drizzt5

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xz3rorom3o*


*Idle:*









*Load ATI Tool 7 minutes 46 seconds:*










500mhz on core?

question mark?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*Notice to everyone:* Hey everybody Im back. I know I haven't posted for a while but I've been very occupied with stuff lately so I couldn't get on often. I found some free time now so I have just updated all the links to all the software tools I used, including updating the drivers for *HD4850X2*. The drivers are now the *Official ATI Catalyst 9.1 Drivers for the HD4850X2*. You can check them all out and if a link doesn't work just let me know at anytime and ill be sure to fix that. Let me know what you guys think and remember to keep on posting.


----------



## xgeko2

Im running the ati 9.1 drivers from the sapphire site there is another driver on the ati site im about to try.


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Drizzt5*


500mhz on core?

question mark?



Its because its not running a full screen 3d application so it underclocks the memory and gpu to conserve power.


----------



## Pete1burn

Hello all. New member here.

My 4850X2 should be arriving in the mail today. I'm pretty excited, but the noise level I can tell is going to be a problem.

Does the Zalman VF900 do a good job of keeping the card cool and quiet? I just ordered a HAF 932 case from Newegg today and if I hurry I can get them to throw in two VF900s in the order. Thanks!


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Pete1burn* 
Hello all. New member here.

My 4850X2 should be arriving in the mail today. I'm pretty excited, but the noise level I can tell is going to be a problem.

Does the Zalman VF900 do a good job of keeping the card cool and quiet? I just ordered a HAF 932 case from Newegg today and if I hurry I can get them to throw in two VF900s in the order. Thanks!

*Pete1burn*, welcome to the *Official ATI Radeon HD4850X2 Thread*! Upon receiving the card just post back here and I will gladly add you to the *Owner's List*.









PS: According to many others that have done so you can barely hear the card when it is hooked up with two Zalman VF900's. I can vouch for that as well because I have a Zalman VF900 on an 8800GT running at 100% and I can't hear it at all. So go ahead and order those babies with confidence!


----------



## Pete1burn

Thanks very much! Just ordered two of them. Hope I get them soon. I'll wait till they come to install the card in my system. I run my PC in my bedroom and my wife will kill me if the video card is screaming!


----------



## Pete1burn

On a side note, can someone tell me which drivers I should be starting with? Some people have told me to start with the Sapphire drivers and others have told me just to forget those and start with the Cat 9.1 drivers. Thanks.


----------



## xgeko2

The sapphire drivers are up to cat 9.1 now on there website just go to the ati website and dl the latest whql so far its clearing up a lot of the issues i had with a few games including gta4. O ya i dont know if anyone has answered this or not but is there a way to mod the bios to get past the 700mhz core clock? ive herd of people modifying the bios but i haven't seen one with a higher core clock?


----------



## xz3rorom3o

I have a request for any of the owners here. When you guys power on the computer with the 4850 X2 in it, how many of the LEDs on the PCB light up?

2?
4?

Do they stand for some kind of error code? Only 2 of mine light up.


----------



## legend999

Mine there's only one :S

Don't know what they stand for..


----------



## xgeko2

The Led's on the bottom are for post codes and errors you should have only one lit up and solid green if its running correctly i forget though where i saw the error code listing.


----------



## tool918

So I downloaded the 9.1 drivers from sapphire's website and they were not 9.1 but 8.12....


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *tool918* 
So I downloaded the 9.1 drivers from sapphire's website and they were not 9.1 but 8.12....

Please download the drivers listed on my original post. They are the latest 9.1 drivers.


----------



## tool918

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
Please download the drivers listed on my original post. They are the latest 9.1 drivers.

Yah I downloaded yours aswell and it still shows as 8.12 drivers under "Graphics Software" in CCC.

And yes I did uninstall my drivers then rebooted in safe mode and then used driver cleaner pro.


----------



## tool918

I think I know what I'm doing wrong. I was clicking on the HD 4850x2 link instead of going to 4800 series link. the HD4850x2 auto gives you 8.12 drivers the other link takes you to another webpage to download the 9.1 version.

Also your link isn't working/going directly to the driver. You should provide a link for Windows XP 32 & 64bit & also Vista 32 & 64 bit.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *tool918* 
I think I know what I'm doing wrong. I was clicking on the HD 4850x2 link instead of going to 4800 series link. the HD4850x2 auto gives you 8.12 drivers the other link takes you to another webpage to download the 9.1 version.

Also your link isn't working/going directly to the driver. You should provide a link for Windows XP 32 & 64bit & also Vista 32 & 64 bit.

Thank you for notifying me. I just updated to the correct link. +rep


----------



## equlizer34

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xgeko2* 
The Led's on the bottom are for post codes and errors you should have only one lit up and solid green if its running correctly i forget though where i saw the error code listing.

Well on mine the one that is obvious is green all the time then under that heatsink beside the green led, those are all on as well. I believe 2 red and 1 other green. All the led's are on all the time. Card is great. no studders in games, no overheating and overclocks great. Should i be worried?


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *equlizer34* 
Well on mine the one that is obvious is green all the time then under that heatsink beside the green led, those are all on as well. I believe 2 red and 1 other green. All the led's are on all the time. Card is great. no studders in games, no overheating and overclocks great. Should i be worried?

Found a answer for you http://www.vgaforum.com/showthread.php?t=20492


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xgeko2* 
Found a answer for you http://www.vgaforum.com/showthread.php?t=20492

Great find!







+rep for you. I will post this on the original post soon as well. Thanks for this...


----------



## DruidShade

If you use the two Zalman VF900 coolers, do you have to connect them to the card? or to the mobo, or to a fancontroller? Or don't you have to connect them at all?


----------



## tool918

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DruidShade* 
If you use the two Zalman VF900 coolers, do you have to connect them to the card? or to the mobo, or to a fancontroller? Or don't you have to connect them at all?

Probally to the board


----------



## Maxers

Can everybody confirm on the status of there LED buring during use ?

I have 1 green + 2 red leds burnin + 1 yellow ?







and the back side of the card is so hot i burn my fingers.

I have a problem with the demo of crysis after a few minute's of gametime i get heavy artifacts and need to stop the game. the moment i get into windows i have artifacts and it needs to cooldown just to get everything normal.


----------



## Pete1burn

Got my 4850X2 in the mail on Friday. Wow this is a huge card. I'm waiting for my VF900s to come in on Monday before I install it because the noise will be a problem. Can't wait to get it fired up. 1600x1200 isn't that high of a resolution, but it'll still be nice not to have any slow downs at all.


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Pete1burn* 
Got my 4850X2 in the mail on Friday. Wow this is a huge card. I'm waiting for my VF900s to come in on Monday before I install it because the noise will be a problem. Can't wait to get it fired up. 1600x1200 isn't that high of a resolution, but it'll still be nice not to have any slow downs at all.

Welcome to the club! Soon you'll find out that we 4850x2 owners are a very exclusive and extraordinary gang.







I'm installing my VF900's as we speak.


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kimosabi*


Welcome to the club! Soon you'll find out that we 4850x2 owners are a very exclusive and extraordinary gang.







I'm installing my VF900's as we speak.



pictures...pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Question....what is the best way to replace the drivers for this beast? Also, have you guys noticed ANY difference in the performance with the new drivers mentioned earlier?


----------



## oulzac

I just remembered I was a member of this board, after three years, LOL!

I also just bought this card yesterday, and it should be arriving to me no later than Friday the 13th (bad omen!)

But I wanted to ask, regarding the poll above, I have a 680W PSU, should I upgrade that to a 750 or higher, or should the 680 be just fine?


----------



## xgeko2

680 will be fine im running it with a 610 watt pc power&cooling uhhmm second thought you might want to consider upgrading from that apevia powersupply if thats the one your talking about with this card you really want something with one huge 12+v rail idk if that will be able to supply the amps to power it properly.


----------



## oulzac

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xgeko2* 
680 will be fine im running it with a 610 watt pc power&cooling uhhmm second thought you might want to consider upgrading from that apevia powersupply if thats the one your talking about with this card you really want something with one huge 12+v rail idk if that will be able to supply the amps to power it properly.

This is the exact PSU I have:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817148022

I thought it had 12+v but maybe I am wrong


----------



## Jon A. Silvers

I am also waiting for 2 zalman`s vf900


----------



## Guttboy

Guys,
What is tyhe best way to replace the drivers ? Much appreciated in advance....


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *oulzac* 
This is the exact PSU I have:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817148022

I thought it had 12+v but maybe I am wrong










Yes it does it has 2 12+v Rails but there split when your video card pulls power it is only going to pull from one rail at a time Your rails are 22 and 24 amps that probably isnt going to be enough to properly power it. for that card i would at least recommend 35-40+ amps on at least one 12+v Rail. Especially if your going to do any over clocking. What you might want to do is look at the power supplies that have one single rail instead of multiple rails.


----------



## Guttboy

Well I was getting the BSOD message that was identified on the AMD/ATI site. So I uninstalled the software and the computer is unuseable. I have no valid display whatsoever. There are so many flying pixels around that I cannot use the bios page.

Going to have to reinstall Vista again.


----------



## Guttboy

Hi Everyone....

Well my frustration level is maxed out.

I have the hardware in my sig rig and am tapped out on what to do.

I was getting a BSOD error from my ATI Radeon 4850x2 and uninstalled the software and drivers. Unfortunately for me now when I try to start the computer, even the Gigabyte flash screen is loaded with errors. The computer enters into an endless loop of reboots. Unfortunately for me, I cannot get to "Start windows in safe mode" because the keyboard (USB) is not allowing the arrow keys to work.

I have installed the Vista 64 bit installation disk but cannot get it to boot from that.

Can anyone help? I am desperate at this point as I do not know what to do.

Thanks a bunch in advance!

Regards,

Mike


----------



## kimosabi

Can you get into BIOS?


----------



## oulzac

Guttboy, I would recommend removing your vid card, and using your on board video in order to boot into safe mode to remove the drivers completely, and reboot into normal mode, download the new drivers, then install the card again, and then install the drivers again.


----------



## Guttboy

kimosabi,

I can see the bios but there is so much junk on the screen it is tough to see what is going on there. Thoughts from the bios page?

The computer is in an endless BSOD loop....and I cannot use the keyboard to start windows in safe mode.


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *oulzac*


Guttboy, I would recommend removing your vid card, and using your on board video in order to boot into safe mode to remove the drivers completely, and reboot into normal mode, download the new drivers, then install the card again, and then install the drivers again.



There is no onboard video


----------



## Guttboy

this is a friggin nightmare.....I was able to set in the bios to boot from CD and It still keeps coming up with the windows error message unfortunately. No keyboard arrows work. I tell you this card has been a bunch of troubles so far and I am not all that happy as I cannot use the computer now and have no idea on how to get it useable at all


----------



## Guttboy

Problem fixed! Loose cable during the install of the latest drivers.

When I pull up the Catalyst version it shows 08.12 from the link you provided on the first page....am I missing something? Or is this correct?

From what I can see if you look at the release notes: The 9.1 drivers are not specifically for the 4850x2.

So......still confused....did the new 9.1 drivers get released for the 4850x2? It doesn't seem that way to me. The file in the link on page one is still showing up as 08.12 for the catalyst version when installed.


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Guttboy* 
Problem fixed! Loose cable during the install of the latest drivers.

When I pull up the Catalyst version it shows 08.12 from the link you provided on the first page....am I missing something? Or is this correct?

From what I can see if you look at the release notes: The 9.1 drivers are not specifically for the 4850x2.

So......still confused....did the new 9.1 drivers get released for the 4850x2? It doesn't seem that way to me. The file in the link on page one is still showing up as 08.12 for the catalyst version when installed.

This should be the 9.1 drivers from ati for the 4850x2

http://support.ati.com/ics/support/d...estionID=41786


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*oulzac* welcome to the thread. You are now officially on the *Owner's List*.







BTW, 680 watts is plenty enough for this card.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Guttboy* 
Problem fixed! Loose cable during the install of the latest drivers.

When I pull up the Catalyst version it shows 08.12 from the link you provided on the first page....am I missing something? Or is this correct?

From what I can see if you look at the release notes: The 9.1 drivers are not specifically for the 4850x2.

So......still confused....did the new 9.1 drivers get released for the 4850x2? It doesn't seem that way to me. The file in the link on page one is still showing up as 08.12 for the catalyst version when installed.

*Guttboy*, glad you solved your issue. I had the same issue except for me its the same on every motherboard. Sometimes when I boot I get artifacts and all kinds of screen distortions at POST even before it goes into the BIOS or windows. I can get it working 90% of the time if I don't touch it but something is definitely faulty with it so I decided to go on the safe side and RMA it just in case. Unfortunately, this card is very poorly soldered and uses cheap hardware from China so it either works or doesn't. It's really fragile so try your best not to touch it often. I hope that provides some fyi info for everyone. Let me know if anyone has a similar issue.


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


*Guttboy*, glad you solved your issue. I had the same issue except for me its the same on every motherboard. Sometimes when I boot I get artifacts and all kinds of screen distortions at POST even before it goes into the BIOS or windows. I can get it working 90% of the time if I don't touch it but something is definitely faulty with it so I decided to go on the safe side and RMA it just in case. Unfortunately, this card is very poorly soldered and uses cheap hardware from China so it either works or doesn't. It's really fragile so try your best not to touch it often. I hope that provides some fyi info for everyone. Let me know if anyone has a similar issue.


Open,

Any thoughts on the drivers? Are you using 9.1? The link in the original thread is for 8.12....yeah glad i got the artifacting worked out!


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xgeko2*


This should be the 9.1 drivers from ati for the 4850x2

http://support.ati.com/ics/support/d...estionID=41786


Geko....I ran this yet another time but the Catalyst information center still shows that the Catalyst Version is 08.12.

Not sure why that is showing this as I have removed the old drivers, CCleaner'd it, Driver sweepered it as well......

Anyone mind letting me in on the 'secret' of using 9.1 or are folks mistaken in thinking that they have 9.1 when in fact it is 08.12?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Guttboy* 
Open,

Any thoughts on the drivers? Are you using 9.1? The link in the original thread is for 8.12....yeah glad i got the artifacting worked out!

I am using the exact drivers from my link on the original post and they are really 9.1. If it says 8.12 I'm not really sure why it may be a typo or something. Try installing the drivers on a clean hard drive and see if they say the same thing.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Good evening folks! I just found and took pics of an article I found in *Computer Power User* magazine that was written about the *HD4850X2*. It's pretty short but covers a few interesting points here and there. Here it is:



















I hope you found it interesting.

PS: Sorry for the blurry quality I was using my Blackberry's camera so it came out as best as it could.


----------



## Guttboy

THanks Open! Good read....your camera worked out fine! I will attempt another reinstall tonight of the drivers....just out of curiosity...when you opened CCC and checked the information did it show you running 9.1 for the catalyst control?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Guttboy*


THanks Open! Good read....your camera worked out fine! I will attempt another reinstall tonight of the drivers....just out of curiosity...when you opened CCC and checked the information did it show you running 9.1 for the catalyst control?


I don't actually remember and unfortunately I can't check right now cause my card is currently being RMAed; but, as soon as I get it back I will let you know.


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


I don't actually remember and unfortunately I can't check right now cause my card is currently being RMAed; but, as soon as I get it back I will let you know.


Thanks....what did you have to RMA it for?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Guttboy*


Thanks....what did you have to RMA it for?


Info here I guess you didn't read it fully, it's ok.


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Info here I guess you didn't read it fully, it's ok.










Ahhhh ok no worries....sorry for not catching the RMA. I will most likely go the zalman route for the noise decrease! Going to reinstall a fresh copy of Vista shortly and start frm scratch......partly because I can and partly because I have never done it using Vista and want to see how long it takes. After having the artifactting prob and not being able to get to safe mode I have som "system learning" to do! How long on the RMA 4u? Was it thru NewEgg?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Guttboy*


Ahhhh ok no worries....sorry for not catching the RMA. I will most likely go the zalman route for the noise decrease! Going to reinstall a fresh copy of Vista shortly and start frm scratch......partly because I can and partly because I have never done it using Vista and want to see how long it takes. After having the artifactting prob and not being able to get to safe mode I have som "system learning" to do! How long on the RMA 4u? Was it thru NewEgg?


Yeah I sent it to Newegg. It's going out tomorrow morning from my workplace and I'll see how long it takes. Newegg is usually good with that though. Also, I got this card for a sick price: *$280* after $30 MIR. That's the lowest it ever went down to even now. I got it back in like early January.


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Yeah I sent it to Newegg. It's going out tomorrow morning from my workplace and I'll see how long it takes. Newegg is usually good with that though. Also, I got this card for a sick price: *$280* after $30 MIR. That's the lowest it ever went down to even now. I got it back in like early January.


Ya no joke they had it for 280 without rebates then it went up 60 dollars over night so needless to say i didnt buy mine from newegg i got mine from ebay for 280 with free shipping.


----------



## oulzac

I will have paid $305 after I get it and send in the MIR


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Yeah I sent it to Newegg. It's going out tomorrow morning from my workplace and I'll see how long it takes. Newegg is usually good with that though. Also, I got this card for a sick price: *$280* after $30 MIR. That's the lowest it ever went down to even now. I got it back in like early January.



Yeah I was fortunate as well and snagged it for the same deal!!!! $280 not a bad price!!!!


----------



## Col. Newman

I paid 380 for mine including MIR and it has never worked right for me


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Col. Newman* 
I paid 380 for mine including MIR and it has never worked right for me









Col Newman,

Nice avatar btw! Anyhow.....

What drivers are you using and if you have tried the ones most recently put in the first page (9.1) could you go to CCC and check on the information area and let me know what version of Catalyst you are running?

Thanks!


----------



## Col. Newman

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Guttboy* 
Col Newman,

Nice avatar btw! Anyhow.....

What drivers are you using and if you have tried the ones most recently put in the first page (9.1) could you go to CCC and check on the information area and let me know what version of Catalyst you are running?

Thanks!

I installed 9.1 but it still says 8.12. Actually since I installed 9.1 I haven't got a BSOD but that might just be a coincidence.


----------



## Guttboy

call me crazy but I am getting the same exact thing. Reinstalled a fresh version of Vista 64 Ultimate, cleaned the drivers out with Driver sweeper, and reinstalled the latest from ATI and am getting the same thing 08.12.

Very odd.....


----------



## Guttboy

The latest drivers do not work out for me









I ran 3dMark Vantage and got an 8186 score with tons of artifacts in all of the runs especially the space scene.

I am going to revert back to my old drivers and see where that rests.

Wish me luck!

EDIT: Can not find the old drivers.....anyone have an idea on where I could get them? The new sets have way too many artifacts when running Vantage....unuseable. Would LOVE to get back to the functional ones I had previously. Any thoughts as to where I could find them would certainly be appreciated!


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Guttboy*


The latest drivers do not work out for me









I ran 3dMark Vantage and got an 8186 score with tons of artifacts in all of the runs especially the space scene.

I am going to revert back to my old drivers and see where that rests.

Wish me luck!

EDIT: Can not find the old drivers.....anyone have an idea on where I could get them? The new sets have way too many artifacts when running Vantage....unuseable. Would LOVE to get back to the functional ones I had previously. Any thoughts as to where I could find them would certainly be appreciated!


*Guttboy*, I have one more driver set you might wanna try out. Do the following procedure.

1. Uninstall all ATI drivers
2. Restart
3. Run CCleaner
4. Run DriverSweeper
5. Restart
6. Download the new drivers: here
7. Install the new drivers
8. Restart 2 to 3 more times
9. Run all the tests you want

See if that works for you and what it says for Catalyst Information then post back here with your results. I hope this helps.


----------



## rico2001

Open1Your1Eyes0, where did your 4850x2 go? Rockin nvidia now?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Open1Your1Eyes0, where did your 4850x2 go? Rockin nvida now?

Moved it to my HTPC which I have hooked up to my 50" Plasma TV. Check my other my systems in my profile.


----------



## rico2001

Oh I didn't see your other systems. Nice. Ha have you ever read this post on a guy doing tri-fire with a 4850x2. I hope this is cool, its on another forum: http://forums.anandtech.com/messagev...readid=2270058

The increases he is getting are very interesting. I'm getting the itch to drop some more money on a single 4850.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Oh I didn't see your other systems. Nice. Ha have you ever read this post on a guy doing tri-fire with a 4850x2. I hope this is cool, its on another forum: http://forums.anandtech.com/messagev...readid=2270058

The increases he is getting are very interesting. I'm getting the itch to drop some more money on a single 4850.

Very cool find! +rep for this.


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


*Guttboy*, I have one more driver set you might wanna try out. Do the following procedure.

1. Uninstall all ATI drivers
2. Restart
3. Run CCleaner
4. Run DriverSweeper
5. Restart
6. Download the new drivers: here
7. Install the new drivers
8. Restart 2 to 3 more times
9. Run all the tests you want

See if that works for you and what it says for Catalyst Information then post back here with your results. I hope this helps.


Rep+ for the link. I actually grabbed them last night and tried them.

I have done the items listed above with the exception of CCleaner. I haven't had much luck with that in the past. I may try it this afternoon.

Once I installed the 519.exe off of Sapphire's site (it is the same as the one from ATI apparently) I ran Vantage....artifacting and problems....6000ish score. I rebooted the computer and ran it again to get a respectable 9555 score on Vantage. No artifacting.

I think this card, my assumption only, is that it is very "touchy". Like you have mentioned, Open, it is possibly not sturdy. Reason I say that is because when I ran through the headaches of reinstalling the drivers, I may have bumped the DVI cable. This was causing artifacting on the POST screen (Bios Flash Screen) and on the BIOS page. I learned that if this happens (from another forum), that it is a hardware issue and not a software one.

I re-ran the Vantage again today and had no apparent issues. (using 519.exe). What is confusing to me is why the catalyst information still says 08.12. Col Newman experienced the same thing (08.12) it seems.

So with that being said, I think that the programmers either forgot to update that or just didn't do it. I can't be 100% positive as we don't have a bunch of others reporting the 08.12 catalyst information. (others encouraged to post what your CCC "Catalyst Information" says).

Will try to do some OC'ing tonight if I feel up to it and re-run Vantage. Once I get some good OCing on the system I "may" try OCing the card a tad bit.

Still looking for Kimosabi's results after his Zalman mod! I really would like to see his pics of the mod!

Regards and thanks for the help!


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Guttboy*


Rep+ for the link. I actually grabbed them last night and tried them.

I have done the items listed above with the exception of CCleaner. I haven't had much luck with that in the past. I may try it this afternoon.

Once I installed the 519.exe off of Sapphire's site (it is the same as the one from ATI apparently) I ran Vantage....artifacting and problems....6000ish score. I rebooted the computer and ran it again to get a respectable 9555 score on Vantage. No artifacting.

I think this card, my assumption only, is that it is very "touchy". Like you have mentioned, Open, it is possibly not sturdy. Reason I say that is because when I ran through the headaches of reinstalling the drivers, I may have bumped the DVI cable. This was causing artifacting on the POST screen (Bios Flash Screen) and on the BIOS page. I learned that if this happens (from another forum), that it is a hardware issue and not a software one.

I re-ran the Vantage again today and had no apparent issues. (using 519.exe). What is confusing to me is why the catalyst information still says 08.12. Col Newman experienced the same thing (08.12) it seems.

So with that being said, I think that the programmers either forgot to update that or just didn't do it. I can't be 100% positive as we don't have a bunch of others reporting the 08.12 catalyst information. (others encouraged to post what your CCC "Catalyst Information" says).

Will try to do some OC'ing tonight if I feel up to it and re-run Vantage. Once I get some good OCing on the system I "may" try OCing the card a tad bit.

Still looking for Kimosabi's results after his Zalman mod! I really would like to see his pics of the mod!

Regards and thanks for the help!











Oh well, I guess the 8.12 must be a typo. If you think it may be a hardware issue try to RMA the card then. You never know.


----------



## oulzac

Have you tried installing this one yet:
http://support.ati.com/ics/support/d...estionID=41786

TI Catalyst 9.1 WHQL driver release for the ATI Radeon™ HD 4850 X2

ATI Catalyst 9.1 WHQL driver release for the ATI Radeon™ HD 4850 X2

This driver resolves the following issues:

* Provides Catalyst 9.1 WHQL Certified driver for the ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2

The vista link from that page:
https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/674/9206...7_Jan27_09.exe

EDIT: after reading over some ATI boards and there site, it appears that CCC is still version 8.12 and that the actual driver itself is version 9.1


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Oh well, I guess the 8.12 must be a typo. If you think it may be a hardware issue try to RMA the card then. You never know.










I am going to have to RMA the thing. I rebooted the computer and still have massive artifacting and BSOD from the card it appears. What a PITA but what can you do. Never had to RMA anything so I will talk with NewEgg about it.


----------



## oulzac

I am not so excited about this card any more, I have seen this card RMA'd 6 times now since I bought it


----------



## Guttboy

Not happy about RMAing the card but the best thing to do since it is not functioning properly. I was having artifacting since the second boot up with it on powerup/powerdown on my BIOS screen. Finally yesterday it just wouldn't function properly. NewEgg was great about RMAing it. It is on the way back to them this afternoon. I am actually going to hold off and do a bit of research on a replacement.

I "may" end up getting another one but at this time I really am hesitant about pulling the plug on this one. Stinks actually because I did like it ....but even from the get-go the drooping card and the way it felt like it was put together flimsily made me have my doubts.

I'll check in later to let you know what I end up going with. Not sure it will be the X2 again though....


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *oulzac* 
I am not so excited about this card any more, I have seen this card RMA'd 6 times now since I bought it









If you have rmad it 6 times i would think there is something else wrong here that card at full load pulls 350+ watts and pulls about 30+amps on the 12V+ Rail. Taking a close look at the power supply your running It has 2 12V Rails 1 can only supply 22 amps and the other rail can only supply 24 the problem is the power supply cant combine rails so when your card needs 30 amps worth of power your power supply cant supply it you have plenty of watts but not enough amps this card needs at least 30+ amps on one 12V Rail to run properly when the card dosnt get enough power you will usually get slow performance or artifacts and a many number of problems i think in your case that is where i would start specially seeing as you have went through 6 cards with the same problem?


----------



## oulzac

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xgeko2* 
If you have rmad it 6 times i would think there is something else wrong here that card at full load pulls 350+ watts and pulls about 30+amps on the 12V+ Rail your power supply can only give the card. Taking a close look at the power supply your running It has 2 12V Rails 1 can only supply 22 amps and the other rail can only supply 24 the problem is the power supply cant combine rails so when your card needs 30 amps worth of power your power supply cant supply it you have plenty of watts but not enough amps this card needs at least 30+ amps on one 12V Rail to run properly when the card dosnt get enough power you will usually get slow performance or artifacts and a many number of problems i think in your case that is where i would start specially seeing as you have went through 6 cards with the same problem?

No, I have not had to RMA it six times, I have not even gotten my card yet, wont until Friday. I mean I have seen this card RMA'd six total times, by multiple people, a few on here, and a few on the reviews at newegg.

I did purchase a new PSU also for this card, I went with the CORSAIR 850W, so I should not have any issues with that.

I just don't like buying something, and then finding out people are having issues, most of which are the same issue


----------



## legend999

All the cards go RMA(ati/Nvidia),just see it like that









I have the card about two months,0 problems with it.


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *legend999*


All the cards go RMA(ati/Nvidia),just see it like that









I have the card about two months,0 problems with it.











legend999....I only wish I could say the same thing for mine







...I was really hoping it would be great but unfortunately for me it just didn't work out ok. In a search now for another card...not sure what I will get or if I will get the 4850X2 again. My only complaint with the card.....aside from the artifacting that wouldn't go away, was the sound...which could be fixed via the Zalman route folks have been doing.


----------



## legend999

Man,sad to hear it.









Do you RMA'd it?


----------



## equlizer34

no probs with mine







Nice clean power going to it and still using the original drivers









Ill wait for the 9.2 thanks


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:


Originally Posted by *legend999* 
Man,sad to hear it.









Do you RMA'd it?

Yes....It is in the UPS truck as we speak back. Hated to do it but the artifacting all the time meant it was time for it to go back. Unfortunate because of the potential but not a whole lot I could do about it. The Egg was fantastic about shipping it back to them.


----------



## skugpezz

when I build my am3 system I will surely get one of these cards


----------



## guscol

thanks to open finaly mi pc is running like hell all my issues gone my problem was an actualization of bios mobo (compatibility with memorys) im happy very very happy everything run like a dream hey somebody try a crossfire with two 4850x2


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Yes there is a sticker on the CD paper case it's on. Check it for a number. Mine was slightly worn off so I called up Futuremark and asked them for another key. Post some benchmarks when you got everything set up. By the way, just put you up on the owner's list.










I had an issue with the key not working due to a bug with vantage - there is a fix though. easy to do. Check the vantage site for details.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Oh well, I guess the 8.12 must be a typo. If you think it may be a hardware issue try to RMA the card then. You never know.










similar thing happened to me. I guessed straight away that the DVI cable wasn't connect properly as I'd just swap my monitor from my old system to the new build. Lots of artifacting in the bios etc. Once I'd switched off and reconnected it worked a treat - no more problems.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *d4martin* 
similar thing happened to me. I guessed straight away that the DVI cable wasn't connect properly as I'd just swap my monitor from my old system to the new build. Lots of artifacting in the bios etc. Once I'd switched off and reconnected it worked a treat - no more problems.

You know, come to think of it, I don't think I ever tried replacing my cable. It's a shame I already sent it in. Oh well, at least I'll get a brand new shiny card.


----------



## Guttboy

I did the cable swap and the same thing happened unfortunately for me. The Egg was superb in the RMA process!


----------



## xgeko2

Just curious has anyone been folding on this card i can only get about 3200-5000 ppd on this thing and only one gpu is active.


----------



## oulzac

of course a few days after I buy the card, it drops to $299 with a $15 MIR, summumma


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xgeko2*


Just curious has anyone been folding on this card i can only get about 3200-5000 ppd on this thing and only one gpu is active.


Xgeko,

I was folding with this and was only using the one GPU. You would need to make a dummy plug or have another monitor to use the other GPU from what I have read in the Folding forums. Here are some helpful links for you:

http://www.overclock.net/overclock-n...both-gpus.html
and
Dummy Plug Link

I was getting only 2200-3000 ppd on the 4850X2 2Gb so you are doing much better than I was.


----------



## WarGasm

hey guys i was wondering if a pci-e x8 would bottleneck this card...thanks in advance


----------



## skugpezz

Quote:



Originally Posted by *WarGasm*


hey guys i was wondering if a pci-e x8 would bottleneck this card...thanks in advance


yes it would ... is it a 2.0 8x slot?


----------



## tool918

How come nobody has posted pic's of two zalman vf900's on their cards? Saw alot of people saying they were getting the new coolers but haven't seen anymore pic's


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *tool918*


How come nobody has posted pic's of two zalman vf900's on their cards? Saw alot of people saying they were getting the new coolers but haven't seen anymore pic's










Let me redirect you!









Quote:



Originally Posted by *xz3rorom3o*


*UPDATE: Second Zalman VF900 MOUNTED.
*









Sorry for the blurry and lack of pics, just been busy lately.

Conclusion: 2x VF900 = possible









*Graphics card is INAUDIBLE guys*


----------



## Nelson2011

Wow you can get one of these for 239 with free shipping


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Nelson2011*


Wow you can get one of these for 239 with free shipping


Well keep in mind that the 1GB version of this card will yield much different results (on par with a GTX280 or GTX285) but otherwise you are correct.


----------



## Pete1burn

Quote:



Originally Posted by *tool918*


How come nobody has posted pic's of two zalman vf900's on their cards? Saw alot of people saying they were getting the new coolers but haven't seen anymore pic's










I'm going today to pick up my coolers from UPS. If that above pic didn't do it for you, I'll be taking lots of pictures and doing a build log since I've got a new case as well. I'll post some pics up after I'm done if you wish.

And why am I not on the owner's list?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Pete1burn* 
I'm going today to pick up my coolers from UPS. If that above pic didn't do it for you, I'll be taking lots of pictures and doing a build log since I've got a new case as well. I'll post some pics up after I'm done if you wish.

And why am I not on the owner's list?









Sorry, you must not have put it on your system. I was mainly checking for that. Done!


----------



## oulzac

I am going to hold off on buying any coolers for my card until I see how it runs with the stock fans first.


----------



## Guttboy

Hi Guys,

I hate to say this but I cannot be a member of the club any longer







. I RMA'd my 4850X2 and replaced it with an EVGA GTX260. I'll be honest, it is much quieter (virtually silent when compated to the 4850X2) and is running quite well. After wiping the ATI drivers off of the machine and installing the EVGA ones for this new card it is running like a dream. I am sure there will be a few hits here and there in raw performance but the first run of Vantage got me an 8228 score. A tad bit less than the 4850X2 but with no artifacting and no problems.

I'll keep checking back in this thread as you guys have been great! I am still anxious to hear how Kimosabi's zalman install went!

Best of luck to all of you!

Regards,


----------



## oulzac

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Guttboy* 
Hi Guys,

I hate to say this but I cannot be a member of the club any longer







. I RMA'd my 4850X2 and replaced it with an EVGA GTX260. I'll be honest, it is much quieter (virtually silent when compated to the 4850X2) and is running quite well. After wiping the ATI drivers off of the machine and installing the EVGA ones for this new card it is running like a dream. I am sure there will be a few hits here and there in raw performance but the first run of Vantage got me an 8228 score. A tad bit less than the 4850X2 but with no artifacting and no problems.

I'll keep checking back in this thread as you guys have been great! I am still anxious to hear how Kimosabi's zalman install went!

Best of luck to all of you!

Regards,










Sorry to hear that you will no longer be rock'in the 4850x2, but as long as your happy with the GTX260 that's all that matters.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Guttboy*


Hi Guys,

I hate to say this but I cannot be a member of the club any longer







. I RMA'd my 4850X2 and replaced it with an EVGA GTX260. I'll be honest, it is much quieter (virtually silent when compated to the 4850X2) and is running quite well. After wiping the ATI drivers off of the machine and installing the EVGA ones for this new card it is running like a dream. I am sure there will be a few hits here and there in raw performance but the first run of Vantage got me an 8228 score. A tad bit less than the 4850X2 but with no artifacting and no problems.

I'll keep checking back in this thread as you guys have been great! I am still anxious to hear how Kimosabi's zalman install went!

Best of luck to all of you!

Regards,











Sorry to hear you leaving.








It's gonna been be sad to take you off the *Owner's List*. It's understandable, this card is still in it's early stages and ATI just officially gave it support a few weeks ago so it's still a relatively young product. It's been great having you and if you still have any questions please feel free to post anything at anytime, you are always more than welcome here.


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Guttboy*


Hi Guys,

I hate to say this but I cannot be a member of the club any longer







. I RMA'd my 4850X2 and replaced it with an EVGA GTX260. I'll be honest, it is much quieter (virtually silent when compated to the 4850X2) and is running quite well. After wiping the ATI drivers off of the machine and installing the EVGA ones for this new card it is running like a dream. I am sure there will be a few hits here and there in raw performance but the first run of Vantage got me an 8228 score. A tad bit less than the 4850X2 but with no artifacting and no problems.

I'll keep checking back in this thread as you guys have been great! I am still anxious to hear how Kimosabi's zalman install went!

Best of luck to all of you!

Regards,











Boooooooo!







j/k Sorry to hear that mate. The GTX 260 is a good card also and even better; when you play games that doesnt support multi GPU you dont have to be angry about having a multi GPU card..... I havent installed the VF900's yet sorry. I was planning to do it yesterday but I forgot to take the AS5 back from the workshop where I'm building the Gentle Giant. And today I got stuck building so once again..... I forgot about the AS5. I must be getting senile or something.


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Sorry to hear you leaving.







It's gonna been be sad to take you off the *Owner's List*. It's understandable, this card is still in it's early stages and ATI just officially gave it support a few weeks ago so it's still a relatively young product. It's been great having you and if you still have any questions please feel free to post anything at anytime, you are always more than welcome here.

















Open,

Trust me it was and still is hard to leave....I will continue to check back here as you guys have been simply invaluable in teaching me a thing or two! Great bunch of folks here in this thread!!!!!!

Take Care and I won't be a stranger!!!!!

Thanks again for everything!


----------



## tool918

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Let me redirect you!










Ya Ive already seen that picture. Was looking for pictures of other people that have done it.

Anyway I got my two VF900's in today and installed them without a hitch. I had a 10deg drop in temps. I use to idle at 42c now with the zalman coolers I'm idle at 32c. They are very quit and I'm not even using the included "Fan mate."

I also wanted to add, that each VF900 comes with 8 memory heatsinks. Our 4850x2's need 16. So it works out perfect, and yes all 16 memory heatsinks do fit and work with both VF900's in place.


----------



## Drizzt5

Should I post my stuff with my crossfire setup even though It's technically for the single carded 4850x2?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Drizzt5*


Should I post my stuff with my crossfire setup even though It's technically for the single carded 4850x2?


You sure can







, technically this card is just two HD4850's "on a stick" so it's interesting how they compare.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *tool918*


Ya Ive already seen that picture. Was looking for pictures of other people that have done it.

Anyway I got my two VF900's in today and installed them without a hitch. I had a 10deg drop in temps. I use to idle at 42c now with the zalman coolers I'm idle at 32c. They are very quit and I'm not even using the included "Fan mate."

I also wanted to add, that each VF900 comes with 8 memory heatsinks. Our 4850x2's need 16. So it works out perfect, and yes all 16 memory heatsinks do fit and work with both VF900's in place.


I'm thinking about doing the same thing except putting on two Fatal1ty editions instead. How is the noise with both of the fans on auto, does it ever get loud like when you boot up the PC?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*Request To All Owners*: *Im really glad to see how active this thread has gotten but unfortunately I don't see a lot of benchmarking and game results much like the rules of the thread say so and like mine on the original post. I would really like to see how this card performs for everyone else so please read the original post carefully and use my benchmark and game results as examples for how you should display yours. Thanks in advance to everyone!*

*~Open1Your1Eyes0*


----------



## oulzac

As soon as I get mine (I will get the card on Friday, and my PSU to run on Monday) I was going to post screenies. I am dying with anticipation!


----------



## MrMan

thats way to much stuff for someone to have to do just to get thier name on a forum on the internet. to much for anyone with a life anyway.


----------



## equlizer34

Well i dynamated my case today and took the shroud off the 4850x2 and its alot quieter. Temps went down a few degrees too.

I also noticed that my card bends downward a bit. Is this normal?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MrMan* 
thats way to much stuff for someone to have to do just to get thier name on a forum on the internet. to much for anyone with a life anyway.

Im not really asking for all of it, just as much as you can give would be great. If Vantage results are all you can give then that's fine.


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *equlizer34* 
Well i dynamated my case today and took the shroud off the 4850x2 and its alot quieter. Temps went down a few degrees too.

I also noticed that my card bends downward a bit. Is this normal?

Mine bends down a bit too its a very long card and is heavy if it makes you feel better then prop it up with something but i havnt had any problems yet. Right now im just waiting on a few things to come in before i benchmark trust me its worth the wait =)


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:


Originally Posted by *equlizer34* 
Well i dynamated my case today and took the shroud off the 4850x2 and its alot quieter. Temps went down a few degrees too.

I also noticed that my card bends downward a bit. Is this normal?

Equlizer,

I don't own one of these as of yesterday but I had the same question. They do tend to droop down and to the right. There are some pics in the thread where this is evident. OpenYourEyes has had the same "droop" as well....while I dont know if it is "Normal"...I do think it is a common occurrence in these cards from what I have seen here.

Regards,










*Folks:* Helping each other out by at least running some of the benchmarks really does help people out! Vantage comes with the Sapphire card so it shouldn't be too hard to run. I am a newb when it comes to this stuff but even I could post a bit on a benchmark. SOOOOO if you do get the chance to just at least run the one that the card came with it would certainly help many others out.....


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Can anyone that has a *1920x1200* monitor test this card with *Crysis* or *Crysis Warhead* using the benchmark tool and post screenshots of the results (like I did on the original post)? I would greatly appreciate some results because that resolution is where this card really gets tested and unfortunately I don't have a *1920x1200* monitor to test it with.

Thanks in advance. +*Rep* is waiting for you









PS: If you need the benchmark tools, use the links at the bottom of the original post to download them.


----------



## Pete1burn

I don't do 1920x1200, but I will run some benchmarks when I finally get the VF900s in and install it.


----------



## Drizzt5

is 4850x2 in crossfireX supported? I've never seen it


----------



## oulzac

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Drizzt5* 
is 4850x2 in crossfireX supported? I've never seen it









Yes it is, this is something I plan on doing in the next couple months, if I like the card. I will be getting mine today, but again will not be able to use it until I get my new PSU next week


----------



## equlizer34

well i only have the crysis demo and your tool wont work on it. But i can tell you at that res with 4xaa and 16xaf i get around 85fps. My 3dmark 06 score is 20342 with the card running at 700/1155. Running the memory any higher actually gave me a loss but with no artifacts. I have COD5 and farcry 2 that i can use.


----------



## oulzac

UPS dropped this off today along with some other goodies!









I can not use it yet, as I am still waiting for my PSU









But I took pics on my crappy BB anyways (and the quality is crap), for now, as I felt I had to do something with it, I mean, its call out to me to be used


----------



## rico2001

Beautiful card isn't it. Congrats!


----------



## Villainstone

Yes it is, I just got mine in from Newegg two days ago. In my excitement I just slapped it in and tried to run crossfire. For obvious reasons I had many issues LOL. Now everything is straightened out and I am technically running three 4850's. I have not benched them yet, because Vantage keeps crashing given me errors saying I ran out of memory. With 6GB of system RAM, and 2.5GB of VRAM I cannot see how that is possible.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Villainstone* 
Yes it is, I just got mine in from Newegg two days ago. In my excitement I just slapped it in and tried to run crossfire. For obvious reasons I had many issues LOL. Now everything is straightened out and I am technically running three 4850's. I have not benched them yet, because Vantage keeps crashing given me errors saying I ran out of memory. With 6GB of system RAM, and 2.5GB of VRAM I cannot see how that is possible.

*Villainstone*, congratulations! You are now officially on the *Owner's List*.


----------



## oulzac

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Villainstone* 
Yes it is, I just got mine in from Newegg two days ago. In my excitement I just slapped it in and tried to run crossfire. For obvious reasons I had many issues LOL. Now everything is straightened out and I am technically running three 4850's. I have not benched them yet, because Vantage keeps crashing given me errors saying I ran out of memory. With 6GB of system RAM, and 2.5GB of VRAM I cannot see how that is possible.

You should drop the single card and go two x2's


----------



## Villainstone

Quote:



Originally Posted by *oulzac*


You should drop the single card and go two x2's










If only I could afford it

Thanks for adding me I actually felt like I entered a new level of gaming when I first set my eyes on it. I was like damn no more mid-range gaming rig LOL. Tri-fire, UD4P, i7, and a rock solid 850 watts to back it up. The monitor is next then water cooling.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Villainstone* 
Yes it is, I just got mine in from Newegg two days ago. In my excitement I just slapped it in and tried to run crossfire. For obvious reasons I had many issues LOL. Now everything is straightened out and I am technically running three 4850's. I have not benched them yet, because Vantage keeps crashing given me errors saying I ran out of memory. With 6GB of system RAM, and 2.5GB of VRAM I cannot see how that is possible.

Yea, I'm not liking the new drivers at all. The best ones so far were the sapphire ones on dated Jan. 2th (506), I believe. With the new ones (519), I crashed Devil May Cry 4 bench and lowered my 3dmark06 score, haha. Go figure. I don't own Crysis yet so can't bench it. Still a great card. Playing any game maxed out is an understatement.


----------



## Guttboy

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Yea, I'm not liking the new drivers at all. The best ones so far were the sapphire ones on dated Jan. 2th (506), I believe. With the new ones (519), I crashed Devil May Cry 4 bench and lowered my 3dmark06 score, haha. Go figure. I don't own Crysis yet so can't bench it. Still a great card. Playing any game maxed out is an understatement.









I must admit that I liked the 506 drivers more so than the newest ones! I was able to try the new drivers out (before RMA/Refund) but they were not as stable in my setup as the 506s.

Miss being part of the club here but I will continue to check in and offer any advice/experiences with my old card.

My 4850X2 was defective so the fact that it was not 100% may have been the reason for my lack of success with the newest "9.1" drivers that were out on the Sapphire site.

Keep on trucking fellas....you guys are the "cutting edge" with support and information on this brand new card! I have cross posted some info on this thread to another site to help users there as well.

Side note: Today I will venture forth into the world of OC'ing....provided I don't pass out from post surgery drugs.

Best wishes to you all!


----------



## Derp

http://www.overclock.net/hardware-ne...r-quieter.html

Sapphire is releasing quieter 4850X2's. I have no clue but this might mean that you guys can contact sapphire for a bios flash to fix the noise, might be something to look into for you 4850X2 owners.


----------



## tool918

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
I'm thinking about doing the same thing except putting on two Fatal1ty editions instead. How is the noise with both of the fans on auto, does it ever get loud like when you boot up the PC?

No it does not get loud, and you cant even hear them with fan mates on which I switched to after only given up 3-4c in temp.


----------



## Derp

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Auld*


http://www.overclock.net/hardware-ne...r-quieter.html

Sapphire is releasing quieter 4850X2's. I have no clue but this might mean that you guys can contact sapphire for a bios flash to fix the noise, might be something to look into for you 4850X2 owners.


lol yep i quoted myself, but only to make sure people know what im talking about. I found this on another forum: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...=206780&page=2

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ether.real*


I talked to my Sapphire contact, here is the reason why they aren't posting the BIOS on their website.....there are two versions of the card on the market right now, and flashing the wrong BIOS will brick the card. So they are doing it on a case-by-case basis. If you want the new BIOS, PM me and I will put you in contact with Sapphire directly.


 So you can give it a shot and PM him in hopes for a correct bios flash to lower the noise if it bothers any of you. I take no responsibility for any 4850x2 bricks though







.


----------



## Col. Newman

What setting are people playing FEAR 2 on and whats your FPS?


----------



## xgeko2

Havnt tried fear yet or really any benchmarks i did try 3dmark 06 and got 11k i have new parts on order one of which being a phenom 2 so ill be re-formating/ocing/benching soon =D


----------



## gsk3rd

Does anyone have two of these in quad fire? I will be buying some new GCs but i want to see some benchs.


----------



## oulzac

yay! I get my PSU tomorrow and will finally be able to put this beast in!


----------



## Pete1burn

Installing my VF900s while I sit bored at work. Whichever tech put on the thermal paste was NOT very clean about it. There's paste all over the resistors and transistors on the inside of the chip which was covered by the heatsink. Some thermal paste is conductive. I'd hate to see what would have happened if I had power it up beforehand.

I could be being paranoid, but it was literally all over.


----------



## Pete1burn

Both attached.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Pete1burn*


Both attached.


Nice!


----------



## Pete1burn

Thanks. I wish I could fit the shroud back on. I like the looks of it much better. But oh well. It's not about looks, it's about functionality!


----------



## oulzac

Well, I put my new PSU and this card in a little bit ago.
boot up, install the drivers off the CD that came with it.
Then install 3Dmark Advantage off the CD that came with.
The I run Advantage, and every test artifacts like a mofo.
The in what I assume is the final test, the fan on the GPU turns off, and the screen sticks on a total screen artifact, looks like the old TV temporary issue screen, but thousands of little color boxes every where. And it says like that for 15 minutes.
So I reboot, and load GPU-Z and this thing is idling at 47 degrees.

I have no issues just working in windows.
I have yet to load a game, or another bench program, as I am afraid I am going to over heat this thing. I think I may have to RMA this and get another card.


----------



## Guttboy

Oulzac,

Your explanation of what you saw with the "little color boxes" is exacty what my card looked like. Same symptoms only at one point I could not get back into windows.


----------



## MrMan

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Pete1burn*


Both attached.


are those quieter than the stock sapphire fans?


----------



## MrMan

Quote:



Originally Posted by *oulzac*


Well, I put my new PSU and this card in a little bit ago.
boot up, install the drivers off the CD that came with it.
Then install 3Dmark Advantage off the CD that came with.
The I run Advantage, and every test artifacts like a mofo.
The in what I assume is the final test, the fan on the GPU turns off, and the screen sticks on a total screen artifact, looks like the old TV temporary issue screen, but thousands of little color boxes every where. And it says like that for 15 minutes.
So I reboot, and load GPU-Z and this thing is idling at 47 degrees.

I have no issues just working in windows.
I have yet to load a game, or another bench program, as I am afraid I am going to over heat this thing. I think I may have to RMA this and get another card.


i noticed mine did that if i turned the setting in CCC down past balanced. try that before you RMA, just set it to balanced and leave everything else alone


----------



## oulzac

Quote:



Originally Posted by *MrMan*


i noticed mine did that if i turned the setting in CCC down past balanced. try that before you RMA, just set it to balanced and leave everything else alone


I can not do anything in CCC, its as if the card is locked, I can not use the overdrive option or change anything but basic display options, all the options are grey'd out.


----------



## oulzac

I reinstalled, and loaded up Fallout 3, and played for about 15 minutes, looked great and performed good, so I will try another Vantage bench.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *oulzac*


Well, I put my new PSU and this card in a little bit ago.
boot up, install the drivers off the CD that came with it.
Then install 3Dmark Advantage off the CD that came with.
The I run Advantage, and every test artifacts like a mofo.
The in what I assume is the final test, the fan on the GPU turns off, and the screen sticks on a total screen artifact, looks like the old TV temporary issue screen, but thousands of little color boxes every where. And it says like that for 15 minutes.
So I reboot, and load GPU-Z and this thing is idling at 47 degrees.

I have no issues just working in windows.
I have yet to load a game, or another bench program, as I am afraid I am going to over heat this thing. I think I may have to RMA this and get another card.


As a rule of thumb, never use the drivers on the CD. 90% of the time they are old and outdated. You wanna always go online and get the latest drivers. 
Do the following:

1. Uninstall the drivers you just installed from the CD
2. Restart the computer
3. Download and run CCleaner
4. Restart the computer
5. Download the drivers posted at the bottom of my original post
6. Install the drivers
7. Restart 2 to 3 more times then test everything

PS: To unlock *ATI Overdrive* you need click on the little square button that looks like a lock you should see there.

I hope that helps, let us know of your results.


----------



## oulzac

I still can not run Advantage, it artifacts like crazy, but runs fine in Fallout 3 and windows.

I think inside my case may be a little to warm, even though it should not be, I have massive air flow and good ventilation.

I will run some more test, and wait for my Noctua fans and cooler before I decide to RMA it.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *oulzac* 
I still can not run Advantage, it artifacts like crazy, but runs fine in Fallout 3 and windows.

I think inside my case may be a little to warm, even though it should not be, I have massive air flow and good ventilation.

I will run some more test, and wait for my Noctua fans and cooler before I decide to RMA it.

Did you install the new drivers that are posted on the original post? Cause that should fix the problem.


----------



## oulzac

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
Did you install the new drivers that are posted on the original post? Cause that should fix the problem.

Yes I have been running those for a while now and it fixed nothing.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *oulzac* 
Yes I have been running those for a while now and it fixed nothing.

Just to be sure where the problem lies do the following.

1. Get another hard drive
2. Put everything at stock setting on your motherboard (no overclocks)
3. Install Vista on it and all the latest drivers you need (Nothing else but drivers)
4. Install 3DMark Vantage and run a few tests
5. If you still have problems run memtest and intelburntest

1. If all else fails RMA the card
2. If the second card give you issues too, it could be the motherboard or the ram but most likely the motherboard


----------



## oulzac

Okay, so the Crysis bench tool was artifacting in full screen, but not windowed, it runs perfect windowed. I found this out because Vista tried to turn on the screen saver while it was running and kicked it into windowed mode.

I re ran that 4 times, no issues, poor performance however, as nothing is overclocked at the moment however.

is there any way to run Advantage windowed?

I have come to the conclusion the issue is not the card, its a little bit heating, but I think its mostly my monitor does not support a high enough resolution for out put.

I say this because when running Cyrsis bench in 1280x1024 in full screen, it was artifacting like crazy. Same resolution windowed, nothing.

I will try to run 3dMark06 and see if that turns out like Advantage.


----------



## oulzac

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Just to be sure where the problem lies do the following.

1. Get another hard drive
2. Put everything at stock setting on your motherboard (no overclocks)
3. Install Vista on it and all the latest drivers you need (Nothing else but drivers)
4. Install 3DMark Vantage and run a few tests
5. If you still have problems run memtest and intelburntest

1. If all else fails RMA the card
2. If the second card give you issues too, it could be the motherboard or the ram but most likely the motherboard


I ran memtest, all is well on that end. It might be the mobo also, but don't think so, its only one month old.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *oulzac*


I ran memtest, all is well on that end. It might be the mobo also, but don't think so, its only one month old.


Try doing a fresh Vista install. If that doesn't work then your best bet would probably be to RMA it.


----------



## oulzac

Well, I was able to play crysis on very high detail for on hour with no artifacting or crashes, but towards the end had a very bad slow down in system performance. When I pulled out and looked at temps, the card was running at 79 degrees









I guess I am going to be ordering some coolers









I will also have to wait to run 3dmark06 until tomorrow, as every time I try to download it, it times out, and from multiple places.


----------



## skugpezz

Quote:


Originally Posted by *oulzac* 
Well, I was able to play crysis on very high detail for on hour with no artifacting or crashes, but towards the end had a very bad slow down in system performance. When I pulled out and looked at temps, the card was running at 79 degrees









I guess I am going to be ordering some coolers









I will also have to wait to run 3dmark06 until tomorrow, as every time I try to download it, it times out, and from multiple places.

you need to get a better cpu too


----------



## oulzac

YAY!

I have no idea what fixed it. I went and watched a little tv, came back, decided I would give it a go once more before doing anything else, and it worked just fine









I ran it with nothing overclocked, no cpu, gpu, nothing.
I got a really low score, but I am just happy everything is working.

Now I have to spend the rest of the week OC'ing everything to get the scores up!


----------



## skugpezz

Quote:


Originally Posted by *oulzac* 
YAY!

I have no idea what fixed it. I went and watched a little tv, came back, decided I would give it a go once more before doing anything else, and it worked just fine









I ran it with nothing overclocked, no cpu, gpu, nothing.
I got a really low score, but I am just happy everything is working.

Now I have to spend the rest of the week OC'ing everything to get the scores up!

nice everything is working now...if you overclock your cpu you will get a higher gpu score


----------



## Pete1burn

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MrMan* 
are those quieter than the stock sapphire fans?

I have no idea. I haven't even installed the card yet. I have a 2 year old who keeps me busy.

From what I've heard though, it makes the card silent. That's what I was going for, so I decided to put the coolers on before I even put it in the case.


----------



## ev0styLe

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
By the way for those of you who are interested, this is my current display setup. I had two monitors and I made a special backplate for them (lots of drilling) so I could fit them on one stand just so it could look cooler. Let me know what you guys think.



















Where can i find this wallpaper


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ev0styLe* 
Where can i find this wallpaper









I'll send it to you tonight PM me.


----------



## cody0707

I just got my 4850x2 about 2 days ago. I love it so far. One quick question though. I went to Sapphire's website and got the newest driver dated Feb. 2, Is this the best driver for the card or should I roll back to a later driver? When I open up computer management to look at my driver it says the driver date is 12/9/2008.

Oh and for those of you who are wondering how the 1gig card does compared to some of the others. My buddy just got a GTX285 and in COD4 with the same settings I was getting 30FPS more then he was and about 40FPS more then a GTX280. This is at 1680x1050 with all of the settings exactly the same, everything on high. Will post some screen shots later. Working on getting a Crysis benchmark too.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *cody0707* 
I just got my 4850x2 about 2 days ago. I love it so far. One quick question though. I went to Sapphire's website and got the newest driver dated Feb. 2, Is this the best driver for the card or should I roll back to a later driver? When I open up computer management to look at my driver it says the driver date is 12/9/2008.

Oh and for those of you who are wondering how the 1gig card does compared to some of the others. My buddy just got a GTX285 and in COD4 with the same settings I was getting 30FPS more then he was and about 40FPS more then a GTX280. This is at 1680x1050 with all of the settings exactly the same, everything on high. Will post some screen shots later. Working on getting a Crysis benchmark too.

*cody0707*, welcome to the club. You are now officially on the *Owners List*!







Download and use the drivers that are posted at the bottom of the original post.


----------



## cody0707

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
*cody0707*, welcome to the club. You are now officially on the *Owners List*!







Download and use the drivers that are posted at the bottom of the original post.

Yeah those are the ones that I have, just wanted to make sure that there weren't some older better ones out there. Also, how many of you have flashed your bios? I have read the Sapphire put some new bios out that helps with fan noise. Not a big deal to me if that's all that they fixed.

Also Open1Your1Eyes0, I will have to take a picture of my Antec 900 to show you how I did my wire management. Your case is hurting my eyes, lol.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *cody0707* 
Yeah those are the ones that I have, just wanted to make sure that there weren't some older better ones out there. Also, how many of you have flashed your bios? I have read the Sapphire put some new bios out that helps with fan noise. Not a big deal to me if that's all that they fixed.

Also Open1Your1Eyes0, I will have to take a picture of my Antec 900 to show you how I did my wire management. Your case is hurting my eyes, lol.

Those drivers are the best so far. As far as the bios, I haven't been able to get the new BIOS anywhere and *Sapphire* didn't email me back yet.

Yeah I know about the wire thing, I don't really care too much how my wires are as long as they don't hit any fans or anything. I just prop them up in such a way and then I don't touch them. Some people go all out to manage those wires but I don't look at my case as it is under my desk so I don't mind. Although I probably should.









The card is no longer in my *Antec 900* however, it is being RMAed as we speak and will then go in the *Media Center PC* that I am building. You can see the specs in my other systems on my profile.


----------



## oulzac

FYI, the drivers at the end of your post are the exact set of drivers from Sapphires site.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *oulzac*


FYI, the drivers at the end of your post are the exact set of drivers from Sapphires site.


Although you probably are right, if you download both files, you will see that the sizes are different. I just prefer to use the Official ATI ones if they are available.


----------



## cody0707

Well here are the benchmarks I do have so far. Notice the COD4 benchmarks vs a GTX285. I love it. My card was roughly $100 cheaper too!









     

Oh and I hate how Vantage favors the Quad core in points and yet most if not all games run better on the dual cores, but oh well.


----------



## xgeko2

Just some Preliminary results Just got the new case and got all the water cooling hooked up with a phenom 2 940 be and got the water cooling on the 4850x2 ran 3dmark 06 got almost 14k ran gpuz for about 20 minutes with the core at 700mhz only 41C ill post more results when i get home and have time to reformat and reset everything up.

Btw what is up with this i just put all this in a antec 900 is this turning into the 4850x2/antec 900 club lol?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *cody0707*


Well here are the benchmarks I do have so far. Notice the COD4 benchmarks vs a GTX285. I love it. My card was roughly $100 cheaper too!









I will get a Crysis benchmark a little bit latter. Oh and I hate how Vantage favors the Quad core in points and yet most if not all games run better on the dual cores, but oh well.

*Just saw that it is hard to see the FPS in the COD4 shots so I will work on fixing that*


Great post! +rep for the work done.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xgeko2*


Just some Preliminary results Just got the new case and got all the water cooling hooked up with a phenom 2 940 be and got the water cooling on the 4850x2 ran 3dmark 06 got almost 14k ran gpuz for about 20 minutes with the core at 700mhz only 41C ill post more results when i get home and have time to reformat and reset everything up.

Btw what is up with this i just put all this in a antec 900 is this turning into the 4850x2/antec 900 club lol?


*xgeko2*, welcome to the club. You are officially on the *Owners List*!









Yes, I too have noticed the plentiful amount of *Antec 900* cases. That's just gotta say how well this case is. I'm extremely happy with it. Supreme cooling and great design.


----------



## cody0707

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Great post! +rep for the work done.










Thanks for the Rep.

The post is now updated to where you can now see the FPS between the GTX285 and the 4850x2. All of these screen shots were taken using the exact same settings in 1680x1050 and all the details at max.

As far as the difference between the 1GB and 2GB 4850x2, I don't know what the difference is in performance but I think it would mainly help out at the higher resolutions like 19..x12.. and up.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *cody0707*


Thanks for the Rep.

The post is now updated to where you can now see the FPS between the GTX285 and the 4850x2. All of these screen shots were taken using the exact same settings in 1680x1050 and all the details at max.

As far as the difference between the 1GB and 2GB 4850x2, I don't know what the difference is in performance but I think it would mainly help out at the higher resolutions like 19..x12.. and up.


Very nice!







More rep coming your way after Crysis benchmarks.







Use all "Very High" settings and as high a resolution as you can.


----------



## kilrbe3

Quote:



Originally Posted by *cody0707*


Well here are the benchmarks I do have so far. Notice the COD4 benchmarks vs a GTX285. I love it. My card was roughly $100 cheaper too!









I will get a Crysis benchmark a little bit latter. Oh and I hate how Vantage favors the Quad core in points and yet most if not all games run better on the dual cores, but oh well.


Good Work! Wait till I get my 260s







hahah


----------



## rico2001

my vantage score (rig in sig - 4850x2 stock)


more later...


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
my vantage score (rig in sig - 4850x2 stock)


more later...

Nice! Wow you have an E8300?







Those things are like impossible to find. Where did you buy it and how much?


----------



## oulzac

I just did some minor OC'ing, nothing major until I get my coolers and new fans in though. not much improvement, but noticeable.

On the crysis I only did a small res for now as I wasn't sure if it would allow me to higher than what current monitor allows (1440x900), which is also not one of the options.

Will continue later after I get my coolers and OC more


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *oulzac*


I just did some minor OC'ing, nothing major until I get my coolers and new fans in though. not much improvement, but noticeable.

On the crysis I only did a small res for now as I wasn't sure if it would allow me to higher than what current monitor allows (1440x900), which is also not one of the options.

Will continue later after I get my coolers and OC more










Your CPU is definitely bottlenecking you if you compare to my scores. If you upgrade your motherboard and CPU and do some overclocking you will unleash the cards full performance. But otherwise well done!


----------



## cody0707

Finally got my Crysis Warhead benchmark. So it looks like at these resolutions at least with Crysis the 2GB is under par. Interesting....










I did my benchmark at 1680x1050 as its my monitors native resolution. Here is one on Ambush as usually this is the standard for Crysis Warhead benchmarks (from what I have seen)










This card makes me happy


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
Nice! Wow you have an E8300?







Those things are like impossible to find. Where did you buy it and how much?

Brought it from Stalliontek.com for $149 back around the first of the year. I see the core 2 duo's have gone up since last month. Just wish I could push it past 3.9G.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *cody0707* 
Finally got my Crysis Warhead benchmark. So it looks like at these resolutions at least with Crysis the 2GB is under par. Interesting....










I did my benchmark at 1680x1050 as its my monitors native resolution. Here is one on Ambush as usually this is the standard for Crysis Warhead benchmarks (from what I have seen)










This card makes me happy









Great job man! Our setups are very similar so we both seek similar results. Now 1920x1200 is the real test for this card. I'm just looking for someone with a 1920x1200 monitor to post some Crysis benchmark results, if it gets 25 FPS average that would be really good.


----------



## xgeko2

This is insane It seems as my thermal paste (Tim consultants T-C Grease 0098) and my water cooling settles in my temps keep going down and down and down right now my 4850x2 cores are idling at around 21-23C at 700mhz core clock.(With media player full screen it runs 700 lol?)


----------



## rico2001

Here is my Devil May Cry 4 benchmark score; finally didn't crash on me.








Couldn't take a snapshot so I took a few pics.

Highest settings, 1360x1024 rez (highest in the bench), 8x AA, again rig in the sig


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Here is my Devil May Cry 4 benchmark score; finally didn't crash on me.








Couldn't take a snapshot so I took a few pics.

Highest settings, 1360x1024 rez (highest in the bench), 8x AA, again rig in the sig
 


Nice!







Weird res though


----------



## rico2001

One more for the day. Call of Juarez Benchmark

1680x1050, 4x AA, highest setting
 

1920x1200 (not sure how this worked, my LG is1680x1050 native but oh well







), 4x AA, highest setting
(funny, its almost as good as my 1680x1050 score and pulled out a 25fps avg)


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
One more for the day. Call of Juarez Benchmark

1680x1050, 4x AA, highest setting
 

1920x1200 (not sure how this worked, my LG is1680x1050 native but oh well







), 4x AA, highest setting
(funny, its almost as good as my 1680x1050 score and pulled out a 25fps avg)
 

Sweet!


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Im really liking what I see so far guys. Keep up the good job!


----------



## oulzac

Quick question for you guys, why is CCC showing me with ATI overdrive, that I have it set to 700/1200, then at the bottom says current valuses 500/750
and when I open GPU-Z it shows me 625/993

Is ATI overdrive not actually saving this setting, I have seem some others screen caps of gpu-z and it showing 700/1200

should I be using ati-tool or something else to officially save these clocks?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *oulzac*


Quick question for you guys, why is CCC showing me with ATI overdrive, that I have it set to 700/1200, then at the bottom says current valuses 500/750
and when I open GPU-Z it shows me 625/993

Is ATI overdrive not actually saving this setting, I have seem some others screen caps of gpu-z and it showing 700/1200

should I be using ati-tool or something else to officially save these clocks?


The card gets downclocked to 500/750 when not in use so that's normal. And GPUz will show you the default values however if you set them in ATI Overdrive and apply they will go up when they need to.


----------



## oulzac

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


The card gets downclocked to 500/750 when not in use so that's normal. And GPUz will show you the default values however if you set them in ATI Overdrive and apply they will go up when they need to.


I downloaded the latest version, 0.3.2 and it displays correctly now, it appears the 0.3.1 version does not connect to the card properly.


----------



## oulzac

However, it still only shows I have 1GB of mem, can you dowload the latest version here:
http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads...-Z_v0.3.2.html

and verify if yours shows only 1GB also.

Here is my validation:
http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/27vk6/

EDIT: after looking over the verification info closely, that info is per GPU.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *oulzac*


However, it still only shows I have 1GB of mem, can you dowload the latest version here:
http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads...-Z_v0.3.2.html

and verify if yours shows only 1GB also.

Here is my validation:
http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/27vk6/

EDIT: after looking over the verification info closely, that info is per GPU.


If you have any Dual GPU card it will only use half the memory that is posted. 1GB per GPU but together they total 2GB even though you can't use 2GB. If it was real 2GB, you would be able to turn off the 2nd GPU and still use 2GB for 1 GPU.


----------



## xgeko2

Hopefully someone can help me real fast o think i may have bricked my card not sure yet i thought i backed up the bios for this card before i tried to flash it i dont think it backed it up properly because my backup looks identical to my modified bios =f so i am hoping someone here could possibly extract a 4850x2 2gb bios for me? please <3. lol


----------



## legend999

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xgeko2*


This is insane It seems as my thermal paste (Tim consultants T-C Grease 0098) and my water cooling settles in my temps keep going down and down and down right now my 4850x2 cores are idling at around 21-23C at 700mhz core clock.(With media player full screen it runs 700 lol?)


Those are insane temps!

Which blocks are you using?


----------



## Col. Newman

Well I got a new mobo/CPU/RAM today lets see if the card still locksup/BSOD on me.


----------



## Villainstone

I am having iisues guys can any one lend a hand HERE

http://www.overclock.net/ati/463992-...w-updated.html


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *legend999* 
Those are insane temps!

Which blocks are you using?


Im using these blocks right here.
http://www.thermaltakestore.com/aqua...k-clw0038.html


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xgeko2*


Hopefully someone can help me real fast o think i may have bricked my card not sure yet i thought i backed up the bios for this card before i tried to flash it i dont think it backed it up properly because my backup looks identical to my modified bios =f so i am hoping someone here could possibly extract a 4850x2 2gb bios for me? please <3. lol


You get the original BIOS online and stick a PCI video card in you computer to boot from. Then flash the HD4850X2 back to the original and take out the PCI video card and check that it works.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Villainstone*


I am having iisues guys can any one lend a hand HERE

http://www.overclock.net/ati/463992-...w-updated.html


I think you may have to do a fresh install of your OS and see if you can get it working right.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Villainstone*


I am having iisues guys can any one lend a hand HERE

http://www.overclock.net/ati/463992-...w-updated.html


Your '06 score of 17496 is good for a stock I7 (2.66GHz). Overclock you I7 and you'll be in the 20-23k range. Most guys on futuremark are at 3.6G-3.8 getting 21-24k in '06. Here are a few scores from a stock I7 & 4850x2: http://www.****************/reviews....raphics_card/1

good luck


----------



## Pete1burn

Got my card installed last night, finally.

I have two Zalman VF900s on it so it's a heavy card. I was concerned about the card bending, but with it installed, the far end rests very lightly on the SATA ports, so it's perfect. I originally hooked up the VF900s to a straight power cable to check the noise level, but it was a bit too loud for me. That is to say, it wasn't what one would call loud, but it was louder than silent, which is how my PC runs normally. I was concerned about plugging the fans into the HP_FAN headers on my motherboard, since I don't know what they do, and my wife apparently threw out the manual.

So I installed the Fanmate 2s that came with the VF900s and plugged them into two HP_FAN headers and now I have silent operation when idle and I can move the knobs about 50% when gaming.

I was going to run a few benchmarks, but 3DMark Vantage requires Vista, so I can't do that one. (Anyone recommend some other good ones to try?)

I fired up Call of Duty: World at War and cranked it to 1600x1200 (my monitor's native res) and set it to 4x AA and it played beautifully without a hiccup and the card temp never went above 50c with the fans on their slowest speed possible.

Those who are looking for silent and high performance air cooling for their 4850x2, the Zalman VF900s are where it's at.

Very happy so far. Now I need some tweaking advice.


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


You get the original BIOS online and stick a PCI video card in you computer to boot from. Then flash the HD4850X2 back to the original and take out the PCI video card and check that it works.



i cant find the bios anywhere is there anyway you or any of the 2gb radeon 4850x2 owners can extract both the master and slave bios and e-mail them to me so i can fix my card lol?

export the primary/master bios, and the use the drop down menu at the bottom of GPU-Z to select the secondary/slave bios and export it also

please someone help lol =( *starting to sweat*


----------



## Maxers

Catalyst 9.2 is here !! and i can confirm that we 4850X2 users are finally and officially supported ..so no more late drivers releases for us !! YEAH !!









http://ati.amd.com/support/driver.HTML

Vista 32: http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...common-vista32
Vista 64: http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...common-vista64

XP 32: http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...=xp/radeonx-xp
XP 64: http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...4/radeonx-xp64


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Maxers*


Catalyst 9.2 is here !! and i can confirm that we 4850X2 users are finally and officially supported ..so no more late drivers releases for us !! YEAH !!









http://ati.amd.com/support/driver.HTML

Vista 32: http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...common-vista32
Vista 64: http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...common-vista64

XP 32: http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...=xp/radeonx-xp
XP 64: http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...4/radeonx-xp64


Great post thanks for this I will update the original post driver link as well. +rep for you good sir!


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*Update:* I have just updated the driver links on the original post (courtesy of *Maxers*) to the *ATI Catalyst 9.2* drivers as they are confirmed to be working on the *HD4850X2*. If anyone has problems accessing the links please let me know. Check them out and good luck!


----------



## rico2001

New ATI Catalyst 9.2 drivers installed, 20 points lower than my best score in 3dmark06 (sapphire 408's- 8-11_vista64_dd_ccc_wdm_enu_70230). All-in-all 9.2's are not bad, a little faster than AMD_VISTA_Radeon_4850X2_8.57_Jan27_09 drivers


----------



## Col. Newman

I is folding on both cores now


----------



## cody0707

I ran the crysis warhead benchmark. It felt smoother but i lost half a fps. So, I am happy with them thus far.


----------



## cody0707

I have been reading about people flashing their bios on this card. Is there a reason to?


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *cody0707* 
I have been reading about people flashing their bios on this card. Is there a reason to?

No its not a good idea lol thanks for the help!


----------



## Villainstone

I read that I will need to flash the BIOS in order o get trifire to work. Well my 4850X2 and my 4850 I mean. I have been looking into it so I will post back later if I get anything useful.


----------



## rico2001

Another bench for you all.

X3 Terran Conflict Demo Version 1.0
1680x1050, 8xAA, 16xATF, High settings
 

Trying to get a Crysis bench out, brought the game last night. So far the games crashes on my after about 2 minutes of playing. Maybe it needs an update or something. Thought it was my system, and/or cpu overclock but I'm not having a problem with anything else. Had a nice Left 4 Dead session last night and this morning, so has to be the Crysis game, itself.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Another bench for you all.

X3 Terran Conflict Demo Version 1.0
1680x1050, 8xAA, 16xATF, High settings
 

Trying to get a Crysis bench out, brought the game last night. So far the games crashes on my after about 2 minutes of playing. Maybe it needs an update or something. Thought it was my system, and/or cpu overclock but I'm not having a problem with anything else. Had a nice Left 4 Dead session last night and this morning, so has to be the Crysis game, itself.


Get patch *1.2* and *1.2.1* for *Crysis*, that should fix a lot of problems. Hope that works for ya!


----------



## oulzac

ah, the new drivers have given me nothing but problems, I am going back to the 9.1 for now, I don't have to diagnose what the issue is as I have to get some work done :swearing:


----------



## Villainstone

Hey guys is there a certain way that I need to setup crossfire. What I mean is... do both cards go in the MB before I install windows? Then install the drivers for both cards, because I get no video unless I take one card out. Here what I have to do to get video...

I install the X2 and then the drivers, power down, install the 4850, reboot and install the drivers, and reboot. This allow for me to get video with both card installed, but it is NOT running crossfire between the two cards, just the two cores on the X2.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Villainstone* 
Hey guys is there a certain way that I need to setup crossfire. What I mean is... do both cards go in the MB before I install windows? Then install the drivers for both cards, because I get no video unless I take one card out. Here what I have to do to get video...

I install the X2 and then the drivers, power down, install the 4850, reboot and install the drivers, and reboot. This allow for me to get video with both card installed, but it is NOT running crossfire between the two cards, just the two cores on the X2.

I don't think any of us 4850X2 guys have gone tri-fire or quad-fire yet, so you are a little ahead of the game. I have some more ATI goodness coming next week to give my X2 some company. Maybe you can help me with setup. Keep going with your trial -N- error and good luck.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Get patch *1.2* and *1.2.1* for *Crysis*, that should fix a lot of problems. Hope that works for ya!










Damn Crysis, taking it back to the store. lol. Patches didn't work, crashes even sooner now. Wonder if the Cat. 9.2's that are the problem, hmm... Think I'll go back to 9.1's and try again. The game itself, does look great btw (the few minutes I can play it).


----------



## cody0707

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xgeko2*


No its not a good idea lol thanks for the help!


No problem. Did you get it working again or do you have a big paper weight?


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *cody0707* 
No problem. Did you get it working again or do you have a big paper weight?

That did the trick got it going again Thanks alot!


----------



## Villainstone

I got it all set. I had to remove the Xfire bridge, then install the drivers. With the bridge on there is no desktop like I said before. Once I got the drivers installed I was able to reboot and attach the bridge. Then proceeded into CCC and enable all three core, and crossfire. My 06 score bumped up about 1000 points LOL


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Villainstone* 
I got it all set. I had to remove the Xfire bridge, then install the drivers. With the bridge on there is no desktop like I said before. Once I got the drivers installed I was able to reboot and attach the bridge. Then proceeded into CCC and enable all three core, and crossfire. My 06 score bumped up about 1000 points LOL

Awesome man, thanks for the info and keep up the good work. I now know what to do. What drivers are you using? 9.2's?


----------



## Villainstone

Yeah I am on the 9.2 drivers. The ral issue I was having was getting to the desktop with both cards installed. After cleaning out any and all ATI related software, AND removing the Xfire bridge everything went well. Like I said before once I got to the desktop all I needed to do was install the drivers, reboot, then enable all three GPUs










Once all three are enabled then you can check to see under the Graphics Hardware section in CCC.


----------



## xz3rorom3o

Quote:



Final Words
There is quite a bit of data here today, and it can be a little bit daunting to sort through. In every test but one, GeForce GTX 285 SLI leads the way in performance. Often the GTX 280 SLI pops up next. That's surprising considering the fact that AMD doesn't have as heavy hitting a single GPU part. And it also doesn't take into account the fact that these two solutions often come in very low in the "value" lineup and not that much higher in performance than something like the Radeon HD 4870 multiGPU options or even the GeForce GTX 295.

The cheaper Radeon HD 4870 X2 often does better than the GTX 295, and often multiGPU AMD options have better value than the highest end single GPU options from NVIDIA.* But the real stand out has to be the Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 2GB. This unique card really shined and held it's own all the way up to 2560x1600. While a 1GB 4850 might not make much sense (the extra RAM only really helps at resolutions where the 4850 can't keep up in terms of processing power), the 1GB of RAM per GPU on the 4850 X2 2GB really helps make this single card multiGPU option high end.*
*The Sapphire 4850 X2 costs less than a single NVIDIA GTX 280 or 285, and performs better than these as well.* While the Radeon HD 4870 X2 is viable as high end single card multiGPU option, it competes at a price point beyond NVIDIA's high end. the 4850 X2 really puts pressure on anything that costs between $300 and $400 from the competition. It's very surprising to us that AMD hasn't pushed this configuration and that Sapphire are the only manufacturer to have put one of these out there.


http://anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3517&p=1
EPIC WIN for us?


----------



## rico2001

The 4850x2 rules!!


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xz3rorom3o*


http://anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3517&p=1
EPIC WIN for us?


Some good reading there.







That made me even more satisfied with buying a 4850x2. Thanks!


----------



## skugpezz

@ OP why are you using a 8800 card?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *skugpezz*


@ OP why are you using a 8800 card?


That's in my regular gaming system. The *HD4850X2* is going in the Media Center system once it comes back from RMA, if you check out my other systems you'll see.


----------



## rico2001

New benchmark: Left 4 Dead (rig in the sig)

FRAPS setting:
benchmark time - 2000 seconds 









Game settings:
1680x1050, 16xATF, 8xAA, Shader: very high, all other settings: high
Difficulty: Expert
Campaign: No Mercy 
Mission: 1: apartments


----------



## rico2001

New review: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/897/1/
"Legit Bottom Line: Sapphire's little brother to the HD 4870 X2 is certainly no "red-headed stepchild." The HD 4850 X2 is able to hold its own in the 3D games and benchmarks we tested... all while looking good, keeping cool and quiet, and doing it for around $300."


----------



## Bruenor

Hi guys, i'm David from Spain, i have been following this thread almost from the beginning and at the end I decided to post, the picture shows the results of the two benchmarks that have passed, I hope that you will find them of utility for references and i'll be here to lend a hand with whatever i can.

And... sorry for my english


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Bruenor*


Hi guys, i'm David from Spain, i have been following this thread almost from the beginning and at the end I decided to post, the picture shows the results of the two benchmarks that have passed, I hope that you will find them of utility for references and i'll be here to lend a hand with whatever i can.

And... sorry for my english










Welcome to the rare videocards thread!







j/k 
Nice results and great OC on that E8400. On the Silent Knight thats quite impressive.









Dont worry about your english, its good and perfectly understandable, even for a Norwegian like me.


----------



## rico2001

Bruenor, wow what a great overclock. I'm jealous. Welcome to the 4850x2 club.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Bruenor*


Hi guys, i'm David from Spain, i have been following this thread almost from the beginning and at the end I decided to post, the picture shows the results of the two benchmarks that have passed, I hope that you will find them of utility for references and i'll be here to lend a hand with whatever i can.

And... sorry for my english










*Bruenor*, welcome to the thread. You are now officially on the *Owner's List*. BTW, that OC is really nice but that voltage is pretty high. You really don't want to surpass 1.36v as it is considered the maximum safe voltage. I will soon be trying to see if how high I can get my *E8400* (currently running at 4.35GHz @ 1.33v) I will try for 4.5GHz later this week.


----------



## Bruenor

Thanks everybody for the wellcome, Open1Your1Eyes0, I did some searching on the internet and always found that the safe voltage is 1.4, except at the intel page, but I think intel gives always a more moderate data, I was more worried about temperature, but the Silent Knight pleasantly surprised me.
Respect the GPU, I feel that despite the overclock, still being limited by the cpu, because in games like Crysis, I've seen climbing frames with the CPU&FSB raising, for me one of the best cards I've had performace-price ratio, after the Voodoo Banshee of course








I'll try to post some game benchmarks.


----------



## Jaderlund

Hey, I'm thinking of getting the 2gig option of this card because I have three monitors. My only question is, how does it perform with three screens in lets say, Crysis and Farcry2? Will it perform at all with a setup like that, or should I go a different route?

Best regards,
Kent Jaderlund

Setup will be
SAPPHIRE RADEON HD4850X2 2GB GDDR3 PCI-E 4XDVI
i7 920
3x2gig triple channel memory
ASUS P6T v2 Motherboard
850w CM PSU
Vista 64


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Jaderlund*


Hey, I'm thinking of getting the 2gig option of this card because I have three monitors. My only question is, how does it perform with three screens in lets say, Crysis and Farcry2? Will it perform at all with a setup like that, or should I go a different route?

Best regards,
Kent Jaderlund

Setup will be
SAPPHIRE RADEON HD4850X2 2GB GDDR3 PCI-E 4XDVI
i7 920
3x2gig triple channel memory
ASUS P6T v2 Motherboard
850w CM PSU
Vista 64


*Kent*, let me redirect you to one of my previous posts. There you will also find another redirection for more info. Here


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Jaderlund*


Hey, I'm thinking of getting the 2gig option of this card because I have three monitors. My only question is, how does it perform with three screens in lets say, Crysis and Farcry2? Will it perform at all with a setup like that, or should I go a different route?

Best regards,
Kent Jaderlund


The 4850x2 should play both of those titles well over 3 screens. But I believe playing games over 2, 3, or more screens has more to do with the game then the hardware. I remember back in the day, you had to change the .ini file of the game and create a new resolution, say ex. 3360x1050 (2 monitors) or 5040x1050 (3 monitors). I know Matrox made a device to a year or 2 ago to allow you to play most any pc game over multiple screens. Also there are a handful of titles, such as Far Cry 3 (I believe), that have native resolutions for multi-monitor play. I donâ€™t do multi-monitors myself anymore but I did have another lcd in the house to hook up to my 4850x2. Took a few screenshot to show you what you will see in catalyst control console (ccc) when running 2 to 4 monitors. As shown, you can run clone or extended on the other 2-3 screens so the function is there. Like I said above, itâ€™s pretty much up to the game, at this point. Let me play with a few titles I have tonight, get them to play wide, say 3360x1050 (2 monitors) and see what kind of performance (avg. fps) the 4850x2 can produce.

Clone


Extended


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Bruenor* 
Thanks everybody for the wellcome, Open1Your1Eyes0, I did some searching on the internet and always found that the safe voltage is 1.4, except at the intel page, but I think intel gives always a more moderate data, I was more worried about temperature, but the Silent Knight pleasantly surprised me.
Respect the GPU, I feel that despite the overclock, still being limited by the cpu, because in games like Crysis, I've seen climbing frames with the CPU&FSB raising, for me one of the best cards I've had performace-price ratio, after the Voodoo Banshee of course








I'll try to post some game benchmarks.

Yeah, a quad would probably have an easier time handling this card. I've noticed similar FPS increases with higher clocks on my rig too. The 1.3625 safe Vcore is the estimated voltage before you reduce its lifespan through migration and so on. In other words; thats the guaranteed voltage before electromigration possibly would occur and shorten your CPUs life.







But if or when it happens is different from chip to chip. Some chips can take 1.37-1.38Vcore 24/7 before its getting interesting. I would never run 1.40 24/7 though.....


----------



## Jaderlund

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Let me play with a few titles I have tonight, get them to play wide, say 3360x1050 (2 monitors) and see what kind of performance (avg. fps) the 4850x2 can produce.

Sounds great! Let me know as soon as you have tested









I am curious how the graphics card produces its output resolution. When two screens are connected, does one GPU 1 render the image for screen 1 and GPU 2 for screen 2, or do the two GPU's produce an image together and then divide it on the two screens or even three?

The last thing I want is GPU 1 handling two screens and GPU 2 only handling one. I can imagine that there would be a decrease in performance if that's the case.

I know that Crossfire X wont support more than two screens (though ATI say Crossfire only supports one screen). But I also know that the HD4850 holds up pretty good on its own.

Thanks for testing rico2001!


----------



## gsk3rd

I am actually getting very excited about this card. I am thinking of buying two of these cards to run quad sli. My reasons. Benchmarking, FAH, Future proofing. I will have a 24" monitor for normal use but I will also be outputting to a 32" LCD/monitor.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *gsk3rd* 
I am actually getting very excited about this card. I am thinking of buying two of these cards to run quad sli. My reasons. Benchmarking, FAH, Future proofing. I will have a 24" monitor for normal use but I will also be outputting to a 32" LCD/monitor.

You mean "*Quad CrossfireX*". "*SLI*" is for *NVIDIA*.


----------



## gsk3rd

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
You mean "*Quad CrossfireX*". "*SLI*" is for *NVIDIA*.









OMG I can not believe I said that...........









QUAD-FIRE!!!!!!!

guess this is what happens when you take Nyquil before posting on OCN.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

soon to get one as soon as this one hits philippines shores..







in a week or less..







hope to get a 20k score on 3dmark with the current sig-rig setup..^^


----------



## rico2001

Well guys last night's testing was a little disappointing, although I did learn a few things about our 4850x2. Also after last night, I remember why I got out of trying to run games on multi-monitors. Started out with (2) monitors and before I left work I borrowed another one from work. So having (3) monitors, to do some testing on was starting to get interesting and I was hopeful I could pull off something sweet.

Already running (2) monitors in ccc extended mode; I hooked up the 3rd one. As Open1Your1Eyes0's earlier post mentioned, to run 3 to 4 monitors with the 4850x2, you have to disable crossfireX. Here is the part I learned something. Disabled crossfireX, fired up the 3rd monitor, enabled it for extended desktop and repositioned it in ccc the way I wanted it (SEE PIC). Although the extended mode worked great on the 3rd monitor, I noticed in description, the 3rd monitor did not stay [extended] like the other (2). I didn't think much of it, at the time, but this most likely one of the reasons why I didn't have success in one of the games I'm going to try.

Thanks to the guys at widescreengaming.com, fanatics at this widescreen gaming/surround gaming art, for providing info on what titles and how to run them on (2) or more monitors. I remember being a member on their forum some 5 years ago, running Call of Duty 1, on my (2) 17" crts and a radeon 9500 pro. Ah, the good old days. Back then you open a games .ini file, input the joint resolution you wanted to run over the (2) monitors, save and start the game. After an hour of reading on their site last night, familiarizing myself again with multi-monitor gaming, I realized not much has changed in 5 years. Now days, most ppl opt for the matrox device "triple head 2 go" for easily playing many titles on (2) to more monitors. There are not many titles that ppl are using an ini hack or patch anymore. From their list of game title and from what games I have, I proceeded to try to test the following: Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 4: modern warfare, Fallout 3, Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault. I'll keep it short and tell you I was unsuccessful in all attempts. Fallout 3, which is supposed to have native surround gaming support, didn't work.

The only one I came close to running on all (3) monitors was Call of Duty 4. Call of Duty 4 uses a small program called "widescreen fix" to create different aspect ratios and (3)x monitor support aspect ratios. This is where my 3rd monitor not really being in [extended] mode comes into play. The fix would never take b/c my 3rd monitor acting extended but showing [single] was not correct. The only way I think to explain why the 3rd monitor show [single] but functions fine in [extended] is the 4850x2 is truly (2) cards into (1). What I mean by this is monitor (1) and (2) can fully function as one such as you would find on (1) single 4850 card. Monitor (3) and (4) fully function as one in the same fashion. Basically explaining the crossfireX (2) monitor (enabled) / (4) monitor (disabled) configuration. Hope that explanation wasn't too confusing, ha-ha. Ok, since all attempts failed so far, I opted to just try to stress the 4850x2 in another way. While still having all (3) monitors running (crossfireX disabled), I ran Devil May Cry 4 demo maxed out (1440x900) on a continuous loop and fire up Left 4 dead maxed (1680x1050). As I heard the 4850x2 fans turn to 100%







, I turned on FRAPS to check what fps I was getting in Left 4 dead. Played a mission and averaged an fps of 48.

So the moral of this ridiculously long story is unless you want to run a shared desktop with regular windows apps, over 3-4 monitors, buy a 4850x2, disable crossfireX and have fun. You will still have plenty of power to run any game maxed out. Or on the flip side, buy a 4850x2, the largest (1) monitor you can afford, enable crossfireX, and set it to 2560x1600 and have a ball.







Well I returned the 3rd monitor to work so I'm back down to (2). I will continue to try to get something to play over (2) screens even if I have to go back to an old title as Call of Duty 1. Still interested in seeing what the 4850x2 will do at 3XXX x 1024 or something like similar. I'm still very happy with this card and my purchase, it's outstanding. On a brighter note, I did get some more ATI goodness in last night. My new Sapphire 4850 1 GB. Time to test my hand at Tri-fire. More info, reviews and results to come.

4850x2 running (3) monitors in extended desktop


Playing Left 4 Dead while running Devil May Cry 4 (1440x900) Benchmark Demo (3 monitor setup - crossfireX disabled) 
FRAPS setting:
benchmark time - 1800 seconds
Game settings:
1680x1050, 16xATF, 8xAA, Shader: very high, all other settings: high
Difficulty: Expert
Campaign: No Mercy
Mission: 1: apartments









For reference: Left 4 Dead played alone, one monitor, crossfireX enabled (above specs the same)


----------



## mistargill

I used to have this card. I'm reconsidering another go with it. I didnt like the fan noise with previous trial and the fan control were not calibrated with the driver I used back than. are these situations better now?


----------



## mistargill

Sorry for double post... ehhh... not sure if you guys found that quieter bios. But when I used to have this card. one of the reviewer site...(can't remeber where) had it in their hands and I e-mailed them to get it. I still have it somewhere in my e-mail. I didnt try it because there reply were slow and I ended up bricking it trying to use custom bios that I set up... if you want it just let me know. I'll be happy to send it


----------



## Jaderlund

rico2001: Thanks for testing the triple screen setup, to bad it didn't work as good as expected. I do however have a suggestion if its possible to get the third monitor again. Soft TH.

In its intended use you need two graphics cards, one to produce the full image for all three screens and another card to get the extra DVI ports. It works kind of like the Matrox Tripplehead device only it does it by software.

This might work since the 4850 essentially is two cards. And as you stated, the third screen does not show as [extended] but as [single].

Here is the link for this software.
http://www.kegetys.net/SoftTH/

Here is a demo on youtube. (Just search for SoftTH and you will find loads of stuff.)
Thanks again rico2001


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Tat9etUgBA


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mistargill* 
Sorry for double post... ehhh... not sure if you guys found that quieter bios. But when I used to have this card. one of the reviewer site...(can't remeber where) had it in their hands and I e-mailed them to get it. I still have it somewhere in my e-mail. I didnt try it because there reply were slow and I ended up bricking it trying to use custom bios that I set up... if you want it just let me know. I'll be happy to send it

Thanks for the offer, mistargill but I don't have an issue with the noise the 4850x2 makes. It does a good job adjusting iteslf and I only really hear it when I startup a game and it ramps up to 100%. After my game starts, the sound of the game drowns out my pc. I guess I've never had quiet cpu, gpu and/or case fans over the years so my current setup with the 4850x2 doesn't bother me. I use to have 7 case fans back in '03, now that was a loud setup. ha-ha









Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jaderlund*
rico2001: Thanks for testing the triple screen setup, to bad it didn't work as good as expected. I do however have a suggestion if its possible to get the third monitor again. Soft TH.

In its intended use you need two graphics cards, one to produce the full image for all three screens and another card to get the extra DVI ports. It works kind of like the Matrox Tripplehead device only it does it by software.

This might work since the 4850 essentially is two cards. And as you stated, the third screen does not show as [extended] but as [single].

Here is the link for this software.
http://www.kegetys.net/SoftTH/

Here is a demo on youtube. (Just search for SoftTH and you will find loads of stuff.)
Thanks again rico2001

Awesome man; didn't even see this in my search efforts last night. This software seems like it may do the trick. Was concentrating on hacking the game files last night, I didn't bother looking around for other options. I don't have the monitor today but can borrow it again tomorrow. I'll keep you posted...


----------



## wierdo124

Just wondering, but what mod gave this official status?


----------



## mistargill

When I had this card it was pretty loud and it was quite noticeable even with my antec 1200. I guess I have different noise toleranc that others. Does new drivers let you adjust fan speed better? I remeber having the lowest value being 20% when its actually idling at 12%

EDIT: 7 case fans? my antec has 7 case fans. 6, 120mm one big 200mm? or 250? I dont remeber .... Its not that loud. my 4850 x2 was able to hear over when my fans were all turned on to medium speed


----------



## legend999

Yes,at load it can be a bit loud...But at idle,0 DB









Anyway,sapphire is about to launch a new bios,i guess....


----------



## rico2001

So far, no go on the SoftTH software, but closer than I was. It wants to work but its hanging on something. Doing a little browsering on their forum and stumbles on this statement:

"You can use this 3870 X2 with SoftTH for 3 monitors, but it's like running your 4-banger car on 2 cylinders, since all of the processing will be done on the first GPU only. The second GPU would be dedicated to simply transfer over the rendered image."

I'm thinking it may be worth me going to tri-fire for this to work. This program is really meant for one card to do all the rendering work and another card to basically be "trafic control" for the game.


----------



## mistargill

This is the Bios.
and this is the original Message from

Hi *****(my name sorry),

You can install this with ATIWinFlash You must flash both master and slave BIOS before restart.

Should you decide to flash your BIOS, you run the risk of permanently damaging your card if something goes run. I assume you know the risks and Overclockers Online and I take no responsibilities for your actions here on.

Edit: Review Link This is where I heard about the bios It's reviewed on November... i don't know why Sapphire ddin't give us these bios. I also called Sapphire directly, they simply said card is made to run that way and there is no fix or bios for this. This all happened back in november

Good luck and best regards,

Simon

.........

I got this bios from well.. Simon from overclockersonline.net

after reading their review and them mentioning new bios from Sapphire I emailed them. They gave me the bios after a week later. i didnt try it. As Simon says.. I too don't take any responsibility flashing this bios.

Newegg has 4850 x2 for 275 with freeshipping. I couldn't resist and ordered haha. my 4870 cost that much back than and i'll be getting full refund. what to lose?Attachment 99360

Edit: Bios has been removed, had a 4850 x2 user almost brick the graphics card







sorry!


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *mistargill*


This is the Bios. 
and this is the original Message from

Hi *****(my name sorry),

You can install this with ATIWinFlash You must flash both master and slave BIOS before restart.

Should you decide to flash your BIOS, you run the risk of permanently damaging your card if something goes run. I assume you know the risks and Overclockers Online and I take no responsibilities for your actions here on.

Edit: Review Link This is where I heard about the bios It's reviewed on November... i don't know why Sapphire ddin't give us these bios. I also called Sapphire directly, they simply said card is made to run that way and there is no fix or bios for this. This all happened back in november

Good luck and best regards,

Simon

.........

I got this bios from well.. Simon from overclockersonline.net

after reading their review and them mentioning new bios from Sapphire I emailed them. They gave me the bios after a week later. i didnt try it. As Simon says.. I too don't take any responsibility flashing this bios.

Newegg has 4850 x2 for 275 with freeshipping. I couldn't resist and ordered haha. my 4870 cost that much back than and i'll be getting full refund. what to lose?


+rep for you sir. Great find and thanks for supplying the BIOS for everyone.


----------



## Col. Newman

ok I am confused what is the point of this bios? if it is just to run 3 monitors you can do that now just disable crossfire, or am I missing something?


----------



## oulzac

The bios is not for 3 monitors, it only makes your fans a little quieter, as far as I know.


----------



## mistargill

Haha. thanks for rep+ Open1Your1Eyes0.
Yes this bios supposed to make your 4850 x2 quieter. I didnt test it myself though. However I opened up with RBE(bios editor) and seems to be a legit bios but.. you never know until you actually flash it


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Anyone wanna be the first victim?


----------



## oulzac

I'll pass, I have never had any luck with flashing ATI bios, I even bricked a card doing it once.


----------



## rico2001

Same here, I pass as well. Remember old saying, "if it's not broke, don't fix it."


----------



## Col. Newman

Quote:



Originally Posted by *oulzac*


The bios is not for 3 monitors, it only makes your fans a little quieter, as far as I know.


oooo maybe I should actually read the thread instead of just scanning it.


----------



## mistargill

Nobody have answered my question yet. Does new drivers able to adjust the fan speed better? can the fan speed go lower than 20% in CCC or at least is it calibrated better to the percentage?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *mistargill*


Nobody have answered my question yet. Does new drivers able to adjust the fan speed better? can the fan speed go lower than 20% in CCC or at least is it calibrated better to the percentage?


No the lowest setting you can set is 20% and the fans spin at 12% when not in use so the only thing we can hope for is waiting till Rivatuner brings supports for this card.


----------



## oulzac

Quote:



Originally Posted by *mistargill*


Nobody have answered my question yet. Does new drivers able to adjust the fan speed better? can the fan speed go lower than 20% in CCC or at least is it calibrated better to the percentage?


If you mean the 9.2 drivers, yes, even the 9.1's and the 8.12's allow you to set the fan speed lower than 20%, you can set it as low as 12% I believe, or maybe its 5%, I can not tell you the exact % as I don't have CCC installed currently.

If you are referring to the new BIOS, no one has used that yet, so no one can tell you about it, sorry.


----------



## oulzac

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


No the lowest setting you can set is 20% and the fans spin at 12% when not in use so the only thing we can hope for is waiting till Rivatuner brings supports for this card.


I thought the fan control was the speed?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *oulzac*


I thought the fan control was the speed?


It does control the speed but not lower than 20%. If Rivatuner brings support for this card then you can set it to whatever. Someone needs to contact the guys that work on Rivatuner.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

got mine last night..


----------



## Jakethesnake011

I love this video card for the price I get amazing results. The fan does not bug me since I am a headphone guy, and I always am jamming. But anyways, I got my Oced to like 698 Core clock and 1188 Memory clock, yes auto tuned it, been only working on Ocing my i7 at this moment this will be next. Now for some reason Crysis and crysis warhead give me the worst results with this card oced, I get chopped frames and gray screens, but no freezing of computer it still is running fine, just frames. Now when I turn overdrive down or off it is fine. My overclock works in gta 4 fine with 970-1008(might be more) video memory setting and all other games are fine with these high clock values. I was even planning on seeing if I can push core clock up to the 720s, and back off memory clock. I do have the new 9.12 drivers, and I do not see any difference in fan speed( now that I remember was it BIOS or drivers you all were talking about? I will check, I think BIOS is what you guys were talking about) but anyways it seems to be ripping through anything else except those 2 games. Now with the 9.12 drivers ATI claims a 20% crysis and crysis warhead increase in FPS, I see some maybe 15% but not 20%. Looking for some insight. Anyone else experiencing problem with their gaming and overclocking this card, similar to the ones I explained?
Also I have to say the one thing I hate about this card is the air exhaust in the case







It did not stop me from buying it, but it sucks, since heat in my case is an issue as I speak.


----------



## Jakethesnake011

Nice dude. When I first got the card the night before my i7 I was like playing with the thing out of the box, inspecting it and pumped to pump her in and go. I was not disappointed for the price at all, but that was in December, when all other were more money and I only paid like 280 for it.


----------



## oulzac

I have to put my clocks back to core for crysis also, its the only game, runs everything else just fine on max settings. someone else on here yesterday was having the same effects with only Fallout 3.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*kairi_zeroblade* and *Jakethesnake011*, congradulations, you guys are now on the "Owner's List".


----------



## oulzac

I also just bought today an E8500 and the same board you have Open1Your1Eyes0, I can not wait to get them, as this 7750/mobo I have now, has been holding this card back.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *oulzac* 
I also just bought today an E8500 and the same board you have Open1Your1Eyes0, I can not wait to get them, as this 7750/mobo I have now, has been holding this card back.

Awesome! Obviously since OCN it would only be appropriate if you told us how you're overclocking results go.









PS: Key on this board to remember is keep everything on Auto except *CPU Voltage, DRAM Voltage (If needed), CPU Clock (FSB), SPD (Ram Multiplier), and CPU Multiplier.* Good luck!


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

guys anyone here tried tropics bench??on this card??using the new 9.2 catalyst.


----------



## mistargill

The ram chip is rated for 1000Mhz. i don't think it is recommended to go higher


----------



## Jakethesnake011

Yes I have heard that I am going to check into it more, could be causing some of my problem.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

i had mine OC'd to 700/1100 last night no artifacts or any issues..


----------



## Bluzeboy

I got mine for $224 shipped open box from newegg, and let me tell you, best buy i have in my ENTIRE computer(best buy for a lifetime) and I LOVE IT. My cpu is holding me back but i have a 720 B.E coming in the mail Monday







My only question is I can overclock this card to 700 core and 1200 MHz on the ram no problem(on each GPU) But when i turn corners in source it starts to give off weird green textures on the walls(slightly). I am assuming its artifacts due to the high clock on the ram. What Core/Mem did you guys overclock too?

I will post my vantage results tomorrow


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

700/1100 tested w/o artifacts with 40& fanspeed..


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Bluzeboy*


I got mine for $224 shipped open box from newegg, and let me tell you, best buy i have in my ENTIRE computer(best buy for a lifetime) and I LOVE IT. My cpu is holding me back but i have a 720 B.E coming in the mail Monday







My only question is I can overclock this card to 700 core and 1200 MHz on the ram no problem(on each GPU) But when i turn corners in source it starts to give off weird green textures on the walls(slightly). I am assuming its artifacts due to the high clock on the ram. What Core/Mem did you guys overclock too?

I will post my vantage results tomorrow










*Bluzeboy*, congradulations you are now on the Owner's List!







As you can see, on the original post I have my results when I overclocked it to 700mhz on the core and 1200mhz on the ram. I did achieve those results although I can confirm they did artifact for me after a few minutes. I just posted the max OC to show the maximum potential of the card. The core can actually get relatively stable even with 700mhz but 1200mhz for the ram is just too much. I did have it stable at 1100mhz but as far as above that I haven't tested. Your best bet is to OC and run *Furmark* on the *Stability Test* with *Xtreme Burning Mode*, *Log GPU Temperature* and, *Post-Processing* on, with the maximum resolution. Run it for a good 30mins - 60mins and if nothing crashes or artifacts then you are 100% stable. Hope that helps!


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

@open
as far as i can see the CONs on this card is the noise 30% is giving me a headache..can barely hear the fan even 3 meters away..lol


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade*


@open
as far as i can see the CONs on this card is the noise 30% is giving me a headache..can barely hear the fan even 3 meters away..lol


Yeah noise and (to some) size are the an unfortunate thing. And it's kinda funny when Sapphire releases new BIOS's to fix this problem. The problem is not with the fan control or anything, it's just the cooling design is very poor and the thin shroud surrounding the two fans is made of very thin aluminum and therefore vibrates, creating a whiny sound, when the fans spin at a certain speed. Taking the shroud off however already takes 75% of the noise away so I would suggest for everyone that doesn't like the noise to at least take off the shroud.


----------



## gsk3rd

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Yeah noise and (to some) size are the an unfortunate thing. And it's kinda funny when Sapphire releases new BIOS's to fix this problem. The problem is not with the fan control or anything, it's just the cooling design is very poor and the thin shroud surrounding the two fans is made of very thin aluminum and therefore vibrates, creating a whiny sound, when the fans spin at a certain speed. Taking the shroud off however already takes 75% of the noise away so I would suggest for everyone that doesn't like the noise to at least take off the shroud.


Something similar happens with my 4870. I took the shroud off and it defiantly cooled down the temps by about 5c.


----------



## mistargill

Haha.. this seems to happen alot. few days later i order this thing promo code comes up. 4850 x2 promocde MMCHVGA gives 10% discount.. wow... comes to 247.49


----------



## Jakethesnake011

I myself also downclocked my RAM to about 1050 Mhz and it runs good. I ran Crysis at max setting at 1080p and that bady was sweet. Pushing like 30 FPS were as stock I was lucky if I got 20 and the new 9.12 drivers did help some


----------



## rico2001

Tropics Benchmark, OpenGL, 1680x1050, 2gb system ram









Tropics Benchmark, OpenGL, 1920x1200, 2gb system ram


----------



## rico2001

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (benchmarking: rig in the sig, 2gb system memory)

Test Settings:
Act1
Mission - "The Bog"

FRAPS setting:
time 927 seconds (~15 minutes)

1680x1050, 0xAA









0xAA, 0xATF









0xAA, 16xATF









1680x1050, 4xAA









4xAA, 0xATF









4xAA, 16xATF


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Well done *rico2001*, +rep for benchmark results.







Can't want to see what you get in *Crysis* and/or *Crysis Warhead*.


----------



## rico2001

Thanks man. Still working on Crysis. I believe I have a DX10 problem and I'm reinstalling as we speak. May make sense, all the other games I play and/or have benched so far have been DX9. Hopefully the reinstall of Crysis and DX will help.


----------



## Jakethesnake011

When overclocking this did anyone go into their mobo BIOS and change the PCI-E frequency and if so any luck with higher performance? Did not plan on pumping that up, but if positive results I might give it a shot.


----------



## aamir3kk

Im thinking of purchasing a rig with OCZ GameXStream Power Supply 850w will this power supply work with 4850x2 (2gb model).. imean the pins n stuff because im unsure about those.

Link to PSU -- http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817341003

Link to 4850x2 -- http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814102809

Also if you have any comments about my config for new rig that im going to be purchasing very soon, please see my thread here . thanks. --> http://www.overclock.net/intel-gener...ed-expert.html


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Thanks man. Still working on Crysis. I believe I have a DX10 problem and I'm reinstalling as we speak. May make sense, all the other games I play and/or have benched so far have been DX9. Hopefully the reinstall of Crysis and DX will help.


Don't forget to install patch 1.2 and 1.2.1 for *Crysis*. It fixes a lot of issues and increases performance.


----------



## rico2001

Crysis Benchmarking on Vista 64 (Retail build-6156)

Reinistalling the game and DX did not help, still crashed. Finally found out the problem was my overclocking of the cpu. Here are my scores at stock: E8300 @ 2.83 ghz. I guess Crysis is very cpu stressfull, although I can play any of my other games at my oc'ed 3.8G for hours with no problems. Go figure.

1600x1200









1900x1200









2560x1600









Reference: credit to hothardware.com


----------



## mistargill

Quote:



Originally Posted by *aamir3kk*


Im thinking of purchasing a rig with OCZ GameXStream Power Supply 850w will this power supply work with 4850x2 (2gb model).. imean the pins n stuff because im unsure about those.

Link to PSU -- http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817341003

Link to 4850x2 -- http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814102809

Also if you have any comments about my config for new rig that im going to be purchasing very soon, please see my thread here . thanks. --> http://www.overclock.net/intel-gener...ed-expert.html


For the power supply I recommend( Strongly and highly) Corsair 850TX

and by the way check out your 4850 x2 with promocode
*
MMCHVGA
*

its a 10% discount promocode


----------



## aamir3kk

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mistargill* 
For the power supply I recommend( Strongly and highly) Corsair 850TX

and by the way check out your 4850 x2 with promocode
*
MMCHVGA
*

its a 10% discount promocode

Thanks but im purchasing from newegg.ca and the promo code works only for the US.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


1900x1200










Exactly what I was looking for! Thanks a lot *rico2001*! +rep for you!


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Yeah noise and (to some) size are the an unfortunate thing. And it's kinda funny when Sapphire releases new BIOS's to fix this problem. The problem is not with the fan control or anything, it's just the cooling design is very poor and the thin shroud surrounding the two fans is made of very thin aluminum and therefore vibrates, creating a whiny sound, when the fans spin at a certain speed. Taking the shroud off however already takes 75% of the noise away so I would suggest for everyone that doesn't like the noise to at least take off the shroud.


man u have a link to a new bios update for this one??sapphire 2gb 4850x2??been looking for one and it seems that few users have this card..and yeah its long indeed..


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade* 
man u have a link to a new bios update for this one??sapphire 2gb 4850x2??been looking for one and it seems that few users have this card..and yeah its long indeed..










I don't wanna take credit for it so let me redirect you and you can rep him.








Link Here


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
I don't wanna take credit for it so let me redirect you and you can rep him.








Link Here

nice one he got repped..









1 question which of the 2 will be used??2 files are in the zip file and was confused..


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade*


nice one he got repped..









1 question which of the 2 will be used??2 files are in the zip file and was confused..










Both have to be used because there is a master and a slave BIOS for each GPU.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

i got this..


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Both have to be used because there is a master and a slave BIOS for each GPU.


so the 1st one should be for the master card bios??and the second is the slave card bios..


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade*


so the 1st one should be for the master card bios??and the second is the slave card bios..


I don't wanna say that I'm right, but I'm guessing that the one that ends with M is Master (First One), and then one ending in S is Secondary (Second One).


----------



## mistargill

Openyoureyes is correct according to my e-mail... Please be cautious of doing this. I would feel really bad if yours gets messed up







(praying...)


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


I don't wanna say that I'm right, but I'm guessing that the one that ends with M is Master (First One), and then one ending in S is Secondary (Second One).


thanks man 1 more thing btw..is this for the 2gb version??or for all 4850x2 variants i used to flash my old cards well i got bricked one time it was the same bios as prescribed but did not worked at all..


----------



## mistargill

The review site that I got this bios from flashed these bios right a way to their unit, which was 2gb version. Just make sure you double check it, the link is in the original post where you downloaded the bios


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

thanks man for the swift reply..


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade*


thanks man 1 more thing btw..is this for the 2gb version??or for all 4850x2 variants i used to flash my old cards well i got bricked one time it was the same bios as prescribed but did not worked at all..


Best of luck to you! Hope it all goes well so you can let us know what is different.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Best of luck to you! Hope it all goes well so you can let us know what is different.










this is the same as "Goodbye my 4850x2 that's the only 1 here in the Philippines"..


----------



## ghostunitz

So , hows this card? :X

Thinking of buying it since is cheaper.

Is better same performance as 285gtx?


----------



## legend999

Yes,it performs slightly better than GTX285,but GTX285 has better minimum frames.

It's a king of the Price/performance ratio.You won't regret it.


----------



## mistargill

So I've been reading this whole thread..xD a lot of great infos. I have a question, does taking the shroud off of this thing lower the noise really that much? I'm curious. oh and its the 4 screwes around the fans right?


----------



## rico2001

The 4850x2 is the 3rd fastest gaming card on the planet and use to be 2nd.
Order: GTX295 > 4870x2 > 4850x2 > GTX285

It's the only one of the (4) that makes sense price-wise. The other (3) are all overpriced, IMO.


----------



## guscol

i love my card


----------



## Jakethesnake011

@kairi_zeroblade
I see you have a mem clock of 1100 Mhz, now when you play any games does it start to give bad frames and freeze up. It happens to me when I play crysis and warhead all the time I can not go over a mem clock of 1050 without it, and my gpu clock can go 700+ and be fine.


----------



## Jakethesnake011

Attachment 99850


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Jakethesnake011*


@kairi_zeroblade
I see you have a mem clock of 1100 Mhz, now when you play any games does it start to give bad frames and freeze up. It happens to me when I play crysis and warhead all the time I can not go over a mem clock of 1050 without it, and my gpu clock can go 700+ and be fine.


no artifacts or distorted frames/pixels or anything..







runs much smoother than stock..


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

guys bad news about the bios flashing stuff..i almost got my card bricked..damn..









btw to all users:
safe settings i can get so far is 720/1130 w/o artifacts and no issues at all..


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade*


guys bad news about the bios flashing stuff..i almost got my card bricked..damn..









btw to all users:
safe settings i can get so far is 720/1130 w/o artifacts and no issues at all..


Man that sucks. Tell us what happened and what's the current situation.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Man that sucks. Tell us what happened and what's the current situation.


its a good thing i have the orig bios backed up so i used my HD2400 as primary card and the secondary was the 4850x2 luckily windows and catalyst recognized the bricked card so i planned to re-flash the orig BIOS in..and voila rescue mission was a success..damn i was scared-to-the-bones with that yesterday..


----------



## mistargill

I'm really sorry to hear that, I guess I'm going to pull that bios off my post. Good thing you backed up your bios. This is so unfortunate. I wished this bios was it to reduce the fan noise i guess no...


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *mistargill*


I'm really sorry to hear that, I guess I'm going to pull that bios off my post. Good thing you backed up your bios. This is so unfortunate. I wished this bios was it to reduce the fan noise i guess no...


it did reduced the noise but the card went dead..







yup its a good instinct of mine to always do that before flashing nowadays i had the same scenario back with my 3870 OC's..









we all learn from experience..


----------



## mistargill

I wonder if we extract the original bios and use RBE to edit the fan speed profile...will it work?


----------



## mistargill

Rep + for your bravery and to openyoureyes for making this awesome thread


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *mistargill*


I wonder if we extract the original bios and use RBE to edit the fan speed profile...will it work?


i had no choice since this is the only card of its kind here in the Philippines i already edited the stock BIOS bro based on the bios i DL'd here and it works wonders..







but about the fan issue making it run low RPM's will increase the heat..


----------



## rico2001

My 4850x2 was getting lonely. Going tri-fire tomorrow... maybe.

SAPPHIRE HD 4850X2 2GB & SAPPHIRE HD 4850 1GB


----------



## Col. Newman

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
My 4850x2 was getting lonely. Going tri-fire tomorrow... maybe.

SAPPHIRE HD 4850X2 2GB & SAPPHIRE HD 4850 1GB









Been thinking about do that myself but I don't really need to, I don't think there are any games that it would make difference in.


----------



## ZTR1760

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Col. Newman* 
Been thinking about do that myself but I don't really need to, I don't think there are any games that it would make difference in.

ive also been thinking about picking up a 4850 since the upcoming price drop will have them at about 120 new but will it really make all that much of a difference besides heating up my case and electricity bill


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Col. Newman* 
Been thinking about do that myself but I don't really need to, I don't think there are any games that it would make difference in.

It probably won't give me much increase in scores since I'm mainly running and benching at 1680x1050. Really brought the other card b/c I'm curious and wanted to see if they will run well together. Most likely its real strength will be at resolutions of 1920x1200 and higher. We'll see.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

why not trying a 4870 instead to pull the bandwidth up..in my case my 2x3870's are having good CPU scores with 3.5Ghz while this one benching at 3.6 has a lower CPU score..


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade*


why not trying a 4870 instead to pull the bandwidth up..in my case my 2x3870's are having good CPU scores with 3.5Ghz while this one benching at 3.6 has a lower CPU score..










4870's are overpriced and I wanted all my memory to match (ddr3).


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

i will try over the weekend if Xfiring with 4870 will pull up my scores..


----------



## mistargill

I got my 4850 x2 today. Normally this would be a good news but it's not for me. The card was defective. It looked defective when i pulled it out of the box, seeing its already bent towards 4 dvi ports. anyway hoping that its just bent with no damage but my hope was broke. 2 top dvi gave me random jitters and bottom two no signal at all. I'm very angry right now because i sent back my 4870 already and i won't be able to run my PC until I get a new one. just got done talking to newegg and their service is great but the time that I have to wait is frustrating. So I guess i'll stay away from 4850 x2 from now on. this is 2nd unit since december and I didn't have any luck with them. Time for me to either get 4870 or 2... or maybe just 4870 x2. anyway happy OC u all


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

damn why does my 3dmark scores won't go up..i OC'd to 3.8Ghz and its no difference benching at 3.5Ghz at all with this card..


----------



## Staol

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Yeah noise and (to some) size are the an unfortunate thing. And it's kinda funny when Sapphire releases new BIOS's to fix this problem. The problem is not with the fan control or anything, it's just the cooling design is very poor and the thin shroud surrounding the two fans is made of very thin aluminum and therefore vibrates, creating a whiny sound, when the fans spin at a certain speed. Taking the shroud off however already takes 75% of the noise away so I would suggest for everyone that doesn't like the noise to at least take off the shroud.


Thx for the tips OpenYourEyes, I feel much more quite after took the shroud off, and don't think that is necessary to change fans. Also temperature drop from 42'c to 33'c when idle.
I have 1Gb version of 4850x2, here is some information about the BIOS version.

The first one I got from newegg.com was a openbox( I paid brand new price) with full finger print on the driver disc. BIOS date is 09/18/2008.
After RMA I receive a new one and the BIOS date is 01/13/2009.

The different is: 
09/18/2008 idle fan speed is 17%
01/13/2009 idle fan speed is 3%, after temperature go over 60'c fan speed increase to 10%, obviously very quite.


----------



## Staol

Quote:



Originally Posted by *mistargill*


I got my 4850 x2 today. Normally this would be a good news but it's not for me. The card was defective. It looked defective when i pulled it out of the box, seeing its already bent towards 4 dvi ports. anyway hoping that its just bent with no damage but my hope was broke. 2 top dvi gave me random jitters and bottom two no signal at all. I'm very angry right now because i sent back my 4870 already and i won't be able to run my PC until I get a new one. just got done talking to newegg and their service is great but the time that I have to wait is frustrating. So I guess i'll stay away from 4850 x2 from now on. this is 2nd unit since december and I didn't have any luck with them. Time for me to either get 4870 or 2... or maybe just 4870 x2. anyway happy OC u all


That is not DOA mistargill, bottom two DVI won't because crossfireX is enable as default. Every single x2 card have the same problem.


----------



## legend999

Quote:











If you're on the prowl for some Crossfire muscle, the HD 4850 X2 is definitely a card worth taking into consideration. Although it's been around for months, Sapphire has decided to refresh it, by adding a watercooling kit onto the dual GPU PCB.

So, soon you'll be able to get a watercooled HD 4850 X2, which will be silent and provide you with enough performance for most needs. Although you don't hear about it much, the affordable HD 4850 X2 was received quite well in the gaming community, so such a move doesn't come as a surprise.

We've learned that this time around Sapphire didn't go for Asetek's watercooling kit, which is used on its watercooled HD 4870 X2 Atomic, but we still don't know which cooler will be used on the new card.

The HD 4850 X2 consists of two RV770 chips in Crossfire on a single PCB, and it normally ships with a dual slot cooler. Each of the GPUs packs 800 stream processors and addresses 1GB of GDDR3 memory on a 256-bit bus. Thanks to the low price of GDDR3 memory, the HD 4850 X2 is a relatively affordable card, significantly cheaper than the HD 4870 X2 with GDDR5 memory.

The only shortcoming of this card is that it can be a bit too loud under load, however, a bios update can solve this problem and make it a bit more quiet.
Nice


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

score still doesn't increas with 3.82Ghz clock and 710/1130 arrrggghhhh..sig rig for reference


----------



## legend999

That's strange .In vantage?

What about the FPS?


----------



## rico2001

My tri-fire setup. Will try to get a benchmark or two posted tonight.










Primary Adapter
Graphics Card ManufacturerPowered by ATI
Graphics ChipsetATI Radeon HD 4800 Series 
Device ID9442
Vendor1002

Subsystem IDE810
Subsystem Vendor ID174B

Graphics Bus CapabilityPCI Express 2.0
Maximum Bus SettingPCI Express 2.0 x8

BIOS Version011.004.000.000
BIOS Part Number11X-B50102-X06
BIOS Date7/11/2008

Memory Size1024 MB
Memory TypeGDDR3

Core Clock in MHz625 MHz
Memory Clock in MHz993 MHz
Total Memory Bandwidth in GByte/s63.6 GByte/s
--------------------------------------------------------

Linked Adapter 
Graphics Card ManufacturerPowered by ATI
Graphics ChipsetATI Radeon HD 4850 X2
Device ID9443
Vendor1002

Subsystem IDE870
Subsystem Vendor ID174B

Graphics Bus CapabilityPCI Express 2.0
Maximum Bus SettingPCI Express 2.0 x8

BIOS Version011.011.000.001
BIOS Part Number11X-B50102-X06
BIOS Date10/23/2008

Memory Size1024 MB
Memory TypeGDDR3

Core Clock in MHz625 MHz
Memory Clock in MHz993 MHz
Total Memory Bandwidth in GByte/s63.6 GByte/s
------------------------------------------------------

Linked Adapter 
Graphics Card ManufacturerPowered by ATI
Graphics ChipsetATI Radeon HD 4850 X2
Device ID9443
Vendor1002

Subsystem IDE870
Subsystem Vendor ID174B

Graphics Bus CapabilityPCI Express 2.0
Maximum Bus SettingPCI Express 2.0 x8

BIOS Version011.011.000.001
BIOS Part Number11X-B50102-X06
BIOS Date10/23/2008

Memory Size1024 MB
Memory TypeGDDR3

Core Clock in MHz625 MHz
Memory Clock in MHz993 MHz
Total Memory Bandwidth in GByte/s63.6 GByte/s


----------



## legend999

Nice!

You could some wire management there


----------



## mistargill

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Staol*


That is not DOA mistargill, bottom two DVI won't because crossfireX is enable as default. Every single x2 card have the same problem.


Hrmm... I don't remeber saying the card was DOA. It doesnt matter if the bottom two is disabled in default. Top two have bad signal giving me red glitchy jitter red line and green dots all over on my black boot screen. When I boot into windows the problem is still there. I am sure this card was a just a REPACKED of a defective card returned to the manufacturer, or at least it could be that it's an open box it self already because the box was already tempered


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *legend999*


Nice!

You could some wire management there










Going for power and performance not pretty.







You should have my systems in the past; resembling more of a birds nest.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

bench results with the comparison..can anyone explain where the fault is??damn..


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade*











bench results with the comparison..can anyone explain where the fault is??damn..


The 3870 is a sleeper card that seems to be underrated. With it's gpu at 770 mhz, which can be oc'ed to 850-860 mhz I hear, and having ddr4 stock at 1150, it could potentially match up very well with our 4850x2. The oc amount of the (2) 3870's aren't stated and neither are the drivers for the 4850x2. Furthermore, I'm starting not to have much faith in the synthetic benchmarks. I don't fair too well in '06 and vantage, although all the real world game benchmarks I've done produced very good results. I may be wrong about the 3870 since I don't have one or know much about it. I based what I just wrote on specs, reviews and futuremark scores I just looked up.


----------



## rico2001

On that note, more synthetic 3dmark06 and Vantage scores.

4850x2 + 4850 in Tri-fire

3Dmark06:
4850x2 score - 17847
4850x3 score - 19133 (7.2%, 1286 point gain)(not bad, was really hoping to hit 20k, oh well. Need to get my cpu over 4G somehow.)










3Dmark Vantage:
4850x2 score - 10537
4850x3 score - 12803 (21.5%, 2266 point gain)(now we are getting somewhere, really big gain in the gpu score (x2 @ 12014 vs x3 @ 16406)) Very pleased!










More to come....


----------



## vtech1

il post my my results as soon as i get my mobo


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


The 3870 is a sleeper card that seems to be underrated. With it's gpu at 770 mhz, which can be oc'ed to 850-860 mhz I hear, and having ddr4 stock at 1150, it could potentially match up very well with our 4850x2. The oc amount of the (2) 3870's aren't stated and neither are the drivers for the 4850x2. Furthermore, I'm starting not to have much faith in the synthetic benchmarks. I don't fair too well in '06 and vantage, although all the real world game benchmarks I've done produced very good results. I may be wrong about the 3870 since I don't have one or know much about it. I based what I just wrote on specs, reviews and futuremark scores I just looked up.


both on 9.2 catalyst..yes thats true ingame results were astounding..but the fact that it benches suck's..the new 4850's equipped with GDDR4 are just upsized 3870's..and are also non reference that's why i bought this one..


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade*


both on 9.2 catalyst..yes thats true ingame results were astounding..but the fact that it benches suck's..the new 4850's equipped with GDDR4 are just upsized 3870's..and are also non reference that's why i bought this one..


?

1. 99% of all 4850 are equipped with DDR3 (one Apollo card comes to mind that has DDR4)
2. the gpus are different (4850's have RV770 chip with 800 stream processors vs. 3870's having the RV670 chip with 320 stream processors)(the texture detail quality and throughput is way better with 4850's)
3. Being that the higher gpu clock speed for the 3870 yields better result (or on par) with the 4850 at lower resolutions and AA/ATF like in 3dmark06 (1280x1024). As you can look up, the 4850 does pull away from the 3870 in real world gaming at higher resolutions and AA settings.

All in all, me, you and others have made the wise choice in the 4850 and its bigger brother the X2. Happy gaming!


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
?

1. 99% of all 4850 are equipped with DDR3 (one Apollo card comes to mind that has DDR4)
2. the gpus are different (4850's have RV770 chip with 800 stream processors vs. 3870's having the RV670 chip with 320 stream processors)(the texture detail quality and throughput is way better with 4850's)
3. Being that the higher gpu clock speed for the 3870 yields better result (or on par) with the 4850 at lower resolutions and AA/ATF like in 3dmark06 (1280x1024). As you can look up, the 4850 does pull away from the 3870 in real world gaming at higher resolutions and AA settings.

All in all, me, you and others have made the wise choice in the 4850 and its bigger brother the X2. Happy gaming!









i totally agree

update!!
my scores went up using 4gb mems..will bench more to find new tweaks..and it seems this baby loves windows VISTA64-bit..


----------



## rico2001

Tri-fire testing continued....

Now on to some real world gaming benchmarks. Back to the glitchy game of Crysis and again I must run my E8300 at stock, 2.83 Ghz. Really wish I could use my oc of 3.8 Ghz; I believe I could then take down the great GTX295.

4850x2 = 33.905 fps
4850x3 = 38.350 fps (13.1% fps gain, not bad almost 40)









4850x2 = 29.245 fps
4850x3 = 33.795 fps (15.5% fps gain, getting better, I think the tri-fire likes high rez.)









4850x3 = 30.95 fps (for kicks and giggles, added full AA to the mix, still pulled out a cool 30 fps)









4850x2 = 17.82 fps
4850x3 = 22.47 fps (26.0% fps gain, awesome, I believe tri-fire loves high rez., only 3 fps from the current big dogs of the world the GTX295 and 4870x2)









Again, very pleased with what tri-fire is putting out so far.

Reference: credit to hothardware.com (Core 2 Extreme @ 3.2 GHz used)


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

rico will benching in vista help this card unleash its potential??


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade*


rico will benching in vista help this card unleash its potential??


Not sure if you meant to say XP, but all my test have been in Vista. To answer your question, I'm not sure if testing in another operating system with help. I think I'm at the point where, with alot of gpu power, my cpu is holding me back. Some argue the (2) 8x pci-e 2.0 slots vs. (2) 16x pci-e slots are what hold us ATI guys back but I'm sort of not buying that concept and leaning toward its really about the cpu. I think when you have almost more gpu power than cpu power, the cpu is not able to keep up processing the info the cards are trying to put out. Hope that makes sense, just my opinion. I'm a little interested to see what I could do with a quad core or an i7.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Not sure if you meant to say XP, but all my test have been in Vista. To answer your question, I'm not sure if testing in another operating system with help. I think I'm at the point where, with alot of gpu power, my cpu is holding me back. Some argue the (2) 8x pci-e 2.0 slots vs. (2) 16x pci-e slots are what hold us ATI guys back but I'm sort of not buying that concept and leaning toward its really about the cpu. I think when you have almost more gpu power than cpu power, the cpu is not able to keep up processing the info the cards are trying to put out. Hope that makes sense, just my opinion. I'm a little interested to see what I could do with a quad core or an i7.


i was wondering too if its that way to go..for my setup i have a quad processor which i think is not my probs since its OC'd the cards as you said are really powerful it even gapped my CPU scores..i was just wondering you have high SM3.0 and SM2.0 scores on vista well mine has lower results on XP..i might just call it quits..


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade*


rico will benching in vista help this card unleash its potential??


To answer your question, the only way you can fully release the potential of any new card right now is if you get Vista. The reason is, Vista uses DX10 and DX10.1 (for ATI). Every single card out right now (including the lower end ones) support DX10 natively so the only way you can get the full features/power of the card is with vista. With XP it's kinda useless to buy DX10 cards.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


To answer your question, the only way you can fully release the potential of any new card right now is if you get Vista. The reason is, Vista uses DX10 and DX10.1 (for ATI). Every single card out right now (including the lower end ones) support DX10 natively so the only way you can get the full features/power of the card is with vista. With XP it's kinda useless to buy DX10 cards.


will try tonight once i installed Vista64..i am almost to give up my hopes on this card..







i am really disappointed right now that this card has coming up with almost all of the cons i can think of except the fact that gaming in all resolutions is A+ quality..the noise is killing me..it heats up so fast even with 60% fan speed..and it gulps more power..i will have my bills boomed..







arrggghh hope results on vista will spice up for me..


----------



## oulzac

What temps are you guys getting?
I was finally able to get the 9.2's to install correctly for me, and my temps are insane compared to the 9.1's.

I was running at 38 idle and 50-55 load on 9.1
on 9.2 I run at 43 idle and 70-73 at load

This is insane, I am going to have to my some coolers for this thing now.


----------



## xgeko2

i am getting 28-30C idle on liquid with my phenom2 940 @ 3.6 and both gpus at 700.


----------



## rico2001

4850x2 idle: gpu1 - 47C, gpu2 - 51C
4850 idle: 56C

4850x2 load: gpu1 - 81C, gpu2 - 83C
4850 load: 71C


----------



## Maxers

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


4850x2 idle: gpu1 - 47C, gpu2 - 51C
4850 idle: 56C

4850x2 load: gpu1 - 81C, gpu2 - 83C
4850 load: 71C


Those are some serious high temps on load Rico.

*Originally Posted by legend999 
Nice!

You could some wire management there









Originally Posted by Rico2001
Going for power and performance not pretty. You should have my systems in the past; resembling more of a birds nest.*

AAhhh that explains everything


----------



## oulzac

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


4850x2 idle: gpu1 - 47C, gpu2 - 51C
4850 idle: 56C

4850x2 load: gpu1 - 81C, gpu2 - 83C
4850 load: 71C


and I thought my temps were bad, you better get some more fans or some coolers soon, ad those temps your going to burn them up, 83c


----------



## rico2001

Well I think my temps are ok. The x2 temps were lower but I'm running two cars now in pretty close proximity. I believe ppl are thinking too much of intel cpu temps when looking at ati gpu temps. My gpu temps will never be 27C like my core 2 duo.









update: my new 4850 is doing something strange. Under no load, it is turning the fan down to 1% (almost off). It being my bottom card is raising the temps for the x2. It , of course, adjust from 1%-100% on demand. The x2 as you all know has a low of 12% so I see no change there but I am keeping my eye on the other 4850.


----------



## rico2001

Tri-fire testing continued....

Finally got an cpu overclock to not lock up Crysis. Now testing tri-fire with E8300 at 3.7 Ghz. Did one batch run.










Reference: credit to hothardware.com (Core 2 Extreme @ 3.2 GHz used)


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

results are in..seems this card loves Vista though my OC does not..it sucks..any recommendations..all stock with vantage..









3dmark06 results *chopped* coming next..


----------



## rico2001

Nice vantage score, kairi_zeroblade. I believe vista likes your processor. Your cpu score is good. My gpu score @ x2 (not x3) was 12014, close to your 12490. Keep up the good work.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

3dmark06 broken results cannot finish one pass i need to do it on batches..i dunno why does this stupid thing wont run one shot only...


----------



## legend999

An update







:


























Finally,serenity...


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

last run using winxp..









arggghhh..seems i'll be going back to XP64..


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

legend what temps are you getting on those..i also have 2 pcs fatality ZV9 here and i want to try it on..


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Tri-fire testing continued....

Finally got an cpu overclock to not lock up Crysis. Now testing tri-fire with E8300 at 3.7 Ghz. Did one batch run.










Reference: credit to hothardware.com (Core 2 Extreme @ 3.2 GHz used)










Sick results. You have found the perfect Crysis setup! How's microstutter though? It's probably gotta be pretty bad for communication delay between (technically) 5 GPUs.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

still raising my damn old question..


----------



## Vagos290189

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Tropics Benchmark, OpenGL, 1680x1050, 2gb system ram









Tropics Benchmark, OpenGL, 1920x1200, 2gb system ram










I think GPU-Z displays wrong data for your system . The core is RV770 not R700 and since it is 4850x2 you should have double the ROP's ,Gtexels/sec ,Gpixels/sec . those you display is for a typical 4850


----------



## oulzac

Yeah post your temps with those bad boys on there, I just ordered two myself and am curios what temps your getting with them. I fold 24/7 on both gpus currently and temps are insanely high.


----------



## oulzac

I am now sitting next to my jet engine









I turned the stock fans up to 75%, and my temps dropped 6c and 8c
Now if I can just learn to ignore it until Wed


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *oulzac*


I am now sitting next to my jet engine









I turned the stock fans up to 75%, and my temps dropped 6c and 8c
Now if I can just learn to ignore it until Wed










aside from the fact that it sucks benching the same old problem as well..noise is a hell of PITA..when watching movies with my theater setup the fans can't be ignored..when i reduce the fan speed i suffer the heat..

but still same old question guys..why does vista giving me a heck of probs when beching with 3dmark06..


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade*


aside from the fact that it sucks benching the same old problem as well..noise is a hell of PITA..when watching movies with my theater setup the fans can't be ignored..when i reduce the fan speed i suffer the heat..

but still same old question guys..why does vista giving me a heck of probs when beching with 3dmark06..


Make sure your computer is stable 100% and check for RAM errors using memtest before continuing. Finally, check to make sure you have all the latest drivers. You can download the latest ones for this card at the bottom on the original post.


----------



## legend999

My temps are:

*STOCK COOLER*

IDLE:49Âº-52Âº (Fan Speed 3%)

LOAD:66-70Âº (Fan Speed 35%

*Zalman VF-900*

IDLE:38Âº-40Âº (Fan Speed Min)

Load:The max i had was 54Âº.after running crysis.(Fan Speed Min too)

Also,i can't seem to get Ati tool to work wih this card.

PS:I can't heeeear it


----------



## BradleyW

nice rig


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Sick results. You have found the perfect Crysis setup! How's microstutter though? It's probably gotta be pretty bad for communication delay between (technically) 5 GPUs.


Actually, its 2 cpu's and 3 gpu's but I know what you mean. Luckly, I haven't experienced and micro stuttering yet. Knock on wood.







I did experience a texture problem in Left 4 dead, a few times with the x2. Disabling v-sync fixed that problem though. I've read the texture issue could be due to lack on virtual mem but who knows. Disabling v-sync worked for me. Other than that and my cpu oc crashing crysis, I haven't have any problems. Oh it seems, in fact, the tri-fire has made my gaming even smoother. Probably the increase in fps. Thanks for the compliment.


----------



## Jakethesnake011

I was thinking of going tri fire myself. But do I need another 4850? or can I go with a 4870? or any 4800 series? I was thinking about using a 4870 1gb as a main card connected to my monitor and then have the 4850 x2 as the secondary/tertiary card through cross fire. I was also wondering if anyone with overclocking their card gets bad frames and artifacts when running the memory over 1080 Mhz. I get some blue screens when playing GTA 4 with my mem over 1080, but my gpu clock is fine at 700+ up to 720. My mem gets up to like 77 degrees, same with shader and core, the highest has been 80. I do not know if the heat is caudsing blue screen and bad frames or what. When I play crysis, and warhead and crysis wars, if I have my memory clock over 1060 I get bad frames and it still runs the frames are all corrupted badly. That happens with in the first 5 minutes of playing the game. All other games I can run 700/1190 no problem, well it gets hot, but no frame problems. i got the latest drivers, so I am unsure why the card can not handle those 2 games with high memory clock.


----------



## Corvette1987

Hello I am new to this forum and am a fellow 4850x2 user. I also added a his 4850 1 gig for the infamous trifire setup. I am going to do some hardcore testing and get you guys numbers with at least 8 games and 3dmark. I appreciate forums like this. From my experience with ati drivers and many sleepless nights, vista 64 bit cleared up almost all issues. So if all else fails, try vista 64. I could not get my trifire to work with 32 bit vista and numerous bios updates, driver updates, etc. Keep the 4850x2 alive!


----------



## gsk3rd

what version of this card is better for Ocing? 1g or 2g?


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
Make sure your computer is stable 100% and check for RAM errors using memtest before continuing. Finally, check to make sure you have all the latest drivers. You can download the latest ones for this card at the bottom on the original post.

using 9.2 drivers CPU OC and mems are tested using prime95 during my XP days..that setup is very stable for more than 8 hours..thats why i choose it as a bench setup even it has low Clocks..


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

results from XP64..with AMD boost technology disabled..


----------



## legend999

Quote:


Originally Posted by *gsk3rd* 
what version of this card is better for Ocing? 1g or 2g?

It's the same,overclock wise.Same cooling,same memories.

Performance,as far as i can tell,it's pratically the same from 1680x1050.Don't know about higher resolutions tough.


----------



## Jakethesnake011

I finally got around to benching my computer with 3dmark 06 here are results.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

nice luck for you jake..mine is still giving me a headache..

results with 730/1130 OC'd clocks..still AMD Boost technology disabled so there's a significant 5-10fps loss..


----------



## rico2001

More Tri-fire testing...

Devil May Cry 4, 1360x1024, DX10, 8xAA, Super high settings
4850x2 = 177.5 average fps
4850x3 = 265.3 average fps (87.8, 49.5% gain)(great gain. tri-fire destroys this game.) 

















Devil May Cry 4,1680x1050, DX9, 8xAA, Super high settings
4850x2 = 170.2 average fps
4850x3 = 242.5 average fps (72.3 fps, 42.4% gain)(another nice tri-fire scaling)

















Reference: credit to www.xbitlabs.com (Intel Core i7-965 Extreme @ 3.2GHz used)









X3 Terran Conflict, 16800x1050, DX10, 8xAA, 16x ATF
4850x2 = 94.7 average fps
4850x3 = 97.7 average fps (3 fps, 3.1% gain)(not a good scaling for tri-fire this time around.) 

















Reference: credit to neoseeker.com (Intel Core i7-920 @ 3.0GHz used)


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade*


nice luck for you jake..mine is still giving me a headache..

results with 730/1130 OC'd clocks..still AMD Boost technology disabled so there's a significant 5-10fps loss..










hey man how are you getting over 700mhz core i have been trying so hard to get this thing to budge ive been editing the bios for days with no luck.

here is my 3dmark 2006 score. http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=10280479


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xgeko2*


hey man how are you getting over 700mhz core i have been trying so hard to get this thing to budge ive been editing the bios for days with no luck.

here is my 3dmark 2006 score. http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=10280479


magic..









edit:your scores are way over mine..my sm2.0 and sm3.0 suck..


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade*


magic..









edit:your scores are way over mine..my sm2.0 and sm3.0 suck..










ahh dont give me that magic bs lol! ive tried everything cant seem to get it to stick i have liquid cooling and i want to see just how high i can take the 2 cores on this card!

*ps* Ill love you forever <3! lol.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xgeko2* 
ahh dont give me that magic bs lol! ive tried everything cant seem to get it to stick i have liquid cooling and i want to see just how high i can take the 2 cores on this card!

*ps* Ill love you forever <3! lol.

actually i can haul this card til 750 the prob is the bios voltage is set to max @1.15x volts..i tried editing the bios to tweak the card further..









but still your scores are better than mine..







i dunno why??









BTW man how are your temps on the Thermaltake 745 water cooling i was opting to buy one on my setup


----------



## xgeko2

There low really low my 940be running at 3.9ghz idle temp is 25C My gpu temps are 31C and 28C at 700mhz idle.

If you go to the thermal take clearence site you can get the bigwater 745 referbished for 100 bucks thats what i got second time buying it referb and it works like a charm just make sure you only use the thermal take tubing though if you get that kit otherwise you might have leaks.

Bigwater 745 at 99$ http://www.thermaltakestore.com/bigwater-745.html

and i got for my video card 2x
http://www.thermaltakestore.com/clw0038.html

Everything works fine and no leaks or flow problems.

What are you using to get the card over 700 though just editing the bios? or are you using software to do it?


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xgeko2* 
There low really low my 940be running at 3.9ghz idle temp is 25C My gpu temps are 31C and 28C at 700mhz idle.

If you go to the thermal take clearence site you can get the bigwater 745 referbished for 100 bucks thats what i got second time buying it referb and it works like a charm just make sure you only use the thermal take tubing though if you get that kit otherwise you might have leaks.

Bigwater 745 at 99$ http://www.thermaltakestore.com/bigwater-745.html

and i got for my video card 2x
http://www.thermaltakestore.com/clw0038.html

Everything works fine and no leaks or flow problems.

What are you using to get the card over 700 though just editing the bios? or are you using software to do it?

ohh i see.what do you mean with the tubes??i was planning to buy a kit..(brand new one) over www.potterhouse.net

i used "RBE" and "ATIWinflash".. to edit and flash the bioses..


----------



## rico2001

For you watercooling guys.

A watercooler for HD 4850 X2 is comming


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade* 
ohh i see.what do you mean with the tubes??i was planning to buy a kit..(brand new one) over www.potterhouse.net

i used "RBE" and "ATIWinflash".. to edit and flash the bioses..









Man ive been doing the exact same thing and gpuz said 720mhz for the core clock but the sensors read 700mhz and there wasnt a improvment in 3dmark what are you editing in the bios when you use rbe?


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
For you watercooling guys.

A watercooler for HD 4850 X2 is comming

Already got mine on liquid but if that will cool the mosfets and vga memory as well it might be worth buying =D


----------



## rico2001

Sounds cool. I haven't oc'ed my gpus yet, so for now, air is all I need.


----------



## rico2001

Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 1GB review, March 8th 2009


----------



## WarGasm

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 1GB review, March 8th 2009

A million thanks kind sir, Ive been dying for this.


----------



## cgarrit

Hello all,

I just got this card yesterday. I downloaded the drivers off the first post got everything installed and tried running the video stress test from counter strike. The problem im running into is the screen will go black and then an error code saying the Ati2dvag has stopped working properly. Has anybody else had this problem ?


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xgeko2* 
Man ive been doing the exact same thing and gpuz said 720mhz for the core clock but the sensors read 700mhz and there wasnt a improvment in 3dmark what are you editing in the bios when you use rbe?

i edited the voltages and set it to max 1.15v and then edited the clock frequency..set it to 720..


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade* 
i edited the voltages and set it to max 1.15v and then edited the clock frequency..set it to 720..

Im going to be trying this here soon so hopefully i wont brick my card again lol!


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *cgarrit* 
Hello all,

I just got this card yesterday. I downloaded the drivers off the first post got everything installed and tried running the video stress test from counter strike. The problem im running into is the screen will go black and then an error code saying the Ati2dvig has stopped working properly. Has anybody else had this problem ?

What drivers did you install, exactly? 9.2'S? Uninstall drivers, use driver sweeper in safe mode to remove all remaining ati drivers, re-install drivers. Have an adequate power supply?


----------



## Mac the Geek

Quote:


Originally Posted by *WarGasm* 

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 1GB review, March 8th 2009

A million thanks kind sir, Ive been dying for this.

As have I. I like HardOCP's reviews; they don't limit themselves to reporting just the max/average framerate. The time graphs give a lot more info.

I'm on the fence right now, trying to decide between the 4850X2 and a single 4870. If I do the single 4870, I could add a second later and CrossFire 'em; but if I get the 4850X2, I won't need to expand later. (This is a budgetary decision, and my upper limit is in the $250-$275 range.)

The time graphs in the HardOCP review show a fair amount of "choppiness" with the 4850X2 1GB. Since the average framerates are solid, I have to wonder whether the smaller memory capacity makes a difference. I'm looking forward to seeing their review of the 2GB model.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Mac the Geek*


As have I. I like HardOCP's reviews; they don't limit themselves to reporting just the max/average framerate. The time graphs give a lot more info.

I'm on the fence right now, trying to decide between the 4850X2 and a single 4870. If I do the single 4870, I could add a second later and CrossFire 'em; but if I get the 4850X2, I won't need to expand later. (This is a budgetary decision, and my upper limit is in the $250-$275 range.)

The time graphs in the HardOCP review show a fair amount of "choppiness" with the 4850X2 1GB. Since the average framerates are solid, I have to wonder whether the smaller memory capacity makes a difference. I'm looking forward to seeing their review of the 2GB model.


1. Your assumptions are correct, at this point in time, with the games we are playing, 1G of video ram is just not enough. So if you or anyone was in the market for the 4850x2, I would suggest getting the 2GB model over the 1GB.

2. In your particular case, since you are working with $250-$275, I would recommend the 4870. If you can catch a sale at newegg, which they seem to have 3 days out of every 2 weeks, buy the 4850x2 2GB for $275 w/free shipping.

Good luck with your decision.


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


1. Your assumptions are correct, at this point in time, with the games we are playing, 1G of video ram is just not enough. So if you or anyone was in the market for the 4850x2, I would suggest getting the 2GB model over the 1GB.

2. In your particular case, since you are working with $250-$275, I would recommend the 4870. If you can catch a sale at newegg, which they seem to have 3 days out of every 2 weeks, buy the 4850x2 2GB for $275 w/free shipping.

Good luck with your decision.










I had a problem with buying mine from newegg they had the card advertised at a 280 dollar regular price then it jumped up 60 dollars overnight and didnt come down for a month so i ended up getting mine from e-bay.


----------



## cgarrit

oops


----------



## cgarrit

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


What drivers did you install, exactly? 9.2'S? Uninstall drivers, use driver sweeper in safe mode to remove all remaining ati drivers, re-install drivers. Have an adequate power supply?



Ok, I have the 9.2 drivers. I did eveything you suggested and I'm still getting the error. ati2dvag display driver stopped working properly. I did a quick search online and it seems like its a common problem. I would really sugggest any feedback I could get thanks. Oh ya i have a 680 watt power supply


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

man it seems that i can't change my stock fans to a better one the warranty sticker is damn attached to 1 of the screws of the stock cooler this is bull****...


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade*


man it seems that i can't change my stock fans to a better one the warranty sticker is damn attached to 1 of the screws of the stock cooler this is bull****...


Use a hairdryer to heat up the glue on the sticker and after a while it'll peel right off. But you didn't hear it from me.


----------



## Mac the Geek

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
1. Your assumptions are correct, at this point in time, with the games we are playing, 1G of video ram is just not enough. So if you or anyone was in the market for the 4850x2, I would suggest getting the 2GB model over the 1GB.

2. In your particular case, since you are working with $250-$275, I would recommend the 4870. If you can catch a sale at newegg, which they seem to have 3 days out of every 2 weeks, buy the 4850x2 2GB for $275 w/free shipping.

Good luck with your decision.









I found the 4850X2 thread in the HardOCP forum; seems they've pretty much reached the same conclusion regarding the 1GB version not having enough RAM. I think that's what I'm going to do; but since I don't need to pull the trigger today, I can wait a bit.









Newegg dropped the 2GB price to $290 (US) today. They claim it's a "24-hour sale"... but Amazon has the card for the same price, which makes me think that the Egg might extend or lower its offer. They don't seem to like being undersold.


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mac the Geek* 
I found the 4850X2 thread in the HardOCP forum; seems they've pretty much reached the same conclusion regarding the 1GB version not having enough RAM. I think that's what I'm going to do; but since I don't need to pull the trigger today, I can wait a bit.









Newegg dropped the 2GB price to $290 (US) today. They claim it's a "24-hour sale"... but Amazon has the card for the same price, which makes me think that the Egg might extend or lower its offer. They don't seem to like being undersold.









They will drop it down trust me i think that video card has been the worst on fluctuating prices.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
Use a hairdryer to heat up the glue on the sticker and after a while it'll peel right off. But you didn't hear it from me.









as long as my warranty doesn't get voided its good to go..







thanks..









big gulp!!


----------



## cgarrit

When i remove the old drivers so i can update with the new ones it gives me 2 options.
1. remove ati radeon graphics software, leave chipset software (recommended) .
2. Completely remove all ati/amd (graphics/chipset) software .
Which one should i choose ?


----------



## Jakethesnake011

Any one have any luck getting the temps lower or lower fan noise.
@openyoureyes, you were able to take off the shroud? and the fans are attached to the sinks so the the shroud really does not matter? from the looks of it the fans are screwed into the shroud to hold them over the sinks, but I did not take the card out since it has bee in comp. I was think of putting two fans under the card I think 2, 140mms pushing about 70cfm and see if those will help bring down my temps. I hit 80.0 shader core, 81 mem, and 79 core temps, and that was only under a 700 core clock, and 1040! mem clock. I was shocked. I would say 2 hrs stress of GTA 4 with 800mb out of 102? available video memory. My card blue screens on me when memory clock is over 1050, in like 30 minutes, I think heat is causing it, since my memory at 1100mhz gets up to 83ish. Although when I get up to the 80s my fans do not catch up and go into the 59% phase. and according to rivatuner the fan should be running at 70% under 80 degree temps. Can I change these fan presents, rivatuner is not letting me, any other things I can do to make the fan be on a "modified auto" to my liking. I hope those 2 fans help me out some.


----------



## Jakethesnake011

you have to uninstall all old drivers 1st. You can use the ati installer and remove the catalyst application and then go into the device manager in windows and see if the 2 cards are being seen as 4850's, if so the drivers are still there, so you have to go into the graphic adapter properties and uninstall driver (restart I believe) then use the new 9.1/9.2 catalyst installer and install that and it will install the CCC program and drivers


----------



## cgarrit

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jakethesnake011* 
you have to uninstall all old drivers 1st. You can use the ati installer and remove the catalyst application and then go into the device manager in windows and see if the 2 cards are being seen as 4850's, if so the drivers are still there, so you have to go into the graphic adapter properties and uninstall driver (restart I believe) then use the new 9.1/9.2 catalyst installer and install that and it will install the CCC program and drivers

so i should chose to (completely remove all ati/amd (graphics/chipset) software) ? Sorry if i'm asking a basic question but the chipset spooked me and i dont want to remove something that i need.


----------



## Jakethesnake011

If you are using the catalyst installer, the one from ATI, you should chose
Uninstall
Remove ATI software Components.

Now when this happens your screen will probably go black and might come back with a crappy picture, normal, since the card is not updated and running as it is intended. Now then like I said go into device manager and make sure the video cards are not being "seen" by your computer. If they are not under your 
DISPLAY Adapter tab in device manager 
as standard VGA adapter (or similiar , the normal with drivers has 2 ati hd 4850x2, so if you see ati hd 4850x2 the drivers are still on) If the drivers are still there click on one 4850x2 and then right click to properties and then the Driver tab, and at bottom click uninstall driver. Screen will cut out most likely. Restart computer, and then when back on computer will try to install driver and seacrh your computer, so stop these and then use the catalyst control center and install, and things should be good.


----------



## Jakethesnake011

lemme know how it goes


----------



## cgarrit

OK,

Got the newest drivers going but I'm still having problems with the ati2dvag display driver. when i start playing games ( world of warcraft, half life 2 ) the screen will go black after a couple of seconds. It will then give me ( ati2dvag display driver has stopped working normally ) and i have to restart my system to get it working again. Any help with this problem would be appreciated greatly. thanks


----------



## rico2001

All games or just those (2) mentioned? Have you tried older drivers just to check?


----------



## cgarrit

its doing it on all games. Ive tried the older drivers also. Ive done a yahoo search on this problem and it seems like im not the only one with it.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

dude use driver sweeper when you have removed the ATI drivers..so you get a clean install the next time..


----------



## Visceral

After searching the net for info, this seems like the most informed forum to ask the following questions about the 4850x2.

First off, the anandtech article here really does make the 4850x2 the hands down winner in terms of performance/price.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3517&p=6

However.

I have some reservations based on what I've been reading on the various forums about this card, although I understand some or all of this might be based on the early performance of the 4850x2 and not necessarily the current performance:

1.) The 4850x2 is a Frankenstein monster that other card manufacturers were supposed to build, but only Sapphire actually put to market. As a result its future viability is pretty much nil despite the fact ATi now offers support in their official drivers.
2.) The card causes serious artifacting when playing games in some cases and must be underclocked.
3.) Because it's a dual card solution, the games that run on it must be made with dual GPUs in mind. If not, your only going to get the performance out of one 4850 card.
4.) It can be months before ATi can come up with a dual card profile for newer games, leaving you playing on a gimped 4850 single card.
5.) FPS fluctuates wildly because it's a dual gpu solution, and while you might get overall higher GPS, it's hindered by jumpy performance.

These are my concerns based on the information/mis-information on other forums. My biggest fear is getting a card that might do really well on established titles, but be left waiting in the wings for months to get good performance on newer games. The anandtech article was pretty glowing though, so I thought I'd ask some actual 4850x2 owners. I'm looking to buy pretty much right now and my other two options are the 4870 1 gig or GTX 260 Core 216. I have a 3.4 Quad cpu and game at 1680x1050 but like having lots of head room for games that have lots characters/players on screen at once.

Any thoughts on my concerns?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Visceral*


After searching the net for info, this seems like the most informed forum to ask the following questions about the 4850x2.

First off, the anandtech article here really does make the 4850x2 the hands down winner in terms of performance/price.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3517&p=6

However.

I have some reservations based on what I've been reading on the various forums about this card, although I understand some or all of this might be based on the early performance of the 4850x2 and not necessarily the current performance:

1.) The 4850x2 is a Frankenstein monster that other card manufacturers were supposed to build, but only Sapphire actually put to market. As a result its future viability is pretty much nil despite the fact ATi now offers support in their official drivers.
2.) The card causes serious artifacting when playing games in some cases and must be underclocked.
3.) Because it's a dual card solution, the games that run on it must be made with dual GPUs in mind. If not, your only going to get the performance out of one 4850 card.
4.) It can be months before ATi can come up with a dual card profile for newer games, leaving you playing on a gimped 4850 single card.
5.) FPS fluctuates wildly because it's a dual gpu solution, and while you might get overall higher GPS, it's hindered by jumpy performance.

These are my concerns based on the information/mis-information on other forums. My biggest fear is getting a card that might do really well on established titles, but be left waiting in the wings for months to get good performance on newer games. The anandtech article was pretty glowing though, so I thought I'd ask some actual 4850x2 owners. I'm looking to buy pretty much right now and my other two options are the 4870 1 gig or GTX 260 Core 216. I have a 3.4 Quad cpu and game at 1680x1050 but like having lots of head room for games that have lots characters/players on screen at once.

Any thoughts on my concerns?


1. true (It is special haha.)

2. false (Artifacting, no. Microstuttering, although not common, can happen to all multi-gpu setups, 9800x2, 4580x2, 4870x2, gtx295, any guy running (2) cards in crossfire or sli.)

3. false

4. false (If that were the case, the 4870x2 would have had problems as well)

5. false (There was some crashing in a few titles from the first drivers modified by sapphire for our cards, most issues I've heard about are gone now.)

You can pretty much read this whole thread, which is really in depth, and the 8-9 reviews floating around the net and come to the conclusion us owners know. The 4850x2 is a solid, stable, consistent, noisy to some (not me), outstanding performance graphic card and we are happy with our decision to buy one. Unmatched by everything to this date, except the gtx295, its big brother 4870x2 and a on a few test, the gtx285. Hope that answered your questions. Good luck with your decision.


----------



## rangibro

Not to hijack the thread but does anyone know if the 4850 x 2 card will fit inside the Thermaltake Armor+ vh8000 ?? This is a mid tower case and this card looks huge. Thanks


----------



## oulzac

mine died, and is on its way back to newegg, I overworked mine.


----------



## rico2001

Your x2 died?! Were you oc'ing it?


----------



## legend999

Anyone tried the fix from microsoft?


----------



## Jakethesnake011

Question for trying to get some lower temps. I was thinking of taking the shroud, the black thing around the fans, not sure if I am spelling right. Anyways, I think I am going to take that off and put 2 140mm fans moving about 70 cfm under the card, and then put one more 140mm behind the card, (by my HDDs, facing the card). Anyone try something like this and get a positive result? With my Overclock this gets warm, up to 80 on shader and memory, but Gpu has not been past 77 with a 100 Mhz increase in clock spd.


----------



## skarm

Quick question:

Is it possible to crossfire a 4850X2 and a regular 4850 efficiently?

What would be a good PSU for this?... 700? 750? 800?


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *legend999*


Anyone tried the fix from microsoft?


what do you mean links please??so we can test..


----------



## legend999

Quote:

Consider the following scenario:

* You have a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista Service Pack 1.
* The computer is equipped with Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) Express Interface slots.
* Active State Power Management (ASPM) is enabled in the computer's BIOS setup.
* The computer is installed with ATI HD3870x2, ATI HD4870x2 hardware, or other hardware that has a PLX Technology Inc. PEX 8647-AB PCI Express switch.
Here.

I'm on the laptop so i can't actually try.


----------



## skugpezz

Quote:



Originally Posted by *oulzac*


mine died, and is on its way back to newegg, I overworked mine.


what did you do for it to die


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *skarm*


Quick question:

Is it possible to crossfire a 4850X2 and a regular 4850 efficiently?

What would be a good PSU for this?... 700? 750? 800?


1. yes it's possible, they work well together.
2. 750w bare minimum. (with your quad amd, I'd say 800 min.)


----------



## oulzac

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*

Your x2 died?! Were you oc'ing it?



Quote:



Originally Posted by *skugpezz*

what did you do for it to die


No I had not OC'd it, just the auto tune in CCC.
It was just over worked and over heated, folding 24/7 and gaming a lot at the same time. I also think there was damage done to the 9.1 drivers, which seemed to make the card run much hotter, it didn't die until I drop down to the 9.1's, one gpu at a time.


----------



## legend999

Quote:


Originally Posted by *legend999* 
Here.

I'm on the laptop so i can't actually try.

Here it is.


----------



## xgeko2

Ok something cool i just played with the new rivia tuner got my 4850x2 to oc core to 745 only problem right now is its only doing it on one gpu core the other is just chilling at 700 i even used the drop down to go to the second gpu and overclock it but it dosnt have a option to overclock just fan control for the second gpu anyone else tried this out?

*update* Got her past 20k on 3dmark 06

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=10333816


----------



## BountyHead

I just benched my 4850x2 my vantage score was P12105. Hows that i had it 700/1025 With My QX6850 @ 3332Mhz , Im gonna run 06 next Just i already had vantage installed


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *legend999*


Here it is.


its only for x86 users..i'm using 64-bit right now..


----------



## rico2001

More Tri-fire testing...

Call of blah.... day!

Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare (Act1, mission: The bog)
1680x1050, DX9, 0xAA, 0xATF
4850x2 = 122.7 average fps
4850x3 = 136.0 average fps (13.3 fps, 10.8% gain)

1680x1050, DX9, 4xAA, 16xATF
4850x2 = 116.8 average fps
4850x3 = 132.9 average fps (16.1 fps, 13.7% gain)









Reference: credit to hexus.net (Core 2 Extreme QX9650 LGA775 @ 3.0GHz used)









Call of Juarez
1680x1050, DX10, 4xAA, 16xATF
4850x2 = 61.4 average fps
4850x3 = 92.7 average fps (31.3 fps, 50.9% gain)(Nice!)

1920x1200, DX10, 4xAA, 16xATF
4850x2 = 52.9 average fps
4850x3 = 79.4 average fps (26.5 fps, 50.0% gain)

















 

Reference: credit to techpowerup.com (Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3.6 GHz used)


----------



## Jakethesnake011

@rico
Have you seen good results with tri-fire? I did not go back and see your results, but other than numbers have you noticed much difference? Also you said that ATI does not support tir-fire? Thinking of adding a single 4850 to this x2 not sure yet and even if it is worth it


----------



## Zaid

is there a list of of overclocked 4850x2. beucase mine is funny, i can get 1 core to 700 and mem to 1080 but if i overclock both it crashes randomly. maybe insufficent power? i have 19+19A from 1 psu and 15 from the other.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Zaid*


is there a list of of overclocked 4850x2. beucase mine is funny, i can get 1 core to 700 and mem to 1080 but if i overclock both it crashes randomly. maybe insufficent power? i have 19+19A from 1 psu and 15 from the other.


the 19amps should suffice unless theres a couple of device sharing some power on those rails..


----------



## xgeko2

i actually would have to disagree a little bit this card does take quit a bit of power at full load its going to need around 30+amps when you oc it its going to need more your video card can only get power from one rail at a time so if i was you i would be looking at getting a better ps.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xgeko2*


i actually would have to disagree a little bit this card does take quit a bit of power at full load its going to need around 30+amps when you oc it its going to need more your video card can only get power from one rail at a time so if i was you i would be looking at getting a better ps.


its a dual 19a rail my zephyr is doing fine with this card i just upgraded since i'm getting water cooled in a few days so i need extra juice on my haul..


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade* 
its a dual 19a rail my zephyr is doing fine with this card i just upgraded since i'm getting water cooled in a few days so i need extra juice on my haul..

Ya but it dosnt matter the video card can only access 1 rail at a time so if its only getting a total of 19amps its going to starve the card which could do a lot and hurt performance. Its best to have a single high amp rail power supply unlease you have a really high watt multi rail power supply. right now im only running a 600watt power supply but i can get away with it because i have 49 amps on the 12v rail.

Looking at your powersupply you have 28amps on 2 of the 12v rails which is almost what that card needs so you probably wont see any problems at all but it could also be why my card scores a little higher on 3dmark it might need those extra 2-4 amps. but 19 amps is just not enough for that card.


----------



## legend999

Usually when the card does not receive enough power it turns on the red lights on the PCB.

It did that on you?


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xgeko2*


Ya but it dosnt matter the video card can only access 1 rail at a time so if its only getting a total of 19amps its going to starve the card which could do a lot and hurt performance. Its best to have a single high amp rail power supply unlease you have a really high watt multi rail power supply. right now im only running a 600watt power supply but i can get away with it because i have 49 amps on the 12v rail.

Looking at your powersupply you have 28amps on 2 of the 12v rails which is almost what that card needs so you probably wont see any problems at all but it could also be why my card scores a little higher on 3dmark it might need those extra 2-4 amps. but 19 amps is just not enough for that card.


i see so that explains why..sure do i got more juice on my rails than yours..


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jakethesnake011* 
@rico
Have you seen good results with tri-fire? I did not go back and see your results, but other than numbers have you noticed much difference? Also you said that ATI does not support tir-fire? Thinking of adding a single 4850 to this x2 not sure yet and even if it is worth it

Yes, I've seen very good results so far. Read the last 8 pages of this thread; have been posting my tri-fire results for the past week and a half. Other than the numbers, have I noticed much difference? Well yes and not really. I have noticed my game play has gotten smoother with the tri-fire; most likely due to the increased frame rate being put out by the (3) gpus. But overall, no not much difference, which I expected. What I mean is, our hardware is ahead of the games right now. If you have any of the ATI 48XX, the Nvidia 9800 or GTX2XX's; you can play just about any game at very high to maxed out. The 4850x2, some would consider overkill and going tri-fire or quad-fire is really more of the same. I wanted to try tri-fire b/c I was curious to see what results it would make and wanted to disprove a tweaktown review I read that crossfiring a 4850x2 results in poor performance and is not worth it. So far my tri-fire results have proved you will experience a smoother game play and can expect a 3 to 50% fps gain increase (depending on the game title) over a 4850x2 alone. Tri-fire with a 4850x2 works and is good even with pci-e 8x/8x, which I'm running. After all my tri-fire testing is done, I will probably go back to just the x2 b/c system cooling is stating to become an issue for me. Cool thing is I've yet to oc the x2 and/or tri-fire setup so you guys could expect to get even better numbers.


----------



## eXceed

What program i need to give HD4850x2 volt???


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *eXceed* 
What program i need to give HD4850x2 volt???









Do you mean "how do you increase the stock voltage on 4850x2?" Or are you looking for something to tell you how much power you need to run the 4850x2?


----------



## Jakethesnake011

@Rico
Thanks for letting me know, since I was looking to either add a 4850 or a 4870 with my 4850x2 but I do not know if it will make much difference, or I was thinking to just wait and save for a 4870 x2 and use that as primary and this 4850 x2 as a secondary in crossfire with 4 r770s, but with 2 different DDR rates, not sure yet what I will do. But I am happy with this card so much has been good to me









With the temps I have been able to shave about 12 Degrees Centigrade from my Core Memory and Shader temps. I had installed 2 140mm Yate loons under the Card at the bottom of my case and they seem to be pushing some nice cooler air up to the Card. I am thinking of taking the Black metal off the Card and letting the Heatsinks be Exposed to the air, it might help or it might hurt not sure. Since the metal helps push the hot air out that hole in the middle, with out it the air will go aywhere it please, Probably up to CPU fans or my PSU fan. I will have to try it out and see.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Jakethesnake011*


@Rico
Thanks for letting me know, since I was looking to either add a 4850 or a 4870 with my 4850x2 but I do not know if it will make much difference, or I was thinking to just wait and save for a 4870 x2 and use that as primary and this 4850 x2 as a secondary in crossfire with 4 r770s, but with 2 different DDR rates, not sure yet what I will do. But I am happy with this card so much has been good to me









With the temps I have been able to shave about 12 Degrees Centigrade from my Core Memory and Shader temps. I had installed 2 140mm Yate loons under the Card at the bottom of my case and they seem to be pushing some nice cooler air up to the Card. I am thinking of taking the Black metal off the Card and letting the Heatsinks be Exposed to the air, it might help or it might hurt not sure. Since the metal helps push the hot air out that hole in the middle, with out it the air will go anywhere it please, Probably up to CPU fans or my PSU fan. I will have to try it out and see.


Not to influence but I hope you go with the 4870 to put with your 4850x2. Then we could see if having a stronger primary card increases the scaling of the results. I opted for the 4850 1gb sapphire to stay as neutral as possible, keeping the tri-fire set up specs identical. Its funny, my system always places the x2 as secondary to the single 4850, even if the pci-e positions are swapped. I also think you may be better setup than I am for trying quad-fire with (2) 4850x2. Your i7 may have the muscle not to bottleneck the throughput of both cards.

I'm also thinking of removing the black shroud off the x2. My temps are terrible even with a 78cfm 120mm blowing across both cards. Both cards are heating each other up and I can't get any of the (3) gpus under 52c idle. Luckly, on load, none of them go above 79c. Still not good, I know. The single 4850 is the culprit. It's fan won't go past 40% even under full load and at idle almost goes to sleep, falling to 1%.

Update: Open1Your1Eyes0, I brought crysis warhead sunday for $10. Thanks to the guys in "online deals" section for the coupon. I'll be posting some x2 and x3 scores shortly.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*Notice To Everyone:* Hi everyone. It has been a while since I have last posted/updated anything on the original post. I'm glad to see how the progress of this thread is going and I'm glad you guys are helping each other out.

I originally started this thread to help everyone who is looking to purchase this card or is a current owner of this amazing video card. I hope everyone has learned at least a little bit more about this card than they knew before.

Unfortunately, I have some good news but I also have some bad news for everyone. The bad news is that I can no longer be a part of this thread as I am no longer an owner of the *ATI Radeon HD4850X2*. I had to RMA the card quite a few times now and unfortunately I just realized it wasn't worth it for me anymore, it was costing me to keep shipping it and so I decided to get a refund and go for the *EVGA Geforce GTX285*. (Yeah I know *boo hiss*...







).

Unfortunately, the quality of the hardware they use to build the *HD4850X2* is very poor and the card is as fragile as a cracker. This explains why it is sold so cheap and they still can make a profit. And because *Sapphire* only gives a *2 year Limited Warranty*, I don't think the card will last longer than that. I really loved this card when I had it and when it worked but, in my case, this card is too poorly made for me to keep and I chose to give it up.









The good news for everyone is that I am starting a (sort of) raffle (if you will). The winner of this raffle will become the *New Official Owner* of the "*Official ATI Radeon HD4850X2 Thread*".

In order to become eligible the rules are very simple:

Just post here including the following line (in bold) in your post:

*I would like to become eligible to become the new Official Owner of the "Official ATI Radeon HD4850X2 Thread"*.

_Eligibility ends on *March 23, 2009 @ 12:00 AM*. Only posts before the given date and time will be eligible._

Once you become eligible your name will be entered in a random name chooser program and I will select *two winners*. Once the selection process is done I will post here who the two winners are. The last step of this process will include voting, from everyone, for who they would like the new owner of this thread to be (between the two winners). That will start as soon as I post the winners and will end exactly 1 week from the date (will post specifics later).

Once a final winner is chosen I will contact a moderator to allow co-ownership of the original post. The new owner will be in charge of keeping this thread as accurate and up-to-date as possible. Personal results will be allowed. If you have any more questions please message me and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks again to everyone for making this thread a very fun and enjoyable experience. I hope to hear from you all soon. You may all now begin posting your submissions.


----------



## Jakethesnake011

Rico, thanks. Your temps are crazy, now with the 2 fans under my card I got idle below 40 which is very nice. Now far are the card, on top of each other or spaced a few PCI slots?


----------



## xgeko2

So far with my testing on windows vista and vantage i can confirm that using the latest rivia tuner you can overclock these cards beyond the 700mhz limit and it does make a impact my first test run with gpu at 700 max oc and vram at 1137 i got a score of p12507 cpu score of 12066 and graphics score of 12661

Second pass at a core speed of 733 and memory speed of 1137 with all the same exact settings without rebooting i achieved a score of p12659 a cpu score of 12115 and a graphics score of 12851. It is currently 4 am and im heading to bed i will test this more tomorrow.


----------



## rico2001

xgeko2, post some pics of your efforts.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
*Notice To Everyone:* Hi everyone. It has been a while since I have last posted/updated anything on the original post. I'm glad to see how the progress of this thread is going and I'm glad you guys are helping each other out.

I originally started this thread to help everyone who is looking to purchase this card or is a current owner of this amazing video card. I hope everyone has learned at least a little bit more about this card than they knew before.

Unfortunately, I have some good news but I also have some bad news for everyone. The bad news is that I can no longer be a part of this thread as I am no longer an owner of the *ATI Radeon HD4850X2*. I had to RMA the card quite a few times now and unfortunately I just realized it wasn't worth it for me anymore, it was costing me to keep shipping it and so I decided to get a refund and go for the *EVGA Geforce GTX285*. (Yeah I know *boo hiss*...







).

First off, Iâ€™m sorry to hear about the demise of your 4850x2; itâ€™s a great card and everyone I've heard of having one, really enjoys it. Itâ€™s also a sad day to see you depart from this thread that you created. Its has been a pleasure reading your info on the card and I do hope you stop back in on this thread from time to time, You are still one of the top knowledgeable 4850x2 guys on this tread. It sucks though, you going back to full green team and getting the arch rival of the 4580x2, the GTX285.







Itâ€™s ok, I wonâ€™t hold it against you. On the bright side, maybe your old x2 will show up on newegg as an â€œopen boxâ€. Anyhow, wish you luck with your new card and you should start an GTX285 owners thread if there is not one already.

Although Iâ€™m happy with just contributing my info, benches and opinions to this thread, I donâ€™t want to see it become un-updated. So Iâ€™ll throw my name into the raffle for being owner or co-owner of the thread.

*I would like to become eligible to become the new Official Owner of the "Official ATI Radeon HD4850X2 Thread"*.

Thanks again, Open1Your1Eyes0, for your info and running this thread.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tri-fire testing continued...

Left 4 Dead
Game settings:
1680x1050, DX9, 16xATF, 8xAA, V-sync off, Shader: very high, all other settings: high
Difficulty: Expert
Campaign: No Mercy
Mission: 1: apartments
FRAPS settings: 300 seconds

4850x2 = 128.1 average fps
4850x3 = 150.9 average fps (22.8 fps, 17.8% gain)(again nice scaling)









Reference (sort of): credit to firingsquad.com (Core i7 965 Extreme @ 3.2GHz used)









Crysis Warhead
1680x1050, DX10, 0xAA, 0xATF
1920x1200, DX10, 0xAA, 0xATF
2560x1600, DX10, 0xAA, 0xATF

4850x2 = ~35.6 average fps
4850x3 = ~40.1 average fps (4.5 fps, 12.6% gain)
Not sure what to make of this bench and take it with a grain of salt. The min., average, and maxes were close regardless of the resolution. Ran all (3) resolutions multiple times and got the same results.









 

Reference (sort of, different mission): credit to techgage.com (Core 2 Extreme QX9770 @ 3.6 GHz used)


----------



## xgeko2

Here you go first pass at 700mhz core speed and 1131 memory speed










Second pass only thing that changed here was the gpu clock from 700mhz to 733 memory at 1131










Both of these runs were made by my phenom 2 940BE @ 3.7ghz.


----------



## rico2001

Nice scores, xgeko2. Thanks for the pics. You can really see the gpu oc pays off. I haven’t seen a 4850 over 700mhz, didn’t think it had the stock voltage to achieve that clock. If I do ever oc, it will be to the gpu and not much of the mem.


----------



## xgeko2

The gpu memory seems to be where its at sometimes when ocing the video cards mainly because the new games and benchmark programs use huge textures so the extra memory bandwidth sometimes really helps a lot.


----------



## xgeko2

Here is another bench with my gpu @733 and memory @1200 Something real cool on my liquid cooling my gpus never go beyond 36C on these bench runs =D


----------



## rico2001

Nice man! Be careful, you may be at the limit. Only 3 points from my tri-fire score. I need a faster cpu.







Your temps are incredible. I can only get 36c if I turn my pc off.


----------



## Maxers

A Big Thanks for starting this great topic *Open1Your1Eyes0* without your effort this thread would not be the same.









Now your just a loser with a Nvidia card ..oh well join the line... just kidding.









Thanks ..sorry to see you go and enjoy the dark side


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*




Nice man! Be careful, you may be at the limit. Only 3 points from my tri-fire score. I need a faster cpu.







Your temps are incredible. I can only get 36c if I turn my pc off.










Ya that c2d is getting ya on these benchs im sure with a decent quad you would be killing 3dmark. my next step is to figure out a good way to chill my water loop so i can take my cpu higher in xp i can boot and run stable at 3.9 in vista i can only reach 3.7 stable kinda weird.


----------



## Jakethesnake011

wow never beyond 40, I wish that was the case for my 4850 x2 now with the new fans under the card, I do not break 70 degrees centigrade







, still very high but I have to deal with it until I can find something else that works and works well. I was thinking of the T-rad from thermalright but I do not think it will work due to the card having 2 gpus, I do not think the T-rad will fit.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

I have just updated the original post with the co-ownership raffle rules. Please notify those who have not visited the thread in a while on the raffle and have them read the rules. Thanks again.

~*Open1Your1Eyes0*


----------



## rico2001

Finally got out of the 50's on idle, or as close as I'm going to get for now. Since the x2 does a fine job of controlling its' fans and the single 4850 does a terrible job with it's fan, I decided to make a small change and see what happens. Together they were heating each other up into the mid to high 50's on idle (crazy, ya I know). Anyway, just got home, decided to unlock the ccc autodrive for just the single 4850 and set its fan to 40%. After 20 minutes at idle, all temps are down 8-9C and I think I have some temps I can live with.









Oh got my third monitor in today, so I'm going to make another attempt at wide screen gaming over (3) monitors and (2) video cards.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

@Xgeko2
i think you have been fond of editing the bios lately and pushing the card to its max power..keep it up dude..still waiting for my water cooled setup too..


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

@open
dude i'm sorry for the loss..and its been a good having this thread for users of this card..thanks alot and hope you still find the "way" to use this card someday..


----------



## skugpezz

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Maxers* 
A Big Thanks for starting this great topic *Open1Your1Eyes0* without your effort this thread would not be the same.









Now your just a loser with a Nvidia card ..oh well join the line... just kidding.









Thanks ..sorry to see you go and enjoy the dark side









sounds like a loser to me too after he gave so much advice to get this card


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *skugpezz* 
sounds like a loser to me too after he gave so much advice to get this card

Hey if he wants to buy junk nvidia cards let him







Im happy and satisfied with my 4850x2 this thing rocks.


----------



## legend999

Quote:


Originally Posted by *skugpezz* 
sounds like a loser to me too after he gave so much advice to get this card

Give him a break,he had more than 2 RMA's.

I would get some money together for a HD4870X2,or get a GTX285 too,since i wouldn't want to lose performance in my rig.

Good luck with your vegetable,openyoureyes.


----------



## rico2001

Well the Asus monitor I just brought is a broke POS, have to return it.







That's what I get for tryin to save a buck or $50 on an open box. I'd probably do it again, if I saw the price I got this one for.


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Well the Asus monitor I just brought is a broke POS, have to return it.







That's what I get for tryin to save a buck or $50 on an open box. I'd probably do it again, if I saw the price I got this one for.










ooo man sorry to hear that on monitors i always buy them new there is no telling the kind of damage there could be i usually buy motherboards / videocards ob lol o ya and my water cooling i always buy it second hand LOL!


----------



## Maxers

The latest ATI 9.3 drivers are here ,get them while there hot









ATi Catalyst 9.3 voor Windows XP (32bit)
http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...=xp/radeonx-xp
ATi Catalyst 9.3 voor Windows XP (mobility)
http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...xp/mobility-xp
ATi Catalyst 9.3 voor Windows XP (64bit)
http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...4/radeonx-xp64
ATi Catalyst 9.3 voor Windows XP (Media Center Edition)
http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...ce/radeonx-mce
ATi Catalyst 9.3 voor Windows Vista (32bit)
http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...common-vista32
ATi Catalyst 9.3 voor Windows Vista (64bit)
http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...common-vista64
ATi Catalyst 9.3 voor Windows 7 (32bit)
http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca.../win7-32-suite
ATi Catalyst 9.3 voor Windows 7 (64bit)
http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca.../win7-64-suite


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Thanks *Maxers*, just updated the links on the original post. *Keep in mind everyone, if you would like to become the new owner of this thread you have till*: _March 23, 2009 @ 12:00 AM (Eastern Time)_

Just post here including the following line (in bold) in your post:

*I would like to become eligible to become the new Official Owner of the "Official ATI Radeon HD4850X2 Thread"*.

_Eligibility ends on March 23, 2009 @ 12:00 AM (Eastern Time). Only posts before the given date and time will be eligible._

Please read rules on original post for more information.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Maxers*


The latest ATI 9.3 drivers are here ,get them while there hot










Sweet, go ATI!

They have come to their senses and un-recognize our 4850x2 in this round of drivers.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *skugpezz*


sounds like a loser to me too after he gave so much advice to get this card


Sorry if you misunderstood me. I still *DO* advise to get this card over the *GTX285* if you are willing to deal with fragile hardware quality and a risk of multiple RMAs. Like I said, when it works, it works amazingly. It worked well for me for a while with no problem, but soon I saw the hardware start to degrade and give me many issues so after several RMA's (4 to be exact). I realized it wasn't worth it anymore (for me personally). You can understand the reason they are selling them so cheap. I still would like people to keep getting this card. It is still the best all around performance for price ratio compared to many others. The more people buy it, the better they might start making them after they realize people keep RMAing them. Hope that clears things up a bit.


----------



## Villainstone

My card has been fine for the past two months how long was it before your cards pooped out?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Villainstone*


My card has been fine for the past two months how long was it before your cards pooped out?


First one started artifacting at boot after about 3 months of use. The other 3 were all defective. 2 were DOA. The last one was artifacting at boot. This is a very common problem for these card apparently due to their fragile hardware and heaviness.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

@open
like to second on that one too..i have my card flashed with the revised bios for this card from sapphire and i got it bricked lucky me i have a backup of the original bios so i was able to rescue this card from being a paperweight..this card is delicate inside out..

*I would like to become eligible to become the new Official Owner of the "Official ATI Radeon HD4850X2 Thread".*


----------



## Bluzeboy

I hope althon micro waived your $15 fee also. I had to send mine in at the start of the month, they just got back to me today with a tracking number for the replacement. It says it weighs 1lb though 0_o.


----------



## Jakethesnake011

I have had no problems with this card so far, but that is another yet. Now I have noticed due to the weight the thing is pulling on my PCI-e slot and I have kinda propped up my power connectors and came from under with them so it will hold it up some. Now I also know if anyone has had any luck with getting some temps lower? I was able to pull them down to the 60s and very low 70s, with 2 fans under the card pushing cool air into the GPU fans, anyone else try anything else?


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Jakethesnake011*


I have had no problems with this card so far, but that is another yet. Now I have noticed due to the weight the thing is pulling on my PCI-e slot and I have kinda propped up my power connectors and came from under with them so it will hold it up some. Now I also know if anyone has had any luck with getting some temps lower? I was able to pull them down to the 60s and very low 70s, with 2 fans under the card pushing cool air into the GPU fans, anyone else try anything else?


i idle around 42degs with 70% fan speed..load temps range from 55-60..w/o a custom cooler you get this card fried..


----------



## Chewman

New here,
just ordered my HD4850X2 today, along with the rest of my new i7 System.








Been following this thread for a while, and also ordered some Zalman VGA coolers for it.
Can't wait for it to get in.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Chewman*


New here,
just ordered my HD4850X2 today, along with the rest of my new i7 System.








Been following this thread for a while, and also ordered some Zalman VGA coolers for it.
Can't wait for it to get in.


*Chewman*, welcome. You are now officially on the *Owner's List*.


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade*


@open
like to second on that one too..i have my card flashed with the revised bios for this card from sapphire and i got it bricked lucky me i have a backup of the original bios so i was able to rescue this card from being a paperweight..this card is delicate inside out..

*I would like to become eligible to become the new Official Owner of the "Official ATI Radeon HD4850X2 Thread".*


you probably have the newer revision then of the card then if it bricked with that bios.


----------



## Chewman

anyone know whether the ati catalyst 9.3 drivers work well?
or should I stick with 9.2?


----------



## xgeko2

I just dled them give me a few to test on vantage and ill let ya know.


----------



## Chewman

GG, Thanks.


----------



## xgeko2

So far i dont like them i cant get a run of vantage done at the same clocks i was running on cat 9.2 it keeps artifacting on me like crazy.


----------



## Chewman

Argh darn it.
And 9.3's supposed to be completely compatible with Windows 7, which would have been a bonus... (I'll find a copy SOMEWHERE.. xD)
DLing 9.2 now.
Thanks.


----------



## rico2001

I'v already moved back to the 9.2s. The 9.3's lock my pc up on 4 occassions (ati???.dll stop working/blue screen memory dump). Tried even at stock cpu and memory timing levels. Will await the 9.4s. Chewman, congrats on ownership.


----------



## rico2001

Tri-fire testing continued...

Tropics v.1.1

1680x1050, DX9
4850x2 = 23.9 average fps
4850x3 = 80.0 average fps (56.1 fps, 334.7% gain)(Perhaps a fluke, a glitch, or the greatest sweet spot ever. Ran this 6 times, 2 different days, and all averaged 79.3 to 80.0; either way itâ€™s outstanding.







)









1680x1050, DX10
4850x2 = 29.4 average fps
4850x3 = 37.1 average fps (7.7 fps, 26.1% gain) (Nice!)









 

Reference: None, sorry. (I could not find any site using this bench, only individuals like us.)


----------



## kimosabi

Got my card WCed today.


----------



## Chewman

What speeds can you get it up to with the Liquid Cooling?
Well done BTW,
looks epically awesome.
Great Job.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xgeko2*


you probably have the newer revision then of the card then if it bricked with that bios.


maybe..that explains..


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Chewman*


What speeds can you get it up to with the Liquid Cooling?
Well done BTW,
looks epically awesome.
Great Job.


720/1130+ bro..i just editied my bios to squeeze some more core power..


----------



## Jakethesnake011

Would anyone say that pairing this card with a 4870 x2 a waste? Or will it be worth it? I was looking to save up and buy the 4870 x2 but I do not know if going with this ard for quad fire be worth the extra 100 bucks? Same gpu's, different rams, dunno if the ddr3 will slow the ddr5, and the 70 x2 has a higher default clock speed. the 4870 x2 would be main and 50x2 be 2nd, what you all think?


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Jakethesnake011*


Would anyone say that pairing this card with a 4870 x2 a waste? Or will it be worth it? I was looking to save up and buy the 4870 x2 but I do not know if going with this ard for quad fire be worth the extra 100 bucks? Same gpu's, different rams, dunno if the ddr3 will slow the ddr5, and the 70 x2 has a higher default clock speed. the 4870 x2 would be main and 50x2 be 2nd, what you all think?


in the 1st place you should have gotten the 4870x2..pairing with another x2 card is overkill..just use a single card..its worth the peroformance raise upto 10% for the price


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade* 
720/1130+ bro..i just editied my bios to squeeze some more core power..

Hey man keep going if your using vista try using rivia tuner i got my core to 733 with the stock voltages im going to try and edit the bios on mine again and see if i cant add more voltage to get that clock higher.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xgeko2* 
Hey man keep going if your using vista try using rivia tuner i got my core to 733 with the stock voltages im going to try and edit the bios on mine again and see if i cant add more voltage to get that clock higher.

725 is fine but the stuttering gets more annoying and sometimes it begins artifacting since i'm just using stock cooler

*I would like to become eligible to become the new Official Owner of the "Official ATI Radeon HD4850X2 Thread".*


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

previous bullshi** run on mine..i don't seem to get why the hell my card scores wont go up but my CPU score was already pumping with the tweak i finally found..lolx..this is bullsh** it seems my card hates me so much..

how come xgeko was able to hit 20k...arrggghhhhhhhhhh!! my card hates me lolx!!

*I would like to become eligible to become the new Official Owner of the "Official ATI Radeon HD4850X2 Thread".*


----------



## rico2001

Yous cpu score is good or on par for your Phenom II X4 940, it's your sm 2.0 and 3.0 that are a little low. They should be at 8.5-10k. That's why you are not breaking 20k.


----------



## Shroomalistic

If I can still be added to the list, add me please. New to the forums but I have had my 4850x2 for a couple months now. Sweet card, I gotthe 1gb version trifired with another sapphire 4850 512mb.

3dmark06
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=10370507

3dmark Vantage
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dmv=852881

I still dont feel like they are scaling well. might just be me though.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic* 
If I can still be added to the list, add me please. New to the forums but I have had my 4850x2 for a couple months now. Sweet card, I gotthe 1gb version trifired with another sapphire 4850 512mb.

3dmark06
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=10370507

3dmark Vantage
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dmv=852881

I still dont feel like they are scaling well. might just be me though.

Congrats on the cards and welcome to the forum! Smaller memory setup than I'm running, that's awesome. What are your x2 scores, interested to see your scaling. So far, my tri-fire scaling has been great. If you are only looking at synthetic benches, 3dmark06 and vantage, then the scaling won't look good. I only gained 1200 points in '06 and 2250 in vantage from x2 to tri-fire but in real world gaming, the scale gains were 3-50% on average.


----------



## Shroomalistic

well for games I only play cs source, bf2, and l4d. cs stays around 200-299fps constant. bf2 never drops below 99.9fps. I run both of them at 1600x1200 will all setting maxed out. As for L4D, I cant run it at 1600x1200. I get weird stuttering issues and the frames drop to like 20fps. but at 1280x1024 its runs between 120-150 fps with occational drops as low as 80fps. I dont remeber what the single 4850x2 was getting, its been a while.


----------



## rico2001

Left 4 dead is my main game right now and I too, had a weird ground texturing issue. I disabled v-sysnc and that solved the problem totally. Wish you had your old x2 '06 and vantage scores, would be nice to see. What temps are you getting tri-fired? Do you have the x2 as the bottom or top card? Have you oc'ed any of the cards yet?


----------



## Shroomalistic

all three core are about the same. 43c idle and 70c load. cards are all overclocked to 700/1000. havent really tried higher. And sorry about the scores, i erased them all the other day when I went on a phenom oc frenzy. never new the PII 920 could do what its doing.


----------



## rico2001

Not a problem man, don't worry about it. Your system kicks ass and scores are still good; in fact, your vantage gpu score is only 500 points under mine. With me having 3gb mem and you having 1.5gb, the memory difference is not really hurting your score. All you quad-core guys are beating my scores anyway







. It's good to see another successful tri-fire setup with an x2 and not many owners of the 1gb version also. If you could, see if you can download FRAPS (fps utility) and see what you get in L4d, first mission on expert.


----------



## Shroomalistic

is the in game fps monitor no good, net_graph 1 in console?


----------



## rico2001

Sure, it will do, didn't know there was a built in one, ha. Can it give an min/max and average?


----------



## Shroomalistic

no its just tells you current fps. ill give fraps a try.


----------



## rico2001

Yea, with FRAPS you can assign a start button and set a time amount you want it to record for. It will then put a small excel type file in a folder with the min/avg/max such as example below. Nice little utility, used it on L4D and COD4.



oh btw, I play L4d online alot, under name: rico2001


----------



## Shroomalistic

another question for ya, does gpu-z show you having crossfire on 3 cores but when you switch to the single 4850 does it show it as disabled?

my steam name is : "Blaze it Up! Sober mode!"


----------



## rico2001

If you mean is I'm in gpu-z and I highlight the single, does it still show all (3) enabled, then yes. See below. If I disable crossfire or take the crossfire to (2) gpus, I'm not sure what gpu-z says, haven't opened it up while in those other modes. I can check when I get home.


----------



## Shroomalistic

on my when I open the the single 4850 is says disabled (unsure vista 64) but in ati info it says its linked. im not sure if im even crossfired now. maybe it is just bugged. when I go to the x2's in gpu-z it says crossfired (3gpu's) unsure on vista 64. also another question for ya, in the crossfire tab in ccc mine show 3gpu 8 6 0, while in your pic yours shows 0 8 6 (http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...50tri-fire.jpg). is your single in the top pcie slot or is the x2 in the top slot?

sorry for all the question but your the only person I know that has trifire like me.


----------



## rico2001

wow, interesting, maybe you are not. What drivers are you using? My x2 is top slot, single on the bottom. What single 4850 do you have?


----------



## Shroomalistic

this is the single I have.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102770

my x2 is in top slot with the single in middle slot. does your 3dmark06 say you have linked display adapters?

anychance i could get a link to one of your 06 scores?


----------



## rico2001

X2
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=9846205

X3


----------



## Shroomalistic

now on your x3 score, in the futuremark website, under display adapter does it say "linked adapter - yes"

cause on my x3 compaired to your x2, our sm 2.0 and 3.0 are almost the same. your sm 2.0 is higher and my sm 3.0 is higher. Im thinking something isnt right with my system.

EDIT:
after looking at the vantage scores, I guess there is nothing wrong with my system. probly just the difference between the 2gb model vs the 1gb model.


----------



## rico2001

Ok I'm home now. This is what I see in all modes.

x3


x2


crossfire disabled


And its cool you have all of the same hardware (sapphire) except the lower memory versions. Your scores really do seem to be ok.

update: It's funny how in 2gpu mode, it doesn't separate the x2 from the single but it separates the x2 and links the single to (1) of the gpus on the x2.


----------



## Shroomalistic

wow, thats really weird there. how did you disable one core on the x2 to crossfire one core on the x2 and the single? thats why yours shows 0 8 6 and mine shows 8 6 0. 0 = single 4850 and 8 + 6 = x2.

EDIT:

Also just noticed you bios on the x2 is a little older then mine. mine is 011.015.000.008.000000


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic*


wow, thats really weird there. how did you disable one core on the x2 to crossfire one core on the x2 and the single? thats why yours shows 0 8 6 and mine shows 8 6 0. 0 = single 4850 and 8 + 6 = x2.

EDIT:

Also just noticed you bios on the x2 is a little older then mine. mine is 011.015.000.008.000000


I had nothing to do with it; ccc linked them up in that fashion. Now it did not turn the core off, just chose to link one core from the x2 to the core from the single, all core were still working. Do you have a mobo with 3 pci-e slots and a weird 16x/8x/4x configuration?

---------------------------------------------

Finally got my cpu up to 4G.

3dmark06 19761 (so close to 20k, will get there someday)


3dmark vantage 12987


----------



## Shroomalistic

mine is a 16x 16x 4x mother board. worked great for when I was running 3x 3870's.


----------



## rico2001

Interesting article on crossfire; explains why quad-fire doesn't scale well in many applications. I've been looking for this explanation for awhile.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/14284/2

Quote:



Originally Posted by * Crossfire X explored (techreport.com)*

The multi-GPU scaling challenge
AMD claims development on CrossFire X drivers has taken a year, and that the total effort amounts to twice that of its initial dual-GPU CrossFire development effort. In order to understand why that is, I spoke briefly with Dave Gotwalt, a 3D Architect at AMD responsible for CrossFire X driver development. Gotwalt identified several specific challenges that complicated CrossFire X development.

One of the biggest challenges, of course, is avoiding CPU bottlenecks, long the bane of multi-GPU solutions. Gotwalt offered a basic reminder that it's easier to run into CPU limitations with a multi-GPU setup simply because multi-GPU solutions are faster overall. On top of that, he noted, multi-GPU schemes impose some CPU overhead. As a result, removing CPU bottlenecks sometimes helps more with multi-GPU performance than with one GPU.

In this context, I asked about the opportunities for multithreading the driver in order to take advantage of multiple CPU cores. Surprisingly, Gotwalt said that although AMD's DirectX 9 driver is multithreaded, its DX10 driver is notâ€"neither for a single GPU nor for multiples. Gotwalt explained that multithreading the driver isn't possible in DX10 because the driver must make callbacks though the DX10 runtime to the OS kernel, and those calls must be made through the main thread. Microsoft, he said, apparently felt most DX10 applications would be multithreaded, and they didn't want to create another thread. (What we're finding now, however, noted Gotwalt, is that applications aren't as multithreaded as Microsoft had anticipated.)

With that avenue unavailable to them, AMD had to focus on other areas of potential improvement for mitigating CPU bottlenecks. One of the keys Gotwalt identified is having the driver queue up several command buffers and several frames of data, in order to determine ahead of time what needs to be rendered for the next frame.

Even with such provisions in place, Windows Vista puts limitations on video drivers that sometimes prevent CrossFire X from scaling well. The OS, Gotwalt explained, controls the "flip queue" that holds upcoming frames to be displayed, and by default, the driver can only render as far as three frames ahead of the frame being displayed. Under Vista, both DX9 and DX10 allow the application to adjust this value, so that the driver could get as many as ten frames ahead if the application allowed it. The driver itself, however, has no control over this value. (Gotwalt said Microsoft built this limitation into the OS, interestingly enough, because "a certain graphics vendorâ€"not us" was queuing up many more frames than the apps were accounting for, leading to serious mouse lag. Game developers were complaining, so Microsoft built in a limit.)

*For CrossFire X, AMD currently relies solely on a method of GPU load balancing known as alternate frame rendering (AFR), in which each GPU is responsible for rendering a whole frame and frames are distributed to GPUs sequentially. Frame 0 will go to GPU 0, frame 1 to GPU 1, frame 2 to GPU 2, and so on. Because of the three-frame limit on rendering ahead, explained Gotwalt, the fourth GPU in a CrossFire X setup will have no effect in some applications.* Gotwalt confirmed that AMD is working on combining split-frame rendering with AFR in order to improve scaling in such applications. He even alluded to another possible technique, but he wasn't willing to talk about it just yet. Those methods will have to wait for a future Catalyst release.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*Notice*: I would like to remind everyone that I only have three candidates for new ownership so far. *rico2001*, *legend999*, and *kairi_zeroblade* are the only members currently qualified. Everyone else still has till March 23, 2009 @ 12:00 AM (EST) to submit their request. Please read the rules on the bottom of the original post if you have not done so already. Good luck everyone!


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Yous cpu score is good or on par for your Phenom II X4 940, it's your sm 2.0 and 3.0 that are a little low. They should be at 8.5-10k. That's why you are not breaking 20k.

yeah i know i have a little sucker here..cpu score is the lamest of all phenom2 users here..and also the card hates me..i was seeing some good scores with xgeko using the same phenom2 chip..and the cpu scores are wow and also the sm2.0 and sm3.0..:swearing: i am to the point right now where i want to switch sides to i7..my setup is now almost the same cost to get an i7 rig..:swearing:

*I would like to become eligible to become the new Official Owner of the "Official ATI Radeon HD4850X2 Thread".*


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade* 
yeah i know i have a little sucker here..cpu score is the lamest of all phenom2 users here..and also the card hates me..i was seeing some good scores with xgeko using the same phenom2 chip..and the cpu scores are wow and also the sm2.0 and sm3.0..:swearing: i am to the point right now where i want to switch sides to i7..my setup is now almost the same cost to get an i7 rig..:swearing:

*I would like to become eligible to become the new Official Owner of the "Official ATI Radeon HD4850X2 Thread".*

I still stand by my word. Your cpu is on par, your graphics scores are a little low. Check this guy's scores out. Higher 06 score than yours, but you beat him in cpu. Another example,
xgeko2' s score of 20436 @3.9G, his cpu score only betters yours by 300 point. shroomalistic's score of 20476, you beat his cpu score by 250 points. Like I said, its you graphics scores that are low. I don't know if your x2 hates you or its the difference in mobos or memory, but your cpu likes you. What drivers are you using by the way? What is your vantage score, '06 is a little low feature wise for the x2. Bench a game or two, how do you fair in real world situations? All I'm saying is, I won't vest all my opinions on my system based on 3dmark programs.


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


I still stand by my word. Your cpu is on par, your graphics scores are a little low. Check this guy's scores out. Higher 06 score than yours, but you beat him in cpu. Another example,
xgeko2' s score of 20436 @3.9G, his cpu score only betters yours by 300 point. shroomalistic's score of 20476, you beat his cpu score by 250 points. Like I said, its you graphics scores that are low. I don't know if your x2 hates you or its the difference in mobos or memory, but your cpu likes you. What drivers are you using by the way? What is your vantage score, '06 is a little low feature wise for the x2. Bench a game or two, how do you fair in real world situations? All I'm saying is, I won't vest all my opinions on my system based on 3dmark programs.










ya but when you oc your cpu higher your sm 2.0 and sm 3.0 scores will also go up 06 isnt a very good judge of graphics power its more cpu intensive and probably why he has a higher cpu is my cpu overclock was only with the multi i believe increasing your reference clock will yeaild a slightly higher cpu score or atleast thats how it seems so far.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xgeko2*


ya but when you oc your cpu higher your sm 2.0 and sm 3.0 scores will also go up *06 isnt a very good judge of graphics power its more cpu intensive* and probably why he has a higher cpu is my cpu overclock was only with the multi i believe increasing your reference clock will yeaild a slightly higher cpu score or atleast thats how it seems so far.



That's the point I was trying to express. 3dmark benches are not great graphic benches and should put whole stoke in them. And like the first post states, bench some games, or any game you have. Then compare with others.


----------



## Shroomalistic

i was able to break 15k on 3dmark vantage this mornig.

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dmv=904883

hey rico, now my CCC is showing 3 GPU 10 8 0 for crossfire. not sure whats going on here.

EDIT:
I ran fraps for ya too on L4D, stage 1 of NM.
2009-03-21 14:15:51 - left4dead
Frames: 17566 - Time: 179639ms - Avg: 97.785 - Min: 40 - Max: 167

thats at 1600x1200 all details ,AA, AF, all maxed.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic*


i was able to break 15k on 3dmark vantage this mornig.

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dmv=904883

hey rico, now my CCC is showing 3 GPU 10 8 0 for crossfire. not sure whats going on here.

EDIT:
I ran fraps for ya too on L4D, stage 1 of NM.
2009-03-21 14:15:51 - left4dead
Frames: 17566 - Time: 179639ms - Avg: 97.785 - Min: 40 - Max: 167

thats at 1600x1200 all details ,AA, AF, all maxed.


Your the man, Shroom! You are 4th on the list vantage list with our card and you beat my gpu score by 600 points. Very nice. I'm not going to pass judgment on L4D yet, you only benched less than half the frames and time I did. Set your time longer, like 300,000ms ~5 min. Your average should come up, nice nevertheless.







rep+


----------



## Jakethesnake011

I have a question, now in the CCC control, how come you guys have the pull dosn tab with GPU 0 8 6, or whichever. Is that from the 3 GPU's? I do not have that with the single card now. Something I am missing, or is it not a big deal?


----------



## rico2001

No it's not a big deal. Shroomalistic and myself have (2) video cards installed in crossfireX, the 4850x2 and a single 4850 (3 gpus total). So in ccc, the pull down become available for us to change the crossfireX from 3 gpus to 2 gpus. That's all, you are not missing something. I don't rember now, but I believe when I just had the x2, there was no pull down and just the box to enable or disable crossfireX all together. As you see in the pic, we all have that option.

4850 X2 in crossfireX


4850 X2 + 4850 in crossfireX


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
I still stand by my word. Your cpu is on par, your graphics scores are a little low. Check this guy's scores out. Higher 06 score than yours, but you beat him in cpu. Another example,
xgeko2' s score of 20436 @3.9G, his cpu score only betters yours by 300 point. shroomalistic's score of 20476, you beat his cpu score by 250 points. Like I said, its you graphics scores that are low. I don't know if your x2 hates you or its the difference in mobos or memory, but your cpu likes you. What drivers are you using by the way? What is your vantage score, '06 is a little low feature wise for the x2. Bench a game or two, how do you fair in real world situations? All I'm saying is, I won't vest all my opinions on my system based on 3dmark programs.









yes it seems my card hates me..i tried 9.3 no changes so i went back to 9.2 same results then i upgraded once more to 9.3 since it has good FPS in some games..arrggghh when i used vista last night..my sm2.0 scores went high 7732 and also the SM3.0 scores 9864 but the CPU scores suck 4889 lolx..so its almost same score i had on my XP-64bit runs..lolx..i'm gonna go nuts on this card..lolx..vantage scores on all stock gets me 11k'ish scores..


----------



## Jakethesnake011

Thanks Rico I was not sure if it was much of anything


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

@rico 1 more thing regarding shroom's score..i wonder how his card performs hell in vista i dont get that much score as he does..lolx..


----------



## Shroomalistic

might be because im running trifire.


----------



## Jakethesnake011

But even so I am still pulling 8711 sm2.0 and 10691 sm3.0 scores, with just this card, his sm2.0 is low but the 3.0 is not bad, I do not know what is so bad with his scores?


----------



## jaybrn1

Got a couple questions Ive gone through quite a bit of this thread already... It seems my fan barely kicks in at all on auto ive noticed at 60.0C+ 10% speed 65C+ 25% and 70+35% the problem is if I play any game or run vantage after 10 min or so my card basically over heats and my PC shuts down... It took me 2 days just to get rid of artifacts I just feel like this card is becoming a bigger problem then a help anyone else have these problems or any fixes?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jaybrn1* 
Got a couple questions Ive gone through quite a bit of this thread already... It seems my fan barely kicks in at all on auto ive noticed at 60.0C+ 10% speed 65C+ 25% and 70+35% the problem is if I play any game or run vantage after 10 min or so my card basically over heats and my PC shuts down... It took me 2 days just to get rid of artifacts I just feel like this card is becoming a bigger problem then a help anyone else have these problems or any fixes?

What are your in-game under load temps. I had the same temps as you and you are correct in your description of temps at idle. The fans will go from 12% to 24% at 65c. The difference in my system was under load, my fans kicked in to 100% and keep the gpus at 79c. Run gpu-z and while in a game, clt-tab to your desktop and see what temps and fan speed you have under load. Or you can install ATi tool and show 3D view. This will also give the gpus a load. My problem was my system temp was too high and I wasn't getting out enough air. How is your cpu temp? Your pc shut down may not be your cards fault. Are you overclocking the x2?


----------



## jaybrn1

Well I tried furmark Stress test not the bench it does fine in the bench for awhile but as soon as I hit stress test button computer shuts down instantly and will not turn on for 5 minutes... I bought a 4870 at the sametime as this card so i put that in and it is able to do everything just fine any ideas? I'm thinking I got a **** card unless anyone has some ideas how to fix this...


----------



## Sacre

Very much enjoying my 4850x2... running @ stock, DX10 and everything at max @ 1920x1200 on Far Cry 2 (0xAA though) getting 35-36FPS average in the benchmark, never dropped below 30. Up to 45-50.

And it's the 1GB (512x2) model as well...







Very surprised how well this thing is doing.

(At work so I can't post the screenshots)


----------



## jaybrn1

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


What are your in-game under load temps. I had the same temps as you and you are correct in your description of temps at idle. The fans will go from 12% to 24% at 65c. The difference in my system was under load, my fans kicked in to 100% and keep the gpus at 79c. Run gpu-z and while in a game, clt-tab to your desktop and see what temps and fan speed you have under load. Or you can install ATi tool and show 3D view. This will also give the gpus a load. My problem was my system temp was too high and I wasn't getting out enough air. How is your cpu temp? Your pc shut down may not be your cards fault. Are you overclocking the x2?


Yea I have no idea it cant be temps at all because as soon as I hit that Stress test button on FurMark computer just shuts down and theres no way they got hot in .00001 seconds... Yea i also Ran the Ati tool to test it already and the fans stayed the same even under 100% load the max they would seem to go is that 25% but with the way it just shuts down I'm not sure if its just the card at this point...

I mean I could be doing something completly wrong so any ideas would be appreciated if someone has any.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Sacre*
Very much enjoying my 4850x2... running @ stock, DX10 and everything at max @ 1920x1200 on Far Cry 2 (0xAA though) getting 35-36FPS average in the benchmark, never dropped below 30. Up to 45-50.

And it's the 1GB (512x2) model as well... Very surprised how well this thing is doing.

(At work so I can't post the screenshots)


Welcome to the thread, 4850x2 owner Sacre. In talking with Shroomalistic, I see the 1gb version is a formidable weapon in it's own right.









Quote:


Originally Posted by *jaybrn1*
Yea I have no idea it cant be temps at all because as soon as I hit that Stress test button on FurMark computer just shuts down and theres no way they got hot in .00001 seconds... Yea i also Ran the Ati tool to test it already and the fans stayed the same even under 100% load the max they would seem to go is that 25% but with the way it just shuts down I'm not sure if its just the card at this point...

I mean I could be doing something completely wrong so any ideas would be appreciated if someone has any.

Yea jay, there is definitely something wrong there. Your fan should go from 13% to 100% quite smoothly on its own, depending on load. What drivers are you using? Have you tried a uninstall, wipe, and reinstall? Have you pulled out card and reseat it? A good test to see fan function, taking the drivers out of the equation is to boot up the pc and listen. The x2's fan should go wide open to 100% for a few seconds, very loud and then settle down to 12% before going into windows. If you hear the fans go functioning properly then there is something wrong with the drivers in windows that are not managing your x2 fans right. Lets us know how it goes.


----------



## jaybrn1

Yea rico when I boot up they do rev up for the first couple seconds everytime. I have reseated the card done a fresh install of windows i have reinstalled the drivers 10 times and installed them from sapphire site ati site the links on OP everything... Guess im just gonna RMA this for now. Thanks for the help Rico +Rep


----------



## Sacre

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Welcome to the thread, 4850x2 owner Sacre. In talking with Shroomalistic, I see the 1gb version is a formidable weapon in it's own right.









Thanks.









I was surprised at the performance, especially since I'm running 1920x1200 - which is supposedly where the 1GB model starts to have issues.

However, the AA at x8 ran at ~17FPS average. I haven't tried anything in the middle just yet, but I will later. Does the 2GB model handle AA better?

(And frankly, when playing, I don't really notice AA off and 8xAA on games... side by side screenshots, yeah, I notice, but not when I'm playing...)

*Edit: Is there any way to reliably confirm the crossfire status when playing a game? I searched Google and for Crossfire it suggests monitoring each card's temps/activity, but this is on one card, so I don't think that'd work. So how do I make sure it's working in each game individually?*


----------



## Diabolical999

I believe this is going to be my next card. What are its _average_ idle/loads temps? Is it a good cooler in general?


----------



## rico2001

Real sorry to hear that, jay. Best of luck with the RMA.







I can't think of anything else it can be. One more question, and sort of a dumb one but your manual fan control isn't on?

+rep returned


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Diabolical999* 
I believe this is going to be my next card. What are its _average_ idle/loads temps? Is it a good cooler in general?

This thread is sick long and I know almost all owners have posted their temps somewhere on it. The short answer is, not me, but most owners are getting around 42c idle, 65 load. Some more, some less.


----------



## jaybrn1

Lol I would feel stupid if it was... No it wasnt on the fan did adjust when i manual adjust it but it was **** on automatic... When I buy a card I want it to work 100% would rather return and get a brand new one then have to adjust the fans everytime and have it break down 6 mnths from now... LOL thanks though just cant wait to get my new one now.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Real sorry to hear that, jay. Best of luck with the RMA.







I can't think of anything else it can be. One more question, and sort of a dumb one but your manual fan control isn't on?

+rep returned


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*Final Notice*: I would like to send out a final reminder to everyone that the only candidates who are currently eligible for the new ownership raffle are *rico2001*, *legend999*, and *kairi_zeroblade*. Everyone else still has till 12:00 AM (EST) tonight to submit their request. (Instruction on original post) This is the final reminder so hurry up and make your posts if you would like to be eligible. Thanks again.


----------



## Diabolical999

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
*This thread is sick long and I know almost all owners have posted their temps* somewhere on it. The short answer is, not me, but most owners are getting around *42c idle, 65 load*. Some more, some less.

lol yeah, I figured. Just too lazy for a bunch of _tedious_ mouse-clicking though, just for a generalization on the temps. More or less was after a quick, _ballpark_ answer. Thanks.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Sacre*


Thanks.









I was surprised at the performance, especially since I'm running 1920x1200 - which is supposedly where the 1GB model starts to have issues.

However, the AA at x8 ran at ~17FPS average. I haven't tried anything in the middle just yet, but I will later. Does the 2GB model handle AA better?

(And frankly, when playing, I don't really notice AA off and 8xAA on games... side by side screenshots, yeah, I notice, but not when I'm playing...)

*Edit: Is there any way to reliably confirm the crossfire status when playing a game? I searched Google and for Crossfire it suggests monitoring each card's temps/activity, but this is on one card, so I don't think that'd work. So how do I make sure it's working in each game individually?*


Yes, the difference in having more memory is anti-aliasing and antroscopic filtering. Well to confirm both gpus are working you could run two sessions of gpu-z, selection different gpus for each session. Then while playing a game, clt-tab, to minimize the game and quickly look at the gpu-z and see gpus in action. Or you can do what I just did, download devil May Cry 4 demo, run it small 720x480, or whatever, open sessions of gpu-z and watch ATI power at work. (see pic)


----------



## Shroomalistic

you can also run furmark small and do the same thing rico is saying to check. just make sure you rename the exe file to something that utilizes crossfire.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*End Of Raffle Notice:* I would like to inform everyone that due to the insufficient lack of submissions I have decided to change the rules slightly. Since I only have three candidates, I will bypass the random name chooser program and instead post a poll here so people can vote who they would like for the new owner to become.

I am currently in the process of contacting a mod to clear the current poll so that a new one can be posted. I will inform everyone once it is up. The final candidates for new ownership are:

*1. kairi_zeroblade*

*2. legend999*

*3. rico2001*
Please make a note of your decision and I will soon post the new poll for everyone to vote. Thanks to everyone, I'll keep you updated.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Well guys, the poll is now up so make your votes and good luck to our three candidates. The poll closes April 1, 2009 @ 3:33 AM (EST) and the winner will be granted full ownership including full rights to edit and update the original post.


----------



## Shroomalistic

i voted but its not there, says I voted too and wont let me vote again.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic*


i voted but its not there, says I voted too and wont let me vote again.


That's odd someone else just voted and it works. Who did you vote for? I'll keep a mental note and add that later.


----------



## Shroomalistic

rico since hes been a big contributor and a help to me.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic*


rico since hes been a big contributor and a help to me.


K note taken. Try creating another account (temporarily) and voting, I will count it as your vote.


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## Jakethesnake011

openyoureyes. I have not voted yet, but it says that I have, Would like to vote for Rico, since he is doing much testing and seems involved in thread most of all, but helpful and responds daily.


----------



## kimosabi

Place your votes people!

Just looked at the owners list and its still an exclusive pack we have here.


----------



## mistargill

I voted for rico even though i don't belong to this thread. i read the whole thread before and i think rico is the one who deserve it


----------



## rico2001

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/rev...eon_hd_4850_x2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *maximumpc.com*
In our performance testing, the 4850 X2 unseated the fastest single-GPU videocards, the GeForce GTX 280 and Radeon HD 4870, in almost every benchmark. The exception to the rule was Crysis at high visual-quality settings and high resolution.....


----------



## Jakethesnake011

Guys Dx11 question. New graphic card gpu's to handle or is it possible interpret dx11 into via a driver update. What I mean is it worth buying a new bad ass GPU card now to add to mine, or wait until dx11 cards are introduced into the market, or will the old dx10 cards be able to handle dx11 technology? Did dx10 work in such a way when it was new and people had dx9 cards?


----------



## rico2001

I don't believe any card has dx11 yet (to my knowledge). And it will be a hardware thing, upgrading drivers, won't get you there.


----------



## Jakethesnake011

Thanks Rico. I heard dx11 is about 1 year or less away, so that's why I was asking. I have not seen any dx11 cards, but I believ windows 7 does 'offer' a basic dx11 , but without the card you can not use it, but it is encoded into windows 7.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jakethesnake011* 
openyoureyes. I have not voted yet, but it says that I have, Would like to vote for Rico, since he is doing much testing and seems involved in thread most of all, but helpful and responds daily.

Please make a temporary account and make another vote. I dunno why they don't go through sometimes.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

I understand some users are having issues with voting. I am sorry but I can only cant those that are currently up. The only workaround to this issue is creating a new temporary account to vote. I'm sorry it can't be done easier. If I find that the majority of users are having the same problem I will contact a mod to reset the poll and we will start again so we'll see how it goes; but if you are having this issue, please try to vote on another account first before reporting to me. Thanks.


----------



## Col. Newman

it looks like everyone that voted in the old poll is being marked as already voted for the new one.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Col. Newman*


it looks like everyone that voted in the old poll is being marked as already voted for the new one.


I would have thought so too but I voted in the old poll and I did vote on this poll also. If it keeps up I will have the poll taken down.


----------



## Jakethesnake011

Hey guys,
I ended up taking the metal fan guard off the card and and testing with out it to see if it is lowering my temps. It seems to be helping from just running AtiTool and scanning for artifacts. I used to run it with only the one core and my temps would get up to 72 GPU core, 74 Shader, and 76 Memory. now after 5 minutes, my temps without the fan guard are: 62 GPU core, 67 Shader, and 68 memory. So far so good. I also have 2 140mm Yate loons at the bottom of my case, they are noe blowing right at the card, since I moved the card down to the lowest possible PCI-e x16 slot, which is about 4 inches from the yate loon fans. Before my 4850 x2 was about 10 inches from the Yate loons, it had a PCI wireless adapter card blocking the 1st GPU fan, so no air from the 2 bottom fans could reach it, and it had the fan guard on it. So I have seen a good increase so far. I do not have pictures at the moment but I will try to take some pictures of were the card is in my case in reference to the fans and how it looks. I will also post more info on the temps. I am going to play some Crysis Wars now. I used to play for about an hour and temps would be in high 70s, and fan speed would get up to 48% since it was on auto. Also the fan speed with running ATITool has not went above 12% since I started and the fans are somewhat quieter than before, maybe due to the air not being forced through the hole in that fan guard, or whatever it is called.


----------



## Jakethesnake011

O yah Another thing, Question for you all.
I am planning on taking the GPU heat sinks off and putting some thermal compound on them. Now I have a little Artctic Silver 5 left and a brand new tube of Thermalright's Chill Factor. What do you think will be better? The AS5 or Chill Factor. Never used the Chill Factor so I don't know. And I think I only have enough AS5 to do one core, so what I was thinking of using the AS5 on the 1st core, and using Chill Factor on the second, since it will not get as much use in normal use. Also when putting it on the GPU core, do I spread it around, or apply like I do to a CPU core, put a thin line done the middle and then put the heat sink on and let the heat sink kind of push it around the core in a circle pattern. I heard doing it this way it reduces air bubbles, since spreading the thermal compound with your finger will create more air bubble due to the uneven layering on the core. Let me know what you all think. 
Or is it even worth it?
O and one more thing, you all can probably tell I am a noobie when it comes to this stuff, which I basically am, learning as I go alone and asking many stupid questions, like this one. Is it worth putting a GPU of today's power (processing power) in a PCI-express slot that can only do x4, which is 2.0 Gb/s, where as x16 speed is 8Gb/s. Say if I put a 4850 single GPu in that PCI-e x4 is it worth it, or is the PCI-e x4 going to slow it down much more than what it is capable of doing?


----------



## Jakethesnake011

Well I played Crysis for some time and this is what I came back with. I will post pics as soon as I can to show how the card is in the case. Temps seem to have gone down a good amount. Maybe I can overclock my RAM some more, I can not go much past 1030 without getting artifacts in Crysis Wars


----------



## Jakethesnake011

Here is a pic of the card. It is bending very badly I need to put a vertical support in my case in order to keep it up


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Jakethesnake011*


Here is a pic of the card. It is bending very badly I need to put a vertical support in my case in order to keep it up


ehh thats not too bad when i got my water cooling hooked up to my card that thing was bending like crazy but a friend of mine threw me a few card keepers those things are life savers http://www.cardkeeper.net/

ive been using this model Model CK03-1225


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Can those of you who are having or had voting issues please post here. I would like to find out how many users can't vote. Thanks.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Jakethesnake011*

HO yah Another thing, Question for you all.
I am planning on taking the GPU heat sinks off and putting some thermal compound on them. Now I have a little Arctic Silver 5 left and a brand new tube of Thermalright's Chill Factor. What do you think will be better? The AS5 or Chill Factor. Never used the Chill Factor so I don't know. And I think I only have enough AS5 to do one core, so what I was thinking of using the AS5 on the 1st core, and using Chill Factor on the second, since it will not get as much use in normal use. Also when putting it on the GPU core, do I spread it around, or apply like I do to a CPU core, put a thin line done the middle and then put the heat sink on and let the heat sink kind of push it around the core in a circle pattern. I heard doing it this way it reduces air bubbles, since spreading the thermal compound with your finger will create more air bubble due to the uneven layering on the core. Let me know what you all think.
Or is it even worth it?
O and one more thing, you all can probably tell I am a noobie when it comes to this stuff, which I basically am, learning as I go alone and asking many stupid questions, like this one. Is it worth putting a GPU of today's power (processing power) in a PCI-express slot that can only do x4, which is 2.0 Gb/s, where as x16 speed is 8Gb/s. Say if I put a 4850 single GPu in that PCI-e x4 is it worth it, or is the PCI-e x4 going to slow it down much more than what it is capable of doing?


I like arctic silver but I haven't used the other so can't form an honest opinion. Changing you thermal compound never hurts. You will probably hurt your performance with any HDXXXX card on less than 8x pci-e, matter of fact, any X1XX and higher. Awesome load temps btw. Taking the aluminum cover off is definitely worth it, too bad I'm too lazy to do so.


----------



## xgeko2

http://www.tim-consultants.com/products.html

Thats the thermal grease i use that stuff is pretty good cant buy it on websites like newegg only direct from them and its one of the best pastes you can get.

heres a tim review

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.ph...1&limitstart=5


----------



## Jakethesnake011

@rico
Now when I do this. Say some of the original thermal compound that ATI put on, is on the transistors. Is it okay to wipe that off with a Q-tip, and try to get it all off? Or should I just leave it. I have heard doing both is okay, but what you think. I know if I get AS5 on those my card will die a sad death, but with the Thermalright Chill Factor I do not have to worry about it, which is nice. I might do one core AS5 and one the Chill Factor since I do nto have enough to do both As5.


----------



## lesstutrey

You can add me to the owners list, and i will have some lovely benchmarks this weekend for you guys. I'm not that active here, i am active at another forum, but i think you will be pleasantly surprised.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *lesstutrey*


You can add me to the owners list, and i will have some lovely benchmarks this weekend for you guys. I'm not that active here, i am active at another forum, but i think you will be pleasantly surprised.


Done!


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Everyone, if you are having issues voting please let me know now because if it's not working properly I will contact a mod to have it reset ASAP. If you did vote and it worked fine please let me know too, I need to know who's going through and who isn't.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Jakethesnake011*


@rico
Now when I do this. Say some of the original thermal compound that ATI put on, is on the transistors. Is it okay to wipe that off with a Q-tip, and try to get it all off? Or should I just leave it. I have heard doing both is okay, but what you think. I know if I get AS5 on those my card will die a sad death, but with the Thermalright Chill Factor I do not have to worry about it, which is nice. I might do one core AS5 and one the Chill Factor since I do nto have enough to do both As5.


Yea Jake, I would try to get the compound off any part that wasn't the gpu die.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *www.xbitlabs.com*

The Sapphire HD 4850 X2 carries a total of 16 memory chips (QimondaHYB18H1G321AF-10) with a capacity of 1Gb (32Mb x 32), voltage of 1.8V and rated frequency of 1000 (2000) MHz. 16 such chips make up two memory banks with a capacity of 1024MB and a 256-bit memory bus: one bank for each GPU. The two banks store two copies of the same data due to the specifics of CrossFire technology, so the total amount of local memory available to 3D applications is 1024 megabytes. The memory is clocked at 993 (1986) MHz, which corresponds to the official Radeon HD 4850 X2 specs.


QimondaHYB18H1G321AF-10 specs
Clock speed: 1000 mhz
Recommended maximum temperature: 95C
Absolute Maximum temperature: 125C
Recommended maximum voltage: 1.9V
Absoulte maximum voltage: 2.5V

_Stresses above max. values listed may cause permanent damage. Exposure to absolute maximum rating conditions for extended periods may affect device reliability_

 QimondaHYB18H1G321AF-10 Complete Internal Data Sheet

voted.


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## legend999

I already voted


----------



## Jakethesnake011

Hey guys, I am looking at selling this card, if anybody is interested pm me please! Looking at getting a 4870 x2 when the mew 4890's come out.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jakethesnake011* 
Hey guys, I am looking at selling this card, if anybody is interested pm me please! Looking at getting a 4870 x2 when the mew 4890's come out.

Trader!!!! Just kidding, ati for life.







How much are you looking to sell it for, may know someone interested. Send a pm if you'd wish.


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## Shroomalistic

I might have to remove my single 4850 from my rig. My sound card is right under it and is causing it to over heat. its either remove the sound card and settle for on board or remove the 4850 and settle for crossfire instead of tri-fire. what would you guys do? Tri-fire worth it over good sound or is a single 4850x2 good enough to not need tri-fire?

Later on Ill get a pcie sound card which is my last slot and wont cut the single 4850 off from air.


----------



## legend999

The sound card is overheating the VGA?

Didn't know they get that hot.

I would...change PCI slot?is it possble?


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## Shroomalistic

i have one free pci slot and its right under the vga blocking the air from the fan


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## rico2001

Have you tried putting the x2 in the top pci-e, 4850 in middle pci-e slot and your X-fi in the very bottom pci slot? Any 120mm fan in side of your case, blowing over the cards?


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## Shroomalistic

thats exactly how mine is.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowIm...d%20-%20Retail

top = PCIE = x2
2nd = PCI slot = empty, no room to use it
3rd = PCIE = 4850
4th = PCI slot = covered by 4850 fan
5th = PCI Slot = X-FI
6th = PCIE = empty


----------



## rico2001

yea i looked your mobo up before i said my piece. So that setup is overheating? Maybe you need more airflow. You could try moving the X-FI to the top and the rest down. Heat rises but if you have better airflow in the middle, maybe the sound at the top will work.


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## Shroomalistic

bottom slot is only a x4 slot. ill just find a way to get me a pcie audio card.
















the top fan is 110cfm and the bottom is a 130cfm ys tech.

Kinda hard to tell but the x-fi is less then 1/4 inch from the fan on the 4850


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## rico2001

Man, Shroom, I see what you mean. No good configuration. Even looks like your X-Fi is totally blocking the 4850 fan. Not good. Can you just go with your on-board audio? Most on-board these days are pretty good. That's all I run.


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## Shroomalistic

yeah but I just bought a x-fi fatal1y xtremegamer pro. its a full size card. the one in there now is a low profile card. so its gonna be even worse with the xtreme.


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## rico2001

May have to loose the tri-fire then. Something has to give. Or perhaps try to find a slim cooler for the 4850. The sapphire sink and fan is about 2 inches I believe.


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## xgeko2

sadly my 4850x2 bit the dust i believe i took my whole rig apart drilled 2 holes in the back of my case so i could flip my radiator on the back around and cut out some tubing and now when my card is in the computer dosnt even try to boot i get no video my mouse and keyboard dont light up but all the fans etc start up when i take the card out my onboard video works and everything boots fine without error. so at this point im waiting on the hd 4890 to come out gonna get one of those and hope sapphire will repair this card under warrenty.


----------



## Shroomalistic

yeah might have to trade the 4850 for a vanilla 4850. still temped to just hold out and run just the x2 till i get the x-fi titanium.

Honestly, for normal gaming I dont think I will loose much performance going from tri fire back to x2. In synthetic benchmarks yeah but I dont "play" those much. I like to game. BF2 and L4D are my games right now and I really want to try out eax 5.0 in bf2. I dont even know why im running the x-fi xtreme audio/ audigy se. I can make my motherboard audio sound the same with the realtek x-fi mod.


----------



## Chewman

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic*


yeah might have to trade the 4850 for a vanilla 4850. still temped to just hold out and run just the x2 till i get the x-fi titanium.

Honestly, for normal gaming I dont think I will loose much performance going from tri fire back to x2. In synthetic benchmarks yeah but I dont "play" those much. I like to game. BF2 and L4D are my games right now and I really want to try out eax 5.0 in bf2. I dont even know why im running the x-fi xtreme audio/ audigy se. I can make my motherboard audio sound the same with the realtek x-fi mod.


Looks like someone enjoys spending money
xD
dw, I do it all the time, then look back and be like "why the heck did I buy that, I have just as good stuff right here!"


----------



## Chewman

Just re-read the First Post, Seems that Open1your1Eyes0 hes posted the Catalyst 9.3 Drivers....
are they Tried and Tested/Working yet?
last I heard they made us HD4850X2 Users Artifact like hell.


----------



## legend999

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic*


yeah might have to trade the 4850 for a vanilla 4850. still temped to just hold out and run just the x2 till i get the x-fi titanium.

Honestly, for normal gaming I dont think I will loose much performance going from tri fire back to x2. In synthetic benchmarks yeah but I dont "play" those much. I like to game. BF2 and L4D are my games right now and I really want to try out eax 5.0 in bf2. I dont even know why im running the x-fi xtreme audio/ audigy se. I can make my motherboard audio sound the same with the realtek x-fi mod.


Yep,you won't.

You know what a beast it is.









Quote:



Originally Posted by *Chewman*


Just re-read the First Post, Seems that Open1your1Eyes0 hes posted the Catalyst 9.3 Drivers....
are they Tried and Tested/Working yet?
last I heard they made us HD4850X2 Users Artifact like hell.



I've heard some bad feedback on it as well...and it don't bring us Crossfire improvements,so..


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xgeko2*


sadly my 4850x2 bit the dust i believe i took my whole rig apart drilled 2 holes in the back of my case so i could flip my radiator on the back around and cut out some tubing and now when my card is in the computer dosnt even try to boot i get no video my mouse and keyboard dont light up but all the fans etc start up when i take the card out my onboard video works and everything boots fine without error. so at this point im waiting on the hd 4890 to come out gonna get one of those and hope sapphire will repair this card under warrenty.


Do you have another pci-e card to try. Reset the bios. Reseat the card again. Could be your pci-e slot.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Chewman*


Just re-read the First Post, Seems that Open1your1Eyes0 hes posted the Catalyst 9.3 Drivers....
are they Tried and Tested/Working yet?
last I heard they made us HD4850X2 Users Artifact like hell.


The 9.3's suck for me. Many of us are back to 9.2s.


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Do you have another pci-e card to try. Reset the bios. Reseat the card again. Could be your pci-e slot.

ive already been through that about 12 times with no luck =/ im going to keep trying though to reserect this card till the 4890's come out.


----------



## Jakethesnake011

I have become a trader to ATI, I just got myself a gtx 285







I only paid 286 for it, on sale. So I am going to try it out, and let you all know when I get it in a couple of weeks how the performance is, compared to this card.


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## rico2001

Man, where is the loyalty.


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## Jakethesnake011

For the price, I could not go wrong, I ain't going far, I will be looking for the hd 5xxx series when it comes, I really liked this card, I will be back for more ATI fun.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

@all
guys i wonder why my 4870 + 4850x2 card doesn't go tri fire...lolx..can anyone tell??or it has to be same GPU to do tri-fire??it means i'm so stupid enough to get a HD4870 Xfired with this card..lolx


----------



## legend999

It's supposed to be compatible on the same series : HD38***,HD48***,so it is.

Dumb question,but are you using the crossfire connector?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade* 
@all
guys i wonder why my 4870 + 4850x2 card doesn't go tri fire...lolx..can anyone tell??or it has to be same GPU to do tri-fire??it means i'm so stupid enough to get a HD4870 Xfired with this card..lolx

Nice kairi, a hybrid tri-fire attempt. I hope you are successful. A few questions: What drivers are you using? Have you tried other drivers? Are both cards showing up in windows? Did you install the x-fire ribbon before entering windows before installing the drivers? If everything seems to be installed correctly, are you not seeing the 3 gpu option in ccc? Oh did you test the 4870 alone to check to see its functioning properly by itself?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

I would like to welcome everyone here to my new thread. You guys can check it out at anytime and post comments or questions whenever you feel like it. Don't think I'm betraying you guys. I am for both the *ATI* and *NVIDIA* crowd and am a proud supporter of both. You guys have all been great and I will keep checking up on you often to see what is new. Thanks to everyone for making this thread a very knowledgeable experience.









Link: Official NVIDIA GeForce GTX285 Thread

PS: Keep voting everyone!. It's very close!

Mini Partaway Gift: Added a nice little banner + ATI logos to the original post, come check it out.


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## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:


Originally Posted by *legend999* 
It's supposed to be compatible on the same series : HD38***,HD48***,so it is.

Dumb question,but are you using the crossfire connector?

yeah of course i was..









i did it the other way around to but still the Xfire menu does not show a 3 GPU rendering..lolx

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Nice kairi, a hybrid tri-fire attempt. I hope you are successful. A few questions: What drivers are you using? Have you tried other drivers? Are both cards showing up in windows? Did you install the x-fire ribbon before entering windows before installing the drivers? If everything seems to be installed correctly, are you not seeing the 3 gpu option in ccc? Oh did you test the 4870 alone to check to see its functioning properly by itself?

i tested the 4870 alone and its fine no probs or any issues i am using catalyst 9.3 for Vista 64..yes both cards show up on the hardware tab..already tried 9.2 before going 9.3 still no menu for 3 GPU is on CCC..:swearing:


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
I would like to welcome everyone here to my new thread. You guys can check it out at anytime and post comments or questions whenever you feel like it. Don't think I'm betraying you guys. I am for both the *ATI* and *NVIDIA* crowd and am a proud supporter of both. You guys have all been great and I will keep checking up on you often to see what is new. Thanks to everyone for making this thread a very knowledgeable experience.









Link: Official NVIDIA GeForce GTX285 Thread

PS: Keep voting everyone!. It's very close!

Mini Partaway Gift: Added a nice little banner + ATI logos to the original post, come check it out.

don't make me cry..


----------



## xgeko2

*Temporary update to my burned up cards status*

Ok so here is the short story of how this came about. Tore apart computer drilled holes in the back to flip my radiator around and cut tubing shorter. Reassembled pc and video card does not work?? if i have the video card in the computer does not boot at all what so ever. if i take the card out the computer boots fine on onboard video. Test out the pci e slot with a radeon x600se works fine?? plug 4850x2 back into primary pcie slot then connect x600 se into second pcie slot and connect monitor into x600se. computer boots up check device manager and only 1 gpu is listed for the 4850x2 instead of 2 and x600se works fine. Went to go and flash the bios on the 4850x2 and realise that its only the secondary adapter of the 4850x2 showing up the primary adapter does not show in windows. ok hook up 2 monitors one to the x600 se and one to one of the dvi ports for the secondary adapter on the 4850x2 both displays work switch monitors and set the 4850x2 as primary in vista and disable x600se and disconnect monitor now i can run the 4850x2's secondary adapter in windows @ 1920x1080 playing l4d at 180-200 fps no AA or eye candy just high res.

Im sorry if this seems like a "HUGE" run on sentence. But i was wondering what everyones take is on this here? any other ideas maybe to get my video card running again? when i used ati win flash to flash the 4850x2's bios only the secondary adapter is showing there as well i have no way to try and flash the primary bios. Im wondering seeing as this card just like the 4870x2 chips has a on board crossfire controller the plx chip i believe do you think that is causing the problems or do you guys think maybe the primary adapter is just burned out or for some reason its bios isnt posting with the rest of the card? any more ideas or sudjestions would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## rajithajayasekera

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 

















*Official ATI Radeon HD4850X2 Thread*









This thread is for all *Sapphire Radeon HD4850X2* owners to refer to for comparison in performance so the rules to this thread are very simple, be as thorough as possible and post the following things on your post.

Average FPS on *Crysis* or *Crysis Warhead* on all "*Very High*" or "*Enthusiast*" settings with at least 1280x1024 resolution or higher.

Any Overclocking information on your entire system (if overclocked).
[Include *CPU* OC, *RAM* OC, and/or *GPU* OC]
I'm having a Sapphire 4850x2 1GB and when i'm gaming, my computer turns off or get strucks itself. And my mobo and video card gets extremely hot.
Please can any one help me..
I'm having a ASUS Striker 2 Formula mobo, Q9550, Asus Vento Casing, FSP 5oow Power sup. Also provide the following pictures as attachments for support

Screenshot of *GPUZ* on "Graphics Card" tab.
Screenshot of *CPUZ* on "CPU" tab.
Screenshot of *CPUZ* on "Mainboard" tab.
Screenshot of *CPUZ* on "Memory" tab.
Screenshot of *3DMark06* results on default settings.
Screenshot of *3DMark Vantage* results on "Performance" mode.
Screenshot of *Crysis Benchmark Tool* results with all settings on "*Very High*".
Screenshot of *Crysis Warhead Benchmark Tool* results with all settings on "*Enthusiast*".










Also any other information applicable would be great. Thank you all in advance and I hope we can all help those in desperate search of this information.









*The following are my personal results*

I used the following system for these results:

*Motherboard*: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L (rev. 2.0)
*CPU*: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 (Overclocked to 4.00GHz)
*RAM*: G.Skill 4GB DDR2-PC8500 1066MHz (5-5-5-15-2T Timings)
*GPU*: Sapphire Radeon HD4850X2 (ATI Catalyst 8.12 Drivers from Sapphire's Website)
*PSU*: Corsair TX750W (750 Watts)
*Hard Drive*: Samsung HD080HJ 80GB (SATA II 3.0 Gbps)
*OS*: Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit SP1





































































*The following are results after overclocking*:














































*The following photos are of my personal system*:





































*Latest Drivers (ATI Catalyst 9.3) For The* *Sapphire Radeon HD4850X2*

Click Here To Download Drivers Windows XP 32-bit
Click Here To Download Drivers Windows XP 64-bit
Click Here To Download Drivers Windows Vista 32-bit
Click Here To Download Drivers Windows Vista 64-bit
Click Here To Download Drivers Windows 7 32-bit
Click Here To Download Drivers Windows 7 64-bit

*Download The Tools Used Above*

*GPUZ v0.3.3*: Click Here To Download
*CPUZ v1.50*: Click Here To Download
*3DMark06 v1.10*: Click Here To Download
*3DMark Vantage v1.01*: Click Here To Download
*Crysis Benchmark Tool v1.05*: Click Here To Download
*Crysis Warhead Benchmark Tool v0.32*: Click Here To Download

*Owner's List*

*Bluzeboy
Bruenor
Chewman
cody0707
Col. Newman
d4martin
daellum67
dynoman101
equlizer34
ESS_Eisenkreuz
guscol
Jakethesnake011
jaybrn1
Jon A. Silvers
kairi_zeroblade
kimosabi
legend999
lesstutrey
Maxers
MrMan
Nirran
oulzac
Pete1burn
rico2001
Shroomalistic
tool918
Villainstone
xgeko2
xz3rorom3o*

_Turbine_


I'm having a Sapphire 4850x2 1GB and when i'm gaming, my computer turns off or get strucks itself. And my mobo and video card gets extremely hot.
Please can any one help me..
I'm having a ASUS Striker 2 Formula mobo, Q9550, Asus Vento Casing, FSP 5oow Power sup.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rajithajayasekera* 
I'm having a Sapphire 4850x2 1GB and when i'm gaming, my computer turns off or get strucks itself. And my mobo and video card gets extremely hot.
Please can any one help me..
I'm having a ASUS Striker 2 Formula mobo, Q9550, Asus Vento Casing, FSP 5oow Power sup.

Welcome 4850x2 owner, rajithajayasekera. I think you may have a lack of power situation. 500w is not enough to run this card, in my opinion and you also are running a quad core cpu. On the temperature issue, what are the temps you are getting and how is your case cooling? What drivers for the card are you using? Also login and fill out your system specs. Good luck.


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## Chewman

got my 4850X2 in today....
killed it in the first 30 mins.








I must be the biggest (insert curse word here) idiot, tried to install a couple of Zalman coolers, but when taking the stock ones off, one of the screws held tight to one of those fan stands...
Upon trying to take it out, seems that I managed to scrape the pcb with my pliers, killing a connection or something.
Seeing if I can somehow RMA it without anyone noticing it was my fault >_>
*sigh*
I hate using this old 8600GT....
Just want to be able to use my brand-spanking new 4850X2.
I hate my luck.


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## Jakethesnake011

Kiari
Do you think that it being backwards makes a difference. I know with my motherboard I have to put the card in the 1st PCI-e slot, b/c it runs at x16 speed, like 8.0 Gb/s, I believe, then the bottom slot only runs at x4, but it looks the same. I know this is beginners stuff, but I just want to help yah. I do not know about your older motherboard.


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## MESeidel

Hey,

and sry that I'm too lazy to reread all 103 pages.
But is there a way to higher the limit of the Core OC in CCC?
It ends at 700 with this Card while my 4870 goes to 800...
My Card is watercooled - so temps are less of a limit!

Or would you recommend a different Tool to OC and if which?


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## Shroomalistic

Use rivatuner, thats probly the best thing for it right now. Someone needs to mod a signature for this thing so we can get higher clocks in ccc.

Side note, I fixed my tri-fire or sound card delima. I put a zalman vf900cu on my 4850. It gives it a little more clearance and lowered the temps roughly 16c degrees.


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MESeidel* 
Hey,

and sry that I'm too lazy to reread all 103 pages.
But is there a way to higher the limit of the Core OC in CCC?
It ends at 700 with this Card while my 4870 goes to 800...
My Card is watercooled - so temps are less of a limit!

Or would you recommend a different Tool to OC and if which?

Ya right now the easiest way to do it is with rivia tuner although your not going to get much higher than 700 mhz because the voltage is restricted on this card so if you want to risk your hardware and get higher clocks you either have to flash the bios and increase the voltage or do a volt mod you might get lucky and be able to do anywhere from 720-730 without volt moding it but if your looking for a higher clock then that you should do a lot more reading on doing a volt mod.


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## kairi_zeroblade

finally i went over board 20k with this hell of a card with just 3.7Ghz..







sweet!!


----------



## MESeidel

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xgeko2* 
Ya right now the easiest way to do it is with rivia tuner although your not going to get much higher than 700 mhz because the voltage is restricted on this card so if you want to risk your hardware and get higher clocks you either have to flash the bios and increase the voltage or do a volt mod you might get lucky and be able to do anywhere from 720-730 without volt moding it but if your looking for a higher clock then that you should do a lot more reading on doing a volt mod.

Thanks for the answer.
So you also say that the X2 Cards wont reach the OC potential of a normal HD4850 because it get's unstable?

I'm not going to Voltmod the Hardware.
Haven't searched about soft-Mod in BIOS yet - cause I think I'm not even do that.
The only good I have is that I put 2 water blocks on that card and can keep it real cool^^


----------



## Shroomalistic

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade* 









finally i went over board 20k with this hell of a card with just 3.7Ghz..







sweet!!

wow what kinda of overclock you got with that rig? you almost got the same score as me with my trifire. thats freakin nice man. Please tell me your cpu clock, mem clock and video cards clocks.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic* 
wow what kinda of overclock you got with that rig? you almost got the same score as me with my trifire. thats freakin nice man. Please tell me your cpu clock, mem clock and video cards clocks.

Setup:
CPU: 3712 225x16.5 VCORE: 1.43v MEMS: DDR2-1200 @ 2.35v Team Xtreem
VGA: HD4850x2 700/1130 per core(modded bios)
NB-HT:[email protected] HTVOLTAGE:1.38v CPU-HT: 2000Mhz

i raised every voltage settings just to get this stable on Vista and Win7..so far Win7 has a higher score thats why i am leaning to it..


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## Jakethesnake011

I was able to pull this off with the card set to 700 core clock and 1120 memory clock, It was not artifacting in 3dmark06, but in Crysis and Crysis Wars it will within 10 seconds on this high memory clock, but it is fine in all other games. I can oonly get a stable memory clock for Crysis/Wars of 1040mhz, and 1050 with a 685 Core clock, so the memory shows that it is fine when 3d marking, but bums out quick in Crysis.


----------



## Jakethesnake011

@Shroom
See those Zalmans seems to be working out for yah, I was also able to cut my tmeps about 10 degrees with taking the metal fan guard off, moving my card down to the last PCI-e slot, and putting 2 140mm Yate loons on the bottom of my case, about 5 inches from the card, and it seems to be working well for now, heres a pic.


----------



## Shroomalistic

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade* 
Setup:
CPU: 3712 225x16.5 VCORE: 1.43v MEMS: DDR2-1200 @ 2.35v Team Xtreem
VGA: HD4850x2 700/1130 per core(modded bios)
NB-HT:[email protected] HTVOLTAGE:1.38v CPU-HT: 2000Mhz

i raised every voltage settings just to get this stable on Vista and Win7..so far Win7 has a higher score thats why i am leaning to it..

Damn thats a nice vmem OC there.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jakethesnake011* 
I was able to pull this off with the card set to 700 core clock and 1120 memory clock, It was not artifacting in 3dmark06, but in Crysis and Crysis Wars it will within 10 seconds on this high memory clock, but it is fine in all other games. I can oonly get a stable memory clock for Crysis/Wars of 1040mhz, and 1050 with a 685 Core clock, so the memory shows that it is fine when 3d marking, but bums out quick in Crysis.

the dark side gives you a good boost there. Damn intel!!:swearing:

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jakethesnake011* 
@Shroom
See those Zalmans seems to be working out for yah, I was also able to cut my tmeps about 10 degrees with taking the metal fan guard off, moving my card down to the last PCI-e slot, and putting 2 140mm Yate loons on the bottom of my case, about 5 inches from the card, and it seems to be working well for now, heres a pic.

I cant drop mine any father, board wont allow it.


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## Open1Your1Eyes0

*Shroomalistic*, *Jakethesnake011*, and *Col. Newman* were you able to vote from yours or another account? If you have not done so already please do so otherwise I can't count your votes. This goes for anyone who weren't able to get their vote posted as well. Please try to create another account temporarily to vote. Sorry for the inconvenience everyone.


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## Col. Newman

I am choosing not to vote because I don't really have an opinion on this.

Even if I did it's not important enough to go through the hassle of creating another account.


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## Shroomalistic

i just voted


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## rico2001

I'm thinking the raffle method would have been better, for this owner change could be over already.


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## rico2001

You guys are posting great '06 and vantage scores, really appreciate it. If you can, try benching some game titles, any game you have. I'm really interested to see if cpu strength is as important in games as it is in 3dmark applications. As Open1Your1Eyes0, mentioned before, the Crysis demo is free. The Tropics, Devil May Cry 4, and X3 Terran Conflict are also free demos/benchmarks.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


You guys are posting great '06 and vantage scores, really appreciate it. If you can, try benching some game titles, any game you have. I'm really interested to see if cpu strength is as important in games as it is in 3dmark applications. As Open1Your1Eyes0, mentioned before, the Crysis demo is free. The Tropics, Devil May Cry 4, and X3 Terran Conflict are also free demos/benchmarks.


devil may Cry 4 on win7 is wicked sick 100fps always..i think this card scales better on Win7..like my scores went up like hell that i was so happy with it..hope the RC1 of Win7 is just the same as the build 7000..i had minor issues running some benchies like the crysis..i dunno why..either tropics on Win7..

and i don't really game that much i just love this card under bench press..


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade*


devil may Cry 4 on win7 is wicked sick 100fps always..i think this card scales better on Win7..like my scores went up like hell that i was so happy with it..hope the RC1 of Win7 is just the same as the build 7000..i had minor issues running some benchies like the crysis..i dunno why..either tropics on Win7..

and i don't really game that much i just love this card under bench press..










"Don't game much." Just buying expensive video cards for sport, huh? That's cool, I understand. Well if you are into just benching, download those I mentioned and pop out some sick scores.


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## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


"Don't game much." Just buying expensive video cards for sport, huh? That's cool, I understand. Well if you are into just benching, download those I mentioned and pop out some sick scores.


sure just waiting for my Peltier cooler to arrive so i can burn up my CPU more..i think this card likes more push from CPU than itself being pushed tru OCing..

1 more thing i will test and tweak this card to my purpose and delight..although i will share some to this thread..i don't lean towards your basis since i was able to score high using just this bare card and since we have different tweaks up our sleeves somehow..my tri-fire i think and i guess would be a bit better i am just looking for a 4850 i can buy here to get new scores and benchies..


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## Shroomalistic

Theres a 4850 in the for sale section for $100. Cant really beat that price.
http://www.overclock.net/sale/480648...ics-added.html

Probly want a 1gb version though to match your card.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic*


Theres a 4850 in the for sale section for $100. Cant really beat that price.
http://www.overclock.net/sale/480648...ics-added.html

Probly want a 1gb version though to match your card.


if only they can ship here in the Philippines i will be glad to grab it by the balls..so far i can borrow a friends Toxic sapphire 4850 512mb and see how this improves..although significantly the scores will improve..i am the type of enthusiast which balances the nature between CPU and GPU performance..


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade* 
sure just waiting for my Peltier cooler to arrive so i can burn up my CPU more..i think this card likes more push from CPU than itself being pushed tru OCing..

1 more thing i will test and tweak this card to my purpose and delight..although i will share some to this thread..i don't lean towards your basis since i was able to score high using just this bare card and since we have different tweaks up our sleeves somehow..my tri-fire i think and i guess would be a bit better i am just looking for a 4850 i can buy here to get new scores and benchies..


@ kairi_zeroblade
I want to apologize for any misunderstanding of my comments posted earlier. It's a free world, well most of it is, and everyone is free to do whatever they want with their hardware. The comments I made on other benchmarks that can be used were only suggestions and not to you personally, but to all 4850x2 owners in general. They were not demands or requirements, just suggestions. I'm not racing anyone on hardware and/or scores and I'm not putting ppl down on how they bench their equipment. I'm just an enthusiast, looking for any and all info on our 4580x2, which includes benchmarks. They are only a handful of reviews on the net for this card and only a handful of owners on this forum. So kairi I hope we are cool and if anyone else was offended by the suggestions I made earlier, take this as an apology.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

On that note, found something new to play with and also decided to compare how the 4850 single fairs in this bench:

FurMark aka "Furry Donut" -Open GL Benchmark- (Build 1.6.5)

1440x900, 0xAA
4850x1 = 105 average fps
4850x2 = 197 average fps (92 fps, 87.6% gain over x1)
4850x3 = 284 average fps (87 fps, 44.1% gain over x2)(overall 270% gain over single 4850)
























1440x900, 8xAA
4850x1 = 22 average fps
4850x2 = 43 average fps (21 fps, 95.4% gain over x1)
4850x3 = 64 average fps (21 fps, 48.8% gain over x2)(overall 290% gain over single 4850)
























1680x1050, 0xAA
4850x1 = 79 average fps
4850x2 = 152 average fps (73 fps, 92.4% gain over x1)
4850x3 = 219 average fps (67 fps, 44.0% gain over x2)(overall 277% gain over single 4850)
























1680x1050, 8xAA
4850x1 = 18 average fps
4850x2 = 35 average fps (17 fps, 105% gain over x1)
4850x3 = 51 average fps (16 fps, 45.7% gain over x2)(overall 283% gain over single 4850)
























In conclusion, crossfire rules! That's all I can say.


----------



## jadawgis732

Got mine last week, fried my 500W topower, picked up a 650W Antec. Paired with 5800+ running at 3.2Ghz. I love it! It was loud originally, but I took the shroud off, and it dropped 2-3C and the noise drop was unbelievable. Temps not really a problem, since it runs between 35-55. I had one of the gpus up to 62 once, but the fans never go above 30% so I am assuming the temp is fine. FPS never drops under 40 on fallout 3 at 1920X1080 with ultra high detail. It is big, but eh, I don't care, I never see it anyway, as I drilled a hole in the wall and put it on the other side. I'll post any thing else I can think of when I get done reading the threadThis thread is for all Sapphire Radeon HD4850X2 owners to refer to for comparison in performance so the rules to this thread are very simple, be as thorough as possible and post the following things on your post.

"Also provide the following pictures as attachments for support

* Screenshot of GPUZ on "Graphics Card" tab.
* Screenshot of CPUZ on "CPU" tab.
* Screenshot of CPUZ on "Mainboard" tab.
* Screenshot of CPUZ on "Memory" tab.
* Screenshot of 3DMark06 results on default settings.
* Screenshot of 3DMark Vantage results on "Performance" mode.
* Screenshot of Crysis Benchmark Tool results with all settings on "Very High".
* Screenshot of Crysis Warhead Benchmark Tool results with all settings on "Enthusiast"."

No


----------



## jadawgis732

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
I'm not racing anyone on hardware and/or scores

Your system is called "My Pursuit of Dominance." I'm just saying...


----------



## Gatroo

my specs are

Intel Core Quad 3ghz
4gb RAM
ATI 4850x2 2gb

VERY NICE MAN







i have this card too and ot rocks









well on 3dmark06 whit 9.2 CCC i got 16985 
and in vantage with 9.3 i dunno







i test it ok?

in crysis everything high 1680x1050 avg fps was 44 with 9.3 CCC
and the screen shots are comming ok ?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *jadawgis732*


Got mine last week, fried my 500W topower, picked up a 650W Antec. Paired with 5800+ running at 3.2Ghz. I love it! It was loud originally, but I took the shroud off, and it dropped 2-3C and the noise drop was unbelievable. Temps not really a problem, since it runs between 35-55. I had one of the gpus up to 62 once, but the fans never go above 30% so I am assuming the temp is fine. FPS never drops under 40 on fallout 3 at 1920X1080 with ultra high detail. It is big, but eh, I don't care, I never see it anyway, as I drilled a hole in the wall and put it on the other side. I'll post any thing else I can think of when I get done reading the threadThis thread is for all Sapphire Radeon HD4850X2 owners to refer to for comparison in performance so the rules to this thread are very simple, be as thorough as possible and post the following things on your post.

"Also provide the following pictures as attachments for support

* Screenshot of GPUZ on "Graphics Card" tab.
* Screenshot of CPUZ on "CPU" tab.
* Screenshot of CPUZ on "Mainboard" tab.
* Screenshot of CPUZ on "Memory" tab.
* Screenshot of 3DMark06 results on default settings.
* Screenshot of 3DMark Vantage results on "Performance" mode.
* Screenshot of Crysis Benchmark Tool results with all settings on "Very High".
* Screenshot of Crysis Warhead Benchmark Tool results with all settings on "Enthusiast"."

No



jadawgis732, welcome to OCN and the 4850x2 owners thread.







The info at the beginning of the thread are suggestions not really rules. Posting screenshoots of your system and benches are just helpfull to all. Congrats on those temps, only getting up to 62c on load. That is quite good. We await your screens if you wish to post them.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *jadawgis732*


Your system is called "My Pursuit of Dominance" though


There is someone I'm racing but they are a relative of mine. Not anyone on here, futuremark or any other forum. And its just a name. I could have named my system "My Pursuit of Happiness" but that doesn't sound very cool. If I wanted to get high scores in 3dmark appz, I'm going the wrong way with my system. I have relatively low cpu poere and high gpu power, not a good balance to those appz. I could have opt'ed not to go tri-fire, take the money I spent on the single 4850 and a little more, buy myself a quad core cpu and post higher 3dmark score than I have now. If you have read most of my post on this thread, you will see I'm into crossfire scaling. This multi-gpu testing is fascinating to me.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Gatroo*


my specs are

Intel Core Quad 3ghz
4gb RAM
ATI 4850x2 2gb

VERY NICE MAN







i have this card too and ot rocks









well on 3dmark06 whit 9.2 CCC i got 16985 
and in vantage with 9.3 i dunno







i test it ok?

in crysis everything high 1680x1050 avg fps was 44 with 9.3 CCC
and the screen shots are comming ok ?










Nice Gatroo, welcome. It is good to see more owners. The 4850x2 is an awesome card. Best pc part I've brought in a long time. Nice crysis average, you own that game at 40 fps. Post some pics if you can.


----------



## Gatroo

THX!

First Here is my VANTAGE : http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/2236/vantage.jpg









Second Crysis on High Settings







: http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/5008/crysisj.jpg
ps: Can i join the club?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Gatroo*


THX!

First Here is my VANTAGE : http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/2236/vantage.jpg









Second Crysis on High Settings







: http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/5008/crysisj.jpg
ps: Can i join the club?










Sure you can join, Gatroo. All 4850x2 owners that post on the thread, so we know you exist, are in. I'm sure when Open1Your1Eyes0 comes on, he will add you and jadawgis732 to the owners list. And that is a nice crysis average. Is that pic ran at 1600x1200? What can you get on "very high" settings? rep+ for your pics


----------



## Gatroo

THX bro









it was in 1680x1050

and the very high is coming


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*Gatroo* and *jadawgis732*, welcome to the thread. I would glad to put you on the *Owner's List*. Enjoy your stay!


----------



## Gatroo

THANK U VERY MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!










and here is my Crysis benchmark everything VERY HIGH 1680x1050

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/4615/crytek.jpg

ENYOJ!


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Gatroo* 
THANK U VERY MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!









and here is my Crysis benchmark everything VERY HIGH 1680x1050

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/4615/crytek.jpg

ENYOJ!










Very nice, gatroo. Dead on match with my x2 average (33.90 fps). I think the drivers have come along way; believe ppl were getting 29-30 on average with the x2. These cards are consistent performers. Good post!


----------



## Gatroo

rico can u post your screen too plz??









and hope that u are going to be the new owner of this thread







i voted 4 u


----------



## rico2001

Thanks, Gatroo. Any of us three would be a good job as new owner.

Here are my pics:
X2 X3

X2 X3


----------



## Gatroo

Very NICEEE!!!!!!!!









but i have only 1 question... is my fps good for my quad?? becouse u know u have duo and we have the same ..

i mean maybe the crysis isnt using 4 cores just 2?









and what is an x3? XD ati hd4850x2 + 4850???


----------



## Kyle659

Just got my 4850x2 not to long ago. Hows it look.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kyle659* 
Just got my 4850x2 not to long ago. Hows it look.

*Kyle659*, looks like mighty sweet setup that you got there. You are now officially on the *Owner's List*. Welcome to the thread.


----------



## Kyle659

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
*Kyle659*, looks like mighty sweet setup that you got there. You are now officially on the *Owner's List*. Welcome to the thread.









Awesome, THX.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Gatroo* 
Very NICEEE!!!!!!!!









but i have only 1 question... is my fps good for my quad?? becouse u know u have duo and we have the same ..

i mean maybe the crysis isnt using 4 cores just 2?









and what is an x3? XD ati hd4850x2 + 4850???









Yes, your score is on par. I don't think crysis cares what we have cpu wise. Of course, I'm talking about in the range of 3 to 4G, dual core to quad core. I've seen benches of quad core extremes and i7s and I've matched up well with them. Even though crysis is very cpu stressful, I think all or most of the demand is on the gpu(s). My numbers from 2.8G to 3.7G are only 3 fps apart. As you see from the pic, my biggest gain was adding another 4850 to the mix. In crysis, the better the graphics the bigger the fps, in my opinion of course. Check pages 69 & 76.

Yea I'm running in tri-fire with a 4850x2 + 4850.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
@ kairi_zeroblade
I want to apologize for any misunderstanding of my comments posted earlier. It's a free world, well most of it is, and everyone is free to do whatever they want with their hardware. The comments I made on other benchmarks that can be used were only suggestions and not to you personally, but to all 4850x2 owners in general. They were not demands or requirements, just suggestions. I'm not racing anyone on hardware and/or scores and I'm not putting ppl down on how they bench their equipment. I'm just an enthusiast, looking for any and all info on our 4580x2, which includes benchmarks. They are only a handful of reviews on the net for this card and only a handful of owners on this forum. So kairi I hope we are cool and if anyone else was offended by the suggestions I made earlier, take this as an apology.

noted..i will try the 3-way once i get a 4850 toxic version as i'd like to pump this one out more..the 3dmark scores and also benching are really getting a hang on Win7 Beta so i suggest you should really try it as well..


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

There's not much time left so those of you who haven't voted so far please do so. Poll closes April 1st @ 3:33 AM (EST).


----------



## Gatroo

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Yes, your score is on par. I don't think crysis cares what we have cpu wise. Of course, I'm talking about in the range of 3 to 4G, dual core to quad core. I've seen benches of quad core extremes and i7s and I've matched up well with them. Even though crysis is very cpu stressful, I think all or most of the demand is on the gpu(s). My numbers from 2.8G to 3.7G are only 3 fps apart. As you see from the pic, my biggest gain was adding another 4850 to the mix. In crysis, the better the graphics the bigger the fps, in my opinion of course. Check pages 69 & 76.

Yea I'm running in tri-fire with a 4850x2 + 4850.



WOW 4850x3 NICE BRO







maybe shometimes im going to upgrade to x3 toooooooooo


----------



## Gatroo

Guys whe should do a slogen or shomething i mean the 4850x2 vs gtx280 war u know









becouse we are cheaper + we got better fps


----------



## Gatroo

Ohhh and i almost forgot

This is 4 Open1Your1Eyes0 : http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/5403/open1your1eyes0.jpg

And This is 4 Ricu: http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/6786/ricoo.jpg

ENYOJ!







(ps: U can Use it for Avatar







)


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Gatroo*


Ohhh and i almost forgot

This is 4 Open1Your1Eyes0 : http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/5403/open1your1eyes0.jpg

And This is 4 Ricu: http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/6786/ricoo.jpg

ENYOJ!







(ps: U can Use it for Avatar







)


Photoshop?


----------



## Gatroo

Nope









Corel PhotoImpact12


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Gatroo* 
Nope









Corel PhotoImpact12









Nice man. Thnx!


----------



## Gatroo

Np! =)


----------



## legend999

Guys ,anyone had problems with switching PCI-E slots?

I switched from the middle to the upper for better cable management, and i can't have image when windows is loaded.


----------



## Shroomalistic

If its anything like my mother board. the display adapter has to be in the top slot. with my trifire even, if I try to hook my monitor up to the single 4850 in my second slot, I dont get any video.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Gatroo*


Ohhh and i almost forgot

This is 4 Open1Your1Eyes0 : http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/5403/open1your1eyes0.jpg

And This is 4 Ricu: http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/6786/ricoo.jpg

ENYOJ!







(ps: U can Use it for Avatar







)



Thanks Gatroo, looks nice. I''ll definitely try to use it soon.







rep+


----------



## rico2001

Small Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 review (March 25, 2009)


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Gatroo*


Ohhh and i almost forgot

This is 4 Open1Your1Eyes0 : http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/5403/open1your1eyes0.jpg

And This is 4 Ricu: http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/6786/ricoo.jpg

ENYOJ!







(ps: U can Use it for Avatar







)


What? I dont get one?


----------



## rico2001

Man, he should make one entitled "4850 X2 Crew".


----------



## Gatroo

Rico its a great idea !









im definitely going to make a "signature " for the ati 4850x2 crew


----------



## Gatroo

Soo what do you think about this one?







i just did it i think it looks cool







: http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/7579/crewi.jpg


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Gatroo* 
Soo what do you think about this one?







i just did it i think it looks cool







: http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/7579/crewi.jpg









Nice I like it. That would make a nice banner replacement for the front of the thead. Can you make one ~50x400, all words in one line, a slim type banner for signatures?


----------



## Gatroo

Thx and yes i can but u mean 400x50 wright?


----------



## rico2001

yes, horizontal not vertical.


----------



## Gatroo

So Rico here it is in a banner size which is : 770:125

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/7905/creww.jpg

this size is from the banner on the first page of the thread


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Gatroo*


So Rico here it is in a banner size which is : 770:125

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/7905/creww.jpg

this size is from the banner on the first page of the thread











Would you like me to use it?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Gatroo*


So Rico here it is in a banner size which is : 770:125

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/7905/creww.jpg

this size is from the banner on the first page of the thread










Gatroo, you lost some image quality in the resize somehow.

update: Maybe its just my eyes.

Interesting tidbit Open1Your1Eyes0, not deserving a new post: Windows 7 Vs. Vista: Which Runs Crysis Fasterer?


----------



## Gatroo

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Would you like me to use it?



I wouldnt be against


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

I decided to make a custom banner for our thread and just posted it. I hope you guys like it. If you have any suggestions or like the previous one better let me know.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


I decided to make a custom banner for our thread and just posted it. I hope you guys like it. If you have any suggestions or like the previous one better let me know.


I'm a fan. Nice work, Open! Thanks.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

i love it..

updates..


----------



## rico2001

Congrats kairi.







What got you over the big 20k mountain?


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Congrats kairi.







What got you over the big 20k mountain?

prayers and support from my co-enthusiast here in the philippines..i don't carry my flag alone i carry it for them who support me..







i'll be eating GTX285 and GTX295 scores with our effort..a step one at a time..


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Gatroo*


So Rico here it is in a banner size which is : 770:125

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/7905/creww.jpg

this size is from the banner on the first page of the thread










man dude i think that banner is on FIRE lol im gonna use it ok! <3


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

me too i wanna borrow..


----------



## Gatroo

ok u can









but plz kari tell me that that 20k mark ....

what driver are u using? i mean whit 9.3 its imposible to have over 17k


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Gatroo* 
ok u can









but plz kari tell me that that 20k mark ....

what driver are u using? i mean whit 9.3 its imposible to have over 17k









yep using 9.3 catalyst for win7..and yes alot of improvements i used to have only 19k score and what a wow now i am at 20.2k..


----------



## Gatroo

but how? becouse we have almost the same system ????

why i get just only 16k?







plz hlep


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Gatroo* 
but how? becouse we have almost the same system ????

why i get just only 16k?







plz hlep

Very easy for you bro. Overclock your Q9650, which should be a breeze, to 3.5-3.6G and you will go over 20k. Wish I had your cpu, would be a 22k with the 4850x2.


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Gatroo*


but how? becouse we have almost the same system ????

why i get just only 16k?







plz hlep


Ya just oc your cpu 3dmark 06 is mainly cpu restrictive i have a 20,457 on 3dmark 06 it went from 15k to that by mainly just over clocking the cpu.

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=10341569


----------



## Gatroo

But guys...







iwant to overclock ...but im afraid that i brick my cpu









+ i dunnno how to overclock my cpu







mybe if u help or shomething









tHX


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Gatroo*


But guys...







iwant to overclock ...but im afraid that i brick my cpu









+ i dunnno how to overclock my cpu







mybe if u help or shomething









tHX


It mainly depends on your motherboard there are a lot of guide's out there but they pretty much all fallow one simple principle slowly increase your fsb or reference clock speed by say 5mhz at a time boot to windows and check stability if its stable go another 5 mhz when it comes to a point where it wont boot into windows stable its probably time to add a little bit of voltage. im sure you can find a accurate guide if you google searche it for your motherboard and cpu.

And also be very carefull and watch your cpu temps as you go higher with the cpu clock the hotter it will get but if you take your time and do it in small steps and dont over do it its pretty safe.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Gatroo*


But guys...







iwant to overclock ...but im afraid that i brick my cpu









+ i dunnno how to overclock my cpu







mybe if u help or shomething









tHX



It would not be a big overclock for you at all, only 500mhz. For me I went from 2.8G to 3.8G and then on to 4G. I'm probably cutting down the life of my cpu at this point, but you won't be for where you want to take yours. Your Q9650 is at 3.0G (333mhz x 9.0) and you only need to get to 3.5. You should be about to get to 3.5G on stock voltage and not hurt the cpu at all. Don't quote me on this though but you are on the right forum for all of this info. Try bumping up to (375mhz x 9.0) giving you 3.37G and see if you like it. I bet you will hit 18-18.5K in '06.


----------



## Gatroo

xD

I just overclocked to 3,50ghz























and i get 18k in 3dmark









i question i have this cpu cooler: AK-965 INTEL COOLER (how fast should i run it in 3.50ghz + whats the normal temp for the cpu? ) and is it safe i mean is this overclock safe to my comp + to my cpu


----------



## Gatroo

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xgeko2* 
It mainly depends on your motherboard there are a lot of guide's out there but they pretty much all fallow one simple principle slowly increase your fsb or reference clock speed by say 5mhz at a time boot to windows and check stability if its stable go another 5 mhz when it comes to a point where it wont boot into windows stable its probably time to add a little bit of voltage. im sure you can find a accurate guide if you google searche it for your motherboard and cpu.

And also be very carefull and watch your cpu temps as you go higher with the cpu clock the hotter it will get but if you take your time and do it in small steps and dont over do it its pretty safe.

the 3.50ghz is safe?


----------



## Gatroo

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
It would not be a big overclock for you at all, only 500mhz. For me I went from 2.8G to 3.8G and then on to 4G. I'm probably cutting down the life of my cpu at this point, but you won't be for where you want to take yours. Your Q9650 is at 3.0G (333mhz x 9.0) and you only need to get to 3.5. You should be about to get to 3.5G on stock voltage and not hurt the cpu at all. Don't quote me on this though but you are on the right forum for all of this info. Try bumping up to (375mhz x 9.0) giving you 3.37G and see if you like it. I bet you will hit 18-18.5K in '06.


xD

rico







u are a psyhic xD

I just overclocked to 3,50ghz

and i get ..........................18k in 3dmark









i question i have this cpu cooler: AK-965 INTEL COOLER (how fast should i run it in 3.50ghz + whats the normal temp for the cpu? ) and is it safe i mean is this overclock safe to my comp + to my cpu


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Gatroo* 
xD

I just overclocked to 3,50ghz























and i get 18k in 3dmark









i question i have this cpu cooler: AK-965 INTEL COOLER (how fast should i run it in 3.50ghz + whats the normal temp for the cpu? ) and is it safe i mean is this overclock safe to my comp + to my cpu









I wouldn't go to far on the stock intel cooler those things really are not very good for cooling. i would definitely upgrade that heat sink and put in some better thermal paste what temps are you getting with that oced at 3.5 on the stock cooler?


----------



## Gatroo

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xgeko2* 
I wouldn't go to far on the stock intel cooler those things really are not very good for cooling. i would definitely upgrade that heat sink and put in some better thermal paste what temps are you getting with that oced at 3.5 on the stock cooler?


ITS NOT A STOCK INTEL COOLER!!!!! learn to use google


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Gatroo* 
ITS NOT A STOCK INTEL COOLER!!!!! learn to use google









ook gotchya looked like it said something about stock intel cooler i read by it too fast that thing looks like a artic cooling freezer cooler looks nice.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Gatroo*


xD

rico







u are a psyhic xD

I just overclocked to 3,50ghz

and i get ..........................18k in 3dmark









i question i have this cpu cooler: AK-965 INTEL COOLER (how fast should i run it in 3.50ghz + whats the normal temp for the cpu? ) and is it safe i mean is this overclock safe to my comp + to my cpu










lol not a psycic, just have a little idea on what us 4850x2 guys need to have to get a certain number.

As far as your cooler, read a review, seems good for overclocking. So at this point its up to you cpu chip, mobo and memory on how far over 3.5G you can go. Since you have a intel quad and I haven't done my homework on those yet, I'm not the best person to give you advice at this point. Luckily, you are on the best forum on earth for overclocking and there are ppl here who have been through and done what you are trying to do with your cpu. There are many good knowledgeable intel overclockers here. I would do a search, browse the intel section of the forum and increase my knowledge of the Q9650 before pushing past 3.5G. On temps, I do know a good rule of thumb for us 45mm Intel guys. You want to stay under 65c on load. That is not the absolute high temp of our cpus but just a good temp to try to stay under for us. There is a good thread somewhere on here for max, absolute temps, and max voltages for us Exxxx, Qxxxx, QXxxxx guys. Anyway, good luck, keep the pc parts cool and bench them well.









Update: I will tell you the temps I have, which will give you a small base to go on, but quad core is different.

Intel E8300 (2.83G stock) oc'ed to 4.0G
Voltage at 1.41 (absolute is 1.45v)(so I'm way into the danger zone with max by intel definition being 1.36v)
Idle: 31-32c
Load: 49-54c (absolute max is 73c)


----------



## Gatroo

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


lol not a psycic, just have a little idea on what us 4850x2 guys need to have to get a certain number.

As far as your cooler, read a review, seems good for overclocking. So at this point its up to you cpu chip, mobo and memory on how far over 3.5G you can go. Since you have a intel quad and I havenâ€™t done my homework on those yet, Iâ€™m not the best person to give you advice at this point. Luckily, you are on the best forum on earth for overclocking and there are ppl here who have been through and done what you are trying to do with your cpu. There are many good knowledgeable intel overclockers here. I would do a search, browse the intel section of the forum and increase my knowledge of the Q9650 before pushing past 3.5G. On temps, I do know a good rule of thumb for us 45mm Intel guys. You want to stay under 65c on load. That is not the absolute high temp of our cpus but just a good temp to try to stay under for us. There is a good thread somewhere on here for max, absolute temps, and max voltages for us Exxxx, Qxxxx, QXxxxx guys. Anyway, good luck, keep the pc parts cool and bench them well.









Update: I will tell you the temps I have, which will give you a small base to go on, but quad core is different.

Intel E8300 (2.83G stock) ocâ€™ed to 4.0G
Voltage at 1.41 (absolute is 1.45v)(so Iâ€™m way into the danger zone with max by intel definition being 1.36v)
Idle: 31-32c
Load: 49-54c



so the 3,5 or lower is SAFE!!!!!!!!!!??????????


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Gatroo*


so the 3,5 or lower is SAFE!!!!!!!!!!??????????










I would think you at 3.5G or even 3.6G (400x9) would be totally safe. You are still at stock voltage, correct? And what temps are you getting?


----------



## Gatroo

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


I would think you at 3.5G or even 3.6G (400x9) would be totally safe. You are still at stock voltage, correct? And what temps are you getting?



my stock voltage is 1.25 but im at 1.30









and is the 60% enought for the cpu cooler speed?


----------



## Iceman22

Hello guys, I just bought this card today (sapphire), but got a problem with the fan.
On auto (12%), the card is noisy, and when I change to manual the lowest option is 20%, and that is *very* noisy! What is the problem? How can I fix this problem? could somebody please help?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Iceman22* 
Hello guys, I just bought this card today (sapphire), but got a problem with the fan.
On auto (12%), the card is noisy, and when I change to manual the lowest option is 20%, and that is *very* noisy! What is the problem? How can I fix this problem? could somebody please help?









Iceman, welcome to the forum and the 4850 owners thread. Unfortunately, about the sound level, you purchased one of the loudest cards on the market. The db level is not a problem, this is the way Sapphire made this card. It may have served you better if you would have read a review or this thread before buying. I, for one, don't think it its loud but many people do. You are correct in when the drivers control the fan speed, minimum is 12% and auto adjust to 100% per temperature and gpu demand. And if you select to manually control the fan you are limited to a 20% minimum. Sapphire did recently start making the 4850x2 with a new bios claiming to make the card quieter in 2D and 3D applications. I don't know if you have one these new versions or not but from the reviews I've read the new bios does not make the card much quieter. Some 4850x2 owners opt'ed to change the stock dual cooler to better aftermarket cooler but I believe their main reason for the change was to obtain lower temps not to quiet the card. I'm sure this explanation is not the answer you were looking for. Some people that can not take the sound level of this card decide to move to another card. But many of us, that enjoy the lower price tag and super high performance, which is on par if not better than most cards on the market, tolerate the sound level.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Well it's official guys. I'd like to congratulate the following member for becoming the new owner of this thread

*rico2001*










I'd like to thank everyone who has contributed.







I will complete final preparations for the transition tomorrow and will contact a moderator once everything is ready. At this point please refer to *rico2001* for all personal benchmarks, suggestions, and additions you would like to see on the original post. Refer to me if you would like something changed or taken out. I will continue to be the thread administrator but *rico2001* is now in charge of all personal requests. Thanks a lot to everyone and once again congratulations to *rico2001*.


----------



## Iceman22

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Iceman, welcome to the forum and the 4850 owners thread. Unfortunately, about the sound level, you purchased one of the loudest cards on the market. The db level is not a problem, this is the way Sapphire made this card. It may have served you better if you would have read a review or this thread before buying. I, for one, don't think it its loud but many people do. You are correct in when the drivers control the fan speed, minimum is 12% and auto adjust to 100% per temperature and gpu demand. And if you select to manually control the fan you are limited to a 20% minimum. Sapphire did recently start making the 4850x2 with a new bios claiming to make the card quieter in 2D and 3D applications. I don't know if you have one these new versions or not but from the reviews I've read the new bios does not make the card much quieter. Some 4850x2 owners opt'ed to change the stock dual cooler to better aftermarket cooler but I believe their main reason for the change was to obtain lower temps not to quiet the card. I'm sure this explanation is not the answer you were looking for. Some people that can not take the sound level of this card decide to move to another card. But many of us, that enjoy the lower price tag and super high performance, which is on par if not better than most cards on the market, tolerate the sound level.










I see, compared to the 4870x2 Im using on other computer then this noise is disaster. Does somebody know where I can find the new bios and guide how to update safely?


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

damn..rico what drivers you using on tri-fire?? i bought a sapphire 4850 toxic edition and still no 3 gpu rendering menu..darn..getting frustrated again..


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade* 
damn..rico what drivers you using on tri-fire?? i bought a sapphire 4850 toxic edition and still no 3 gpu rendering menu..darn..getting frustrated again..


kairi, I'm using 9.2's. 9.3's also worked for tri-fire but locked up all my benchmarks so I returned to 9.2's. Are you installing the cards together at the same time or separately? And are you driver wipe in safe mode after uninstalling previous drivers? How about your os's? I know you are using 2-3 different os's. Is the 3 gpu crossfire menu available in any of those?


----------



## Gatroo

Congrats Rico


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade* 
damn..rico what drivers you using on tri-fire?? i bought a sapphire 4850 toxic edition and still no 3 gpu rendering menu..darn..getting frustrated again..

lol dont quote me on this but if your using windows 7 it may not have the same functionality as the drivers for xp and vista sometimes the menus and options differ between os's i dont have a tri-fire setup so i couldnt tell you but i would do some google searching to try and find out.


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 

Well it's official guys. I'd like to congratulate the following member for becoming the new owner of this thread

*rico2001*










I'd like to thank everyone who has contributed.







I will complete final preparations for the transition tomorrow and will contact a moderator once everything is ready. At this point please refer to *rico2001* for all personal benchmarks, suggestions, and additions you would like to see on the original post. Refer to me if you would like something changed or taken out. I will continue to be the thread administrator but *rico2001* is now in charge of all personal requests. Thanks a lot to everyone and once again congratulations to *rico2001*.


ALRIGHT w00t w00t for rico... now this would be 1 hell of a april fools joke lmao.


----------



## porksmuggler

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Sapphire did recently start making the 4850x2 with a new bios claiming to make the card quieter in 2D and 3D applications. I don't know if you have one these new versions or not but from the reviews I've read the new bios does not make the card much quieter.


I have one of the new versions with the updated bios, it is quieter, but still too noisy until I removed the shroud. It makes a world of difference, and now is barely noticeable with 2x120mm scythe, the quite cpu heatsink, and near silent PSU. Idle 40C, Load 57C, so it doesnt go to 11 that often.

oh, hi everyone, 1st post, but have been reading since the beginning.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *porksmuggler*


I have one of the new versions with the updated bios, it is quieter, but still too noisy until I removed the shroud. It makes a world of difference, and now is barely noticeable with 2x120mm scythe, the quite cpu heatsink, and near silent PSU. Idle 40C, Load 57C, so it doesnt go to 11 that often.

oh, hi everyone, 1st post, but have been reading since the beginning.


Welcome to the thread, owner porksmuggler.







Nice to see more 4850x2 owners posting. Thanks for the input. I haven't seen one of these newer versions and all I know is what I've read. And man, thanks for pointing out the shroud removal, forgot that is a effective way to reduce the sound level. Good temps you have on your x2. I need to try the shroud removal someday.


----------



## legend999

Does your cards look like it's going to fall like this:










?


----------



## rico2001

Damn legend, put some bracing on that thing.







There is a slight sag, like 1/8" on the back end b/c this card is too long for it's own good, but nothing like that. I now see the negative effects of removing the shroud and see why Sapphire designed it as such. Removing the shroud take away all of the support off the pcb. This will probably lead to problems down the road.


----------



## Sacre

Was expecting that with my 4850x2, but nope - no sag at all.


----------



## porksmuggler

that's sag from the VF900s, w/ stock cooling its not much. with the sturdy power connectors on the sagging end, its a easy fix to apply some upward pull on the 6pin cable and secure with a zip tie. no more sag, and believe me the connector can handle it.


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *legend999* 
Does your cards look like it's going to fall like this:










?

Ya man that is a LOT of sag you should get a card keeper my 4850x2 with the water cooling blocks and extra ram sinks on it sags a lot too but i just got a bunch of card keepers for free off of a buddy of mine.


----------



## legend999

Yeah Guys, i know









I'll try to fix it with something,then i'll post back


----------



## MESeidel

Quote:


Originally Posted by *legend999* 
Does your cards look like it's going to fall like this:

?

Do you have a differnet version or does the PCB just look green because of the red lights?

The blue PCB from Sapphire is known to be cheap and not very stable.
There are many people on the net complaining that their HD4870's failed after a while with custom water block.

I'm going to build some stabilization as soon as I have all X2's together for my rig.
And I recommend you to do the same if you don't use the stock cooler.


----------



## legend999

Yes,it's the same blue PCB.

The VF-900 are heavy









Here's a better photo:










I'll Try to fix it with the PSU Cable,by connecting from up grounds of the case..

And,altough it's cheap,it holds the 2nd position for less RMA's(just to let you guys know







:


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


kairi, I'm using 9.2's. 9.3's also worked for tri-fire but locked up all my benchmarks so I returned to 9.2's. Are you installing the cards together at the same time or separately? And are you driver wipe in safe mode after uninstalling previous drivers? How about your os's? I know you are using 2-3 different os's. Is the 3 gpu crossfire menu available in any of those?



i tried a fresh install with vista64 it did't pop..is just says that the toxic 4850 is disabled..this is PITA..lolx i tried all drivers possible including the bundled cd..

i tried XP64 too still no menu for 3-way..with all catalyst including the cd package..

i tried reformatting back to Win7 with 9.1catalyst still no use all catalyst even the one on the cd package was not able to give me a 3-way config..its always the x2..:swearing:


----------



## Shroomalistic

damn legend, I know what im doing to mine next. I like the looks of that. Im thinking Dual vf-900 on the 4850x2 and a DuOrb on my 4850. Thats gonna look sweet and be a hell of alot quieter then stock cooling.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

anyone here can help??before i result in buying another x2 card..and be spending b**l***** lots of money just to Xfire..lolx..can you confirm that 3-way only works with reference clock cards (665/993)


----------



## Shroomalistic

three way is possible, it doesnt have to be reference clock cards. what does it say under CCC Information center under hardware info? Also make sure you have your bios set up correctly for crossfire. I dont have that board so I dont know the exact settings.


----------



## rico2001

Correct Shroom.







In tri-fire all three gpu's and memory can be clocked independently if you'd like. They will all have their separate settings coming from a pulldown in overdrive. Correct me if I'm wrong Shroom.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic*


three way is possible, it doesnt have to be reference clock cards. what does it say under CCC Information center under hardware info? Also make sure you have your bios set up correctly for crossfire. I dont have that board so I dont know the exact settings.


its all prepped up dual X16 lanes are filled i even bought a Xfire cable long enough to extend and connect the 2(4850x2 and my sapphire 4850 Toxic) CCC only says that the 4850x2 are in Xfire and the Toxic 4850 is disabled..its in the device manager tab so it means its installed in my system and i can see the GPU in GPU-z but Xfire is disabled for the toxic..

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Correct Shroom.







In tri-fire all three gpu's and memory can be clocked independently if you'd like. They will all have their separate settings coming from a pulldown in overdrive. Correct me if I'm wrong Shroom.


yep i know since i was observing through your setups and over the net..shroom for example in other forums shared what he has..and i was a bit disappointed not seeing same results like what you have guys we tried everything up in here still no 3 way GPU on my CCC menu..


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade* 
its all prepped up dual X16 lanes are filled i even bought a Xfire cable long enough to extend and connect the 2(4850x2 and my sapphire 4850 Toxic) CCC only says that the 4850x2 are in Xfire and the Toxic 4850 is disabled..its in the device manager tab so it means its installed in my system and i can see the GPU in GPU-z but Xfire is disabled for the toxic..

yep i know since i was observing through your setups and over the net..shroom for example in other forums shared what he has..and i was a bit disappointed not seeing same results like what you have guys we tried everything up in here still no 3 way GPU on my CCC menu..

Are you installing the cards together at the same time or separately? Is the 4850x2 installed with drivers and then you turn off your pc, install the toxic and then reboot? If you are installing together, which you should, that is the proper way, after you install the drivers and need to reboot, *does the installation say complete with no errors?* In your device manager, does it say the toxic is installed correctly? This pci-e slot the toxic is in, is this the same slot you tried the 4870 or any other card you tried to go tri-fire with? At this point, I'm wondering if the problem is in your mobo. You have tried to go go tri-fire many times with many setups and many os's now. It should not take this much effort to work. Good luck again, kairi.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Are you installing the cards together at the same time or separately? Is the 4850x2 installed with drivers and then you turn off your pc, install the toxic and then reboot? If you are installing together, which you should, that is the proper way, after you install the drivers and need to reboot, *does the installation say complete with no errors?* In your device manager, does it say the toxic is installed correctly? This pci-e slot the toxic is in, is this the same slot you tried the 4870 or any other card you tried to go tri-fire with? At this point, Iâ€™m wondering if the problem is in your mobo. You have tried to go go tri-fire many times with many setups and many osâ€™s now. It should not take this much effort to work. Good luck again, kairi.

yep i placed the 2 cards before installing the 9.3 catalyst..when driver installation is complete it says no errors at all i go check the log no errors found and then i reboot after rebooting i am prompted by a box and i click go and it sends me to Xfire prompt and its automatically enabled with only the 4850x2 not with the toxic it says that the toxic is a disabled adapter..


----------



## rico2001

and do you have the crossfire ribbon on the cards before installing the drivers?


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

its mounted the other way around with the 4850x2 as the primary adpater and the toxic as a slave card..just as in your pics..i tried disabling Xfire then re enable it but there seems to be no reaction..just Xfired with 2 cards accdg to CCC and GPU-Z


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
and do you have the crossfire ribbon on the cards before installing the drivers?

yup..


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade* 
its mounted the other way around with the 4850x2 as the primary adpater and the toxic as a slave card..just as in your pics..i tried disabling Xfire then re enable it but there seems to be no reaction..just Xfired with 2 cards accdg to CCC and GPU-Z

hmm thats a bit different than mine. When I install the system always makes the x2 a slave. I've even switched pci-e slots and it always makes it slave.

Well your setup seems 100% correct, except for the primary/secondary issue, which should not matter. It should look like this:



One last question: you see in ccc, copy and past here the "information center", "graphics hardware" and "software" info.

looks like this:
Primary Adapter
Graphics Card Manufacturer Powered by ATI
Graphics Chipset ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series
Device ID 9442
Vendor 1002

Subsystem ID E810
Subsystem Vendor ID 174B

Graphics Bus Capability PCI Express 2.0
Maximum Bus Setting PCI Express 2.0 x8

BIOS Version 011.004.000.000
BIOS Part Number 11X-B50102-X06
BIOS Date 7/11/2008

Memory Size 1024 MB
Memory Type GDDR3

Core Clock in MHz 625 MHz
Memory Clock in MHz 993 MHz
Total Memory Bandwidth in GByte/s 63.6 GByte/s
--------------------------------------------------------

Linked Adapter
Graphics Card Manufacturer Powered by ATI
Graphics Chipset ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2
Device ID 9443
Vendor 1002

Subsystem ID E870
Subsystem Vendor ID 174B

Graphics Bus Capability PCI Express 2.0
Maximum Bus Setting PCI Express 2.0 x8

BIOS Version 011.011.000.001
BIOS Part Number 11X-B50102-X06
BIOS Date 10/23/2008

Memory Size 1024 MB
Memory Type GDDR3

Core Clock in MHz 625 MHz
Memory Clock in MHz 993 MHz
Total Memory Bandwidth in GByte/s 63.6 GByte/s
------------------------------------------------------

Linked Adapter
Graphics Card Manufacturer Powered by ATI
Graphics Chipset ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2
Device ID 9443
Vendor 1002

Subsystem ID E870
Subsystem Vendor ID 174B

Graphics Bus Capability PCI Express 2.0
Maximum Bus Setting PCI Express 2.0 x8

BIOS Version 011.011.000.001
BIOS Part Number 11X-B50102-X06
BIOS Date 10/23/2008

Memory Size 1024 MB
Memory Type GDDR3

Core Clock in MHz 625 MHz
Memory Clock in MHz 993 MHz
Total Memory Bandwidth in GByte/s 63.6 GByte/s


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

now i see where my error is at..man can i use my toxic as primary dislay??i mean even on the same positions i might get it work right??


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

i will get back to you as soon i figure the one you just said

i think i messed it up by making my primary the 4850x2 card..thanks man..why the hell i was not able to think about that i will rep you once i confirm my dumbass mistake..call me dumbass for not figuring out soon..will post results as well for the thread and congrats by the way..


----------



## rico2001

Sure you can, but I did not control which card got installed primary or secondary and I don't know how you can tell it which to go to.


----------



## rico2001

how did you set the x2 to primary? .....unless you installed the x2 first or something.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
how did you set the x2 to primary? .....unless you installed the x2 first or something.

this is my mistake i now removed the x2 card from its position and placed it on the second slot making my toxic the topmost card..will now boot and see if everything works just like yours..









what a dumbass i am..


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade* 
this is my mistake i now removed the x2 card from its position and placed it on the second slot making my toxic the topmost card..will now boot and see if everything works just like yours..









what a dumbass i am..









Congrats kairi_zeroblade!







another successful 4850 tri-fire setup.









I tell ya, it seems the (3) pci-e mobos make things hard.


----------



## mistargill

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


how did you set the x2 to primary? .....unless you installed the x2 first or something.


On some motherboards like mine, have a setting that allows you to use secon slot to be a primary. I can't remember exact what the default is. but its under

*Northbridge Configuration*
Memory Remap Feature - Enabled
Initiate Graphic Adapter - PEG/PCI <--- switch this to other way around
PEG port Control - Auto
PEG Port Force x1 - Disabled


----------



## Shroomalistic

For me, my x2 is my primary. The way I did mine was, install everything then format. It detects everything normally for me. Another thing you should check is the pcie bandwidth for the single 4850 and the 4850x2. When I was trying to tri fire my 3870's it was disabling one of them because the bandwidth was set to x2 pcie 2.0. the other cards were all at x16 pcie 2.0. I found a jumper on my board that made my last slot a x4 pcie 2.0 and then it was no longer disabled. I know your board has 4 - x16 slots. try using your 1st and 3rd x16 slots if you still havent got it working.


----------



## rico2001

Unigine Sanctuary Demo









1440 x 900, DX10

4850 x1 = 68.6 average fps
4850 x2 = 132.8 average fps (64.2 fps, 93.5% gain over single 4850)
4850 x3 = 193.5 average fps (60.7 fps, 45.7% gain over 4850 x2)









 

1680 x 1050, DX10

4850 x1 = 56.4 average fps
4850 x2 = 111.3 average fps (54.9 fps, 97.3% gain over single 4850)
4850 x3 = 167.4 average fps (56.1 fps, 50.4% gain over 4850 x2)









 

Conclusion: Another solid benchmark displaying the awesome power of crossfireX. Great scaling throughout and if you notice, the gains increase with higher resolution. Imagine what gains that could be reached at1900 or 2560 resolutions.

The Last Remnant Benchmark









1680 x 1050, DX10

4850 x1 = 61.49 average fps
4850 x2 = 62.48 average fps (0.9 fps, 1.6% gain over single 4850)
4850 x3 = 62.78 average fps (0.3 fps, 0.4% gain over 4850 x2)









 

Conclusion: Now before you guys yell out "bottleneck, bottleneck". That is simply not the case here. The Last Remnant is a 2008 Square Enix game that uses the Unreal Engine 3. Unfortunately, the Unreal Engine 3, which is in many titles such as Gears of War, BioShock, and Unreal Tournament 3, does not utilize mulit-gpu graphics. This is why a gtx295 will score the same as a gtx285 and 4850 x(whatever) will score the same as a single 4850. On a bright note, the bench did look good. I'm a fan of Square Enix titles like Final Fantasy, too bad they chose this engine for their game.

More later


----------



## skugpezz

I say bottle neck


----------



## ciprianni

hello ppl. im new on this forum so please be kind







. ok... i bought an 4850x2 about 1 week ago. for strange reason i can not run crossfire. when i click on enable crossfire in CCC and then apply, my monitor turns black for 2-5 sec and then turns on back again, then if i check in gpu-z it says "crossfire disabled (unsure in vista x64)". also after doing all these the crossfire option in CCC dissapears. i did not format after installing the new card. im a noob in x2 cards - i never had one before. so if u ppl can help me enable crossfire and get the most out of the card ill apreciate it.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ciprianni*


hello ppl. im new on this forum so please be kind







. ok... i bought an 4850x2 about 1 week ago. for strange reason i can not run crossfire. when i click on enable crossfire in CCC and then apply, my monitor turns black for 2-5 sec and then turns on back again, then if i check in gpu-z it says "crossfire disabled (unsure in vista x64)". also after doing all these the crossfire option in CCC dissapears. i did not format after installing the new card. im a noob in x2 cards - i never had one before. so if u ppl can help me enable crossfire and get the most out of the card ill apreciate it.


Hello ciprianni, welcome to the owners thread and OCN froum. Most of us are kind so not to worry. About your troubles, the times my crossfireX options disappeared, my drivers were damaged. Also I'm not a fan of the latest Catyst 9.3 drivers and some of us 4850 ppl have trouble with them and some of us don't. My advise to you would be to uninstall the drivers. Here is the proper way to uninstall ATI drivers:

1. download driver sweeper and install it, you will need it in step 4.
2. Go into control panel, "programs and features", and uninstall the ati drivers/ ati catyst install manager
3. Reboot, hit f8 to pull up advance widows boot options, go into "safe mode"
4. open driver sweeper and check the ati -display box, hit clean. (this programs removes all remaining drivers that don't proper uninstall)
5. reboot into windows (normal way)
6. Install Catyst 9.2 (The version I most prefer) or Catyst 9.3
7. at end of installation, ati window should say installation is complete with no errors
8. reboot

When you get back into windows the ati ccc should ask you if you want to go into advance mode, hit go and ccc should open up and show you crossfireX enabled. Good luck and let us know how it goes. If the 9.3's don't work, redo steps and try the 9.2s.

update: thanks open1


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ciprianni*


hello ppl. im new on this forum so please be kind







. ok... i bought an 4850x2 about 1 week ago. for strange reason i can not run crossfire. when i click on enable crossfire in CCC and then apply, my monitor turns black for 2-5 sec and then turns on back again, then if i check in gpu-z it says "crossfire disabled (unsure in vista x64)". also after doing all these the crossfire option in CCC dissapears. i did not format after installing the new card. im a noob in x2 cards - i never had one before. so if u ppl can help me enable crossfire and get the most out of the card ill apreciate it.


If you are running more than one monitor just disable "*ATI Overdrive*".

If not then just disable it anyways and see if the same thing happens but first do what *rico2001* said above me. Oh and welcome to the thread.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

awgghhh my efforts failed i tried lowering the bandwitdh of all slots to x8 2.0 but still same results CCC just detects 3 cards and just wouldn't Xfire them..i might just buy another X2 card..


----------



## {ROC}BiG-B

i have 2 separate 4850s in cf...does that count for n e thing in this thread???


----------



## Shroomalistic

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade* 
awgghhh my efforts failed i tried lowering the bandwitdh of all slots to x8 2.0 but still same results CCC just detects 3 cards and just wouldn't Xfire them..i might just buy another X2 card..









Anychance we could get some screen shots of gpu-z and of the ccc hardware info page. there has to be something little your missing. just has to be.

you trying all this on xp? I dont think it handles more then 2 gpus in crossfire?


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

so far ive been just pushing and pushing and then pissing then pissing my self off..


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic* 
Anychance we could get some screen shots of gpu-z and of the ccc hardware info page. there has to be something little your missing. just has to be.

you trying all this on xp? I dont think it handles more then 2 gpus in crossfire?

vista and win7 bro right now i'm at work i might try it later tonight once more..if all fails i might give up the whole 3-way and might save money for another 1..


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

accdg to this table my chipset and vga cards should be capable off..awwgghhhh that just hurts my ego..


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic*


For me, my x2 is my primary. The way I did mine was, install everything then format. It detects everything normally for me. Another thing you should check is the pcie bandwidth for the single 4850 and the 4850x2. When I was trying to tri fire my 3870's it was disabling one of them because the bandwidth was set to x2 pcie 2.0. the other cards were all at x16 pcie 2.0. I found a jumper on my board that made my last slot a x4 pcie 2.0 and then it was no longer disabled. I know your board has 4 - x16 slots. try using your 1st and 3rd x16 slots if you still havent got it working.


by the way i already set my PCI-E to quad x8 2.0 still no use..i tried the dual x8 lanes still no use i tried the dual x16 lanes still no use..i have 4 lanes all in all..









getting frustrated more and more as days pass by..lolx:swearing::swearing::swearing::swearing:


----------



## Shroomalistic

by that score on 06, looks like it is running crossfire. where is it saying its disable? gpu-z? does it say disabled under hardware info in CCC. Please give me a screenshot of the hardware info page in ccc. that score is really really good if its only the x2.

your killing me man, screen shot of gpu-z and hardware info!!!


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic*


by that score on 06, looks like it is running crossfire. where is it saying its disable? gpu-z? does it say disabled under hardware info in CCC. Please give me a screenshot of the hardware info page in ccc. that score is really really good if its only the x2.

your killing me man, screen shot of gpu-z and hardware info!!!










yep that was after all 3-way attempts got bored so i benched..since its cold..as soon as i get home i will provide the SS i made last night..

what do you mean i'm killing you lolx??


----------



## reptile!

I just recently bought this card!







How do you guys like it?

I'm also having issues with some rando bugs in certain games and wanna know if any others are experiencing them as well.

-In Far Cry 2 it seems REALLY REALLY shaky. I dunno if that's what all this 'stutter' business is all about.

-In COD5, I get constant smoke flickers in the distance playing in SP. It's real annoying because I can't see the enemies due to the flickering.

Yes I've updated CCC.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *reptile!*


I just recently bought this card!







How do you guys like it?

I'm also having issues with some rando bugs in certain games and wanna know if any others are experiencing them as well.

-In Far Cry 2 it seems REALLY REALLY shaky. I dunno if that's what all this 'stutter' business is all about.

-In COD5, I get constant smoke flickers in the distance playing in SP. It's real annoying because I can't see the enemies due to the flickering.

Yes I've updated CCC.


man in Xp its really buggy once you upgraded to Vista or Win7 the bugs are out..gameplay is much smoother and the FPS are great..


----------



## reptile!

Do you suggest upgrading? Will I lose much performance as a whole by upgrading to vista (or W7?)


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *reptile!*


Do you suggest upgrading? Will I lose much performance as a whole by upgrading to vista (or W7?)


you wont loose performance man you will even gain more than you expecting from that card..i used to test games in XP and noticed a very significant increase in FPS and in gaming performance when i switched to Vista and Win7..even my 3dmark scores went up by almost 1k points and framerates went 10fps greater than my run on XP..


----------



## reptile!

Dang, I'll look into upgrading then. Thanks mate!

Do you advise going 64bit or just keeping with 32 when I upgrade?


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *reptile!*


Dang, I'll look into upgrading then. Thanks mate!

Do you advise going 64bit or just keeping with 32 when I upgrade?


mate its a pleasur to help you as well..i advise on your setup to go for 64-bit..and also do some research on how to make Vista boot and run faster..you need to tweak Vista in order to optimize your gaming needs..







on my setup i only have 24 processes running on vista trimmed down from original 55 processes running..

HTH..


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *{ROC}BiG-B*


i have 2 separate 4850s in cf...does that count for n e thing in this thread???










Well this thread is really for SAPPHIRE 4850 X2 owners, but everyone is welcome here and of course, free to post here.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *reptile!* 
I just recently bought this card!







How do you guys like it?

I'm also having issues with some rando bugs in certain games and wanna know if any others are experiencing them as well.

-In Far Cry 2 it seems REALLY REALLY shaky. I dunno if that's what all this 'stutter' business is all about.

-In COD5, I get constant smoke flickers in the distance playing in SP. It's real annoying because I can't see the enemies due to the flickering.

Yes I've updated CCC.

Welcome to the thread, new owner reptile! I can't speak for all owners but I love my 4850x2. It has performed better than I've hoped actually; very pleased so far. The few bugs I've had, I've been able to work out now. I don't own Far Cry 2 (yet) but sound like mircostuttering. Its sort of like a texture shaking and can be whole screen or as little as an single object in the game. This is very common, in not just our cards, but all multi-gpu configurations. What I've found stops this total in the games I've played is to disable vertical sync also know as v-sync. There should be a setting in Far Cry 2 to enable or disable v-sync. See if disabling v-sync stops your problem. Glad you mentioned COD5. What you described as sounds like a v-sync issue in a smaller form. I have COD4 and have v-sync turned off. Again see if v-sync is off in your COD5. What drivers are you on? Some ppl have more success with one set of drivers verse another. You should be running Catalyst 9.1, 9.2 or 9.3. I have issues with 9.3 so I use 9.2. Let us know how it goes and again welcome to the thread.









Side note: Oh guys there was an open box sapphire 4850X2 2gb on newegg yesterday for $197. I posted it in "Online deals" section. Someone brought it in about 30 minutes.


----------



## TheFoister

Hi everybody,

I see many people enjoying their great vga card. And I'm dieing to join you BUT the fan noise issue (bolded in every review on the net) is stopping me.

Among 117 pages, I'm sure this subject is discussed a thousand times, but I couldn't find a clear answer thru my quick search. So I decided to post and ask.

Is this fan noise issue somewhat solved (most likely with a bios update) or is it still standing there? and how bad is it?

I'm not after pure silence but can not stand if it is as bad as it is written...

thanks in advance.


----------



## Shroomalistic

cant really say its fixed but you can set your fan speed to what ever you like in ccc. its does quiet it down but only so much. you can always go aftermarket cooling and throw the vf900's on it. then you can barely hear it.


----------



## rico2001

The noise level was never a problem, itâ€™s the way the card was made. Sapphire went with (2) fans instead of what many other high end card have done and use (1) fan blowing out of the case. Therefore in the use of (2) fans, this card is louder than most. From what owners have said before, the newer version with the updated bios doesnâ€™t quiet the card down much over the first version. As shroom has said, you can manually set the fans to 20%, which would keep this card at a relatively low noise level. In its automatic mode, its low of 12% is pretty quiet. Where it can become loud is when it ramps up past 50% per load and temp. Iâ€™m usually playing a game at those times so I donâ€™t mind and/or really donâ€™t hear the card at all. Hope that helps your decision, it really is a great card.


----------



## reptile!

In both games v-sync is off.







I'm also on CCC's 9.3 driver version. I'll back up on to 9.2 and see what happens.

Thanks for the help/support!

-John


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:



Originally Posted by *reptile!*


In both games v-sync is off.







I'm also on CCC's 9.3 driver version. I'll back up on to 9.2 and see what happens.

Thanks for the help/support!

-John


use 9.2 or 9.1 if you want Vsync on games..for my case it doesn't help that much..


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

after all attempts my 3-way is still a big dupe failure..lolx..i might give up and go for another X2 card..for quadfire..but it seems to be more overkill since i just use my pc for benching and watching HD movies..


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TheFoister* 
Hi everybody,

I see many people enjoying their great vga card. And I'm dieing to join you BUT the fan noise issue (bolded in every review on the net) is stopping me.

Among 117 pages, I'm sure this subject is discussed a thousand times, but I couldn't find a clear answer thru my quick search. So I decided to post and ask.

Is this fan noise issue somewhat solved (most likely with a bios update) or is it still standing there? and how bad is it?

I'm not after pure silence but can not stand if it is as bad as it is written...

thanks in advance.

It depends on your sound sensitivity really. Dont get me wrong, it is loud on anything above 30% fanspeed for many people. Me included.

The problem is, as rico stated, two fans instead of one. And they are smaller and runs on higher rpm to cope with the loss of CFM due to smaller diameter.
The cons for this are higher noise level. And the noise seems to amplify because of the two fans "singing" in eachothers noise frequency.

The pro is more dedicated cooling for each core and the cores have more equal temps. The card is alot colder running than a 4870x2 for instance.

Several solutions are available. Two Zalman VF900 HSF can be installed. Or watercool the thing with a couple of MCW60 blocks, or wait for the XSPC full cover block thats expected in a couple of weeks. These options sets you back quite a bit though.

Taking off the fanshroud also strips away some noise but at the cost of PCB support.

Performance-wise this card pwns. Especially for the price they stuck on this motha.


----------



## rico2001

Didn't know these scores were this good till I found this review on xbitlabs. 4850 Tri-fire makes *GTX 295 Killer*, even beat my big bro, 4870 tri-fire. (Well in just this game at least)









Devil May Cry 4,1680x1050, DX9, 8xAA, Super high settings
4850x2 = 170.2 average fps
4850x3 = 242.5 average fps (72.3 fps, 42.4% gain) (minimum 182 fps)


ref. xbitlabs
_"In the latter case we ran the test three times and took the average of the three for the performance charts. 
We measured not only the *average* speed, but also the *minimum* speed of the cards where possible."_

i7-965 Extreme Edition @ 3.2GHz used


----------



## tool918

Where do you get good drivers for our card? I had to reinstall drivers and I got the 9.3 off sapphire's website. But after I install them windows says it's incompatible with my video card... even though I selected the right one. Vista 64 9.3 drivers for 4850 x2.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *tool918* 
Where do you get good drivers for our card? I had to reinstall drivers and I got the 9.3 off sapphire's website. But after I install them windows says it's incompatible with my video card... even though I selected the right one. Vista 64 9.3 drivers for 4850 x2.

Welcome to the owners thread, tool918.







The lastest drivers, which you have, can always be found at the beginning of this thread. ATI now supports the 4850 X2 so there is no need to go to Sapphire site for drivers.

Here are links to previous drivers:
Catalyst 9.2 (vista 64)
Catalyst 9.1 (vista 64)

Proper installation instructions for ATI drivers
1. Download driver sweeper and install it, you will need it in step 4.
2. Go into control panel, "programs and features", and uninstall the ati drivers/ ati catyst install manager
3. Reboot, hit f8 to pull up advance widows boot options, go into "safe mode"
4. Open driver sweeper and check the ati -display box, hit clean. (this programs removes all remaining drivers that don't proper uninstall)
5. Reboot into windows (normal way)
6. Install Catyst 9.2 (The version I most prefer) or Catyst 9.3
7. At end of installation, ati window should say installation is complete with no errors
8. Reboot a few times


----------



## tool918

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Welcome to the owners thread, tool918.







The lastest drivers, which you have, can always be found at the beginning of this thread. ATI now supports the 4850 X2 so there is no need to go to Sapphire site for drivers.

Here are links to previous drivers:
Catalyst 9.2 (vista 64)
Catalyst 9.1 (vista 64)

Proper installation instructions for ATI drivers
1. Download driver sweeper and install it, you will need it in step 4.
2. Go into control panel, "programs and features", and uninstall the ati drivers/ ati catyst install manager
3. Reboot, hit f8 to pull up advance widows boot options, go into "safe mode"
4. Open driver sweeper and check the ati -display box, hit clean. (this programs removes all remaining drivers that don't proper uninstall)
5. Reboot into windows (normal way)
6. Install Catyst 9.2 (The version I most prefer) or Catyst 9.3
7. At end of installation, ati window should say installation is complete with no errors
8. Reboot a few times


I already did the above, and tried the 9.2 with your advice. I'm still having the same problem. I'm able to install the software and restart the computer like it tells me to. But when all that is done and windows is back up. I get the follow error. "No ATI graphics driver is installed, or the ATI driver is not functioning properly. Please install the ATI graphic's driver appropriate for your hardware."


----------



## tool918

Ive been having problems in windows as of late, if I put a cd like a movie or whatever it wont run the disc. I'm thinking it's windows thats jacked up. Probally going to have to do a new install of everything =(


----------



## rico2001

Have you turned your overclock on your cpu down or back to stock? For some reason, your drives are not installing correctly. Right now, it doesn't not sound like the cards fault. Check your log upon finishing the driver install and see if it says anything there to give you a clue. Do you have another ati card to try, hopefully using the same drivers?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *tool918*


Ive been having problems in windows as of late, if I put a cd like a movie or whatever it wont run the disc. I'm thinking it's windows thats jacked up. Probally going to have to do a new install of everything =(


Did all motherboard drivers install correctly?


----------



## tool918

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Have you turned your overclock on your cpu down or back to stock? For some reason, your drives are not installing correctly. Right now, it doesn't not sound like the cards fault. Check your log upon finishing the driver install and see if it says anything there to give you a clue. Do you have another ati card to try, hopefully using the same drivers?


I cannot get into CCC to check.


----------



## tool918

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Did all motherboard drivers install correctly?


I just installed motherboard drivers the other day, it said they installed fine. But I will go check on those aswell.


----------



## ciprianni

hi ppl. thanks for the quick replay and sorry i didn't answer back to you but i have been busy these days. i tried everything rico2001 and Open1Your1Eyes0 said and no luck. i changed everything to stock frequency: processor, ram etc, i did a clean install and nothing. i still have the same problem. im going to change to xp 32 bit to see what happens (im going to do this in a few mins and ill let u know). could the problem be related to my motherboard ? or the crappy power supply i have ? or its just the card itself ? thx
ps. could the problem be because i have a vista 64 bit made in vlite ?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ciprianni*


hi ppl. thanks for the quick replay and sorry i didn't answer back to you but i have been busy these days. i tried everything rico2001 and Open1Your1Eyes0 said and no luck. i changed everything to stock frequency: processor, ram etc, i did a clean install and nothing. i still have the same problem. im going to change to xp 32 bit to see what happens (im going to do this in a few mins and ill let u know). could the problem be related to my motherboard ? or the crappy power supply i have ? or its just the card itself ? thx
ps. could the problem be because i have a vista 64 bit made in vlite ?


Damn ciprianni, your psu is crap ...maybe (sorry to say). And although it still may not be what is causing your problems, from this review I just read, it may be. If it is close to true, your psu doesn't have enough power for the 4850 X2. NOt sure if this psu is your exact model.

_*
Q-TEC 650W Triple Fan 24p*
Verdict: Steer well clear of this Q-TEC

Q-TEC power supplies are very popular because they're so much cheaper than other brands, but, as our testing shows, they're cheap for a good reason.

This particular Q-TEC is rated at 650W, but even before we switched it on we had our doubts, as the case is nearly empty. Q-TEC claims its PSU has a 30A 3.3V rail, 45A 5V rail and a 30A 12V rail. The Q-TEC doesn't follow the guidelines of the latest ATX spec, which recommends a second 12V rail if the load is greater than 18A. As the name suggests, there are three cooling fans: one 120mm and two 80mm. It supports both 20- and 24-pin motherboards, and has six Molex, two FDD and two S-ATA connectors, but no PCI-E.

The Q-TEC passed the 50 and 75 per cent voltage stability tests, although its efficiency at the latter setting dropped below the ATX spec to 68 per cent. This means that it was drawing a quite ridiculous 725W from the mains to produce 498W. The Q-TEC barely managed a few seconds at 100 per cent load before the voltages on all the rails started jumping up and down by as much as 20 per cent. After approximately a minute, it triggered the trip-switch of the testing lab.

As this PSU cannot even deliver 75 per cent of what it claims while adhering to the ATX spec, and will go bananas and shut down if you attempt to draw anything higher, we recommend steering well clear of it._


----------



## ciprianni

yeeess







i got the card working. it works in crossfire. i now have vista home basic 32bit. i could not find the cd key for xp so i installed vista. i believe my modded vista x64 (vlite) was responsible for the crossfire problem. rico2001 yes u are right - the power supply is crap. i cant even overclock my pc properly like before - graphics card needs so much power + that the voltage, as u said, jumps up and down like mad. i believe this is the cause of overclocking not being stable. i am thinking of changing the power supply but i don't know what to get. maybe a 750-800w one will do the job? my budget is limited. the very very very max i can spend on it is 150 euros. any recomandations for a good power supply ? thx for all the help i really apreciate it.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ciprianni* 
yeeess







i got the card working. it works in crossfire. i now have vista home basic 32bit. i could not find the cd key for xp so i installed vista. i believe my modded vista x64 (vlite) was responsible for the crossfire problem. rico2001 yes u are right - the power supply is crap. i cant even overclock my pc properly like before - graphics card needs so much power + that the voltage, as u said, jumps up and down like mad. i believe this is the cause of overclocking not being stable. i am thinking of changing the power supply but i don't know what to get. maybe a 750-800w one will do the job? my budget is limited. the very very very max i can spend on it is 150 euros. any recomandations for a good power supply ? thx for all the help i really apreciate it.

Congrats ciprianni and I'm really glad things worked out.







Yes a good quality 3 rail, 650W will serve you well, not only for this card but its necessary for stable overclocking. I haven't had many psu's but I can recommend the Antec 650W I use. It is fairly inexpensive. Hopefully, you can get your hands on vista 64, its 5-10% faster in gaming than 32 bit.

update:
Don't know if this store is any good, its in your neck of the woods.
(Elara Online) ANTEC - EA650-GB/Earth Watts 80+ certified 650W EPS 12v v2.91 and ATX12v v2.2 PSU


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Congrats ciprianni and I'm really glad things worked out.







Yes a good quality 3 rail, 650W will serve you well, not only for this card but its necessary for stable overclocking. I haven't had many psu's but I can recommend the Antec 650W I use. It is fairly inexpensive. Hopefully, you can get your hands on vista 64, its 5-10% faster in gaming than 32 bit.

update:
Don't know if this store is any good, its in your neck of the woods.
(Elara Online) ANTEC - EA650-GB/Earth Watts 80+ certified 650W EPS 12v v2.91 and ATX12v v2.2 PSU

that antec is pretty good i used to run there 500watt earth watt ps it was pretty decent but if you go with a single rail power supply you can go even lower in power and still have room for over clocking fans lights the works. the problem with multi rail power supplys is that the 12v circuit is divided up into virtual circuits the problem with that is if your card or cpu needs more amps to properly run it can only get power from one circuit at a time not saying that it wont work because it should but it could be a limiting factor in the future. just something to think about.


----------



## ciprianni

thx for the replay boys. i had a look at the Antec power supply and it seems to be good but what do you think of Corsair Powersupply 750W Black ? (http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=340678)

i am going to explain this as best as i can (english is not my first language).

ok i got crossfire working under vista x64 and i know what was causing it not to work. the problem was related to motherboard drivers. How i find out it was the motherboard drivers ? well remember when i installed vista 32 bit and everything went ok ? here is what I DID AND OBSERVED ( i observed something different between vista x64 and 32 bit when installing motherboard drivers.)

because i have intel 965 chipset i downloaded the drivers (infinst_autol) from intel website

Steps Vista 32 bit:
1. i changed to default any overclocked frequencyes. ( i dont know if this helps or not but i have seen on this forum when somebody said it could cause drivers to fail to install)
2. installed a clean copy of vista 32 bit.
3. installed my sata (raid 0) drivers
4.* installed my motherboard drivers ( i clicked next, next..... i have seen an extra step that i could not see in vista 64 bit - this step was showing me what drivers where installing in that exact moment. after this i got the message "this setup program successfully installed the intel chipset device.......")*
5. i installed ati drivers 9.3 and voilla after restart crossfire worked and also i tested a game.

Steps in vista 64 bit:
1. i changed to default any overclocked frequencyes.
2. installed clean copy of vista 64.
3. installed sata drivers.
4. *installed motherboard drivers ( i did the exact same as in vista 32 bit. this time i did not see the extra step as in vista 32 bit but i carried on and i got the message "this setup program successfully installed the intel chipset device.......")*
5. installed ati drivers 9.3 and after restart CROSSFIRE didn't work.

So then i said to myself, maybe the drivers do not install even though it says successfully ?

* so what i did in order to get the motherboard drivers working + the crossfire:*
1. i did another clean install vista x64

2. installed sata drivers.

3. to install and to get motherboard driver working: - i read the help.txt file that came with infinst_autol. 
-then i moved infinst_autol folder to C drive.
-open cmd and typed in the following: 1. "cd c:/infinst_autol"
2. "setup.exe -aonly"
3. "setup -aonly"
(i typed both setup.exe and setup -aonly because i don't know which one works)

4. after 5 sec after finishing step 3 i got a message saying that driver succesfully installed or something like that and i restarted pc.

5.installed ati drivers and voilla CROSSFIRE WORKED.

i hope this will help and save others wasting time reinstalling windows 10000 times.


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ciprianni*


thx for the replay boys. i had a look at the Antec power supply and it seems to be good but what do you think of Corsair Powersupply 750W Black ? (http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=340678)

i am going to explain this as best as i can (english is not my first language).

ok i got crossfire working under vista x64 and i know what was causing it not to work. the problem was related to motherboard drivers. How i find out it was the motherboard drivers ? well remember when i installed vista 32 bit and everything went ok ? here is what I DID AND OBSERVED ( i observed something different between vista x64 and 32 bit when installing motherboard drivers.)

because i have intel 965 chipset i downloaded the drivers (infinst_autol) from intel website

Steps Vista 32 bit:
1. i changed to default any overclocked frequencyes. ( i dont know if this helps or not but i have seen on this forum when somebody said it could cause drivers to fail to install)
2. installed a clean copy of vista 32 bit.
3. installed my sata (raid 0) drivers
4.* installed my motherboard drivers ( i clicked next, next..... i have seen an extra step that i could not see in vista 64 bit - this step was showing me what drivers where installing in that exact moment. after this i got the message "this setup program successfully installed the intel chipset device.......")*
5. i installed ati drivers 9.3 and voilla after restart crossfire worked and also i tested a game.

Steps in vista 64 bit:
1. i changed to default any overclocked frequencyes.
2. installed clean copy of vista 64.
3. installed sata drivers.
4. *installed motherboard drivers ( i did the exact same as in vista 32 bit. this time i did not see the extra step as in vista 32 bit but i carried on and i got the message "this setup program successfully installed the intel chipset device.......")*
5. installed ati drivers 9.3 and after restart CROSSFIRE didn't work.

So then i said to myself, maybe the drivers do not install even though it says successfully ?

* so what i did in order to get the motherboard drivers working + the crossfire:*
1. i did another clean install vista x64

2. installed sata drivers.

3. to install and to get motherboard driver working: - i read the help.txt file that came with infinst_autol. 
-then i moved infinst_autol folder to C drive.
-open cmd and typed in the following: 1. "cd c:/infinst_autol"
2. "setup.exe -aonly"
3. "setup -aonly"
(i typed both setup.exe and setup -aonly because i don't know which one works)

4. after 5 sec after finishing step 3 i got a message saying that driver succesfully installed or something like that and i restarted pc.

5.installed ati drivers and voilla CROSSFIRE WORKED.

i hope this will help and save others wasting time reinstalling windows 10000 times.


Good job! i would have never guessed the mobo drivers lol. and btw that corsair is a very good pick as well my buddy is running a q6600 at 4.1ghz with 2 gtx285's but he also has the 1kwatt version but they are very stable extremly well built.


----------



## rico2001

Nice problem solving, ciprianni.







rep+


----------



## ciprianni

hi again. thx for the rep+ boys. i have one more question - what can i do to quiet down this beast ? i have replaced original fans with antec fans, they are low noise but the problem is that they are not powerfull enough to cool the card. it runs at about 71-80 C with no overclocking. any sugestions? an aftermarket cooling ? or just put a massive 120mm cooler on it







?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ciprianni*


hi again. thx for the rep+ boys. i have one more question - what can i do to quiet down this beast ? i have replaced original fans with antec fans, they are low noise but the problem is that they are not powerfull enough to cool the card. it runs at about 71-80 C with no overclocking. any sugestions? an aftermarket cooling ? or just put a massive 120mm cooler on it







?


71-80C, is this your under load temp or idle temp? If idle that is bad and you need to look for some alternative. If under load, those are around the temps I get, which are very warm but still fine.


----------



## ciprianni

idle temps 40 C and load 71-80 C. yes the graphics card does work ok at this temperatures but i don't think it is safe to overclock it at this temps ?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ciprianni*


idle temps 40 C and load 71-80 C. yes the graphics card does work ok at this temperatures but i don't think it is safe to overclock it at this temps ?


Those temps are well fine. You don't have to worry at all until you go over 85C. I wouldn't recommend oc'ing the memory past 1000mhz but the gpu should be find to go to 700mhz. You never know what your hs/fan will hold temperature wise if you don't try. I think your idle will go up but your load temps will stay roughly under 83C b/c your fans should ramp up even more. Get Furmark for stability testing if you do not already have it.

Qimonda HYB18H1G321AF-10 DDR3 specs
Clock speed: 1000 mhz
Recommended maximum temperature: 95C
Absolute Maximum temperature: 125C
Recommended maximum voltage: 1.9V
Absoulte maximum voltage: 2.5V


----------



## SigSauer

Got my HD4850 X2 last month.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SigSauer* 
Got my HD4850 X2 last month.

Welcome to the thread, one month new owner, *SisSauer*. Nice pic of your rig and card. Do you have any pros and/or cons on the 4850 X2? Love it, hate it? Do you have any scores to share? There is nothing mandatory here but if you want, feel free to post pics of some benches from those listed in the beginning of the thread. Or other free benches such as Tropics, Furmark, Sancuary, Devil May Cry 4, X3 Terran Conflict.


----------



## SigSauer

Well I'll post some bench results somtime this week when I get my mobo back(DOA) from rma. The card is pretty noisy so i'll probably put 2 vf900's on it, but the noise doesnt compare to my servers







.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SigSauer*


Well I'll post some bench results somtime this week when I get my mobo back(DOA) from rma. The card is pretty noisy so i'll probably put 2 vf900's on it, but the noise doesnt compare to my servers







.


Good deal on the benches, look forward to seeing you results. Like I said, no pressure to do so, just gives more info for us all to look at. And I hear ya on the X2 noise. Have been telling ppl that same thing for awhile. Although it is loud, its not as bad overall as the rest of the fans I have spinning in my case.







On the zalman fans, since you will be removing the black shroud from the card, be sure to support the back end of the card with some bracing or something. There would be not much support over the entire length of the 11-1/2" long pcb.


----------



## SigSauer

It's already bend a bit so putting on some copper will bend it more







. My PSU will most likely pose a problem, that thing is ancient(allmost 4 years) so i have no idea if it will last when the system goes all out.


----------



## rico2001

Unreal Tournament 3 Benchmark

E8300 @ 4003 mhz, 6Gb DDR2

1680 x 1050, DX10, Highest detail quality, 0xAA

4850 x1 = 123.00 average fps
4850 x2 = 126.13 average fps (3.1 fps, 2.5% gain over single 4850)
4850 x3 = 127.87 average fps (1.7 fps, 1.3% gain over 4850 x2)









 

Conclusion: Again another Unreal Engine 3 game, which are, for the most part, battles of the single gpu. I don't scale well at all and I mainly credit my cpu at 4.0G to be able to post those fps. The GTX285 still holds the crown as fastest single gpu card; hopefully not for long.









Ref. HardwareZone (Core 2 Extreme QX6850 at 3.00GHz used)


----------



## SigSauer

The low framerates in crossfire are because UT3 has no crossfire support.


----------



## rico2001

Yep, no multi-gpu at all or very little I believe, nvidia or ati.


----------



## SigSauer

Just tried to run S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear Sky on my old pc with the HD4850X2, i got 7 fps average







. Res:1680x1050 Settings: Enhanced Full dynamic lighting, Maximum setting.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SigSauer* 
Just tried to run S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear Sky on my old pc with the HD4850X2, i got 7 fps average







. Res:1680x1050 Settings: Enhanced Full dynamic lighting, Maximum setting.

What is your old pc? Should do better than 7fps.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/gra...4850-x2-2gb/10
Wish I had that game, those fps on that chart look beatable.


----------



## SigSauer

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
What is your old pc? Should do better than 7fps.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/gra...4850-x2-2gb/10
Wish I had that game, those fps on that chart look beatable.









AMD Athlon64 3800+ 2.4 GHz, 1 GB RAM that the old one.


----------



## rico2001

Sapphire Radeon HD4850X2 2gb Give Away!

Interesting and worth a shot.


----------



## SigSauer

I just ordered a Zalman FC-ZV9 for my card







, will be ordering the other one in 2 weeks when i've got money again


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SigSauer*


I just ordered a Zalman FC-ZV9 for my card







, will be ordering the other one in 2 weeks when i've got money again










Nice, bro. Lets us know how it goes. Remember, support that card at the tail end.


----------



## rico2001

Catalyst 9.4 (vista 64 bit)
Catalyst 9.4 (vista 32 bit)
Catalyst 9.4 (xp 64 bit)
Catalyst 9.4 (xp 32 bit)
Catalyst 9.4 (windows 7 64 bit)
Catalyst 9.4 (windows 7 32 bit)

_New Features
This section provides information on new features found in this release of the Radeonâ„¢

Display Driver. These include the following:

ATI Catalystâ„¢ 9.4 - New ATI OverDriveâ„¢ auto-tuning application

ATI Catalyst 9.4 includes a new ATI Overdriveâ„¢ auto-tune application to accurately
determine the best over-clocked engine and memory values for ATI Overdrive
supported ATI Radeonâ„¢ Graphics accelerators

Designed for the ATI Radeonâ„¢ HD 4000 Series

* AMDâ€™s product warranty does not cover damages caused by over clocking, even when
enabled via AMD OverDrive software_


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Catalyst 9.4 (vista 64 bit)
Catalyst 9.4 (vista 32 bit)
Catalyst 9.4 (xp 64 bit)
Catalyst 9.4 (xp 32 bit)
Catalyst 9.4 (windows 7 64 bit)
Catalyst 9.4 (windows 7 32 bit)

_New Features
This section provides information on new features found in this release of the Radeon™

Display Driver. These include the following:

ATI Catalyst™ 9.4 - New ATI OverDrive™ auto-tuning application

ATI Catalyst 9.4 includes a new ATI Overdrive™ auto-tune application to accurately
determine the best over-clocked engine and memory values for ATI Overdrive
supported ATI Radeon™ Graphics accelerators

Designed for the ATI Radeon™ HD 4000 Series

* AMD's product warranty does not cover damages caused by over clocking, even when
enabled via AMD OverDrive software_


OP links just updated too! Let us know how the new drivers works.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

its been a while guys..i think i am at my limit(for now)will change mobos so i can clock higher and can unleash the beast further within

BTW guys we had a mini contest here in the philippines with another mate and i managed to close in the gap between an i7 setup with 2 GTX 260 in SLI with just this card..







i was just 1k points away from his bench using this card..









here is the run..

Rules:
1680x1050 reso(native)
8xaa
optimal
3.6Ghz CPU clock only..









and i'm just 1k away from an i7 with SLI cards..


----------



## rico2001

Man, I am lovin the new 9.4's. For one, they don't crash every benchmark I do, which made me go back to the 9.2's. And two, the performance increase is nice. I'm glad to see ATI on top of their game in the driver department.









ATI Catalyst 9.2 = 19761
ATI Catalyst 9.4 = 19934 (173 point gain over Cat. 9.2)









Cat. 9.2


ATI Catalyst 9.2 = P12987
ATI Catalyst 9.4 = P13251 (264 point gain over Cat. 9.2)









Cat. 9.2


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*Update*: Added code to put in your signature. Look for it before my posted results.


----------



## MESeidel

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade* 
and i'm just 1k away from an i7 with SLI cards..









Try 710 or 720 Core.

What really suckz on this Card is that you can run a stable 3D Markt on first Core @ 770 MHz but with Crossfire and both Cores it get unstable all the way down to almost 700 MHz...


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *MESeidel*


Try 710 or 720 Core.

What really suckz on this Card is that you can run a stable 3D Markt on first Core @ 770 MHz but with Crossfire and both Cores it get unstable all the way down to almost 700 MHz...


That is because there is not enough voltage to run both cores at that frequency. If we had the voltage of a stock 4870 X2, it would be possible.


----------



## MESeidel

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
That is because there is not enough voltage to run both cores at that frequency. If we had the voltage of a stock 4870 X2, it would be possible.

Year I thought that way, already

Has anyone here done a Soft-Voltmode yet?
I know I said before I don't want to VMod but some more [email protected] PPD would rule...


----------



## rico2001

3D Performance with F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (4850 X2 matching well with a GTX 295)

Impressive


----------



## TheFoister

Unfortunately just a preview:

http://www.xspc.biz/razor4850x2.php


----------



## rammunition

whats this card like on a pci e 1.1 bus at x16???

does anyone have performance tests of this card at pci-e 2.0 x16 and x8????


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TheFoister* 
Unfortunately just a preview:

http://www.xspc.biz/razor4850x2.php

Nice find. Looks like it will cover mem and gpus. rep+

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rammunition* 
whats this card like on a pci e 1.1 bus at x16???

does anyone have performance tests of this card at pci-e 2.0 x16 and x8????

All of my benches and tests running a 4850 X2 and 4850 in crossfireX (tri-fire) are at 8X/8X pci-e 2.0. You can check pages 76 to current for the results. I would imagine, you could expect around a 1-2% better results running 16X/8X.


----------



## rammunition

1%/2% isn't much loss, im very interested in this card


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *TheFoister*


Unfortunately just a preview:

http://www.xspc.biz/razor4850x2.php



Quote:



Originally Posted by *rammunition*


1%/2% isn't much loss, im very interested in this card










The 4850 X2 is a very good card and the performance out weighs the money you send for the card. Some quick advice if you are interested in buying one: Make sure you have 11-3/4â€ of room in your case for the card, a good quality 600W (650w min. IMO) power supply and you do not mind a somewhat loud video card (again I donâ€™t think its loud IMO). If you plan on running the X2 alone, there will be 0% loss since you will be a 16x pci-e. If you want to go tri-fire with your 4850 512mb card, I would suggest you get the 4850 X2 1Gb version instead of the 2GB version. In crossfireX, the memory will be scaled down to the card with the least amount of memory so ideally you want all the amounts of memory to match. Ex. 4850 X2 2GB (1gb per gpu) + 4850 512 mb = 4850 X3 (tri-fire) with 512mb usable memory. The 4850 X2 1GB version is cheaper and from the benches Iâ€™ve seen roughly 3-6% slower on average than the 2Gb version. Anyway, which one you get is your call. Hope that helped.


----------



## jockmacmad

I tried 5 cards today lol

2 x 4850x2 and a 4850 at 16/16/4. I wasnt expecting it to work and I wasn't disappointed. Well it worked at least until Windows started loading and then it started rebooting at the same load point everytime.

I replaced 2 x 4870 with the 2 x 4850x2. The cooling is looking poor as GPU0 is seriously running HOT 90C at 100% fan. Under the same load others are running at about 75C. I see now the advantage of the 4870 range over the 4850 range as at least the 70's vent externally. All this in a 4U rack case. 2 x 120mm, 2 x 80mm and a 220mm fan.

Well shall see how it goes but TBH with 9.4 installed it's more stable than the CF 4870's which is nice. Just need to work out how to get the temp of GPU0 down.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jockmacmad* 
I tried 5 cards today lol

2 x 4850x2 and a 4850 at 16/16/4. I wasnt expecting it to work and I wasn't disappointed. Well it worked at least until Windows started loading and then it started rebooting at the same load point everytime.

I replaced 2 x 4870 with the 2 x 4850x2. The cooling is looking poor as GPU0 is seriously running HOT 90C at 100% fan. Under the same load others are running at about 75C. I see now the advantage of the 4870 range over the 4850 range as at least the 70's vent externally. All this in a 4U rack case. 2 x 120mm, 2 x 80mm and a 220mm fan.

Well shall see how it goes but TBH with 9.4 installed it's more stable than the CF 4870's which is nice. Just need to work out how to get the temp of GPU0 down.

Nice man, let us know how it goes. Some pics would be nice also. 5 gpu setup does sound interesting, although the last card at 4x pci-e probably will bottleneck. 8x pci-e 2.0 works with little to no loss, but I can't speak for 4x. Welcome to OCN and oh, if you would, fill out for computer specs.

Thanks


----------



## pyrophonic

i guess if i buy a 4850x2 i have to anable crossfire? do you think i would have the same problems with my crossfire 4850's, very buggy with my duel monitor.


----------



## jockmacmad

No you can still disable crossfire if you want on the 4850x2. Indeed I need to do this to have the GPU's separate for BOINC as crossfire will not work.


----------



## SigSauer

One on one more to go


----------



## legend999

Good luck


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SigSauer* 
One on one more to go


















Nice, Sig! What temps are you seeing over the stock cooler?


----------



## rico2001

(2) Sapphire 4850 X2 in Quad-fire review

Here is my bitter sweet quad-fire setup using (2) 4850 X2â€™s. I say bitter sweet b/c I brought my second X2 used and it has some semi-damaged memory on gpu-0 side of the card. I will only say this is not a Sapphire manufacturing error, and leave it at that. Testing was very difficult, taking a few days and Iâ€™ve already moved back to tri-fire. That being said, on to the info.

(2) 4850 X2









Installed









Installed (close up)









Catalyst Control Center (ccc): crossfireX configuration









Catalyst Control Center (ccc): Graphics hardware info
Primary Adapter
Graphics Card ManufacturerPowered by ATI
Graphics ChipsetATI Radeon HD 4850 X2
Device ID9443
Vendor1002

Subsystem IDE870
Subsystem Vendor ID174B

Graphics Bus CapabilityPCI Express 2.0
Maximum Bus SettingPCI Express 2.0 x8

BIOS Version011.011.000.000
BIOS Part Number11X-B50102-X06
BIOS Date9/16/2008

Memory Size1024 MB
Memory TypeGDDR3

Core Clock in MHz625 MHz
Memory Clock in MHz993 MHz
Total Memory Bandwidth in GByte/s63.6 GByte/s

Linked Adapter
Graphics Card ManufacturerPowered by ATI
Graphics ChipsetATI Radeon HD 4850 X2
Device ID9443
Vendor1002

Subsystem IDE870
Subsystem Vendor ID174B

Graphics Bus CapabilityPCI Express 2.0
Maximum Bus SettingPCI Express 2.0 x8

BIOS Version011.011.000.001
BIOS Part Number11X-B50102-X06
BIOS Date10/23/2008

Memory Size1024 MB
Memory TypeGDDR3

Core Clock in MHz625 MHz
Memory Clock in MHz993 MHz
Total Memory Bandwidth in GByte/s63.6 GByte/s

Linked Adapter
Graphics Card ManufacturerPowered by ATI
Graphics ChipsetATI Radeon HD 4850 X2
Device ID9443
Vendor1002

Subsystem IDE870
Subsystem Vendor ID174B

Graphics Bus CapabilityPCI Express 2.0
Maximum Bus SettingPCI Express 2.0 x8

BIOS Version011.011.000.001
BIOS Part Number11X-B50102-X06
BIOS Date10/23/2008

Memory Size1024 MB
Memory TypeGDDR3

Core Clock in MHz625 MHz
Memory Clock in MHz993 MHz
Total Memory Bandwidth in GByte/s63.6 GByte/s

Linked Adapter
Graphics Card ManufacturerPowered by ATI
Graphics ChipsetATI Radeon HD 4850 X2
Device ID9443
Vendor1002

Subsystem IDE870
Subsystem Vendor ID174B

Graphics Bus CapabilityPCI Express 2.0
Maximum Bus SettingPCI Express 2.0 x8

BIOS Version011.011.000.000
BIOS Part Number11X-B50102-X06
BIOS Date9/16/2008

Memory Size1024 MB
Memory TypeGDDR3

Core Clock in MHz625 MHz
Memory Clock in MHz993 MHz
Total Memory Bandwidth in GByte/s63.6 GByte/s

GPU-Z technical info









GPU-Z clock, thermo, and fan speed info









Testing
3Dmark 2006
3Dmark Vantage
Call of Duty 4: MW (could not test)
Call of Juarez
Crysis
Devil May Cry 4
Furmark
Left 4 Dead (could not test)
Sanctuary
Tropics
X3 Terran Conflict

3Dmark 2006:
4850 x2 = 17847 (3.8G used)
4850 x3 = 19934
4850 x4 = 19818 (116 point, 0.5% loss from 4850 x3)









3Dmark Vantage:
4850 x2 = P10537 (3.8G used)
4850 x3 = P13251
4850 x4 = P13784 (533 point, 4.7% gain over 4850 x3)









Call of Juarez:
1680 x 1050, highest quality settings
4850 x2 = 61.4 average fps
4850 x3 = 92.7 average fps (31.3 fps, 50.9% gain over 4850 x2)
4850 x4 = 102.7 average fps (10 fps, 10.7% gain over 4850 x3)









Crysis:
1600x1200
4850 x2 = 33.9 average fps
4850 x3 = 41.9 average fps (8 fps, 23.5% gain over 4850 x2)
4850 x4 = 41.6 average fps (0.3 fps, 0.6% loss over 4850 x3)

1900x1200
4850 x2 = 29.2 average fps
4850 x3 = 35.3 average fps (5.7 fps, 20.8% gain over 4850 x2)
4850 x4 = 37.1 average fps (1.8 fps, 5.0% gain over 4850 x3)

2560x1600
4850 x2 = 17.8 average fps
4850 x3 = 23.5 average fps (6.1 fps, 32.0% gain over 4850 x2)
4850 x4 = 26.1 average fps (2.6 fps, 11.0% gain over 4850 x3)









Devil May Cry 4:
1680x1050
4850 x2 = 170.2 average fps
4850 x3 = 242.5 average fps (72.3 fps, 42.2% gain over 4850 x2)
4850 x4 = 268.0 average fps (25.5 fps, 10.5% gain over 4850 x3)









Furmark:
1440x900
4850 x2 = 197 average fps
4850 x3 = 284 average fps (87 fps, 44.1% gain over 4850 x2)
4850 x4 = 287 average fps (3 fps, 1.0% gain over 4850 x3)









1680x1050
4850 x2 = 152 average fps
4850 x3 = 219 average fps (67 fps, 44.0% gain over 4850 x2)
4850 x4 = 232 average fps (25.5 fps, 10.5% gain over 4850 x3)









Sanctuary:
1680x1050
4850 x2 = 111.3 average fps
4850 x3 = 167.4 average fps (56.1 fps, 50.4% gain over 4850 x2)
4850 x4 = 194.4 average fps (27.0 fps, 16.1% gain over 4850 x3)









Tropics:
1680x1050, DX9
4850 x2 = 23.9 average fps
4850 x3 = 80.0 average fps (56.1 fps, 334.7% gain)
4850 x4 = 106.2 average fps (26.2 fps, 32.7% gain over 4850 x3)









X3 Terran Conflict:
16800x1050
4850 x2 = 94.7 average fps
4850 x3 = 97.7 average fps (3 fps, 3.1% gain over 4850 x2)
4850 x4 = 96.5 average fps (1.2 fps, 1.2% loss over 4850 x3)









Conclusion: So is quad-fire worth it? Absolutely not. Well at least not at this moment in time. There are few issues that are not quite ready for quad-fire. The one most thought of by people, 8x/8x pci-e, is not one of them. From what I can tell, the problem issue with quad-fire is half in part of what ati has told us for a year and what they are still working on. The 100% use of the 4th gpu. Today, even with the current catalyst drivers, the use of 4th gpu is not used in many applications. In some of the tests Iâ€™ve done listed above, Iâ€™ve noticed in gpu-z, not only 1 but sometimes 2 gpus were not fully active. Ok to sum up this report, if you have an X2 or just have an HD48xx card and are looking for more power and the best band for the buck; go for tri-fire. Either get another HD48xx to match your X2 or get and X2 to match you single HD48xx. Quad-fire does work and has a small and I mean very small advantage over tri-fire, but its just not worth the extra money, power consumption and system heat. Hope this review gives everyone a little insight on multi-ati goodness; this has been fun.

ATI for life.


----------



## skugpezz

I think your cpu isnt enough for quadfire even though it is at 4ghz, and i7 or phenom 2 would give better results at same clocks


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *skugpezz* 
I think your cpu isnt enough for quadfire even though it is at 4ghz, and i7 or phenom 2 would give better results at same clocks

Well there was an owner on the 4870 X2 thread that had similar scaling with his i7 at 4G. He didn't start to get any decent scaling till over 4.3G. You may be right about the power but if it is about power, it will take more than either dual or quad have to offer at this time.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:


Originally Posted by *skugpezz* 
I think your cpu isnt enough for quadfire even though it is at 4ghz, and i7 or phenom 2 would give better results at same clocks

hmm i cant say that way..i think the dual GPU cards dont scale that much compared to single cards in Xfire mode..

@rico
i was about to buy my 2nd 4850x2 and when i saw you post i was chilled to the point where i asked myself that is it practical to buy another one or not listed above the results that it scales poorer furthermore with just a minimal raise on performance..


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade* 
hmm i cant say that way..i think the dual GPU cards dont scale that much compared to single cards in Xfire mode..

@rico
i was about to buy my 2nd 4850x2 and when i saw you post i was chilled to the point where i asked myself that is it practical to buy another one or not listed above the results that it scales poorer furthermore with just a minimal raise on performance..

Yea kairi, for you especially, since you are looking for high scores in 3dmark, skip another X2 and put your money into your cpu.


----------



## xgeko2

The problem for quad fire dosnt really have to do with the ati drivers rather than the games and benchmarks Most every game can only do 3 frames at a time in the frame buffer if i recall this info right there are a few techniques to help increase the utilization on the 4th gpu but its not going to ever be full utilized until the software can take advantage of a bigger frame buffer. Thats what i have heard on this issue im not 100% sure on its accuracy though.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xgeko2* 
The problem for quad fire dosnt really have to do with the ati drivers rather than the games and benchmarks Most every game can only do 3 frames at a time in the frame buffer if i recall this info right there are a few techniques to help increase the utilization on the 4th gpu but its not going to ever be full utilized until the software can take advantage of a bigger frame buffer. Thats what i have heard on this issue im not 100% sure on its accuracy though.

Absolutely right xgeko2! rep+









Here is expanded explanation.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/14284/2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Crossfire X explored (techreport.com)*

The multi-GPU scaling challenge
AMD claims development on CrossFire X drivers has taken a year, and that the total effort amounts to twice that of its initial dual-GPU CrossFire development effort. In order to understand why that is, I spoke briefly with Dave Gotwalt, a 3D Architect at AMD responsible for CrossFire X driver development. Gotwalt identified several specific challenges that complicated CrossFire X development.

One of the biggest challenges, of course, is avoiding CPU bottlenecks, long the bane of multi-GPU solutions. Gotwalt offered a basic reminder that it's easier to run into CPU limitations with a multi-GPU setup simply because multi-GPU solutions are faster overall. On top of that, he noted, multi-GPU schemes impose some CPU overhead. As a result, removing CPU bottlenecks sometimes helps more with multi-GPU performance than with one GPU.

In this context, I asked about the opportunities for multithreading the driver in order to take advantage of multiple CPU cores. Surprisingly, Gotwalt said that although AMD's DirectX 9 driver is multithreaded, its DX10 driver is not-neither for a single GPU nor for multiples. Gotwalt explained that multithreading the driver isn't possible in DX10 because the driver must make callbacks though the DX10 runtime to the OS kernel, and those calls must be made through the main thread. Microsoft, he said, apparently felt most DX10 applications would be multithreaded, and they didn't want to create another thread. (What we're finding now, however, noted Gotwalt, is that applications aren't as multithreaded as Microsoft had anticipated.)

With that avenue unavailable to them, AMD had to focus on other areas of potential improvement for mitigating CPU bottlenecks. One of the keys Gotwalt identified is having the driver queue up several command buffers and several frames of data, in order to determine ahead of time what needs to be rendered for the next frame.

Even with such provisions in place, Windows Vista puts limitations on video drivers that sometimes prevent CrossFire X from scaling well. The OS, Gotwalt explained, controls the "flip queue" that holds upcoming frames to be displayed, and by default, the driver can only render as far as three frames ahead of the frame being displayed. Under Vista, both DX9 and DX10 allow the application to adjust this value, so that the driver could get as many as ten frames ahead if the application allowed it. The driver itself, however, has no control over this value. (Gotwalt said Microsoft built this limitation into the OS, interestingly enough, because "a certain graphics vendor-not us" was queuing up many more frames than the apps were accounting for, leading to serious mouse lag. Game developers were complaining, so Microsoft built in a limit.)

*For CrossFire X, AMD currently relies solely on a method of GPU load balancing known as alternate frame rendering (AFR), in which each GPU is responsible for rendering a whole frame and frames are distributed to GPUs sequentially. Frame 0 will go to GPU 0, frame 1 to GPU 1, frame 2 to GPU 2, and so on. Because of the three-frame limit on rendering ahead, explained Gotwalt, the fourth GPU in a CrossFire X setup will have no effect in some applications.* Gotwalt confirmed that AMD is working on combining split-frame rendering with AFR in order to improve scaling in such applications. He even alluded to another possible technique, but he wasn't willing to talk about it just yet. Those methods will have to wait for a future Catalyst release.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

ohh i see..since its alternately rendered its not maximized at all regardless of its bandwitdth whether x8 or x16..so it means its still a long way down the road before we can maximize full Xfire potential specially with games..


----------



## rico2001

4850 X2 + 4850 ( all @ 700core/933mem)


----------



## rico2001

Bill Donnelly from SAPPHIRE on 4850 X2


----------



## DevilGear44

I put a 4850 X2 in my brothers computer yesterday... and damned if those things aren't the biggest graphics cards, ever. I was really mad because the first PCIe x16 slot was too high up on the motherboard so the card would have been hitting the 3.25" bays, and the last PCIe x16 slot was on the very bottom so the card would have been covering up the USB, 1394, and front panel headers. So I had to take out the hard drive cage, and put the card in a middlem x8 slot. If it had been my rig I would have been mad, but my brother wouldnt know the difference.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *DevilGear44*


I put a 4850 X2 in my brothers computer yesterday... and damned if those things aren't the biggest graphics cards, ever. I was really mad because the first PCIe x16 slot was too high up on the motherboard so the card would have been hitting the 3.25" bays, and the last PCIe x16 slot was on the very bottom so the card would have been covering up the USB, 1394, and front panel headers. So I had to take out the hard drive cage, and put the card in a middlem x8 slot. If it had been my rig I would have been mad, but my brother wouldnt know the difference.


















Yes, it is a monster. Longest card on the market. Had to buy a new case before ordering mine and only have a half inch of room between it and the hd bays. Did you bro get the 2gb or 1gb version?


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:



Originally Posted by *DevilGear44*


I put a 4850 X2 in my brothers computer yesterday... and damned if those things aren't the biggest graphics cards, ever. I was really mad because the first PCIe x16 slot was too high up on the motherboard so the card would have been hitting the 3.25" bays, and the last PCIe x16 slot was on the very bottom so the card would have been covering up the USB, 1394, and front panel headers. So I had to take out the hard drive cage, and put the card in a middlem x8 slot. If it had been my rig I would have been mad, but my brother wouldnt know the difference.










i had the same problem with my cooler master centurion 5 but i just smashed the hard drive cage till the card had enough room to fit lol amazing card though gotta love it.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

9.4 is a more bigger sh** lolx..a loss of almost 5 fps on some games..reverting back to 9.3..for win7..


----------



## Chewman

ok better take me off the owners list








I broke mine, not willing to go into detail so people don't think I'm made of fail.
anyhow, got a 4870 now and loving it, will get another and run in Xfire later on.


----------



## Gatroo

The 9.4 is ****???? ohh than i dont download it... :S


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Chewman* 
ok better take me off the owners list








I broke mine, not willing to go into detail so people don't think I'm made of fail.
anyhow, got a 4870 now and loving it, will get another and run in Xfire later on.

Damn Chewman, sorry to hear the bad news. Glad you stayed with ATI.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Gatroo* 
The 9.4 is ****???? ohh than i dont download it... :S

I really like the 9.4, myself. Nice small gain in performance. But I didn't like and had problems with the 9.3's so go figure.


----------



## rico2001

TECHGAGE: Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 2GB review

Old review but I'm just now reading it so maybe you all haven't seen it either.


----------



## ciprianni

boys i know that i have asked this before but please, pleaseeeee help me with this stock cooling noise problem, an advise or give me some suggestions for a 3rd party cooler. the noise makes my ears bleeddddd. helllpp meee plzzz


----------



## darksideleader

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ciprianni*


boys i know that i have asked this before but please, pleaseeeee help me with this stock cooling noise problem, an advise or give me some suggestions for a 3rd party cooler. the noise makes my ears bleeddddd. helllpp meee plzzz

















your pretty much stuck with this cooler.

What are your temps and fan speeds right now?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ciprianni*


boys i know that i have asked this before but please, pleaseeeee help me with this stock cooling noise problem, an advise or give me some suggestions for a 3rd party cooler. the noise makes my ears bleeddddd. helllpp meee plzzz

















option 1. Take control of the fans and set both to lowest level of 20%. If you can live with the temps you will get being only at 20%, great, more power to you.

option 2. Remove the black metal shroud: reduce sound level a good bit but loose structural support for the pcb and possibly damage card.

option 3. Remove the black metal shroud: reduce sound level a good bit.... blah blah blah. Buy aftermarket cooler that runs at a slower rpm and is even quieter than the stock coolers.

May be other options but those are all I can quickly think of at the moment.

Oh...

option 4. Learn to love it and live with the sound level it makes.

option 5. Last if none of those other options will do; sell it and get a quieter card.


----------



## SigSauer

Well finally got to use the card with a spare mobo i managed to find







so in any case here atleast are the temperture differences. I used the stability test of FurMark 1.6.5 for about 15 minutes.

GPU-1 Zalman cooler
Fanspeed: 3600rpm
Idle 36c
Full load 46c

GPU-2 Stock cooler
Fan snelheid: automatic
Idle 39c
Full load 65c


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SigSauer*


Well finally got to use the card with a spare mobo i managed to find







so in any case here atleast are the temperture differences. I used the stability test of FurMark 1.6.5 for about 15 minutes.

GPU-1 Zalman cooler
Fanspeed: 3600rpm
Idle 36c
Full load 46c

GPU-2 Stock cooler
Fan snelheid: automatic
Idle 39c
Full load 65c


Nice load temps Sig, those are what count. What are on the memory temps you are seeing between the two sides?


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

open bench(outside our house)cold air does give good results..


----------



## SigSauer

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Nice load temps Sig, those are what count. What are on the memory temps you are seeing between the two sides?


There around 50 in idle but i didnt pay much attention to it.


----------



## ciprianni

Quote:


Originally Posted by *darksideleader* 
your pretty much stuck with this cooler.

What are your temps and fan speeds right now?


well according to CCC fan is running at 12%, core 1 is 40C and core 2 is 38C. I dont mind the noise when i play a game but i want it to be silent in idle what can i do ?

SigSauer - Do you know if Zalman VGA Cooler VF900-Cu is better the the one you just changed on the card ?

ps. i run with both cores at 700 mhz


----------



## SigSauer

The zalman is a bit louder on full speed as the stock cooler on 12%


----------



## Cyderdog0

I want to bring my cores past the 700 hz mark. I have tried several programs and the only one that worked is riva tuner, but it only lets me adjust one core. I have done many hours of research on overclocking the rv770 core, i have seen the 4850s over clocked to 735 with factory voltage stable, 800s with a bios flash and the volts increased to 2.1-2.2 and the highest is 900 with pencil mods at 3.3 volts. so anyone have any ideas? I would flash my bios on my card but i do not have the slightest clue how. I am not unfamilar to overclocking though, my e3400 is 4.0 hz stable @ 55c


----------



## SigSauer

You need these programs to do it.
*GPU-Z*, for extracting the bios from you're card.
*Radeon Bios Editor*, for adjusting settings in the bios file.
*ATI Winflash*, for flashing you're bios.


----------



## MESeidel

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SigSauer* 
You need these programs to do it.
*GPU-Z*, for extracting the bios from you're card.
*Radeon Bios Editor*, for adjusting settings in the bios file.
*ATI Winflash*, for flashing you're bios.

Is there any difference to single chip Board when flashing?
Does the Card has single BIOS to flash or must it be done twice?


----------



## tool918

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ciprianni* 
boys i know that i have asked this before but please, pleaseeeee help me with this stock cooling noise problem, an advise or give me some suggestions for a 3rd party cooler. the noise makes my ears bleeddddd. helllpp meee plzzz
















Hi there the stock noise cannot really be adjusted unless you switch to an aftermarket cooler. The only aftermarket cooler that works for this card is purchasing two of these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118001 at $35.00 each.

I installed these on my 4850x2 and the difference is night and day. The zalman's drop the temp on the card about 5-10c and there is almost no sound at all.


----------



## Cyderdog0

from what i read you have to do the adjustments twice when you flash it, one for each gpu.
as for aftermarket cooling, on the vf900s there are two posted on newegg, one has leds but it says its slightly smaller, but a newer model, does anyone notice any difference temp wise between the two?


----------



## ciprianni

Quote:


Originally Posted by *tool918* 
Hi there the stock noise cannot really be adjusted unless you switch to an aftermarket cooler. The only aftermarket cooler that works for this card is purchasing two of these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118001 at $35.00 each.

I installed these on my 4850x2 and the difference is night and day. The zalman's drop the temp on the card about 5-10c and there is almost no sound at all.

thx for the replay. i will have a look to see how much the cooler is overhere.


----------



## xgeko2

Make sure to not get the 2 bios's confused on this card it has a master and a slave bios so you cant just mix and match them if you mess your bios up. ive been through that a few times now lol and let me tell you its definitely not fun trying to fix a bricked card. the highest i have been able to achieve on the core for this card with stock voltage is 733mhz with the newest version of rivia tuner if only one gpu is showing up i would recommend un installing your drivers and re-installing them along with a re-install of rivia tuner.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

i tried removing the shroud and it seems the card had some support probs..it seems the shroud is the support for the whole card's weight..


----------



## SigSauer

I dont have that problem, it bends just as far with and without the shroud.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SigSauer*


I dont have that problem, it bends just as far with and without the shroud.


Give it time, it will start to sag a lot after awhile with shroud removed.


----------



## legend999

I think he has the stock cooler on the right side,so it's ok untill he gets the second Vf-900....

With the stock coolers it doesn't bend at all.


----------



## rico2001

[H]Enthusiast review April 20, 2009: Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 2GB


----------



## Shroomalistic

well my 4850 is gone, no more trifire for me. I traded it for a x-fi titanium pro and bought a foxconn ageia physx pcie x1 ppu. should make up for it I think. I got the ppu for $50 bucks on ebay. I wanted to see what physx was all about since we are ati guys it seems thats the only work around. Later when ati does start implamenting physics of some sort I can just remove the ppu and buy another 4850 or something for physic. by then they will be alot cheaper.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic* 
well my 4850 is gone, no more trifire for me. I traded it for a x-fi titanium pro and bought a foxconn ageia physx pcie x1 ppu. should make up for it I think. I got the ppu for $50 bucks on ebay. I wanted to see what physx was all about since we are ati guys it seems thats the only work around. Later when ati does start implamenting physics of some sort I can just remove the ppu and buy another 4850 or something for physic. by then they will be alot cheaper.

Nice shroom, no love lost. You still have plenty of power with the X2 for any game. Your power and heat will be down again, which is good. Good luck with the physX and let us know how it turns out. Although there are still few games title that use physX, I'm interested to see if it enhances them and if it increases your 3dmark scores. It is all about the experimenting. That's the main reason I went tri-fire, to see what it can do.


----------



## Shroomalistic

yeah I would have loved to try the physx card with the trifire. the ppu should be here in 2-3 days so I should be able to post some benchmarks by this weekend.


----------



## Maxers

Hi Guy's, here some more waterblock picture's to drool







over!

XSPC Razor4


----------



## rico2001

Nice design on that XSPC waterblock. Are you getting one? Thanks for he post, Maxers. rep+


----------



## Maxers

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Nice design on that XSPC waterblock. Are you getting one? Thanks for he post, Maxers. rep+

Thnx , Yup the moment its in the shops i'm running out to get 1


----------



## MESeidel

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Maxers* 
Thnx , Yup the moment its in the shops i'm running out to get 1

What does it cost?
Well I have 2 Zalman's per Card on my X2's but interesting anyway!
rep+

Anyone folding on the HD4850X2?
I could get it to 720 MHz with BIOS flash to the highest voltage.
What is stable so far, but I'm missing long term test...


----------



## nixgear

Hi, I'm bit of a beginner and I just had two questions.

I have a AMD Athlon X2 7750 2.7ghz (planning to OC) running on a asus m3n78-em and I am currently running Windows 7 x64 build 7077, ubuntu 9.04 and work in progress osx86 distro.

I was thinking about buying a HD4850x2 card, but I wasn't sure whether my CPU was good enough and whether I would have issues with catalyst 9.4 and windows 7 (don't care about other OS as I can always use onboard graphics).

would appreciate any advise.

Cheers.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *nixgear* 
Hi, I'm bit of a beginner and I just had two questions.

I have a AMD Athlon X2 7750 2.7ghz (planning to OC) running on a asus m3n78-em and I am currently running Windows 7 x64 build 7077, ubuntu 9.04 and work in progress osx86 distro.

I was thinking about buying a HD4850x2 card, but I wasn't sure whether my CPU was good enough and whether I would have issues with catalyst 9.4 and windows 7 (don't care about other OS as I can always use onboard graphics).

would appreciate any advise.

Cheers.

Not completely sure and sorry to say but I believe your cpu, even with an overclock, would bottleneck the 4850 X2 and you would not see good performance out of the card.


----------



## Shroomalistic

well i installed my ageia physx ppu yesterday. ran a few benchmarks. it gave me a 500 point increase in 3dmark vantage. not really sure what it did for my 3dmark06 run. in the vantage physx test, i went from an average 20 sops to 30 sops. I think thats what they were called.

before ppu
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dmv=1001599
after ppu
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dmv=1001621

I also ran some mirrors edge with physx enabled. the eye candy is deffinitly worth it. I really think it was a well spent $50 bucks to hold me over till ati comes up with there physics solution. even when they do, I will be able to run havok physics and physx.

for anyone interested in one
http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-FOXCONN-AGE...742.m153.l1262


----------



## nixgear

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Not completely sure and sorry to say but I believe your cpu, even with an overclock, would bottleneck the 4850 X2 and you would not see good performance out of the card.


I don't know if this is anything to go by, but all these HD4850x2 reviews use comparable if not slower cpus than mine.

http://www.ocmodshop.com/ocmodshop.aspx?a=1397&p=3495
http://www.cluboc.net/reviews/video/...50x2/page3.asp
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.ph...1&limitstart=4

That is according to this review by the way.
http://www.overclockersclub.com/revi...hlon7750/4.htm

I trying not to give up hope. I was thinking about getting it then upgrading to a Phenom in the future?


----------



## tool918

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade* 
i tried removing the shroud and it seems the card had some support probs..it seems the shroud is the support for the whole card's weight..

My card bent with or without the shroud on. Doesn't matter though I fixed that problem by tying clear fishing line around the 6pin pci-e power cord and attaching it somewhere near the top of my computer case, now all nice and straight and no money cost to fix it.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *tool918* 
My card bent with or without the shroud on. Doesn't matter though I fixed that problem by tying clear fishing line around the 6pin pci-e power cord and attaching it somewhere near the top of my computer case, now all nice and straight and no money cost to fix it.

Yes, that will work.


----------



## tool918

Here some photo's of my 4850x2 score's in 3dmark vantage and in 3dmark 06. I dont have the card OC'ed very high, can probally go more just haven't tested it out much yet.

What's yall's OC on your card's at? I'm pretty curious.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *tool918*


Here some photo's of my 4850x2 score's in 3dmark vantage and in 3dmark 06. I dont have the card OC'ed very high, can probally go more just haven't tested it out much yet.

What's yall's OC on your card's at? I'm pretty curious.


Nice scores tool918, thanks for posting. +rep

See if you can bench a game or two. About oc'ing. All of us can do 700 core, np problem. You can go higher with riviatuner but there isn't enough stock voltage to run stable over 720. The ddr3 memory is rated at 1000mhz and is the cards weakness in oc'ing, in my opinion. Some owners oc the mem to 1200 but I won't recommend it. The 1080 you are at, should be fine. I've oc'ed my x2 to 700core/1020mem at times.


----------



## rico2001

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky
Brought S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky the other day, $9.99 from GameStop, btw, but for today I'm using the downloadable Benchmark, so other can bench along with me. The graphics are pretty good, some of the best lighting I've seen in a game to date. Decided not to test quad-fire b/c it's pointless at this point.

Testbed:
E8300 @ 3825 mhz
6Gb DDR2
ATI Catalyst 9.4
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850 1GB
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850X2 2GB
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850X2 2GB + 4850 1GB (tri-fire crossfireX)

1680 x 1050, DX10, 16xAF 0xAA

4850 X1 = 28.7 average fps
4850 X2 = 54.6 average fps (25.9 fps, 90% gain over single 4850)
4850 X3 = 65.5 average fps (10.9 fps, 20% gain over 4850 X2)









4850 4850X2

Conclusion: Good frames per seconds, good scaling thoughout, cpu at 3.8G boost frames nicly.

Ref. xbitlabs.com (Core Core i7-965 Extreme Edition processor at 3.2GHz used)
(min and average)

_This game, besides Crysis Warhead, is among the most demanding applications on our list of benchmarks despite the relaxed settings described above. Therefore it is highly interesting to watch top-end hardware run it._


----------



## rico2001

FARCRY 2
Recieved my new monitor in today, Samsung 23" SyncMaster 2333 so I can start benching resolutions of 1920x1080. Again on this bench, I'm opt'ing not to test quad-fire 4850.

Testbed:
E8300 @ 4003 mhz
6Gb DDR2
ATI Catalyst 9.4
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850 1GB 
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850X2 2GB 
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850X2 2GB + 4850 1GB (tri-fire crossfireX)

1680 x 1050, DX10, Ultra high settings, 16xAF, 4xAA









4850 X1 = 33.7 average fps
4850 X2 = 62.8 average fps (29.1 fps, 86% gain over single 4850)
4850 X3 = 69.9 average fps (7.1 fps, 11% gain over 4850 X2)

4850 4850 X2 4850 X3
---------------------------------------------------------------------

1920 x 1080, DX10, Ultra high settings, 16xAF, 4xAA









4850 X1 = 30.6 average fps
4850 X2 = 58.7 average fps (28.1 fps, 91% gain over single 4850)
4850 X3 = 69.5 average fps (10.8 fps, 18% gain over 4850 X2)

4850 4850 X2 4850 X3

Ref. xbitlabs.com (Core i7-965 Extreme Edition processor at 3.2GHz used)
(min and average)
 Ultimate Heavy-Weight Fight: Radeon HD 4890 CrossFireX vs. GeForce GTX 285 SLI (page 10)

Ref. pcgameshardware.com (E8500 at 3.6GHz used)
(min and average)
 Geforce GTX 285 reviewed: Benchmark Far Cry 2 (DirecX 10) 

Ref. xbitlabs.com (Core i7-965 Extreme Edition processor at 3.2GHz used)
(min and average)
ATI Radeon HD 4890: 1GHz Conquered! (page 9)

Conclusion: FarCry 2 is another potent DX10 game title. So far, only games such as Crysis, Crysis Warhead, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. have kept the X2 and Tri-fire 4850 configuration under 70 fps. All-in-all, still pretty good fps and scaling. You will notice the increase in gains in the higher 1920 x 1080 tests and In tr-fire mode, the fps don't drop. Showing multi-gpu's strength is in high resolutions, which is nothing new, but is nice to see the results with your own eyes. More to come.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Hey guys, just popping in. Great job on the thread. I like the constant activity and that you guys are helping each other out. *rico2001* is doing a great job so far. Thanks for keeping this thread alive.

PS: Just noticed that the mini ATI logos' link died so the logos didn't show. I got rid of them so they don't annoy anyone.









If anyone has any question or concerns just PM me at anytime. Keep up the great work everyone!


----------



## SigSauer

Here are some benches
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dmv=1022493









SuperPi Mod 1.5









X3 Terran Conflict Rolling Demo & Furmark 1.6.5









Left4Dead
Campaign: No Mercy
Chapter: Hospital

Resolution: 1920x1080
Anisotropic Filter: 16x (32x in CCC)
MSAA: 8x
Min FPS: 57
Max FPS: 63
Avg FPS: 60


----------



## Yokozuna

FYI, the XSPC full cover water block for the HD 4850 x2 is available in the U.S. now. One store, Tilatech.com has in stock for $110, while another, Jab-tech.com, has it for $90, but it's not in stock yet.

I'm personally using the water blocks from the Cooler Master Aguagate Duo Viva water cooling kit. It's an all-in-one kit with two identical copper blocks (for Crossfire/SLI or single GPU + CPU setups), a 70mm x2 radiator, and a tiny pump (integrated with one of the blocks). I'm not using the included radiator, as it's too small and it's aluminum. The blocks fit perfectly, and don't require cutting any fins off the PCI bridge heatsink.

I've got the HD 4850 x2 in its own loop with a 120mm x2 copper radiator, using the integrated pump (which is weak, but seems to do the job). I've got it clocked at 700/1150. It idles at 30, loads at 55. The memory doesn't seem to need water cooling. I removed the thermal pads from the memory chips, applied Ceramique thermal compound, re-attached the heatspreader and stuck some aluminum ram sinks on top. Memory temps dropped dramatically, even with the loss of the fans, from over 40 idle and ~70 load, to 33 idle, 55 load. I have a single 120mm fan blowing across the card.

The big drawback to the the blocks is that they have integrated, non-removable 1/4" barbs.


----------



## rico2001

Nice scores, *SigSauer*. I've been waiting for one of you quad AMD guys to post some game results and a bonus, you benched in high res. 1920x1080. Very nice. Some advice, in Left 4 Dead, turn off "wait for v-sysnc" for benching. It is cap'ing you at 60fps. Then you will get your true fps. Have to give you a rep+ for this post.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Yokozuna* 
FYI, the XSPC full cover water block for the HD 4850 x2 is available in the U.S. now. One store, Tilatech.com has in stock for $110, while another, Jab-tech.com, has it for $90, but it's not in stock yet.

I'm personally using the water blocks from the Cooler Master Aguagate Duo Viva water cooling kit. It's an all-in-one kit with two identical copper blocks (for Crossfire/SLI or single GPU + CPU setups), a 70mm x2 radiator, and a tiny pump (integrated with one of the blocks). I'm not using the included radiator, as it's too small and it's aluminum. The blocks fit perfectly, and don't require cutting any fins off the PCI bridge heatsink.

I've got the HD 4850 x2 in its own loop with a 120mm x2 copper radiator, using the integrated pump (which is weak, but seems to do the job). I've got it clocked at 700/1150. It idles at 30, loads at 55. The memory doesn't seem to need water cooling. I removed the thermal pads from the memory chips, applied Ceramique thermal compound, re-attached the heatspreader and stuck some aluminum ram sinks on top. Memory temps dropped dramatically, even with the loss of the fans, from over 40 idle and ~70 load, to 33 idle, 55 load. I have a single 120mm fan blowing across the card.

The big drawback to the the blocks is that they have integrated, non-removable 1/4" barbs.

Welcome to the forum and owners thread, *Yokozuna*. Fill out your system specs when you get a chance. Thanks for the cooler info.


----------



## SigSauer

Same settings as before but with vsync off
Min FPS: 61
Max FPS: 297
Avg FPS: 109


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SigSauer* 
Same settings as before but with vsync off
Min FPS: 61
Max FPS: 297
Avg FPS: 109

Nice bro. That's impressive for 1920x1080. Your avg and max are sick.

Here is what I've done so far:
Left 4 Dead
Game settings:
1680x1050, DX9, 16xATF, 8xAA, V-sync off, Shader: very high, all other settings: high
Difficulty: Expert
Campaign: No Mercy
Mission: 1: apartments
FRAPS settings: 300 seconds

4850x2 = 128.1 average fps
4850x3 = 150.9 average fps (22.8 fps, 17.8% gain)(again nice scaling)


Reference
Left 4 Dead scores
Left 4 Dead High-end scores


----------



## SigSauer

Just benched Stalker: Clear Sky
Render: Enhanced Full Dynamic Lighting
Quality: Maximum
Resolution: 1920x1080
Anisotropic Filter: 32x in CCC
Min FPS: 67
Max FPS: 148
Avg FPS: 91


----------



## Maxers

In a few days i will be getting the XSPC Razor 4850X2 waterblock ..i will give you a small review for us card users.

ill get back on this very soon ;-)


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Maxers*


In a few days i will be getting the XSPC Razor 4850X2 waterblock ..i will give you a small review for us card users.

ill get back on this very soon ;-)


Great news *Maxers*; look forward to your review.


----------



## rico2001

Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars

Testbed:
E8300 @ 4020 mhz
6Gb DDR2
ATI Catalyst 9.4
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850 1GB
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850X2 2GB
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850X2 2GB + 4850 1GB (tri-fire crossfireX)
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850X2 2GB + 4850 1GB (tri-fire crossfireX)(oc'ed to 700core/1000mem)

1600 x 1200, DX10, highest settings, 16xAF, 4xAA
4850 X1 = 78 average fps
4850 X2 = 119 average fps (41 fps, 52% gain over single 4850)
4850 X3 = 140 average fps (21 fps, 17% gain over 4850 X2)
4850 X3 OC = 145 average fps (5 fps, 3% gain over 4850 X3)

4850 X3









4850 4850 X2 4850 X3 OC
---------------------------------------------------------------------

1920 x 1080, DX10, highest settings, 16xAF, 4xAA
4850 X1 = 70 average fps
4850 X2 = 110 average fps (40 fps, 57% gain over single 4850)
4850 X3 = 133 average fps (23 fps, 21% gain over 4850 X2)
4850 X3 OC = 138 average fps (5 fps, 4% gain over 4850 X3)

4850 X3









4850 4850 X2 4850 X3 OC

Ref. xbitlabs.com (Core i7-965 Extreme Edition processor at 3.2GHz used)
(min and average)
Ultimate Heavy-Weight Fight: Radeon HD 4890 CrossFireX vs. GeForce GTX 285 SLI (page 9)

Ref. xbitlabs.com (Core i7-965 Extreme Edition processor at 3.2GHz used)
(min and average)
ATI Radeon HD 4890: 1GHz Conquered! (page 8)

Conclusion: X2 scores and scaling were good. Tri-fire scaling could have been better but I can't complain. Decent gain with the little overclock achieved. Again, on par with the best cards and multi-gpu setups you can have these days. The 4850 X2 still a solid performer.


----------



## rico2001

New addition to my SAPPHIRE family: SAPPHIRE 4870 1Gb

Mixed crossfireX attempt with a 4850 X2.
- Will it even crossfire with the 4850 X2? Other have tried with no success.
- If so, will it "dumb down" itself to the 4850's?
- Will I see a little performance increase, decrease stay on par with tri-fire 4850's?

Just installed the card and haven't installed drivers yet. Hopefully, I'll make a review of my efforts and benchmarks shortly or report that a 4850 X2 and 4870 did not crossfire and I just wasted my money. Ha, we'll see! Wish me luck.


----------



## tool918

ricco how do I post my pics in large size like yours instead of minimized like mine?


----------



## SigSauer

It would be strange if it did'nt work because AMD/ATI themself say that the 4850 & 4870 can be used in crossfire with each other and the 4850x2 isnt any different from 2 4850's in crossfire.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *tool918*


ricco how do I post my pics in large size like yours instead of minimized like mine?


Use a photo site like imageshack or what I use photobucket.com. Then you can just post direct links, image codes or image thumbs on here.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SigSauer*


It would be strange if it did'nt work because AMD/ATI themself say that the 4850 & 4870 can be used in crossfire with each other and the 4850x2 isnt any different from 2 4850's in crossfire.


Well a single 4850 and a single 4870 crossfire well with no problem, have seen it many times. On the other hand, I haven't seen anyone successfully crossfire a 4870 X2 with a 4850 or a 4850 X2 with a 4870. That is the challenge and yes ATI says it should work.


----------



## SigSauer

Some new pics of my system.
















The card's bending a bit like you said it would
























Gonna replace my Enermax with a Nexus Tranquillity RX-8500 for some extra juice.


----------



## rico2001

Nice case *Sig*! My uncle has the Coolmaster Centurion 590 and loves it. I need a new case. Mine is cheap and narrow, luckily its long and fits the X2 well. Are you going to get another Zalman? If so, you will have to supply some support for the back end of the X2.

Ok, well let me go install these drivers and see if I can get some mixed crossfireX going.


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SigSauer*


Gonna replace my Enermax with a Nexus Tranquillity RX-8500 for some extra juice.


lol it looks like in 1 picture you have your card supported by it laying ontop of a ide connector?


----------



## SigSauer

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Nice case *Sig*! My uncle has the Coolmaster Centurion 590 and loves it. I need a new case. Mine is cheap and narrow, luckily its long and fits the X2 well. Are you going to get another Zalman? If so, you will have to supply some support for the back end of the X2.

Ok, well let me go install these drivers and see if I can get some mixed crossfireX going.









I don't have the money right now but i'll put on the second one eventually


----------



## jadawgis732

and stock....









Also, I too had the shroud off for a while, and noticed it bending. I think it looks better with it on, and despite the temp and noise increases I'll deal with it. I just didn't like my $250 card flexing like that


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *jadawgis732*


Also, I too had the shroud off for a while, and noticed it bending. I think it looks better with it on, and despite the temp and noise increases I'll deal with it. I just didn't like my $250 card flexing like that


Nice scores *jadawgis732*. It's good to see more 1gb models around; again showing it performs almost as well as the 2gb model.

---------------------------------------------------

Update: Mixed crossfireX (tri-fire) with a sapphire 4850 X2 and a sapphire 4870 was a success.







Very happy about that and will make a full review later.



















Looks like the 4850 X2 2GB price has dropped for the time being: $259 at newegg


----------



## gsk3rd

show me some benches with the 4870 and the 4850x2.


----------



## Extreme_kid

Im getting one of these very soon,


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Extreme_kid*


Im getting one of these very soon,










Good deal, *Extreme_kid*. The 4850 X2 is a great card and this is a good time to buy one, the price just dropped to $260. Just to let you know, the 4850 X2 can be a loud card to some people. The fans are small and spin at a high rpm when temperature demands them to. Make sure you can tolerate some fan noise. I have ran (2) 4850 x2's at once and didn't have a problem with the noise they make. Other than the sound, you will love this card.


----------



## rico2001

Review: Mixed crossfireX (Tri-fire) with a Sapphire 4850 X2 and Sapphire 4870 (Part1)

Ok, so I was successful with crossfiring a 4850 X2 with a 4870; now on to some benches and comments. I'll keep this report short, to the point and try not take up an entire page of this thread.

   

Testbed:
E8300 @ 3.6G, 3.8G & 4.0G
6Gb DDR2
ATI Catalyst 9.4
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850X2 2GB
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850X2 2GB + 4850 1GB (tri-fire crossfireX)
*SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850X2 2GB + 4870 1GB (tri-fire crossfireX)*
(2) SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850X2 2GB (quad-fire crossfireX)

Testing
3Dmark 2006
3Dmark Vantage
Call of Juarez
Crysis
Devil May Cry 4
Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars
FarCry 2
Furmark (see part 2)
Left 4 Dead (see part 2)
Sanctuary (see part 2)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear Sky (see part 2)
Tropics (see part 2)
X3 Terran Conflict (see part 2)

3Dmark 2006:
4850 X2 = 17847 
4850 X3 = 19934
*4850 X2 + 4870 = 19993*
4850 x4 = 19818
4850 X3 4850 X2 + 4870 4850 X4

3Dmark Vantage:
4850 X2 = P10537
4850 X3 = P13251
*4850 X2 + 4870 = P13520*
4850 X4 = P13784
4850 X3 4850 X2 + 4870 4850 X4

Call of Juarez:
1680 x 1050, 4xAA, highest quality settings
4850 X2 = 61.4 average fps
4850 X3 = 92.7 average fps
*4850 X2 + 4870 = 91.8 average fps*
4850 X4 = 102.7 average fps
4850 X2 4850 X3 
4850 X2 + 4870  4850 X4

1920 x 1200, 4xAA, highest quality settings
4850 X2 = 52.9 average fps
4850 X3 = 79.4 average fps
*4850 X2 + 4870 = 79.1 average fps*
4850 X4 = Did not test this resolution on X4
4850 X2 4850 X2 + 4870  4850 X3

Crysis:
1600x1200
4850 X2 = 33.9 average fps
4850 X3 = 41.9 average fps
*4850 X2 + 4870 = 41.2 average fps* 
4850 X4 = 41.6 average fps

1900x1200
4850 X2 = 29.2 average fps
4850 X3 = 35.3 average fps
*4850 X2 + 4870 = 37.4 average fps*
4850 X4 = 37.1 average fps

2560x1600
4850 X2 = 17.8 average fps
4850 X3 = 23.5 average fps
*4850 X2 + 4870 = 24.4 average fps*
4850 X4 = 26.1 average fps

4850 X3 4850 X2 + 4870 4850 X4

Devil May Cry 4:
1680x1050, 8xAA
4850 X2 = 170 average fps
4850 X3 = 242 average fps
*4850 X2 + 4870 = 244 average fps*
4850 X4 = 268 average fps
4850 X3 4850 X2 + 4870 4850 X4

Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars
1600 x 1200, DX10, highest settings, 16xAF, 4xAA
4850 X2 = 119 average fps 
4850 X3 = 140 average fps 
*4850 X2 + 4870 = 140 average fps*
4850 X4 = Did not test on X4
4850 X2 4850 X3 4850 X2 + 4870

1920 x 1080, DX10, highest settings, 16xAF, 4xAA
4850 X2 = 110 average fps 
4850 X3 = 133 average fps
*4850 X2 + 4870 = 128 average fps*
4850 X4 = Did not test on X4
4850 X2 4850 X2 + 4870 4850 X3

FARCRY 2:
1680 x 1050, DX10, Ultra high settings, 16xAF, 4xAA
4850 X2 = 62.8 average fps 
4850 X3 = 69.9 average fps 
*4850 X2 + 4870 = 69.0 average fps*
4850 X4 = Did not test on X4
4850 X2 4850 X3 4850 X2 + 4870

1920 x 1080, DX10, Ultra high settings, 16xAF, 4xAA
4850 X2 = 58.7 average fps 
4850 X3 = 69.5 average fps 
*4850 X2 + 4870 = 69.0 average fps*
4850 X4 = Did not test on X4
4850 X2 4850 X3 4850 X2 + 4870


----------



## ymetushe

Anybody can upload me a master and slave BIOSes from a 1GB Qimonda card? The files I'm looking for are SE87Q1GM (Master) and SE87Q1GS (Slave.)

I had pretty good results with the card and my Phenom II 720 CPU and 790GX chipset, with 3Dmark06 scores in 15500 stock, and 17500







lightly OCd (700/1100), but can't do that anymore as I accidentally flashed my card with the wrong BIOS.









After hours of online searching, I figured out the deal: there are 2GB cards with either Samsing (SE87SSM,SE87SSS) or Qimonda(SE87QAM,SE87QAS), and 1GB versions are either Qimonda (SE87Q1GM,SE87Q1GS) or Hynix( SE87H1GM,SE87H1GS.) Now, I have all of the BIOSes for all the versions except for mine - 1GB Qimonda version.

I contacted Sapphire support and after they initially tried to give me a generic response, and after I loaded them with some facts they redirrected me to their HK engineers at [email protected] and [email protected] but it's been two weeks and no response from there.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ymetushe*


Anybody can upload me a master and slave BIOSes from a 1GB Qimonda card? The files I'm looking for are SE87Q1GM (Master) and SE87Q1GS (Slave.)

I had pretty good results with the card and my Phenom II 720 CPU and 790GX chipset, with 3Dmark06 scores in 15500 stock, and 17500







lightly OCd (700/1100), but can't do that anymore as I accidentally flashed my card with the wrong BIOS.









After hours of online searching, I figured out the deal: there are 2GB cards with either Samsing (SE87SSM,SE87SSS) or Qimonda(SE87QAM,SE87QAS), and 1GB versions are either Qimonda (SE87Q1GM,SE87Q1GS) or Hynix( SE87H1GM,SE87H1GS.) Now, I have all of the BIOSes for all the versions except for mine - 1GB Qimonda version.

I contacted Sapphire support and after they initially tried to give me a generic response, and after I loaded them with some facts they redirrected me to their HK engineers at [email protected] and [email protected] but it's been two weeks and no response from there.


Most all 4850 X2's have Qimonda HYB18H1G321AF-10 memory so should be no problem there. There are a few owners here with the 1gb version and I'm sure they would be happy to send you the bios. I'd look through this thread, see which guys have the 1gb and then send them a pm. Good luck.


----------



## xgeko2

Last i checked tech powerup had the bios your looking for http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/i...ace=&memSize=0

I tried that bios on my 2gb card then quickly realized my memory size got cut in half lol.


----------



## stevens_kenneth

Anyone have de Original bios of the HIS 4850 TurboX 512mb please i need this bios because th bios of the internet have artifacts. Please help me.


----------



## legend999

Nice tests rico!









Quote:



Originally Posted by *ymetushe*


Anybody can upload me a master and slave BIOSes from a 1GB Qimonda card? The files I'm looking for are SE87Q1GM (Master) and SE87Q1GS (Slave.)

I had pretty good results with the card and my Phenom II 720 CPU and 790GX chipset, with 3Dmark06 scores in 15500 stock, and 17500







lightly OCd (700/1100), but can't do that anymore as I accidentally flashed my card with the wrong BIOS.









After hours of online searching, I figured out the deal: there are 2GB cards with either Samsing (SE87SSM,SE87SSS) or Qimonda(SE87QAM,SE87QAS), and 1GB versions are either Qimonda (SE87Q1GM,SE87Q1GS) or Hynix( SE87H1GM,SE87H1GS.) Now, I have all of the BIOSes for all the versions except for mine - 1GB Qimonda version.

I contacted Sapphire support and after they initially tried to give me a generic response, and after I loaded them with some facts they redirrected me to their HK engineers at [email protected] and [email protected] but it's been two weeks and no response from there.


How do i extract the bios for you?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *legend999* 
Nice tests rico!









How do i extract the bios for you?

It's pretty easy. Here is what you need to do. Helped a guy with the 2GB bios a few months ago.

- Open up gpu-z.
- Make sure you are looking at first gpu in pull down.
- Hit bios button (circled in pic) and save to file, name file as "master".
- Then pick 2nd gpu from pull down.
- Hit bios button again and save to file, name file as "slave".
- Then you are done. Send those files to the guy that needs the bios.


----------



## ymetushe

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xgeko2* 
Last i checked tech powerup had the bios your looking for http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/i...ace=&memSize=0

I tried that bios on my 2gb card then quickly realized my memory size got cut in half lol.

I tried that, but it seems like that BIOS is for Hynix memory or something (SE87H1GM.004 BIOS files,) as the card artifacts in 3D with it.

When I tried the BIOS from the 2GB Qimonda memory card (SE87QAM) CCC thought I had the 2GB model, of course, and things worked like a charm until, for example, GTA4 needed more than 512mb of video ram as I walked outside and started looking around - that's when the screen completely artifacted in 3D, even though pressing ESC and going into the menu was no problem. I was, however, able to run 3Dmark06 and score 16950 with my Phenom II 720 OCed to 3.3Ghz @ 1.325v. I guess 3Dmark06 does not need any more than 512mb of video ram per GPU.


----------



## legend999

Here it is:

http://ifile.it/en61qfk

Thanks Rico.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *legend999* 
Here it is:

http://ifile.it/en61qfk

Thanks Rico.

Thanks, *legend999* for providing the Sapphire 4850 X2 1Gb bios.

rep+


----------



## xgeko2

Well it looks like my 4850x2 has finally completely bit the dust im hoping sapphire will do a warranty repair on it although i lost the little white clips and springs for the aluminum memory heat spreader i wonder if they will notice lol!


----------



## rico2001

Review: Mixed crossfireX (Tri-fire) with a Sapphire 4850 X2 and Sapphire 4870 (Part 2)

   

Testbed:
E8300 @ 3.6G, 3.8G & 4.0G
6Gb DDR2
ATI Catalyst 9.4
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850X2 2GB
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850X2 2GB + 4850 1GB (tri-fire crossfireX)
*SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850X2 2GB + 4870 1GB (tri-fire crossfireX)*
(2) SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850X2 2GB (quad-fire crossfireX)

Testing
3Dmark 2006 (see part 1)
3Dmark Vantage (see part 1)
Call of Juarez (see part 1)
Crysis (see part 1)
Devil May Cry 4 (see part 1)
Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars (see part 1)
FarCry 2 (see part 1)
Furmark
Left 4 Dead
Sanctuary
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky
Tropics
X3 Terran Conflict

Furmark:
1440x900
4850 X2 = 197 average fps
4850 X3 = 284 average fps
*4850 X2 + 4870 = 268 average fps*
4850 x4 = 287 average fps
4850 X2 4850 X3
4850 X2 + 4870 4850 X4

1680x1050
4850 X2 = 152 average fps
4850 X3 = 219 average fps
*4850 X2 + 4870 = 209 average fps*
4850 x4 = 232 average fps
4850 X2 4850 X3
4850 X2 + 4870 4850 X4

Left 4 Dead:
1680x1050, DX9, 16xATF, 8xAA, V-sync off, Shader: very high, all other settings: high
Difficulty: Expert
Campaign: No Mercy
Mission: 1: apartments
FRAPS settings: 300 seconds
4850 X2 = 128.1 average fps
4850 X3 = 150.9 average fps
*4850 X2 + 4870 = 131 average fps*
4850 X4 = Did not test on X4
4850 X2 & 4850 X3 4850 X2 + 4870

Sanctuary:
1680x1050
4850 X2 = 111 average fps
4850 X3 = 167 average fps
*4850 X2 + 4870 = 163 average fps*
4850 x4 = 194 average fps
4850 X2 4850 X3
4850 X2 + 4870 4850 X4

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky:
1680 x 1050, DX10, 16xAF 0xAA
4850 X2 = 54.6 average fps
4850 X3 = 65.5 average fps
*4850 X2 + 4870 = 68.4 average fps*
4850 X4 = Did not test on X4
4850 X2 4850 X3 4850 X2 + 4870

Tropics:
1680x1050, DX9
4850 X2 = 24 average fps
4850 X3 = 80 average fps
*4850 X2 + 4870 = 83 average fps*
4850 X4 = 106 average fps
4850 X2 4850 X3
4850 X2 + 4870 4850 X4

X3 Terran Conflict:
16800x1050
4850 X2 = 94.7 average fps
4850 X3 = 97.7 average fps
*4850 X2 + 4870 = 100 average fps*
4850 X4 = 96.5 average fps
4850 X2 4850 X3
4850 X2 + 4870 4850 X4

Conclusion:
So what have we learned? Well for one, it has been confirmed that you can successfully crossfire a 4850 X2 with a 4870. I had no problem; installed the drivers in same fashion as I installed my other CF setups (4850 X2/4850 & 4850 X2/4850 X2).

The Catalyst Control Center (CCC) also works the same as usual. Giving you the option in ATI Overdrive to adjust the all gpu and memory speeds independently.


The benches showed a mix of some small gains and some some losses compared to a regular tri-fire setup using (3) 4850's. This gave me a better understanding of what some have called it, a "dumbing down" or "down scaling" of the faster card. Since the scores were close to the same, and a 4870 is typically 25-30% faster than a 4850, this begs the questions what happened and why is the the 4850 X2 / 4870 CF setup not a good bit faster than tri-fire 4850's?
The best I can explain what happens is this: In a CF configuration, the gpus stay independent but work together and the memory is shared. What this mean is the memory of only one card is used for the total CF configuration. So how does this apply to our 4850 X2 / 4870 CF setup? Well since the 4850 X2 uses 993mhz DDR3 and the 4870 used 900mhz DDR5, when in CF the system default to the slower memory and only uses the DDR3 from the 4850 X2. So in total you have the total graphics setup of (2) 4850 gpus + (1) 4870 gpu, under 1Gb of 993mhz of DDR3. Since the cores of a 4850 and a 4870 are the same, compared to tri-fire 4850's, the only difference is the 4850 X2 / 4870 CF setup has (1) gpu core running at 750mhz, explaining why both setup are so close in scores. Hope that explanation made sense and sheds some light on what you can expect when going to a mixed crossfire setup.


----------



## ymetushe

Quote:


Originally Posted by *legend999* 
Here it is:

http://ifile.it/en61qfk

Thanks Rico.

Thanks a lot for the BIOS. However, my card doesn't seem to like it very much - I still get the all-familiar artifacts. It is the same BIOS as the one on TechPowerUp, and from the BIOS filename (SE87H1GM.004) it seems like your card has Hynix memory. (SE87 = BIOS name, H1G = Hynix 1GB, M = Master BIOS). My card originally had SE87Q1GM.003, and the Q indicates Qimonda memory.

Just to test if my card is not bricked by any chance, I loaded the original master BIOS back-up of which I do have (it is the SLAVE bios that I'm missing) and I had to use slave BIOS from a 2GB Qimonda memory card. It works like a charm, no artifacts, although I suspect that this is because I haven't used up more than 1 GB of video memory.

Interesting observations and conclusions:
- CCC sees the slave card as a 1GB 4850 and still Crossfires
- Seems like you cannot kill your card by flashing it with the wrong bios, as long as you manage to re-flash it back to the proper bios either using another PCI/PCI-E card, or even an integrated GPU if your mobo has one.

TO 4850 x2 1GB CARD OWNERS: has anybody purchased their card from Newegg after mid-February? as that's when I purchased mine. Could you upload me your BIOSes than? That would be really appreciated. Thanks.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ymetushe* 
Thanks a lot for the BIOS. However, my card doesn't seem to like it very much - I still get the all-familiar artifacts. It is the same BIOS as the one on TechPowerUp, and from the BIOS filename (SE87H1GM.004) it seems like your card has Hynix memory. (SE87 = BIOS name, H1G = Hynix 1GB, M = Master BIOS). My card originally had SE87Q1GM.003, and the Q indicates Qimonda memory.

Just to test if my card is not bricked by any chance, I loaded the original master BIOS back-up of which I do have (it is the SLAVE bios that I'm missing) and I had to use slave BIOS from a 2GB Qimonda memory card. It works like a charm, no artifacts, although I suspect that this is because I haven't used up more than 1 GB of video memory.

Interesting observations and conclusions:
- CCC sees the slave card as a 1GB 4850 and still Crossfires
- Seems like you cannot kill your card by flashing it with the wrong bios, as long as you manage to re-flash it back to the proper bios either using another PCI/PCI-E card, or even an integrated GPU if your mobo has one.

TO 4850 x2 1GB CARD OWNERS: has anybody purchased their card from Newegg after mid-February? as that's when I purchased mine. Could you upload me your BIOSes than? That would be really appreciated. Thanks.

I wonder if you have some card and/or bios damage.


----------



## ymetushe

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
I wonder if you have some card and/or bios damage.

I was wondering that too, but right now I flashed it with the original master BIOS, dated Jan 14, 2009, the card works fine, just that I don't have the slave BIOS, so I can only really use half of my card's potential.

Anyone got a BIOS never than Jan 14?


----------



## qoobeq

-Hi guys,
Just wanted to ask if you experienced any problems with Catalyst 9.4 and newest drivers?
I was running Vista 64 sp1 before, and was getting message about atikmdag stoped working (not really sure wether it happened before instaling water block as well).

Anyway, I installed XP 64 sp2, and system freezed straight after instaling catalyst 9.4 + driver. I'm affraid now, that i've messed up the card when i was removing that epoxied heatsink, scratched it with a screwdriver or something.

I can't change my monitor driver either, windows says that the one it's using already is newer (shows default monitor), maybe that may be the cause?

Card hasn't been overclocked yet, it's on default settings, temperatures on both cores are about 36 C.

Any suggestions? Should I try XP 32, instal Vista again, or try to deinstall catalist and the drivers, and try with the older ones?

Cheers.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *qoobeq* 
-Hi guys,
Just wanted to ask if you experienced any problems with Catalyst 9.4 and newest drivers?
I was running Vista 64 sp1 before, and was getting message about atikmdag stoped working (not really sure wether it happened before instaling water block as well).

Anyway, I installed XP 64 sp2, and system freezed straight after instaling catalyst 9.4 + driver. I'm affraid now, that i've messed up the card when i was removing that epoxied heatsink, scratched it with a screwdriver or something.

I can't change my monitor driver either, windows says that the one it's using already is newer (shows default monitor), maybe that may be the cause?

Card hasn't been overclocked yet, it's on default settings, temperatures on both cores are about 36 C.

Any suggestions? Should I try XP 32, instal Vista again, or try to deinstall catalist and the drivers, and try with the older ones?

Cheers.

Welcome owner, *qoobeq*, thanks for posting on the thread. I can't speak for all owners, but my experience with the Cat. 9.4 drivers have been more than good. Giving me a nice boost in performance over cat. 9.2 and 9.3's. I have also had my drivers stop working using the 9.4s but it wasn't the drivers fault. While folding, my card got up to 95c for awhile (not good) so the driver stopped. In all other applications and games, I don't see those temps and have no problems with the drivers. About your card, I can't tell you if you hurt it by scratching it with a screwdriver, but that doesn't sound good for the card. I would back track if I were you. Did you install the sp2 before the drivers, after the drivers? Did you uninstall/re-install the drivers properly?


----------



## qoobeq

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Welcome owner, *qoobeq*, thanks for posting on the thread. I can't speak for all owners, but my experience with the Cat. 9.4 drivers have been more than good. Giving me a nice boost in performance over cat. 9.2 and 9.3's. I have also had my drivers stop working using the 9.4s but it wasn't the drivers fault. While folding, my card got up to 95c for awhile (not good) so the driver stopped. In all other applications and games, I don't see those temps and have no problems with the drivers. About your card, I can't tell you if you hurt it by scratching it with a screwdriver, but that doesn't sound good for the card. I would back track if I were you. Did you install the sp2 before the drivers, after the drivers? Did you uninstall/re-install the drivers properly?

I've installed drivers with sp1 first, then reinstall whole system, got sp2 + all updates first, and then installed catalyst + driver.

I would have thought that card wouldn't start at all if I messed it up installing water block, not sure about that though.
I think I'm gonna go back to Vista, Catalyst 9.5 should be realised any day now, maybe that will solve my problem.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *qoobeq*


I've installed drivers with sp1 first, then reinstall whole system, got sp2 + all updates first, and then installed catalyst + driver.

I would have thought that card wouldn't start at all if I messed it up installing water block, not sure about that though.
I think I'm gonna go back to Vista, Catalyst 9.5 should be realised any day now, maybe that will solve my problem.


Is the problem only with 9.4s? Have you tried going back to 9.3 or 9.2? Update or install all your .NET frameworks? And again, did you install the drivers properly? All mobo drivers installed. I've noticed over this thread many ppl have trouble installing the X2 when redo-ing their whole system vs. already having an established system up and running and then just installing the 4850 X2.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

hi guys..MIA for a few months..since i was disappointed buying another x2 card to go quad fire but instead it fails..don't know why..i think my board is the culprit but before when i Xfired 2 3870'x it didn't had issues like what i have now..i used the same extended bridge before the the 3800's in the 4850x2's and nothing seems to work out with 4 GPU's its only 2 GPU's..but the other card is installed and recognized..-_-'
need help!!


----------



## wilkinsb01

Quote:



Originally Posted by *qoobeq*


-Hi guys,
Just wanted to ask if you experienced any problems with Catalyst 9.4 and newest drivers? 
I was running Vista 64 sp1 before, and was getting message about atikmdag stoped working (not really sure wether it happened before instaling water block as well).

Anyway, I installed XP 64 sp2, and system freezed straight after instaling catalyst 9.4 + driver. I'm affraid now, that i've messed up the card when i was removing that epoxied heatsink, scratched it with a screwdriver or something.

I can't change my monitor driver either, windows says that the one it's using already is newer (shows default monitor), maybe that may be the cause?

Card hasn't been overclocked yet, it's on default settings, temperatures on both cores are about 36 C.

Any suggestions? Should I try XP 32, instal Vista again, or try to deinstall catalist and the drivers, and try with the older ones?

Cheers.


hi man i got problem with my 4850x2 too i was putting the xspc water block and i think i broke some in the memory i having blue screen


----------



## aaronmonto

1333 posts FTW.


----------



## MESeidel

I thought the magic number is 1337 ^^


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

@rico
hope you can give me out answers regarding this..
bios menu options for PCI-E config..
















The setup..
















CCC screenie..


----------



## qoobeq

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Is the problem only with 9.4s? Have you tried going back to 9.3 or 9.2? Update or install all your .NET frameworks? And again, did you install the drivers properly? All mobo drivers installed. I've noticed over this thread many ppl have trouble installing the X2 when redo-ing their whole system vs. already having an established system up and running and then just installing the 4850 X2.


Yeah, tried them all.

I think it's the card








Could someone check the leds on the HD4850 for me please. Just noticed that four of them (next to heatsink on the top of the card) are off, next six (bit under top heat sink - you can still see them tho if you look carefully) are on in this order: green, orange, red, green, orange, red.
Does anyone know what they mean? 
Cheers.
EDIT: leds
D1255: red
D1254: amber
D1253: green
D1252: red
D1251: amber
D1250: green
D1601: green (goes off when fans are conected)
is it normal?
Cheers.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

Quote:


Originally Posted by *qoobeq* 
Yeah, tried them all.

I think it's the card








Could someone check the leds on the HD4850 for me please. Just noticed that four of them (next to heatsink on the top of the card) are off, next six (bit under top heat sink - you can still see them tho if you look carefully) are on in this order: green, orange, red, green, orange, red.
Does anyone know what they mean?
Cheers.
EDIT: leds
D1255: red
D1254: amber
D1253: green
D1252: red
D1251: amber
D1250: green
D1601: green (goes off when fans are conected)
is it normal?
Cheers.

try to check on this...

*HD4850X2 LEDs*

D1601 : ASIC CTF Enable (GPU overheat protection)

D29 : 8 pin external connector no power

D30 : 6 pin external connector no power

D25 : Boot up fault LED (Re-plug the VGA board or D1601,D29,D30 all failed)

D1250~D1252 : Turn on with normal behavior in the left ASIC

D1253~D1255 : Turn on with normal behavior in the right ASIC

At BOOT/POST, the card's fan will spin @ 100% for a short while, the LEDs will light up for a brief period and then go out. This is NORMAL behaviour as the card is performing it's own type of POST test.

Green LEDs lit mean the VGA card is working normally. A RED LED will show on D1250~D1252 / D1253~D1255 to show normal operation.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade* 
@rico
hope you can give me out answers regarding this..
bios menu options for PCI-E config..

CCC screenie..









I has to be your mobo. Your cards oviously work fine; they install fine, look fine in ccc, and function properly. They just don't link, which I don't think is their fault.


----------



## rico2001

Reference bios for 4850 X2 2gb owners:

4850 X2 2gb master bios
4850 X2 2gb slave bios


----------



## qoobeq

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade*


try to check on this...

*HD4850X2 LEDs*

D1601 : ASIC CTF Enable (GPU overheat protection)

D29 : 8 pin external connector no power

D30 : 6 pin external connector no power

D25 : Boot up fault LED (Re-plug the VGA board or D1601,D29,D30 all failed)

D1250~D1252 : Turn on with normal behavior in the left ASIC

D1253~D1255 : Turn on with normal behavior in the right ASIC

At BOOT/POST, the card's fan will spin @ 100% for a short while, the LEDs will light up for a brief period and then go out. This is NORMAL behaviour as the card is performing it's own type of POST test.

Green LEDs lit mean the VGA card is working normally. A RED LED will show on D1250~D1252 / D1253~D1255 to show normal operation.


Yeah, I found, that info, but leds on my HD lit up at startup and don't go off at all, anyone knows what those colors mean?
Cheers.


----------



## tool918

*Update* Here is new score's in 3dmark06 and 3dmark vantage, after increasing my 4850x2 overclock.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *tool918* 
*Update* Here is new score's in 3dmark06 and 3dmark vantage, after increasing my 4850x2 overclock.

Great scores, *tool918*.







Nice oc on your gpu and cpu. I wish I had a Q9650.


----------



## rico2001

*The Great 4850 Give-A-Way (sort of)*

*To all 4850 X2 owners only:*
Since I'm running a 4870 in my Tri-fire setup, I don't need me 4850 1Gb anymore. I'm thinking holding a raffle of sorts if there is enough interest. So here is the deal, if you are a *4850 X2 owner* and want to go Tri-fire, I will sell you my *Sapphire 4850 1Gb* for a ridiculous price of *$70 shipped*. That is less than 1/2 of what this card is worth at this time. Please make sure your mobo has at least (2) pci-e slots, supports crossfireX and you have enough power to run Tri-fire. I'd day you need 750W minimum.

If you are interested, please post here a start or continue the list of people interested, see example below. On May 30th, I'll randomly pick the winner of the raffle and if no interested by then, I'll just hold on to the card. Thanks.









Example:
1. (person 1)
2. (person 2)
3. etc.....


----------



## tool918

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Great scores, *tool918*.







Nice oc on your gpu and cpu. I wish I had a Q9650.

Thanks alot ricco, yah the Q9650 is a very nice processor. I'm able to do alot with it and if I was a little better at overclocking and had the time I could probally get 4.5ghz on it. But if I had to choose one thing I added to my computer that I love the most it would be the two OCZ SSD's I have in raid 0. I wanted them for speed and most importanly no sound. They are soooo quiet and beat the hell out all the other harddrives I have wasted money on.


----------



## TheFoister

Hey rico,

I'm interested (although I don't have CF enabled mobo yet







)

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


*The Great 4850 Give-A-Way (sort of)*

*To all 4850 X2 owners only:*
Since I'm running a 4870 in my Tri-fire setup, I don't need me 4850 1Gb anymore. I'm thinking holding a raffle of sorts if there is enough interest. So here is the deal, if you are a *4850 X2 owner* and want to go Tri-fire, I will sell you my *Sapphire 4850 1Gb* for a ridiculous price of *$70 shipped*. That is less than 1/2 of what this card is worth at this time. Please make sure your mobo has at least (2) pci-e slots, supports crossfireX and you have enough power to run Tri-fire. I'd day you need 750W minimum.

If you are interested, please post here a start or continue the list of people interested, see example below. On May 30th, I'll randomly pick the winner of the raffle and if no interested by then, I'll just hold on to the card. Thanks.









Example:
1. (person 1)
2. (person 2)
3. etc.....


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

1. kairi_zeroblade...lolx..


----------



## rico2001

The Great 4850 Give-A-Way
1. TheFoister

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kairi_zeroblade*


1. kairi_zeroblade...lolx..


kairi, are you really interested or just laughing at my post? b/c don't you already have (2) 4850 X2's?


----------



## xgeko2

Totaly interested here 3. lol!


----------



## rico2001

update:

The Great 4850 Give-A-Way

1. TheFoister
2. kairi_zeroblade
3. xgeko2


----------



## gerbil80

Hi all,

This is my first post here ....and I'm looking for advice in regards my newly purchased 4850x2 (sorry to ask for assistance in my first post).

I seem to be having really bad performance with my 4850x2, in short I have upgraded from a 8800GTS (G92) to the 4850x2 but my benchmarks and game performance is much the same .....I play at 1680x1050 hence I only brought the 4850x2 1 GB. I have read these forums and others to see what the issue mite be and I have come to the conclusion that it maybe my MB and/or CPU holding everything back! What do you guys think!? system spec as follows.....

Abit AB9 Pro QuadGT (P965)
Intel c2d E6420 @3.0ghz
4GB OCZ Platinum
ATI 4850x2
enermax 650w ps

thanks in advance ....


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *gerbil80* 
Hi all,

This is my first post here ....and I'm looking for advice in regards my newly purchased 4850x2 (sorry to ask for assistance in my first post).

I seem to be having really bad performance with my 4850x2, in short I have upgraded from a 8800GTS (G92) to the 4850x2 but my benchmarks and game performance is much the same .....I play at 1680x1050 hence I only brought the 4850x2 1 GB. I have read these forums and others to see what the issue mite be and I have come to the conclusion that it maybe my MB and/or CPU holding everything back! What do you guys think!? system spec as follows.....

Abit AB9 Pro QuadGT (P965)
Intel c2d E6420 @3.0ghz
4GB OCZ Platinum
ATI 4850x2
enermax 650w ps

thanks in advance ....


Welcome to the owners thread, *gerbil80*. Nice pick, the 1gb 4850 X2 is an awesome card. I need more info from you on your scores, benches and game experience. You say it is bad. Bad like what? Worst than your 8800? Or not what you thought. From what I can tell right now, your cpu is the problem and is holding you back. Most of the higher end cards and setup such as the 4850 X2, 4870 X2 and/or tri-fire and quad fire configurations need to be pushed by a dual or quad core cpu with alot of cache. Please fill out your system stats and post some score numbers for us to look at. May be able to give you more info on whats going on.


----------



## rico2001

ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2 article (PC Authority AUS)

Here is a fairly new (May 13th) article on the 4850 X2 written by an unknowledgeable person. Info is info, so thought I'd share.


----------



## TheGreenThing

hi guys, i just recently got this monstrous card! i was wondering if anyone can give me a step by step tutorial on how to flash the bios or which bios is the best for it and what is the most fastest yet stable settings for the card with stock coolers on it... thanks and godbless to all..

btw my card is

SAPHIRE 2GB 4850x2...

hope you guys can give me some pointers.. TiA


----------



## SigSauer

I posted a few pages back how you can do that.

Well first extract both bios files with GPU-Z.
Then you can edit the bios files with the Radeon Bios Editor (RBE).
Then flash the files to the card with Winflash.
The programs can be found here http://www.techpowerup.com/

The program themselves are easy to work with so i dont think you'll have much trouble with them. When working in RBE make sure to check if the amount of memory is correctly displayed.


----------



## rico2001

Thanks for answering that one, *Sig*.

Side note: Could the Sapphire HD 4850 X2 1GB be no more. It seems to be out at many resellers and Newegg has deactivated it's page. Hmm.... Time will tell.


----------



## SigSauer

Hope not, since this is a card that performes well. If you buy a single GPU card with the same performance you'll pay atleast 80 to 120 more. Would be a bad move of sapphire i think.


----------



## rico2001

Yea no kidding, Sig. Hopefully its just a backorder issue and Sapphire is making more.


----------



## SigSauer

Would be a nice addition for me in the near future with that card in it i'll still have 2 pcie 16x slots left for a physx card and a raid card







.


----------



## rico2001

ATI Catalyst 9.5 (XP 32 bit)
ATI Catalyst 9.5 (XP 64 bit)
ATI Catalyst 9.5 (Vista 32 bit)
ATI Catalyst 9.5 (Vista 64 bit)
ATI Catalyst 9.5 (Win7 32 bit)
ATI Catalyst 9.5 (Win7 64 bit)

Too tired tonight, I'll try and bench them tomorrow.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


ATI Catalyst 9.5 (XP 32 bit)
ATI Catalyst 9.5 (XP 64 bit)
ATI Catalyst 9.5 (Vista 32 bit)
ATI Catalyst 9.5 (Vista 64 bit)
ATI Catalyst 9.5 (Win7 32 bit)
ATI Catalyst 9.5 (Win7 64 bit)

Too tired tonight, I'll try and bench them tomorrow.


Just updated the driver links on the OP. Thanks rico2001!


----------



## ymetushe

If anybody is interested, I FINALLY heard back from Sapphire (after two month of searching the net) and they were generous enough to give me the latest BIOS for the 1 GB card wtih QIMONDA memory.

Make sure to back up your original BIOS before you mess with this one, cause if your memory chips are made by anyone else but Qimonda, you will get artifacts. There you go, I warned ya.

Let me know if you need help figuring out what memory you have without taking apart your card.


----------



## ymetushe

By the way, anybody has this card with just one WC block? How is it?









I'm about to undertake a WC project but am planning to put on just one water block (if I were to put two, I'd need another radiator, and my PC budget is overlimit as is







)


----------



## TheGreenThing

SigSauer

you mind if you help me out on flashing the bios im still looking for your "post" about the bios flashing of 2gb 4850x2 pls be kind to help me thank you so much...


----------



## TheGreenThing

pls help me...


----------



## legend999

Don't do that.That's why we have a "Subscribed Thread" option.Bumping is pointless.He'll help you when he can.


----------



## TheGreenThing

legend, can you teach me?

im really confuse with all those numbers...

you mind if I have your Yahoo mesenger id

plsssss


----------



## SigSauer

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TheGreenThing* 
SigSauer

you mind if you help me out on flashing the bios im still looking for your "post" about the bios flashing of 2gb 4850x2 pls be kind to help me thank you so much...

Whell i'm back







. just got back from school so i'll help you with your card, made some screens from the programs with a short explanation for each one, so anyone can view this if they don't know how to do it.

First extract the master bios from your card.









Save it as "R700 Master" or something like that









Then switch from master to the slave card









Save as "R700 Slave"









As you can see the master and slave bios files are different in size this makes it easier not to confuse them with each other.









Start the Radeon Bios Editor(RBE) and load the "R700 Master" file









Now the main thing is to check if everything is displayed correctly(type of memory, etc...)









Click on the "Clock Settings" button and you come in this screen, Here you can change all the clock settings when booting, playing video(UVD), and the others are for 3D applications.









Here you can change the way the fan acts under different situations.
For instance you can make it go harder but also change at which temperture it will go a certain amount of percent.









In here you can change how high you can overclock in CCC. This can done by a preset profile or a custom one(Method 2)









When you've adjusted everything you want, save the file with another name. You can repeat the previous steps for the slave bios in the same way.









Unfortunatly Winflash did'nt work because I use Vista, in Windows XP it'll work. You can flash it in DOS aswell. You can find out how here http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/...g/vidcard/34/5.

If you use Winflash make sure to shutdown every running program, disable your virus scanner. And ofcourse select the correct bios with the correct card.http://www.generation-3d.com/UserImg.../winflash1.png
When you have loaded the bios to Winflash click the correct card (Master or Slave) then click on program, now it will start to flash the bios make sure not to interrupt this proceses.

Use it at your own risk, if you don't feel confident in doing it then don't do it.
Sorry if your having problems understanding some sentences, i'm not english so don't blame me


----------



## rico2001

Nice bios write up, *SigSauer*. Thanks. rep+


----------



## gerbil80

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Welcome to the owners thread, *gerbil80*. Nice pick, the 1gb 4850 X2 is an awesome card. I need more info from you on your scores, benches and game experience. You say it is bad. Bad like what? Worst than your 8800? Or not what you thought. From what I can tell right now, your cpu is the problem and is holding you back. Most of the higher end cards and setup such as the 4850 X2, 4870 X2 and/or tri-fire and quad fire configurations need to be pushed by a dual or quad core cpu with alot of cache. Please fill out your system stats and post some score numbers for us to look at. May be able to give you more info on whats going on.


Hey thanks for your reply Rico .......

I took your advise and did a bit more research on my issues, end result was I brought a P5Q-E and a Q9550 E0. Installed last night! I have not messed with the clocks yet just left at stock.......Now I'm not sure if it was just the cpu upgrade or the combination of that and the new mb however I'm already seeing a massive 20/30% increase in output. Will crank up the clocks later today and see how I get on.

Thanks again .....


----------



## TheGreenThing

last last last... plsss just one last request...

mind if i know your overclock settings? the voltage clock settings... i dont have any idea on how high should i input specialy the voltage...

im a noob when it comes to video card over clocking specially in bios flashing thing not unless its a cpu processor...

sorry if im asking too much,,, but i really appreciate your effort... thanks in advance


----------



## SigSauer

I haven't yet overclocked my card maybe someone else has.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *gerbil80*


Hey thanks for your reply Rico .......

I took your advise and did a bit more research on my issues, end result was I brought a P5Q-E and a Q9550 E0. Installed last night! I have not messed with the clocks yet just left at stock.......Now I'm not sure if it was just the cpu upgrade or the combination of that and the new mb however I'm already seeing a massive 20/30% increase in output. Will crank up the clocks later today and see how I get on.

Thanks again .....


Awesome, *gerbil80*. I'm jealous, that's the cpu I want. You'll see some good scores with it. OC it to 3.5-3.8G (which it should do easy) and your 4850 X2 will scream. You'll beat my tri-fire scores in 3dmark easily.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *TheGreenThing*


last last last... plsss just one last request...

mind if i know your overclock settings? the voltage clock settings... i dont have any idea on how high should i input specialy the voltage...

im a noob when it comes to video card over clocking specially in bios flashing thing not unless its a cpu processor...

sorry if im asking too much,,, but i really appreciate your effort... thanks in advance


I don't oc my memory at all b/c I think it is the cards weak point and it about at max. 1050mhz max imo. I've taken my core to 700mhz, does it no problem. Some have used other tools to oc further but I don't recommend it.


----------



## TheGreenThing

sigsaucer,

what benifit would i get from flashing my VC's bios?

is it true that it will increase the performance of the card?

what settings should i input?
in fan, clock settings...

once again, i apologize for my ignorance...


----------



## TheGreenThing

rico,

where should i input those numbers? and what else should i modify ???










thanks


----------



## rico2001

Don't know, TheGreenThing. I haven't used that application before and bios work is not my area of specialty. I leave my bios alone and only overclock my 4850 X2 through ATI ccc (Catalyst Control Center). You'll have to ask SigSauer for more help with that program.


----------



## SigSauer

@TheGreenThing
Red is for booting up and should be left alone.
Blue is for UVD and 2D modes which you can lower further for less heat and power consumption to about 450(GPU) and 675(RAM), voltage should be left alone.
Green is for 3D, You can atleast overclock it to 675(GPU) 1025(RAM), 1.12v should be enough. If you get artifacts or crashes then you should lower the clock settings somewhat.


----------



## Lozza

Hey guys, thought I'd ask in here, is there much difference between the X2 and 2 4850's in crossfire?


----------



## SigSauer

Depends the 2gb version will probably perform better a higher resolutions other than that there is almost no difference. you'd have 2 slots in use and we only need 1 that ofcourse is better.


----------



## Lozza

What I wanted to hear








Sounds good, should get my pair soon


----------



## Seekerx

Got mine 4850x2 2GB yesterday sadly cant use it....

http://www.overclock.net/ati/510295-...-2gb-win7.html

Hope I dont need to return it.


----------



## rico2001

Welcome to the owers thread, *Seekerx*. I answered your thread. Not to worry, we'll have you up and running today... maybe.


----------



## TheGreenThing

sigsaucer

all items in the green box should be all the same right? if 1 is 675/1025, all items in the green box should be 675/1025 ???

and if ever i got some artifacts, can i just increase the voltage? selecting higher increment in the index down selection?

SIGSAUCEr thanks a lot... tomorrow im gonna try this out... i need to sleep its 2am here in my country... hope someday i cpuld pay you back...

more power to overclock.net


----------



## SigSauer

No increasing the voltage won't make te artifacts go away







only help make more of them.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*Owner's List now up-to-date* _05/20/2009_


----------



## etiennedefqvx

Hello,
I have a problem with my 4850x2 1Go ... I have good scores on 3D marks but in Crysis i only have 20-23 FPS with Very High Settings without AA and on 1680*1050. It seems that only one GPU card is enalbe i guess. I enabled Ati catalyst A.I at standard, and Ati Crossfire X is also enabled. On gpu-z the are the 2 GPUs detected ...
Here are my specs :
Intel C2D E8400
4Gb Ram
Win 7 64 and Win Vista 32
Gigabyte ep45-Ud3

Thank's for your help


----------



## d4martin

_


etiennedefqvx said:



Hello,
I have a problem with my 4850x2 1Go ... I have good scores on 3D marks but in Crysis i only have 20-23 FPS with Very High Settings without AA and on 1680*1050. It seems that only one GPU card is enalbe i guess. I enabled Ati catalyst A.I at standard, and Ati Crossfire X is also enabled. On gpu-z the are the 2 GPUs detected ... 
Here are my specs :
Intel C2D E8400
4Gb Ram
Win 7 64 and Win Vista 32
Gigabyte ep45-Ud3

Click to expand...

_


etiennedefqvx said:


> I beleive Crysis isn't SLI/Crossfire and perhaps dual card friendly but loves lots of ram. When Bit-tech tested the 2gb version at 1680*1050 4xAA 8xAF, DirectX 10, High Quality they where getting 37.3 fps with an average of 20 fps, if you have the 1gb version your results will be less; link below (although tested on a 64 bit version of Vista). If this is only happening on Crysis - then perhaps its just Crysis. Try other games at similar settings. Even try reducing AA a little. Don't think you mentioned if you are running Crysis on Win 7 64 bit OR Vista 32.
> 
> If its Win 7 64bit - then don't forget that this is still a BETA(althought a very good one I hear) - do you have win7 64bit drivers for this card?? (*If anyone* has fully tested on these new drivers yet?? Let me know!! ;-) ) Don't forget that the card will only run as good as the driver that controlls it.
> 
> If trying to run Crysis on Vista 32 (is 4gb RAM plus 1gb of Graphics viable on a 32 bit machine????) Not sure that Vista 32 can address your 4gb RAM +1gb graphics=5gb - of course Win 7 64bit doesn't have that problem. (I guess your not running Vista 32 as a virtual machine on Win 7 !!!)...And as Crysis likes RAM it's not able to address the full amount you have.
> 
> Have you had a look through the forum to see the results of others with the 1gb version?
> Hopefully someone here will have a similar set up and can help further.(Hopefully I've been some help and haven't said what you already know!!)
> 
> Good luck
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Martin
> 
> http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/gra...-4850-x2-2gb/4


----------



## etiennedefqvx

Thank you for your answer, 
I just delete Win 7 (i used to have dual boot and had the problem on both OS) and reinstall Vista 32 (OEM software, impossible de have a 64 for free







). I will install Crysis and see if the problem is still there. I will also try Half-Life 2 Lost Coast, this is a benchmark so i'll be sure to have or not to have the good FPS.


----------



## etiennedefqvx

Hum it is the same with vista 32 reinstalled, on Crysis I only have 20 FPS and on GRID i have 50-70 (I should have 115 : http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=16197&page=9)


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *etiennedefqvx* 
Hello,
I have a problem with my 4850x2 1Go ... I have good scores on 3D marks but in Crysis i only have 20-23 FPS with Very High Settings without AA and on 1680*1050. It seems that only one GPU card is enalbe i guess. I enabled Ati catalyst A.I at standard, and Ati Crossfire X is also enabled. On gpu-z the are the 2 GPUs detected ...
Here are my specs :
Intel C2D E8400
4Gb Ram
Win 7 64 and Win Vista 32
Gigabyte ep45-Ud3

Thank's for your help









ATI cards (all of them) don't fair well in Crysis. With quad-fire 4850 X2, I only got 41 fps @1680x1050 VH settings. Crysis and Crysis Warhead are Nvidia dominated games. That is just the way it is, ATI rules most other games. Welcome to the owners thread, *etiennedefqvx*. Fill out your system stats to be added to the owners list.

I should add, Crysis is very cpu intensive as well.


----------



## d4martin

Anyone tried ATI Catalyst 9.5 on HD4850x2 2GB?? Any improvement in performance???

Good or Bad????

Thanks in advance!!!!

Martin


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *etiennedefqvx*


Hum it is the same with vista 32 reinstalled, on Crysis I only have 20 FPS and on GRID i have 50-70 (I should have 115 : http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=16197&page=9)


What are you comparing against???? Is it the same OS, same RAM, same CPU, Same M' board???? Same GPU using the same driver???You can only compare against the same set up as you already have. 
****Important***
Make sure you have the Sapphire drivers not the ATI drivers to start with. The Sapphire drivers were designed just for your card, the ATI drivers are not. There would be a big drop in performance with some of the ATI drivers. Ask or search this forum to see what people say to use.

I'm still using a older Sapphire driver and have just asked on this forum for 'the word's up' on the latest ATI Catalyst 9.5 driver.

Let's see what happens(gone for a long weekend)









Martin


----------



## SigSauer

3Dmark06 does'nt like 9.5. The score dropped from 19.500 to about 18.200 points arggg..., also i'm experiencing random crashes in S.T.A.L.K.E.R ShOC. On the other hand Crisis(1.2) runs pretty smooth with allmost no graphics corruptions when crossfire is enabled.


----------



## legend999

Quote:


Originally Posted by *etiennedefqvx* 
Hello,
I have a problem with my 4850x2 1Go ... I have good scores on 3D marks but in Crysis i only have 20-23 FPS with Very High Settings without AA and on 1680*1050. It seems that only one GPU card is enalbe i guess. I enabled Ati catalyst A.I at standard, and Ati Crossfire X is also enabled. On gpu-z the are the 2 GPUs detected ...
Here are my specs :
Intel C2D E8400
4Gb Ram
Win 7 64 and Win Vista 32
Gigabyte ep45-Ud3

Thank's for your help









I get about 30-35 frames average with my system,you should be getting the same or more.I only have 2gb of ram...

Also it depends on the map.


----------



## etiennedefqvx

To check if i realy have only one GPU detected, i have to answers to the HD4850x2 1Go owners :
In GTA IV, patched with 1.0.3.0 have you only 512mo detected (so i can't put the maximum settings ? (it's what happens for me)
In Crysis, what are the specs auto-detected ? For me it's High specs, the same than 4850 "basic"

I installed Catalyst 9.4 from sapphire and also tried the 9.5 ... the same


----------



## SigSauer

Time for some benches of crysis version 1.2.









Test 1:
System:
CPU: 3.0 Ghz
Mem: 8GB
VGA: 625/993
Crossfire: Enabled

Crysis:
Graphics: High
Resolution: 1920x1080
AA: 2x

Result:
Minfps: 18
Maxfps: 50
Avgfps: 34

Test 2:
System:
CPU: 3.6 Ghz
Mem: 8GB
VGA: 675/1025
Crossfire: Enabled

Crysis:
Graphics: High
Resolution: 1920x1080
AA: 2x

Result:
Minfps: 18
Maxfps: 55
Avgfps: 37

Test 3:
System:
CPU: 3.0 Ghz
Mem: 8GB
VGA: 625/993
Crossfire: Enabled

Crysis:
Graphics: Very High
Resolution: 1920x1080
AA: 2x

Result:
Minfps: 14
Maxfps: 34
Avgfps: 27

Test 4:
System:
CPU: 3.6 Ghz
Mem: 8GB
VGA: 675/1025
Crossfire: Enabled

Crysis:
Graphics: Very High
Resolution: 1920x1080
AA: 2x

Result:
Minfps: 19
Maxfps: 36
Avgfps: 28


----------



## SigSauer

Just benched Farcry 2 aswell.

Test 1:
System:
CPU: 3.0 Ghz
Mem: 8GB
VGA: 625/993
Crossfire: Enabled

Settings:
Demo(Ranch Small), 1920x1080 (60Hz), D3D10, Fixed Time Step(No), Disable Artificial Intelligence(No), Full Screen,
Anti-Aliasing(2x), VSync(No), Overall Quality(High), Vegetation(High), Shading(High), Terrain(High), Geometry(High), Post FX(High),
Texture(High), Shadow(High), Ambient(High), Hdr(Yes), Bloom(Yes), Fire(High), Physics(High), RealTrees(High)

Result:
Minfps: 36
Maxfps: 86
Avgfps: 56

Test 2:
System:
CPU: 3.6 Ghz
Mem: 8GB
VGA: 675/1025
Crossfire: Enabled

Result:
Settings:
Demo(Ranch Small), 1920x1080 (60Hz), D3D10, Fixed Time Step(No), Disable Artificial Intelligence(No), Full Screen,
Anti-Aliasing(2x), VSync(No), Overall Quality(High), Vegetation(High), Shading(High), Terrain(High), Geometry(High), Post FX(High),
Texture(High), Shadow(High), Ambient(High), Hdr(Yes), Bloom(Yes), Fire(High), Physics(High), RealTrees(High)

Result:
Minfps: 40
Maxfps: 103
Avgfps: 63

Test 3:
System:
CPU: 3.0 Ghz
Mem: 8GB
VGA: 625/993
Crossfire: Enabled

Settings:
Demo(Ranch Small), 1920x1080 (60Hz), D3D10, Fixed Time Step(No), Disable Artificial Intelligence(No), Full Screen,
Anti-Aliasing(2x), VSync(No), Overall Quality(Ultra High), Vegetation(Very High), Shading(Ultra High), Terrain(Ultra High), Geometry(Ultra High),
Post FX(High), Texture(Ultra High), Shadow(Ultra High), Ambient(High), Hdr(Yes), Bloom(Yes), Fire(Very High), Physics(Very High), RealTrees(Very High)

Result:
Minfps: 34
Maxfps: 82
Avgfps: 51

Test 4:
System:
CPU: 3.6 Ghz
Mem: 8GB
VGA: 675/1025
Crossfire: Enabled

Settings:
Demo(Ranch Small), 1920x1080 (60Hz), D3D10, Fixed Time Step(No), Disable Artificial Intelligence(No), Full Screen,
Anti-Aliasing(2x), VSync(No), Overall Quality(Ultra High), Vegetation(Very High), Shading(Ultra High), Terrain(Ultra High), Geometry(Ultra High),
Post FX(High), Texture(Ultra High), Shadow(Ultra High), Ambient(High), Hdr(Yes), Bloom(Yes), Fire(Very High), Physics(Very High), RealTrees(Very High)

Result:
Minfps: 39
Maxfps: 91
Avgfps: 58


----------



## Nebel

Hiya!

I'm interested in buying Sapphire 4850x2 2gb. However I have few quests regarding that awesome video card.

I read on reviews that it's really, really, really huge! Now, would it fit inside Thermaltake Xaser VI MX chassis?

Another question...
I read there are driver issues with this card and bad game compatibility. But that's been few months ago, how is the situation now?


----------



## SigSauer

The drivers are very good right now, unlike in the beginning. But i doubt the card will fit in that case, you need atleast 28,5cm or 11,2 inch of space. I cant be really sure so you'll have to meassure the space you have.


----------



## Nebel

If it wont fit in the case, then I'm either gonna cut and make it happen or motherboard and the rest will have to sit outside the case.


----------



## SigSauer

Cutting right through the harddrive bay







, meassure it first so you won't be suprised when you get the card.


----------



## Nebel

Well, it's about 27cm space. By 28.5cm do you mean whole card from dvi port or just the board part?


----------



## SigSauer

The board itself is 28,5 cm


----------



## Nebel

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SigSauer*


The board itself is 28,5 cm












cutting time.

Thanks for the answers


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SigSauer*


3Dmark06 does'nt like 9.5. The score dropped from 19.500 to about 18.200 points arggg..., also i'm experiencing random crashes in S.T.A.L.K.E.R ShOC. On the other hand Crisis(1.2) runs pretty smooth with allmost no graphics corruptions when crossfire is enabled.


Same here *Sig*, showing some mixed results from my initial test using the Cat 9.5's.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SigSauer*


Time for some benches of crysis version 1.2.









Test 4:
System:
CPU: 3.6 Ghz
Mem: 8GB
VGA: 675/1025
Crossfire: Enabled

Crysis:
Graphics: Very High
Resolution: 1920x1080
AA: 2x

Result:
Minfps: 19
Maxfps: 36
Avgfps: 28



Quote:



Originally Posted by *SigSauer*


Just benched Farcry 2 aswell.

Test 2:

Test 4:
System:
CPU: 3.6 Ghz
Mem: 8GB
VGA: 675/1025
Crossfire: Enabled

Settings: 
Demo(Ranch Small), 1920x1080 (60Hz), D3D10, Fixed Time Step(No), Disable Artificial Intelligence(No), Full Screen, 
Anti-Aliasing(2x), VSync(No), Overall Quality(Ultra High), Vegetation(Very High), Shading(Ultra High), Terrain(Ultra High), Geometry(Ultra High), 
Post FX(High), Texture(Ultra High), Shadow(Ultra High), Ambient(High), Hdr(Yes), Bloom(Yes), Fire(Very High), Physics(Very High), RealTrees(Very High)

Result:
Minfps: 39
Maxfps: 91
Avgfps: 58


Nice scores and these are two of the most graphic demanding games on the market. Thanks for posting. Rep+









------------------------------------------------------------------

ATI Catalyst 9.5 vs. ATI Catalyst 9.4

No long review this time; just a few benches from each graphics acceleration (OpenGL, DX9, DX10) and folding action.

Testbed:
E8300 @ 4.0G
6Gb DDR2
ATI Catalyst 9.4 & 9.5
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850X2 2GB + 4870 1GB (tri-fire crossfireX)(all stock)

Testing
3DMark 2006 (DX9)
3DMark Vantage (DX10)
Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars (DX10)
Furmark (Open GL)
Left 4 Dead (DX9)
[email protected] Win32 GPU version 6.23

3DMark 2006:
Catalyst 9.4 = 19993
Catalyst 9.5 = 20134









3DMark Vantage:
Catalyst 9.4 = P13520
Catalyst 9.5 = P13175









Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars
1600 x 1200, highest settings, 16xAF, 4xAA
Catalyst 9.4 = 140 average fps
Catalyst 9.5 = 138 average fps









Furmark:
1680x1050
Catalyst 9.4 = 209 average fps
Catalyst 9.5 = 209 average fps









Left 4 Dead:
1680x1050, 16xATF, 8xAA, V-sync off, Shader: very high, all other settings: high
Difficulty: Expert
Campaign: No Mercy
Mission: 1: apartments
FRAPS settings: 300 seconds
Catalyst 9.4 = 131 average fps
Catalyst 9.5 = 129 average fps









[email protected] (gpu usage)
Catalyst 9.4









Catalyst 9.5









Conclusion:
ATI Catalyst 9.5 drivers installed without a problem, crossfired well, and ran games smooth with any graphical errors I could see. In performance verses the Catalyst 9.4 drivers, looks like a small loss in DirectX 10 titles and on par with DirectX9 and OpenGL titles.

Update: a side note - I'm going back to 9.4's.


----------



## assusao20

hello everybody,
I am new here and I bought an sapphire HD4850x2 1Go version , driver install very well and everything work jyst fine but when I run Crysis Warhead i got 20FPS in medium setting and *14-9 in* high setting , 3dmarks06 give me 13560 score ....I am concern and worry I have been and 8800 GT 512 and crysis work good with *25-35 fps* in high setting,3dmarks06 12090, with Q6600 and 2go ram 800 and motherboard 965p s3 ......
now I have
Monitor Samsung T220 ,22" resolution 1680x1050
CPU Q6700 2.66
Motherboard MSI P35 efenity 
4 GiG Ram gskill DDR2 800
HD4850x2 1GB
HDD 1TB, Sumsung 500GB + Segate baracuda 11 500GB
OS windows vista X64

What I mess ??? Plz someone Help me thank you .


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *assusao20*


hello everybody,
I am new here and I bought an sapphire HD4850x2 1Go version , driver install very well and everything work jyst fine but when I run Crysis Warhead i got 20FPS in medium setting and *14-9 in* high setting , 3dmarks06 give me 13560 score ....I am concern and worry I have been and 8800 GT 512 and crysis work good with *25-35 fps* in high setting,3dmarks06 12090, with Q6600 and 2go ram 800 and motherboard 965p s3 ......
now I have
Monitor Samsung T220 ,22"
CPU Q6700 2.66
Motherboard MSI P35 efenity 
4 GiG Ram gskill DDR2 800
HD4850x2 1GB
HDD 1TB, Sumsung 500GB + Segate baracuda 11 500GB
OS windows vista X64

What I mess ??? Plz someone Help me thank you .


Welcome to the owners thread, *assusao20*. Fill out your system specs when you get a chance, thanks. Your case is simple and common.

1. If you did a search anywhere around this forum, you will see Crysis titles do well with Nvidia cards not ATI, just the way it is.
2. The 4850 X2 is a powerful card and like most high end cards and multi-gpu setups, require alot of cpu power to push the cards. Your cpu speed is holding you back. You need to overclock Q6700 over 3G to produce good scores.

Some perspective for you: when I first got my 4850 X2, I did a 13,800 in 3dmark2006 with [email protected] 2.83G. After oc'ing my cpu to 3.8G, I got 17,847.


----------



## assusao20

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Welcome to the owners thread, *assusao20*. Fill out your system specs when you get a chance, thanks. Your case is simple and common.

1. If you did a search anywhere around this forum, you will see Crysis titles do well with Nvidia cards not ATI, just the way it is.
2. The 4850 X2 is a powerful card and like most high end cards and multi-gpu setups, require alot of cpu power to push the cards. Your cpu speed is holding you back. You need to overclock Q6700 over 3G to produce good scores.

Some perspective for you: when I first got my 4850 X2, I did a 13,800 in 3dmark2006 with [email protected] 2.83G. After oc'ing my cpu to 3.8G, I got 17,847.


Thank you rico for your welcom

I know That Nvidia better than Ati in Crysis But i know a friend of my have 4870 512 and play crysis in high he got 45-35 fps !! I got 14-9 man wth !!!








Supposed to be 4850x2 better than Hd4870 right ??
now I play GTA4 resolution 1680x1050 I got 20 Fps








before with 8800 GT I got 35 Fps 
any way my system specs is :

Motherboard MSI P35 EFENITY

CPU Q6700 2.66GHZ

CPU Fan Zerotherm Nirvana 120 Premium

DDR2 Gskill 4GB-800MHZ

VGA HD4850X2 1GB

PSU Cooler Master UCP 700w

2HDD , 500GB Samsung T166 and seagate 500gb 7200.11

Case Gigabyte GZ-X1

thank you for helping me ..peace.


----------



## assusao20

Now Look at This (Farcry2 Test)




Look what I got












MAX fps 30 ::!!!! Wth !!!can any one Help me plz ... I am burning here :swearing:


----------



## SigSauer

Looks like crossfire is'nt enabled for some reason(from the scores). You can try to remove the drivers and reinstall them. Or overclock your CPU to about 3.6 Ghz, that should increase your framerate alot.


----------



## assusao20

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SigSauer*


Looks like crossfire is'nt enabled for some reason(from the scores). You can try to remove the drivers and reinstall them. Or overclock your CPU to about 3.6 Ghz, that should increase your framerate alot.


I did that ..i have try 9.5 and 9.4 
I have been before an 8800 GT 512 it's was great 50-35 fps in farcry2
if crossfire disabled it shold 1x4850 better than 8800 Gt right ?...
so what's the probleme here ....????








Heeeeeeelp !!!


----------



## SigSauer

I think i see the problem, its your mobo it has a PCIe 16x 1.0/1.1 slot. Thus you could never really get a high score because the HD4850x2 requires a PCIe 16x 2.0 slot to work properly.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *assusao20* 
Thank you rico for your welcom

I know That Nvidia better than Ati in Crysis But i know a friend of my have 4870 512 and play crysis in high he got 45-35 fps !! I got 14-9 man wth !!!








Supposed to be 4850x2 better than Hd4870 right ??
now I play GTA4 resolution 1680x1050 I got 20 Fps








before with 8800 GT I got 35 Fps
any way my system specs is :

Motherboard MSI P35 EFENITY

CPU Q6700 2.66GHZ

CPU Fan Zerotherm Nirvana 120 Premium

DDR2 Gskill 4GB-800MHZ

VGA HD4850X2 1GB

PSU Cooler Master UCP 700w

2HDD , 500GB Samsung T166 and seagate 500gb 7200.11

Case Gigabyte GZ-X1

thank you for helping me ..peace.

You must remember the video card is not the only thing running a video game. Its a collective effort of your video card, cpu and memory. The 4850 X2 is faster than a 4870 but since crysis is a very cpu intensive game, the difference in you and your buddy's fps in crysis could be in your cpu's.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *assusao20*


Now Look at This (Farcry2 Test)




Look what I got












MAX fps 30 ::!!!! Wth !!!can any one Help me plz ... I am burning here :swearing:


Again, not enough cpu. I can't stress this enough, the 4870, 4890, 4850 X2, 4870 X2 and any 48XX tri- or quad-fire configuration, all need fast mhz cpu power to push the card enough to get good scores.


This is my X2 in farcry2. If you notice my cpu is at 4.0G. Quad cores do not game as good as quad core's don't game as well as dual cores right now so to farcry 2, your Q6700 is probably only utilizing only 2 cores. So you have (2) core @ 2.6G pushing a 4850 X2 in farcry2. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. My uncle have a Q6600 stock and had (2) gtx260 in sli and was wondering why he had only 12-13k in 3dmark2006. I tried to explain to him this very point that today's powerful, high end video cards need high mhz cpu power to push them. Some can also correct me if I'm wrong. You have to oc your cpu, assusao20. When I first got my 4850 X2 jan. 1st 2009, I had a Pentium D840 (dual core) and embarrassing 8K in 3dmark2006. I figured out it was my cpu holding me back and I then brought my e8300. Immediately posted a 14K. After that, I started to oc my e8300 to 3.2G, 3.4G, 3.8G, and not 4.0G.


----------



## rico2001

Just installed COD: World at War (I know I'm late getting this game). Took advantage of the Steam sale for $24 last week. After a play around with it a few hours, I'll do some benching from single 4850 all the way to quad-fire 4850.


----------



## assusao20

HELLO

BACK AGAIN i HAVE INSTALLING WINDOWS 7 LAST NIGHT ? LOOK WHAT i GOT




Also I got 123-65FPS In Call of duty 4 1680x1050 all setting very high

95-55 FPS in call of duty 5 1680x1050 all setting very high

88-53 FPS in GRID all setting Ultra high with 1680x1050 4XmsAA

+150 FPS in Devil My Cry very good result here ...1680x1050 Ultra high setting

90-66 in Need For speed undercover 1680x1050 all in very high

But I still having trouble with Crysis in Directx 10 I don't know why








Crysis high setting no AA 25-15 !!!!!

Alone in the Dark 45-30 FPS







......8800 GT better than that ..

any comment i would be grateful ..Peace .


----------



## jadawgis732

I was just playing Crysis, and finally figured out how to get good framerates as well as details. I have a 4850x2, Phenom II X3 720, 4Gb DDR2 1066, and a Gigabyte MA-770-UD3 MB. I was really unhappy with how it was performing so I spent about 2-3 hours to figure out that DX9 was my ticket. I set the CPU at 3.6Ghz (200x18 @ 1.5) and the GPUs to 675/1115 and 675/1030 (I think). I played for a while with Mainstream/Gamer details and had about a 45 FPS avg. (min was maybe 30). I went to check temps, and have a screenshot. The only other time they one o the GPUs got this hot was when a sata cable was pressed against it and I ran vantage. (102C for the one GPU and 125 for the memory it used). Even when I run vantage at 700/1140 they never get above 72/95. All I'm wondering is should I be worried, or can I continue to enjoy this sick game? Also, I've played the game in DX10 with em both at 700/1100 they never got this hot, why now? I didn't have AA or AF running, the res. was 1360x768... Finally the one time the sata cable was against the fan why was the memory only for that GPU way hot, I thought the memory was all in the same spot. My case is moving plenty of air and ambient room temp is about 72F...22C I think.


----------



## rico2001

Those mem temps are a little high. You want to under 85-90c, if you can. I wouldn't take the mem past 1050 mhz, IMO. Those are good crysis numbers.


----------



## assusao20

@jadawgis732
your card running little hot ...I playing all games with high setting with AA and AF and never go over 62/72......maybe your case... try to open your case ,temperature may be reduced slightly... because the card throw a lot of hot air inside your case...

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Those mem temps are a little high. You want to
under 85-90c, if you can. I wouldn't take the mem past 1050 mhz, IMO. Those are good crysis numbers.

You Ignored my post up there














1


----------



## buddy643

I want one of these cards bad!


----------



## SigSauer

With your current system, i hope not?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *assusao20*


@rico2001
You ignored my post up there














1


















Dude, I don't address every single post, no one does. And second, I answered your situation twice now and got tired of doing so. You don't seem to have a clue and/or just can't understand some games titles do better with nvidia cards and some do better with ATI cards. You are still bottlenecking the 4850 X2 with your cpu. Sell your 4850 X2 and put your 8800 back in the case.









assusao20


----------



## SigSauer

Indeed, just sell the card or buy a new processor and overclock like hell


----------



## assusao20

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*









Dude, I don't address every single post, no one does. And second, I answered your situation twice now and got tired of doing so. You don't seem to have a clue and/or just can't understand some games titles do better with nvidia cards and some do better with ATI cards. You are still bottlenecking the 4850 X2 with your cpu. Sell your 4850 X2 and put your 8800 back in the case.









assusao20










First Thank you for your good answer
second i will throw My CPU in Garbage







Or tell me how i can overclock that think up ....Damn windows crash all the time I can't overclock it







I have MB MSI P35 EFENITY ...Say something useful you seem a nice man .









Iam going to Drink somthing Bye


----------



## rico2001

@assusao20
Fill out your system specs.
http://www.overclock.net/specs.php

update: start here:
..:Q6700 Club:..

Looks like most of those guys are getting their Q6700 to 3.2 - 3.6G, which is where you want to be to push the 4850 X2.


----------



## Meaker

Hi guys, I have this board on order (2GB version). Cost me Â£180 which is about the same as an HD4890 here.

Pairing it up with a Core i7 920 D0 and an asus P6T-SE and 6GB Corsair 666mhz ram.

Anyone know if the Arctic accelero S1 will fit either core? I plan on putting a Thermalright HR03-GT on the first core and then I need something for the second.

BTW if that 4850 is up for grabs then i'm up for it. I am in the UK but I would pay postage. Getting married next year so I wont be able to buy any hardware for at least a year so I am bracing my system for some neglect.


----------



## assusao20

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


@assusao20
Fill out your system specs.
http://www.overclock.net/specs.php

update: start here:
..:Q6700 Club:..

Looks like most of those guys are getting their Q6700 to 3.2 - 3.6G, which is where you want to be to push the 4850 X2.


That what I am talking about man ....








Thank you very much ...I will try to reach 3.6 and after that i will post new bunchmark ... peace


----------



## assusao20

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


@assusao20
Fill out your system specs.
http://www.overclock.net/specs.php

update: start here:
..:Q6700 Club:..

Looks like most of those guys are getting their Q6700 to 3.2 - 3.6G, which is where you want to be to push the 4850 X2.


Helo man 
The problem was solved the problem was riva tuner , was limited the FPS 
now I play Crysis all high with 45-25 Fps ...
thank you guys for your interaction...Peace.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *assusao20*


Helo man 
The problem was solved the problem was riva tuner , was limited the FPS 
now I play Crysis all high with 45-25 Fps ...
thank you guys for your interaction...Peace.










Riva tuner, really? Limited the FPS? Explain further please, thanks.


----------



## rico2001

Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 XSPC waterblock








http://www.xspc.biz/razor4850x2.php


----------



## SigSauer

Looks good, anyways I orderd a Zalman VF-900led for my card so i'll finally have 2 of them







. one with a red led the other blue.


----------



## Meaker

Well no chance of the S1 fitting without doing something funky with the PWM coolers at the back.

Also one of the screws and nuts have lodged together so I am not sure if I can replace the cooler









Might have to take a hacksaw to it.


----------



## frankydee

Hi guys,

iÂ´m new here and from germany.

I want to show you my solution for a watercooled 4850x2.











regards frankydee

The hole mod is here


----------



## SigSauer

Looks very nice, which waterblocks did you use?


----------



## frankydee

The cooler are from innovatek, named Graph-O-Matic Rev 3.0.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *frankydee* 
Hi guys,

iÂ´m new here and from germany.

I want to show you my solution for a watercooled 4850x2.











regards frankydee

The hole mod is here

Nice watercooling setup *frankydee* and welcome to the owners thread. Please fill out your system specs if you get a chance. What memory heatsinks do you have attached to the stock ones on your 4850 X2? And have you seen any temperature difference after adding them?


----------



## frankydee

The Memory Heatsicks are from Arctic Cooling, but i have milling me a new one out of aluminium.
The temps of the memory is not over 60Â°C, also the gpuÂ´s are not over 50Â°C.
But i think, it can be better....

Btw my [email protected]:


----------



## rico2001

Thanks for the info. I have a second 4850 X2 which has some memory damage/sensitivities. It causes the system to lock up when the memory reaches 73C. Look for a solution to keep the memory under that temperature. I'm not watercooling so that task is harder for me than it would be for you. So far it has been impossible. That is the reason for me asking about your memory sinks.


----------



## frankydee

Do you think the temp was the cause of the damage??

After the mod, one of the memorychips havenÂ´t real contact to the headsick and the temp was at 120Â°C!!!

I realized it when I had artefacts while playing Cod5. After adjust the headsick, all seems to be okay.....


----------



## rico2001

Well I'm pretty sure temperature was the cause. I brought my 2nd 4850 X2 used for cheap and I think the memory was being overclocked and possibly over 110C. I think this caused the memory on only one core to be damaged (de-heat treated if you will). Now the memory on only one core can not go over 73c of it will crash the card. The memory on the other core is fine and can go over and sit stable at 70-85C (normal acceptable max temps for this memory). So If I can keep the memory under 73C, the whole card is rock solid. I have lots of other cards and I'm happy with my tri-fire setup, so working on this 2nd 4850 X2 and fixing it is not a pressing issue at the moment.


----------



## frankydee

Wow! A tri-fire system....









I'm happy about my one 4850X2, because all games are on high details and can be played well...

I had luck that my broken 3870X2 was change to a 4850X2 for free....


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *etiennedefqvx* 
Hum it is the same with vista 32 reinstalled, on Crysis I only have 20 FPS and on GRID i have 50-70 (I should have 115 : http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=16197&page=9)

If you look at the page for 'system setup and notes' on the link you gave us you see that they are using *Vista 64* and 4GB of Ram and a quad core CPU 'Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 LGA775 (3.0GHz, 12MB L2 cache)' *on a 2GB card*.

Don't forget that the CPU, Ram and OS of the test system you are comparing with *isn't the same as your 32 bit system*

If you check my previous posts to you I think I may have mentioned some thing about this.

Have you tried to run the tests on page 1 of this forum???

One way to get better performance would be to reduce AA etc. Make sure that your running at your monitor's NATIVE resolution.

TRY TO LOOK FOR TESTS THAT USE VISTA 32.

Can you *edit your SIGNATURE* so that we can check against your system spec. -- I can't remember your Sytem apart from Vista 32 (and I think a 1GB card)

That way everyone else can jump in and shed some light on your problem.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *etiennedefqvx* 
Hum it is the same with vista 32 reinstalled, on Crysis I only have 20 FPS and on GRID i have 50-70 (I should have 115 : http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=16197&page=9)


Mind you 50 -70 fps on GRID is very playable considering the that human eye can't detect more than 25 fps - that's why video for TV is only 24-25 fps but we can't see the flickering.

Hopefully someone else can help with your Crysis problem.

If you have the 1GB card and more than 2 GB ram - try reducing your RAM to 2GB as you have vista 32 - see if that improves your scores


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Nebel* 









cutting time.

Thanks for the answers









You may want to install a fan too!! It can get hot and dumps the hot air inside the case - It also has headsinks at the rear of the PCB (close to the drivebays) - so make sure its not too close to your harddrives!!

But it's really a great card


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *etiennedefqvx* 
Thank you for your answer,
I just delete Win 7 (i used to have dual boot and had the problem on both OS) and reinstall Vista 32 (OEM software, impossible de have a 64 for free







). I will install Crysis and see if the problem is still there. I will also try Half-Life 2 Lost Coast, this is a benchmark so i'll be sure to have or not to have the good FPS.

I know you have just deleted Win 7 64bit but have you noticed the Win 7 64bit drivers for your card listed on the first page of the forum????

Did you try using those!!! With 4GB Ram and 1 GB card they would be ideal.

I think most people are getting about 29-30 fps on Crysis with 64 bit systems on 4 GB Ram and 2Gb card


----------



## rico2001

Benchmarking - Call of Duty: World at War










  

Testbed:
E8300 @ 4.0G
6Gb DDR2
ATI Catalyst 9.5
Custom demo made using MP mode: "Makin" map
FRAPS setting: 260 seconds

SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850 1GB
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4870 1GB
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850 X2 2GB
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850 X2 2GB + 4850 1GB (tri-fire crossfireX)
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850 X2 2GB + 4870 1GB (tri-fire crossfireX)
(2) SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850 X2 2GB (quad-fire crossfireX)










1,680 x 1,050 4xAA 16xAF, DirectX 9, Maximum Detail
4850 = 74 average fps
4870 = 92 average fps
4850 X2 = 129 average fps
4850 X3 = 158 average fps
4850 X2 + 4870 = 158 average fps
4850 X4 = 180 average fps (game domination!)

1,920 x 1,080 4xAA 16xAF, DirectX 9, Maximum Detail
4850 = 67 average fps
4870 = 84 average fps
4850 X2 = 120 average fps
4850 X3 = 151 average fps
4850 X2 + 4870 = 154 average fps
4850 X4 = 177 average fps (game domination!)

SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850 1GB









SAPPHIRE Radeon 4870 1GB









SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850 X2 2GB









SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850 X2 2GB + 4850 1GB (tri-fire crossfireX)









SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850 X2 2GB + 4870 1GB (tri-fire crossfireX)









(2) SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850 X2 2GB (quad-fire crossfireX)









Reference: xlabits.com Ultimate Heavy-Weight Fight: Radeon HD 4890 CrossFireX vs. GeForce GTX 285 SLI (page 9)
Intel Core i7-965 Extreme Edition processor at 3.2GHz used

*Take chart with grain of salt, not sure what map or scenario they are testing.









Conclusion:
Well, in short, if you have a decent cpu @ 3-4G and any ATI card 4850 and up, you can play COD:WAW very well, maxing the game out. Another strong showing by the 4850 X2. CrossfireX scales amazingly across the board and Quad-fire, which doesn't always perform well, destroys this game. I was very impressed, to say the least.


----------



## porksmuggler

@rico2001

in regards to the quad-fire in particular, I was curious if you had seen this review highlighting the CPU bottleneck...

http://www.guru3d.com/article/core-i...ance-review/10


----------



## Meaker

I've put my system specs in and tweaked the bios of the card for quietness in idle (fan profile and clocks changed).

Ran vantage at my OCed settings and got over 15,000. Got 25k in 06.


----------



## SigSauer

Very nice scores mine won't go higher than 12k on Vantage and 19,5k on 06. Annoying as it is my CPU is still limiting the cards full potential, I doubt adding another card will help much performance wise. And overclocking has its limit for my CPU. 3.6Ghz is what I can get stable but everything beyond that is unstable.


----------



## Meaker

Here is a compare:

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dmv=1106559

CPU is at 4.2ghz but I am using 21 (turbo with limits off).


----------



## SigSauer

Well here's the comparison then.
CPU ran at 3,6Ghz and the GPU @ 700/1050.


----------



## Meaker

What is your northbridge running at?


----------



## SigSauer

Auto right now. Up to 3.6 Ghz itĺl work fine but if I want to go faster than that I usually go to about 1.3/1.35 volt. Coretemps on 3.6 Ghz are about 48 idle and 58 on load so it could just be that I need better cooling.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *porksmuggler*


@rico2001

in regards to the quad-fire in particular, I was curious if you had seen this review highlighting the CPU bottleneck...

http://www.guru3d.com/article/core-i...ance-review/10


Yes I've seen this article before and its an interested one.... well sort of. There are 2 situation going on with that article, which it's results show.

The first one is the dreaded "cpu bottleneck". You hear this term a lot here on the forum in conversations of CF, tri-fire and quad-fire. Here is my take on the issue. IMO, the limitation in gaming has more to do with mhz than the number of cores your are using. You have heard me and other tell ppl to overclock their cpu to get their card to perform. The magic sweet spot for HD38xx and HD48xx CF and tri-fire setups is 3.0G and higher. And in quad-fire, along with the triple frame processing issue that prevents quad-fire from itâ€™s potential, seems to need 4.0G or higher.

The second reason for the result in the article, is the game they picked to bench itself. Farcry 2, along with the Crysis titles are the most cpu intensive games on the planet at the moment. In most cases, in just about every other game title, quad-core cpus are not fully utilized and dual core cpus perform much better. Since Farcry 2 and Crysis are so cpu intensive, quad-core cpus excel and trump us E8xx dual core users. The same can be said about the semi-synthetic benchmarks, 3Dmark 2006 and 3Dmark Vantage. Quad-core users do much better and get higher scores than dual core users. Until most games fully utilize all four cores of a quad-core cpu, people can just pick their battles and pick which is more important to them: game fps averages or high 3dmark scores. I have chosen the high mhz dual core route, to get the highest in-game fps averages I can get.

Anyway, thatâ€™s my take on the dual core/quad core cpu vs. CF/Quad-fire article.


----------



## Meaker

The NB should go up 1GHz and should give you a massive performance boost. In some cases 200mhz NB clock increase = 200mhz Core clock performance advantage.


----------



## rico2001

update:

The Great 4850 Give-A-Way

1. TheFoister
2. kairi_zeroblade
3. xgeko2
4. Meaker

Last day for raffle! Speak up or forever hold your peace.


----------



## NameUnknown

Has anyone ever crossfired 3 of these cards together or does catalyst not suppot more than 4 GPUs?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *NameUnknown*


Has anyone ever crossfired 3 of these cards together or does catalyst not suppot more than 4 GPUs?


You can't CF (3) 4850 X2's. The design of the pcb only allows for one CF ribbon (see pics below).

4850 X2









4850 X2 (top), 4870 (bottom)


----------



## SigSauer

Maybe if you use a tri-sli ribbon , maybe it'll work.


----------



## Meaker

I have ordered 2x thermalright ultra V2s. They are a little less wide than the VF-900 and should fit.

They are about 40% cheaper too. (I have 2x 80mm fans spare already)


----------



## SigSauer

They look nice but what about the weight, adding 2 of those (580 grams) + 2 80mm fans (100 grams) will weigh down te card allot more than the VF-900's(540 grams). Hope it doest break or anything like that.


----------



## Meaker

I can support it if needed.


----------



## rico2001

End of Raffle Notice: The Great 4850 Give-A-Way

The name of the owners below, will be put into a random name picker. I will announce and contact the winner tonight.

1. TheFoister
2. kairi_zeroblade
3. xgeko2
4. Meaker


----------



## rico2001

Congradulations to 4850 X2 owner: TheFoister

For winning "The Geat 4850 Give-A-Way" raffle. Happy tri-firing.

@TheFoister
I'll pm you shortly to get your info and discuss shipping.

I'd like to thank the other (3) participants for throwing their names in for the raffle.


----------



## Meaker

Congrats.


----------



## Meaker

Holy hell, I was talking to a US guy about the possibility of getting a 4850X2 and man you pay more for 3rd party coolers than we do.

(US) Card = $250 + $40 x2 (coolers) + 2 fans ($10?) = $340

(UK) Card = Â£180 + Â£16 x2 (coolers) + 2 fans (Â£6) = Â£218 = $360

Given that we pay 15% tax (included in my price above) ouch.


----------



## SigSauer

In the end you pay more then the US guys and I pay more then you because the tax in my country are even higher 19,5%







.


----------



## Meaker

Yeah but i'm sure our tax will go up again.


----------



## Meaker

Had to remove the bridge chip heatsink and replace it with a few larger ram sinks but they fit on nicely. Yes it bends so it also needs support.


----------



## rico2001

@Meaker
You have any pics of your work and coolers?


----------



## Meaker

Only after shots im afriad, in a rush so these are the best I could do:

http://meaker.bulldoghome.com/photos...m/DSCN2255.JPG
http://meaker.bulldoghome.com/photos...m/DSCN2256.JPG


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Meaker*


Only after shots im afriad, in a rush so these are the best I could do:

http://meaker.bulldoghome.com/photos...m/DSCN2255.JPG
http://meaker.bulldoghome.com/photos...m/DSCN2256.JPG


Man, those look nice! What sinks are you using on the memory? What are your temps now? rep+ for the pics


----------



## Meaker

Back.

Using the heatsinks supplied with the coolers for the memory.

45C core 50C memIO at idle.


----------



## Meaker

More pics:

http://meaker.bulldoghome.com/photos...m/DSCN2257.JPG
http://meaker.bulldoghome.com/photos...m/DSCN2258.JPG


----------



## guscol

whoaaaa nice


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*Update*: Just updated the link to the *Crysis Warhead Benchmark Tool* because I noticed it wasn't working. When you click and go to the site, click on "Download" on the top left to download the file, then unpack it with Winrar and install. Great job so far guys, keep on posting.


----------



## rico2001

Thanks, Open1Your1Eyes0

[newegg] Open Box: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4850 X2 2GB for $209
Good time for you owners to go quad-fire if that is your wish.


----------



## rico2001

Sapphire 4850 X2 2GB + Sapphire 4870 1GB (tri-fire)(stock)
3Dmark Vantage preset High: 1680 x 1050, 2xAA, 8xATF 









Sapphire 4850 X2 2GB (700core/1050mem) + Sapphire 4870 1GB (800core/1000mem)(tri-fire)(overclocked)
3Dmark Vantage preset High: 1680 x 1050, 2xAA, 8xATF


----------



## inmytaxi

Of course, I mean the 4850 x2 2 GB I just ordered off NewEgg for $209 open box.

There's a water cooling pump/radiator fan, 6 fans (w/LEDs), two hard drives, a DVD RAM and a cigarette lighter.

All the sigs I see have 700 watts or better.

I have a e8400 oc'd to 4.4 and will have 2x2 GB of 1200 MHz DDR2 RAM.

I'm without hope, yes?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *inmytaxi*


Of course, I mean the 4850 x2 2 GB I just ordered off NewEgg for $209 open box.

There's a water cooling pump/radiator fan, 6 fans (w/LEDs), two hard drives, a DVD RAM and a cigarette lighter.

All the sigs I see have 700 watts or better.

I have a e8400 oc'd to 4.4 and will have 2x2 GB of 1200 MHz DDR2 RAM.

I'm without hope, yes?



I would say 550w is a bare minimum to run the 4850 X2 but I have heard of a person or two running with it on a 500W. I guess you will see when you receive yours. Good buy on that open box from newegg, btw. You will love this card.


----------



## guscol

Quote:



Originally Posted by *inmytaxi*


Of course, I mean the 4850 x2 2 GB I just ordered off NewEgg for $209 open box.

There's a water cooling pump/radiator fan, 6 fans (w/LEDs), two hard drives, a DVD RAM and a cigarette lighter.

All the sigs I see have 700 watts or better.

I have a e8400 oc'd to 4.4 and will have 2x2 GB of 1200 MHz DDR2 RAM.

I'm without hope, yes?


men look my pc and i got two disk more but by the way check here of course i need an upgrade ,the corsair 750w is 70 bucks cheaper in newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139006

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *guscol* 

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

Awesome calculator, *guscol*. Big rep+

Says I'm using 690W with my system.


----------



## guscol

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Awesome calculator, *guscol*. Big rep+

Says I'm using 690W with my system.










whoao 690w you almost reach the power of your power supply Â¡Â¡Â¡Â¡ if the efficiency is 80% i think you need a upgrade too jajajja
and by the way the calculator says iÂ´m using 538W

pd:sorry for my english


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *guscol*


whoao 690w you almost reach the power of your power supply Â¡Â¡Â¡Â¡ if the efficiency is 80% i think you need a upgrade too jajajja
and by the way the calculator says iÂ´m using 538W

pd:sorry for my english


Actually, I've passed the power of my psu. My antec is only a 650W, but its not the only psu I have in my case.







I'm also sporting a thermotake toughpower power express 450W vga psu, which the 4850 X2 is on. When I first went tri-fire with the 4850 X2 + 4850, my pc wouldn't start. So then I brought the vga psu.


----------



## inmytaxi

Guscol: Thanks, that calculator is great. I get 531 watts at 90% power, and 501 watts at 85%, so I'll just have to drive more slowly.

Rico2001: I hope you're right! I play a lot of GTA IV and I hear that's had problems with the card, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

One of the few purchases I popped for 2 day + expedited shipping (the other was my 28" LCD).

I almost went with a GTX 280 on sale at NewEgg for $219 recertified after rebate, but saw the open box and figured ***.

I hate Sapphire because they charge an administrative fee for warranty service, but for open box I guess there's no warranty anyway.


----------



## guscol

Quote:



Originally Posted by *inmytaxi*


Guscol: Thanks, that calculator is great. I get 531 watts at 90% power, and 501 watts at 85%, so I'll just have to drive more slowly.

Rico2001: I hope you're right! I play a lot of GTA IV and I hear that's had problems with the card, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

One of the few purchases I popped for 2 day + expedited shipping (the other was my 28" LCD).

I almost went with a GTX 280 on sale at NewEgg for $219 recertified after rebate, but saw the open box and figured ***.

I hate Sapphire because they charge an administrative fee for warranty service, but for open box I guess there's no warranty anyway.



you welcome gtx 280 and 4850x2 is a lot of diference,rico you should put the link of the calculator in your downloads because you make more posts


----------



## Meaker

I have a zalman power monitor and I never have gone over 530W (from the wall at just over 80% efficiant so 425W actual) with my i7 @ 4.2 ghz and 4850X2 OCed.


----------



## fibua

Mate right now i want upgrade my gpu to 4850x2.Are this 4850x2 driver got problem (after i read forum alot said this gpu problem with the driver.Can someone give suggestion buy this card or not.

Thanks.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *fibua* 
Mate right now i want upgrade my gpu to 4850x2.Are this 4850x2 driver got problem (after i read forum alot said this gpu problem with the driver.Can someone give suggestion buy this card or not.

Thanks.

You care good to go with the 4850 X2. There are *no more* driver issues with this card. All the driver issues were worked out back in Jan. this year. Initially, back in November 2008 when the 4850 X2 came out, ATI *did not* support the card in their drivers at that time. The initial driver were supplied by Sapphire and had some issues with installing and game play. Then in January 2009, ATI formally supported the 4850 X2 in their Catalyst 9.1 drivers. Since then the 4850 X2 has been fully supported and we are up to Catalyst 9.5 drivers.


----------



## Meaker

I have a 600W. Anyway I think your CPU is holding you back in tri and quad configs.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Meaker* 
I have a 600W. Anyway I think your CPU is holding you back in tri and quad configs.

Naw, I don't think so and you can keep your i7 quad-core. I'm into gaming fps not high 3dmark scores.


----------



## ymetushe

Hey guys, I have my 4850 X2 1GB up for sale. Got all of the original accessories and the box, unregistered 3DMark Vantage Advanced.

PM me if anyone's interested. I'll be listing it on eBay tonight for 7 days w/ BuyItNow.

I got myself an XFX 4890 XT, but I must say that 4850 X2 is still faster than the 4890. I do not have a comprehensive comparison on the two, but a quick 3DMark 06 and GTA4 benchmark showed that 4850 X2 rules.

4850 X2 1G 
3DMark 06 ~17500
GTA4 Bench ~57.5 FPS

4890 1G
3DMark 06 ~15700
GTA4 Bench ~56 FPS

In both cases my PII 720 was OC'ed @3.4GHz

I'm keeping the 4890 though, since I am planning to xfire it in a couple of months, and my PSU wouldn't handle a 4850 X4.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ymetushe*


Hey guys, I have my 4850 X2 1GB up for sale. Got all of the original accessories and the box, unregistered 3DMark Vantage Advanced.

PM me if anyone's interested. I'll be listing it on eBay tonight for 7 days w/ BuyItNow.

I got myself an XFX 4890 XT, but I must say that 4850 X2 is still faster than the 4890. I do not have a comprehensive comparison on the two, but a quick 3DMark 06 and GTA4 benchmark showed that 4850 X2 rules.

4850 X2 1G 
3DMark 06 ~17500
GTA4 Bench ~57.5 FPS

4890 1G
3DMark 06 ~15700
GTA4 Bench ~56 FPS

In both cases my PII 720 was OC'ed @3.4GHz

I'm keeping the 4890 though, since I am planning to xfire it in a couple of months, and my PSU wouldn't handle a 4850 
X4.



*ymetushe*, that is sad news but Iâ€™m happy to see what you are moving on it. The 4890 is outstanding and I give it a lot of respect. With some ocâ€™ing up to 1ghz, you should be right back up to the performance of the 4850 X2. All great cards must pass eventually. Good luck with the sale.


----------



## xgeko2

Well i got myself a msi 4890 oc edition and i have it running at 930/1100 memory and it smokes up gta4 and plays a lot better than my x2 card did. But anyways i was wondering if any of you have put memory coolers on your x2 card and dont need the small plastic clip/spring retainers for the stock memory cooler my card fried on me and i have been trying to find my springs to send it back to sapphire for warranty repair lol. anyone willing to part with some?


----------



## kimosabi

So anyone got the XSPC Razor Full-cover on this baby yet?


----------



## Philip22

Hey!

I have a question about sm scores in 3dmark.

I noticed you got 9700 on one of them, and when i compare min i get around 7000. Howcome?

My PSU is big enough
I am runnin windows 7. Ultimate
New`st catalyst driver 9.5

3gb of fast ram
And the exact same card hd4850x2

My overall score gets lower even though my CPU is way better, Intel i7 920.
Whats wrong with my card and what can i do to fix it and boost Frps ?

Thanks for al answears








(sry about english, Norwat ftw^^)


----------



## inmytaxi

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ymetushe* 

PM me if anyone's interested. I'll be listing it on eBay tonight for 7 days w/ BuyItNow.

4850 X2 1G
3DMark 06 ~17500
GTA4 Bench ~57.5 FPS

4890 1G
3DMark 06 ~15700
GTA4 Bench ~56 FPS

In both cases my PII 720 was OC'ed @3.4GHz

I missed it?

What settings on GTA IV?

Any chance you can run numbers during game? The benchmark runs faster than actual gameplay.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xgeko2*


Well i got myself a msi 4890 oc edition and i have it running at 930/1100 memory and it smokes up gta4 and plays a lot better than my x2 card did. But anyways i was wondering if any of you have put memory coolers on your x2 card and dont need the small plastic clip/spring retainers for the stock memory cooler my card fried on me and i have been trying to find my springs to send it back to sapphire for warranty repair lol. anyone willing to part with some?


Good luck *xgeko2*, I don't have any spares myself. A word of advice, those springs are on sapphire 4850 cards and propbably other sapphire cards. Maybe you can get your hands on a 4830 or something for the springs.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Philip22*


Hey!

I have a question about sm scores in 3dmark.

I noticed you got 9700 on one of them, and when i compare min i get around 7000. Howcome?

My PSU is big enough
I am runnin windows 7. Ultimate
New`st catalyst driver 9.5

3gb of fast ram
And the exact same card hd4850x2

My overall score gets lower even though my CPU is way better, Intel i7 920. 
Whats wrong with my card and what can i do to fix it and boost Frps ?

Thanks for al answears








(sry about english, Norwat ftw^^)


*Philip22*, who are you addressing your question to?


----------



## Philip22

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Good luck *xgeko2*, I don't have any spares myself. A word of advice, those springs are on sapphire 4850 cards and propbably other sapphire cards. Maybe you can get your hands on a 4830 or something for the springs.

*Philip22*, who are you addressing your question to?


Everyone hehe.. Everyone that knows why i have this problem and how to fix it.







Hopefully you and the others in here could help me?


----------



## ymetushe

Quote:


Originally Posted by *inmytaxi* 
I missed it?

What settings on GTA IV?

Any chance you can run numbers during game? The benchmark runs faster than actual gameplay.

You're right, it definitely does not feel like 50 fps during the gameplay, but that's what the benchmark says. If I crank the settings up to the max, the card cannot handle it even at the mere 1280*1024.

The benchmark was ran at 1280*1024 and same medium settings. (don't remember exactly which) I just ran the bench for quick comparison, as like I said, I did not extensively compare the two cards.

The 3DMark scores are for 1280*1024, same, default settings.


----------



## d4martin

Nice work Rico.

(should have a MUCH HIGHER REP for the amount of work you put in- Come on people let's 'Up' the guy!!!!)


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Philip22*


Everyone hehe.. Everyone that knows why i have this problem and how to fix it.







Hopefully you and the others in here could help me?


Hi Philip22

fill in your system and settings. I have same CPU but only running at stock at the mo, I still need to post my setting but at least you'll be able to compare. I have the 2GB version of this card on Vista 64. Give me a couple of days and will post my setting. Will overclock later and re-post.

Anyone else have the same cpu?????


----------



## speedy2721

Which is better, a 4890 that is overclocked to 1Ghz core or two 4850 512MB that is overclocked to 700Mhz core in crossfire?


----------



## Villainstone

The 4850 X2 is in term of performance but mine just crapped out like many others have. I did not even OC it so I know that is not the reason.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *d4martin*


Nice work Rico.

(should have a MUCH HIGHER REP for the amount of work you put in- Come on people let's 'Up' the guy!!!!) 


Thanks man, appreciate it. I try to help.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *d4martin*


Hi Philip22
fill in your system and settings. I have same CPU but only running at stock at the mo, I still need to post my setting but at least you'll be able to compare. I have the 2GB version of this card on Vista 64. Give me a couple of days and will post my setting. Will overclock later and re-post.

Anyone else have the same cpu?????










Could be a difference between quad core and dual core cpus.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *speedy2721*


Which is better, a 4890 that is overclocked to 1Ghz core or two 4850 512MB that is overclocked to 700Mhz core in crossfire?


From the reviews Iâ€™ve seen, the 4890 at stock is 15-20% slower than a 4850 X2. But when you oc it to 1Ghz (Sapphire Atomic stock level), the 4890 damn near matches the 4850 X2 in performance. I canâ€™t speak for how it matches with a 4850 at 700mhz. Since that is only a 75mhz increase vs. 4890 at 1Gzh, a 150mhz increase over stock, Iâ€™d have to guess the 4890 will still match the 4850â€™s.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Villainstone*


The 4850 X2 is in term of performance but mine just crapped out like many others have. I did not even OC it so I know that is not the reason.


Sad to hear the bad news, *Villainstone*. What is it doing or not doing?


----------



## rico2001

Another addition to my SAPPHIRE family: SAPPHIRE 4870 X2 2Gb

Going for another quad-fire attempt. Will the 4850 X2 and 4870 X2 play nice together. We will see!!


----------



## Extreme_kid

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Another addition to my SAPPHIRE family: SAPPHIRE 4870 X2 2Gb

Going for another quad-fire attempt. Will the 4850 X2 and 4870 X2 play nice together. We will see!!










*+REP *, looking so forward to this !


----------



## guscol

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Another addition to my SAPPHIRE family: SAPPHIRE 4870 X2 2Gb

Going for another quad-fire attempt. Will the 4850 X2 and 4870 X2 play nice together. We will see!!




















jajjaja i love your coleccion rico


----------



## Villainstone

It is locking up on BF2142. I switched out to my old 9800GTX and have not had any issues so far. This leads me to believe that it is the VC. I have never OC'd it, and have not tinkered with it. The card is untouched since day one and it crapped out all on it's own. I have been denied and upgrade, and refund so no more sapphire for me.


----------



## Villainstone

I have sent in my RMA ticket and if anyone wants to purchase the RMA then look for the FS thread I will create in a few weeks. On the other hand I say lets boycott Sapphire products.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Villainstone*


I have sent in my RMA ticket and if anyone wants to purchase the RMA then look for the FS thread I will create in a few weeks. On the other hand I say lets boycott Sapphire products.


Good luck with the RMA, hope all goes well.

-------------------------------------------------

update: SAPPHIRE 4870 X2 2Gb + SAPPHIRE 4850 X2 2Gb (Quad-fire)

Got home late, but did get a chance to install the 4870 X2. Since it's a "open box", I'm installing it by itself for a day to put down some stability test and benchmarks. Need to make sure this "open box" is good to go before trying for mixed quad-fire. So far, card is working like a champ. Heavy ass card, a good 3 pounds heavier than the 4850 X2 and with only one fan, runs 10-12C warmer. Just noticed something about the 4870 X2, I already knew about in the back of my mind. In CCC, there is no crossfireX option to disable or enable CF. Since the 4850 X2 has this feature, I'm wondering if the 4850 X2 and the 4870 X2 will in fact crossfire. I'll install both cards together tomorrow.


----------



## Philip22

Quote:



Originally Posted by *d4martin*


Hi Philip22

fill in your system and settings. I have same CPU but only running at stock at the mo, I still need to post my setting but at least you'll be able to compare. I have the 2GB version of this card on Vista 64. Give me a couple of days and will post my setting. Will overclock later and re-post.

Anyone else have the same cpu?????










System: 
Intel i7 i920. Running stock at 2.69. 
Mem. 3. gb of 1333mhz 
GFX: Sapphire Radeon HD4850x2, Stock, 
Western Digital 500 GB hardisc
PSU: 680 W sli and crossfire ready.

My CPU is better than the one used in this bench and still my score is lower by 2000 points on SM 2.0 and 3.0?

3dmark 06, 18 000 pts
3dmark vantage: 12 xxx pts

I know the scores are good though, but it ennoyes me that the same card, can do so much lower on performense?????
Plz help.

Thanks
Philip


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Philip22* 
System:
Intel i7 i920. Running stock at 2.69.
Mem. 3. gb of 1333mhz
GFX: Sapphire Radeon HD4850x2, Stock,
Western Digital 500 GB hardisc
PSU: 680 W sli and crossfire ready.

My CPU is better than the one used in this bench and still my score is lower by 2000 points on SM 2.0 and 3.0?

3dmark 06, 18 000 pts
3dmark vantage: 12 xxx pts

I know the scores are good though, but it ennoyes me that the same card, can do so much lower on performense?????
Plz help.

Thanks
Philip


We need more info, *Philip22*. What was your old cpu and what was it clocked at? Your new cpu, the i7, you have at stock. If your old cpu was overclocked a decent amount, you very well could have had better scores before. Again please fill out your system specs under "user cp" at the top. Regardless of what cpu you have, the 4850 X2 and any other ati multi-gpu configuration likes/needs to be pushed by a cpu that is clocked over 3Gb. To get proper throughput on the card, a dual core or quad core cpu, amd or intel needs to be at or over 3Gb for the card or other CF config to perform well. Let us know what you think. Again tell us your old system specs so we can compare with your new system and hopefully help you out further.


----------



## Villainstone

Well all is well with the RMA, can anyone tell me the turn around time for an RMA to Sapphire. Also do they return a retail packaged card or an OEM packaging?


----------



## rico2001

Villainstone, any luck asking open1? Is you card away to sapphire now?


----------



## Shroomalistic

anyone have luck running a monitor and a standard tv threw s-video with the 4850x2??


----------



## rico2001

Best PCIe Card For ~$220: Radeon HD 4850 X2 1 GB (tomshardware.com)


----------



## rico2001

Review: Sapphire 4850 X2 VS. Sapphire 4870 X2

Before I attempt to run these two card together, I figured since I was doing some initial testing of the 4870 X2 by itself, I would do a small write up on the two against each other. Heads up, no holds bar fight to the dead. We all know who is going to win but let's see how close the numbers are.

















Testbed:
E8300 @ 3.8G & 4.0G
6Gb DDR2
ATI Catalyst 9.5
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850 X2 2GB
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4870 X2 2GB

Testing
3Dmark 2006
3Dmark Vantage
Call of Duty: World at War
Call of Juarez
Crysis
Devil May Cry 4
Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars
FarCry 2
Furmark
Left 4 Dead
Sanctuary
S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear Sky
X3 Terran Conflict

3Dmark 2006:
4850 X2 = 17847 
4870 X2 = 19512

4870 X2

3Dmark Vantage:
4850 X2 = P10537
4870 X2 = P12359

4870 X2

Call of Duty: World at War
1,680 x 1,050 4xAA 16xAF, DirectX 9, Maximum Detail
4850 X2 = 129 average fps
4870 X2 = 147 average fps

1,920 x 1,080 4xAA 16xAF, DirectX 9, Maximum Detail
4850 X2 = 120 average fps
4870 X2 = 140 average fps

4850 X2 4870 X2 

Call of Juarez:
1680 x 1050, 4xAA, highest quality settings
4850 X2 = 61.4 average fps
4870 X2 = 79.2 average fps

4850 X2 4870 X2

1920 x 1200, 4xAA, highest quality settings
4850 X2 = 52.9 average fps
4870 X2 = 70.9 average fps

4850 X2 4870 X2

Crysis:
1600x1200
4850 X2 = 33.9 average fps
4870 X2 = 36.0 average fps

1900x1200
4850 X2 = 29.2 average fps
4870 X2 = 31.5 average fps

2560x1600
4850 X2 = 17.8 average fps
4870 X2 = 20.9 average fps

4870 X2

Devil May Cry 4:
1680x1050, 8xAA
4850 X2 = 170 average fps
4870 X2 = 215 average fps

4850 X2 4870 X2

Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars
1600 x 1200, DX10, highest settings, 16xAF, 4xAA
4850 X2 = 119 average fps
4870 X2 = 130 average fps

4850 X2 4870 X2 

1920 x 1080, DX10, highest settings, 16xAF, 4xAA
4850 X2 = 110 average fps
4870 X2 = 122 average fps

4850 X2 4870 X2 

FARCRY 2:
1680 x 1050, DX10, Ultra high settings, 16xAF, 4xAA
4850 X2 = 62.8 average fps 
4870 X2 = 64.6 average fps

4850 X2 4870 X2

1920 x 1080, DX10, Ultra high settings, 16xAF, 4xAA
4850 X2 = 58.7 average fps 
4870 X2 = 62.0 average fps

4850 X2 4870 X2

Furmark:
1440x900
4850 X2 = 197 average fps
4870 X2 = 228 average fps

4850 X2 4870 X2

1680x1050
4850 X2 = 152 average fps
4870 X2 = 177 average fps

4850 X2 4870 X2

Left 4 Dead:
1680x1050, DX9, 16xATF, 8xAA, V-sync off, Shader: very high, all other settings: high
Difficulty: Expert
Campaign: No Mercy
Mission: 1: apartments
FRAPS settings: 300 seconds
4850 X2 = 128.1 average fps
4870 X2 = 125.2 average fps

4850 X2  4870 X2

Sanctuary:
1680x1050
4850 X2 = 111 average fps
4870 X2 = 135 average fps

4850 X2 4870 X2

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky:
1680 x 1050, DX10, 16xAF 0xAA
4850 X2 = 54.6 average fps
4870 X2 = 61.6 average fps

4850 X2 4870 X2

X3 Terran Conflict:
16800x1050
4850 X2 = 94.7 average fps
4870 X2 = 101.3 average fps

4850 X2 4870 X2

Conclusion:
Pretty self-explanatory, the 4870 X2 is faster than the 4850 X2 by roughly 15-25%. The 4850 X2 is still the best card for the money, being only 65% of the cost of the 4870 X2.

Note: Quad-fire 4850 X2 + 4870 X2 coming up next.... maybe, if it works. ha


----------



## kimosabi

I must commend you for doing that on a Duo. Props to you mate!


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kimosabi* 
I must commend you for doing that on a Duo. Props to you mate!

Thanks, *kimosabi*.









Update and small teaser for quad-fire review:
Ok, just got home, time for some mixed quad-fire. Uninstalled the cat. 9.5's, installed the 4850 X2, top slot, attached CF bridge. Re-installed cat 9.5 drivers, went well. Back into windows, CCC pops up... weird not so good surprise, it showed only (3) gpus in CF (see below). Quickly opened up gpu-z to a good surprise that all (4) gpus had in fact crossfired properly. I'm guessing that since the 4870 X2, by itself, does not have a CF enable/disable option, the ccc sees the 4870 X2 as (1) big single gpu. Did a quick furmark bench to see if all (4) gpus work together. Another good surprise, with my cpu only at 3.6G (my daily folding setting), the average furmark fps destroyed my previous 4850 X4 quad-fire score with my cpu at 4G. So far very impressed and can't wait to do more benching. More later...










Furmark:
1680x1050
4850 X4 = 232 average fps
4850 X2 + 4870 X2 = 267 average fps


----------



## rico2001

One of my 4850 X2s is up for sale. I've done all the testing I can and don't need two of them anymore. See ad in sig.


----------



## SigSauer

Finally got my other cooler today, also attached some heatsinks to it but they made little difference in temperture.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SigSauer* 
Finally got my other cooler today, also attached some heatsinks to it but they made little difference in temperture.

nice pic, *SigSauer*. How much did the coolers cost you? And what temps are you getting between them? Would you say your memory sinks are any better than the stock aluminum "L" shaped ones? I'm thinking of playing around with new coolers for my 4850 X2.


----------



## SigSauer

The cooler was 29 euro(40 USD), temps are 32c on idle and 52 under load, mem goes to about 35 to 46c on both the L shape thing and the heatsinks, so it makes little difference but the heatsinks look better


----------



## rico2001

Yea makes sense. Keep the core temps down, so goes the memory with it. You have two different zalmans, were they both 29 euro?


----------



## SigSauer

The Fatality was a bit more expensive i payed 33 for that one.


----------



## rico2001

Is this the model you have: ZALMAN VF900


----------



## SigSauer

yes thats the one.


----------



## SickStew

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SigSauer* 
yes thats the one.

I have same coolers but I have 2 HD4850's


----------



## rico2001

Are you using 3 pin or 4 pin power or card power? Does it run at one speed? Do you have a straight on pic of the top of your X2? Did they give you enough mem sinks to cover of of them?

Nice pic, SickStew.


----------



## SigSauer

I use both the 6 pin and 8 pin connector and the fan runs at either 5 or 12 volts depending on what i'm doing. I'll make a picture of the top later.


----------



## rico2001

I don't see that aluminum one you have anywhere.









update: I believe its copper chrome plated.


----------



## rico2001

found it







: Zalman Fatal1ty FC-ZV9 Copper Heatpipe Style VGA Cooler

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ocmodshop.com review*

Zalman FC-ZV9 Performance on XFX 7800GT
coolertemp (idle)temp (load)
Stock Cooler4770
FC-ZV9 Low4258
FC-ZV9 High3950


This cooler really seems to keep the load temps down.


----------



## guscol

yeah but is out of stock a long time ago that price no match with the real price here a link
in stock http://www.aerocooler.com/shop.cart?...od_id=FANZMZV9


----------



## SigSauer

Here's a shot from the top.


----------



## rico2001

nice pic Sig, thanks. They are very close to touching. Do they clear the center heatsink? I'm thinking of going a different route and trying this zalman.


----------



## SigSauer

There is enough clearance between te Zalman's and the bridge heatsink, those VF700's would look nice too.


----------



## xgeko2

Well the past weekend i had a very very fatal error! Was going to a lan party booted up my pc to put steam in offline mode shut my computer down and forgot to shut down the power to my peltier needless to say it melted the acrylic top in my water block within 1 minutes time =/ as a resualt it also some how killed my motherboard =/ good news i can scrap the plastic clips and springs from the northbridge/southbridge coolers and use them on my 4850x2 to get my warrenty repair done bad news i need a new board... =/


----------



## Shroomalistic

not sure if you guys missed my last post, has anyone been able to run a TV thrue s-video port in the back of the card and a monitor at the same time. I can only do one or the other and I cant seem to figure it out. I want to hook it up so I can watch movies on my tv in bed room at night.


----------



## xgeko2

If i remember right you have to switch it to theater mode and there are various theater modes. i know one is a clone view and one is a extended desktop that you can maximize videos in have you tried that?


----------



## Shroomalistic

yeah in theater mode everything is greyed out and say i have to activate the monitor first but I can only have one at a time


----------



## billm1985

I was thinking of picking this card up in the next week or so if it would be compatible with my mobo. I'm using an ASRock A780GMH/128M and was wanting to know if it was compatible with the 4850X2. If not, any other suggestions for video cards in the same price range?


----------



## SigSauer

It should be compatible, but any other card in the same price range won't perform as well, so you'd be wasting your money.


----------



## Villainstone

Well I have my RMA number and I mailed out the video card so now I just need to wait for the return. I was wondering though should I give another try, or just sell it like I was gonna do? What makes me want to sell it is that I never touched the card and it died anyway. I never OC'd it or anything, so there was no reason for it to brake. If it were DOA then I o=wouldn't mind as that kind of thing happens. But it was fine for 4 months and started to freeze up on BF2142. I switched out the card like I said before and the rig runs just fine. Heat was never an issue as the card never topped over 78C, seriously is was just normal usage and I know BF2142 was not stressful LOL. This leads me to think that they are just cheaply made cards, and that every model will malfunction in time. So again should I keep it or sell it for a 4890 or what nvidia card should I sell it for, although in the 200-250 dollar range I do not think Nvidia can compete can it?


----------



## rico2001

Well *billm1985* and *Villainstone*, I can't tell you want to do or what card to choose, but the only other card remotely close to the performance and price to the 4850 X2 is the 4890. I've seen a few reviews now of the 4890 and it seem if you can overclock the core to 950mhz or higher, the 4890 matches the performance of the 4850 X2.


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic* 
yeah in theater mode everything is greyed out and say i have to activate the monitor first but I can only have one at a time

Im trying to remember this off the top of my head but between the monitors display in theater mode there should be something like a small rectangle that looks like a chain link or something i believe you can right click it to activate the second monitor of choice its been a while since i have done this and if my main rig wasn't dead i would look at it for you lol.

It could be in the display manager that im thinking of you have to change that setting so you can use the second monitor on theater mode.


----------



## Lozza

Does anyone here get problems with the 4850X2 and GTA4?

My 4850's in crossfire just don't want to run it, it freezes after a couple minutes.








I think it's something to do with the way it handles the graphics memory, when it crashes some of the textures haven't loaded properly.


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Lozza* 
Does anyone here get problems with the 4850X2 and GTA4?

My 4850's in crossfire just don't want to run it, it freezes after a couple minutes.








I think it's something to do with the way it handles the graphics memory, when it crashes some of the textures haven't loaded properly.

as far as i know gta4 still dosnt support crossfire or sli. my 4850x2 handled it fine but my 4890 was way way way better.


----------



## Lozza

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xgeko2* 
as far as i know gta4 still dosnt support crossfire or sli. my 4850x2 handled it fine but my 4890 was way way way better.

Yeh but even when I disable crossfire it still freezes









I've searched around but I can't find anyone with the same problems, most people's seem to crash to desktop or give an error message. Mine just freezes.


----------



## billm1985

I'm gonna pick up the X2, hopefully it arrives safe and sound


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Lozza*


Yeh but even when I disable crossfire it still freezes









I've searched around but I can't find anyone with the same problems, most people's seem to crash to desktop or give an error message. Mine just freezes.


what cpu are you using gta4 is a very cpu intensive game. a few things you can try is to turn off vsync and turn off the option that does the video recording other than that there are a few tweaks to adjust the memory properties and such that helps a little bit but my x2 was the same way if i had the graphics options too high just see if it runs better at a lower resolution without any aa or af. and lower the texture quality a little bit the texture system in that game is extremely demanding.


----------



## rico2001

@Lozza
What drivers are you running and did you have this problem with previous driver versions.


----------



## billm1985

My motherboard supported ATI Hybrid CrossFireX which uses the integrated onboard video to be paired with another PCI-E graphics card. I would hate to buy this card and only have 1 of the GPUs to be recognized. If not I guess I can try the 4890 and OC it but I really hope my system can run the 4850 X2. If I disable the IGP should I still be able to run a 4850 X2 and still be able to run it in crossfire?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *billm1985* 
My motherboard supported ATI Hybrid CrossFireX which uses the integrated onboard video to be paired with another PCI-E graphics card. I would hate to buy this card and only have 1 of the GPUs to be recognized. If not I guess I can try the 4890 and OC it but I really hope my system can run the 4850 X2. If I disable the IGP should I still be able to run a 4850 X2 and still be able to run it in crossfire?

No, doesn't quite work that way. Since the 4850 X2 is (2) gpus on the same card, it doesn't care and/or it does not matter if your mobo is crossfire compatible. The crossfire ability is with the ati driver and the (1) card. So nothing you can do in your bios will effect the Cf ability of the 4850 X2. Both cards are a good choice so either way, you can't go wrong. The biggest problem ppl have with the 4850 X2 is it's size. You will need 11-1/2 inches of room to fit the 4850 X2. Good luck with your decision and I won't hold it against you if you pick the 4890.


----------



## Lozza

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xgeko2*


what cpu are you using gta4 is a very cpu intensive game. a few things you can try is to turn off vsync and turn off the option that does the video recording other than that there are a few tweaks to adjust the memory properties and such that helps a little bit but my x2 was the same way if i had the graphics options too high just see if it runs better at a lower resolution without any aa or af. and lower the texture quality a little bit the texture system in that game is extremely demanding.


Well the game ran perfectly on my 2900XT. I didn't change any settings from before, and my 4850's can't run it now, so that points to a driver problem I think. And yeh vsync and the video thing is off.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


@Lozza
What drivers are you running and did you have this problem with previous driver versions.


I was on 9.5, now I'm on 9.6 but the problem is still there.


----------



## rico2001

ATI Catalyst 9.6 (XP 32 bit)
ATI Catalyst 9.6 (XP 64 bit)
ATI Catalyst 9.6 (Vista 32 bit)
ATI Catalyst 9.6 (Vista 64 bit)
ATI Catalyst 9.6 (Win7 32 bit)
ATI Catalyst 9.6 (Win7 64 bit)

-------------------------
*Update: 4850 X2 + 4870 X2 Quad-fire review*
I'm almost finished with my review, having problem with last game to test, which would be Crysis. The game doesn't do a hard crash, just a soft "program has stopped working". Not sure if is not liking the two cards together, the cat 9.5 drivers or both. Hopefully I can get this issue, maybe a re-install of Crysis, and wrap this review up.


----------



## rico2001

Release notes from cat. 9.6 drivers

Crysis â€" performance improves up to 13% in multi-GPU configurations
Crysis Warhead â€" performance improves up to 11% in multi-GPU configurations

That's awesome.... now If I can get the game to play.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Release notes from cat. 9.6 drivers

Crysis â€" performance improves up to 13% in multi-GPU configurations
Crysis Warhead â€" performance improves up to 11% in multi-GPU configurations

That's awesome.... now If I can get the game to play.









That's a pretty decent improvement there. Also I just updated the driver links on the OP. Let us know if you see an improvement if you get Crysis or Crysis Warhead running.


----------



## rico2001

Thanks for the thread op update, Open1. I'm going to take the 4870 X2 out of the case and test these cat 9.6's out on the 4850 X2 by itself.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Thanks for the thread op update, Open1. I'm going to take the 4870 X2 out of the case and test these cat 9.6's out on the 4850 X2 by itself.


Can you tell me how does the HD4870X2 physically compare in hardware quality compared to the HD4850X2. I've been kinda curious if it was also "fragile looking" or if it's decently made.


----------



## Villainstone

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Lozza*


Yeh but even when I disable crossfire it still freezes









I've searched around but I can't find anyone with the same problems, most people's seem to crash to desktop or give an error message. Mine just freezes.


Well freezing is exactly what I had issues with. Sometimes it would only take a few minutes sometimes it would take an hour. But one thing that I could count of is that it would freeze.

I sent out my card today and when it get here I will sell it for enough money to buy a 4890. If I can get enough to buy the XFX I would be more than happy.


----------



## rico2001

Not the increase I was expecting, now slower with the cat 9.6 drivers. Oh well, maybe next time around.

Crysis:
1600x1200
Catalyst 9.5 = 33.9 average fps
Catalyst 9.6 = 32.7 average fps

1900x1200
Catalyst 9.5 = 29.2 average fps
Catalyst 9.6 = 28.1 average fps

2560x1600
Catalyst 9.5 = 17.8 average fps
Catalyst 9.6 = 17.0 average fps









Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Can you tell me how does the HD4870X2 physically compare in hardware quality compared to the HD4850X2. I've been kinda curious if it was also "fragile looking" or if it's decently made.


Well I find the Sapphire 4870 X2 to be as unique as the 4850 X2. For starters, its a good pound to 1-1/2 pounds heavier than the 4850 X2. This not due to the pcb construction. The pcb's of both cards are difference construction and the pcb of the 4850 X2 is very close to the construction of the Sapphire 4870 gb. The disadvantage/weakness in construction of the 4850 X2 is more to due with the support of the whole card or lack there of. The Sapphire 4870 X2 has a solid one piece ~3/16" thick copper heatsink covering not only both gpus' but all of the memory. Resulting in the card being extremely stiff and well supported. With such a big, copper sink has to be some of the reason, along with the ddr5, the 4870 X2 has been till now, $160-200 more in cost than the 4850 X2. As you know, the 4850 X2 has smaller (2) piece dual heatsinks covering only the gpus. Being only connected by the 1" long extension pins that hold the thin aluminum cover/shroud. With this design the card does not have enough support and cause the pcb to bend or flex slightly. All in all, I still love the 4850 X2 and if I had to do again, would happily buy another one. That being said, the Sapphire 4870 X2 is outstanding and I see why it has been so popular. I'll post a few 4870 X2 review shortly after I post the 4850 X2 + 4870 X2 quad-fire review. If you can get a chance to grab one of these 4870 X2s cheap, you should do so.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Thanks alot rico2001. +rep for your constant dedication and work on this thread.


----------



## rico2001

SigSauer, my zalman should be in today. If I have time, will try to install it tonight.


----------



## d4martin

Currently using Sapphire driver Version 8.57.( I think its 9 but lists as this???)
What's the best driver at the Moment guys???? Is it 9.5???


----------



## d4martin

Hi Rico2001 and Open1Your1Eyes0

How do you insert those really large images????? None of mine seem to work????

http://s751.photobucket.com/albums/x...ageatstock.jpg


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *d4martin* 
Hi Rico2001 and Open1Your1Eyes0

How do you insert those really large images????? None of mine seem to work????

Go to photobucket.com and create a free account. Then you can post large photos and/or post links to them.

btw, nice vantage score.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *d4martin* 
Currently using Sapphire driver Version 8.57.( I think its 9 but lists as this???)
What's the best driver at the Moment guys???? Is it 9.5???

So far I've found the Cat. 9.2, 9.3's to be the fastest but not as stable as the later 9.4 to 9.6 drivers.


----------



## d4martin

This is my rig: Monolith










Still running at stock - but hope to overclock it soon



























GPU-Z listing at stock









Vantage at stock









3D Mark06 Results at stock









Will be interesting to see the changes when I overclock. Should get at least 3.8Ghz on air - some have managed just over 4Ghz but as I have a cat and have to wash my air filters at least one a month - I think 3.5-3.8Ghz will suit me fine. Will post the results. Many Thanks to Rico2001 and Open1Your1Eyes0 for help with the image uploads!!!! +REP


----------



## d4martin

Many Thanks Rico !!!! (See previous post!!!!)


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *d4martin* 
Hi Rico2001 and Open1Your1Eyes0

How do you insert those really large images????? None of mine seem to work????

http://s751.photobucket.com/albums/x...ageatstock.jpg

You may also use Imageshack. Also free site. Plus it's very simple to manage and upload mutiple pics at once.

For editing the large pics to be smaller. I just Microsoft Paint and crop/resize it proportionally. Usually in most cases you don't want the width to be more than 1000 pixels. Easy to see on most displays so I just use that as my reference.


----------



## rico2001

Nice post, *d4martin*. rep+ Keep them coming. Can you bench one of the games on the first post or any of the ones I have been doing. I'm interested to see how quad-cores bench in games.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
You may also use Imageshack. Also free site. Plus it's very simple to manage and upload mutiple pics at once.

For editing the large pics to be smaller. I just Microsoft Paint and crop/resize it proportionally. Usually in most cases you don't want the width to be more than 1000 pixels. Easy to see on most displays so I just use that as my reference.

Thanks - both the instructions from Rico2001 and yourself are top-notch!!!

I use Photoshop as I need this for work. I dicided to crop the screen grabs to the individual elements - that way I wasn't too constrained with the pixel size.
Found that if I used 95dpi the images were much more crisper than the standard 72dpi.

As you can see you help was really really useful!!!

thanks again!!!!


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Nice post, *d4martin*. rep+ Keep them coming. Can you bench one of the games on the first post or any of the ones I have been doing. I'm interested to see how quad-cores bench in games.

Hi Rico,

I have COD:WAW I could try that for you too







. I have downloaded as many of the benchmarking tools on the first page as I could. The Crysis Warhead tool is missing from the first post (not sure if you're aware of this yet- or may be sick to death already!!!) Is it available anywhere else here? If not I'll find it on the _'Wide, Wide World of Web'_ (I just love 'My name is Earl'!!!







)

I'll try and provide as many of the Benchies as possible with lots of lovely BIG images.

It could take a while as I'm off to Spain for a holiday next week.


----------



## Lozza

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Villainstone* 
Well freezing is exactly what I had issues with. Sometimes it would only take a few minutes sometimes it would take an hour. But one thing that I could count of is that it would freeze.

I sent out my card today and when it get here I will sell it for enough money to buy a 4890. If I can get enough to buy the XFX I would be more than happy.

Ah I see. Mine seems to crash in the first 2 minutes every time. I might try taking a card out and seeing what happens.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Philip22* 
System:
Intel i7 i920. Running stock at 2.69.
Mem. 3. gb of 1333mhz
GFX: Sapphire Radeon HD4850x2, Stock,
Western Digital 500 GB hardisc
PSU: 680 W sli and crossfire ready.

My CPU is better than the one used in this bench and still my score is lower by 2000 points on SM 2.0 and 3.0?

3dmark 06, 18 000 pts
3dmark vantage: 12 xxx pts

I know the scores are good though, but it ennoyes me that the same card, can do so much lower on performense?????
Plz help.

Thanks
Philip

Hi Philip, check my results for stock setting on post #1569 on page 157.

Very similar results 12,000+pts for Vantage and 18000+pts for 3D Mark 06.
We should compare again later if you are going to overclock. I hope to try for about 3.8Ghz on air, after my holiday and will bench-mark a few games for Rico2001. What about you????

Martin


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *d4martin* 
Hi Rico,

I have COD:WAW I could try that for you too







. I have downloaded as many of the benchmarking tools on the first page as I could. The Crysis Warhead tool is missing from the first post (not sure if you're aware of this yet- or may be sick to death already!!!) Is it available anywhere else here? If not I'll find it on the _'Wide, Wide World of Web'_ (I just love 'My name is Earl'!!!








)

I'll try and provide as many of the Benchies as possible with lots of lovely BIG images.

It could take a while as I'm off to Spain for a holiday next week.

Any game you can would be great. Not many of the 4850 X2 owners have been posting any game benches, most are into 3dmark scores. So Iâ€™m still interested in the dual core cpu vs. quad core cpu match up.

You can find the Crysis Warhead benchmark here: link


----------



## rico2001

Mixed Quad-fire review: Sapphire 4850 X2 + Sapphire 4870 X2

Ok, finally completed my review. This will most likely be the last review I write involving the 4850 X2. It has been a great card and I can't express that fact enough. And even though I'm selling one of my 4850 X2's, I'm keeping the other one for myself, to continue experimenting with. So enjoy this review and I look forward to writing other video card and CF reviews as I continue to move up the Sapphire Radeon video card ladder.










Installed









Catalyst Control Center (ccc): Graphics hardware info
Primary Adapter
Graphics Card Manufacturer Powered by ATI
Graphics Chipset ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2
Device ID 9441
Vendor 1002

Subsystem ID E89A
Subsystem Vendor ID 174B

Graphics Bus Capability PCI Express 2.0
Maximum Bus Setting PCI Express 2.0 x8

BIOS Version011.016.000.025
BIOS Part Number113-AAE89Q-X101
BIOS Date2008/12/11

Memory Size 1024 MB
Memory Type GDDR5

Core Clock in MHz 750 MHz
Memory Clock in MHz 900 MHz
Total Memory Bandwidth in GByte/s 115.2 GByte/s

Linked Adapter
Graphics Card Manufacturer Powered by ATI
Graphics Chipset ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2
Device ID 9443
Vendor 1002

Subsystem ID E870
Subsystem Vendor ID 174B

Graphics Bus Capability PCI Express 2.0
Maximum Bus Setting PCI Express 2.0 x8

BIOS Version 011.011.000.001
BIOS Part Number 11X-B50102-X06
BIOS Date 10/23/2008

Memory Size 1024 MB
Memory Type GDDR3

Core Clock in MHz 625 MHz
Memory Clock in MHz 993 MHz
Total Memory Bandwidth in GByte/s 63.6 GByte/s

Linked Adapter
Graphics Card Manufacturer Powered by ATI
Graphics Chipset ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2
Device ID 9443
Vendor 1002

Subsystem ID E870
Subsystem Vendor ID 174B

Graphics Bus Capability PCI Express 2.0
Maximum Bus Setting PCI Express 2.0 x8

BIOS Version 011.011.000.001
BIOS Part Number 11X-B50102-X06
BIOS Date 10/23/2008

Memory Size 1024 MB
Memory Type GDDR3

Core Clock in MHz 625 MHz
Memory Clock in MHz 993 MHz
Total Memory Bandwidth in GByte/s 63.6 GByte/s

Linked Adapter
Graphics Card Manufacturer Powered by ATI
Graphics Chipset ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2
Device ID 9441
Vendor 1002

Subsystem ID E89A
Subsystem Vendor ID 174B

Graphics Bus Capability PCI Express 2.0
Maximum Bus Setting PCI Express 2.0 x8

BIOS Version011.016.000.025
BIOS Part Number113-AAE89A-X201
BIOS Date2008/12/11

Memory Size 1024 MB
Memory Type GDDR5

Core Clock in MHz 750 MHz
Memory Clock in MHz 900 MHz
Total Memory Bandwidth in GByte/s 115.2 GByte/s

Catalyst Control Center (ccc): crossfireX configuration
GPU-Z technical info
GPU-Z clock, thermo, and fan speed info









Testbed:
E8300 @ 3.8G & 4.0G
6Gb DDR2
ATI Catalyst 9.5
(2) SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850 X2 2GB (in Quad-fire CrossfireX)
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850 X2 2GB + SAPPHIRE Radeon 4870 X2 2GB (in Quad-fire CrossfireX)

Testing
3DMark 2006
3DMark Vantage
Call of Duty: World at War
Call of Juarez
Crysis
Devil May Cry 4
Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars
FarCry 2
Furmark
Left 4 Dead
Sanctuary
S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear Sky
X3 Terran Conflict

3DMark 2006:
4850 X4 = 19818
4850 X2 + 4870 X2 = 20250









3Dmark Vantage:
4850 X4 = P13784
4850 X2 + 4870 X2 = P14176









Call of Duty: World at War
1,680 x 1,050 4xAA 16xAF, DirectX 9, Maximum Detail
4850 X4 = 180 average fps
4850 X2 + 4870 X2 = 177 average fps

1,920 x 1,080 4xAA 16xAF, DirectX 9, Maximum Detail
4850 X4 = 177 average fps

4850 X2 + 4870 X2 = 175 average fps









Call of Juarez:
1680 x 1050, 4xAA, highest quality settings
4850 X4 = 102 average fps
4850 X2 + 4870 X2 = 107 average fps









1920 x 1200, 4xAA, highest quality settings
4850 X4 = 95 average fps
4850 X2 + 4870 X2 = 96 average fps









Crysis:
1600x1200
4850 X4 = 41 average fps
4850 X2 + 4870 X2 = 41 average fps

1900x1200
4850 X4 = 37 average fps
4850 X2 + 4870 X2 = 37 average fps

2560x1600
4850 X4 = 26 average fps
4850 X2 + 4870 X2 = 26 average fps









Devil May Cry 4:
1680x1050, 8xAA
4850 X4 = 268 average fps
4850 X2 + 4870 X2 = 296 average fps









Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars
1600 x 1200, DX10, highest settings, 16xAF, 4xAA
4850 X4 = 135 average fps
4850 X4 + 4870 X2 = 129 average fps









1920 x 1080, DX10, highest settings, 16xAF, 4xAA
4850 X4 = 133 average fps
4850 X2 + 4870 X2 = 125 average fps









FARCRY 2:
1680 x 1050, DX10, Ultra high settings, 16xAF, 4xAA
4850 X4 = 62.8 average fps
4850 X2 + 4870 X2 =68 average fps









1920 x 1080, DX10, Ultra high settings, 16xAF, 4xAA
4850 X4 = 58.7 average fps
4850 X2 + 4870 X2 = 67.0 average fps









Furmark:
1440x900
4850 X4 = 287 average fps
4850 X2 + 4870 X2 = 341 average fps









1680x1050
4850 X4 = 232 average fps
4850 X2 + 4870 X2 = 269 average fps









Left 4 Dead:
1680x1050, DX9, 16xATF, 8xAA, V-sync off, Shader: very high, all other settings: high
Difficulty: Expert
Campaign: No Mercy
Mission: 1: apartments
FRAPS settings: 300 seconds
4850 X4 = sorry, did not test
4850 X2 + 4870 X2 = 149 average fps

1920x1080, DX9, 16xATF, 8xAA, V-sync off, Shader: very high, all other
4850 X4 = sorry, did not test
4850 X2 + 4870 X2 = 143 average fps









Sanctuary:
1680x1050
4850 X4 = 194 average fps
4850 X2 + 4870 X2 = 207 average fps









1920x1080
4850 X4 = sorry, did not test
4850 X2 + 4870 X2 = 186 average fps









S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky:
1680 x 1050, DX10, 16xAF 0xAA
4850 X4 = 64 average fps
4850 X2 + 4870 X2 = 65 average fps









1920 x 1080, DX10, 16xAF 0xAA
4850 X4 = 60 average fps
4850 X2 + 4870 X2 = 60 average fps









X3 Terran Conflict:
1680 x 1050
4850 X4 = 96 average fps
4850 X2 + 4870 X2 = 100 average fps









1920 x 1080
4850 X4 = sorry, did not test
4850 X2 + 4870 X2 = 97 average fps









Conclusion:
Well the Radeon HD 4800 series continues to amaze. Any and all HD 48XX series single or X2 can be crossfired with each other resulting in great performance gains. Again, although quad-fire is incredible, I'm still a big fan of tri-fire. Since tri-fire can achieve ~80-100% the performance of quad-fire, in the quad-fire vs. tri-fire / price vs. performance comparison, tri-fire is the clear winner.


----------



## frankydee

IÂ´ve changed the GPU heat sink against the EK VGA Supreme.... 



The temps are idle 34Â°C, by 22Â°C in my room. Full load 52Â°C.


----------



## d4martin

Wow great write up Rico +Rep for your efforts.

*Now the following is for Rico2001 and Open1Your1Eyes0;*

I think it would be a great itea to add HOW to bench the games on page one with step by step details. If you added that each member was to provide benchs for games as well as the Crysis/Warehead demo or game more people would do it. Many people know how to play them but may not know how to benchmark them if the game doesn't have a benchmark tool included. Myself included - I've only learned to do this stuff since being here.
If there was a step by step guide - at least it would garantee constistancy - Make sure that everyone was using the same version of each tool and running the same tests.
What do you think???? There could be a list of games with bench tools, instructions
and could use this inform to create a small database of how cards work with CPU's etc.

I'll be adding Crysis and Warhead benchmark for GPU and CPU tests hopefully soon for my system prior to overclock and driver update.

Martin


----------



## d4martin

Hi Rico,

tried to run some Crysis Benchmarks last night (last chance before my holiday abroad).
Ran like a dream. I set it up to queue for 3 resolutions, with all setting at very high, no AA, 64bit, dx10 on GPU,time of day:9, demo loops:3 and let it rip. Played through the demo 3 times

I didn't seem to get an average FPS result???!!!??. It just seemed to say Complete at Very High each time. It looked exactly like your Crysis screen shots without the average fps in the results window - If you know what I mean(should have provided a screen grab).

Here's a copy of *your* results *edited in photoshop* to show how my results would have looked. See the big gap where the FPS should be????










*Any ideas???*

I must be doing something wrong or not selecting the correct settings!! I'll have another look when I have a chance.
Do you bench on the standard demo and play through it, or bench on a 'flyby' style demo. I'm I supposed to load another file first?
I'm surprised at how very similar it is to playing the original Far Cry (i know it's made by the same people!!) but with better 3d models and textures.

When I figure it out I'll run on GPU then try the CPU option so you can get an idea of how my quad compares against your dual core. Anyway talk to you in about a week!!

Martin


----------



## rico2001

@d4martin
Can you post a pic of the entire crysis benchmark window?
What crysis benchmark build are you running?
Also, did you install the (3) crysis patches?


----------



## d4martin

Hi Rico,

do you still need the updates for the demo? I can't do it until I get back from holiday (not at home now) !!!
I'll have to *double check* the build number and everything else when I get home.

I'll be in touch in just over a week.

Martin


----------



## kimosabi

Thanks for all those magnificent tests, rico. Priceless info.

How do you figure those tests would look if you did those on a quad cpu?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kimosabi*


Thanks for all those magnificent tests, rico. Priceless info.

How do you figure those tests would look if you did those on a quad cpu?


Thanks man, just want to help out. On the quad core question: I think a quad core would only help me out with higher 3dmark2006 and vantage scores. From all the reviews I've read, with whatever CF configuration I was testing at the time + my cpu @ 4G, I've been faster than the test cpu used in the reviews. And most of them have been using quad core Q9XXX and i7s. I do believe with the game title we have today, quad cores are still not fully utilized. This is why I try to ask us 4850 X2 owners that also have a quad core cpu, to bench something besides 3dmark. Then we could better confirmation of dual core vs quad core. I am thinking about getting a quad core, but I'm not aggressively perusing it. I'm mostly putting my effort in getting more and more cards, as you can tell.







4890 next for me.


----------



## djthechemist

Hi all, new to this scene yet i have had my HD 4850 X2 for almost 5 months lol.
Just thinking... is it a smart move to buy another 4850 card and run it tri-fire?
i was reading Rico2001's review on quad fire... but not totally sure.
keep in mind... im running it on windows 7 RC X64... so im not totally sure whats all suppored


----------



## rico2001

First, welcome to the owners thread, djthechemist. Glad you posted. It's funny another 4850 X2 owner just pm'ed me with a similar question. He/she asked was it worth going to quad-fire with a 4870 X or even going tri-fire with another 4850 or 4870. I'll post what I replied. Other owners and anyone with an opinion, feel free to also weigh in on the question.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*

Well it depends what â€œworthâ€ means to you. One 4850 X2 is more than enough for any of todayâ€™s games. Iâ€™ve went tri-fire, quad-fire, mixing 4850s with 4870s, because itâ€™s a hobby and I like seeing what will work. Personally, I think tri-fire is the way to go for all the performance benefit without spending X2 price. I really enjoyed my tri-fire 4850s and the tri-fire 4850 X2 + 4870 set-up. Both were outstanding and tri-fire scales extremely well. I brought a 4870 X2 for two reasons: I wanted to see if it would in fact CF with a 4850 X2 and second, Iâ€™m just moving up the ati graphics card ladder. If you donâ€™t care anything about benchmarking and just enjoy game play, going pass what you already have isnâ€™t necessary. Hope that answered you question. Oh check out any of my reviews and you can see how all the different CF configurations compare for yourself.


----------



## djthechemist

yeahhh.... I have tried many different over clocking numbers...some more stable than others. While playing games like Crysis and FarCry 2 are hobbies of mine, I also like to get my benchmark numbers up there









Im just a bit confused on your past statement, 4850 X2 + 4870?
If that works... by all means is it worth it to do that for the screen sizes and scaling performance? My local dealer has some wicked deals on both cards so I was just inquiring to see if she will benifit my benchmark numbers + enhance game play. thanks


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *djthechemist*


yeahhh.... I have tried many different over clocking numbers...some more stable than others. While playing games like Crysis and FarCry 2 are hobbies of mine, I also like to get my benchmark numbers up there









Im just a bit confused on your past statement, 4850 X2 + 4870?
If that works... by all means is it worth it to do that for the screen sizes and scaling performance? My local dealer has some wicked deals on both cards so I was just inquiring to see if she will benifit my benchmark numbers + enhance game play. thanks










I meant (4850 X2 + 4870) in tri-fire crossfireX. I have tried that CF configuration also, it works well and performs slightly better than 4850 X3 tri-fire (4850 X2 + 4850). See the review in my sig to see what you can expect. But yes, short answer, adding a 4850 or 4870 will increase all of your benchmarks, scores and smooth out game play even more than you expericne now.


----------



## guscol

thanks rico for your dedication and work for this forum help me a lot


----------



## rico2001

No problem and I enjoy this stuff. You just press the "rep+" button on the left side of the screen under the person you wish to rep. How's your 4850 X2 doing? Going to add a card and give it some company soon?


----------



## rico2001

Got the ZALMAN VF700 installed. Haven't install the card back into the case yet to check the temps. Working on something else at the moment. Fits well and even though its bigger than the VF900, you can fit two of these on easy. Pic isn't great.


----------



## SigSauer

Looks good, can't wait to see the tempertures.


----------



## guscol

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
No problem and I enjoy this stuff. You just press the "rep+" button on the left side of the screen under the person you wish to rep. How's your 4850 X2 doing? Going to add a card and give it some company soon?

i love my 4850x2 is working fine but for now i need upgrade my psu my last upgrade was a velociraptor ,and take rep for me jejej


----------



## Shroomalistic

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Got the ZALMAN VF700 installed. Haven't install the card back into the case yet to check the temps. Working on something else at the moment. Fits well and even though its bigger than the VF900, you can fit two of these on easy. Pic isn't great.

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...2/IMG_1986.jpg

Nice let us know how well it cools. 2 of those wont look to bad and they will be lighter then the vf900.

Would it be worth it to sell my 4850x2 1gb and get the 2gb? or maybe even a 4870x2?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic*


Nice let us know how well it cools. 2 of those wont look to bad and they will be lighter then the vf900.

Would it be worth it to sell my 4850x2 1gb and get the 2gb? or maybe even a 4870x2?


Well so far the temps are not good. I'm thinking the plan fin, non heat pipe design is not great. I have a new found respect for the stock cooler Sapphire provided us with. I'll post some pics later on tonight.

Is it worth selling your X2 1 gb and going to a X2 2gb? I'd say no, not at this point. The 4870 X2 is coming down in price and it is a good bit faster than the 4850 X2 (you can see by my review).

On that note, I'm going to make an offer to all 4850 X2 owners only. Since I don't seem to have any takers for the 4850 X2, I'm selling. *I offer you guys my card for $165 shipped (US & CAD) and if you live outside North America, we can work out some additional shipping cost.*

I'm taking a big hit at this point so If I'm going to almost give this card away, I'd rather one of the 4850 X2 owners enjoy a good deal.


----------



## Shroomalistic

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Well so far the temps are not good. I'm thinking the plan fin, non heat pipe design is not great. I have a new found respect for the stock cooler Sapphire provided us with. I'll post some pics later on tonight.

Is it worth selling your X2 1 gb and going to a X2 2gb? I'd say no, not at this point. The 4870 X2 is coming down in price and it is a good bit faster than the 4850 X2 (you can see by my review).

On that note, I'm going to make an offer to all 4850 X2 owners only. Since I don't seem to have any takers for the 4850 X2, I'm selling. *I offer you guys my card for $165 shipped (US & CAD) and if you live outside North America, we can work out some additional shipping cost.*

I'm taking a big hit at this point so If I'm going to almost give this card away, I'd rather one of the 4850 X2 owners enjoy a good deal.

Well my birthday is coming up, july 1st. I might have to take you up on that deal if you still have it.

The only reason I ask about the upgrade is because I got my new monitor (LG 23") and now game at 1920x1080. I need the extra memory now.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic*


Well my birthday is coming up, july 1st. I might have to take you up on that deal if you still have it.

The only reason I ask about the upgrade is because I got my new monitor (LG 23") and now game at 1920x1080. I need the extra memory now.


Nice. You may need to upgrade you psu, 750W won't be enough for 4850 X2 quad-fire. It would be close to a hair under. According to this psu calculator I use, my e8300 at 4G + (4850 X2/4870 X2 quad-fire) = 715W at 85% and 795W at peak. You having a quad core cpu would pull over 800W I would imagine. Well let me know if you want my card.







http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp


----------



## Shroomalistic

well if you still have the card monday/tuesday I will most likely take it
Im tempted to just say screw it and get the sapphire or xfx 4870x2.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic* 
well if you still have the card monday/tuesday I will most likely take it
Im tempted to just say screw it and get the sapphire or xfx 4870x2.

Well that is an option Shroom. Sell your 4850 X2, buy a 4870 X2, keep with a one card system. Then you would be able to keep your physx and x-fi cards in the case.


----------



## Shroomalistic

looks like i might have to scratch all my options. Might be getting laid off tomorrow.


----------



## Redbull1985

IS there any good reviews comparing 4850x2 2GB vs 1GB versions? Ordered mine and just came to know that it was a 1gb version.

PS: I game at 1920x1200 resolution.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic* 
looks like i might have to scratch all my options. Might be getting laid off tomorrow.

Sorry to hear that, Shroom. Hopefully you won't get laid off. Was worried about that same things the months of march, april and may. My place is down to bare minimum so I think I'm safe.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Redbull1985* 
IS there any good reviews comparing 4850x2 2GB vs 1GB versions? Ordered mine and just came to know that it was a 1gb version.

PS: I game at 1920x1200 resolution.

I've never seen a review pitting both versions against each other but here are some reviews of both.

4850 X2 1GB (the only 1GB review I know of)
http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?...hlbnRodXNpYXN0

4850 X2 2GB
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/vid...-hd4850x2.html
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/897/1/
http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Ha...iews/hd4850x2/


----------



## Redbull1985

^^ Thanx bro...reps added.Btw, out of experience, how much do u think, my experience will be affected by the 1gb Video memory as compared to 2gb?


----------



## rico2001

Question: is your current 4850 a 512mb and are you planning on going tri-fire?

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Redbull1985*


^^ Thanx bro...reps added.Btw, out of experience, how much do u think, my experience will be affected by the 1gb Video memory as compared to 2gb?


I don't have any personal experience with the 1GB model. Shroomalistic has the 1 GB model and I believe he pulled out the same gpu score as my 2GB model in 3dmark2006 and Vantage. But those are only examples of low res 1280 x 1024.


----------



## Redbull1985

Yep, i have a 512mb card, but i am selling it to get the 4850x2....Will adding a 512mb one later help me real well? also, will my mobo support that 3-way Cfire?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Redbull1985* 
Yep, i have a 512mb card, but i am selling it to get the 4850x2....Will adding a 512mb one later help me real well? also, will my mobo support that 3-way Cfire?

Yes, adding another 4850, even at 512mb one, and running tri-fire will improve your performance 30-50% over the 4850 X2.


----------



## Extreme_kid

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Got the ZALMAN VF700 installed. Haven't install the card back into the case yet to check the temps. Working on something else at the moment. Fits well and even though its bigger than the VF900, you can fit two of these on easy. Pic isn't great.










Can you still Increase/decrease the new fan speed ?


----------



## rico2001

*Opening post updated:* added temperature, power consumption and noise level charts.


----------



## Extreme_kid

oh you finally took over the thread... congratz


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Extreme_kid* 
Can you still Increase/decrease the new fan speed ?

No you can't adjust the speed. There are just two speeds: silent and normal (5v & 12v).

Thanks for reminding me about telling you guys how the ZALMAN VF700 went. Well short answer not good. Don't bother with this cooler and stick to the better constructed (heat pipe design), better supported (4 hold downs vs. 2), slightly more expensive all copper ZALMAN VF900. As I said in some post above, I've gained a new found respect for the very good stock coolers SAPPHIRE provided for the 4850 X2. Here are some pics of the installation and disappointing temperatures I got from the ZALMAN VF700.






















































































































Idle: (ZALMAN on the left)









Load: (ZALMAN on the left)


----------



## Extreme_kid

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
No you can't adjust the speed. There are just two speeds: silent and normal (5v & 12v).

I know this might sound stupid but is there any way of connecting a Graphics card's fan to a fan controller for manual adjustments ?!

Ive been thinking of doing the same after mu new build is finished , I might try my chance with Fatal1ty ones


----------



## porksmuggler

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Extreme_kid* 
I know this might sound stupid but is there any way of connecting a Graphics card's fan to a fan controller for manual adjustments ?!

you can do it w/ the zalman fan mate 2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118217


----------



## Extreme_kid

Quote:


Originally Posted by *porksmuggler* 
you can do it w/ the zalman fan mate 2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118217

its not convenient , there must be a cable adapter or sth


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Extreme_kid* 
its not convenient , there must be a cable adapter or sth









You know you may be able to hook it up to the stock fan power connector but would requires some cutting, splicing. Then could control fan from the CCC. I would not recommend it IMO. The highest fan setting on the zalman is not loud at all.


----------



## Extreme_kid

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
You know you may be able to hook it up to the stock fan power connector but would requires some cutting, splicing. Then could control fan from the CCC. I would not recommend it IMO. The highest fan setting on the zalman is not loud at all.

but without CCC or a fan controller how do you adjust tzalman's speed ?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Extreme_kid* 
but without CCC or a fan controller how do you adjust tzalman's speed ?

Why wouldn't you have CCC? or are you thinking of using a zalman on a non-ati card?


----------



## Extreme_kid

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Why wouldn't you have CCC? or are you thinking of using a zalman on a non-ati card?

I do , ok what I meant was without zalman's fan cable connected to the card how does CCC adjust the speed ?!


----------



## rico2001

*Owner's List updated. (06/28/2009)*

Welcome:
aamir3kk
djthechemist
ZTR1760
vtech1
Zaid


----------



## thunderstar

Hi all, have a 4850x2,and didn't know i could put a 4870 with it to make a tri set up........currently have an asus P5NSLI MOBO..Which mobo do you recommend for a tri set up?.thanx,mike.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *thunderstar* 
Hi all, have a 4850x2,and didn't know i could put a 4870 with it to make a tri set up........currently have an asus P5NSLI MOBO..Which mobo do you recommend for a tri set up?.thanx,mike.

Welcome to the thread thunderstar, and you you can Cf any HD 48XX card with the 4850 X2, although I suggest going with the 4850 or higher. Both tri-fire 4850's and tri-fire 4850 X2 + 4870 work and sclae very well. On the mobo question: any crossfireX compatible mobo will work (I like ASUS myself), preferably both pci-e 2.0 being 16x/16x but not mandatory. 8x/8x works very well and only starts to bottleneck one card, the 4870 X2. Fill out your system specs and post a verifications or gpu-z pic if you can then I'll add you to the owners list.


----------



## thunderstar

Hi, thanx for the info,will get another asus board with 2 16x lanes....Not sure if i uploaded it right......System,quad 6600,asus p5n-sli,8 gigs of ocz 6400 reaper ram,ati 4850x2,150 gig raptor and a 500 gig western digital harddrives,thermaltake 850 watt ps,in a cooler master case..Don't think i did this right..lol Vista 64 bit..


----------



## vicious_fishes

thunderstar - any X38 or X48 motherboard will be fine


----------



## thunderstar

Ok, thanx,will look into them both....


----------



## laurie

So what would be the better option.
crossfire with 2x 4870x2 or 1 4870x2 and 1 4870.
I read that tri fire scales well.


----------



## vicious_fishes

quadfire is actually detrimental over trifire. 4870x2 + 4890


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *laurie*


So what would be the better option.
crossfire with 2x 4870x2 or 1 4870x2 and 1 4870.
I read that tri fire scales well.


So far I've found with my quad-fire and tri-fire testing, you can get 90-100% of the performance of quad-fire with tri-fire. Quad-fire also brings into play a little more heat than tri-fire. With the new 4890, totally changes the question. The 4890 is 15%-20% faster than the 4870 depending on the clock. So, I believe, don't have any proof yet, a 4870 X2 + 4890 will equal (2) 4870 X2 in quad-fire.

And some point of reference:
CF = ~1.5 to 1.99 scaling over single
Tri-fire = ~1.1 to 1.52 scaling over CF
Quad-fire = ~1.0 to ~1.15 scaling over Tri-fire


----------



## rico2001

vicious_fishes, great minds think alike. lol







4870 X2 + 4890 would be the way I would go.


----------



## laurie

Nice! thanks for the info fellas








+ as always.


----------



## rico2001

Laurie, thanks for your "will your cpu be a bottleneck?" link in your sig. I'l sealing it.


----------



## laurie

Seal away my man. Spread the word.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Quote:



Originally Posted by *kimosabi*


thanks for all those magnificent tests, rico. Priceless info.

How do you figure those tests would look if you did those on a quad cpu?


thanks man, just want to help out. On the quad core question: I think a quad core would only help me out with higher 3dmark2006 and vantage scores. From all the reviews i've read, with whatever cf configuration i was testing at the time + my cpu @ 4g, i've been faster than the test cpu used in the reviews. And most of them have been using quad core q9xxx and i7s. I do believe with the game title we have today, quad cores are still not fully utilized. This is why i try to ask us 4850 x2 owners that also have a quad core cpu, to bench something besides 3dmark. Then we could better confirmation of dual core vs quad core. I am thinking about getting a quad core, but i'm not aggressively perusing it. I'm mostly putting my effort in getting more and more cards, as you can tell.







4890 next for me.


This article explains a lot of what I was saying. Thanks *laurie*
http://www.guru3d.com/article/cpu-sc...e-processors/1

------------------------------------

*Owner's List updated. (06/30/2009)*

Welcome








*thunderstar*


----------



## SigSauer

My card died a few days ago, don't know what's wrong with it, hopefully i can get a new one soon


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SigSauer*


My card died a few days ago, don't know what's wrong with it, hopefully i can get a new one soon










Wow, sorry to hear he bad news Sig.







I'm really starting to think removing the shroud and loosing that support is somehow causing card failures. I have mine off for the under performing zalman but I think I should re-install it. Are you going to rma the card?


----------



## azianai

just got my 4850X2 on monday!
Ran 3dMark06 on it, will do an official posting, but here's the link for my test:
GPU is OCed, i don't recall the exact values, but i believe 675/1100
Haven't had a chance to run vantage on it, but will get to that tonight =D
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=11337733
comparison to last week when i ran 2 diamond 4890 XOC (stock OC) in crossfire
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=11271363


----------



## Extreme_kid

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Wow, sorry to hear he bad news Sig.







I'm really starting to think removing the shroud and loosing that support is somehow causing card failures. I have mine off for the under performing zalman but I think I should re-install it. Are you going to rma the card?


Rico , why dont you use a Card Keeper ?!

http://www.cardkeeper.net/images/1225.jpg


----------



## Extreme_kid

In case of a failure , how do you RMA an ATI card ?!
do I have to, like EVGA, register the card within 30 days of purchase or it doesnt need any registration ?!


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *azianai*


just got my 4850X2 on monday!
Ran 3dMark06 on it, will do an official posting, but here's the link for my test:
GPU is OCed, i don't recall the exact values, but i believe 675/1100
Haven't had a chance to run vantage on it, but will get to that tonight =D
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=11337733
comparison to last week when i ran 2 diamond 4890 XOC (stock OC) in crossfire
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=11271363


Welcome to the owners thread *azianai*. Nice 06 scores and interesting results, I wouldn't have expected. Can't wait for your vantage scores. Through up some screen shots if you get a chance.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Extreme_kid*


Rico , why dont you use a Card Keeper ?!

http://www.cardkeeper.net/images/1225.jpg


Nope, haven't heard of that. NO worries though, my zalman performed so bad, I'm going back to the stock cooler. Do you know where to that Card Keeper?

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Extreme_kid*


In case of a failure , how do you RMA an ATI card ?!
do I have to, like EVGA, register the card within 30 days of purchase or it doesnt need any registration ?!










I believe you have to send it back to Sapphire and I hear it's no fun.


----------



## azianai

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Extreme_kid*


In case of a failure , how do you RMA an ATI card ?!
do I have to, like EVGA, register the card within 30 days of purchase or it doesnt need any registration ?!










with sapphire you contact the retailer you purchased it from.
They have no USA office whatsoever.
so if its newegg, you contact newegg. They'll want proof of purchase, and can/will charge you a fee for rmaing the card to hong kong (where sapphire tech is located) and the fee to send a replacement to you.
http://www.sapphiretech.com/presenta...n=000203&lid=1
Only downside to buying sapphire.

rico, will put pics up when i get home from work.
I do have to say, i tried replicating that 22k score, and i couldn't replicate it lol
Kept gettin 21k and change =(


----------



## Extreme_kid

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Nope, haven't heard of that. NO worries though, my zalman performed so bad, I'm going back to the stock cooler. Do you know where to that Card Keeper?


Theyre Awesome and very cheap *CLICK* & *CLICK*


----------



## Extreme_kid

Quote:



Originally Posted by *azianai*


with sapphire you contact the retailer you purchased it from.
They have no USA office whatsoever.
so if its newegg, you contact newegg. They'll want proof of purchase, and can/will charge you a fee for rmaing the card to hong kong (where sapphire tech is located) and the fee to send a replacement to you.
http://www.sapphiretech.com/presenta...n=000203&lid=1
Only downside to buying sapphire.


lol no US office...? wow didnt know that








extra shipping charge is no problem... EVGA does the same,


----------



## SigSauer

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Wow, sorry to hear he bad news Sig.







I'm really starting to think removing the shroud and loosing that support is somehow causing card failures. I have mine off for the under performing zalman but I think I should re-install it. Are you going to rma the card?


I allready have rma'd the card, so hopefully i'll get a new one or my money.


----------



## theOriginalContra

i have two things to say,

1. i had the card first (I will be getting it in two days)
2. why are there still Circuit City adds running...lol

this is a huge step up from what i have now, i have a 8800GTS 320mb

i will also use it to run 3 monitors


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *theOriginalContra*


i have two things to say,

1. i had the card first (I will be getting it in two days)
2. why are there still Circuit City adds running...lol

this is a huge step up from what i have now, i have a 8800GTS 320mb

i will also use it to run 3 monitors


Nice purchase and the 4850 X2 will be a really big improvement over your 8800. You cpu may bottleneck the card a little, not sure but we'll see. Post some pics and benches if you can.


----------



## theOriginalContra

i will, should i upgrade my CPU and MOBO?

if so what can i get for around $200 or a little more (if anything good) for all 3... mobo/CPU and Ram

any suggestions?


----------



## rico2001

Looked up your Opteron and believe it will bottleneck the performance of the 4850 X2. I'm not knowledgeable on AMD cpus much anymore so can't really advice which one to upgrade to. On the Intel side, most any new generation dual or quad core cpu at or over 3Ghz will push the 4850 X2 fine.


----------



## azianai

here we go, a screen i did tonight


----------



## rico2001

Nice score, azianai. You are added to the owners list. Keep up the good work and you know you may want to complete all of the "feature tests". I think it will improve you gpus score.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
you may want to complete all of the "feature tests". I think it will improve you gpus score.

Yes please. This has to be a fair comparison so don't change the default settings. Just install and run.


----------



## theOriginalContra

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Nice score, azianai. You are added to the owners list. Keep up the good work and you know you may want to complete all of the "feature tests". I think it will improve you gpus score.


i will get my card this Friday, will you add me then?

lol


----------



## d4martin

Hi Rico,

I'm back from holiday. I have a screen shot below of the whole Cysis bench screen. NOT showing the FPS - what am I doing wrong???? Any ideas????
Using the Crysis Demo and tool links from Page 1










and again with some other runs:










Have tried a few times but never get the FPS!!! ???? !!!! :-(

should I only run the 1280 x 1050 res tests as I only have a 19" at the moment????


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *theOriginalContra*


i will get my card this Friday, will you add me then?

lol


Sure will, just need some proof you have the card.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *d4martin*


Hi Rico,

I'm back from holiday. I have a screen shot below of the whole Cysis bench screen. NOT showing the FPS - what am I doing wrong???? Any ideas???? 
Using the Crysis Demo and tool links from Page 1










and again with some other runs:










Have tried a few times but never get the FPS!!! ???? !!!! :-(

should I only run the 1280 x 1050 res tests as I only have a 19" at the moment????


I believe you asked this questions before. I do see what is wrong. It could be the demo build that you are using. I own this game so I use it and the benching tool. Yours looks like it doesn't even count you frames along with no counting you fps averages. When you run the tool, do you "run as administrator"? Right click the .exe and hit "run as administrator. See if that helps.


----------



## azianai

*edit accidental double post*


----------



## azianai

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Yes please. This has to be a fair comparison so don't change the default settings. Just install and run.


you know the featured test aren't counted in the score though...thats why i never run them lol
but when i get home i'll run the test again with them on i guess.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *azianai* 
you know the featured test aren't counted in the score though...thats why i never run them lol
but when i get home i'll run the test again with them on i guess.

azianai, I didn't know if the "feature tests" are counted toward the final scores or not. I only suggested b/c your gpu score was a little low from the averages most 4850 X2 owners get and the missing "feature tests" were the only differences I saw from you screen cap.


----------



## azianai

yeah i dunno i've been having some screwy issues with the 9.6 drivers
with my 4890 in CF setup, the ATI overdrive downclock wouldn't reclock the cards back up, and they were only running at like 500/800 lol.
Took 3 reinstalls of the drivers to fix that, the 4850X2 is clocking properly according to GPUZ's log, but i don't know what exactly could be the issue =(
I'll give it a try tonight with all the tests on, i usually only do the main tests as i rather spend the time playing games than benchmarking =D


----------



## theOriginalContra

lolololol...

got it one day early (today)

but i can't use it, as i suspected my SATA slots were in the way of the card

the card is soo long it covers all 4 SATA slots
so i gotta wait for my new MOBO and stuff...
i spacifically got a mobo so that the SATA slots werent in the way

OK Rico you can add me now
just cant install it...lol


----------



## rico2001

Good pics theOriginalContra, nothing nicer than a brand new X2.







And yes, it's a long beast, covered all of my sata ports as well, had to use 90 degree cables.

*Owner's List updated. (07/2/2009)*

Welcome new owner *theOriginalContra*


----------



## Extreme_kid

Quote:



Originally Posted by *theOriginalContra*


just cant install it...lol











Sell it to me


----------



## azianai

here's the full tests, scores went up a little but still consistent


----------



## SigSauer

Just got an e-mail that they'll send a new card


----------



## theOriginalContra

ok, i went to the store today and got some 90 degree SATA cables to use on my current board till the new one comes in next week

i also wanted to use the benchmark to document the difference between the two
but i gotta upgrade to Vista to install it
so i am gonna use my Upgrade of Vista that i never did install

i will post up some benches here in a little while


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *azianai* 
here's the full tests, scores went up a little but still consistent









Another nice score and I see the "feature tests" really didn't have effect on your score. You increase ~150 points across the board. Rep+ for your efforts.

Btw, what mhz is your i7 at in this bench?

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SigSauer* 
Just got an e-mail that they'll send a new card









Great news on your card.


----------



## Redbull1985

Just got my 4850x2 1GB card......but Far Cry 2 @ 1920x1200 and 2x AA is really laggy.Am i doing something wrong?

Drivers are 9.6 and it feels like only one of the cores is working.


----------



## skugpezz

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Redbull1985*


Just got my 4850x2 1GB card......but Far Cry 2 @ 1920x1200 and 2x AA is really laggy.Am i doing something wrong?

Drivers are 9.6 and it feels like only one of the cores is working.


yea you bought the 1GB version, it will not do great at that resolution


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Redbull1985*


Just got my 4850x2 1GB card......but Far Cry 2 @ 1920x1200 and 2x AA is really laggy.Am i doing something wrong?

Drivers are 9.6 and it feels like only one of the cores is working.


Explain more. Did drivers install properly? FC2: lagging online? Slower than whatever card you were running before? Do you have gpu-z running to see if both gpus are working? See anything weird in you CCC? Does it show CrossfireX enabled? Do you have FRAPS to see about what fps you are at in FC2?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *skugpezz*


yea you bought the 1GB version, it will not do great at that resolution


Correct skugpezz. Around 1900 res. is about the point where the 1GB version starts to loss performance. Just not enough memory.

ref.
http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?...YzMSw2LCxoY29u


----------



## theOriginalContra

hey guys in CCC it shows this, it this normal?
it says "disabled adapter" does it only enable when in games?


----------



## Redbull1985

Yep, drivers are installed fine after a couple attempts at DriverSweeper.and i used to play FC2 @ 1680 with NO AA using the 4850 and even after getting this X2 card, i am not able to play satisfactorily @ full HD , FPS shud be well below 20 even with AA disabled.

CCC shows as CrossfireX enabled. but when stress testing using Atitool,only one of the GPU is being stressed as per CCC,the other remains idle dunno why.....


----------



## skugpezz

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Redbull1985*


Yep, drivers are installed fine after a couple attempts at DriverSweeper.and i used to play FC2 @ 1680 with NO AA using the 4850 and even after getting this X2 card, i am not able to play satisfactorily @ full HD , FPS shud be well below 20 even with AA disabled.

CCC shows as CrossfireX enabled. but when stress testing using Atitool,only one of the GPU is being stressed as per CCC,the other remains idle dunno why.....



Quote:



Originally Posted by *skugpezz*


yea you bought the 1GB version, it will not do great at that resolution


overlooked my post? play at a lower resolution


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *theOriginalContra*


hey guys in CCC it shows this, it this normal?
it says "disabled adapter" does it only enable when in games?











Should say "linked adapter" at all times. What drivers are you using? Does your CFX say enabled?

Also what does gpu-z say, 2 gpus enabled?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Redbull1985*


Yep, drivers are installed fine after a couple attempts at DriverSweeper.and i used to play FC2 @ 1680 with NO AA using the 4850 and even after getting this X2 card, i am not able to play satisfactorily @ full HD , FPS shud be well below 20 even with AA disabled.

CCC shows as CrossfireX enabled. but when stress testing using Atitool,only one of the GPU is being stressed as per CCC,the other remains idle dunno why.....


Yea something seems wrong, should be above 20 fps even witht he 1Gb version.

ATi tool, can't load more than one gpu at a time. It's not a good test for testing multi-gpus or much at all IMO. Get furmark and run a 90 sec. benchmark.


----------



## Redbull1985

oops yea, i thought i was in for HD gameplay.....hmm, tri-firing another 512 MB 4850 will be any helpful?


----------



## Redbull1985

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Get furmark and run a 90 sec. benchmark.


at default settings or at fullhd?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Redbull1985*


at default settings or at fullhd?


Any resolution you wish, this will just see if both gpus are working together.

example:


----------



## Redbull1985

I tried OCing the card to 695 -1050 and it gives a continuous beep around 30 secs into furmark.I think the card is overheating as it is hitting 90C.


----------



## rico2001

If you have FRAPS to see what you in game fps is, here is some point of reference.

FC2 reference: 4850 X2 2GB (min. and average)


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Redbull1985*


I tried OCing the card to 695 -1050 and it gives a continuous beep around 30 secs into furmark.I think the card is overheating as it is hitting 90C.


Is your Q9550 overclock stable? You should be able to do a 90 sec furmark bench without any problems. Hitting 90C in a furmark test, athough hot and pretty high, is about normal. Furmark is stronger than most game play.


----------



## Redbull1985

Plz ignore my stupidity, but how come Q9550 OC lead to the beep as it is the GPU temp above 90C causing the beep?


----------



## theOriginalContra

I am sing the most rescent driver










but can you guys tell me where to turn on the other processor?

also what is CFX
crossfire, if so yes it is


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Redbull1985*


Plz ignore my stupidity, but how come Q9550 OC lead to the beep as it is the GPU temp above 90C causing the beep?


Not at all. I just asking to get a clearer picture of what you are experiencing. I wasn't clear on if you card itself, was beeping, you computer through your speakers or you mobo, perhaps was beeping.

Anyway, so did the test complete and do you have (2) gpus active?


----------



## theOriginalContra

only 1 GPU active


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *theOriginalContra*


only 1 GPU active


theOriginalContra, I think you need to re-install your drivers. Make sure you driver sweep in safe mode after un-installing the drivers. Sounds like your 4850s are just not linking (CF'ing).

Does your gpu-z look like this:

(Disabled crossfire)









or

(Enabled crossfire)


----------



## Redbull1985

_ have 2 GPUs active, but the scores are damn low....only 5326 or so with OC as mentioned above._


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Redbull1985*


_ have 2 GPUs active, but the scores are damn low....only 5326 or so with OC as mentioned above._


Damn this thread is long, too many posts.







5326 or so in what? Furmark, 3dmark06, vantage? Though you were talking FC2.


----------



## theOriginalContra

rico2001

here is the GPU-Z










could it be XP?


----------



## rico2001

Weird, dont know. So your gpus looks completely fine (2 gpus CF'ed) but your CCC shows disabled adapter. I still think you just need to reinstall the drivers again. The OS shouldn't matter, some owners are using XP, vista and win7.


----------



## azianai

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Another nice score and I see the "feature tests" really didn't have effect on your score. You increase ~150 points across the board. Rep+ for your efforts.

Btw, what mhz is your i7 at in this bench?


3.5 like my other tests
i COULD bump it up to 3.8, but i figured i'd do a practical bench, not a epeen bench lol
i leave my i7 at 3.5 24/7, only bump to 3.8 when people ask for a ridiculous benchmark or something and i'd have to break out the real W/Cing lol


----------



## theOriginalContra

ok fixed it, i tried the Un-install and re-install thing, didn't work

so I installed Win 7 and everything is now a go

be posting benchamrks next (remember this is my crappy old system)


----------



## Redbull1985

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Damn this thread is long, too many posts.







5326 or so in what? Furmark, 3dmark06, vantage? Though you were talking FC2.



thats Furmark score that i posted mate.........


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Redbull1985*


thats Furmark score that i posted mate.........


Sorry I never think of score when referring to furmark, only fps averages. Don't know what resolution you benched but that score does seem low for the 4850 X2 pushed by any cpu. You should see 11k in furmark (1680x1050) with your cpu at 4G. I can't think of anything else that may help you out. Pics always help. Maybe trying the cat 9.5 drivers would help.


----------



## Shroomalistic

i broke down and ordered a 4850x2 2gb today, at my res I need the extra ram. Gonna give my 4850x2 1gb to my cousin. hes currently running an 8800gt 320mbso it shold be a good upgrade for him. PLus hes giving me his 8800 for when I upgrade to windows 7.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic* 
i broke down and ordered a 4850x2 2gb today, at my res I need the extra ram. Gonna give my 4850x2 1gb to my cousin. hes currently running an 8800gt 320mbso it shold be a good upgrade for him. PLus hes giving me his 8800 for when I upgrade to windows 7.

Cool Shroom.







Sorry I couldn't sell my other 4850 X2 to you, may have saved you some money. The 2GB version will definitely help you out at high resolutions. You should try quad-fire out for a day or two if you have the power, before letting you cousin have the card. Anyway, now you can get a 4850 1GB for cheap and run tri-fire.


----------



## Redbull1985

Foes this look off the pace a bit?


----------



## rico2001

Damn thats bad, wth is going on there? We have to figure this out Redbull1985. Ohhhh I see something. Run it full screen, window cuts the speed for some reason.


----------



## Redbull1985

That seems to improve now mate with a system restart and FS mode....U got repped, RICO!!!


----------



## theOriginalContra

mistake...


----------



## Redbull1985

Is Furmark, the only multi GPU stress test available?


----------



## Shroomalistic

furmark give me crap too, it wont kick overdrive in so my score is always low.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Redbull1985* 
Is Furmark, the only multi GPU stress test available?

You can use OCCT stability test. Also you can run Crysis demo and Devil May Cry 4 demo, ran in loops to give a good gpus stress. I'd use DMC4 over crysis b/c it is the best Ati CF usage game title to date IMO. Furmark and OCCT are too hard and I wouldn't use for hours. See opening post for links to all of those apps.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic* 
furmark give me crap too, it wont kick overdrive in so my score is always low.

You have to run full screen and higher resolutions, 1440x900, 1680x1050 and 1920x1080 also do more to really get you card going.

Notice To Everyone: first post updated
-adding links to *FurMark Stability Tool* and *Devil May Cry 4 Demo*


----------



## sprout

Hello Everyone! I just wanted to pop in and join the club. Here are a couple of the benches I've run as of late.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *sprout*


Hello Everyone! I just wanted to pop in and join the club. Here are a couple of the benches I've run as of late.


Welcome to the 4850 X2 owners thread *sprout* and big rep+ for you. I've been wanting another owner to bench one of the game titles either listed in the opening post or one of the games I've benched. Could you set you preset to "ultra" in Stalker CS? And thanks for trying out the new furmark; your 4850 X2 is doing only 73C. Pretty good load temp., considering furmark will heat the card up more than most game play. Good vantage score as well and I think your i7 was at stock.


----------



## sprout

Well Rico, i"m glad to join the club. I would've joined in march when i built this system but I only recently stumbled on this thread. 4 weeks of RMA time when the PWM's on the mobo fried didn't help either. I actually read all 170+ pages before I posted to make sure I haven't missed anything. And as per your request, here is the Stalker bench on ultra. Oh, and the 230mm fan on the side of the HAF 932 blowing right on the vid card certainly helps with load temps. On idle the fans run @ 3% and temps are 48C on one GPU and 50C on the other.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *sprout*


Well Rico, i"m glad to join the club. I would've joined in march when i built this system but I only recently stumbled on this thread. 4 weeks of RMA time when the PWM's on the mobo fried didn't help either. I actually read all 170+ pages before I posted to make sure I haven't missed anything. And as per your request, here is the Stalker bench on ultra. Oh, and the 230mm fan on the side of the HAF 932 blowing right on the vid card certainly helps with load temps. On idle the fans run @ 3% and temps are 48C on one GPU and 50C on the other.


Nice 50.9 fps average. Really close to my 54 fps average. Oc your i7 and you should pass me. And congrats on reading this whole thread, that is too much for a lot of ppl and they just ask a question that has been answered a million times on the thread. How are you getting your fans down to 3%? CCC only allows 12% min. on auto and 20% min. on manual. Are you using another program to control the fans? Well keep up the good work.


----------



## sprout

3% is want gpu-z reports. It may be 12% though. I'll post a screenie soon. As far as oc'ng the i7, it's on the list of things to do. I need to talk with the guy with the same CPU cooler. I can't get it to idle at less than 45c with the a.l.c.


----------



## Redbull1985

Are the above runs done with DX10.1 or not?


----------



## sprout

CCC and GPU-Z both report 3% fan speed. Weird huh? And those tests are only DX10 I believe.


----------



## Redbull1985

Ah k, done a run on DX10 with the Clear Sky benchmark Tool.


----------



## Redbull1985

OOps and plz add me to the Club too


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Redbull1985*


Ah k, done a run on DX10 with the Clear Sky benchmark Tool.


Nice 57 fps average *Redbull1985*! With your oc on your cpu and 4850 X2, you are close to my 4870 X2 average. Outstanding. rep+ for showing us your scores.









Quote:



Originally Posted by *Redbull1985*


OOps and plz add me to the Club too










Added. Welcome to the *4850 X2 owners list*.


----------



## d4martin

Hi Rico,

here are the results of the Crysis benchmark for CPU and GPU. All results are from stock, run on the Cysis demo. Thanks Rico for the help- running it as administrator did the trick. Before that the tool would just start up as the full demo but once I ran as administrator it ran as a fly-by demo with full FPS



















I wasnt sure if the CPU results would be useful for comparsion or not with your Dual-core . I will re-post once I overclock - unless you want me to bench any of the following games:
COD4
COD5
Left4Dead
World in Conflict

If you know of any bench tools for these games let me know!


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *d4martin*


Hi Rico,

here are the results of the Crysis benchmark for CPU and GPU. All results are from stock, run on the Cysis demo. Thanks Rico for the help- running it as administrator did the trick. Before that the tool would just start up as the full demo but once I ran as administrator it ran as a fly-by demo with full FPS



















I wasnt sure if the CPU results would be useful for comparsion or not with your Dual-core . I will re-post once I overclock - unless you want me to bench any of the following games:
COD4
COD5
Left4Dead
World in Conflict

If you know of any bench tools for these games let me know!


Thanks *d4martin* for the pics and glad you got he fps's to show up. Hate to ask but could you run the same "very high" setting at higher resolutions above 1280 x1024? It would help other compare. And dual core cpus do as well as quad core cpus in gaming so feel free to compare with mine. Can't wait for your results with a overclock cpu.









For COD4 and COD5, I record a demo, play it back and then use FRAPS (260 sec) to take the min/avg/max frames. In Left4Dead, I also use FRAPS set at 300 seconds and just play the first mission on expert.


----------



## d4martin

Hi Rico,

how done at higher res. Again GPU and CPU results.



















was sure how the higher res results would come out due to by 19" (4.3)tft.
But here there are.

Will post again with some Fraps results on some of my games starting with COD5 before the overclock and then again after.

.....and you can call me Martin if it's easier!!!


----------



## rico2001

At first I was about to be amazed but I see you dropped the quality to "High".


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


At first I was about to be amazed but I see you dropped the quality to "High".










Yeah lol. Trying to be sneaky on us ehh?


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Yeah lol. Trying to be sneaky on us ehh?










D'oh - I hadn't noticed that - sorry. 
If it looks too good to be true....

Sorry for the confusion


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *d4martin*


D'oh - I hadn't noticed that - sorry. 
If it looks too good to be true....

Sorry for the confusion


S'all good!


----------



## d4martin

Funny how on my first try with the lower res setting it says that the test was run at vert high but shows High on the left buttons.

and the opposite when I ran the higher res for you. Weird.
I remember accidently starting a set of runs before I noticed it was only on high, so Ctrl+Alt+Deleted to stop the runs and shut down the demo but not the bench mark tool. I changed it to Very high and restarted the runs again but seems to have ignored this and ran the previous setting. I was so excited, to finally have been able to get it to work, so posted with the results without checking them. I hadn't even noticed how high the FPS were- which should have told be something was up. I'll re-run and DOUBLE Check tonight.

As I said ... If it looks too good to be true....

D'oh, D'oh, D'oh and D'oh

Martin


----------



## d4martin

Hi Rico2001 and Open1your1Eyes0

back with *proper* results for Crysis GPU and Cpu tests:





































I'm sure these won't be anything great until I overclock. I'll try COD5 next as I know that Rico has this.

Martin

Talk to you later


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *d4martin*


Hi Rico2001 and Open1your1Eyes0

back with *proper* results for Crysis GPU and Cpu tests:



















I'm sure these won't be anything great until I overclock. I'll try COD5 next as I know that Rico has this.

Martin

Talk to you later


On the contrary my friend, your fps averages are good. Crysis is a tough nut to crack and your scores were exactly what I wanted to see. I learned something I didn't know. See you, me and Open1 got around the same fps averages, give or take 1 fps and we are all using different cpus and mhz frequencies. This now shows me that it doesn't matter if you have a dual core, quad core, i7, 3G or 4G cpu, you will get around the same fps average using the same video card. Crysis is more of a graphical game than I once thought. I use to think it was one of the most cpu intensive games titles out there but actually it one of the purist graphic intense games there is. It doesn't care that cpu you have and as long as it's in the proper realm of pushing the video (3G-4G dual core/quad core cpu), crysis only cares about what you have under the hood of your video card. Thanks very much and rep+ for you.









And I know you haven't overclocked you cpu yet, but I'm almost certain you will only gain 1-2 frames on your average.

And what I mean about Crysis, "pure graphical", in most other games tiles, increasing your cpu mhz most of the times gets you a big increase in frame rates.


----------



## guscol

hey guys im curios ,but i like see photos of your rigs i post mine rig tonight


----------



## rico2001

Mine isn't pretty but does the job.










4850 X3









4850 X4


----------



## sprout

AAAHHHHHH, rig pics. I'll post one up soon. So,Rico, what do you think about those fan speeds. I thought they were wrong but they both say 3%. Oh and here's some rep for those insane cable management skilz!


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *sprout*


AAAHHHHHH, rig pics. I'll post one up soon. So,Rico, what do you think about those fan speeds. I thought they were wrong but they both say 3%. Oh and here's some rep for those insane cable management skilz!


Oh yea, I forgot to ask you about the fan speeds. I wonder if it a part of the cat 9.6 drivers. I've only have my 4850 X2 in the case one day since the 9.6s came out; been working on 4870 X2 stuff lately? Maybe another owner will be around to verify. I still have that zalman on my 4850 X2 but I'll try to install it and see if my fans lower to 3%.


----------



## azianai

here's some more benchies
same specs as b4


----------



## Nirran

/sigh Looking for help here. I got a 4850x2 around December and it has never worked right at all!! (blue screen all the time in games and even on desktop). I've tried a new motherboard and tested my cpu and ram and they're all ok. I've already rmaed this damn thing once. I just pulled WoW up artifacted into a blue screen.. is it this pos or is something else the problem? After this card I refuse to buy an ati product again as I've had nothing but issues.


----------



## vicious_fishes

azainai, dx10 halves fps


----------



## frankydee

My 4850X2 under new light:


----------



## Redbull1985

^^cant see anything buddy......link is incomplete.


----------



## guscol

Quote:


Originally Posted by *frankydee* 
My 4850X2 under new light:













i can see anything a german page


----------



## po-chi

hi. i've been lurking around for almost a month since i bought my 4850x2, unregistered. but now i decided to register. hehe. will post my benchmarks later.. this thread has really been very useful for me. thanks to everyone.

below is my 4850x2 fresh out of the box..


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *azianai*


here's some more benchies
same specs as b4


































Nice scores, *azianai*! Right on par with the 4850 X2. Didn't know you could get twice the frame rate with DX9 in Crysis. Although there is probably a good bit of feature loss dropping down to DX9. Do you need SFIV game to do the bench?

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Nirran*


/sigh Looking for help here. I got a 4850x2 around December and it has never worked right at all!! (blue screen all the time in games and even on desktop). I've tried a new motherboard and tested my cpu and ram and they're all ok. I've already rmaed this damn thing once. I just pulled WoW up artifacted into a blue screen.. is it this pos or is something else the problem? After this card I refuse to buy an ati product again as I've had nothing but issues.


That's bad luck there. I've had two of the 4850 X2 and haven't had any problems, except with my one used one. Small high heat issue but still works great. You may just have another bad card.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *frankydee*


My 4850X2 under new light:













*frankydee*, I like your dark pic with the blue glow better. That was a sick pic.









Quote:



Originally Posted by *po-chi*


hi. i've been lurking around for almost a month since i bought my 4850x2, unregistered. but now i decided to register. hehe. will post my benchmarks later.. this thread has really been very useful for me. thanks to everyone.

below is my 4850x2 fresh out of the box..


















Welcome to the club *po-chi*! Nice pic, always an impressive looking card. You are now add to the owners list. We await some benches.


----------



## azianai

sf4 benchmark is free, just a 400mb file
and its actually pretty funny, its watching a SF match on speed lol.
http://downloads.guru3d.com/Street-F...load-2310.html


----------



## sprout

wow, I didn't even realize there was an option for DX9. I guess I'll run it again. I'll do SF4 also! Ya know, I almost bought Crysis today. Maybe next week, I've been looking for a new game to occupy whatever little free time I have.


----------



## Shroomalistic

got my 2gb today, doesnt clock as high as my 1gb does but the more ram should make more of a difference then more speed


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sprout* 
wow, I didn't even realize there was an option for DX9. I guess I'll run it again. I'll do SF4 also! Ya know, I almost bought Crysis today. Maybe next week, I've been looking for a new game to occupy whatever little free time I have.

Sure can. I just didn't know it gives you almost double the frame rate. All this time, I though 5, maybe 7 more fps. You just have to right click on the game exe or shortcut and click DX9.










Quote:


Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic* 
got my 2gb today, doesnt clock as high as my 1gb does but the more ram should make more of a difference then more speed

That's great news shroom. Compare your 1Gb to 2Gb scores if you can. I'm interested in how they stack up.


----------



## Shroomalistic

with mem 90 mhz lower made my score vantage score 500 points lower. no biggy. Im mentally at peice knowing i now have the ram to support the gaming i want to do.


----------



## po-chi

here are some of my benchies as promised!

Street Fighter IV w/ max settings:









3dmark vantage & 3dmark06








my 3dmark06 score is pretty low, especially the SM 2.0.. still troubleshooting to find out what is causing the problem. before, i had a 4850 scoring 16.5k and it suddenly dropped to 14.9k. now that i'm using a 4850x2, i still think that there's a problem.


----------



## guscol

ok here my humble rig


----------



## Redbull1985

I was thinking of going tri-fire...will it be a waste if i get a *1GB* 4850/4870 to go with my *512MB/core* 4850x2?

If i get 1GB card, will i have 2GB VRAM in total?


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Redbull1985*


I was thinking of going tri-fire...will it be a waste if i get a *1GB* 4850/4870 to go with my *512MB/core* 4850x2?

If i get 1GB card, will i have 2GB VRAM in total?


in total yes, but each gpu only uses the ram directly connected to it.

personally i'd sell your card & grab a pair of 4890's.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *po-chi*


here are some of my benchies as promised!

Street Fighter IV w/ max settings:









3dmark vantage & 3dmark06








my 3dmark06 score is pretty low, especially the SM 2.0.. still troubleshooting to find out what is causing the problem. before, i had a 4850 scoring 16.5k and it suddenly dropped to 14.9k. now that i'm using a 4850x2, i still think that there's a problem.


Nice scores, *po-chi*! rep+ for your effort. Your 3dmark06 score is fine and the SM scores also look fine. I get SM 2.0 7997, SM 3.0 9488. I believe our scores are on par with the rest of the 4850 X2 owners.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *guscol*


ok here my humble rig


Nice rig pic, very clean looking setup.









Quote:



Originally Posted by *Redbull1985*


I was thinking of going tri-fire...will it be a waste if i get a *1GB* 4850/4870 to go with my *512MB/core* 4850x2?

If i get 1GB card, will i have 2GB VRAM in total?


Well not a waste, just need to ask yourself do you really need it. I'm a CF nut, so all of this is worth it to me. Tri-fire scales very well even with 512mb of ram. The shortage of ram only hurts you at and above 1920x1080. Under those resolutions, you will see just about the same performance as 1GB versions. If you are looking for more in game performance, more fps, tri-fire is great for that. If you are only looking to increase you 3dmark scores, don't bother with tri-fire, gains will be small. In CF configurations, memory is shared not added together. So your 4850 X2 has 512mb for each gpu equaling 512 mb of total shaded memory. In getting a 1GB 4850, 4870 or 4890 to tri-fire with your 4850 X2, will cap its memory down to 512mb, and for the 4870/4890 cap its memory speed, you can think of it as working toward the future. I don't know how often you buy cards, but you can play with the tri-fire for awhile and then sell the 4850 X2 down the road.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes*


in total yes, but each gpu only uses the ram directly connected to it.

personally i'd sell your card & grab a pair of 4890's.


Stop trying to push us our of our great 4850 X2 cards before its time.







The 4850 X2 is still faster than an oc'ed 4890. You should buy a 4850 X2 to tri-fire with your 4850.


----------



## Shroomalistic

i tried running quad last night, just couldnt get it to work. as soon as I would install the card, bios would no longer detect my sata controller. drove me nuts and I finally gave up.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic*


i tried running quad last night, just couldnt get it to work. as soon as I would install the card, bios would no longer detect my sata controller. drove me nuts and I finally gave up.



Need more power.







With you quad cpu and (2) 4850 X2, you are probably right at 750W. When I just had one psu (650w), and just got my 4850 to go tri-fire, my pc won't even boot and I have a dual core cpu. I added the thermaltake 450w vga psu just to power my second card.

run the calculator
http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

I'm at 720w idle, 790w peak with current setup.


----------



## rico2001

My lights flutter a bit in the house when I fold. I don' t think that's good.


----------



## azianai

rico, funny you mention that
my light flutters when i turn my printer on =P
And i jump the power when my PS3/Notebook/PC/TV/Fans are on =D


----------



## SigSauer

Just got my card back from RMA and it seems this one has a new bios, fans are running at 3% and at boot it only goes at about 50% instead of 100% so its finally quiet


----------



## rico2001

The 4850x2 Cheap-O Cooler Mod

Written by OCN member: vtech1


----------



## vtech1

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


The 4850x2 Cheap-O Cooler Mod

Written by OCN member: vtech1


total cost of this mod is: $0.00
here is a pic of the finished mod, check out my thread to see the process of how i did it


----------



## guscol

Nice mod.


----------



## SigSauer

Quote:



Originally Posted by *vtech1*


total cost of this mod is: $0.00
here is a pic of the finished mod, check out my thread to see the process of how i did it










Nice mod, what temps are you getting now?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SigSauer* 
Just got my card back from RMA and it seems this one has a new bios, fans are running at 3% and at boot it only goes at about 50% instead of 100% so its finally quiet









Sig, how are your temps at 3%? Are you going to put your Zalman's on your new card?


----------



## SigSauer

Idle around 52c and 76c on load. I'll keep the stock cooler







it's finally quit so I don't need the Zalmans anymore. Maybe I'll put them on another card or just sell them.


----------



## azianai

sell to me at uber discount sig! =D


----------



## rico2001

Sig, if you could, please post the new master and slave bios off your card for us 4850 X2 owners can gain some peace and quiet, like you now enjoy.

Thanks.


----------



## SigSauer

Quote:


Originally Posted by *azianai* 
sell to me at uber discount sig! =D

lol, yeah right send them halfway across the globe







don't think so, you'd be better off buying a new pair.


----------



## SigSauer

Here are my bios files, I've also added 2 custom files for those who want an even quieter card. I don't know what memory I have so use with caution







.
Click here and you will find something...


----------



## rico2001

Sig, they say this version of winflash works with vista. What do you think? Have any input?
http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads...h_2.0.1.2.html

And thanks for the new bios!









edit: That version is old. This one is newer: Winflash 2.0.1.7


----------



## SigSauer

I'm using XP right now with an older version. But I'll give it a try later.


----------



## rico2001

I'm feeling bold, may try the new bios w/new winflash tonight.


----------



## SigSauer

Good luck hope it works.


----------



## rico2001

Sig, you ever use the "increase ccc limit" in RBE editor?

edit: Thanks, I'm going to lay down some SFIV tests with the 4850 X2 and then try the bios flash.


----------



## vtech1

let me know ow it works and if it works on vista it might work on windows 7 7137 x64?


----------



## rico2001

Street Figher IV Benchmark v.1.0.0.1
DX9, 8xAA, 16xATF



















Now on to some bios flashing.


----------



## rico2001

4850 X2 bios flashing: update

Well good news and bad news.

Good news, Winflash 2.0.1.7 does in fact work with vista x64 and bad news, I'm unable to use Sig's new bios. Keep getting a p/n mismatch. I may just try to edit the bios I already have on my X2.


----------



## rico2001

4850 X2 bios flashing: update and success for a silent 4850 X2

Took my original master and slave bios, made a copy and modified the copies.

4850 X2 (before pic - original bios)









Backing up the bios: highlight first gpu, hit small green bio button in gpuz, hit Save to file









Name as master









Highlight second gpu, hit bios button again, hit save to file









Name as slave









Make a copy of those two files, store the original two files for safe keeping.

TechPowerUp Radeon Bios Editor v1.21:
4850 X2 (left pic: my bios, right pic: SigSauer's newer (silent) bios)

















Change duty cycle minimum to 3% and all fan speed settings under "threshold table". Use settings from right pic: SigSauer's newer (silent) bios.









"Save As" and name "new bio name-master", do same for slave bios.









Load "modifed bios" in Winflash 2.0.1.7, one at a time, master first, hit "program" to flash the card, repeat with slave.









4850 X2 (after pic - bios flashed w/ 3% minimum fan setting)

















*Use at your own risk!*


----------



## vtech1

hey rico do u have aim, i need ur help flashing the bios as im too scared to do it on my own

EDIT: i have installed live msg so i can use that instead if u would just sign in







i have a bad habit of messing up the flashes as i got 2 dead boards sitting next to me


----------



## rico2001

Well I'm on msn and my previous post explained it all. As you are scared of flashing your bio on your owr, I'm not comfortable advising anyone to flash their bios. I only posted to show it could be done.


----------



## porksmuggler

+ rep rico2001 for the bios instructions!

I knew I hung around for 177 pages for a reason. I was all set to flash, then noticed GPU-Z already showed my fan speed at 3%. I got the card back in March, if that helps for the timeline on the new bios.

I always wondered why everyone was complaining about the noise


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *porksmuggler* 
+ rep rico2001 for the bios instructions!

I knew I hung around for 177 pages for a reason. I was all set to flash, then noticed GPU-Z already showed my fan speed at 3%. I got the card back in March, if that helps for the timeline on the new bios.

I always wondered why everyone was complaining about the noise









lol yea. And its really not the minimum either, the new bios lowers the speed at all the temps as you see from the pic. So overall, your card and now, mine is 20-30% quieter.


----------



## porksmuggler

just noticed you were in NC, small world, not sure if shameless plugs are allowed here, but you should check out our site.

http://www.ncgaming.com/

I'm the resident system builder/hardware guy, and there's a LAN this weekend. I'm out of town, but if you can make it, tell 'em I sent ya.


----------



## PhantomShadow

Hey guys,
Just got my 4850X2 2GB today and so far I love it! I upgraded from an 8800 GTS 512MB and I can see a HUGE difference. I got this to run 3 monitors and my new ones should be here tomorrow. Currently I am running a 32" TV @ 1920x1080 off one of the GPUs and a 19" monitor @ 1440x900 off the other. I had a quick question about performance though. I play WoW and I was just wondering if anyone knew what kind of performance I should be expecting from just one of the 4850X2's GPUs with all settings maxed. I am running the card on a GA-EP45-UD3R and I have a Q6600 OCed to 3.2ghz.

When out questing I get max of 40fps and if I bring down Shadow Quality halfway I get between 55 and 60. In Dalaran with all settings maxed I get 20fps. I felt that these were a little low but I could just be expecting too much. It runs smoothly but capping at 60fps seemed a little odd.

If you need more info let me know.

Thanks!

PS I got my drivers from http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...indows-7-64bit <----There
I am running 64bit Windows 7 and I got the CCC/Display Driver Combo


----------



## SigSauer

Just tweaked my bios a bit to see if it made a difference, I used S.T.A.L.K.E.R. ShoC as the test game. Settings: 1680x1050, maximum quality, full dynamic lighting.

The original is the last one of the two(only this pic)









I lowerd the idle clock to save some energy and heat.
















Also modified de fan speeds to go even lower.
















Results, the card produces less heat with my modification then the original that was on it which is strange! It's probably because it switches between 2 modes while gaming (high performance"450/650" and optimal performance"625/993").


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *PhantomShadow* 
Hey guys,
Just got my 4850X2 2GB today and so far I love it! I upgraded from an 8800 GTS 512MB and I can see a HUGE difference. I got this to run 3 monitors and my new ones should be here tomorrow. Currently I am running a 32" TV @ 1920x1080 off one of the GPUs and a 19" monitor @ 1440x900 off the other. I had a quick question about performance though. I play WoW and I was just wondering if anyone knew what kind of performance I should be expecting from just one of the 4850X2's GPUs with all settings maxed. I am running the card on a GA-EP45-UD3R and I have a Q6600 OCed to 3.2ghz.

When out questing I get max of 40fps and if I bring down Shadow Quality halfway I get between 55 and 60. In Dalaran with all settings maxed I get 20fps. I felt that these were a little low but I could just be expecting too much. It runs smoothly but capping at 60fps seemed a little odd.

If you need more info let me know.

Thanks!

PS I got my drivers from http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_ca...indows-7-64bit <----There
I am running 64bit Windows 7 and I got the CCC/Display Driver Combo

Welcome to the owners thread, *PhantomShadow*. Please fill out your system specs when you get a chance. Post some proof you own the card and I'll add you to the owners list. WHen running (3) monitors you will have to disable crossfireX on the 4850 X2 so you will only have use only (1) gpu for gaming. The 4850 X2 work as follows : crossfireX enabled -1 to 2 monitors; crossfire disabled - 3 to 4 monitors. I personally don't know what the performacne of WoW with the 4850 X2, but I'm sure you can do a quick search and find something on google. There are many games that cap you at 60fps and you can go into options and disable v-sync to remove the cap.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SigSauer* 
Just tweaked my bios a bit to see if it made a difference, I used S.T.A.L.K.E.R. ShoC as the test game. Settings: 1680x1050, maximum quality, full dynamic lighting.

The original is the last one of the two(only this pic)









Results, the card produces less heat with my modification then the original that was on it which is strange! It's probably because it switches between 2 modes while gaming (high performance"450/650" and optimal performance"625/993").









Nice work Sig and I also thought it was weird, when I went from 12% to 3% min. fan speed, I dropped 1C in temp too.


----------



## Nirran

Can take me off of the list as an owner. Just got a 4890 today as the 4850x2 was going dead as I couldn't do anything without it crashing and just got sick of it lol.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Nirran* 
Can take me off of the list as an owner. Just got a 4890 today as the 4850x2 was going dead as I couldn't do anything without it crashing and just got sick of it lol.

Sorry to hear, do you still have the card? and how bad is it?

--------------------------------------------------------

*Owner's List now up-to-date* 07/10/2009


----------



## rico2001

4850 X2 bios flashing continued: fan speed increasing, CCC modifying, and overclocking

Decided to do more tweaking to the bios. I now want more fan speed at 3D speeds while remaining silent at 2D speeds.

TechPowerUp Radeon Bios Editor v1.21:
Opened up my master and slave "silent" bios, left the 3% minimum alone and turned up all speeds over 60C.









TechPowerUp Radeon Bios Editor v1.21:
Using Method 1 - hash: HD4850 680/1050/800/1300 profile









Then saved new bios, master and slave, flashed with winflash 2.0.1.7, reboot.

4850 X2 (CCC before pic)









4850 X2 (CCC after bios flash pic)
Notice CCC no longer see the card as a 4850 X2, it sees it as (2) 4850's in CF. Upper limits are now 800 mhz gpu and 1300 mhz memory.









Now that we have more fans speed and overclock headroom, time to see how far we can go.

4850 X2 at 730 mhz gpu and 1000 mhz memory









4850 X2 at 730 mhz gpu and 1000 mhz memory (temps at 2-3 minute stability test)









*Use at your own risk!*


----------



## skugpezz

nice work rico, +rep


----------



## Nirran

Just launching anything including wow the pc kills within 4 seconds and crashes. It was getting worse and worse everyday. Still have the card and thinking of rmaing it then selling it off.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Sorry to hear, do you still have the card? and how bad is it?

--------------------------------------------------------

*Owner's List now up-to-date* 07/10/2009


----------



## rico2001

4850 X2 bios flashing continued: overclock testing

Was able to squeeze out 10 more mhz.









4850 X2 at 740 mhz gpu and 1055 mhz memory

3DMark Vantage:
4850 X2 = P10537
*4850 X2 OC = P11753* (11.5% gain)
4870 X2 = P12359









Had to back it down a little for Crysis: 4850 X2 at 730 mhz gpu and 1045 mhz memory

Crysis:
1600x1200
4850 X2 = 33.9 average fps
*4850 X2 OC = 36.0 average fps* (6.1% gain) Outstanding!
4870 X2 = 36.0 average fps

1900x1200
4850 X2 = 29.2 average fps
*4850 X2 OC = 31.1 average fps* (6.5% gain) Again outstanding!
4870 X2 = 31.5 average fps









The 4850 X2 at 750 mhz gpu locks up furmark so 740 ~ 745 mhz is my max for now. May up the voltage in the bios tomorrow.


----------



## Redbull1985

Plz post STALKER ClearSky bench @ those clocks mate.........


----------



## rico2001

4850 X2 bios flashing continued: overclock testing

As requested.

4850 X2 at 740 mhz gpu and 1055 mhz memory

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky:
1680 x 1050, DX10.1, 16xAF 0xAA
4850 X2 = 54.6 average fps
*4850 X2 OC = 61.5 average fps*
4870 X2 = 61.6 average fps










Ref:


----------



## azianai

pics of the system with the card in, for the person who wanted to see them lol.
I absolutely love this card more than my old 4890XOC, maybe im in the minority lol.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *azianai* 
pics of the system with the card in, for the person who wanted to see them lol.
I absolutely love this card more than my old 4890XOC, maybe im in the minority lol.

















That's some nice aluminum *azianai*!







And so true, the 4850 X2 has been and probably always will be Ati's most underrated video card.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Hey guys. I apologize for being off topic but I have created a sale thread that I will be adding more items to as it progresses so come check it out when you guys get a chance and see if there's anything you might be interested in.

Thanks in advance









Link *Here*


----------



## guscol

Quote:



Originally Posted by *azianai*


pics of the system with the card in, for the person who wanted to see them lol.
I absolutely love this card more than my old 4890XOC, maybe im in the minority lol.



















thank nice rig very clean impresive aluminium tower


----------



## d4martin

Hi Folks,

some game bench marks from FRAPS, for COD5:WAW, COD4 Modern Warfare, Left4Dead.
All run at stock.

COD4&5 run for 260 sec (after the video scenes)
Left4Dead run for 300 sec on Expert, on Campaign 1: No Mercy (after the video scene)




























You'll notice that some of the scores have lower frames count which affects the average on that line(got killed to soon LOL). Best to compare the scores with the similar frame counts I think. Not sure how these compare with anything else but seem quite good.


----------



## rico2001

Nice d4martin, but what resolutions are you running those at? And turn v-sync off in L4D, it's capping you at 60fps.

edit: Furthermore, in COD:WAW caps you at 90fps. You need to go into he command console, type ~ key when on main screen, then type com_maxfps 0


----------



## rico2001

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky:
1920 x 1080, DX10.1, 16xAF, 0xAA, Preset: Ultra 
4850 X2 = 49.9 average fps
4850 X2 OC = 55.1 average fps (10.4% gain)

4850 X2 stock









4850 X2 at 740 mhz gpu and 1045 mhz memory


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Nice d4martin, but what resolutions are you running those at? And turn v-sync off in L4D, it's capping you at 60fps.

edit: Furthermore, in COD:WAW caps you at 90fps. You need to go into he command console, type ~ key when on main screen, then type com_maxfps 0


I knew I had forgotten something - I was just about to edit the post:
I knew how to uncap on COD4 but not 5. 
Res was quite low for COD4 1024 x 768 but have some results for 1280 x 1040below too....

COD5:WAW 1280x1040 4xAA









COD4: 1280 x1040 4xAA


----------



## rico2001

Pretty good numbers Martin. Looks on par. I don't have any scores at 1280 res so couldn't compare. Is your i7 stock?


----------



## guscol

rico what catalyst are you using now?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *guscol* 
rico what catalyst are you using now?

The current version, 9.6.


----------



## d4martin

Hi Rico,

Yeah my core i7 still at stock.
Have bench-mark for Left4Dead 1280x1040, V-Sych disabled. You can see all the settings below.










As you can see from the last three runs - all at 300,000ms so good for comparison.
Thanks for the Help. I wouldn't have known to switch off the V-sync. Scores are now much better. from 90fps to an average of 140-ish. That's a big jump.

Next step is to overclock and start again


----------



## rico2001

Martin, turn everything up in L4D, enjoy the game with all its features. The 4850 X2 can totally handle L4D maxed out. And you need to get you i7 over 3G, right now your bottlenecking the 4850 X2. You won't drop far from your 140-147 average.

here is my 4850 X2 and X3









*edit
some point of reference:


----------



## Shroomalistic

so no issues with modifing the max clock in ccc. I was tempted to do that myself but was scared to do it.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic*


so no issues with modifing the max clock in ccc. I was tempted to do that myself but was scared to do it.


None so far. 740 mhz gpu / 1045 mhz seem to be my 4850 X2's max. No two cards oc the same so maybe other will get further. At 745 mhz I started to see a little artifacting and at 750 mhz locks up a 90 sec furmark bench. The only thing that sux with the bios/ccc modding is you loose the identity of the sapphire 4850 X2. My gpu-z says I have (2) asus 4850's in CF. ha









Yea shroom, if the 4850 X2 was my only card, I wouldn't have messed with my bios. It was really easy but still a little risk to it all. All in all, being close to matching a 4870 X2 is very nice.


----------



## Shroomalistic

have you tried to up the voltage to the core, stock is 1.12 and it can go up to 1.158


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic*


have you tried to up the voltage to the core, stock is 1.12 and it can go up to 1.158


Yes, I did try 1.158v but it didn't get me anywhere; not much of an increase at all. Wish I could get 1.26v, which is the 2D voltage for the 4870 X2. Without doing the hard mod, which I don't plan on, 740 is my max.


----------



## d4martin

Hi Rico,

I'll max out those settings in Left4Dead and overclock. Hopefully to 3.5Ghz. I may try for 4ghz just for test purposes and then turn back down to down to 3.5. - dependant on cpu temps, and error checking of course. My air filters tend to get clogged up with cat fur. Lack of air and overclocking doesn't tend to mix too well.
I've just given them their monthly clean especially for the overclocking. The Antec 1200 (when clean from cat fur) is a great wind tunnel.

Will post some scores and game bench-marks when done.

Martin


----------



## rico2001

3.5G is perfect and I wouldn't try for 4G. The thing is at 2.66G, even an i7, would be lacking a little. 3.2-3.8G dual core or quad core seems to be the sweet spot for pushing a X2 or tri-fire.


----------



## taiyoyuden

I didn't know this was such a popular card. I was thinking about getting it for the quad DVI-D. How are the drivers?


----------



## krazyatom

Hi Rico,

I found your thread by searching google. (actually im new to overclock.net)
Sorry for my bad english.
I currently have very old set up.

Core 2 Duo E6700 Oced to 3.2ghz
mobo: abit ip35-pro
PSU antec 650watts
4850 x2 2gb

When I first got my 4850 x2 2gb, I wasn't sure I wanted to keep it because it was way too loud for me.
I was wonder if zalman vf900 video card fan will make my card silient and cool?

I know my cpu might bottleneck my 4850 x2, but I am saving my money to buy good mobo and cpu. Any suggestion on cpu and mobo for 4850 x2?

I might plan to add another 4850 for tri CF in the future.

Your suggestion will be appreciated! Thank you.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *taiyoyuden* 
I didn't know this was such a popular card. I was thinking about getting it for the quad DVI-D. How are the drivers?

Well I never though the 4850 X2 was too popular. Although this thread is huge, not many people have this card. Most went for the 4870 X2 and now a days the very popular 4890. I always thought this cards was cool b/c it is 85-90% the performance of a 4870 X2 and cost half as much. The four dvi's are cool as well. This cards runs a good 20C cooler than its big brother the 4870 X2 but can be on the loud side. The drivers are rock solid, all issues were worked out 5 months ago.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *krazyatom* 
Hi Rico,

I found your thread by searching google. (actually im new to overclock.net)
Sorry for my bad english.
I currently have very old set up.

Core 2 Duo E6700 Oced to 3.2ghz
mobo: abit ip35-pro
PSU antec 650watts
4850 x2 2gb

When I first got my 4850 x2 2gb, I wasn't sure I wanted to keep it because it was way too loud for me.
I was wonder if zalman vf900 video card fan will make my card silient and cool?

I know my cpu might bottleneck my 4850 x2, but I am saving my money to buy good mobo and cpu. Any suggestion on cpu and mobo for 4850 x2?

I might plan to add another 4850 for tri CF in the future.

Your suggestion will be appreciated! Thank you.

Hi krazyatom, welcome to OCN and the 4850 X2 owners thread. And btw, this is not my thread, it all 4850 X2 owner thread. I just try to look after it and give advice when I can. Shame you find the card too loud, some people do. I don't have the zalman VF900 cooler on my card so this is an area where I can't offer any advice. I believe they are quieter than the stock coolers but honestly could not tell you. You can ask OCN members and 4850 X2 owners, legend999 and SigSauer. They both have has that model zalman on their 4850 X2 cards. You can also look through the 175+ pages on this thread, I'm sure their temps and sound level desciptions are in here somewhere.









edit: any of the E8xxx or Q9xxx cpu would do great for the 4850 X2 or any other card you may be thinking of.


----------



## MrMan

do they make aftermarket coolers for these cards? are they quiter than the stock? i dont really care about temps.


----------



## SigSauer

Not specificly for this card but Zalman VF700/900's will fit and there the XSPC Razor 4850X2 watercooling block aswell. The zalmans are somewhat quieter but the new bios update from sapphire makes the card pretty quiet.


----------



## frankydee

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SigSauer* 
Not specificly for this card but Zalman VF700/900's will fit and there the XSPC Razor 4850X2 watercooling block aswell. The zalmans are somewhat quieter but the new bios update from sapphire makes the card pretty quiet.

Hi,

where I can find the new Bios for the 4850X2 ?? Have you a link?

greetz


----------



## SigSauer

I posted a link of my bios a few pages back, but i dont know if its compatible for your card.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QN3F78Y2


----------



## MESeidel

Quote:


Originally Posted by *taiyoyuden* 
I didn't know this was such a popular card. I was thinking about getting it for the quad DVI-D. How are the drivers?

Drivers are the default ATi ones.
To use the 4 DVIs you might have to disable Crossfire.
Resulting that the 3D performance is at the level of a single HD4850.



rico2001 said:


> Well I never though the 4850 X2 was too popular. Although this thread is huge, not many people have this card.[/QOUTE]
> 
> I recently sold my 3 HD4850X2's and not been in the list ;o)
> 
> OC potential just sucks.
> The Voltage drops to strong when both GPUs are under load.
> Sapphire did save to much in the board design...


----------



## taiyoyuden

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MESeidel* 
Drivers are the default ATi ones.
To use the 4 DVIs you might have to disable Crossfire.
Resulting that the 3D performance is at the level of a single HD4850.

Disable crossfire to use more than 2 displays?! That kills the deal for me


----------



## rammunition

im thinking of getting a new GPU. either the gtx 275(Â£150), the 4890(Â£150) or the 4850x2(Â£220)

is this card worth the extra money???


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MESeidel* 
Drivers are the default ATi ones.
To use the 4 DVIs you might have to disable Crossfire.
Resulting that the 3D performance is at the level of a single HD4850.

QUOTE=rico2001;6687191]Well I never though the 4850 X2 was too popular. Although this thread is huge, not many people have this card.[/QOUTE]

I recently sold my 3 HD4850X2's and not been in the list ;o)

OC potential just sucks.
The Voltage drops to strong when both GPUs are under load.
Sapphire did save to much in the board design...

Yes, to use 1-2 monitors, you can leave CF enables, to use 3-4 monitors you will have to disable CF. Dropping down to one 4850 is not bad, I've done it and the 4850 can handle any game reasonable well.

Me or anyone else won't not have known your were an owner. You only made three posts on this thread and only one of those was a sentence about your oc'ing on the card. You didn't post any pics, verifications or even have the 4850 X2 in your sig. The other two posts before this latest one you made, I was not moderating this thread at that time.

Video card overclocking has more to do with luck than anything else. No two card are guaranteed to overclock the same. You say the OC potential of the 4850 X2 sucks though you got your card to 720mhz from 625 stock, only 30 mhz from 4870 specs. I have my 4850 X2 at 740mhz and it's luck and a little skill. I see the main problem people have is they go straight for the memory overclock. Overclocking the 4850 X2's memory to 1200mhz, which immediately turns down the overall stability of the card and hurts your potential for overclocking the gpu. Although Sapphire did not give the 4850 X2 the voltage (1.158v) of the 4870 X2 (1.35V), you can achieve a stable overclock of 740 mhz gpu with a moderate memory overclock of 1045 mhz.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *taiyoyuden* 
Disable crossfire to use more than 2 displays?! That kills the deal for me









Sadly that is how all CF configurations work. Regardless if you are using the 4850 X2, (2) 4850 cards, a 4850 and 4870 in CF. When you CF any two card, it will cancel out two dvi ports on one of the cards. You could use three cards (if your mobo allows) and only CF two of them, then you would have the power of CF and the use of 3-4 dvi ports.


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Well I never though the 4850 X2 was too popular. Although this thread is huge, not many people have this card. Most went for the 4870 X2 and now a days the very popular 4890. I always thought this cards was cool b/c it is 85-90% the performance of a 4870 X2 and cost half as much. The four dvi's are cool as well. This cards runs a good 20C cooler than its big brother the 4870 X2 but can be on the loud side. The drivers are rock solid, all issues were worked out 5 months ago.

Hi krazyatom, welcome to OCN and the 4850 X2 owners thread. And btw, this is not my thread, it all 4850 X2 owner thread. I just try to look after it and give advice when I can. Shame you find the card too loud, some people do. I don't have the zalman VF900 cooler on my card so this is an area where I can't offer any advice. I believe they are quieter than the stock coolers but honestly could not tell you. You can ask OCN members and 4850 X2 owners, legend999 and SigSauer. They both have has that model zalman on their 4850 X2 cards. You can also look through the 175+ pages on this thread, I'm sure their temps and sound level desciptions are in here somewhere.









edit: any of the E8xxx or Q9xxx cpu would do great for the 4850 X2 or any other card you may be thinking of.

Thank you Rico!
I was thinking about getting phenom II 940 or 950 because it's cheaper.


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SigSauer* 
I posted a link of my bios a few pages back, but i dont know if its compatible for your card.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QN3F78Y2

Hi Sig,

How do I flash bios?? Sorry for my newbie knowledge!
I currently have window 7 32bit installed and I got latests driver from sapphire website. Is it safe to flash bios?


----------



## SigSauer

Rico2001 made a post on how to do it on page 177, there is always risk involved with flashing but as long as you shutdown al non essential program's including your virus scanner you should be fine.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *krazyatom* 
Thank you Rico!
I was thinking about getting phenom II 940 or 950 because it's cheaper.

Those are both good cpus and would push the X2 well.


----------



## sprout

Hey guys, quick question. I've been having a little trouble as of late. When I started playing AA3, I would get lock-ups ( not uncommon with this game ). Now, after all the patches, it locks-up, then I my monitor loses the video signal. The game is still running, I can still talk on TS. Same is happening with Age of Empires 3 War Chiefs ( my 10 yr. old son loves this game). Do I feel an RMA coming? Ive tried new cables too, to rule that out.

Oh, and Rico, I've got the i7 to 3.12 Ghz. I'll try to get in some more benches next week.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sprout* 
Hey guys, quick question. I've been having a little trouble as of late. When I started playing AA3, I would get lock-ups ( not uncommon with this game ). Now, after all the patches, it locks-up, then I my monitor loses the video signal. The game is still running, I can still talk on TS. Same is happening with Age of Empires 3 War Chiefs ( my 10 yr. old son loves this game). Do I feel an RMA coming? Ive tried new cables too, to rule that out.

Oh, and Rico, I've got the i7 to 3.12 Ghz. I'll try to get in some more benches next week.

If you are overclocked, sounds like something is unstable; either cpu or 4850 X2. Happened to me a few times with both components. In crysis when I oc'ed my 4850 X2 to 740 mhz, video would black out while game keep running. Had to back the 4850 X2 dwon to a more stable 730 mhz. And in Stalker CS, when I don't have enough voltage on my cpu overclock, 4850 X2 not oc'ed, video also would drop out while game would continue. In both cases, video was unrecoverable, so was regaining task manager. Had to resort to hard reboot. Lesson here: check your oc on your i7 or your 4850 X2.


----------



## rico2001

Pulling the 4850 X2 out of the case for awhile; going to play with a CF configuration I haven't tried yet: 4850 + 4870

Here is my last 4850 X2 test for the time being.

4850 X2: at my max overlclock (730 mhz gpu / 1045 mhz mem)
Crysis: maxed out (very high settings with 16xAA)

Not too shabby result, Ati's handles AA very well.


----------



## sprout

Well, this was happening before OC anything. As far as AA#, I ran stock, OC'ed, non CF'ed, and it still did it. I even tried the 4850 from my other rig.The i7 OC has been prime stable 15Hrs.+ on only 1.2v. And, it's not every game I play. COD 4 & 5 I can plat for hours on end with zero probs. Guild wars too.


----------



## MESeidel

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Me or anyone else wonâ€™t not have known your were an owner. You only made three posts on this thread and only one of those was a sentence about your ocâ€™ing on the card. You didnâ€™t post any pics, verifications or even have the 4850 X2 in your sig. The other two posts before this latest one you made, I was not moderating this thread at that time.


That was no offense by me...
I did made no benchmarks and there fore not post one.
I have some pics flying around how I did change the Cooler two 2 simple Waterblocks^^

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Video card overclocking has more to do with luck than anything else. No two card are guaranteed to overclock the same. You say the OC potential of the 4850 X2 sucks though you got your card to 720mhz from 625 stock, only 30 mhz from 4870 specs. I have my 4850 X2 at 740mhz and itâ€™s luck and a little skill. I see the main problem people have is they go straight for the memory overclock. Overclocking the 4850 X2â€™s memory to 1200mhz, which immediately turns down the overall stability of the card and hurts your potential for overclocking the gpu. Although Sapphire did not give the 4850 X2 the voltage (1.158v) of the 4870 X2 (1.35V), you can achieve a stable overclock of 740 mhz gpu with a moderate memory overclock of 1045 mhz.


Of cause OC is a bit of luck.
I had the problem that both Chips when running alone could hold very high clock rates.
But both running not.
Didn't touch the memory at all.

I know it from the HD4870X2 that more is possible.
But hey I was picking up the Cards over the 4870X2 because of the price/performance.
And it was also more or less a try to build a ATi based folding rig...

PS:
The Thread is run very well.
Always quick and qualified replays.


----------



## azianai

hey rico, u think its necessary to replace the tims on these babies? some OCZ FreeZe help? Cause i gotta keep the fan at 80% to not crash =_=


----------



## MrMan

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SigSauer*


Not specificly for this card but Zalman VF700/900's will fit and there the XSPC Razor 4850X2 watercooling block aswell. The zalmans are somewhat quieter but the new bios update from sapphire makes the card pretty quiet.


im guessing it makes the temps go up by turning down rpms? 
does the update do anything else?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *sprout*


Well, this was happening before OC anything. As far as AA#, I ran stock, OC'ed, non CF'ed, and it still did it. I even tried the 4850 from my other rig.The i7 OC has been prime stable 15Hrs.+ on only 1.2v. And, it's not every game I play. COD 4 & 5 I can plat for hours on end with zero probs. Guild wars too.


Some game title are more cpu intensive and stree the cpu more than other games. Try uninstalling and reinstalling your drivers.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *azianai*


hey rico, u think its necessary to replace the tims on these babies? some OCZ FreeZe help? Cause i gotta keep the fan at 80% to not crash =_=


No I don't think its necessary but it does not hurt. Most 4850 X2 owners don't have any problems with the temps. My (2) 4850 X2 card were both my coolest cards I currently run right now. Both of my 4850 X2 hardly see over 82C on load. What are your temps? And temps, most of the times, don't mean crashes. Most of the time, high temps will lead to artifacting.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *MrMan*


im guessing it makes the temps go up by turning down rpms? 
does the update do anything else?


Not really. Me and sig were referring to the 0-60C fan speed set in the bios. The old 4850 X2 bios has a min. (0-60C) fan speed of 12%. The new bios and what I changed my bios to is 3%. Either 12% or 3%, the temps were pretty much the same, 42-43C idle. I believe SigSauer, lowered his fan speeds at all temp levels in his bios, so yes, he is allowing an increase in temps before his fans adjust speed. Obviously he doesn't have high temps just like I don't, making his card almost silent. I tried it myself and it doens't make the 4850 X2 very quiet.

I then changed my bios in the opposite direction, making my card louder by increasing my fan speeds in all temperature ranges to help my overclocking efforts.


----------



## Villainstone

So I traded my 4850X2 for a 4890 and I love this card. I really is not more powerful I notice that. I have another one on the way for Crossfire so that will make up for it. The 4850 X2 really is a great card but Sapphire should have put more quality into the design, and structure of the card. That is where I thought it fell short at least. Just holding onto the card it felt like the PCB was flimsy. The 4890 has a metal brace the length of the card, so no flexing occurs, That metal brace is then connected to the PCI slot bracket to be screwed to the case. Very strong and rigid especially when compared to the 4850 X2. If you are deciding between the two get the 4890 for sure IMO.


----------



## SgtHop

Okay, so I bought one of these cards here off Rico, and I do have to say, I love it so far. Yes, it is huge. In my twelve hundred, I had to move my hard drive, which was in the second cage, to get it to fit. But, it's actually really quiet. At both fans at 100%, I can't hear it over my case fans. Maybe those of you who complain about the noise have faulty fans, or just really quiet computers, but I can't hear mine. That being said, epic cards these are.


----------



## azianai

well tbh rico i gotta say im ASSUMING its temp because unless i manually set the fan to be that high spin %, i will bluescreen anytime i launch a 3d App/graphic after like 3 mins.
no matter if it was 3dmark, Aion, WoW, etc.

The bluescreen code was always related to the Display adapter, and since i've raised the fan to 80%, i don't get the BSOD anymore.


----------



## krazyatom

My card is set to 100% fan when I play games. I don't mind 100% fan noise when I am gaming









When I first got my 4850 x2, it crashed on my computer, and I realized that it was bad driver. After updating, I had no problem.

4850 x2 is actually very cool too. When I get back to my apartment from work, room temperature is like 90 degrees LOL, and I get like 60c idle on my 4850 x2.

I paid like $300 when I first got it and now it's cheaper.
I heard you can install 2 x zalman vf900 to make card very silent, but it will cost you another $80


----------



## frankydee

I need more DisplayÂ´s:



Yesterday my second 4850X2 arrived....


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Villainstone*


So I traded my 4850X2 for a 4890 and I love this card. I really is not more powerful I notice that. I have another one on the way for Crossfire so that will make up for it. The 4850 X2 really is a great card but Sapphire should have put more quality into the design, and structure of the card. That is where I thought it fell short at least. Just holding onto the card it felt like the PCB was flimsy. The 4890 has a metal brace the length of the card, so no flexing occurs, That metal brace is then connected to the PCI slot bracket to be screwed to the case. Very strong and rigid especially when compared to the 4850 X2. If you are deciding between the two get the 4890 for sure IMO.


Well its great you were able to sell your X2 and stay with Ati. Good luck with your 4890's.









Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


Okay, so I bought one of these cards here off Rico, and I do have to say, I love it so far. Yes, it is huge. In my twelve hundred, I had to move my hard drive, which was in the second cage, to get it to fit. But, it's actually really quiet. At both fans at 100%, I can't hear it over my case fans. Maybe those of you who complain about the noise have faulty fans, or just really quiet computers, but I can't hear mine. That being said, epic cards these are.


Glad to see my card, now yours, get a good new home. Also glad you enjoy it. Await some scores from your mixed CF setup with the 4850 X2.









*Update: owners list up to date (7-18-2009)*

Quote:



Originally Posted by *azianai*


well tbh rico i gotta say im ASSUMING its temp because unless i manually set the fan to be that high spin %, i will bluescreen anytime i launch a 3d App/graphic after like 3 mins.
no matter if it was 3dmark, Aion, WoW, etc.

The bluescreen code was always related to the Display adapter, and since i've raised the fan to 80%, i don't get the BSOD anymore.


I'm not sure what else to tell you. Not sure what your issues are. I would get gpu-z to at least know for sure what your load temps are while gaming. And if it is the temps that are unusually high for these 4850 X2 cards, I would either address more case cooling or repeating and tim the heatsinks to the gpus.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *frankydee*


I need more DisplayÂ´s:



Yesterday my second 4850X2 arrived....










Great pic franky! I ran 4 monitors with the card before and it was nice. Although two of my monitors didn't match in size.


----------



## twm.7

Hi guys !
Just set up a new config few months ago so here I am.
My 3DMARK Vantage results @ Stock:










My 3DMARK Vantage results @ 700/1200:









I'll add 4go of ram and buy 2 ZALMAN VF900 too.
I'll do a new bench at stock after that and then try to OC it again.

Btw if you can add me to the HD4850x2 owners =)

Edit:
Those of you who have replace the fan with the VF900 can tell me whether or not they use Fan Mate 2 ? I was wondering if I have to use it or not, and how to set the speed. I don't know if I'll have to change the speed or if I'll be able to just set it to low and don't bother with it =)


----------



## SigSauer

I did'nt use the fanmates, i've got a Zalman MFC1 fan controller for that, you can set it on low but i don't recommend it, set it to about 1900 rpm(75%) and it won't run to hot and still be quiet.


----------



## twm.7

Thank you.

Is it possible to set them to 75% with them or is there a better way to do that ? (I haven't got any rheobus and I'll get 2 FM2 anyway so . . )


----------



## SigSauer

It can be done with a fan mate but they don't respond that well to small changes. Or just buy a fancontroller which fits in a 3,5' drive bay.


----------



## twm.7

In fact I haven't got enough founds to buy any rheobus for now.
I'll try the fan mates unless somebody give me another option ^^

I hope that it'll be a noticeable difference between the stocks and the zalmans.
I removed the black cover this morning and I don't know if it's my imagination but I think the noise was reduce just by that.

The only things that scare me is that the fans will no longer be controlled by the card but by an external tools, so if the fans are too slow it'll get too hot, and if they are too speed it'll get too noisy. . .

Bon c'est pas grave je verrai bien. . . Woops sorry that's french,
just said I'll see when I get them =)


----------



## frankydee

Why I have only 19800 Poins in 3DMark Vantage with 2 4850X2 in Crossfire??? IÂ´m sad....


----------



## azianai

Quote:



Originally Posted by *frankydee*


Why I have only 19800 Poins in 3DMark Vantage with 2 4850X2 in Crossfire??? IÂ´m sad....










prob CPU-limited


----------



## SigSauer

Quote:



Originally Posted by *frankydee*


Why I have only 19800 Poins in 3DMark Vantage with 2 4850X2 in Crossfire??? IÂ´m sad....










Which bench setting did you choose? ,I got 12011 on performance setting and 7704 on High.


----------



## daffy.duck

Quote:



Originally Posted by *frankydee*


Why I have only 19800 Poins in 3DMark Vantage with 2 4850X2 in Crossfire??? IÂ´m sad....










Does your mobo work in x16 mode when both slots are in use?


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *daffy.duck*


Does your mobo work in x16 mode when both slots are in use?


its a p45, so no. theres your problem. 8x + 8x will bottleneck a pair of single 4850's.


----------



## daffy.duck

Quote:



Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes*


its a p45, so no. theres your problem. 8x + 8x will bottleneck a pair of single 4850's.


Yeah each slot will be x8, so you're effectively running 4850 CF on x8 or each 4850 is running on x4.


----------



## Extreme_kid

Quote:


Originally Posted by *daffy.duck* 
Yeah each slot will be x8, so you're effectively running 4850 CF on x8 or each 4850 is running on x4.

Its PCEI 2.0 at X8 , when crossfired Gives double the bandwidth compared to normal PCEI 1.0 X16 version.
PCIE 2.0 X8 = PCIE 1.0 X16


----------



## twm.7

Just to signal that in the first post the links for GPUZ and 3DMark Vantage are dead =)


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *frankydee*


Why I have only 19800 Poins in 3DMark Vantage with 2 4850X2 in Crossfire??? IÂ´m sad....










Is this a typo, am I mistaken or are you talking about 3dmark2006; P19800 or is this your gpu score? If its your total score in vantage, that's outstanding. If this is your 2006 score, it's on par with my 4850X4 score of 19818. 3dmark2006 is cpu dependent, only care if you have a good quad core cpu. Anyway don't be sad, you have a lot of graphics power. 2006 sucks and shouldn't be used anymore.

Also, you are not bottlnecking (2) 4850 X2's. Four gpus don't scale well no matter what cpu you are pushing them with.


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Extreme_kid*


Its PCEI 2.0 at X8 , when crossfired Gives double the bandwidth compared to normal PCEI 1.0 X16 version. 
PCIE 2.0 X8 = PCIE 1.0 X16


yeah, and it still bottlenecks it. crossfire doesnt just use the bridges for the gpu's to communicate.


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Also, you are not bottlnecking (2) 4850 X2's. Four gpus don't scale well no matter what cpu you are pushing them with.


the cpu, whilst being a bottleneck, isn't the real problem with this setup. its the lack of 2x16x pci express slots.


----------



## frankydee

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Is this a typo, am I mistaken or are you talking about 3dmark2006; P19800 or is this your gpu score? If its your total score in vantage, that's outstanding. If this is your 2006 score, it's on par with my 4850X4 score of 19818. 3dmark2006 is cpu dependent, only care if you have a good quad core cpu. Anyway don't be sad, you have a lot of graphics power. 2006 sucks and shouldn't be used anymore.

Also, you are not bottlnecking (2) 4850 X2's. Four gpus don't scale well no matter what cpu you are pushing them with.

The 19800 Points are my total score in 3Dmark Vantage. The only gpu score say 43000 points; cpu score 7400 points.

I think one 4850X2 is enough and I will selling my second one.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes*


the cpu, whilst being a bottleneck, isn't the real problem with this setup. its the lack of 2x16x pci express slots.



Pci-e 2.0 @ 8X doesn't bottleneck the 4850 X2. I've explained this a few times her on the forum.
http://www.overclock.net/ati/538973-...ml#post6669349

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


The only card that will suffer will be the 4870x2, since then you're basically dealing with x4/x4.

Here is why.

PCI-e 2.0 16X = 8GB/s total bandwidth
PCI-e 2.0 8X = 4GB/s total bandwidth

HD 4850 = 993mhz (dual piped - 1.9 GB/s data rate) = 1.9 GB/s total data rate
HD 4850 X2 = 993mhz (dual piped - 1.9 GB/s data rate)(times 2) = 3.8 GB/s total data rate
HD 4870 = 900mhz (quad piped - 3.6 GB/s data rate) = 3.6 GB/s total data rate
HD 4890 = 975mhz (quad piped - 3.9 GB/s data rate) = 3.9 GB/s total data rate
HD 4870 X2 = 900mhz (quad piped - 3.6 GB/s data rate)(times 2) = 7.2 GB/s total data rate

So as you can see, the 4870 X2 will be hurt in an 8X condition and why the 4850, 4870, 4890, and 4850 X2 will not be hurt in performance at all. Now overclocking the 4890's memory over 1000mhz, which most people do, will put you over the 4.0 GB/s bandwidth of pci-e 8X.












Quote:



Originally Posted by *frankydee*


The 19800 Points are my total score in 3Dmark Vantage. The only gpu score say 43000 points; cpu score 7400 points.

I think one 4850X2 is enough and I will selling my second one.


Like I said, P19800 is great and sounds like a quad core cpu or i7 score. And 43000 gpu score? That's better than quad fire 4890's on an i7. Something doesn't sound right. I could be wrong. Do you have a pic of your score and what is your e8400 clocked at?


----------



## twm.7

Thx rico, I wasn't aware of how to know whether a card is bottlenecked ( don't know if I can use that word like that ^^' ) or not.
Verry useful to know that =)

For the cpu I have quite the same score @ 3.6 (when not OCing the card).


----------



## frankydee

Okay, here my screenshot:



I have OC the E8400 and the card.


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Pci-e 2.0 @ 8X doesn't bottleneck the 4850 X2. I've explained this a few times her on the forum.
http://www.overclock.net/ati/538973-...ml#post6669349


http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/14...ce/index7.html

the gpu's use the lanes to communicate as well. hence why an x2 card will marginally outperform a hardware identical crossfire setup. it's not just the memory bandwidth that comes into play.


----------



## twm.7

I don't know if that can help but when I OCed mine, I had to chose each core separately ( if it's obvious for you, I'm sorry, I'm a noob tryin' to help ^^ ) so at first I only change the clock speed with the first GPU in the list box, as it say HD4850x2 I was thinking that both the 2 core would be affected but when I selected the second HD 4850x2 in the list and change the clock speed ( the same as the first one ) I get better results. Don't know if it's my imagination or if it's the normal procedure, as I said I'm a newbie so ^^

PS: I'm not thinking that you are stupid or something, in fact I'm and I'm asking if the way I do is the good one, and if it is, maybe it's your problem too ^^


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *frankydee* 
Okay, here my screenshot:



I have OC the E8400 and the card.

Oh I see now. You are using the preset "Entry" (1024x786 plus low settings). If you can, bench on preset "Performance", which is what most people test at.









Quote:


Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes* 
http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/14...ce/index7.html

the gpu's use the lanes to communicate as well. hence why an x2 card will marginally outperform a hardware identical crossfire setup. it's not just the memory bandwidth that comes into play.

Yea, I've read that "tweaktown" review a long time ago and never had too much faith in it. I don't think there is any other review on the net comparing p45 and x48. As far as pci-e goes, its a pipe line, so very much to do with bandwidth and yes the gpus communicate through it. I think of pci-e as data tunnels and if large enough, doesn't bottle the gpu's speed (mhz) in delivering that data. The reason why (2) cards in CF, either 4850 or 4870, is b/c of the side port. The X2's have a internal side port to allows them to communicate the other possible 10GB/s of data to prevent bottlenecking on the pci-e. When using two card, we use the CF ribbon for the same affect. All my posts, comments, and reviews are my opinion, feel free to believe what you want.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *twm.7* 
I don't know if that can help but when I OCed mine, I had to chose each core separately ( if it's obvious for you, I'm sorry, I'm a noob tryin' to help ^^ ) so at first I only change the clock speed with the first GPU in the list box, as it say HD4850x2 I was thinking that both the 2 core would be affected but when I selected the second HD 4850x2 in the list and change the clock speed ( the same as the first one ) I get better results. Don't know if it's my imagination or if it's the normal procedure, as I said I'm a newbie so ^^

PS: I'm not thinking that you are stupid or something, in fact I'm and I'm asking if the way I do is the good one, and if it is, maybe it's your problem too ^^

The gpu cores and memory can be clocked independently, although the memory is shared so the lowest memory clock dictates the speed. So don't be afraid to clock the gpus differently and your overclocking efforts will show in your scores.


----------



## twm.7

Yes, But I had better score with the stock clocks than with just OCing one core, so ^^


----------



## Outcasst

Ordered my 2GB version, it's coming tomorrow


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Outcasst* 
Ordered my 2GB version, it's coming tomorrow









Congrats! What are you upgrading from?


----------



## Outcasst

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


congrats! What are you upgrading from?


gtx260


----------



## azianai

Quote:


Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes* 
http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/14...ce/index7.html

the gpu's use the lanes to communicate as well. hence why an x2 card will marginally outperform a hardware identical crossfire setup. it's not just the memory bandwidth that comes into play.

Ah the infamous tweaktown 16/16 vs 8/8
Honestly im with rico on this one, from my tests with a P5Q Deluxe then an X48 Rampage, i saw no diff at the time when i was running 2 4870 in crossfire.


----------



## frankydee

now I have the right screenshots


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *frankydee*


now I have the right screenshots










That is more like it. Good scores franky. rep+ for you.


----------



## sprout

OK. here's another vantage screenie, this time, with the i7 OC. I will need better cooling to go any farther.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sprout* 
OK. here's another vantage screenie, this time, with the i7 OC. I will need better cooling to go any farther.

Good stuff sprout. I'm not very knowledgeable on i7's but I thought i7 920's do 3.7 - 4.0G with easy. You could probably up your scores to 15-16k in vantage.


----------



## sprout

Well Rico, from what I've read, the stepping I have is hard to get to 4.0 without a lot of voltage. I'll be switching to a decent air cooler soon to see if it's better than the A.L.C. Oh, and I tried to throw my 4850 512mb in for a little tri-fire action and it didn't go so well. CCC just kept saying something about being incompatible and throwing a fit. Any ideas??


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *sprout*


Well Rico, from what I've read, the stepping I have is hard to get to 4.0 without a lot of voltage. I'll be switching to a decent air cooler soon to see if it's better than the A.L.C. Oh, and I tried to throw my 4850 512mb in for a little tri-fire action and it didn't go so well. CCC just kept saying something about being incompatible and throwing a fit. Any ideas??


Yea you know more than I do on i7's. Explain more on your tri-fire attempt. Did you uninstall the drivers first? CF ribbon installed? Does single 4850 show up in device manager? What exactly does CCC say? Not CF'ing in CCC? Disabled adapter? Did drivers install with out issues?

I know some people with mobos with 3-4 pci-e's have issues with CF and change a setting or toe in their mobo bios to fix issue.


----------



## po-chi

here are some resident evil 5 benchmarks:

DX10, all max settings









DX10, all max settings but with 2xAA only









DX10, all max settings but with no AA & no motion blur









as we can see in the screenshots above, there is a problem with AA on ATI cards. hopefully this can be fixed.

DX9, all max settings










weird results here for DX9, areas 1 & 2 are ok but areas 3 & 4 are really low.

if i may share, a 4870cf (1gb each) with almost the same set-up as mine had an average of 115 fps w/ max settings, 1680x1050, no AA and motion blur (same settings with my 3rd screenshot). my 4850x2 1gb performed almost the same.


----------



## Outcasst

So i've now got my card.. what kind of clocks do you recommend I try?


----------



## twm.7

I can run mine @ max clock with a good air flow.
The best clock are the one you like I guess.
Increase yours step by step, launching 3Dmark or something to see if it run smoothly and whitout any problem and you'll find the way to go^^


----------



## Outcasst

Thanks. Also, how do I choose options for specific games like in the NV control panel? All I can find are general ones which apply to all games.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *po-chi* 
here are some resident evil 5 benchmarks:

DX10, all max settings









as we can see in the screenshots above, there is a problem with AA on ATI cards. hopefully this can be fixed.

weird results here for DX9, areas 1 & 2 are ok but areas 3 & 4 are really low.

if i may share, a 4870cf (1gb each) with almost the same set-up as mine had an average of 115 fps w/ max settings, 1680x1050, no AA and motion blur (same settings with my 3rd screenshot). my 4850x2 1gb performed almost the same.









Nice benchmark. Tried this one myself. The motion blur in section 3 is a killer.







I read Ati hasn't had a chance to optimize the driver form RE5. We should see better result by time the game is officially released.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Outcasst* 
So i've now got my card.. what kind of clocks do you recommend I try?

Most 4850 X2 owners can do 700 mhz gpu/1100 mhz mem out of the box.


----------



## SgtHop

700/1100 is what I'm running and it's perfectly stable. I can't wait for the new version of RivaTuner to come out so I can get a good overclock going.


----------



## twm.7

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Outcasst* 
Thanks. Also, how do I choose options for specific games like in the NV control panel? All I can find are general ones which apply to all games.

You can save your settings as a profile ( click profiles on top and profiles manager ) and choose an application that will use that profile =)

(I guess it's what you were looking for)


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *twm.7* 
Just to signal that in the first post the links for GPUZ and 3DMark Vantage are dead =)


Thanks for the heads up a few days ago *twm.7* and I don't think I properly welcomed you to the owners thread.

Welcome to the 4850 X2 owners thread, thanks for your vantage scores. Now added to the owners list and I'll try to get the links fixed shortly.









*Update:* owners list up to date. (7/21/2009)


----------



## rico2001

*Update to Op post:* GPUZ v0.3.4 link fixed and 3DMark Vantage v1.01a link added.


----------



## twm.7

So thx for adding me to the owners list, for welcoming me and for the links =D


----------



## SgtHop

Rico, you should add me to the owners list, you of all people should know that I have one.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


Rico, you should add me to the owners list, you of all people should know that I have one.


Added you back on page 184.









Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


Okay, so I bought one of these cards here off Rico, and I do have to say, I love it so far. Yes, it is huge. In my twelve hundred, I had to move my hard drive, which was in the second cage, to get it to fit. But, it's actually really quiet. At both fans at 100%, I can't hear it over my case fans. Maybe those of you who complain about the noise have faulty fans, or just really quiet computers, but I can't hear mine. That being said, epic cards these are.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*

Glad to see my card, now yours, get a good new home. Also glad you enjoy it. Await some scores from your mixed CF setup with the 4850 X2.









*Update: owners list up to date (7-18-2009)*


----------



## SgtHop

Ah, I see. I guess I just missed my name or sommat. But, thanks, lol.


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


Rico, you should add me to the owners list, you of all people should know that I have one.


Me too. I should be in the owners list..


----------



## azianai

bumped my 4850X2 to 700/1100 like everyone else lol
Also bumped the i7 to 3.6ghz as i swapped my cooler to the Prolima Megatron.
new screenshot:


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


Me too. I should be in the owners list..










Hi krazyatom, welcome to the forum and owners thread. Please fill out your system specs. see link
and provide a score, bench and/or verification of your 4850 X2. Then I'm be happy to add you to the owners list. I'll take a look back a few pages, see if I missed a post by you.

Edit: I see you posted last week, must have missed it. Please post some proof you own the 4850 X2 and I'll add you. Thanks.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


Hi Rico,

I found your thread by searching google. (actually im new to overclock.net)
Sorry for my bad english.
I currently have very old set up.

Core 2 Duo E6700 Oced to 3.2ghz
mobo: abit ip35-pro
PSU antec 650watts
4850 x2 2gb

When I first got my 4850 x2 2gb, I wasn't sure I wanted to keep it because it was way too loud for me.
I was wonder if zalman vf900 video card fan will make my card silient and cool?

I know my cpu might bottleneck my 4850 x2, but I am saving my money to buy good mobo and cpu. Any suggestion on cpu and mobo for 4850 x2?

I might plan to add another 4850 for tri CF in the future.

Your suggestion will be appreciated! Thank you.



Quote:



Originally Posted by *azianai*


bumped my 4850X2 to 700/1100 like everyone else lol
Also bumped the i7 to 3.6ghz as i swapped my cooler to the Prolima Megatron.
new screenshot:










Very nice score, azianai. Your i7 is really starting to shine; pulling those scores up nicely.


----------



## sprout

Quick update rico. The X2 is getting RMA'd. After all I did my probs can't be anything else. At least I've got the 4850 as a back up 'till the X2 gets returned.


----------



## SgtHop

Alright, I've got my own results in, though they're a bit inflated, because the 4890 is present.


----------



## rico2001

Man, that is sweet. Closing in on P20k. rep +









Wonder what you can do with just the 4850 X2.


----------



## SgtHop

I dunno. If I disable Crossfire, will it still run in dual GPU mode for the 4850X2? Also, thanks.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


I dunno. If I disable Crossfire, will it still run in dual GPU mode for the 4850X2? Also, thanks.


Well as you see in your CCC, you should have 2 options: 3 gpus and 2 gpus.

3 cpus = 4850 X2 + 4890
2 gpus = 4850 + 4890 (it will split the 4850 X2 apart)(if I remember correctly)


----------



## SgtHop

Hmm. Alright. How can I get just the 4850 alone? Just unhooking the bridge?


----------



## rico2001

By the hardest and only way.







Uninstall the drivers, remove the 4890, reinstall the drivers. Pain in the ass but that's the only way.


----------



## SgtHop

That sounds like a lot of work, and I'm kinda lazy, but I'll see what I can do.


----------



## frankydee

Run your 4850X2 stable on 700/1100mhz?

I can only run at 700/1065Mhz stable.


----------



## SgtHop

Yeah, that's where it's set. No artifacts whatsoever.


----------



## rico2001

The 4850 X2's gpus can do up to 720 mhz with out any problem. The memory is more of determining factor in the card artifacting. 1100 mhz seems to be the safe max oc for the memory.


----------



## twm.7

Also it depends on the case you have and the air flow in it.

I can run my HD4850x2 @ max clocks without artifacting but only if I set the case fan to medium or max ^^

So It really depends on the temperature in your case.


----------



## frankydee

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


The 4850 X2's gpus can do up to 720 mhz with out any problem. The memory is more of determining factor in the card artifacting. 1100 mhz seems to be the safe max oc for the memory.


But the slide for oc end at 700mhz. More is only with mod bios possible?!


----------



## twm.7

CCC is an ATI software so they won't let you do all the things you might want to.
Try rivatuner, I think it supports HD4850x2 (with Catalyst 9.2).

If not, screw me <.<


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *frankydee*


But the slide for oc end at 700mhz. More is only with mod bios possible?!


Yes true, the CCC max is 700 mhz for the gpu. I was just stating every 4850 X2 made can overclock to the CC max of 700 mhz. Ati should have given use a little more overclocking headroom in the CCC. You can only overclock over 700 mhz with rivatuner, which I don't recommend (don't trust it), and editing the CCC in the bios, which is also risky. As for temps, my 4850 X2, even at 740 mhz hardly saw 70C under load.


----------



## Outcasst

I'm getting some mad stutter in crysis warhead and other games


----------



## twm.7

I don't know what stutter means but if it comes after an OC of your card, it certainly doesn't support it so drop the speed and see what happens.
Or I read that it can came from a too high res / details.
Also it can came from a new drivers that you have just installed.
Any change in your configuration ? Oc, drivers, new res, what ever.

You can try to run it in dx9 mode. Also w7 is using a new dx11 instead of dx10, so it can come from that too. Did you install a new build ?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Outcasst* 
I'm getting some mad stutter in crysis warhead and other games

Disable vertical sync (v-sync) in every game you can. If your memory is overclocked on your card, back it down.

EDIT: You can also read this post: http://www.overclock.net/graphics-ca...ml#post5900577


----------



## SgtHop

I've tried editing settings in RivaTuner, and it doesn't support this card without editing the settings, unless they released a new version that I didn't hear about. I would like getting some help editing this at the BIOS level though, that's something I've never done.


----------



## vicious_fishes

not recommended without really knowing what you're doing man.

just install CCC, overclock from there (10mhz on the core isn't a big deal) and leave it.


----------



## SgtHop

I know what I'd be getting myself into, it's just that I don't know how to physically do it. And, in the pursuit of knowledge, I would like to learn.


----------



## kimosabi

Heh, I'm really struggling to get my 4850x2 to not artifact when running both cores now. The clocks are 625/995 and still it artifacts/stutters. It has been kicking my @$$ on and off numerous times now and that kinda makes me wish I had a single gpu card again. ArmA II does not like this card at all when I CF the cores.

I'm sorry to say it but I miss my 9800GTX.


----------



## SgtHop

That's very strange. I'm assuming you've updated all your drivers and such. Did you try underclocking it to see what that would do?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SgtHop* 
I know what I'd be getting myself into, it's just that I don't know how to physically do it. And, in the pursuit of knowledge, I would like to learn.

See post #1766, page 177 for flashing the 4850 X2.


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SgtHop* 
That's very strange. I'm assuming you've updated all your drivers and such. Did you try underclocking it to see what that would do?

Silly me. I'm still running on 9.2 drivers.










What's da shizzle nowadays then? 9.7?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kimosabi* 
Heh, I'm really struggling to get my 4850x2 to not artifact when running both cores now. The clocks are 625/995 and still it artifacts/stutters. It has been kicking my @$$ on and off numerous times now and that kinda makes me wish I had a single gpu card again. ArmA II does not like this card at all when I CF the cores.

I'm sorry to say it but I miss my 9800GTX.

Did you ever use rivatuner on the card? But in all honestly, your card may be just going bad on it's own.

edit: 9.2's oh man!!!! I liked those but they were ify.


----------



## SgtHop

I believe it's 9.6. Get it off the ATI website. Also, thanks, Rico.


----------



## BoneTrail

Hello everyone. Excellent post. Congratulations. Nice job.
I want to assembly Quad CrossfireX with two Sapphire 4850x2.
Is The Psu Corsair TX850W (12's rail @ 70A) appropriate to supply two Sapphire 4850x2?
My system is:
CPU: Q9950 2.83 Mhz
Motherboard: Intel DX48BT2.
Memory: 4 Gb (4x1) Corsair XMS3 DHX DDR3 1600Mhz 9-9-9-24
Graphic Card: Sapphire 4850x2 (I'm thinking buy another 4850x2)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Sata II 7200Rpm 320Gb 16mb Cache
Power Supply: Corsair TX850W (12v's rail @ 70A)
Case: Cooler Master centurion 590

Thanks a lot.


----------



## SgtHop

Yeah, that should be sufficient. I run a 4890 and a 4850X2, and peak with that is around 600W. 850 should be plenty.


----------



## daffy.duck

Quote:


Originally Posted by *BoneTrail* 
Hello everyone. Excellent post. Congratulations. Nice job.
I want to assembly Quad CrossfireX with two Sapphire 4850x2.
Is The Psu Corsair TX850W (12's rail @ 70A) appropriate to supply two Sapphire 4850x2?
My system is:
CPU: Q9950 2.83 Mhz
Motherboard: Intel DX48BT2.
Memory: 4 Gb (4x1) Corsair XMS3 DHX DDR3 1600Mhz 9-9-9-24
Graphic Card: Sapphire 4850x2 (I'm thinking buy another 4850x2)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Sata II 7200Rpm 320Gb 16mb Cache
Power Supply: Corsair TX850W (12v's rail @ 70A)
Case: Cooler Master centurion 590

Thanks a lot.

Yes the 850TX will handle that setup nicely.


----------



## rico2001

Should be fine with 850W, probably be around 680-700W with that setup.

Plug your info into this calc. It's fairly accurate.
eXtreme Power Supply Calculator Lite v2.5


----------



## BoneTrail

Thank you for your quick replies, specially for rico2001; You have great posts and nice reviews.

Regards.

P.D: Excellent Power Supply calculator (eXtreme Power Supply Calculator Lite v2.5). Help me very much. 
Thanks a lot.


----------



## kimosabi

Hey seems like it helped installing 9.7's. Now how do I remove the CrossFireX emblem on the top right in games? Can't seem to find out.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kimosabi*


Hey seems like it helped installing 9.7's. Now how do I remove the CrossFireX emblem on the top right in games? Can't seem to find out.


That's good news man. The 9.2's were fast though, but we all have to move on from them. I use to know where that "CrossfireX" setting was, can't find it now.


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
That's good news man. The 9.2's were fast though, but we all have to move on from them. I use to know where that "CrossfireX" setting was, can't find it now.









I had to search through task manager and hidden drivers etc. Seemed to be lots of older stuff lurking around there. ArmA II enjoys the new 9.7's now atleast.

I'll see if I can find the setting somewhere again. lol it overlaps the weapons and fire mode HUD.


----------



## Outcasst

Hi, I have some strange results I think from the Crysis Warhead benchmark.

Settings:
DX10
All Enthusiast Settings
No AA
1680 x 1050 resolution

Minimum= 12 FPS Average= 16 FPS Max= 19 FPS

Does that seem sucky?

Edit: Here's another run


----------



## rico2001

Yea that average stinks, Outcasst. Looks like one 4850 not two. Check the 64 bit button and try it again.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Outcasst* 
Hi, I have some strange results I think from the Crysis Warhead benchmark.

Settings:
DX10
All Enthusiast Settings
No AA
1680 x 1050 resolution

Minimum= 12 FPS Average= 16 FPS Max= 19 FPS

Does that seem sucky?

Edit: Here's another run










Only makes sense if crossfire is disabled. See the OP. You should be getting 30 FPS easy.


----------



## Outcasst

Tried 64 bit and crossfire is enabled (so it says).

I had the same thing with the 9.6 Drivers and I'm now using 9.7 so I doubt it's driver related.


----------



## po-chi

official 9.7 drivers are out. looks like the drivers are good, increased my 3dmark06 scores by almost 100 points.


----------



## SgtHop

I just downloaded drivers Tuesday. What is that about. e.e


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Outcasst* 
Tried 64 bit and crossfire is enabled (so it says).

I had the same thing with the 9.6 Drivers and I'm now using 9.7 so I doubt it's driver related.

In that case something is really wrong. You want to see if it's hardware so try installing on a blank slate Windows install with only SP1/SP2 and all updated drivers. Then install Crysis Warhead update the patch and then the benchmark tool for it and run it. If it's the same result then it's a 100% hardware fault. Could be a BIOS settings or the second GPU on the card could be defective. Do that procedure first to eliminate all other options.


----------



## Outcasst

Okay well I have bumped up my CPU from 3.6 to 3.7 and now look at the results..


----------



## rico2001

@Outcasst

Hmm, I get about same fps(+ - 1-2fps) from 3G - 3.8G. Anyway, glad you got it straightened out.









*Update:* *Catalyst (9.7 drivers) links updated on op post.*


----------



## Outcasst

Add me on the list please


----------



## kimosabi

Hey guys, I found out how to get rid of the Xfire icon in games.

Right click ATi in the taskbar-->gpu(Radeon whatever)-->CrossfireX settings-->Show CrossFireX Status Icon.










*edit* Does anyone have any objections to running a 4870 in TriFire with the 4850x2 BTW? I saw your comparisons, Rico, and it looked to me like a quite significant performance leap. Or maybe adding a 4850 instead?


----------



## SgtHop

Nope, I run mine with a 4890 in trifire, which is excellent. It'll soon be quadfire though. Anyhow, it's awesome having that extra kick in there.


----------



## twm.7

I think my card is about to die. . . 
I've installed the catalyst 9.7 -> BSOD
Try again, worked "well" (had to reboot to be able to launch CCC)
And now I have artifacts in 3DMarkVantage and sometime in Fallout 3. . .

<.<


----------



## SgtHop

Interesting. I dunno what to tell you. Maybe check with a different card, see if it's your computer or your card, if that's available to you.


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SgtHop* 
Nope, I run mine with a 4890 in trifire, which is excellent. It'll soon be quadfire though. Anyhow, it's awesome having that extra kick in there.

Ah ok cool. No limitations running that extra 4890 on x8/x8?? Smooth?

I read somewhere that the 4890 is fast enough to limit a x8/x8 CF setup.
Ah, none other than Rico:

http://www.overclock.net/6669349-post11.html

Looks like it's good at stock though. Overclocked is another story.


----------



## rico2001

@Outcasst

Great scores, thanks for posting. Added to owners list, rep+









Quote:


Originally Posted by *kimosabi* 
Hey guys, I found out how to get rid of the Xfire icon in games.

Right click ATi in the taskbar-->gpu(Radeon whatever)-->CrossfireX settings-->Show CrossFireX Status Icon.










*edit* Does anyone have any objections to running a 4870 in TriFire with the 4850x2 BTW? I saw your comparisons, Rico, and it looked to me like a quite significant performance leap. Or maybe adding a 4850 instead?

Thanks for the info, I knew that setting was close at hand, couldn't remember where. rep+









Either one, 4850 and 4870 do great in tri-fire with the 4850 X2. Make sure you have enough power to run both. The 4870 give slightly more power but the 4850 runs slighly smoother in tri-fire. The mixing of memory types, that's all. Heat starts to become a factor also when going tri- or quad-fire. Just something to think about.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *twm.7* 
I think my card is about to die. . .
I've installed the catalyst 9.7 -> BSOD
Try again, worked "well" (had to reboot to be able to launch CCC)
And now I have artifacts in 3DMarkVantage and sometime in Fallout 3. . .

<.<

Did you do a driver sweep after you uninstalled the cat9.6 drivers? Could be having a mixing of driver and causing issues.


----------



## SgtHop

@Kimosabi

I have no issues with it. If you go back a couple pages, it's got my Vantage score. 17,000 something I believe. So far, I've had no issues with it.

@twm.7

Oh, yeah, do that too. And listen to Rico, he's usually right.


----------



## Outcasst

Hmm I'm only 104 points away from 20k 06 marks. Lets see if I can squeeze some more performance to hit 20k.


----------



## twm.7

It start artifacting before I change the drivers. And yes I did =(


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*Outcasst*, I'm really happy you solved the issue. I really had no idea that your CPU could bottleneck you THAT much. That's just amazing (especially for a 100mhz bump). Are you sure you didn't change any other settings or something else also? Cause that really makes very little sense that a 100mhz bump would take off the bottleneck or that 3.6ghz is really a bottleneck at all.


----------



## daffy.duck

Quote:


Originally Posted by *twm.7* 
It start artifacting before I change the drivers. And yes I did =(

Temperatures?


----------



## SgtHop

How bout your clock speeds? Is everything stock, do you have it OC'd?


----------



## twm.7

Stock clocks, and I have try with the fans at Max speed, didn't change anything.
I OCed just the time to do a bench (few post ago) and then set it to stock clock until I get my VF900 so... still at stock speed ^^


----------



## Outcasst

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0* 
*Outcasst*, I'm really happy you solved the issue. I really had no idea that your CPU could bottleneck you THAT much. That's just amazing (especially for a 100mhz bump). Are you sure you didn't change any other settings or something else also? Cause that really makes very little sense that a 100mhz bump would take off the bottleneck or that 3.6ghz is really a bottleneck at all.

As far as I know, all the same settings. I just rebooted a few times but that's about it. I also don't think that a 100MHz bump would give me that much. Must be an underlying problem that resolved itself after a few reboots.

Ah, So close!


----------



## SgtHop

@twm.7

Then I think you may have broken something. Just to be sure, check all your connections, PSU, PCI, everything, just to rule every possible problem out.


----------



## twm.7

I didn't open my case since last week, and everything worked fine until wednesday noon.
I just opened it and everything seems fine. . . I think that my poor card is gooing to die. . . I'm sad =(


----------



## SgtHop

It's hard to tell. But, I don't know what to do now, this is past the extent of my knowledge.


----------



## kimosabi

Hey thanks rico and SgtHop.

I did a Vantage run on 3.65gHz and 625/993clocks and got this:



I'm not sure how confident I should be on that score since I've heard of plenty that run 12-13k on that setup.... That extra card sounds more and more tempting.


----------



## SgtHop

If you've got the ability to do it, then go for it. Maximum performance, man.


----------



## rico2001

@twm.7

Again, did you wipe drivers in safe mode after uninstalling previous drivers?


----------



## twm.7

I've asked the shop where I got it how RMA (I think that the the expression) works, in case of it breaks down. . . I'll try not to push it too hard until I get an answer ^^

EDIT:
Yes, I boot in safe mod to use driver sweeper from guru3d, it's not the first time I update my drivers that way and never had any problem. It started before I change the drivers and it worked untill a few day ago so, I don't think it's related. But thanks ^^


----------



## rico2001

Good score I think, kimosabi. I only get P10.5k stock but I only have a dual core cpu









Have to overclock big time to get high 11's. Or cheat and add more gpu's lol


----------



## SgtHop

I got 06 scores just now, with the 4850X2 and my 4890. Enjoy.


----------



## rico2001

battle of scores







4850 X3









I didn't break 20k in 2006 with (3) gpus







but again I only have a dual core cpu.
3dmark2006 - 19934


@SgtHop
Is you X2 overclocked in your scores or stock?


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


I got 06 scores just now, with the 4850X2 and my 4890. Enjoy.


Congrats dude! That's a mighty fine score there.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Good score I think, kimosabi. I only get P10.5k stock but I only have a dual core cpu









Have to overclock big time to get high 11's. Or cheat and add more gpu's lol







[/IMG]


Yeah I guess it's the ultimate proof that Duo's really are bottlenecking multi GPU setups. I found a rather disturbing earlier bench myself:

4.2gHz OC and higher clocks on the card but _lower_ GPU-score. 
That's gotta be the Duo causing that. 9.2 drivers. Not sure if that's has any part in it though.



With the Q9550 in @ 3.65gHz it looks a bit more harmonic. Stock GPU-clocks. 9.7 drivers.


----------



## SgtHop

Hurr. I still need to get that benchmark done. Damn my laziness. Also, thank you.


----------



## rico2001

@kimosabi

No no no, dual core cpu's do not bottleneck multi-gpus. 3dmark benchmarks are 50% cpu derived benchmarks. Half the score is pure cpu power. If you look my gpu scores are the same as your's or any other quad-core cpu. All of my real world game scores and fps are great. Us duals just don't do well it 3dmark appz. 3dmark scores are nice to look at, but I've said before they are not a good measure of ones true graphics power. Read the article in my sig.


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


@kimosabi

No no no, dual core cpu's do not bottleneck multi-gpus. 3dmark benchmarks are 50% cpu derived benchmarks. Half the score is pure cpu power. If you look my gpu scores are the same as your's or any other quad-core cpu. All of my real world game scores and fps are great. Us duals just don't do well it 3dmark appz. 3dmark scores are nice to look at, but I've said before they are not a good measure of ones true graphics power. Read the article in my sig.


Aha, well I was under the impression that a multi gpu setup would be a bit too much "work" for a Duo. Two GPU's are alot of calculations for a proc. Thanks for clearing that up.

I still find it a bit weird that my recent GPU-score on the Q9550 was 400P higher than the older one. Especially since my newest ran on stock 625/993 clocks compared to the 690/1188 on the Duo run.


----------



## SgtHop

It seems to me that 3DMark scores are very arbitrary, because I've gotten a higher score with this setup, without changing anything. I just didn't record it.


----------



## rico2001

@kimosabi
Well as soon as they start making games that utilize more than two cpu cores, which I think there is one or two games now, the quads will leave dual in the dust. And your 400 point difference could be just the drivers. I have been seeing small gains in 3dmark appz from cat. version to cat. version. I know 9.2's were fast, 9.3 i got a loss, skipped 9.4 (they didn't like me), big gain in 9.5's and can't remember 9.6 and haven't tested 9.7.

@SgtHop
That's why Open1 and me harp on everyone posting a game score bench or two. Helps to get a better picture.


----------



## SgtHop

Speaking of drivers, all that was done on 9.6. I'm downloading 9.7 right now, and we'll see how it stacks up to the previous version.


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


@kimosabi
Well as soon as they start making games that utilize more than two cpu cores, which I think there is one or two games now, the quads will leave dual in the dust. And your 400 point difference could be just the drivers. I have been seeing small gains in 3dmark appz from cat. version to cat. version. I know 9.2's were fast, 9.3 i got a loss, skipped 9.4 (they didn't like me), big gain in 9.5's and can't remember 9.6 and haven't tested 9.7.


Three games that I know of: FSX, GTAIV and ArmAII. Not much yet.

It really does a world of good to upgrade to a quad though. You might not believe it but all my games run better on it. Multithreaded or not. I've gone through an E8200, E8400 and an E8500 just because of the gaming aspect. I won't go back there.


----------



## twm.7

Just reinstalled (an sweep again), let see what happens. . . (hell, my computer frose like 4 times. . . don't know what the * is happening with it. . .)

Edit: Just try 3DMark Vantage out, still artifacting. . . I'll bury it in my garden =(


----------



## SgtHop

Alright. New benchmarks are in. I didn't take a screenshot because I'm lazy, but my setup is identical, minus Catalyst 9.7.

3DMark Vantage: P16790 (Down from P17020)
3DMark06: 21589 (Up from 21319)

@twm.7
Well, that's a shame. You said you were going to talk to someone about an RMA?


----------



## twm.7

I wait for to answer my email. So I'll probably get an answer tomorrow (local time).


----------



## SgtHop

Ah, alright. Well, I wish you a quick and painless RMA process.


----------



## twm.7

thank you


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kimosabi*


Three games that I know of: FSX, GTAIV and ArmAII. Not much yet.

It really does a world of good to upgrade to a quad though. You might not believe it but all my games run better on it. Multithreaded or not. I've gone through an E8200, E8400 and an E8500 just because of the gaming aspect. I won't go back there.










Your right, my friend kimosabi and I won't be flying the dual core flag forever. I have been eying a Q9550 for a few months now and passed up on a couple good deals. Keep spend my money on more video cards, but I do need to equal out my pc power one of these days.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

*I gotta say this is an amazing feat guys. Almost reached the 200 page mark. This thread has become such a huge success and I'm proud of all of you for contributing and helping each other out. Keep up the great work everyone.














*


----------



## SgtHop

Proud to be part of it. It's been quite helpful.


----------



## kimosabi

And I'm proud to be part of this little, often overlooked niche corner of ATi cards. We're like hobbits.


----------



## rico2001

Well said kimosabi.







Same here, I really enjoy this thread and the 4850 X2. Has been some fun learning the quirks, tweaks, performances of the card and helping others. And thanks most of all to Open1Your1Eyes0 for starting this great thread.


----------



## SgtHop

It's a good card, especially for the money. I'm really surprised more board partners didn't offer these, but oh well, their loss.


----------



## rico2001

Yea, could have been other designs, perhaps oc editions, etc. A Toxic 4850 X2 clocked at 725mhz stock and having more oc headroom would have been great.


----------



## SgtHop

But, that would be more or less a 4870X2. Yeah, though, that would have been awesome.


----------



## kimosabi

I think GDDR5 ran away with ATi and never looked back.


----------



## rico2001

If it wasn't for the ddr3 and a little more voltage a 4850 X2 would be a 4870 X2. I'm grateful to Sapphire for stepping up and making the 4850 X2, filled the gap between the 4870 and 4870 X2 cards at the time.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


If it wasn't for the ddr3 and a little more voltage a 4850 X2 would be a 4870 X2. I'm grateful to Sapphire for stepping up and making the 4850 X2, filled the gap between the 4870 and 4870 X2 cards at the time.


If I'm correct I believe that the HD4890 is the single GPU equivalent of the HD4850X2. We must see a comparison.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Well yes it appears so: http://hwbot.org/hardware.compare.do...26_1&id=1475_1


----------



## rico2001

Yes the 4890 is close to the performance of the 4850 X2, but I said "at the time".


----------



## Lozza

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Yes the 4890 is close to the performance of the 4850 X2, but I said "at the time".


Now that is odd considering the 4850X2 has twice the amount of units?


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0




----------



## rico2001

Nice chart, I do respect xbitlabs.com reviews. Crysis and Crysis warhead does respond better to fast single gpus over multiple crossfire configurations.


----------



## SgtHop

Hmm. These are interesting numbers. Odd how the 4890 2x is faster than the 4890 3x. I shall investigate on my own.


----------



## rico2001

HD4850 X2 stock (me)









HD4890 (1000/1200) ocn member









HD4890 (1000/1200) another ocn member









HD4850 X2 stock (me)









HD4890 (don't know what clock) another ocn member


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Problem is that those members are using an unpatched version of Crysis (huge FPS loss). And most likely different drivers as well. Not really an exact comparison. Rico you should get (or borrow from someone) an HD4890 and compare for us.


----------



## rico2001

Well I'll have one of those 4890's probably in a month or so (maybe), will be an interested comparison.

edit: Are you going to get one and if so, which are you eying?


----------



## SgtHop

I've noticed that having the extra GPU hasn't improved my benchmark scores in anything. It's also odd that they are so similar, considering the difference in numbers. Amazing that the little difference in numbers makes such a big impact.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Well I'll have one of those 4890's probably in a month or so (maybe), will be an interested comparison.

edit: Are you going to get one and if so, which are you eying?


I'm not planning to get either right now, I'm just looking to SLI my current GTX280. Reason being is cause I need PhysX for some of my games and also since I have a GTX280 it defeats the purpose of selling mine then getting two more cards. If I did get an ATI setup, I would probably do HD4890 Crossfire or HD4890 (over the HD4850X2), only cause a single powerful GPU is always a better solution that dual mid end GPUs.


----------



## SgtHop

4890 crossfire is an amazing setup, actually. Huge FPS. I saw near to 45fps in Crysis in 16x10, full AA. It was pretty sweet. Don't down the dual 4890.


----------



## rico2001

@SgtHop
Send my old 4850 X2 back to me, improved my frames in most games.










@Open1
Good plan, gtx280 sli will be fast and plus you'll have physx.

edit: almost 200 pages. Some make a random meaningless comment to throw us over the top. I have nothing against 4890s, like all Ati gpus.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


4890 crossfire is an amazing setup, actually. Huge FPS. I saw near to 45fps in Crysis in 16x10, full AA. It was pretty sweet. Don't down the dual 4890.


No no, I'm all for it. I was just saying between HD4850X2 and HD4890 I would choose HD4890 (edited previous post to make sure it's interpreted properly) but obviously I would choose HD4890 Crossfire over both. It's pretty much one of the best ATI setups you can have right now.


----------



## SgtHop

@Rico

Only if you send me my $185 back, lol.
Wait, no, never mind, I want to keep it.

@OYE

Ah, yeah, sorry I misinterpreted. I can't wait to get my new board so I can have 4890+4890+4850X2. It shall be epic.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


@Rico

Only if you send me my $185 back, lol.
Wait, no, never mind, I want to keep it.

@OYE

Ah, yeah, sorry I misinterpreted. I can't wait to get my new board so I can have 4890+4890+4850X2. It shall be epic.


That's going to be interesting. I can't imagine the scaling though.


----------



## SgtHop

We'll see. I hope it works out, cause that would be inconvenient if it didn't. Lot of money lost. Guess it would be like two 4850X2s crossfired, so it's not that odd, upon thinking about it.

Also, 200 pages officially.


----------



## vicious_fishes

anyone else frothing on the new drivers ?


----------



## SgtHop

Uh, they're more or less the same, speed wise. I listed what I got on the benchmarks a page or so ago.


----------



## Battlestar

Hi Rico,

Please count me in on the list. Got the new 4850 X2 1GB version from the replacement of my 4850 RMA'ed







..I've read your Flashing Bios setup guide on page 177, is that also applicable to 1GB version?

Thanks


----------



## SgtHop

It is, unless it's got a different device ID. Though, my memory is a little fuzzy, and I don't know if you need the device ID to edit the BIOS.


----------



## Battlestar

SgtHop - Thanks. How's your newly RMA'ed 4850X2? Already reach on your doorstep?

I love this thread very active people


----------



## SgtHop

Oh, no, that's not my RMA. That's twm.7's. I bought my card off Rico there, for an excellent price. And yes, this is a very nice thread. My favourite to peruse.


----------



## Battlestar

SgtHop - Sorry for mixed up I though it was yours


----------



## SgtHop

Nope, but that's alright. Not a problem sir. So, how are you enjoy your 4850X2 so far?


----------



## Battlestar

SgtHop - Honestly I can't bench for now except for 3DMark06. I've got 17k+ score for E8400 @ 4Ghz and 700/1000 on my VC. I can't push above than that for the reason that my PSU is limited (see my sig). Im still waiting to arrive the 750/850HX series on our local shop (hopefully) so can I can bench and play


----------



## SgtHop

Yeah, a 520 is really, really pushing it. I think Sapphire recommends 650, so, I would get that new PSU pretty quick. But, 17k is a real good score, I think. I don't know, I haven't done any single card benches, even though I really need to. Laziness often gets the better of me. You should be able to get your memory up to 1100, but don't just jump to it. Go up by 5 or 10 MHz steps and test in FurMark.


----------



## Battlestar

SgtHop - I will once I've got the new PSU. Thanks


----------



## SgtHop

Aye, a wise decision. Do you have a Kill-A-Watt or something to measure your draw right now?


----------



## Battlestar

SgtHop - Sorry I don't have. Is that available on online store? Im just relying on eXtreme PSu Calculator


----------



## SgtHop

Yeah, you can get them on Newegg for like 20 USD or something. Great little things. Show all kinds of information, too.


----------



## Battlestar

SgtHops - Sorry but newegg don't ship international order. Im on the Land of Pacman









Btw,,anyone tried this kind of setup?



















_Image borrowed from Zinet of Hexus forum_


----------



## SgtHop

Ah, well, it should be easily located. I got mine in a hardware store. As far as that setup, I haven't tried it, but it looks epic.


----------



## kimosabi

Yeah, those coolers look kewt.


----------



## SgtHop

Hey, those coolers, how much space do you figure they take up? I think I may get that, but I can't have it taking up 3 slots...


----------



## kimosabi

You'll do fine with two Zalman VF900 coolers, SgtHop.


----------



## SigSauer

Lol, that card is really hanging there!
My new 4850X2 is'nt doing to great, sometimes when playing STALKER ShoC I get artifacts all over my screen. It's kind of annoying me, it's not heat related cause it's nowhere near its max temperture. Still using the same drivers that I had with my broken card.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Battlestar* 
Hi Rico,

Please count me in on the list. Got the new 4850 X2 1GB version from the replacement of my 4850 RMA'ed







..I've read your Flashing Bios setup guide on page 177, is that also applicable to 1GB version?

Thanks

Welcome to the owners thread, Battlestar. Post some proof: a bench pic or verification and I'll add you to the owners list. About flashing the bios, the tutorial will work for anyone since you are just editting your own bios. Basically backing up your original bios, making a copy to edit, edit to what you want to do, flash, enjoy.


----------



## Outcasst

I'm loading at around 80c whilst playing Crysis. Is this acceptable?


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Outcasst* 
I'm loading at around 80c whilst playing Crysis. Is this acceptable?

yeah, ati say that anything up to boiling point is safe (yikes !)

leave it on auto fan & it will keep temps at safe levels. for my single 4850 that was 70 degrees. before the fan kicked in accordingly with load.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Outcasst* 
I'm loading at around 80c whilst playing Crysis. Is this acceptable?

Yes, that is ok. I believe I get around 76-78C under load with just my X2 card. In a tri-fire configuration, I'm up around 82-83C under load. Anyway, general rule for all raderon HD series, try not to go over 85C.


----------



## Redbull1985

yep, very much since this is one HOT BIATCH!!!


----------



## rico2001

nah the 4850 X2 is cold.







Get yourself a 4870 X2 and you will see what hot is. I can't keep that thing under 85C, usually up at 91-92C under load.


----------



## twm.7

So I've got an answer for the RMA, they'll test my card to see if it has a problem, so I'll wait a few days for it to really doesn't work anymore.

I don't know how they try the card so, if they don't find anything it'll be 30$ for me, plus 75$/hour for the testing . . .

I'll just wait for it to die ^^'


----------



## SgtHop

@twm.7

Well, that sucks. Oh well, I guess, that's how it goes.

@Kimosabi

Lol at the board flex, but I think those coolers are probably pretty good. I'll check that out.

But yeah, these cards don't really run hot. I always have my fans up at 100% so I know they aren't, though. Right now, at full stress (folding) my 4850X2 is peaking at 57C. I'd say that that's a pretty damn good cooler, in my book.


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SgtHop* 
@twm.7

Well, that sucks. Oh well, I guess, that's how it goes.

@Kimosabi

Lol at the board flex, but I think those coolers are probably pretty good. I'll check that out.

Yeah the VF900's are good for those GPU's but as always when we remove the stock shroud on these cards you also remove some support. The PCB is the longest there is and not exactly the stiffest or best balanced so flex is inevitable. Also the VF900 is heavier than the stock HSF's.

Here's mine, tried my best to support it with the tube routing and the PCI-E cables but still:





The big sinner are the V-reg coolers at the end of the card.


----------



## SgtHop

Ah, yeah, looks like it. Oh well, not a whole lot we can do about it.
Nice setup you got there, by the way...


----------



## twm.7

I don't know what is happening with my card, but now even CCC won't start. . . (but it appears in the process list) I'll download the last build of se7en and reformat.

But still, I don't thing this has anything to do with the computer itself, let see when I get it.

Edit: Clean install done. The problem persist, but at least CCC starts (for now).


----------



## firepro

Hi Guy's and/ or Gals,
My first build and first post.Hopefully everything shows. 
Question: With my dual hd4850x2, when I try Auto tune in Catalyst, my screen goes BLANK. Last Nite I reset after 1 hr. after trying on line support with china,NO help.trying to bump my 3dmark06 score up, best 19806
27 july, no responces yet. if i copy and paste THE OFFICIAL "ATI Radion hd4850x2 Thread" will i get a hit?Or, no one has any idea why my monitor goes blank.


----------



## Extreme_kid

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kimosabi*





You cards bent a little bit , I suggest you use a cardkeeper


----------



## Battlestar

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Welcome to the owners thread, Battlestar. Post some proof: a bench pic or verification and I'll add you to the owners list. About flashing the bios, the tutorial will work for anyone since you are just editting your own bios. Basically backing up your original bios, making a copy to edit, edit to what you want to do, flash, enjoy.


Hi Rico,

Please validate if my specs (on sig) and posted screenshots below are enough to join the list









Screenshot of the ff are to be follow soon:
Crysis Benchmark Tool
Crysis Warhead Benchmark Tool
3DMark Vantage
Actual photos of system used
Screenshot of *GPUZ* on "Graphics Card" tab.









Screenshot of *CPUZ* on "CPU" tab.









Screenshot of *CPUZ* on "Mainboard" tab.









Screenshot of *CPUZ* on "Memory" tab.









Screenshot of *CCC*









Screenshot of *3DMark06* Image 1









Screenshot of *3DMark06* Image 2









Screenshot of *3DMark06* Image 3








Please let me know If I miss something









Thanks,
-Battlestar


----------



## SgtHop

I do believe that is more than enough, Battlestar.

@twm.7
Damn. Sorry for your loss mate.

@firepro
I wouldn't use autotune. It set my card at 975/1140, which is way more than it can handle. If you're going to overclock it, do it manually. Far more accurate, though it is rather time consuming.


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Extreme_kid*


You cards bent a little bit , I suggest you use a cardkeeper


Thank you for your suggestion. I will see about the bending when I've finalized NorseRad and ready to move in/reconfig the cooling in there.







My card bends a bit less now than it did with the reference coolers/shroud on there though.


----------



## SgtHop

Actually, my card doesn't bend at all with the stock cooling. Odd.


----------



## Aeonus

My card wasn't bending at all with the shroud on, but removing it made it look like it's in terrible pain since the shroud is there for looks, bad design, and structural integrity. It did drop the noise and the temps quite a bit though.

About a week or two and my MCW60s should arrive 8)


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SgtHop* 
Actually, my card doesn't bend at all with the stock cooling. Odd.

Well mine didn't bow either but it was pointing downwards because of the weight.


----------



## chanster

Hi Guys... After a long time i got an up to date piece of hardware. However i cant enable crossfire because of insufficient power. It works fine without enabling CF on my crappy 500W. FSP 700W and a ABS Monolith is on the way hopefully will receive them next month.
































































BTW is will my CPU be a bottleneck?


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:



Originally Posted by *chanster*


Hi Guys... After a long time i got an up to date piece of hardware. However i cant enable crossfire because of insufficient power. It works fine without enabling CF on my crappy 500W. FSP 700W and a ABS Monolith is on the way hopefully will receive them next month.

BTW is will my CPU be a bottleneck?


Congrats on your new 4850x2! That score is allright considering that you run one core, you should hit around 15k with both cores and a better PSU.

As far as benching goes(from what I've learned here), that CPU is a serious bottleneck. How does games feel?

Ah, fellas. Finally broke the 20k mark on 06 and also 13k+ on Vantage.


----------



## Battlestar

SgtHop - Thanks chief









Kimosabi - Nice score









Im beginning to love this thread and my card


----------



## chanster

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kimosabi*


Congrats on your new 4850x2! That score is allright considering that you run one core, you should hit around 15k with both cores and a better PSU.

As far as benching goes(from what I've learned here), that CPU is a serious bottleneck. How does games feel?

Ah, fellas. Finally broke the 20k mark on 06 and also 13k+ on Vantage.


Thanks







. Games maxed out(Fear II, FarCry2) are smooth except for Crysis. I play at 1440x900. Also i ordered the ABS monolith without checking whether it will allow a 4850X2 to fit in.

As for the CPU im thinking getting a E7400. What do you think?


----------



## Orion Nebula

new owner here 
this card is great but is it okay it reached 83 degrees playing crysis maxed out


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *chanster*


Thanks







. Games maxed out(Fear II, FarCry2) are smooth except for Crysis. I play at 1440x900. Also i ordered the ABS monolith without checking whether it will allow a 4850X2 to fit in.

As for the CPU im thinking getting a E7400. What do you think?


completely pointless when you have an E5200. and it seems every game released lately has been quad enabled.

not that a single threaded app would be bottlenecked by the single core on a quad thats maybe 300mhz slower than its dual core counterpart.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *firepro*


Hi Guy's and/ or Gals,
My first build and first post.Hopefully everything shows. 
Question: With my dual hd4850x2, when I try Auto tune in Catalsis, my screen goes BLANK. Last Nite I reset after 1 hr. after trying on line support with china,NO help.trying to bump my 3dmark06 score up, best 19806


Welcome to the owners thread *firepro*, post a pic, bench or verification and I'll dd you to the owners list. Autotune does not work great, and causes problems. It overclocks the memory too far. The only good way to overclock the 4850 X2 is manually. Up the gpu and/or memory and run quick, short 90 second furmark benchmarks to test for stability.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Battlestar*


Hi Rico,

Please validate if my specs (on sig) and posted screenshots below are enough to join the list









Screenshot of the ff are to be follow soon:
Crysis Benchmark Tool
Crysis Warhead Benchmark Tool
3DMark Vantage
Actual photos of system used
Screenshot of *GPUZ* on "Graphics Card" tab.









Screenshot of *CPUZ* on "CPU" tab.









Screenshot of *CPUZ* on "Mainboard" tab.









Screenshot of *CPUZ* on "Memory" tab.









Screenshot of *CCC*









Screenshot of *3DMark06* Image 1









Screenshot of *3DMark06* Image 2









Screenshot of *3DMark06* Image 3








Please let me know If I miss something









Thanks,
-Battlestar


Welcome to the owners thread *Battlestar*. Thanks for the benchmark and verification pics, more than enough but keep it up. Added to owners list. rep+ for you.









Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


Actually, my card doesn't bend at all with the stock cooling. Odd.


Removing the shroud will un-support the card and induce a sag in the card.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aeonus*


My card wasn't bending at all with the shroud on, but removing it made it look like it's in terrible pain since the shroud is there for looks, bad design, and structural integrity. It did drop the noise and the temps quite a bit though.

About a week or two and my MCW60s should arrive 8)


I don't think the 4850 X2 was terribly designed but there was one thing they could have changed. They made the heatsinks seperate instead of together in a one piece design. The 4870 X2 has a long one piece heatsink which makes the card very strong. Sapphire designed the black shroud to connect the two heatsinks together to give the whole card support. Us owners often remove the shroud to drop the card temperature 5-7C overall. Thus removing the shroud, you remove the strength of the card and your card will start to sag. What us owners need to do, if you do decide to remove your shroud from the card is to support the back end of the card by getting a "cardkeeper" like *Extreme_kid* suggested or if you don't card about being pretty, a ziptie holding up the pci-e power cables at the back of the card works as well.

Btw, *Aeonus* welcome to owners thread. Post some verification you own the card if you'd like and I'll add you to the owners list.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *chanster*


Hi Guys... After a long time i got an up to date piece of hardware. However i cant enable crossfire because of insufficient power. It works fine without enabling CF on my crappy 500W. FSP 700W and a ABS Monolith is on the way hopefully will receive them next month.
































































BTW is will my CPU be a bottleneck?



Hi *chanster* and welcome to the thread. Added to the owners list and thanks for your efforts. rep+

One thing I found strange, you say you can't run the card in CF b/c you have lack of power. Although 500W is not enough for the 4850 X2 in my opinion, you should be able to run in CF since you power both gpus regardless if you are in CF or not. Bur I'll take you at your word, since 500W is just not enough power. About your cpu: although dual core cpus do great with this card, your e5200 dual core is a generation behind inf architecture. Lacks the L2 cache of the more modern e7000 and e8000 series cpus. As a point of reference: my e8300 stock at 2.8G got 14083 in 3dmark2006.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *chanster*


Thanks







. Games maxed out(Fear II, FarCry2) are smooth except for Crysis. I play at 1440x900. Also i ordered the ABS monolith without checking whether it will allow a 4850X2 to fit in.

As for the CPU im thinking getting a E7400. What do you think?


I would suggest after you get a new psu you jump into a nice e8000 or Q9000 series series dual/quad core cpu.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Orion Nebula*


new owner here 
this card is great but is it okay it reached 83 degrees playing crysis maxed out


Man, the 4850 X2 has become quite popular the lately. Welcome to the owners thread *Orion Nebula*, glad you could make it in. Post some verification and benches if you can, thanks. The 4850 X2 at 83C under load is fine and is a acceptable temperature to live at. Try to keep it under 85C, though you can go over 85C from time to time without problems.

*Update:** Owners list up to date 7-25-2009*


----------



## chanster

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Hi *chanster* and welcome to the thread. Added to the owners list and thanks for your efforts. rep+

One thing I found strange, you say you can't run the card in CF b/c you have lack of power. Although 500W is not enough for the 4850 X2 in my opinion, you should be able to run in CF since you power both gpus regardless if you are in CF or not. Bur I'll take you at your word, since 500W is just not enough power. About your cpu: although dual core cpus do great with this card, your e5200 dual core is a generation behind inf architecture. Lacks the L2 cache of the more modern e7000 and e8000 series cpus. As a point of reference: my e8300 stock at 2.8G got 14083 in 3dmark2006.

I would suggest after you get a new psu you jump into a nice e8000 or Q9000 series series dual/quad core cpu.


You are most welcome sir. I find it strange too.. At first i wanted to ditch the card and get a 4870 or something but then after i disabled CF, it worked fine.. I don't get the same frame rates i get in CF mode but all the games except for crysis is playable maxed out. in CF mode, after about 15-20 minutes the game freezes.In Crysis not even 5 minutes all settings maxed out. As for the CPU im thinking of a Q8200 which is about $210 over here.

Also does anyone know about the ABS Monolith and whether the 4850X2 will fit in?

Thanks


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *chanster*


You are most welcome sir. I find it strange too.. At first i wanted to ditch the card and get a 4870 or something but then after i disabled CF, it worked fine.. I don't get the same frame rates i get in CF mode but all the games except for crysis is playable maxed out. in CF mode, after about 15-20 minutes the game freezes.In Crysis not even 5 minutes all settings maxed out. As for the CPU im thinking of a Q8200 which is about $210 over here.

Also does anyone know about the ABS Monolith and whether the 4850X2 will fit in?

Thanks


I believe you have a pure lack of power problem and from what you just described, you believe it more in fact. What you are doing when running with CF disabled, you are limiting your peak power. You are running right at the limit when at idel, not running a game. So when you play a game with only one gpu, you are only pulling peak power from only one gpu and not both, basically keeping your pc from locking up and crashing. I think when you get yourself a psu of at least 600W, you will be able to run both gpus at peak output and eliminate you problems. They work on a new cpu. I don't like the Q800 series personally, still lack the proper L2 and if I had to choose from a Q8200 or a E8300/E8400, I'd pick the one of the two dual core, since all three are around the same price.


----------



## SgtHop

@Chanster

If you have the money, I would definitely go with a quad core, despite what the article in Rico's profile says. It shouldn't be too long before they start releasing the multithreaded games that will be able to take advantage of all four cores. Good way of giving yourself a little futureproofing.


----------



## twm.7

So, my problem with 3DMark Vantage has disapear so I thought everything was fine BUT:










I lost 3000 Points, the gpu get half the score (lost 6000 points) and the cpu lost a little bit . . . Yes Crossfire is enabled, no nothing have changed since except the 9.7 drivers. . . Any idea ?

Also I just figured out that I'm not able to disable crossfire anymore Â°Â°
The score let me thing that only one core is active, and the fact I can't disable crossfire let me thing that maybe the first core is out, and the second do all the job (and if it disable the second core when disabling crossfire, it would be normal that CCC don't let me do, cause it would disable the only working core).

Edit: The "crossfire" icon doesn't appears anymore where it was before (yes it's checked and yes again CF is enabled^^).

Edit 2: tested with 9.5 drivers, the icon is there, so both core are running and guess what ? artifacts are there too, i'll definitively go with the idea that one core is dead, or realy in a bad shape.
So, thx for your help, your interrest, and I hope to get another (and more reliable) one soon^^

Comme on dit jamais deux sans trois donc:
Edit 3: "Everything" seems fine. I take off the card for the RMA, put back the black cover (don't know how it is called) and in a last hope, I put it set it up a last time and. . . Everything seems back to "normal" (Catalyst 9.5). Seems because the card does a crappy sound (and i've a little loss), but still better than nothing (in fact I don't remember if it was so loudly before removing the black cover). So finally I'm hopping not to have to RMA it. It's realy weird. . . So once again, thx to all of you guys.


----------



## rico2001

@twm.7
Not sure what your issues could be. From the things you have said in your post, I'm not sure if you have a card issue of driver issue. And to top it off, you are using windows 7, an unreleased os which I don't know much about. I thought you were rma'ing your card?


----------



## twm.7

Just editing my post ^^

And for the purpose of the operating system, I was trying both seven(it's rtm now, so yes it's released^^ you should try it, it's really faster and stable than vista) and vista both x64. Always clean installs. Don't know where that came from but apparantly it is solved. . .

Vista (x64) and 9.5 -> crossfire but get artifacted.
Seven (x64) and 9.5 -> crossfire, get artifacted too.
Vista (x64) and 9.7 -> no crossfire.
Seven (x64) and 9.7 -> haven't tryed.

So I put back the black cover to sent the card for RMA, but hey here it's four in the morning and I'm bored and I'm somewhat insomniac so, just tryed it again (on Seven with 9.5) and it works. . .
Plus, if I RMA it and they find out that in fact it works, I'll be homeless ^^

I don't think it was a driver related problem (because it started before the update, and because it was always clean installs) so. . .


----------



## Battlestar

Rico - Thanks for joining me in the list


----------



## SgtHop

Wow, really seems like you've got yourself a screwy situation there, twm. Damn all this technology and its inability to work the way it's designed to.


----------



## twm.7

So just after a reboot (just shutdown the computer about 6 hours ago and turn on it now) here what i can see.

I have 2 4850x2 (don't know where is the second one):









It occurs when I disabled crossfire (Se7en x64 with 9.7 Catalyst) an that's just weird. Can't enable it anymore. So I reboot and turn on with the 9.5, crossfire is enable, try to disable it. Same thing happens except that I'm able
to enable it. But still, artifacts are back.

I was thinking it has been solved by itself, but apparantly it's not.

Edit: now the 9.7 works. . . I hate that thing


----------



## kimosabi

@ twm: Is your OC 100% bulletproof stable? I had some trouble with CCC myself when I ran an unstable OC. Did all sorts of crazy things.


----------



## twm.7

I use stock clocks. . .


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:


Originally Posted by *twm.7* 
I use stock clocks. . .

The whole system or just the card?


----------



## twm.7

I put all at stock to really see if it was the card or something else, so. . .
Also I ran this config for 6 month (just ocing my e8400 to 3.6), tested superpi, cpu stress and co for like 2 hours without any error.

But as I said, sometime she runs well (except for the noise but don't remember if that his normal sound, don't remembrer ^^') like now, but it is capricious. . .


----------



## whatever92

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Meaker*


I have ordered 2x thermalright ultra V2s. They are a little less wide than the VF-900 and should fit.

They are about 40% cheaper too. (I have 2x 80mm fans spare already)


Hi,

I just had a question for Meaker and any others who've cooled their 4850 X2 with Thermalright heatsinks..

I've just replaced the stock cooler on my card with the Thermalright V2 and HR-03 Rev.A as suggested on the Thermalright website.

I was hoping that these would be enough to keep the GPUs cool - i.e. without also adding fans.

After installing the heatsinks, my temps are very high - one GPU is around 120 degrees (!) idle and the other is around 75 degrees idle.

I was just wondering if anyone's also tried running these heatsinks without fans and if these temps are what you'd expect? i.e. Maybe I just haven't installed them properly or haven't put enough thermal paste on the GPUs?

Or is it just that fans are a neccessity for this solution?

Many thanks for your advice..


----------



## twm.7

I don't think that it has suffisant heat dissipation without fans. As Meaker said, he have 2x80mm fans with it. The card don't have any problem of heating with zalman vf900, so I think you have to add fans, at least it'll push the hot air away and create a flow in your caise.


----------



## W4ck3n

Hi guys,

I have recently bought a new pc, everything. With hd 4850x2 (1gb) graphics card. And at the begining everything was ok, could play everything. After i updated my drivers to catalyst 9.6 my pc after some time crashed :S 
i taught it was the graphics card overheating so i boosted the fans to 100% at ccc. After that it was ok. Then i instaled windows 7 build 7600.16385 x64, and the same thing happened but this time i couldnt fix it with boosting the fans to 100%, pc is still crashing after playing any game for few minutes. my screen freezes and i hear sound from the game but really weird :S

I have the latest drivers and the card isnt overclocked. So could anyone help?
Im new at this so if you need any more detalis about my pc, let me know.


----------



## SgtHop

Well, W4, the drivers for Windows 7 are technically still beta, so there are issues with them. Also, I've been having issues with 9.7 also, driver crashes galore. Very problematic, I've seen. You may have gotten yourself a faulty card though, it does happen. Grab the program FurMark and check if it artifacts when running the stress test.


----------



## W4ck3n

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SgtHop* 
Well, W4, the drivers for Windows 7 are technically still beta, so there are issues with them. Also, I've been having issues with 9.7 also, driver crashes galore. Very problematic, I've seen.


Yes, but still. this happened on win xp too :/ and i want to know why. I have googled and didnt find anyone with the same problem









EDIT: Sorry I didn't see the whole reply. I'll try FurMark and let u know


----------



## SgtHop

What exactly is it doing?


----------



## W4ck3n

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SgtHop* 
What exactly is it doing?

i really dont know. i know my pc crashes after few minutes of playing :/
and im sure its the graphics card


----------



## SgtHop

Did you check everything else? RAM, power supply?


----------



## W4ck3n

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SgtHop* 
Did you check everything else? RAM, power supply?

I've ran FurMark, stability test at 1680x1080 MSAA 8x. I dont know how long it took but temperature got above 87, not much and then pc crashed :/

EDIT: plus fans were at 100% the whole time :/


----------



## rico2001

For the life of me, I don't understand why people like to use beta software (windows 7) before its officially released. I truly don't get it.


----------



## SgtHop

That shouldn't overheat the card, not at all. May want to call or otherwise get a hold Sapphire tech support, see what they have to say.

Edit: Was this your first card, or did you have one in there before that?


----------



## W4ck3n

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
For the life of me, I don't understand why people like to use beta software (windows 7) before its officially released. I truly don't get it.

Cuz I hate vista ( wind 7 is so much better ) and i need x64 os


----------



## W4ck3n

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SgtHop* 
That shouldn't overheat the card, not at all. May want to call or otherwise get a hold Sapphire tech support, see what they have to say.

Edit: Was this your first card, or did you have one in there before that?

First on this pc, its brand new


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *W4ck3n* 
Cuz I hate vista ( wind 7 is so much better ) and i need x64 os









Stick with windows 7 then and I wish you well.


----------



## SgtHop

Well, then driver sweep is out of the question. I dunno what to tell you, man. Maybe it's not getting enough power, it's hard to say.I had that problem too, sort of, and I sourced it to a lack of power getting to my CPU.


----------



## W4ck3n

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


Well, then driver sweep is out of the question. I dunno what to tell you, man. Maybe it's not getting enough power, it's hard to say.I had that problem too, sort of, and I sourced it to a lack of power getting to my CPU.


I'm gonna check on that :/

But i dont know how everythink was ok when i played first few weeks and then everything went to hell :/ lol


----------



## W4ck3n

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Stick with windows 7 then and I wish you well.


But you don't understand that the same thing happened on the xp :/
only that i could somehow fix it if fans were at 100% while playing.
and if not, the same thing happened


----------



## twm.7

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


For the life of me, I don't understand why people like to use beta software (windows 7) before its officially released. I truly don't get it.


Because Windows 7 is faster, more responsive, crash less, can have different location for a folder an "virtualy" grove them into one. Also the taskbar is really a lovely thing, working like a dock, openning and closing applications with a preview of any frame just by a click.

As an example, I've tryed playing a 32bit game in both x64 vista & seven.
I made a macro, just performing one task as fast as the game can, slowing down the delay at the maximum.
It occurs that, in vista the delay was 1.4 sec and 0.6 in seven. 
Just installed both os, the game and the macro tools for my g11, and it was all vista drivers so and it was the beta, now it's true you can't find seven in store right now, but the final rtm is ready.
Just waiting to be widely distributed.

You should really try it, it tooks me 15 minutes to install, and the problem I get with my card is there with vista too.

@W4ck3n:
If I remember correctly the mobo is "upside down" witho your case. I don't know how the airflow gose inside, it can be an overheating problem :
























Made some supposition, don't know how it works for yours^^
Also, try reinstalling with the drivers that were running well.
With your 750w I don't think of a power problem, unless it his somewhat disfunctioning.

Also did you try to OC it ? have you something else OCed ?


----------



## Aeonus

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Btw, *Aeonus* welcome to owners thread. Post some verification you own the card if you'd like and I'll add you to the owners list.

Is this verification enough?








http://i514.photobucket.com/albums/t...a/IMG_1565.jpg
I'm an avid photographer, and this piece of art I aptly named "The mess"!


----------



## twm.7

Nice rig.
Love your case ^^'


----------



## W4ck3n

@twm.7

This is how it looks







and how the air flows through my pc









This actually is my pc.

And no, nothing in my pc is overclocked :/


----------



## twm.7

I think that the fact is that as hot air goes up, it can't renew itself. 
So the hot air is somewhat stuck on the top of your case. 
I'm not an expert but I think it goes like that.

Maybe someone have another explanation, or tell us whether I'm wrong or not^^


----------



## W4ck3n

Quote:



Originally Posted by *twm.7*


I think that the fact is that as hot air goes up, it can't renew itself. 
So the hot air is somewhat stuck on the top of your case. 
I'm not an expert but I think it goes like that.

Maybe someone have another explanation, or tell us whether I'm wrong or not^^


I think ur right







Cuz i opened the case and ran FurMark and temperature was rising to the 75 and then it was going from 75 to 80 and backwards. And when i closed the case it was slowly raising to 80 and then 86 and then it crashed -.-.

And now i dont know how to fix this :/

EDIT: And i dont want to have my case opened all the time xD this way its really quiet in the room. but when i open the case and fans get to 50% its really buzzing xD


----------



## twm.7

You can try:
-Remove the piece of metal at rear of your case and put there a fan but I think it's just too small. 
-Making a hole at the top of your case and put there a fan not in extraction but the opposit (forgot that word, insertion maybe ?).
-Remove your dvd player and put a fan instead in extraction.

Or simply buy a new case =/
An antec three hundred isn't expensive at all, and I think it'll do the job =)
You can buy it for approximatively 75$ (where I live).
Or just find a case you love =)

Edit:
Or you can put your case upside down xD (but still with removing the little piece of metal at the rear (don't know what the english and even french word for that ^^' )


----------



## W4ck3n

Quote:



Originally Posted by *twm.7*


You can try:
-Remove the piece of metal at rear of your case and put there a fan but I think it's just too small. 
-Making a hole at the top of your case and put there a fan not in extraction but the opposit (forgot that word, insertion maybe ?).
-Remove your dvd player and put a fan instead in extraction.

Or simply buy a new case =/
An antec three hundred isn't expensive at all, and I think it'll do the job =)
You can buy it for approximatively 75$ (where I live).
Or just find a case you love =)

Edit:
Or you can put your case upside down xD (but still with removing the little piece of metal at the rear (don't know what the english and even french word for that ^^' )


It would look ******ed upside down XD i think im gonna remove the little piece of metal at the rear of the case and put fan there







its the easyest choice. Could 80mm fit in there? lol


----------



## twm.7

I don't know, mesure it lol.
If you do, put in as the air goes in your case, not in extraction =)

By the way, welcome in here.


----------



## W4ck3n

Now i ran FurMark again and my pc crashed after 278 seconds at 83c :/

If my case is to blame for overheating, is 85c overheating? My graphics card shouldnt crash at 83 degrees celsius :/


----------



## W4ck3n

Quote:



Originally Posted by *twm.7*


I don't know, mesure it lol.
If you do, put in as the air goes in your case, not in extraction =)

By the way, welcome in here.


Thanks







for helping me, now at least i know whats the problem







and i hope, how to fix it


----------



## twm.7

It's maybe the ram in your card, don't know =/
What are the temps for it ? Both core are at 83 ?

Also I think your HDs are on the top too, right ?


----------



## W4ck3n

Quote:



Originally Posted by *twm.7*


It's maybe the ram in your card, don't know =/
What are the temps for it ? Both core are at 83 ?

Also I think your HDs hard on the top too, right ?


Nope, the second one was even few degres lower :/ i think it was around 79

And hard drive is at the bottom :/


----------



## twm.7

And the ram on the card ? 
As there is no air flow, I think it can overheat easily.

What about your Hard Drive temps ?
Edit: Ok, as your HD is below, I really think it's the ram.


----------



## W4ck3n

Quote:


Originally Posted by *twm.7* 
And the ram on the card ?
As there is no air flow, I think it can overheat easily.

What about your Hard Drive temps ?
Edit: Ok, as your HD is below, I really think it's the ram.

Well the ram were always 10 degres warmer than the GPU, that means when GPU was 85 ram were 95, well that kinda alot =/ still, would it make my card crash?


----------



## twm.7

It don't know, my card is alway between 70 and 80 heat, 85 max.
I just tested it. (Keep in mind that my card use only one core as if you have disabled crossfire).

Your ram is 10Â° hotter than the rest of your card, I'm sure it's the problem (or a part of).
Just mesure it when your case is open.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *W4ck3n*


Well the ram were always 10 degres warmer than the GPU, that means when GPU was 85 ram were 95, well that kinda alot =/ still, would it make my card crash?


Check your gpu and memory temps with gpu-z, find link in opening post.


----------



## W4ck3n

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Check your gpu and memory temps with gpu-z, find link in opening post.


what do you think im checking it with









EDIT: and im gonna do all that tommorrow, im tired now :/

Its 4:02 am in Croatia waaaH


----------



## Battlestar

Quote:



Originally Posted by *whatever92*


Hi,

I just had a question for Meaker and any others who've cooled their 4850 X2 with Thermalright heatsinks..

I've just replaced the stock cooler on my card with the Thermalright V2 and HR-03 Rev.A as suggested on the Thermalright website.

I was hoping that these would be enough to keep the GPUs cool - i.e. without also adding fans.

After installing the heatsinks, my temps are very high - one GPU is around 120 degrees (!) idle and the other is around 75 degrees idle.

I was just wondering if anyone's also tried running these heatsinks without fans and if these temps are what you'd expect? i.e. Maybe I just haven't installed them properly or haven't put enough thermal paste on the GPUs?

Or is it just that fans are a neccessity for this solution?

Many thanks for your advice..


Hi,

Please keep us updated on the temps on that type of setup. With fans of course on Thermalright heatsink please









Thanks


----------



## SgtHop

@twm

The words you're looking for are intake and exhaust.

@W4

What you might want to do is take out a couple of the PCI slot covers and stick a fan in there, blowing air out of the case. That should bring temps down a little.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *W4ck3n* 
@twm.7

This is how it looks







and how the air flows through my pc









This actually is my pc.

And no, nothing in my pc is overclocked :/


Hi W4,

could you lower your DVD drive and place a fan in your front drive bays? A 120mm fan would fit in 3 bays - IF they are free of course, then use some mesh as a guard.

Try and tidy your cables - hide as many as possible to help increase air flow.

or cut a hole in the roof and place a fan there. Also you could cut a hole in the side panel for an intake .Plenty of sites on the web that will show you how to do these easy modifications but the best IMO is http://www.mnpctech.com/CaseModTutorials.html

the following link to their site has a template for for cutting fan intakes:

http://www.mnpctech.com/Fan_Grill_Templates.html

or if you don't fancy cutting you could buy a lovely new case. Antec 900 and 1200 are great for air flow.

Good Luck

Martin


----------



## whatever92

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Battlestar* 
Hi,

Please keep us updated on the temps on that type of setup. With fans of course on Thermalright heatsink please









Thanks

Hi,

Well, I pulled the Thermalrights off again and tried to fit them better.

For the V2, I noticed it wasn't sitting flat against the GPU due to the big heatsink in the middle of the card getting in the way.. So, I used a pair of needle nose pliers to bend down the bits of the heatsink that were getting in the way - I think the V2 is sitting properly now.

After doing that the idle temp on the GPU with the V2 dropped a bit to around 100 degrees C.. Still way too hot tho..

Today I went and bought 2 x 80mm Akasa Amber fans.. The HR-03 can take a 92mm but the only 92mm they had in the store I went to was 30dba (the 80mm Akasa's are 20dba)..

Putting the two fans on have (as expected) made things a bit better - although still not as cool as I was hoping..

Idle temps are around 64c on the first GPU and 56c on the second.

Under load (with crossfire), they're around 90c and 70c..

I think it's probably okay to run the card at these temps? But I really would have thought I'd be getting much lower ones - Meaker said he was getting 45c from his V2s..

I'm not too sure what else I can do? - probably the only thing would be to take them off again and use a different thermal paste.. So far I've been using the stuff that came with the Thermalrights.. I have some Artic Silver 5 lying around that I could try... I'm getting a bit sick of pulling the card out tho!









But does anyone think that'll really make that much difference?

The one thing I am really happy about (and the main reason why I wanted to do away with the stock cooler) is that the card is super quiet now.. The Akasa fans basically haven't added any noticeable noise to my system.. So that's great..

Now if I could just get those temps down....


----------



## twm.7

Quote:


Originally Posted by *twm.7* 
You can try:
-Remove the piece of metal at rear of your case and put there a fan but I think it's just too small.
-Making a hole at the top of your case and put there a fan not in extraction but the opposit (forgot that word, insertion maybe ?).
-Remove your dvd player and put a fan instead in extraction.

Or simply buy a new case =/
An antec three hundred isn't expensive at all, and I think it'll do the job =)
You can buy it for approximatively 75$ (where I live).
Or just find a case you love =)

Edit:
Or you can put your case upside down xD (but still with removing the little piece of metal at the rear (don't know what the english and even french word for that ^^' )











Quote:


Originally Posted by *d4martin* 
Hi W4,

could you lower your DVD drive and place a fan in your front drive bays? A 120mm fan would fit in 3 bays - IF they are free of course, then use some mesh as a guard.

Try and tidy your cables - hide as many as possible to help increase air flow.

or cut a hole in the roof and place a fan there. Also you could cut a hole in the side panel for an intake .Plenty of sites on the web that will show you how to do these easy modifications but the best IMO is http://www.mnpctech.com/CaseModTutorials.html

the following link to their site has a template for for cutting fan intakes:

http://www.mnpctech.com/Fan_Grill_Templates.html

or if you don't fancy cutting you could buy a lovely new case. Antec 900 and 1200 are great for air flow.

Good Luck

Martin

They have great airflow but they are noisy, I don't think he'll appreciate that^^

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SgtHop* 
@twm

The words you're looking for are intake and exhaust.

@W4

What you might want to do is take out a couple of the PCI slot covers and stick a fan in there, blowing air out of the case. That should bring temps down a little.

So the little piece of metal at the rear are the PCI slot covers, thx n_n


----------



## rico2001

Could just buy a new case and I'm not talking $80-100. You can get a nice case to fit the long X2 for $35-50.


----------



## twm.7

As I said, an antec three hundred isn't expensive at all and will fit well.
(Yes I'm an antec lover ^^)

You have 2 Fans with it, and you already got at least 2 fans with your actual case.

It has a hole on the side for a fan, or you can put the two you have on the front, see thumbnails to get an idea of what you can do with it.


----------



## krazyatom

Hello guys,

I am selling my 4850 x2 2gb! I will only sell this card to person who lives near Los Angeles! If it's not too far, I will delivery this card, so you can test my card and buy it.

I bought this card for around $300 in February and I am letting it go for $165!
If you're close to pasadena (like 10 miles away from city of LA), you may come to my apartment anytime!

If you have any questions, let me know!


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


Hello guys,

I am selling my 4850 x2 2gb! I will only sell this card to person who lives near Los Angeles! If it's not too far, I will delivery this card, so you can test my card and buy it.

I bought this card for around $300 in February and I am letting it go for $165!
If you're close to pasadena (like 10 miles away from city of LA), you may come to my apartment anytime!

If you have any questions, let me know!


That's a good price krazyatom, good luck with the sale. I would advice you to post in the sales section but I believe you need 35 rep points to post.


----------



## vicious_fishes

god dammit guys... i plug my new card in today & the red lights are on. 1st & 3rd :/

need a psu with some balls.


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:



Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes*


god dammit guys... i plug my new card in today & the red lights are on. 1st & 3rd :/

need a psu with some balls.


How big balls do you need and how many?


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kimosabi* 
How big balls do you need and how many?

over 9000.


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:


Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes* 
over 9000.

That's alotta nuts!


----------



## twm.7

Quote: 
   Originally Posted by *kimosabi*   That's alotta nuts!  
Sorry but you just remember me that scene from kung pow:

  
 YouTube - Alot of Nuts  



 
 . . . xD


----------



## guscol

Quote:



Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes*


god dammit guys... i plug my new card in today & the red lights are on. 1st & 3rd :/

need a psu with some balls.



JAJAJA i got a 550w minimun balls, waiting for a corsair 850w a litle more balls


----------



## d3v0

I kinda want one of these. Sell me one.


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:



Originally Posted by *twm.7*


Sorry but you just remember me that scene from kung pow:

YouTube - Alot of Nuts

. . . xD


Exactly where I got it from.


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *d3v0*


I kinda want one of these. Sell me one.


i'm contemplating flogging this & buying a 4350 to keep me in CSS until the evergreen series arrive.

how much you willing to pay ? mines a 2gb version.


----------



## rico2001

Finally got an "A".








(Of course I had to cheat and add a gpu.)

4850 X2 + 4870
Resident Evil 5 benchmark
DX10, highest settings plus motion blur


----------



## twm.7

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kimosabi* 
Exactly where I got it from.









I love that movie, it's so funny !

What do you get when you cross an owl with a bungie cord ? . . . xD

@rico
Nice one^^


----------



## rico2001

@twm.7
Any updates on your X2?


----------



## d3v0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes* 
i'm contemplating flogging this & buying a 4350 to keep me in CSS until the evergreen series arrive.

how much you willing to pay ? mines a 2gb version.

PM sent! lolz


----------



## twm.7

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


@twm.7
Any updates on your X2?


Sometime it runs well, crossfire is enabled. 
But after a few moments (it can be hours like minutes) one of the core stop working. . .
I Didn't have time to RMA it today, and I'll probably won't tomorrow so I keep trying to find if it's a drivers related problem or something else.

As it works normally for a few time, if I RMA it and they don't get to the point where one of the core stops working during their tests it'll cost me a lot so I don't know what to do =/


----------



## firepro

rico2001, just posted note that i had no responce. should of read further on. rico, where can i get a manual for my ( our ) cards? my disc only goes to 3800 family. firepro


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *firepro*


rico2001, just posted note that i had no responce. should of read further on. rico, where can i get a manual for my ( our ) cards? my disc only goes to 3800 family. firepro


This is all I could find, the generic manual that comes with every Sapphire card. AMD/ATI stopped making individual user guides for Radeons. The last one they made was for the HD3800 X2 (dated Jan. 2008). I'll keep an eye out for anything else I can find on the 4850 X2.

*Sapphire Graphics Card User Manual*
http://www1.sapphiretech.com/en/prod.../138manual.pdf

edit: Spoke too soon, just found 4800 family:

*ATI Radeon HD 4800 series User Guide*
http://www.hightech.com.hk/UserFiles..._Series_UG.pdf


----------



## SgtHop

So, I seem to have a problem with Catalyst 9.7. Whenever I try to run my [email protected] GPU clients, after about five minutes, the driver crashes, and recovers. I've reinstalled numerous times. Goes for both my 4890 and my 4850X2. Anyone else having these problems?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


So, I seem to have a problem with Catalyst 9.7. Whenever I try to run my [email protected] GPU clients, after about five minutes, the driver crashes, and recovers. I've reinstalled numerous times. Goes for both my 4890 and my 4850X2. Anyone else having these problems?


Me but I'm going a bit longer than 5 mins. Mine is going about 1-1/2 hours and stopping, log says, "unstable machine" and I know I'm stable. Didn't put it together that it could be the cat 9.7's, Thanks for the tip. I'll try going back to cat 9.6 and see what happens. rep+ if you are correct.


----------



## SgtHop

Think I could get you to link me to a copy of the 9.6 drivers? I seem to have misplaced mine.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


Think I could get you to link me to a copy of the 9.6 drivers? I seem to have misplaced mine.


I've kept all the cat driver since 8.12 but thanks though.







Installing cat 9.6 now.

You can get all previous driver from sapphire and ati:
http://www.sapphiretech.com/presenta...id=568&pid=192
http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownloa...w_vista64.aspx


----------



## SgtHop

Oh, huh. I didn't know they kept all that stuff. Many thanks.


----------



## guscol

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


I've kept all the cat driver since 8.12 but thanks though.







Installing cat 9.6 now.

You can get all previous driver from sapphire and ati:
http://www.sapphiretech.com/presenta...id=568&pid=192
http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownloa...w_vista64.aspx


oooh men are you saying the 9.6 are more stable?


----------



## SgtHop

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. I'll test here in a second, as soon as the bloody thing downloads.


----------



## vicious_fishes

someone mind doing a 700/1000 catalyst 9.7 run of DX9 crysis at or as close as you can get to 1080p ? i'm still making my mind up as to whether i'll keep my card.


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


So, I seem to have a problem with Catalyst 9.7. Whenever I try to run my [email protected] GPU clients, after about five minutes, the driver crashes, and recovers. I've reinstalled numerous times. Goes for both my 4890 and my 4850X2. Anyone else having these problems?


I unchecked the folding-box when I installed my 9.7's. Don't trust the ATi folding at all.


----------



## SgtHop

Yeah, I did too. It's the standard Stanford folding client.


----------



## rico2001

Update: Ok back on cat9.6, it has been several hours of straight folding through the night, no client crash. So the cat 9.7 much have some problems with folding and I'm going to stick with the cat 9.6's till next revision. Thanks SgtHop rep+ for you my friend.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *guscol* 
oooh men are you saying the 9.6 are more stable?

Well for folding yes, the cat9.6's are more stable, but I have been noticing people on the forum having more problems with the cat9.7's.


----------



## guscol

thanks guys i love more my card thanks to this forum ,take rep for me


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


That's a good price krazyatom, good luck with the sale. I would advice you to post in the sales section but I believe you need 35 rep points to post.


aww... i guess nobody wants my 4850 x2 2gb : (
I think i will end up keeping it..


----------



## d3v0

I want it, PM me


----------



## rico2001

Well in your first post you mentioned delivering the card locally and not shipping the card. Right off the bat, that cuts the appeal of your sale a good bit. Second reason is this is this thread not seen by many people that are on OCN. Again, since you are new the the forum and don't have the required rep points you can't post in the "sales" section. If I were you, I would post that you are selling the card in your signature, somewhat like the "wtb: sapphire 4830 and 3870 X2" I have in my sig. Then your X2 for sale will get more exposure as you make your way around OCN. Again, good luck.

Note: took me a month to sell one of my 4850 X2's in the sale section. With the popularity of the 4890, and it being within 5-15% as fast as the 4850 X2, this is not the best time to sell. Not impossible, just harder than say a few months ago.


----------



## krazyatom

ic. Reason I want to sell locally is because of shipping cost.

If I sell it for $165, I need to subtract like $20 shipping fee, so my profit will be only $145
I don't play any high intense games at all, so 4850 x2 is just too much for me. (plus it's kind of loud for me) I want to make my computer near silent.
I already have 4830, 9800gt (which is enough for my gaming)


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *d3v0* 
I want it, PM me

Sorry dude I will only sell local.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


ic. Reason I want to sell locally is because of shipping cost.

If I sell it for $165, I need to subtract like $20 shipping fee, so my profit will be only $145
I don't play any high intense games at all, so 4850 x2 is just too much for me. (plus it's kind of loud for me) I want to make my computer near silent.
I already have 4830, 9800gt (which is enough for my gaming)


Well add the shipping to your price and sell it for $175-180. I sold mine for $185. The 4850 X2 2GB is still $219 at newegg, the lowest price on the net. So $175-180 would still be a good/fair price. My package was weigh ~5 lbs btw, if you want to go out for some shipping quotes. And if you are still reluctant about shipping, there is always craigslist.

Btw, is your 4830 a sapphire? If so, you want to sell it?


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Well add the shipping to your price and sell it for $175-180. I sold mine for $185. The 4850 X2 2GB is still $219 at newegg, the lowest price on the net. So $175-180 would still be a good/fair price. My package was weigh ~5 lbs btw, if you want to go out for some shipping quotes. And if you are still reluctant about shipping, there is always craigslist.

Btw, is your 4830 a sapphire? If so, you want to sell it?










Sorry it's not sapphire. It's MSI OC 1gb version








Your sapphire fan?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


Sorry it's not sapphire. It's MSI OC 1gb version








Your sapphire fan?


Yup, I only buy sapphire cards.


----------



## d3v0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


Sorry dude I will only sell local.


It's like $8 to ship

edit nvm, its a 1gb


----------



## SgtHop

Huh. Glad I pointed that out. +1 to you, too, Rico, for the drivers link. I was able to fold as well, though there was a crash early on. I sourced it to a twitchy hand on the RAM and accidentally OC'd my 4890 to 1175MHz. It caused some problems. At anyrate, my cards are folding along nice and smooth now.


----------



## rico2001

Me too and thanks again. Knocked out 3wu's today and going strong. Oh well for 9.7's, only ~27 days till 9.8's









And the fastest drivers were 9.2's btw but the 4890 wasn't around to be included in that version.


----------



## SgtHop

Yeah, I heard. Oh well, I guess. It's too hot to run my computer right now, else I'd be folding too.


----------



## rico2001

Update to Opening Post:

CPUZ v1.52 and CPUZ v1.52 64-bit links added.


----------



## whatever92

Quote:



Originally Posted by *whatever92*


Hi,

Well, I pulled the Thermalrights off again and tried to fit them better.

For the V2, I noticed it wasn't sitting flat against the GPU due to the big heatsink in the middle of the card getting in the way.. So, I used a pair of needle nose pliers to bend down the bits of the heatsink that were getting in the way - I think the V2 is sitting properly now.

After doing that the idle temp on the GPU with the V2 dropped a bit to around 100 degrees C.. Still way too hot tho..

Today I went and bought 2 x 80mm Akasa Amber fans.. The HR-03 can take a 92mm but the only 92mm they had in the store I went to was 30dba (the 80mm Akasa's are 20dba)..

Putting the two fans on have (as expected) made things a bit better - although still not as cool as I was hoping..

Idle temps are around 64c on the first GPU and 56c on the second.

Under load (with crossfire), they're around 90c and 70c..

I think it's probably okay to run the card at these temps? But I really would have thought I'd be getting much lower ones - Meaker said he was getting 45c from his V2s..

I'm not too sure what else I can do? - probably the only thing would be to take them off again and use a different thermal paste.. So far I've been using the stuff that came with the Thermalrights.. I have some Artic Silver 5 lying around that I could try... I'm getting a bit sick of pulling the card out tho!









But does anyone think that'll really make that much difference?

The one thing I am really happy about (and the main reason why I wanted to do away with the stock cooler) is that the card is super quiet now.. The Akasa fans basically haven't added any noticeable noise to my system.. So that's great..

Now if I could just get those temps down....











For anyone interested:

After reseating a few more times and then applying AS5 I eventually realised that the fans were hooked up to the wrong cables and were sucking air into the heatsinks rather than blowing it out.. (yep, stupid me!)









After reversing the cables and also removing a few backplates to allow air to leave the case more easily my temps are looking a fair bit better:

Idle - GPU1: 52C GPU2: 42C

Load (non-crossfire) - GPU1: 77C

At some point I might clean the first GPU off with rubbing alcohol and reapply the AS5 (I've only been wiping the GPUs down with paper towel so far) but who knows if it'll make much difference..

I'm pretty happy with the temps now anyways..


----------



## twm.7

@whatever92

It's great you finded out what was wrong !

Also I suggest you to show us your rig, it helped me to find out what was the problem for w4, and I'm sure anyone would figure out that your problem was just the fans.
When there is a heat problem, it often comes from the air flow, so from the fan.
Knowing what case someone uses really help when he have that kind of problem =)


----------



## SgtHop

I think I'm going to have to drop my 4850X2 for now. Two GPUs at 65C is better than 3 GPUs at 65C, and right now, I'm trying to keep my room as cool as possible. I've seem temps upwards of 95F during the day, AC on, so, yeah. That's the big problem with modern graphics cards, the damn heat.


----------



## d3v0

Well, if you wanna sell it PM me


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Yup, I only buy sapphire cards.









May I ask why you only buy sapphire cards?
I know sapphire brand has great price compared to other brand.
How do you like visiontek? I think they're only ati video card with life time warranty.


----------



## SgtHop

XFX has a double lifetime warranty, Krazyatom...


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


XFX has a double lifetime warranty, Krazyatom...


Oh yea! I forgot about that!

Hey do you think I should buy xfire mobo and buy another 4850 1gb for tri-xfire? I have cpu E6700 though









Maybe I should upgrade CPU first......


----------



## SgtHop

Yeah, I'd get a bit better CPU before upgrading to a crossfire setup. But, if you're gonna get another card, why not get another 4850X2?


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


Yeah, I'd get a bit better CPU before upgrading to a crossfire setup. But, if you're gonna get another card, why not get another 4850X2?


I saw rico's review and tri-xfire looked great.

You think two 4850 x2 2gb will work better than 4850 x 2 + 4850 1gb?

4850 1gb cheaper


----------



## SgtHop

You have to factor in that games are progressing, and that they will eventually be using all four GPUs if you have a 4 GPU setup. Also, you can fold on that 4th core.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


I think I'm going to have to drop my 4850X2 for now. Two GPUs at 65C is better than 3 GPUs at 65C, and right now, I'm trying to keep my room as cool as possible. I've seem temps upwards of 95F during the day, AC on, so, yeah. That's the big problem with modern graphics cards, the damn heat.


Yes, besides heat inside the case, the abient heat created by two cards with 2,3, or 4 gpus is huge and I try to make that point when posting about going CF. My house is keep at 70F, I keep a thermostat in the room that I put my main pc in and it stays around 79F will my pc is on. Even though I have a 4870 X2 and was part of my fastest CF config (4870 tri-fire), I don't use it and went back to the 4850 X2 and a 4870. I use to never turn my pc off, but now I put it to sleep when I'm not using it, just to bring the room temps back down. The heating of a room is a big factor and its something you have to live with when running a lot of video card power. Ther is not much you can do about th heat except what you already didn in dropping back down to your single 4890.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


May I ask why you only buy sapphire cards?
I know sapphire brand has great price compared to other brand.
How do you like visiontek? I think they're only ati video card with life time warranty.


Well b/c I only trust Sapphire. Sapphire has been loyal to Ati and I really respect that fact. The quality of their card in my opinion is great and with my last 7 cards, being all Sapphire, I've never had one give me a problem or die on me. I still have working Sapphire radeon 7500, 8500, 9550 pro, X1600 pro, and currently using HD4850, HD 4870, HD 4850 X2, and HD4870 X2. People say their service dept suck, and it might, but I've never had to use it. And lifetime warranties, double lifetime warranties, don't really mean much to me. Myself and many other buy a new cards at least once every two year and Sapphire has always had a warranty of that length. I guess you can always say long warranties are good for resale value but I like to think the Sapphire brand itself adds to the value of the card. You can look on newegg at their "open box" area and you will see there are never as many Sapphire cards for sale in that section compared to other brands. I think that says something about the quality of Sapphire. Of course some break and some people have problems, but I'd says most owners are happy with their working Sapphire card. So anyway, until Sapphire stops making Ati cards, they are the only brand new or used I will ever buy.


----------



## SgtHop

Yeah. But soon, I'll have my new board, and will be running all three cards as much as possible. Of course, I got a supplimentary AC to cool my room in addition to the central air, and that will make a huge difference.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


Oh yea! I forgot about that!

Hey do you think I should buy xfire mobo and buy another 4850 1gb for tri-xfire? I have cpu E6700 though









Maybe I should upgrade CPU first......










Yes your e6700 is not strong wnough to properly push the newer high end cards as well as in tri-fire. The 4850 X2 and higher need a good new architecture (large L2 amount) dual core or quad core cpus to perform as designed.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


I saw rico's review and tri-xfire looked great.

You think two 4850 x2 2gb will work better than 4850 x 2 + 4850 1gb?

4850 1gb cheaper










4850 X4 does perform better than 4850 X3 but it's only by 5-10% so not worth the money of buying another 4850 X2. Tri-fire is definitely the way to go and be the max of gpus someone should run. Like SgtHop, current games don't fully utilize more than 3 gpus but that is something we can look forward to down the road.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


Yeah. But soon, I'll have my new board, and will be running all three cards as much as possible. Of course, I got a supplimentary AC to cool my room in addition to the central air, and that will make a huge difference.


Man that setup is going to be nice, hot but nice.







I'v kinda thinking of a new mobo with 3 pci-e's so I can CF three different gpus together. Yea I know, that would be pointless but I really just like seeing if things work.


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Yes your e6700 is not strong wnough to properly push the newer high end cards as well as in tri-fire. The 4850 X2 and higher need a good new architecture (large L2 amount) dual core or quad core cpus to perform as designed.

4850 X4 does perform better than 4850 X3 but it's only by 5-10% so not worth the money of buying another 4850 X2. Tri-fire is definitely the way to go and be the max of gpus someone should run. Like SgtHop, current games don't fully utilize more than 3 gpus but that is something we can look forward to down the road.


Do you think I should buy sapphire 4850 512mb or 1gb for tri-xifre?
Which x-fire board do you think it's best bang for buck?


----------



## rico2001

@krazyatom
Again please fill out your system specs so we can know what hardware you have when you ask a question. Anyway, buy a 1GB if you can, but if you have a 4850 X2 1GB card, either a 512mb or 1GB 4850 will do in your tri-fire configuration. About mobo, don't know which is best or bang for your buck, but I love my Asus p5q pro.


----------



## SgtHop

Aye. Hopefully, when I someday get the 4870X2 that I want, I'll see if I can get a 5 GPU setup rolling, if that's even possible. If not, then I can say I tried. But, in order to get that, I need about $750 to get all the bits that I need, but that includes a 1366 Xeon processor.


----------



## twm.7

I tought that the maximum Xfire was able to handle was 4 GPU.

@krazyatom
I'm really happy with my Gigabyte EP45-UD3P, it looks nice, the temps are good, well just love it <3


----------



## SgtHop

Maybe, I dunno for sure, and I don't feel like doing...research. =_=
At any rate, even if there isn't a 5-way crossfire setup, I can still fold on all them GPUs...


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


Maybe, I dunno for sure, and I don't feel like doing...research. =_=
At any rate, even if there isn't a 5-way crossfire setup, I can still fold on all them GPUs...


Nope, don't think it's possible to CF 5 gpus, software wise. Both of the X2 cards only have one area for connecting a CF ribbon. So if you have a mobo with (4) pci-e's, you could attempt to CF 5 gpus with (1) X2 card and 3 single cards. Would be interesting to see, although b/c of the current games, wouldn't scale well at all.


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Nope, don't think it's possible to CF 5 gpus, software wise. Both of the X2 cards only have one area for connecting a CF ribbon. So if you have a mobo with (4) pci-e's, you could attempt to CF 5 gpus with (1) X2 card and 3 single cards. Would be interesting to see, although b/c of the current games, wouldn't scale well at all.


it's only coded to run 4 gpu's. you could still fold on them but if you're making a folding farm i'd just grab a bunch of nvidia gpu's.

iirc crossfire goes something like frame 1-gpu 0, 2-1, 3-2, rinse & repeat. hence why quadfire often causes problems.

a quick google will help you with that one, but you certainly can't go over 4 gpu's


----------



## SgtHop

Hmm. Good to know. But, as for the folding farm thing, I already sunk a bunch of money into my ATi setup, so it wouldn't be logical for me to dump that and go back to nVidia, which would cost me some major coin.

Also, if you put a card with two connectors in between the two single connector cards, you could make it work.


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


Hmm. Good to know. But, as for the folding farm thing, I already sunk a bunch of money into my ATi setup, so it wouldn't be logical for me to dump that and go back to nVidia, which would cost me some major coin.

Also, if you put a card with two connectors in between the two single connector cards, you could make it work.


nope, because the slots arent lined up. seriously, you can't get 5 working.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes*


it's only coded to run 4 gpu's. you could still fold on them but if you're making a folding farm i'd just grab a bunch of nvidia gpu's.

iirc crossfire goes something like frame 1-gpu 0, 2-1, 3-2, rinse & repeat. hence why quadfire often causes problems.

a quick google will help you with that one, but you certainly can't go over 4 gpu's










Dude seriously. My last answer was just a short answer. I'm well versed on CF and quad-fire and the pros and cons of 4 gpu usage. Don't need google, search the forum, I've wrote a number of post on this subject. And the question was just an interest one of if you could hook them up and install not on how well they would perform.


----------



## SgtHop

If they were right next to eachother, they would fit, I tried it...


----------



## rico2001

Most of the 4 pci-e mobos look like it was impossible to fit 4 cards unless they were all low profile. Kinda why I only want a 3 pci-e slot board for the better spacing.


----------



## SgtHop

This is true, though I did see one 4 PCI board that was eATX and had spacing for four two slot cards. It was a beast though...


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Dude seriously. My last answer was just a short answer. I'm well versed on CF and quad-fire and the pros and cons of 4 gpu usage. Don't need google, search the forum, I've wrote a number of post on this subject. And the question was just an interest one of if you could hook them up and install not on how well they would perform.


well you should have had a confident & clearcut answer then. not a "oh i don't think you can do it" and then go on to say "well i dont think it would scale very well". do you know your stuff or not ? if you do, then just say the facts, end of story.

seriously. you can't use more than 4 gpu's in 3d applications. 3 is often actually superior to 4 because of how crossfire is coded, but i believe you can hook 5 up & just fold on them if you so please.

and i think it was you who mentioned performance


----------



## Redbull1985

If i use Rivatuner for OCing, just one of the cores is affected?


----------



## rico2001

Not sure redbull, don't use riviatuner to oc.


----------



## Bacchus451

Just figured I'd post in here to see if anyone might be interested in passing down their beloved 4850X2, I'd like to get in on it as soon as possible


----------



## SgtHop

You can change the settings for each GPU individually in RivaTuner, but the current version doesn't support the 4850X2 without modifications.


----------



## Redbull1985

@Rico: CCC limits at 700 and flashing to 800 upper limit made my card somewhat unstable(dunno why) even at 705 core.So trying Rivatuner now

@SgtHop: Any steps to enable dual GPU tweaking in Riva mate?

EDIT: Just selected GPU1 in RivaTuner, set that to 710 and GPUZ now shows both cores OCed.


----------



## SgtHop

Yeah, there's a way to set so it applies to both GPUs, but is there a new version of RivaTuner out that I didn't hear about?


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Bacchus451*


Just figured I'd post in here to see if anyone might be interested in passing down their beloved 4850X2, I'd like to get in on it as soon as possible










pass down ?

how about "sell" ?


----------



## SgtHop

Aye. Sell is definitely the word he was looking for. I dislike giving my stuff away, it generally costs me money I don't have.


----------



## sulphur

well,add me in the list.i just got it ill put benchmarks in about a week.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *sulphur*


well,add me in the list.i just got it ill put benchmarks in about a week.


Welcome to the owners thread *sulphur*. As soon as you post a pic or bench, you will get added to the list.


----------



## komisch

both


----------



## rico2001

Reducing the bottleneck: Closing the memory bandwidth gap in a mixed crossfire configuration

Before I get started, a little background on mixed crossfire and the memory gap (bottleneck/slowing down) between DDR3 and DDR5.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Yes with a mixed CF of 4870 + 4850, you can think of it as (1) 4850 gpu at 625 mhz + (1) 4870 gpu at 750 mhz, both working together under 1 Ghz of DDR3 running at 993 mhz. Pairing the two isn't a waste if you have a 4850 and come across a 4870 for cheap but yes it make more sense to just get a 4850 to CF with.

*The memory issue with pairing a 4850 with a 4870 is a bandwidth issue. The memory of the 4850 is dual piped at 993 mhz = 63.6 GB/s bandwidth and the memory of the 4870 is quad pipe at 900 mhz = 115.2 GB/s bandwidth. And there is the bottleneck. You can never overclock the memory of the 4850 enough to match the stock bandwidth of the 4870. You would have to get the DDR3 of the 4850 up to roughly around 1700 mhz.*











Today I'm going to work with my 4850 X2 and my 4870 in tri-fire and compare it with my 4870 tri-fire scores. Attempting to close the gap in memory bandwidth, I'm going to overclock the DDR3 memory of the 4850 X2 as much as possible to bring up the memory bandwidth. This will reduce the amount the 4870's DDR5 will have to slow down to match the 4850 X2.










Overclock and bandwidth stats:
4850 X2 - 625 mhz to *712 mhz gpu*, memory 993 mhz DDR3 to *1220 mhz* = total data rate of 78.1 GB/s (up from 63.6 GB/s)(22% increase, still far from the 1700mhz needed to match the speed of the 4870's 900 mhz DDR5)

Testbed:
E8300 @ 3.6G & 4.0G
ASUS P5Q-PRO
6Gb DDR2
ATI Catalyst 9.6
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850 X2 2GB + Radeon 4870 1GB (tri-fire)
*SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850 X2 2GB (oc'ed to 715mhz gpu/1220 mhz mem) + Radeon 4870 1GB (tri-fire)*
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4870 X2 2GB + Radeon 4870 1GB (tri-fire)

Testing:
Crysis 
Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars 
Furmark 
Sanctuary

Crysis:
1600x1200, DX10
4850 X2 + 4870 = 41.2 average fps
*4850 X2 OC + 4870 = 43.9 average fps* 
4870 X3 = 45.8 average fps










Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars
1600 x 1200, DX10, highest settings, 16xAF, 4xAA
4850 X2 + 4870 = 140 average fps
*4850 X2 OC + 4870 = 141 average fps*
4870 X3 = 146 average fps










Furmark:
1680x1050, Open GL
4850 X2 + 4870 = 209 average fps
*4850 X2 OC + 4870 = 248 average fps*
4870 X3 = 255 average fps










Sanctuary:
1680x1050
4850 X2 + 4870 = 163 average fps
*4850 X2 OC + 4870 = 188 average fps*
4870 X3 = 196 average fps










Well to sum up this report, although it is impossible for the DDR3 to be overclocked to match the speed of the 4870's DDr5, gains were decent. Still needing another 400 mhz on the 4850's memory, I fall short of closing the gap completely. The overclocked mixed configuration did put a dent in the bandwidth gap, allowing more data through the pipes.


----------



## vicious_fishes

looks nice man, can i request a core speed matched benchie ?

so both the 4850 and 4870's cores at say, 700mhz and memories at 2000/4000 respectively ? googles given me a couple of results but i'd love to see a legitimate test of what difference the gddr5 actually makes. even if it was just a couple of crysis runs.

all i can offer is 9000 rep if you do


----------



## takealready

I plan on getting a 4850 X2 (I'm tired of Nvidia's crap and I'm ready to make the switch). But I've grown accustomed to cuda and my tmpgenc 4.0 working flawlessly together (that converter is the *ONLY* reason that I still :swearing: with nvidia).

I heard that the gpgpu converters for ATI don't provide as much converting quality as nvidia.

1) Is there any program besides avivo that can use ATI's stream processors?
2) Is there any program that can be hacked to use cuda/ ati stream?

Thank you for your help in advance. ATI is so foreign to me (I've been "team green" since 2000).


----------



## SgtHop

That's pretty sweet right there. I think you deserve a +1.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes* 
looks nice man, can i request a core speed matched benchie ?

so both the 4850 and 4870's cores at say, 700mhz and memories at 2000/4000 respectively ? googles given me a couple of results but i'd love to see a legitimate test of what difference the gddr5 actually makes. even if it was just a couple of crysis runs.

all i can offer is 9000 rep if you do









*As requested: matched clock speeds - 4850 X2 (OC'ed @ 700 mhz gpu / 1000 mhz mem) + 4870 (clocked @ 700 mhz gpu / 1000 mhz mem) in Tri-fire*

note: gpu-z (graphics card tab) did not show 4870 @ 700 mhz although clocked at 700 mhz, see bottom pic for proof 4870 is indeed at 700 mhz gpu.









Under load: 4850 X2 (OC'ed @ 700 mhz gpu / 1000 mhz mem) + 4870 (clocked @ 700 mhz gpu / 1000 mhz mem) in Tri-fire


----------



## firepro

You have to have some sort of cable managementin order to move the air. reroute cables first. turn psu so fan faces down and draws air from outside the case if possible.
verify mobo is installed in correct order.


----------



## firepro

I have a (2 )x hd4850x2 in xfire. only minor fsb and multiplier change. 3dmark score 19800. no screen shots yet, toooo much business travel


----------



## firepro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *W4ck3n*


@twm.7

This is how it looks







and how the air flows through my pc









This actually is my pc.

And no, nothing in my pc is overclocked :/


I just relooked at this picture , WHY is the case upside down?


----------



## firepro

d4martin, try a coolermaster 932 HAF case. 3-8" and 1-4" fans.


----------



## vicious_fishes

wow. the gddr5 makes about 1fps difference.

definitely not worth buying a 4870 if you're going trifire


----------



## SgtHop

But that's the thing, that's when the clocks are equalized. You can get probably near to 100MHz higher core clocks on the 4870, which does make it worth it.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes* 
wow. the gddr5 makes about 1fps difference.

definitely not worth buying a 4870 if you're going trifire









I'm going to have to say wow to you my friend. I thought you understood how CF worked from what I and other have wrote. I though you wanted my to do a match speed bench b/c you found someone else 4850 X2 + 4870 tri-fire score and you wanted to compare with mine. I see now you just wanted to compare 4850 X3 tri-fire to 4850 X2 + 4870 tri-fire. Having just explained the memory bandwidth limitation between the ddr3 and dd5, and how the ddr5 is limited by the how fast (bandwidth-wise), I thought it was clear. Since the shared memory is limited by the speed of the ddr3's bandwitdh, lowering the 4870 to 700 mhz, upping the 4850s to 700mhz and then comparing it to 4850 X3 oc'ed at 700 mhz gpu/1000 mhz mem, it would be the same result since it would be the same thing.









I only did the two mixed CF reviews, not to show some great gain in performance, but to just show people two different HD4800 series will work and work well together. Helping people to see that's its ok to CF different cards b/c you never know when you may be in a situation where you have a 4850 or 4870 and come across a deal or a used card someone is selling that is of a different HD48xx series.

And last thing, crysis is just one game, in which it doesn't respond the best to crossfire. Example: at 1600x1200, the 4850 X3 gets 41 fps and 4870 X3 gets 45 fps. There is a big graphics power difference between those two CF configuration and there is only a 4fps difference, if that gives you an idea on how hard it is to make gains in crysis.


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


I'm going to have to say wow to you my friend. I thought you understood how CF worked from what I and other have wrote. I though you wanted my to do a match speed bench b/c you found someone else 4850 X2 + 4870 tri-fire score and you wanted to compare with mine. I see now you just wanted to compare 4850 X3 tri-fire to 4850 X2 + 4870 tri-fire. Having just explained the memory bandwidth limitation between the ddr3 and dd5, and how the ddr5 is limited by the how fast (bandwidth-wise), I thought it was clear. Since the shared memory is limited by the speed of the ddr3's bandwitdh, lowering the 4870 to 700 mhz, upping the 4850s to 700mhz and then comparing it to 4850 X3 oc'ed at 700 mhz gpu/1000 mhz mem, it would be the same result since it would be the same thing.









I only did the two mixed CF reviews, not to show some great gain in performance, but to just show people two different HD4800 series will work and work well together. Helping people to see that's its ok to CF different cards b/c you never know when you may be in a situation where you have a 4850 or 4870 and come across a deal or a used card someone is selling that is of a different HD48xx series.

And last thing, crysis is just one game, in which it doesn't respond the best to crossfire. Example: at 1600x1200, the 4850 X3 gets 41 fps and 4870 X3 gets 45 fps. There is a big graphics power difference between those two CF configuration and there is only a 4fps difference, if that gives you an idea on how hard it is to make gains in crysis.










i was under the impression that in a crossfire configuration, each gpu & its respective ram renders each frame independent of the other ? so the only reason they communicate is to determine which gpu renders which frame ?

i'll go and do a search about what you said about shared memory. looked like you were saying that gddr5 in crossfire is limited by the gddr3 speed somehow ? when if the cores are at the same speed & you're still getting gains this cannot be the case.

and whenever a site does any kind of review i instantly go straight to the crysis & overclocking sections. lets be honest here, aside from crysis this gens cards pretty well have every game out there beaten.


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


But that's the thing, that's when the clocks are equalized. You can get probably near to 100MHz higher core clocks on the 4870, which does make it worth it.


dunno. pretty dependant on the coolers. CCC gives a 90mhz difference. down here in aussieland 4890's are the same cost as 4870's (often less).


----------



## SgtHop

Well, yeah, it's still cost dependent. Also, damn. But, are the 4870s expensive, or are the 4890s cheap?


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


Well, yeah, it's still cost dependent. Also, damn. But, are the 4870s expensive, or are the 4890s cheap?


both are very expensive. just the 4870 more so.

4890's are about $350 AUD, when somehow in the states they go for the equivalent of $220 AUD. figure that out.

4850 1gb's on the other hand are about 180, and 4850x2 2gbs are 420 or so.


----------



## twm.7

Quote:



Originally Posted by *firepro*


I just relooked at this picture , WHY is the case upside down?


The case isn't upside down, but the mobo is fixed like that with that case.
That's why I was joking tellin' him to really put it upside down ^^


----------



## SgtHop

Well, you're country is just weird then, VF.


----------



## vicious_fishes




----------



## SgtHop

The pricing of things is rather...off. It's strange...


----------



## rico2001

Could be supply vs. demand and import tax issue. Shame prices on these cards are so high in Australia.


----------



## SgtHop

I'm sure it's the tax that's presenting the problem. And aye, it is a shame.


----------



## vicious_fishes

yeah. see prices havent dropped proportionately as the exchange rate has improved (from our point of view) so i'm going to hazard a guess its people being greedy.

just like fuel, it "has a time lag" to go down, but goes up instantly.


----------



## rico2001

@vf
When did you get an X2, I didn't notice. Post some pics and/or benches, I'll get you added to the owners list.


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


@vf
When did you get an X2, I didn't notice. Post some pics and/or benches, I'll get you added to the owners list.










ehh it takes me a while to bother updating my sig rig lol.










clocks at 700/1200, i can crack 20K









i'd love to pick your brain about crossfire. just how does this "memory sharing" thing work ? googles well... it gives a spectrum of results.

i was under the impression that the only reason the gpu's communicate is to determine which one renders which frame ?


----------



## rico2001

Good score vicious_fishes, added tot he list, welcome to the club.









Update:
Owners list up to date 8-3-2009


----------



## rico2001

@vicious_fishes
Crossfire uses on a method of gpu load balancing known as alternate frame rendering (AFR), in which each gpu is responsible for rendering a whole frame and frames are distributed to gpus sequentially and the shared memory is the pool of which they work in. Frame 0 will go to gpu 0, frame 1 to gpu 1, frame 2 to gpu 2, and so on. Because of the three-frame limit in rendering, the fourth gpu in a crossfire setup will have no effect in some applications. ATI is said to be working on combining split-frame rendering (where one gpu renders the upper and another gpu renders the the lower part of the frame) with AFR in order to improve scaling in such applications.


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


@vicious_fishes
Crossfire uses on a method of gpu load balancing known as alternate frame rendering (AFR), in which each gpu is responsible for rendering a whole frame and frames are distributed to gpus sequentially and the shared memory is the pool of which they work in. Frame 0 will go to gpu 0, frame 1 to gpu 1, frame 2 to gpu 2, and so on. Because of the three-frame limit in rendering, the fourth gpu in a crossfire setup will have no effect in some applications. ATI is said to be working on combining split-frame rendering (where one gpu renders the upper and another gpu renders the the lower part of the frame) with AFR in order to improve scaling in such applications.


shared memory pool eh ? here i was thinking it's gpu specific.

thanks for clearing that up.

so should the users in this thread have a benchoff ?







a 25k run would be quite nice to see


----------



## SgtHop

Once I get my rig rebuilt, I'll give you 25k alright. 30k possibly, but that might be considered cheating, cause it wont be just a 4850X2, lol.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes* 
shared memory pool eh ? here i was thinking it's gpu specific.

thanks for clearing that up.

so should the users in this thread have a benchoff ?







a 25k run would be quite nice to see









You know, I think you are right vf about the memory. I just looked at a crossfire diagram again and I think my description of how the memory in a crossfire setup was wrong. The alternate frame rendering (AFR), is correct but from the diagram, each gpu works on their frame using their separate memory. I believe where the sharing comes in only refers to the speed and bandwidth. Since memory speed/bandwidth is determined by the gpu with the lowest memory bandwidth, to maintain a constant way off the card through the pci-e. Visual example: Two kids (gpus) in a classroom working on a math problem on two separate chalk boards (memory) and the class only has one door (pci-e) out. And although one kid may be faster at working out the math problem, both kids can talk to each other in the classroom. If that make any sense.


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


You know, I think you are right vf about the memory. I just looked at a crossfire diagram again and I think my description of how the memory in a crossfire setup was wrong. The alternate frame rendering (AFR), is correct but from the diagram, each gpu works on their frame using their separate memory. I believe where the sharing comes in only refers to the speed and bandwidth. Since memory speed/bandwidth is determined by the gpu with the lowest memory bandwidth, to maintain a constant way off the card through the pci-e. Visual example: Two kids (gpus) in a classroom working on a math problem on two separate chalk boards (memory) and the class only has one door (pci-e) out. And although one kid may be faster at working out the math problem, both kids can talk to each other in the classroom. If that make any sense.


kinda. but the kid with gddr5 (he can read his formulas in his textbook faster) can get more done than the kid with gddr3 no ? for arguments sake, they went (respective to gpu) frame 0-1-0-1-0-1-0-1-0-1-0-0-1 etc. core speeds don't drop either.

if it downclocked i'm sure ati would have said something. and you did get an extra fps with the same core speed on the 4870 as the 4850.


----------



## sulphur

Here is my Card: not overclocked yet.









My Benchmarks:









btw are these good benchmarks all at stock nothing OCed.

After OC:


----------



## rico2001

@sulphur

Outstanding scores *sulphur*. Thanks and welcome to the owners thread. rep+









Update:
Owners list up to date 8-4-2009


----------



## rico2001

Comparing gpu scores: 16X pci-e vs. 8X pci-e

4850 X2 + 4850 (tri-fire at 16X/16X)
3DMark 2006
Cpu 5090
Sm2.0 7346
Sm3.0 10490
Phenom II 940X4 @ 3.53G
Foxconn AD7A-S 790GX
http://i400.photobucket.com/al...TI4850X3700-1000-1.jpg

4850 X2 + 4850 (tri-fire at 16X/16X)
3DMark 2006
Cpu 5441
Sm2.0 8319
Sm3.0 11727
Phenom II 720X3 @ 3.9G
MSI K9A2 Platinum
http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/8531/capturehiv.png

Me: 4850 X2 + 4850 (tri-fire at 8X/8X)
3DMark 2006
Cpu 3633
Sm2.0 8454
Sm3.0 11495
E8300 @ 4.0G
ASUS P5Q PRO


4850 X2 + 4850 (tri-fire at 16X/16X)
3DMark Vantage
cpu 11848
gpu 15967
Phenom II 920X4 @ 3.5G
DFI LP DK 790FXB-M2RS
http://service.futuremark.com/result...eResultType=19

4850 X2 + 4850 (tri-fire at 16X/16X)
3DMark Vantage
cpu 12574
gpu 17966
Phenom II 720X3 @ 3.9G
MSI K9A2 Platinum
http://img13.imageshack.us/i/16k.jpg/
Note: a little low on the gpu score here from guy above me, not sure if he is stock. Iâ€™ll overclock to 700/1100 to see if I can catch him. If not, then there is a bottleneck.

Me: 4850 X2 + 4850 (tri-fire at 8X/8X)
3DMark Vantage
cpu 8024
gpu 16300
E8300 @ 4.0G
ASUS P5Q PRO


Note: So far, so good, I don't see a pci-e bottleneck. Need to find more people benching games. More laterâ€¦..


----------



## SgtHop

Wow. 3DMark is way too arbitrary.


----------



## vicious_fishes

rico2001: the mythbuster.


----------



## krazyatom

Sorry I didn't post message. I was too busy playing CSS and D2








D2 is not as good as before somehow.. I used to love it like 5 years ago.

I am waiting for D3!


----------



## SgtHop

Yeah, that is good to know though. I didn't think it would have that much effect, I dunno how a graphics card can use the full amount of bandwidth available to it, it's some 8GB/s that's available to it, which is a lot of data to use.


----------



## rico2001

Comparing 16X pci-e vs. 8X pci-e continued:

4850 X2 + 4850 (tri-fire at 16X/16X)
Phenom II 940X4 @ 3.53G
Foxconn AD7A-S 790GX









Me: 4850 X2 + 4850 (tri-fire at 8X/8X)
E8300 @ 3.6G
ASUS P5Q PRO


----------



## W4ck3n

Quote:


Originally Posted by *firepro* 
I just relooked at this picture , WHY is the case upside down?

lol, its not. Its designed that way









And my graphics card is still crashing,, even at 65 degres celsius :/


----------



## sulphur

Here is another OC:


----------



## twm.7

Quote:


Originally Posted by *W4ck3n* 
lol, its not. Its designed that way









And my graphics card is still crashing,, even at 65 degres celsius :/

Case open ?
I was thinking your problem was the ram on the card which was overheating, it crashed so many times that maybe your card have been dommaged.

Can we have more details ? ^^


----------



## krazyatom

Hey guys I just ordered some cheap dell outlet and it's inspiron 530 mini tower. I didn't received the shipment yet, so I am not sure if 4850 x2 2gb will fit. I hope I can squeeze in!

Do you guys use vista 64bit for gaming?


----------



## firepro

Quote:


Originally Posted by *krazyatom* 
Hey guys I just ordered some cheap dell outlet and it's inspiron 530 mini tower. I didn't received the shipment yet, so I am not sure if 4850 x2 2gb will fit. I hope I can squeeze in!

Do you guys use vista 64bit for gaming?

I use vista home premium 64 bit, no problems. hd4850x2 is 11.5" approx.


----------



## SgtHop

I use it for gaming...But with an Antec 1200, I had to move hard drives to get it to fit. I very, very seriously doubt it will fit in an Inspiron tower. If you don't know, the Antec 1200 is huge. And I had to move hard drives.


----------



## DevilGear44

Quote:


Originally Posted by *krazyatom* 
Hey guys I just ordered some cheap dell outlet and it's inspiron 530 mini tower. I didn't received the shipment yet, so I am not sure if 4850 x2 2gb will fit. I hope I can squeeze in!

If you even do manage to get it in there, not only is it going to be one heck of a tight arse fit, but I will applaud you for being able to do such a thing. Those Dell/HP desktops are friggin tiny!


----------



## SgtHop

It'll never happen, not unless he cuts out the front of the case.


----------



## vicious_fishes

i just hacked part of the drive bays out to fit it in my 300. and then used that to hook a ziptie over the corner of the card & lift it up. voila, no more bendy card XD


----------



## sulphur

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


I use it for gaming...But with an Antec 1200, I had to move hard drives to get it to fit. I very, very seriously doubt it will fit in an Inspiron tower. If you don't know, the Antec 1200 is huge. And I had to move hard drives.


well,i have antec 1200 too.it fitted okey i guess you have hdd infront of it.and i agree the card is VERY big.


----------



## rico2001

@sulphur
tight squeeze there but it fits.









Being 11-1/2" long, the 4850 X2 is tight fit for most all cases. I believe I only have a 1/2" clearance to me hd bays.


----------



## SgtHop

Didn't he say he had a Dell Inspiron case? I could have sworn he said he had a Dell Inspiron case...


----------



## Outcasst

Sigh.. The weather's hot, load temps are getting in the high 80's and there's BSOD's everywhere. Might have to remove the side of my case.


----------



## rico2001

Nothing wrong with side off for the summer. I remove and install difference cards so much, my side stays off.







I just try not to spill my beer on my case.


----------



## d3v0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes* 
i just hacked part of the drive bays out to fit it in my 300. and then used that to hook a ziptie over the corner of the card & lift it up. voila, no more bendy card XD

I just removed the drive bays I didnt need. With some proper angling, the fans fit just fine, as does my DVD drive an fan controller (coming out the floppy 3.5" front mesh)


----------



## sulphur

well guys today i played crysis ,and all setting high with no AA ,well i had like flashes in the sky and at distance trees is that normal?


----------



## rico2001

Hmm donâ€™t know if itâ€™s normal; I donâ€™t play crisis, only bench it. Could be a little artifacting or even the rare touch of microstuttering. Is your card overclocked much? Which drivers are you using? Do you have v-sync off?


----------



## sulphur

its GPU:660MHz,Memory:1100MHz,using 9.7 all setting high by game default and no AA,well,i cant't find 1920 x 1080 in the res. on game setting,my monitor is 1920 x 1080


----------



## SgtHop

You might want to try bringing your memory down a little, and retesting that overclock.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *sulphur*


its GPU:660MHz,Memory:1100MHz,using 9.7 all setting high by game default and no AA,well,i cant't find 1920 x 1080 in the res. on game setting,my monitor is 1920 x 1080


Ok sulphur, I see a few things right off the bat. Catalyst 9.7 driver seem to have problems and many ati users from 4850 X2 to 4890 users, including myself, had problem with them and have already rolled back to the cat. 9.6s. Second, the memory on our 4850 X2's is rated at 1000 mhz, so everything over that is an overclock. So owners do well and handle up to 1200mhz with any any problems and/or artifacting and some owners don't. I would back the memory down to 1050 mhz and see if that helps. But first, I'd get rid of the cat. 9.7 driver. Use those and just wait for the cat. 9.8 to come out next month. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Res issue: Make sure you installed both crysis patches. Did you install the game before you installed the 4850 X2. I had an issue one time with crysis and had to uninstall and then reinstall the game which fixed my problem.


----------



## SgtHop

I didn't even see the 9.7. Yeah, that's definitely a problem driver right there, even though I've still had a couple crashes on 9.6 since then.


----------



## sulphur

well ,i installed both crysis patches and working everything very high with 4x AA.thanks all.


----------



## rico2001

No problem sulphur.


----------



## vicious_fishes

well i did a quick google with the whole crysis crossfire scaling thing. changed cl_multigpu (or whatever it was) to 0 and got an improvement but... crysis still kicks 6 different shades of... out of my card.

0xAA, 17fps minimum. far cry 2 ? 40fps with 4xAA.

GG crytek, thats what you get for taking an nvidia bribe.


----------



## Shroomalistic

Is there anyways we can get people to post there bios's here. maybe a gpu-z screen shot and the bios's uploaded with them.

Im looking for a newer vesion of the 2gb bios's.
mine is VER011.008.000.000.000000


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic*


Is there anyways we can get people to post there bios's here. maybe a gpu-z screen shot and the bios's uploaded with them.

Im looking for a newer vesion of the 2gb bios's.
mine is VER011.008.000.000.000000


Shroom, are you looking to just get your fans to 3%. If so, just edit your own bios, its better and safer.

edit: if you need some help with the edit, just let me know.


----------



## djthechemist

I don't know... with XP, i was able to clock to above avarage clocks... (i think it was 695/1166) and it was completely stable

Im running windows 7 RC 7100 X64...
im lucky if i can get to 653/1075 on a lucky day that won't freeze up.

but since i enjoy more then 3.3gb of memory, i need a 64 bit processor, and i refuse to buy vista.

anyone else have experianced these issues?


----------



## krazyatom

I didn't know how tiny dell inspiron 530 mini tower was...









I paid like $470 after tax.

Spec was:

Q9550 Quad CPU
300HD
integrated video card
vista ultimate 32bit (*** why 32bit?)
2gb ram (I do have like extra rams so)

CPU was much faster than my origianl E6700, but card doesn't fit








My current case (forgot model #) it's cool master and it does fit my 4850 x2.

I got another system from dell outlet.

I got XPS 435MT (mini tower) but I googled somewhere and heard 4850 x2 fits. It said it had dent & scratch. waiting for shipment. This was little more expensive i paid like $550 after tax.

spec is:
i7 920 cpu
250hd
dvd rom (*** no dvd writer?)
some integrated video card
2gb ddr3 ram (kinda low)

I am going to try to fit my 4850 x2








If everyone works, I am going to make E6700 as HTPC


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *djthechemist*


I don't know... with XP, i was able to clock to above avarage clocks... (i think it was 695/1166) and it was completely stable

Im running windows 7 RC 7100 X64...
im lucky if i can get to 653/1075 on a lucky day that won't freeze up.

but since i enjoy more then 3.3gb of memory, i need a 64 bit processor, and i refuse to buy vista.

anyone else have experianced these issues?


Could be two fold: 1. could be win7 itself, some have issues some don't. 2. The mem of the 4850 X2 is rated at 1000mhz so anything over is an overclock. I've seen some taking there mem over the edge and semi-damaging it where high clock were now not reachable.

Neither may be your case, just letting you know.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


I didn't know how tiny dell inspiron 530 mini tower was...









I paid like $470 after tax.

Spec was:

Q9550 Quad CPU
300HD
integrated video card
vista ultimate 32bit (*** why 32bit?)
2gb ram (I do have like extra rams so)

CPU was much faster than my origianl E6700, but card doesn't fit








My current case (forgot model #) it's cool master and it does fit my 4850 x2.

I got another system from dell outlet.

I got XPS 435MT (mini tower) but I googled somewhere and heard 4850 x2 fits. It said it had dent & scratch. waiting for shipment. This was little more expensive i paid like $550 after tax.

spec is:
i7 920 cpu
250hd
dvd rom (*** no dvd writer?)
some integrated video card
2gb ddr3 ram (kinda low)

I am going to try to fit my 4850 x2








If everyone works, I am going to make E6700 as HTPC










Good luck, had to buy a new case when I first got my 4850 X2.


----------



## SgtHop

It really is a beast. They didn't think too well when they designed it, it seems. Way too long...


----------



## azianai

its about an inch longer than the GTX260/275/280/285
i put it side by side with my bro's GTX260 Core216


----------



## SgtHop

Yeah...that's about right.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *firepro*


d4martin, try a coolermaster 932 HAF case. 3-8" and 1-4" fans.


Hi FirePro,

Think they would look great with a Camo paint job!!!!








I was so tempted by the HAF cases - think they look great but I settled on the Antec 1200.
The earlier HAF cases though weren't fantastic, but now they have been greatly improved. I think the 932 has been voted best case for airflow by Bit-tech.net. Althought They suggest adding some air filters to stop it becoming a vacuum cleaner.
My 1200 is great - not too noisy for me (except if trying to watch Movies/Tv but who does that all the time) 5 x120mm & 1 x 200mm - with washable filters on the intake fans. This is a must for me because of my cat.

Thinking about buying a Corsair Hydro Series H50 CPU Cooler http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/coo...ooler-review/1

This baby should keep my CPU cool when overclocking without breaking the bank. What you guys think!!! 







Now remember this isn't a watercooling forum so no jumping on the high horse about low priced options - we can't all afford a high end water loop.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


I didn't know how tiny dell inspiron 530 mini tower was...









I paid like $470 after tax.

Spec was:

Q9550 Quad CPU
300HD
integrated video card
vista ultimate 32bit (*** why 32bit?)
2gb ram (I do have like extra rams so)

CPU was much faster than my origianl E6700, but card doesn't fit








My current case (forgot model #) it's cool master and it does fit my 4850 x2.

I got another system from dell outlet.

I got XPS 435MT (mini tower) but I googled somewhere and heard 4850 x2 fits. It said it had dent & scratch. waiting for shipment. This was little more expensive i paid like $550 after tax.

spec is:
i7 920 cpu
250hd
dvd rom (*** no dvd writer?)
some integrated video card
2gb ddr3 ram (kinda low)

I am going to try to fit my 4850 x2








If everyone works, I am going to make E6700 as HTPC











Wow an i7 system for $550 - Kewl!!!
At least a DVD-RW drive won't cost you much if you don't already have one. i7 works best on triple channel memory so 3gb or 6gb of paired chips would work best but 2gb should be fine to start with.
Hope you didn't know that bit already









Let us know what happens


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *d4martin* 
Wow an i7 system for $550 - Kewl!!!
At least a DVD-RW drive won't cost you much if you don't already have one. i7 works best on triple channel memory so 3gb or 6gb of paired chips would work best but 2gb should be fine to start with.
Hope you didn't know that bit already









Let us know what happens

I am planning to get more ddr3 rams, but it's ddr3 8500 (1066mhz)
can I order 1333mhz?

If my 4850 x2 doesn't fit into xps 435 mt, I might swap the case with my current system LOL


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


I am planning to get more ddr3 rams, but it's ddr3 8500 (1066mhz)
can I order 1333mhz?

If my 4850 x2 doesn't fit into xps 435 mt, I might swap the case with my current system LOL


My dell xps 435mt arrived yesterday and I was able to play with it.
The case was never designed for gaming because pci-express slot was too close to base. It will block air flow of video cards









If I remove the hard drive bay, I think 4850 x2 will fit in though.
I have micro center 50 miles away and they have i7 920 cpu for $200.

I am thinking about returning xps 435mt and just buy new parts for upgrade.

i7 920 - $200
Mobo - $200
ddr3 6gb - $120

What do you guys think?


----------



## rico2001

Sounds good krazyatom.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *sulphur*


well guys today i played crysis ,and all setting high with no AA ,well i had like flashes in the sky and at distance trees is that normal?


I haven't got the game but noticed a similar thing in the demo when I tried to bench mark with it!!!

Mostly on trees in the distance, but I haven't overclocked yet(honestly will do it soon







) Sometimes a few flashes. Almost like the textures are refreshing but doing so at the wrong speed. Don't remember if this happened when playing through the demo normally. I thought it was something to do with the fly-through that's enabled when bench marking- as it runs faster than the game normally goes.

Also noticed that sometimes in the sky you could notice what looks like a program window. If you on the hill with the radio mast - look up towards and above the first base by the beach.

Martin


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


I am planning to get more ddr3 rams, but it's ddr3 8500 (1066mhz)
can I order 1333mhz?

If my 4850 x2 doesn't fit into xps 435 mt, I might swap the case with my current system LOL



I have Corsair dominator 1600mhz in my Asus P6T, but 1333's are great too - much cheaper than 1600

Secret is to make sure the 4850x2 and the HDD are not in each others way.
You could take away the HDD enclosure and fit HDD in a spare optical drive bay. I have my HDD in a the optical drive bay so I have my intakes completely clear. More air flow for the 4850x2 and cpu. I use a Zalman ZM-2HC2 Hard Drive Heatpipe Cooler to help keep the HHD cool - plus it has anti-vibration gromets that help it to fit in the larger space of the optical bays. Although a small case will give you fewer options. If your going to overclock(I promise Rico- I'll do this soon







- honest) - your going to need air-flow. If it all fits - keep an eye out for your temps.


----------



## rico2001

Np Martin. You have such good scores at stock, will be interesting to see what your overclocked i7 will produce. Did you get the cpu cooler?


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Np Martin. You have such good scores at stock, will be interesting to see what your overclocked i7 will produce. Did you get the cpu cooler?

Hi Rico,

not yet -







bit of a pipe dream maybe. Trying to save to buy a house, so cash sometimes short - althought maybe able to get it soon It's only Â£60 so not a huge expenditure. It has had great reviews though - thats why I'm tempted. Saw a guy on Noobtube using the same cooler in the same case/CPU etc on 4.1 ghz at 40 C idle - mine is 35-40 C idle at stock

I haven't even attemped to overclock on air yet! So best to do that first -check the temps and then decide. The 1200 has a lot of air-flow so if it can keep the CPU cool enough when overclocked and overloaded- I'll be able to wait a bit longer. Or wait until November- my birthday - get my girlfriend to buy it as a present - she just hates buying me '_boring computer bits'_ - LOL

Anyway - I'll overclock it to 3.6-3.8Ghz as you suggested - to stop it bottle-necking my gpu, and then run all those lovely bench marks and game benchs all over again. Then plan to update the driver (still on 9.2) and do it all over again. Hee hee







Great for comparison


----------



## rico2001

Wow still on 9.2s. Although the 9.2 were pretty fast, I like the improvements of 9.5 & 9.6. That cosair cooler had some nice temps and definitely looks good.


----------



## d4martin

You never know what 9.8 will bring.(fingers crossed)

Martin


----------



## rico2001

Hopefully some stability. The 9.7 are really fast and give a nice gain in crysis especially. Too bad, it causes crashes in many games for me and many others. So I'm looking forward to 9.8s.


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *d4martin*


I have Corsair dominator 1600mhz in my Asus P6T, but 1333's are great too - much cheaper than 1600

Secret is to make sure the 4850x2 and the HDD are not in each others way.
You could take away the HDD enclosure and fit HDD in a spare optical drive bay. I have my HDD in a the optical drive bay so I have my intakes completely clear. More air flow for the 4850x2 and cpu. I use a Zalman ZM-2HC2 Hard Drive Heatpipe Cooler to help keep the HHD cool - plus it has anti-vibration gromets that help it to fit in the larger space of the optical bays. Although a small case will give you fewer options. If your going to overclock(I promise Rico- I'll do this soon







- honest) - your going to need air-flow. If it all fits - keep an eye out for your temps.


Thanks for your advice. You're right about my xps 435 mt. xps case is very limited to OC and I am most likely to return this computer. I heard mobo is also limited to OC. I will try to finish my new rig and take some pictures for you guys


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *krazyatom* 
Thanks for your advice. You're right about my xps 435 mt. xps case is very limited to OC and I am most likely to return this computer. I heard mobo is also limited to OC. I will try to finish my new rig and take some pictures for you guys









Most Dell Motherboards will limit your O'C'ing but it's a great starting point. You can always add components later.

I haven't O'C'ed my i7 yet at all - everything still at stock and it's been fantasic. With the addition of the 4850x2 your be flying on all games apart from Crysis and Crysis Warhead (not sure about GTA4 either though - any thoughts Rico or Open1your1eyes0???) - Also make sure you have Vista 64 (or Win7 64) if you can - it'll allow you more RAM. Vista 32 or Win7 32 with only go to 3-3.5GB and that's including your video ram too!!!!

Did you get the 4850x2 2GB or 1GB????

Martin


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *d4martin* 
Most Dell Motherboards will limit your O'C'ing but it's a great starting point. You can always add components later.

I haven't O'C'ed my i7 yet at all - everything still at stock and it's been fantasic. With the addition of the 4850x2 your be flying on all games apart from Crysis and Crysis Warhead (not sure about GTA4 either though - any thoughts Rico or Open1your1eyes0???) - Also make sure you have Vista 64 (or Win7 64) if you can - it'll allow you more RAM. Vista 32 or Win7 32 with only go to 3-3.5GB and that's including your video ram too!!!!

Did you get the 4850x2 2GB or 1GB????

Martin

I have 4850 x2 2GB version. Dell xps 435MT's pci-e slot is very close to bottom and I am afraid it will block air flow on my 4850 x2. (Of course I have to move HD bay to do that)
Btw, my dell pc came with vista 64 premium, but it only had 2gb installed pc-8500.
I am not looking for very high OC like 4.0ghz. Maybe 3.5ghz should be enough for me. Stock is already fast though. You know dell studio 435mt is so tiny compared to my cool master case.

I just researched my dell xps 435mt and found out 360w PSU will not be enough for my 4850 x2.
I should put my antec 650, but it has too much extra cables







It will be so crowded...
I am so bad at cable management. What do I do with these huge thich cables? LOL


----------



## SgtHop

Uh, nothing you can do. Shoulda got a modular PSU, makes cable management a lot easier. You could buy a new PSU for that case, that is modular, that would fix a lot of your problems.


----------



## firepro

Quote:


Originally Posted by *krazyatom* 
I have 4850 x2 2GB version. Dell xps 435MT's pci-e slot is very close to bottom and I am afraid it will block air flow on my 4850 x2. (Of course I have to move HD bay to do that)
Btw, my dell pc came with vista 64 premium, but it only had 2gb installed pc-8500.
I am not looking for very high OC like 4.0ghz. Maybe 3.5ghz should be enough for me. Stock is already fast though. You know dell studio 435mt is so tiny compared to my cool master case.

I just researched my dell xps 435mt and found out 360w PSU will not be enough for my 4850 x2.
I should put my antec 650, but it has too much extra cables







It will be so crowded...
I am so bad at cable management. What do I do with these huge thich cables? LOL

Krazy, i have a BFG GS650, in my home comp., it has 2-20 amp rails. i am driving a amd dual core 4400+ and 1 -large card. look up any wattage calculater on the net to get your min psu size.
I stuff my excess cable in a unused drive bay. firepro


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *firepro* 
Krazy, i have a BFG GS650, in my home comp., it has 2-20 amp rails. i am driving a amd dual core 4400+ and 1 -large card. look up any wattage calculater on the net to get your min psu size.
I stuff my excess cable in a unused drive bay. firepro

My PSU is this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371001

I am sure it will be enough for my 4850 x2 + i7 920, but wires are so fat!


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SgtHop* 
Uh, nothing you can do. Shoulda got a modular PSU, makes cable management a lot easier. You could buy a new PSU for that case, that is modular, that would fix a lot of your problems.

I don't want to spend more money, but if that's only option I should get one


----------



## firepro

Quote:


Originally Posted by *krazyatom* 
My PSU is this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371001

I am sure it will be enough for my 4850 x2 + i7 920, but wires are so fat!

Krazy, that has 3-19 amp rails, enough for one hd4850x2. are you mounting the psu on the bottom or top of your case? firepro


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *firepro* 
Krazy, that has 3-19 amp rails, enough for one hd4850x2. are you mounting the psu on the bottom or top of your case? firepro

My dell xps 435mt has PSU on top. WHat does 3-19 amp mean? does that mean it's not enough for my use?

i7 920
2gb ddr 8500
dvd rom
HD
4850 x2


----------



## rico2001

They one would do but you would be getting close to the edge of it's power. You would have to worry more about the i7 than the 4850 X2. A 3.8-4G i7 will pull 225W.


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
They one would do but you would be getting close to the edge of it's power. You would have to worry more about the i7 than the 4850 X2. A 3.8-4G i7 will pull 225W.

Thanks for you advice. What do you recommend? I want to get modular PSU, so it will fit well on my Dell 435 MT.

650watts are not enough for i7 920 3.8-4g + 4850 x2?


----------



## firepro

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
They one would do but you would be getting close to the edge of it's power. You would have to worry more about the i7 than the 4850 X2. A 3.8-4G i7 will pull 225W.

Krazy, do the wattage calculater,http://educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html
i saw your i7 on this ,it should work. firepro


----------



## rico2001

I'd say 700 min. for i7 people b/c you know you are going to overclock.

Check out this calculator, it's fairly accurate. Not on the button but you can get an idea.
http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp


----------



## firepro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *firepro*


Krazy, do the wattage calculater,http://educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html
i saw your i7 on this ,it should work. firepro


Krazy, IF, you are looking for a MODULAR psu LOOK at the psu i have,
avail at Newegg, BFG 1200 Ex, http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/179...ply/index.html, read this article
it sold me on my psu. AND it's Modular. firepro


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *firepro*


Krazy, do the wattage calculater,http://educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html
i saw your i7 on this ,it should work. firepro


I got 617watts!


----------



## firepro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


I got 617watts!


Good. what is the efficiency of your psu? 80 % ? if so you can only count on 480-500 Useable watts. do you want to expand in the near / far future?
the bfg 1200 ex is / was $250.. fromk Newegg. firepro


----------



## firepro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *firepro*


Good. what is the efficiency of your psu? 80 % ? if so you can only count on 480-500 Useable watts. do you want to expand in the near / far future?
the bfg 1200 ex is / was $250.. fromk Newegg. firepro


Rico, you convince Krazy, on psu size. firepro


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *firepro*


Good. what is the efficiency of your psu? 80 % ? if so you can only count on 480-500 Useable watts. do you want to expand in the near / far future?
the bfg 1200 ex is / was $250.. fromk Newegg. firepro


$250 is too high for me..

What do you think about this product?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817182188

it's 1000watts $150.


----------



## ladiesman217

Hello all, long time reader first time poster.

Here's a question to the board. I'm thinking of buying a 4850X2 (about 90% sure now). I've read reports from people that a HX620 will be enough to power this beast with my Phenom II 940. However i've also read that its probably better to go for the HX750. Anyone got any opinions on here?

Yes i will be OC'ing my 940 but my 9700LED broke







so i'm back at stock currently with stock speeds until i can get a new HSF.

Thoughts?


----------



## firepro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


$250 is too high for me..

What do you think about this product?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817182188

it's 1000watts $150.


that psu has 2-20 amp,230 amp rails, did not see if it was madular, it is only 80% efficient, 800 usable watts.if it is modular give it a try, BUT, what about
the FUTURE ? no expansiond?


----------



## firepro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ladiesman217*


Hello all, long time reader first time poster.

Here's a question to the board. I'm thinking of buying a 4850X2 (about 90% sure now). I've read reports from people that a HX620 will be enough to power this beast with my Phenom II 940. However i've also read that its probably better to go for the HX750. Anyone got any opinions on here?

Yes i will be OC'ing my 940 but my 9700LED broke







so i'm back at stock currently with stock speeds until i can get a new HSF.

Thoughts?


Ladiesman, check the wattage calc i posted for Krazy eailer. run the numbers. firepro


----------



## ladiesman217

Quote:



Originally Posted by *firepro*


Ladiesman, check the wattage calc i posted for Krazy eailer. run the numbers. firepro


I checked yours and the one Rico posted







. Problem is i get 2 vastly different numbers 469W at 100% load with Rico's and 705W at newegg. I've used the one Rico posted before but the newegg one is new to me. So right now im stuck between the HX620 and the HX750.


----------



## firepro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ladiesman217*


I checked yours and the one Rico posted







. Problem is i get 2 vastly different numbers, a space of around ~200W. I've used the one Rico posted before butvthe newegg one is new to me. So right now im stuck between the HX620 and the HX750.










Ladiesman, take into account the % efficiency of the psu you never know what you may add. my BFG 1200 ex has 4-40 amp rails and it's modular
see my spec. when i did AMD wattage calc, it said i needed 950-1K watts.
if you can afford it more watts the merrier. fiorepro


----------



## ladiesman217

They are both around 80-85% efficient even at full load (according to the specs). I might go for the 750W, probably the safer bet.


----------



## firepro

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ladiesman217*


They are both around 80-85% efficient even at full load (according to the specs). I might go for the 750W, probably the safer bet.


ladiesman, you have no expansions hoped for? many things to consider. firepro


----------



## ladiesman217

Quote:


Originally Posted by *firepro* 
ladiesman, you have no expansions hoped for? many things to consider. firepro

There are always expansions hoped for lol but unfortunately, more often than not, they are just outside my financial reach. I could get a higher wattage PSU, but i tend to replace PSU's as i need them (bad habbit i know







). At this stage i'll tentatively aim for 750W but that could easily change, i'll have to give it a think.

Thanks firepro


----------



## firepro

sqthop, what have you used for a psu calc?firepro


----------



## firepro

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ladiesman217* 
There are always expansions hoped for lol but unfortunately, more often than not, they are just outside my financial reach. I could get a higher wattage PSU, but i tend to replace PSU's as i need them (bad habbit i know







). At this stage i'll tentatively aim for 750W but that could easily change, i'll have to give it a think.

Thanks firepro

ladiesman, before you buy, try AMD's or gygabit's if the have a calc on their site. if you have been following any sites, more problems are from toooo small of a psu. good luck. firepro


----------



## firepro

Ladiesman, sulpher, got to gto for now. firepro


----------



## vicious_fishes

guys the efficiency of a psu isn't how much power it actually makes, it's how much power it's gotta suck out of the wall to maintain its rated power...


----------



## ladiesman217

Hmm just noticed vicious fishes, you're running a HX620 with your 4850X2.

That's running all stable for you?


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


I have 4850 x2 2GB version. Dell xps 435MT's pci-e slot is very close to bottom and I am afraid it will block air flow on my 4850 x2. (Of course I have to move HD bay to do that)



Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


I just researched my dell xps 435mt and found out 360w PSU will not be enough for my 4850 x2.
I should put my antec 650, but it has too much extra cables







It will be so crowded... 
I am so bad at cable management. What do I do with these huge thick cables? LOL












How adventurous are you???? Some of the cables could be pushed into an empty optical drive bay while some cable routing with the help of this CustomPC tutorial may help- Just remember to Plan, Plan, Plan and Plan again - followed by Measure,measure and then re-measure before cutting anything!!! Underneath the 4850x2 you could cut a square hole for an outake- ONLY IF you case sits high enough off the flour/Desk OR Turn the whole case upside down so the outtake is blowing the hot air up throught the cut hole. (some lovely Modders mesh would look good over this: These Guys are the best for modding tutorials and some modding supplies









http://www.mnpctech.com/CaseModTutorials.html

Fancy some modding???? If you have the tools already and the time it could be a cheaper option. Although I wouldn't rush into something like this - Safety googles and gloves would be advisable...and don't come running to me if it all goes wrong.









I got all the images and text from www.custompc.co.uk - now a redunant site due to them joining www.bit-tech.net. The magazine is still going and is quite cool. So remember I have blatently copied the whole thing for your information - *NONE OF THE FOLLOWING IS MY WORK OR IMAGES* (SORRY CUSTOMPC and Bit-tech.net ) but the link for this tutuorial is:

http://www.custompc.co.uk/howtos/602...-cabling.html#

Mod your case for neater cabling
Tidy wiring not only looks better, but also helps to improve airflow. James Prosser explains how to mod a case to prevent it resembling a spaghetti junction.

Launch this Guide. Thanks to the modding scene, the old beige monstrosities that used to house the PCs of yore have now been replaced with great-looking cases with fancy lights, large windows and lots of mesh for all your 120mm fans.

However, therein lies a deeper problem, which is that windows expose that worst nightmare - the cable equivalent of a spaghetti junction.

Luckily, help is at hand; if you follow this cable management guide, you'll not only improve your system's looks, but also increase the airflow, reduce temperatures and you may even find room for that water-cooling loop you've been dreaming about for the last year. If you need any help with the guide, then please feel free to PM me on the Custom PC forums, where I go by the name prosser13.

What you need

• Holesaws of various sizes between 20mm and 60mm. You'll need saws appropriate for cutting metal - avoid value brands, especially if your motherboard tray is made from steel. Holesaw kits can be bought in most hardware shops.

• A jigsaw with metal cutting blades.

• Spray oil such as WD40.

• A drill with a large (around 11mm) bit if you're using a jigsaw, or a drill bit slightly smaller than the one supplied with your holesaw kit.

• A set of half-moon files.

• U-channel/rubber edging to cover any sharp edges - sold by the metre at www.chilledpc.co.uk. ( I'm sure this can be bought in the USA too -M.)

• A set square for marking out lines.

• Masking tape to prevent scratches when cutting.

If your case looks anything like the inside of this Cooler Master Centurion 530 then now is the perfect time to do some work and move all these unsightly cables out of the way.









Start by removing the motherboard from the case, then lay down masking tape on the motherboard tray, using your motherboard as a template to note down where all the cables go. You'll need to make holes in the motherboard tray to route your cables, so this labelling will make the job much easier later on.









Use the holesaws as a basic guide to work out where holes are needed. For example, we decided that a hole wasn't needed for the S-ATA cable. You'll also need to check that the holes are big enough to accommodate the width of your cables.










**IMPORTANT***Clamp a piece of wood behind the tray to make it rigid, and then drill some pilot holes for the holesaws or jigsaw. After that, mark up the position of the cuts if you plan to use a jigsaw, and consider drilling extra holes for passing through cable ties to hold down the cables.( **You don't want the motherboard tray to bend or warp out of shape so take time with this step- if you notice any bending -Stop and reset the wood!!!- M.)










Use your chosen tool to cut your holes. We used the 'value' holesaws shown in Step 3, which weren't ideal, as the steel tray ground down the teeth and the final result wasn't pretty, even after using spray oil. This shouldn't happen if you use a decent holesaw, but thankfully, you can correct any mistakes and neaten up the edges using a jigsaw, and then giving the tray a coat of paint.










Once the holes for the motherboard have been cut, you can create the PSU cable-routeing hole. This needs to be a good size, as all the power cables will feed through it. For this reason, it's best to have a square hole, rather than a round one, for the PSU cables. Use masking tape and mark up a square hole using a setsquare, making sure that you round off the edges.










Drill a pilot hole slightly bigger than the jigsaw blade in each corner of your square, and guide the jigsaw along the line. While you're doing this, make sure you don't come into contact with the side panel rails on the back of the case. Don't worry if it isn't perfect, as the edges will be covered up by the U-channel.










Finally, use your files to finish off each of the holes, and *apply U-channel *to prevent the cables *from catching on the edges*. You can now reinstall your components, feeding all the cables through the holes. *However, it may take a few attempts before you can properly attach the right-hand side panel with all those cables behind the tray.*

Sorry Gang for what looks like blatant advertising - it's just I want the right people to get the credit for this not me. Sorry Rico and Open1your1eyes for going abit off subject - (this should really be in a modding blog/forum) just thought it could help Krazyatom a bit.

Martin


----------



## rico2001

Nice write up Martin, looks good.


----------



## Outcasst

Has anybody Wc'ed their 4850x2? I'm interested in doing it since air temps are just too high.


----------



## MrMan

Quote:


Originally Posted by *d4martin* 









How adventurous are you???? Some of the cables could be pushed into an empty optical drive bay while some cable routing with the help of this CustomPC tutorial may help- Just remember to Plan, Plan, Plan and Plan again - followed by Measure,measure and then re-measure before cutting anything!!! Underneath the 4850x2 you could cut a square hole for an outake- ONLY IF you case sits high enough off the flour/Desk OR Turn the whole case upside down so the outtake is blowing the hot air up throught the cut hole. (some lovely Modders mesh would look good over this: These Guys are the best for modding tutorials and some modding supplies









http://www.mnpctech.com/CaseModTutorials.html

Fancy some modding???? If you have the tools already and the time it could be a cheaper option. Although I wouldn't rush into something like this - Safety googles and gloves would be advisable...and don't come running to me if it all goes wrong.









I got all the images and text from www.custompc.co.uk - now a redunant site due to them joining www.bit-tech.net. The magazine is still going and is quite cool. So remember I have blatently copied the whole thing for your information - *NONE OF THE FOLLOWING IS MY WORK OR IMAGES* (SORRY CUSTOMPC and Bit-tech.net ) but the link for this tutuorial is:

http://www.custompc.co.uk/howtos/602...-cabling.html#

Mod your case for neater cabling
Tidy wiring not only looks better, but also helps to improve airflow. James Prosser explains how to mod a case to prevent it resembling a spaghetti junction.

Launch this Guide. Thanks to the modding scene, the old beige monstrosities that used to house the PCs of yore have now been replaced with great-looking cases with fancy lights, large windows and lots of mesh for all your 120mm fans.

However, therein lies a deeper problem, which is that windows expose that worst nightmare - the cable equivalent of a spaghetti junction.

Luckily, help is at hand; if you follow this cable management guide, you'll not only improve your system's looks, but also increase the airflow, reduce temperatures and you may even find room for that water-cooling loop you've been dreaming about for the last year. If you need any help with the guide, then please feel free to PM me on the Custom PC forums, where I go by the name prosser13.

What you need

• Holesaws of various sizes between 20mm and 60mm. You'll need saws appropriate for cutting metal - avoid value brands, especially if your motherboard tray is made from steel. Holesaw kits can be bought in most hardware shops.

• A jigsaw with metal cutting blades.

• Spray oil such as WD40.

• A drill with a large (around 11mm) bit if you're using a jigsaw, or a drill bit slightly smaller than the one supplied with your holesaw kit.

• A set of half-moon files.

• U-channel/rubber edging to cover any sharp edges - sold by the metre at www.chilledpc.co.uk. ( I'm sure this can be bought in the USA too -M.)

• A set square for marking out lines.

• Masking tape to prevent scratches when cutting.

If your case looks anything like the inside of this Cooler Master Centurion 530 then now is the perfect time to do some work and move all these unsightly cables out of the way.









Start by removing the motherboard from the case, then lay down masking tape on the motherboard tray, using your motherboard as a template to note down where all the cables go. You'll need to make holes in the motherboard tray to route your cables, so this labelling will make the job much easier later on.









Use the holesaws as a basic guide to work out where holes are needed. For example, we decided that a hole wasn't needed for the S-ATA cable. You'll also need to check that the holes are big enough to accommodate the width of your cables.










**IMPORTANT***Clamp a piece of wood behind the tray to make it rigid, and then drill some pilot holes for the holesaws or jigsaw. After that, mark up the position of the cuts if you plan to use a jigsaw, and consider drilling extra holes for passing through cable ties to hold down the cables.( **You don't want the motherboard tray to bend or warp out of shape so take time with this step- if you notice any bending -Stop and reset the wood!!!- M.)










Use your chosen tool to cut your holes. We used the 'value' holesaws shown in Step 3, which weren't ideal, as the steel tray ground down the teeth and the final result wasn't pretty, even after using spray oil. This shouldn't happen if you use a decent holesaw, but thankfully, you can correct any mistakes and neaten up the edges using a jigsaw, and then giving the tray a coat of paint.










Once the holes for the motherboard have been cut, you can create the PSU cable-routeing hole. This needs to be a good size, as all the power cables will feed through it. For this reason, it's best to have a square hole, rather than a round one, for the PSU cables. Use masking tape and mark up a square hole using a setsquare, making sure that you round off the edges.










Drill a pilot hole slightly bigger than the jigsaw blade in each corner of your square, and guide the jigsaw along the line. While you're doing this, make sure you don't come into contact with the side panel rails on the back of the case. Don't worry if it isn't perfect, as the edges will be covered up by the U-channel.










Finally, use your files to finish off each of the holes, and *apply U-channel* to prevent the cables *from catching on the edges*. You can now reinstall your components, feeding all the cables through the holes. *However, it may take a few attempts before you can properly attach the right-hand side panel with all those cables behind the tray.*

Sorry Gang for what looks like blatant advertising - it's just I want the right people to get the credit for this not me. Sorry Rico and Open1your1eyes for going abit off subject - (this should really be in a modding blog/forum) just thought it could help Krazyatom a bit.

Martin

and why is cabling in the 4850x2 thread?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Outcasst* 
Has anybody Wc'ed their 4850x2? I'm interested in doing it since air temps are just too high.

4850 X2 owner, kimosabi, is running on water. What temps are you getting btw. I find the 4850 X2 a cold card, colder than all my others.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MrMan* 
and why is cabling in the 4850x2 thread?

B/c Martin is an 4850 X2 owner.


----------



## Outcasst

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
4850 X2 owner, kimosabi, is running on water. What temps are you getting btw. I find the 4850 X2 a cold card, colder than all my others.

I'm getting around 85c load on a hot day. And the fan, christ, it's just too noisy. I don't have anywhere to mount any more case fans.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Outcasst* 
I'm getting around 85c load on a hot day. And the fan, christ, it's just too noisy. I don't have anywhere to mount any more case fans.

Well the 85C is ok, a little warm but designed to run at that temp. The fan noise, just goes with this card. May want to look into another card, water or perhaps the zalman coolers if it is too loud for you.


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Outcasst* 
Has anybody Wc'ed their 4850x2? I'm interested in doing it since air temps are just too high.

take the shroud off


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MrMan* 
and why is cabling in the 4850x2 thread?

Krazyatom asked how to route cables!!! He's a 4850x2 owner too but has an extremely small case and not enough cash to splash.
It's not as if I was trying to start another thread or anything!!
If you prefer I'll re-direct him -just thought it could be useful to other beginners too







.

I don't think Rico or Open1Your1eyes0 mine


----------



## rico2001

Good thinking vicious, I always forget that option. Works two fold: reduces the noise level and drops you 4C right off the bat.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes* 
take the shroud off









Yeah, this was mentioned in some of the early pages here- can help reduce noise and temps.

Not sure if it could cause problems with the PCB bending more though. ANY THOUGHTS RICO?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *d4martin*


Yeah, this was mentioned in some of the early pages here- can help reduce noise and temps.

Not sure if it could cause problems with the PCB bending more though. ANY THOUGHTS RICO?


Well it can. The shroud connects the two gpu coolers together, providing support to the entire length of the card. Removing the shroud takes away the support and since the second gpu is a little past the pci-e slot, its weight can cause a sag or bend at the tail end of the card. I don't have any proof but I believe with prolonged sagging or bending of the card, can cause loosening or breaking of some of the connections on the pcb. If you are going to remove the shroud for a long period of time, I would suggest supporting the back end of the card with a tie or whatever to the 6/8 pin plugs, to help with support.

edit: I meant to add what mod I did to my shroud. I removed my shroud and cut both sides off the shroud 1/4" down past the corners. Doing this, I get to keep all the airflow and noise reduction of removing the shroud itself, and keeping the support of still having the shroud on. I don't ever plan on selling this card so I did not mind make the modification cuts to the shroud.


----------



## vicious_fishes

what i did was link zipties together & run them around between my power connections. then just hooked them into one of the holes in the hdd bay & pulled it tight. voila, level card.

dynamic fan + coolers reseated with ocz freeze is a winner too









and if you're mega paranoid about bending... put the shroud on upside down. still has support, and air can exit the coolers loads better.


----------



## krazyatom

Sorry Gang for what looks like blatant advertising - it's just I want the right people to get the credit for this not me. Sorry Rico and Open1your1eyes for going abit off subject - (this should really be in a modding blog/forum) just thought it could help Krazyatom a bit.

Martin[/QUOTE]

Thanks Martin!
That looks like very good guide for cable management.
People in this forum convinced me to spend more $$$$ for my rig LOL.
I need at least 1000watts PSU, huge case for cable management.
I was trying to save my money by getting dell outlet studio xps 435mt, but it seems like I need to change everything.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


Sorry Gang for what looks like blatant advertising - it's just I want the right people to get the credit for this not me. Sorry Rico and Open1your1eyes for going abit off subject - (this should really be in a modding blog/forum) just thought it could help Krazyatom a bit.

Martin



Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


Thanks Martin!
That looks like very good guide for cable management.
People in this forum convinced me to spend more $$$$ for my rig LOL.
I need at least 1000watts PSU, huge case for cable management.
I was trying to save my money by getting dell outlet studio xps 435mt, but it seems like I need to change everything.


I'd agree - if you can - you should. Just I'm trying to give you other cheaper options as it won't be long before you have to update again. I have corsair hx1000 - good PSU - something that'll see me ok for quiet a while. Read as many reviews as possible then make your desicion. Find one that scores highly in at least two different web or magazine reviews- not customer based ones on sales sites.
Lots of PSU's out there that aren't very good. So do some research first- and watch out. Decide exactly what you need, find a PSU that has what you need - and if you get a BIG case -CHECK THAT THE CABLES WILL BE LONG ENOUGH. If your not sure about anything just ask. Lots of cool people here like Rico know their stuff- they'll see you right.

Any ideas what your going to do now????
Martin


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes* 
and if you're mega paranoid about bending... put the shroud on upside down. still has support, and air can exit the coolers loads better.

That's Genius - do you have any photos of this????


----------



## vicious_fishes

lol nope. i just played around with it before taking the whole thing to pieces XD

not hard to imagine though. undo the 8 screws & flip it. if you really like modding nail the inlets with a holesaw too


----------



## MIGhunter

Can't wait to see if this card outperforms the 5x00 series when and if it comes out.


----------



## vicious_fishes

not a chance. 1600 sp's, crossfired, vs 2000 on a single gpu.


----------



## SgtHop

I heard it was only 1200SPs Maybe I just heard wrong though.


----------



## vicious_fishes

870's supposed to have twice the computing power of 770 anyway. so unless crossfire scaled at more than 100%...


----------



## rico2001

Well I would certainly hope the new 5000 series beats a 4850 X2 or it will be a disappointment. Of course the entry card, which could carry ddr3, may be in question. I still imagine the entry level card beating the 4850 X2. You you remember when the 4850 first came out, it was faster than the 3870 X2, in most case except for very low resolutions.


----------



## SgtHop

I also read that they all have GDDR5, I believe. It was in the news post.


----------



## vicious_fishes

of course it will beat it, sheesh.

a single 4850 schools a 3870x2...

320sp'sx2 vs 800 unified ?

i'd imagine the same thing will happen next gen.


----------



## rico2001

*Update to Opening Post:

ATI Catalyst 9.8 suite links added.*


----------



## SigSauer

An entry level card beating the 4850X2 would be interesting, maybe more manufacturers will build entry level X2 cards this time. HD5850X2 4G FTW...


----------



## SgtHop

That would be nice. Maybe people could afford it then, lol.


----------



## vicious_fishes

hardly. 4gb of vram just isn't necessary.

anything above the 5870 or equivalent won't be necessary either. it'll max out crysis at 60fps you can bet.


----------



## SgtHop

But the games are going to be much more complex, and will need the power...


----------



## vicious_fishes

nope...

tell me one title coming out that will be harder to run than crysis ?


----------



## SigSauer

Who knows maybe there will be more games based uppon the crysis engine with even heavier system requirements, then it would be necessary.


----------



## SgtHop

I'm not saying right away. It's called 'the future'.


----------



## Outcasst

I just can't take this anymore. The microstutter is driving me crazy. I was weary of the problem before I purchased this card and people kept on telling me the problem is non-existent. Christ, how wrong they were. I want my GTX260 back.

I don't even know why they call it microstutter because the stops and starts are huge, considering, making it very noticeable.


----------



## MrMan

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Outcasst*


I just can't take this anymore. The microstutter is driving me crazy. I was weary of the problem before I purchased this card and people kept on telling me the problem is non-existent. Christ, how wrong they were. I want my GTX260 back.

I don't even know why they call it microstutter because the stops and starts are huge, considering, making it very noticeable.


hmm never had anything even remotely close to that happen to me, sucks for you.


----------



## SigSauer

Can't say that I ever noticed any micro stuttering, and I've been using crossfire for a long time with both my HD2900 PRO's and HD4850X2.


----------



## Outcasst

Quote:



Originally Posted by *MrMan*


hmm never had anything even remotely close to that happen to me, sucks for you.


Yeah, it does suck for me. I'm the type of person that will notice any imperfections in videos, FPS and all that stuff. I find it a chore to play a game under 60FPS that doesn't have motion blurr and I can notice even the slightest stutter.

I want somebody else's eyes.


----------



## d4martin

[/QUOTE]

on a different note: Is that 2 PSU's in there too. Thought about doing that before I could affort my current system. Any cons to this - what about heat??

Luckily this case has what looks like 2 different PSU bays that aren't next to each other - which I guess would help with the heat.

cable management must be hell!

Nice job!!


----------



## SigSauer

It's my old rig, there was a Enermax liberty 620w in the top bay, and an OCZ StealthXStream 500w on the bottem one which was soly used for powering the second HD2900 PRO







. Cablemanagement was a hell indeed, the top card is right against the second card so almost no cool air for that one.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes*


nope...

tell me one title coming out that will be harder to run than crysis ?


I imagine the frame rate differences will be huge. For instance, just look at the comparison of DX10 to DX9. Most DX9 titles, we can push well into the 150 to 300 fps range. With the added features of DX10 cut most frame rates in half compared to DX9. And I can tell you two DX10 titles that are already hard, not up to Crysis of course, but keeping all single gpus under 60 fps easy. And those two games are Farcry2 and Stalker Clear Sky. I don't know a single DX11 title but you can bet on DX11 game titles being harder graphically than DX10.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Outcasst*


I just can't take this anymore. The microstutter is driving me crazy. I was weary of the problem before I purchased this card and people kept on telling me the problem is non-existent. Christ, how wrong they were. I want my GTX260 back.

I don't even know why they call it microstutter because the stops and starts are huge, considering, making it very noticeable.


Sounds like a bad card Outcasst, and if you have one gpu crapping out on you, it won't keep up with the other. Resulting in some major microstuttering. But believe me I've been here throughout this entire thread and microstuttering with this card does not come up often.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Outcasst*


Yeah, it does suck for me. I'm the type of person that will notice any imperfections in videos, FPS and all that stuff. I find it a chore to play a game under 60FPS that doesn't have motion blurr and I can notice even the slightest stutter.

I want somebody else's eyes.


If you are referring to Resident Evil 5 benchmark's "motion blur". That games is still not officially released yet and I believe Ati is still working on optimizing for this game title. Many users from CF configs to 4850 X2 to 4870 X2, are experiencing texture issues with this game.


----------



## Outcasst

Noo, i'm just saying that a game at 30FPS with motion blurr is as good as it running at 60FPS without motion blurr.


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


I imagine the frame rate differences will be huge. For instance, just look at the comparison of DX10 to DX9. Most DX9 titles, we can push well into the 150 to 300 fps range. With the added features of DX10 cut most frame rates in half compared to DX9. And I can tell you two DX10 titles that are already hard, not up to Crysis of course, but keeping all single gpus under 60 fps easy. And those two games are Farcry2 and Stalker Clear Sky. I don't know a single DX11 title but you can bet on DX11 game titles being harder graphically than DX10.


eventually of course. i'm just saying that even crysis 2 is going to be better optimised than warhead. nothing thats been announced at the present point in time is going to NEED all that power.

in 18 months ? sure. but dx11 brings huge performance advantages, so the era of the system destroyer may be over.


----------



## krazyatom

Hello guys,

I have quick question.

I am planning to use 3 monitors for my 4850 x2, but I heard I need to disable x-fire to use more than 2 monitors. Am I right?
I am currently using NEC 2090UXI and trying to get 2 more for triple monitor set up. Does anyone have experience with more than 2 monitors using 4850 x2?


----------



## SigSauer

Yes you'll have to disable crossfire for it to work, i've had 3 monitors on my card ones 2 lcd panels and a touch screen, it worked just fine both desktop expansion and cloning.


----------



## guscol

please tell me if the new drivers have issues, work well comparisions with old drivers etc thankyou guys


----------



## SigSauer

I haven't had any problems with the new drivers, gaming wise not much of an improvement.


----------



## SgtHop

They seem to get slightly higher 3DMark scores. I wouldn't know though, just what I've read.


----------



## guscol

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SigSauer*


I haven't had any problems with the new drivers, gaming wise not much of an improvement.


thank you guys you are the best Â¡Â¡Â¡Â¡Â¡Â¡Â¡


----------



## SigSauer

Definitly an improvement with 3DMark Vantage. Got 800points more than my last score, though i am using Windows 7 now instead of Vista.


----------



## rico2001

Nice SigSauer! That gpu score is up a good bit. I haven't benched vantage in awhile.


----------



## guscol

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SigSauer*


Definitly an improvement with 3DMark Vantage. Got 800points more than my last score, though i am using Windows 7 now instead of Vista.











thanks men take rep for me


----------



## vicious_fishes

well, 9.8 just doesn't like my system. shame


----------



## guscol

Quote:



Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes*


well, 9.8 just doesn't like my system. shame










hmmm sintoms?


----------



## sprout

Wow, this just isn't fair. I'm still waiting on the RMA replacement. Which, BTW, Was really easy. Sapphire was good to me. Anyway, have fun.


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *guscol*


hmmm sintoms?


CCC just refuses to initialise, and installing 9.8's lags the crap out of my system. i'm talking bootup/shutdown times tripled.

i tried installing it with rivatuner but, no luck.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes* 
CCC just refuses to initialise, and installing 9.8's lags the crap out of my system. i'm talking bootup/shutdown times tripled.

i tried installing it with rivatuner but, no luck.

That's weird. Do the 9.7's work for you since they are close to the 9.8's, in that they both have the new version ccc?


----------



## vicious_fishes

yep, 9.7 is flawless. D:


----------



## SgtHop

Huh. That is incredibly weird. You have a backwards system.


----------



## MIGhunter

is this a new card? Did you have Nvidia on that computer ever? Might wanna kill off the whole GPU drivers and the registry and go for a fresh install.


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *MIGhunter*


is this a new card? Did you have Nvidia on that computer ever? Might wanna kill off the whole GPU drivers and the registry and go for a fresh install.


yeah, i'll be doing this for windows 7/when i get a new hdd.

had an 8800 on it a while back, but driverswepft/uninstalled/etc. theres still a tiny bit left as "nvmctray" still tries to load on startup & gives me two errors but, catalyst has always installed/worked flawlessly until now.


----------



## rico2001

*Catalyst 9.8 vs. Catalyst 9.7: 4850 X2

Catalyst 9.8









Catalyst 9.7









Catalyst 9.8









Catalyst 9.7









Catalyst 9.8









Catalyst 9.7









Catalyst 9.8









Catalyst 9.7









Catalyst 9.8









Catalyst 9.7*


----------



## SgtHop

Looks like a negligible difference to me.


----------



## d4martin

... but is it stable?? I guess time and a bit more testing will tell.

Great work Rico - +rep to you.

Martin


----------



## SgtHop

Yeah, I haven't heard anything about it being unstable. And I hear a lot.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *d4martin* 
... but is it stable?? I guess time and a bit more testing will tell.

Great work Rico - +rep to you.

Martin

Yes they seem to be very stable except for RE5, where you need the hotfix drivers if you are using our card or any CF situation. The big performance increase was from 9.6 to 9.7, barely anything from 9.7 to 9.8.


----------



## SigSauer

You can remove me from the owners list, I sold my card and got a Sapphire HD4890 Toxic instead.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SigSauer* 
You can remove me from the owners list, I sold my card and got a Sapphire HD4890 Toxic instead.

Ok my friend, removed. Glad you are keeping with Sapphire and thank for all your contributions to this thread.









note: this 9.8 hotfix drivers + 4850 X2 = folding crash.


----------



## SgtHop

Do they crash with other cards, too?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SgtHop* 
Do they crash with other cards, too?

Don't know, I'll throw my 4870 in real quick. I only install the hotfix driver to get RE5 from crashing and they do that well. If the 4870 crashed during folding, I'm going back to reg. 9.8s and forgetting about RE5 benchmark. The 9.9's will be here before you know it.


----------



## SgtHop

This is true. But, two drivers in a row, it might be a new trend. As far as 9.9 goes, won't that be out about the same time as the 800s?


----------



## guscol

men i got issues all my games freeze ,only reset works shame


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SigSauer* 
You can remove me from the owners list, I sold my card and got a Sapphire HD4890 Toxic instead.

booo! traitor!


----------



## SgtHop

Eh, he's got a damn good card in its place.


----------



## rico2001

As long as it Ati, it's ok with me.


----------



## SgtHop

Lol, yeah. Though, I've got an Nvidia card in my computer right now, I'm not all that displeased with it. It's the Nvidiots that bug me.


----------



## rico2001

Yea, I'm very much an Ati fan but not an nvidia hater. You are ok in my book, SgtHop.


----------



## SgtHop

Aye, I'm definitely ATI biased now that I've seen both sides and had a good enough understanding to see that there are quirks with both ATI and Nvidia. But, thanks, means a lot mate.


----------



## ritchwell

just received the saphire 4850x2 yesterday, it was suppose to go into my spare computer but it does not fit in a antec 300 so i put it in my main rig...lol...and put my 2 4870 into the spare...lol


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ritchwell*


just received the saphire 4850x2 yesterday, it was suppose to go into my spare computer but it does not fit in a antec 300 so i put it in my main rig...lol...and put my 2 4870 into the spare...lol


Welcome to the club. The 4850 X2 is a very long card indeed. Enjoy the power. Post a pic or bench if you can and I'll add you to the owners list.


----------



## krazyatom

I decided to return my dell xps 435mt.

reason:

1. memory limit to 12gb and 1333mhz.
2. dell bio won't let you overclock.
3. case too small for good for air flow.
4. you basically have to swap PSU, add more ram.

I decided to upgrade my current system to i7 920.

all parts are including tax.

1. i7 920 $220 from micro center.

2. asrock X58 extreme newegg.com tax + SH = $200

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...rock%20extreme

3. ocz 3x2gb amazon.com $115

http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-OCZ3P1600L.../ref=pd_cp_e_1

Total cost: $535

my plan is to install 4850 x2 and buy another 4850 1gb for triple x-fire.

I already ordered cpu and mobo, but I still have not decided which memory to get. I want 1600mhz for OC.


----------



## ritchwell

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Welcome to the club. The 4850 X2 is a very long card indeed. Enjoy the power. Post a pic or bench if you can and I'll add you to the owners list.










What setting would you recommend in the 3dmark vantage since i dont really do graphic benches.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *ritchwell*


What setting would you recommend in the 3dmark vantage since i dont really do graphic benches.


Any setting will do, most people run vantage on "Performance".


----------



## ritchwell

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Any setting will do, most people run vantage on "Performance".


K will do


----------



## ritchwell

This is my 1st bench on this card, dont know how to make it more optimize on setting because im a noob to this.


----------



## rico2001

@ritchwell
Nice score, thanks for the pic. rep +









*Update: Owners list up to date 8-27-2009*


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


I decided to return my dell xps 435mt.

reason:

1. memory limit to 12gb and 1333mhz.
2. dell bio won't let you overclock.
3. case too small for good for air flow.
4. you basically have to swap PSU, add more ram.

I decided to upgrade my current system to i7 920.

all parts are including tax.

1. i7 920 $220 from micro center.

2. asrock X58 extreme newegg.com tax + SH = $200

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...rock%20extreme

3. ocz 3x2gb amazon.com $115

http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-OCZ3P1600L.../ref=pd_cp_e_1

Total cost: $535

my plan is to install 4850 x2 and buy another 4850 1gb for triple x-fire.

I already ordered cpu and mobo, but I still have not decided which memory to get. I want 1600mhz for OC.



Hi Krazyatom,

sounds cool! Sounds like a good price.
Check if the Mobo has a recomended memory vendor list. You don't want anything that won't work!!! Remember to check the operational voltages of the ram before you buy too - you don't want to fry the i7(If you don't know already- check about the i7 voltage limitations - more than 1.65v on your ram could damage your i7 as it's all linked together)

Anyway whats wrong with a limit of 12GB







. Unless you have bottomless pockets - it could be a while before you manage to get the full 12Gb of ram.

Hope you get this baby up and running soon.









Good Luck

Martin


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *d4martin*


Hi Krazyatom,

sounds cool! Sounds like a good price.
Check if the Mobo has a recomended memory vendor list. You don't want anything that won't work!!! Remember to check the operational voltages of the ram before you buy too - you don't want to fry the i7(If you don't know already- check about the i7 voltage limitations - more than 1.65v on your ram could damage your i7 as it's all linked together)

Anyway whats wrong with a limit of 12GB







. Unless you have bottomless pockets - it could be a while before you manage to get the full 12Gb of ram.

Hope you get this baby up and running soon.









Good Luck

Martin


Thanks for your reply!
I have too many things on my mind







I can't make up my mind. My max budget is $700 and I probably have use em for next 3-4 years.
Some people told me it's wasting money if you don't overclock i7 920..
I do think that dell 435 mt stock speed is fast enough for me, but I just want to take full advantage of i7 920 processor. I just hate that dell bio won't let me overclock my i7 920









I guess 12gb is more than enough for my computer use. I never had any memory over 4gb in my life haha..


----------



## d4martin

Hi Rico,

could start to get busy - CustomPC in their latest issue have said that due to the fact that 4870x2 is so hard to find never mind it being for expensive, that they are recomending the 4850x2 because of the amount of Bang per buck. They originally thought that it was too expensive when it first came out and that the driver issue at first was quite pants, but now they say it's the card to go for. Little late for some - most of us here have had the card for a long time - but good to hear others say what we already know.

Martin


----------



## rico2001

Yea Martin, us who have owned the card know it's power and has been best performance per dollar king for a long time now. It can get a little loud at times, doesn't fit in some cases, and since it's very long, handle with care, though all-in-all the best best card I've owned so far.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *krazyatom* 
Thanks for your reply!
I have too many things on my mind







I can't make up my mind. My max budget is $700 and I probably have use em for next 3-4 years.
Some people told me it's wasting money if you don't overclock i7 920..
I do think that dell 435 mt stock speed is fast enough for me, but I just want to take full advantage of i7 920 processor. I just hate that dell bio won't let me overclock my i7 920









I guess 12gb is more than enough for my computer use. I never had any memory over 4gb in my life haha..

Hi Krazyatom,

The reason I got the i7 was because I wanted a great big powerful machine that would see me through a few years. Now if you just do gaming there are other CPU's that would do just as good but would cost less. You already have a great GPU, and now just need to figure what is best for you. How will you use it, do you need a quad core? Some Dual core CPU's such as 8400 and 8500 would overclock easily to 4Ghz and game just as good as i7 if used with a good GPU. Anyway i9 will be out soon. i7 will soon only be used as more of a workstation cpu. If you can wait do so - save more get a better machine.

I came to i7 from a socket 939 Athlon 64x2 4400 machine, so notice the extra speed and power evey time I use it, and together along with the 4850x2 will make a great machine. As Rico as told many of us here - you'll need to overclock the i7 to get the best out of the 4850x2 - but its not strictly necessary but you'll find it's not as hard as you think, if you keep it realistic. I still haven't overclocked after 6 months but will soon. Anyway - do more research if your unsure-find those dream parts and only spent what you need.









Good luck
M.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
all-in-all the best best card I've owned so far.

I totally agree Rico.


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *d4martin* 
Hi Krazyatom,

The reason I got the i7 was because I wanted a great big powerful machine that would see me through a few years. Now if you just do gaming there are other CPU's that would do just as good but would cost less. You already have a great GPU, and now just need to figure what is best for you. How will you use it, do you need a quad core? Some Dual core CPU's such as 8400 and 8500 would overclock easily to 4Ghz and game just as good as i7 if used with a good GPU. Anyway i9 will be out soon. i7 will soon only be used as more of a workstation cpu. If you can wait do so - save more get a better machine.

I came to i7 from a socket 939 Athlon 64x2 4400 machine, so notice the extra speed and power evey time I use it, and together along with the 4850x2 will make a great machine. As Rico as told many of us here - you'll need to overclock the i7 to get the best out of the 4850x2 - but its not strictly necessary but you'll find it's not as hard as you think, if you keep it realistic. I still haven't overclocked after 6 months but will soon. Anyway - do more research if your unsure-find those dream parts and only spent what you need.









Good luck
M.

all because of my 4850 x2!
I used to have 8800gt 512mb for gaming and it was little lagging when I was playing WoW with 1900 x 1200 resolution. (max wow settings)
4850 x2 definitely gave me a lot of improvements, but I think my E6700 3.2ghz may be bottlenecking my 4850 x2.
I only need faster cpu for gaming. I don't do any encoding or stuff, so maybe you're right. I can upgrade my cpu to E8400 or E8500 and save huge money!
i want to take full advantage of my 4850 x2


----------



## Cassidy Phuey

Do you think I could run this on a 500w PSU?


----------



## SgtHop

Uh...no. You need around a 650 to be safe.


----------



## Zetanuxi

Looks nice.
I was considering the 4870x2, but the heat factor kind of turned me off of the idea.
Do the 4850s produce near as much heat as the 4870s? I dont want to have to watercool it just to run it.


----------



## MIGhunter

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Zetanuxi*


Looks nice.
I was considering the 4870x2, but the heat factor kind of turned me off of the idea.
Do the 4850s produce near as much heat as the 4870s? I dont want to have to watercool it just to run it.










Originally I was running my system without a GPU. My temps were between 30-33 depending on my ambient temp. With my 4850 I'm sitting at 33-35.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MIGhunter* 
Originally I was running my system without a GPU. My temps were between 30-33 depending on my ambient temp. With my 4850 I'm sitting at 33-35.


Quote:


Originally Posted by *Zetanuxi* 

Do the 4850s produce near as much heat as the 4870s? I dont want to have to watercool it just to run it.










I have never had any heat problems. Don't think it's a very hot card compared to many others. Only ever heard of one person with an over-heating problem on this forum- Mostly due to the fact the case was too small, didn't have enough airflow and his card's exhaust fan has right against the case, so the heat couldn't escape.
With a HAF 932 case you needn't worry - that thing has loads of air flow.









Martin


----------



## SgtHop

However, all that being said, you don't need to water cool a 4870X2 to run it, you would be fine on air, otherwise they wouldn't sell them with that style cooler.


----------



## Outcasst

Something strange just happened. I noticed that my FPS was low is games so I decided to check to see if crossfire was enabled, which it was. I ran 3Dmark and I got around 70fps in the opening scene (With both GPUs enabled I usually get 110).

I then closed 3Dmark, and disabled crossfire and opened up the benchmark again. I still have 70fps. Did Crossfire suddenly just break?

It was working fine an hour ago.


----------



## rico2001

Open 2 sessions of gpu-z, one for each core and run a log. Run any 3d app and see if both are fully functioning (90-99% usage). Are you only basing your experience using 3dmark? Have you tested something else?


----------



## Outcasst

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Open 2 sessions of gpu-z, one for each core and run a log. Run any 3d app and see if both are fully functioning (90-99% usage). Are you only basing your experience using 3dmark? Have you tested something else?


I have tried a few other games and they are all showing signs of using just the one 4850 gpu

I'll try out the GPU-Z thing now

Edit: okay that's weird, Windows Update is asking me to install ATI drivers again

Played FIFA 09 for a quick while, GPU 1 is showing 47% usage and GPU2 is showing 24%


----------



## vicious_fishes

well seems i'm leaving you guys.. posted my x2 off today


----------



## Outcasst

tried a driver reinstall, too. No avail. Still no more than 60% usage on both gpus


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:



Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes*


well seems i'm leaving you guys.. posted my x2 off today










What's the replacement?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Outcasst*


tried a driver reinstall, too. No avail. Still no more than 60% usage on both gpus


Very weird. Not to bring this up over and over, but I again wonder if it's windows 7?


----------



## Outcasst

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Very weird. Not to bring this up over and over, but I again wonder if it's windows 7?

perhaps. Now the video is broken (see this thread)

http://www.overclock.net/windows/567...ot-screen.html


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


...4850 x2 definitely gave me a lot of improvements, but I think my E6700 3.2ghz may be bottlenecking my 4850 x2.


Hi Krazy,
Rico has told me to overclock my i7 to 3.6ghz to stop it bottlenecking my 4850x2. Wonder if that would be the same for you too?
Will your E6700 overclock any higher? Perhaps to about 3.5 or 3.6ghz? Although make sure its not too toasty when under load.

Martin


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *d4martin* 
Hi Krazy,
Rico has told me to overclock my i7 to 3.6ghz to stop it bottlenecking my 4850x2. Wonder if that would be the same for you too?
Will your E6700 overclock any higher? Perhaps to about 3.5 or 3.6ghz? Although make sure its not too toasty when under load.

Martin

I am not a really experienced overclocker. I remember i couldn't go above 3.2ghz. I ended up keeping stupid dell xps 435 mt







because it passed 21 days from invoice date








Hey maritn, do you think it's worth upgrading my cpu to E8400, so it won't bottleneck my 4850 x2?
my dell xps 435 can't overlock, so I need to buy new mobo or something. Did you already overclock your i7 920? Please let me know if i7 920 really bottlnecking 4850 x2.


----------



## rico2001

@krazyatom
what are stock spec for the E6700? The 4850 X2 or any of the higher end ATI cards (4890, 4870 X2), need a faster newer cpu with a good amount of L2 cache to push these cards properly.


----------



## Shroomalistic

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Outcasst* 
I have tried a few other games and they are all showing signs of using just the one 4850 gpu

I'll try out the GPU-Z thing now

Edit: okay that's weird, Windows Update is asking me to install ATI drivers again

Played FIFA 09 for a quick while, GPU 1 is showing 47% usage and GPU2 is showing 24%


windows is trying to get me to update my drivers also, im running windows 7 with the latest cat 9.8 drivers. windows update says the driver was release 8-28-09


----------



## rico2001

@krazyatom
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpu...00_and_e8200/4

Hmm an e6700 seems pretty good. Its half a Q6600. You just need some overclocking and you should be able to push anything you want.

Oh I see now what is holding you back.... its your mobo, your abit ip35 pro is pci-e 1.0 and although pci-e 1.0 16x doesn't hurt you much, it does hurt you some. Time for a new mobo.


----------



## rico2001

@Shroomalistic
That's a nice LG monitor you have.







I sold my 22" LG for this Samsung 23" and I regret it.


----------



## phreakboy

Hi everyone!

I got so into this card that I must change my "standard" little toxic to a monster 4850x2 which I'll be receiving hopefully next week.









Love this thread loads and loads of info,thought I havent't read it completely though, but I got to know quite a lot of info.

I just want to ask a simple question; on Sapphire's site the last "official" driver is Catalyst 9.6 (dated Jun 17, 2009), can I use the new 9.8 instead, or stick to 9.6?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *phreakboy*


Hi everyone!

I got so into this card that I must change my "standard" little toxic to a monster 4850x2 which I'll be receiving hopefully next week.









Love this thread loads and loads of info,thought I havent't read it completely though, but I got to know quite a lot of info.

I just want to ask a simple question; on Sapphire's site the last "official" driver is Catalyst 9.6 (dated Jun 17, 2009), can I use the new 9.8 instead, or stick to 9.6?


Nice choice and welcome to the owners thread. Glad we can help you on info, and I'm sure you will love the card.

To answer your question: the Sapphire site always is a bit behind with listing current drivers. You, along with all ATI card owners should use the most current drivers available, which happen to be the Catalyst 9.8 drivers. You can always look at the opening (first) post in this thread to find the most current set of drivers.

I see you have a 550w psu, which is the extreme bare minimum you need to power a 4850 X2. Some people don't have a problem with that amount of wattage but some people do. It will come down to how much you overclock your cpu and the amount of wattage the other components are using. You will know when you install the card. Hopefully you will be ok. Keep us posted.


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
@krazyatom
what are stock spec for the E6700? The 4850 X2 or any of the higher end ATI cards (4890, 4870 X2), need a faster newer cpu with a good amount of L2 cache to push these cards properly.

I think stock speed of E6700 was like 2.6ghz or 2.7ghz.
I actually ordered E8400 already and not sure if I should refuse delivery or not.


----------



## Shroomalistic

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
@Shroomalistic
That's a nice LG monitor you have.







I sold my 22" LG for this Samsung 23" and I regret it.

dude this monitor is amazing and was worth every penny. specially coming off an old 19" veiwsonic crt. i almost jizz my self everytime i look at it.


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kimosabi*


What's the replacement?


4830 for now, 5850 when they're available


----------



## sprout

Well, Sapphire was gracious enough to send me a replacement x2. Now that i've had a chance to run some benchies, Cat 9.8 seems a little worse. Anyone else experience this? This is compared to Cat 9.6. I totally missed 9.7.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic* 
dude this monitor is amazing and was worth every penny. specially coming off an old 19" veiwsonic crt. i almost jizz my self everytime i look at it.

Exactly! For my next monitor if I move up to 24", I'm going back to LG.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes* 
4830 for now, 5850 when they're available









Wow, that was short ownership. The HD5800 series is going to be great. Is that 4830 a Sapphire?

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sprout* 
Well, Sapphire was gracious enough to send me a replacement x2. Now that i've had a chance to run some benchies, Cat 9.8 seems a little worse. Anyone else experience this? This is compared to Cat 9.6. I totally missed 9.7.

Cat 9.7 and 9.8 are great in performance, although 9.7s are not so stable. Both are huge performance increases over cat. 9.6. When you say worst, what exactly do you mean? Please explain.


----------



## sprout

First pic is 9.6. Second is 9.8. Clearsky dropped too.


----------



## rico2001

@sprout

That's not what I would consider a drop. I've fluctuated 200 points in the same driver group. Vantage is just funny in that way. How close are you Clear sky fps's?

edit: You gpu scores are right where they need to be for what a 4850 X2 does.


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Exactly! For my next monitor if I move up to 24", I'm going back to LG.

Wow, that was short ownership. The HD5800 series is going to be great. Is that 4830 a Sapphire?

Cat 9.7 and 9.8 are great in performance, although 9.7s are not so stable. Both are huge performance increases over cat. 9.6. When you say worst, what exactly do you mean? Please explain.


yep, sapphire 4830.

i had the 4850x2 for a little while before getting added to this thread, i'm lazy that way.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes*


yep, sapphire 4830.

i had the 4850x2 for a little while before getting added to this thread, i'm lazy that way.


I'll buy your 4830 when you get your HD5870. Just let me know.


----------



## sprout

here's Stalker. old is on the left. And now I keep getting display driver stopped working crap..AAARRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *sprout*


here's Stalker. old is on the left. And now I keep getting display driver stopped working crap..AAARRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!


That is a pretty small difference too sprout, although you should see a gain from 9.6 to 9.8.

Check this link out, I compared the two a few weeks ago.
http://www.overclock.net/ati/558868-...ml#post6952698

Were your clocks all the same?


----------



## MrMan

should i get the new drivers? i think i have 9.5's installed. absolutely no problems.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *MrMan*


should i get the new drivers? i think i have 9.5's installed. absolutely no problems.


Well there is a big increase from 9.6 and older to 9.8, in a number of game titles for all crossfire setups, which the 4850 X2 is a part of that group. So it wonâ€™t hurt to try them out. If you donâ€™t wish to move up to 9.8s, I understand that as well. If itâ€™s not broke donâ€™t fix it.


----------



## SgtHop

Hey, did you find a 3870X2 Rico? Or, did you just give up looking for it, lol.


----------



## phreakboy

Thanx rico, really hope my psu will be up to the job..but I'll see when it'll be in the case. I'm actually buying it second hand and the guy who sold it said he had a 600W Nexus modular PSU and said he had no proglems with it....well I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I really don't want to look for another PSU eight now. Sure when system is up I'll be posting some sceens for everyone.

Another thing as you might have seen I have a Core Duo E8400. IS it worth to overclock it to reduce bottlenecks?


----------



## SgtHop

If your PSU can handle it, yes. But, your overclock might take too much power, and then you wont be able to run your 4850X2. Get a Kill-A-Watt and see what your power draw is at full stress when you get the new card.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


Hey, did you find a 3870X2 Rico? Or, did you just give up looking for it, lol.


Yay, I gave up on the 3870 X2. I'm not willing to pay over $100 for it and the other I'm finding are not Sapphires. So I'm going to work in getting the 4830 1GB to complete the HD4800 series.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *phreakboy*


Thanx rico, really hope my psu will be up to the job..but I'll see when it'll be in the case. I'm actually buying it second hand and the guy who sold it said he had a 600W Nexus modular PSU and said he had no proglems with it....well I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I really don't want to look for another PSU eight now. Sure when system is up I'll be posting some sceens for everyone.

Another thing as you might have seen I have a Core Duo E8400. IS it worth to overclock it to reduce bottlenecks?


Yes the E8400 is a good choice. Any novice overclocker can get it up to to 3.4 to 3.8G with ease.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Yay, I gave up on the 3870 X2. I'm not willing to pay over $100 for it and the other I'm finding are not Sapphires. So I'm goign to workin getting the 4830 1GB to complete the HD4800 series.


That's pretty impressive of you rico. There aren't many who can say that they have the complete HD4800 series. You never cease to amaze me. I'm glad I picked you as the co-owner of this thread. You are doing an amazing job, going above and beyond my expectations. We are lucky to have you.


----------



## phreakboy

I agree to Open1Your1Eyes0's comment you truly are a PHREAK-BOY















I just recently saw a Sapphire 3870x2 on one of the Hungarian computer parts forum, and it was barely just over $100... but if I see below this I'll let you know rico









Most ones there are from Asus







....which is not sapphire


----------



## rico2001

Open Box Sapphire 4850 X2 2GB for $149


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Open Box Sapphire 4850 X2 2GB for $149

Considering this card runs quite a bit better than an HD4890, this is a ridiculous deal. Everyone go pick one up today.


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Open Box Sapphire 4850 X2 2GB for $149


Man Rico if you still have that in 2 weeks i will totaly take that off your hands =D ever since mine burned out i havnt been able to get it replaced so i have been majorly bumed. =/

WAIT ***? thats on newegg omg...!!! Last time i tried to buy that card from them it went up 80 dollars overnight i was sooo pissed =x


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Open Box Sapphire 4850 X2 2GB for $149


Sold out already?








I was going to pick up another one for my 2nd rig








Oh well..


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


Sold out already?








I was going to pick up another one for my 2nd rig








Oh well..


Should keep your eye on the "online deals" section, I posted this link there ~18 hours ago.









There will be more anyway.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


I think stock speed of E6700 was like 2.6ghz or 2.7ghz.
I actually ordered E8400 already and not sure if I should refuse delivery or not.


E8400 is a great CPU. You'll need a new mobo too I guess, as Rico says your old Mobo is bottle-necking your 4850x2. Depends on if you can afford both - if not send back the CPU and get another mobo.

Try: Biostar TPower I45 - Intel P45, for 4 x DDR2 Ram-very good overclocker-not too expensive according to many reviews. Many others to choose too. Ask about First-check reviews then buy

Try and ask questions first - before you buy Krazy - it will save you cash and worry. Remember the sooner you buy the quicker it'll become obsolete.Research first-see if you can find a bargain, or get the most for your cash-don't buy on impulse, and don't try to 'keep up with the Jones'.

Martin


----------



## keenan

Hi guys, just read through this whole thread and I am on the verge of buying...

Now, here is my dilemma...

I want a 4850 X2, just because I am silly that way, but there are 2 versions.

4850 X2 *1GB* .. Â£150
4850 X2 *2GB* .. Â£200

Is the 2GB version really worth the extra Â£50..?

4890's are only Â£130 now, so taking all this into account, what should I get..?

*My system specs:*

Amd Phenom II 720BE (Unlocked to Quad @3.6Ghz)
Gigabyte 790FXT UD5P
2 x 2GB PC12800 7-7-7-20
OCZ StealthXtream 600W
Antec 1200

I have a 24" Acer Monitor (1920 x 1200)

Thanx


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Open1Your1Eyes0*


Considering this card runs quite a bit better than an HD4890, this is a ridiculous deal. Everyone go pick one up today.










yeah, i couldn't get crossfire to scale on crysis though









it does however, pwn in games like FC2 or... anything that scales really.


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


I'll buy your 4830 when you get your HD5870. Just let me know.


really ?

it's my little brothers that i uh... acquired









i'll let him know if he wants to upgrade.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *keenan* 
Hi guys, just read through this whole thread and I am on the verge of buying...

Now, here is my dilemma...

I want a 4850 X2, just because I am silly that way, but there are 2 versions.

4850 X2 *1GB* .. Â£150
4850 X2 *2GB* .. Â£200

Is the 2GB version really worth the extra Â£50..?

4890's are only Â£130 now, so taking all this into account, what should I get..?

*My system specs:*

Amd Phenom II 720BE (Unlocked to Quad @3.6Ghz)
Gigabyte 790FXT UD5P
2 x 2GB PC12800 7-7-7-20
OCZ StealthXtream 600W
Antec 1200

I have a 24" Acer Monitor (1920 x 1200)

Thanx

Yes it is very much worth the extra Â£50. If you are playing at 1400 resolution and higher, 512mb per core is not enough memory and you will see a big decrease in performance. The rest of your system specs look good.


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *d4martin*


E8400 is a great CPU. You'll need a new mobo too I guess, as Rico says your old Mobo is bottle-necking your 4850x2. Depends on if you can afford both - if not send back the CPU and get another mobo.

Try: Biostar TPower I45 - Intel P45, for 4 x DDR2 Ram-very good overclocker-not too expensive according to many reviews. Many others to choose too. Ask about First-check reviews then buy

Try and ask questions first - before you buy Krazy - it will save you cash and worry. Remember the sooner you buy the quicker it'll become obsolete.Research first-see if you can find a bargain, or get the most for your cash-don't buy on impulse, and don't try to 'keep up with the Jones'.

Martin



Thank you Martin.
I think I have to work on my 2nd rig. Dell XPS 435MT.

I am thinking about upgrading my PSU to corsair 620watts.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139002

It's $89.99 after $30 rebates from newegg.

I can't overclock my cpu with dell bio, so I don't think I need anything higher than this. I also will try to install 4850 x2 2gb to dell xps 435mt.
Please advice!


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


Thank you Martin.
I think I have to work on my 2nd rig. Dell XPS 435MT.

I am thinking about upgrading my PSU to corsair 620watts.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139002

It's $89.99 after $30 rebates from newegg.

I can't overclock my cpu with dell bio, so I don't think I need anything higher than this. I also will try to install 4850 x2 2gb to dell xps 435mt.
Please advice!


Corsair make good PSU's check the cables on it first though to make sure it's got what you need.

It the 4850x2 doesn't fit but will fit in your other case, you could switch all the parts around and have the Dell parts in your older case.
With i7 and 6GB or Ram and the 4850x2 you may never need to overclock. They are great at games, and ok at Crysis too. 
Hopefully if will fit though. Thing to watch out for is the heat build up, because its such a small case. maybe fit some extra fans if possible.

They is a good forum at Dell for the Studio xps 435MT
http://en.community.dell.com/forums/.../19464777.aspx

Martin


----------



## rico2001

Just as adder to Martin's great comment: All cpus need to be above 3G to not bottleneck a 4850 X2. I've seen even the mighty quad core i7 at 2.6G not have scores and fps it should have when running a 4850 X2.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Just as adder to Martin's great comment: All cpus need to be above 3G to not bottleneck a 4850 X2. I've seen even the mighty quad core i7 at 2.6G not have scores and fps it should have when running a 4850 X2.


True, but nothing to worry about - as it'll still give you very playable results. I've never noticed any problems and have all settings at max( except Crysis - I only have the demo)
I still haven't overclocked mine as yet (promise I will once the work load eases off







) and can't imagine how much better it'll be once I do so. It's truely a great card. If you truely want the best from this card though do as Rico says overclock your i7 passed 3Ghz. I wouldn't want to clock upto 4ghz in such a small case (which is easy for this processor) - try to keep the temp lower than 65C at max load
Anyway off to Barcelona for 2 weeks - hope to catch some sun as the weather in the UK has been 'pretty, badly rubbish'

Martin


----------



## phreakboy

I just stumled upon another 4850x2 fan modification (dunno if it has been discussed before):










It uses two Noctua NF-B9 92mm fans

The original fans were removed from the heatsinks and these 2 little beauties are used instead. (Personally I love Noctua products)

The guy who made this said: "Result is pretty good. Stock both cores around 45 degrees, under full load 77 degrees...and most important, the noise is gone!"

Seems like a promising mod, if I receive my card hopefully next week I'll give it a try...this mode is much cheaper than using the 2x VF900 and much lighter as well.

I'll be also buying an Antec 900 for the new card







so it'll fit.
This card buying thing does have some extra charges for me








-buying a new case, new CPU cooler, bigger PSU-


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *d4martin* 
True, but nothing to worry about - as it'll still give you very playable results. I've never noticed any problems and have all settings at max( except Crysis - I only have the demo)
I still haven't overclocked mine as yet (promise I will once the work load eases off







) and can't imagine how much better it'll be once I do so. It's truely a great card. If you truely want the best from this card though do as Rico says overclock your i7 passed 3Ghz. I wouldn't want to clock upto 4ghz in such a small case (which is easy for this processor) - try to keep the temp lower than 65C at max load
Anyway off to Barcelona for 2 weeks - hope to catch some sun as the weather in the UK has been 'pretty, badly rubbish'

Martin

Let's swap mobo ! haha
Have fun in barcelona! Don't drink too much!


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *phreakboy* 
I just stumled upon another 4850x2 fan modification (dunno if it has been discussed before):










It uses two Noctua NF-B9 92mm fans

The original fans were removed from the heatsinks and these 2 little beauties are used instead. (Personally I love Noctua products)

The guy who made this said: "Result is pretty good. Stock both cores around 45 degrees, under full load 77 degrees...and most important, the noise is gone!"

Seems like a promising mod, if I receive my card hopefully next week I'll give it a try...this mode is much cheaper than using the 2x VF900 and much lighter as well.

I'll be also buying an Antec 900 for the new card







so it'll fit.
This card buying thing does have some extra charges for me







-buying a new case, new CPU cooler, bigger PSU-

Nice. I already purchased 1 zalman vf-900. Please update me with your results! I would love to buy another vf-900 to finish my project.


----------



## OSDCrusher

That fan mod looks cool. Good job.


----------



## krazyatom

Delete


----------



## krazyatom

EDIT: NVM they are all bad mobo!


----------



## krazyatom

I found someone from ebay who got sapphire 3870 x2 and it was below $100.

Auciton ended already, so I asked this guy and he said:


----------



## phreakboy

The fan mode is not my mod so the credit goes to him...not me


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *phreakboy*


The fan mode is not my mod so the credit goes to him...not me










Owner Vtech1 did a similar fan mod some time ago.

Here is his thread:
http://www.overclock.net/ati/536456-...od-xd-56k.html


----------



## rico2001

Quote:

August 24, 2009
Sapphire HD 4850 X2 review

The ATI HD 4850 X2 isn't the newest card on the market, but if you're shopping nearer to the higher end of price levels, the 2GB DDR3 RAM Sapphire HD 4850 X2 really ought to be under consideration.
Source


----------



## guscol

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Source


wow almost a year and this baby still have reviews and comparitions im proud for my card and for this forum


----------



## sprout

Well, Rico, I was hoping to post some good news here, but i can't. It seems a though the replacement that Sapphire sent me is doing nearly the same thing. This 4850x2 experience has been a rough one. It's a great card when it works. Sometimes i can game for hours. Others, 15 min. max. I've tried 9.8,9.7,9.6 always doing an uninstall of old drivers first. I've run the fan on auto, 100%(yeah, i could barely stand the noise), and everywhere in between. Still locks up no matter what. then I magically have ZERO problems with my old 4850. Maybe i can sapphire to trade me up? Has anyone even tried it? Ok, enough ranting. Time to call Sapphire......again.


----------



## rico2001

Sorry again to hear sprout. Seems you and the 4850 X2 are not a good match. May be time to move on and it seems you can't stand the noise level anyway.


----------



## MIGhunter

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sprout* 
Well, Rico, I was hoping to post some good news here, but i can't. It seems a though the replacement that Sapphire sent me is doing nearly the same thing. This 4850x2 experience has been a rough one. It's a great card when it works. Sometimes i can game for hours. Others, 15 min. max. I've tried 9.8,9.7,9.6 always doing an uninstall of old drivers first. I've run the fan on auto, 100%(yeah, i could barely stand the noise), and everywhere in between. Still locks up no matter what. then I magically have ZERO problems with my old 4850. Maybe i can sapphire to trade me up? Has anyone even tried it? Ok, enough ranting. Time to call Sapphire......again.

Maybe your PSU doesn't have the beef to run it?


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *sprout*


Well, Rico, I was hoping to post some good news here, but i can't. It seems a though the replacement that Sapphire sent me is doing nearly the same thing. This 4850x2 experience has been a rough one. It's a great card when it works. Sometimes i can game for hours. Others, 15 min. max. I've tried 9.8,9.7,9.6 always doing an uninstall of old drivers first. I've run the fan on auto, 100%(yeah, i could barely stand the noise), and everywhere in between. Still locks up no matter what. then I magically have ZERO problems with my old 4850. Maybe i can sapphire to trade me up? Has anyone even tried it? Ok, enough ranting. Time to call Sapphire......again.


Mine had similar problem when I first bought 4850 x2, but after installing newer driver, problem solved. You might wnat to try window 7 or try to update window to lastest.


----------



## Lumi

Quote:


Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes* 
well seems i'm leaving you guys.. posted my x2 off today



















But now it's mine

Anyways, my mobo only have PCI-E x16 1.0

Will it be a significant bottleneck? I really don't feel like getting a new mobo for this. I run my CPU at 3.6ghz if it matters much.


----------



## McTw1st

Guess what i added to my setup today?









Sapphire Radeon HD4850x2 =)
so im running tri-fire but thinking of throwing away that 4850

here's a pic


----------



## SgtHop

Yeah, get rid of that single GPU, since it's only a 512MB I believe it remaps your memory so each GPU only gets 512MB. Tri-fire is awesome, but do it with another 1GB card.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Lumi*











But now it's mine

Anyways, my mobo only have PCI-E x16 1.0

Will it be a significant bottleneck? I really don't feel like getting a new mobo for this. I run my CPU at 3.6ghz if it matters much.


Both HD4800 X2 cards see some decrease in performance running at pci-e 2.0 x8 (pci-e 1.0 x16), but not on all game titles. With the 4850 X2, depending on the games demand, can see up to 5-10% decrease in performance. Most game titles won't see any decrease but Crysis is one of the titles that will. Most of the other games I've tested see 1% or less decrease. The 4870 X2 sees the 5-10% decrease over a number of game titles. All-in-all, with your 3.6G cpu, you should be fine for the mean time as you work toward a new mobo.

I would show you some benchmarks but I'm tapped out on photobucket bandwidth.

edit: I almost forgot, welcome to the owners thread. Please post a pic, verification or benchmark and I'll add you to the owners list.


----------



## Lumi

Sounds like I won't have any worries then. If it was a significant drop, like 30% or more, I'd care a lot more, but I'll deal with that no problem until I upgrade my whole platform.


----------



## McTw1st

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


Yeah, get rid of that single GPU, since it's only a 512MB I believe it remaps your memory so each GPU only gets 512MB. Tri-fire is awesome, but do it with another 1GB card.


yeah i figured that too, since i got a decrease in fps in some games :swearing: 
so atm im only running the x2







might add another one for benchmark purposes dont know yet,


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Lumi*


Sounds like I won't have any worries then. If it was a significant drop, like 30% or more, I'd care a lot more, but I'll deal with that no problem until I upgrade my whole platform.


Yes I'd say to this point Crysis and Crysis warhead and the most graphically demanding games out right now and those will only see 10% decrease. Even Stalker Clear sky, which I think is the next most demanding game out, saw only 1%.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *McTw1st*


yeah i figured that too, since i got a decrease in fps in some games :swearing: 
so atm im only running the x2







might add another one for benchmark purposes dont know yet,


Most of the DX10 titles use upwards of 700mb and crysis uses all vmem you have, so your 4850/512mb tri-fire setup will see a big decrease, especially if you are gaming at 1600 res and higher. I agree with Sarge in that you would be better off selling your 512 card and getting a 1GB card or sell it and put in savings for future hardware.


----------



## McTw1st

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Most of the DX10 titles use upwards of 700mb and crysis uses all vmem you have, so your 4850/512mb tri-fire setup will see a big decrease, especially if you are gaming at 1600 res and higher. I agree with Sarge in that you would be better off selling your 512 card and getting a 1GB card or sell it and put in savings for future hardware.

yupp got a buyer on it allready








res i game on is 1920x1080, its the 2gig version if i forgot to say that








thx for the imput


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *McTw1st* 
yupp got a buyer on it allready








res i game on is 1920x1080, its the 2gig version if i forgot to say that








thx for the imput









Yea good deal. When the HD5800 series comes up, the 4800's should drop some so you should be able to get a 4850 1GB for ~$70 if you choose.


----------



## sprout

I want to issue an apologie to everyone for my rant. After clearing my head, I got the driver issue straightened out and i am once more in love with my x2. i even included a benchie!


----------



## kimosabi

So how do you reckon the 4850x2 will do against a 5870, rico?


----------



## SgtHop

I figure that a 5870 would be quite a bit faster than a 4850X2. But, then benchmarks will be what tell us.


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sprout* 
I want to issue an apologie to everyone for my rant. After clearing my head, I got the driver issue straightened out and i am once more in love with my x2. i even included a benchie!

Does your i7 920 stock speed bottleneck your 4850 x2?
Did your i7 920 oc'ed to 3.2ghz improved a lot compared to stock speed?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *sprout*


I want to issue an apologie to everyone for my rant. After clearing my head, I got the driver issue straightened out and i am once more in love with my x2. i even included a benchie!


Thats great news sprout! Drivers can be funny sometimes.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kimosabi*


So how do you reckon the 4850x2 will do against a 5870, rico?


Get smoked! lol. But it's ok. Seriously though, on paper, the HD5870 should beat the 4850 X2 by ~25-35%+. It seems to have the speed of a a oc'ed 4870 X2 with super fast memory.


----------



## sprout

@krazyatom - I really don't remember if it was bottlenecked or not. I think my other screenshots are with an oc. I'll see if if i can find them. I'll do a comparison between stock and 3.2 otherwise. right now Vantage is being funny. severe artifacts at stock gpu speeds. i gotta figure that out now too. i can tell that this system stock, beats the crap out my buddies pc. i can't remember which extreme intel cpu he has, he always bragged about his 8800 ultras in Sli.


----------



## SgtHop

Reinstall Vantage, Sprout. Mine did that too, a reinstall fixed it.


----------



## sprout

Vantage worked after a reboot. I had to reset the clock any way. So here are a couple of results. Right now the i7 is 100% stable at 3.4 Ghz w/turbo on. the first is CPUZ. Then stock Vantage, OC Vantage, and a new one I've been using, X3: Terran Conflict demo. One is stock, the other OC.


----------



## rico2001

*Update to Opening Post:

ATI Catalyst 9.9 suite links added.*


----------



## djthechemist

any good out of the windows 7 x64 9.9 catylist drivers?


----------



## djthechemist

bump...

well i dont know about anyone else
but once i installed it, im actually running only like 2% above stock

where as before i was running close to ~25% OC... hmmmm

maybe i did somehting wrong?

and riva tuner keeps shutting ATI overdrive down and corrupting it
but if i use either riva or CCC i cannot OC my unit! :swearing:

could it be because its a ATI driver and not a sapphire driver?


----------



## phreakboy

A bit off topic, but just to let you guys know a few stuff about the next generation...









a few benches of the new 5870 http://translate.google.com/translat...istory_state0=

Some serious Nvidia kicker it'll be


----------



## rico2001

@djthechemist
I don't use or trust riviatuner, I can't help you there. Also haven't tried the cat. 9.9 out on my X2 yet.

@phreakboy
That 5870 link is on a bunch of threads here on OCN but thanks.


----------



## Frogging101

Is there a official thread for Radeon HD 4850 (not X2)?


----------



## saw4974

i was just wondering how does a 4850 x2 compare to a single 4870?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *saw4974* 
i was just wondering how does a 4850 x2 compare to a single 4870?

See my sig, compare 4870 review to 4850 X2 vs. 4870 X2 review.


----------



## cosmiqeddie

Hi overclock.net, 
my sapphire 4850x2 1 gb is restarting on its own every 10-15 mins of gaming (gta4, fifa, farcry3, watever except for counter strike and warcraft3) without bsod or error message, it juz restart. i've check the temperature with gpu-z and idle was 45-50 and full load is 60-70, but tat's normal and shouldnt cause any overheat problem. have anyone experienced this? i've even tried different drivers 9.6, 9.7, and 9.8 ati catalyst but all seems to be the same (i had a clean uninstall and reinstall of new driver). and my 4850x2 cant even complete a 3Dmark06 test, it juz restart during half way....which, really pissed me off.
this is my spec :
-i7 920
-P6T asus
-3gb ddr3
-windows vista ulti x86, 32bit
i guess the heat isnt the problem, but anyway heres my gpuz log


----------



## SgtHop

What PSU do you have? It could be that you're running out of juice.


----------



## rico2001

@cosmiqeddie
A lot of interesting info in your gpu-z log. Your temps look fine. I noticed your only getting 40% under load. Your clocks are weird as well. You idle clock is not the normal clock for a 4850 X2.

-Did you modify your bios at some point or get a bios from some one else? Please take the time to fill out your system specs in your OCN profile.
-What power supply are you using. Is you i7 overclocked, if so is it stable?
-How long have you have your 4850 X2?
-How much overclocking did you do to your card in the past?
-Did you try reseating the card?
-Did you wipe old drivers in safe mode?
-Are your cpu temps high?


----------



## cosmiqeddie

yah, i wonder why it is under load.

-the bios setting is the original from asus and i did no modification onto it. and wats OCN profile btw (new to this term).
-AcBel iPower 660W, which i think should be enough? thats wat the technician who assemble this pc 
told me.
-Dec 2008, i got kinda frustrated getting restart for all new games, and i mean ALL (assasin creed, bioshock, crysis, cod, watever, and it will be for sc2 diablo3 which i cant stand) so i decided to seek help here after looking through tonnes of site with no solutions.
-resetting as in, bios? nope, done no setting to bios except boot different drive.
-er...no. juz normal uninstallation and delete directory in C, and restart and reinstall.
-nope, not at all, 41-43 when idle, 60-70 when loaded.

is there any more tests so that i can provide a more detailed info? really wished to solve this crashing problems


----------



## cosmiqeddie

look through some of the sites regarding my PSU(acbel 660W) and i found this :
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/552/7
which.....which fail the test at 300+W??? wat the xxxx?


----------



## SgtHop

Yeah, it looks like you got a really, really bad PSU. It can't even sustain itself without overheating. Get a good PSU around 650W, and chances are, your problem will go away. Of course, that is just speculation.

To properly clear your drivers, get a tool like driver sweeper, boot into safe mode, and use that to uninstall the old drivers. That's the only way to do it completely.


----------



## cosmiqeddie

Any extra tests i can take before going for a new PSU? in case it ended up the same after the new PSU, i'll try another clean reinstallation of driver.
Is the 30% GPU loads has something to do with insufficient power supply? not enough juice the power it to full load?

For new PSU,
is another new cooler master 600W enough?:
http://www.qwerty.com.my/index.php?m...oducts_id=2415

or should i go for 700W:
http://www.qwerty.com.my/index.php?m...oducts_id=2417


----------



## rico2001

@cosmiqeddie
I would agree with my friend SgtHop, your i7 uses a good amount of power by itself and with the 4850 X2 and your not so good power supply, probably has a lot to do with your problems. As I said, you can try re-seating the cards (remove the card from the pci-e slot and put the card back in). Place cpu, mem back to stock if not already. Cehck your power plugs. Uninstall drivers, reboot, safe mode - wipe, reboot, try a driver you have tried before, try 9.4 or 9.5, turn off any app that doesn't now need to run, pause anti-virus, install drivers, reboot, reboot again.

If you can see if you have a friend that can try out your 4850 X2 in their pc.


----------



## guscol

Quote:



Originally Posted by *cosmiqeddie*


Hi overclock.net, 
my sapphire 4850x2 1 gb is restarting on its own every 10-15 mins of gaming (gta4, fifa, farcry3, watever except for counter strike and warcraft3) without bsod or error message, it juz restart. i've check the temperature with gpu-z and idle was 45-50 and full load is 60-70, but tat's normal and shouldnt cause any overheat problem. have anyone experienced this? i've even tried different drivers 9.6, 9.7, and 9.8 ati catalyst but all seems to be the same (i had a clean uninstall and reinstall of new driver). and my 4850x2 cant even complete a 3Dmark06 test, it juz restart during half way....which, really pissed me off.
this is my spec :
-i7 920
-P6T asus
-3gb ddr3
-windows vista ulti x86, 32bit
i guess the heat isnt the problem, but anyway heres my gpuz log


men i have the same issues,i start from this ,update the bios in the motherboard because ,i have a issues with memory compatibility you have to twek the bios please especify the complete system, psu too and if you using xp use catalyst 9.6 are more stable for me


----------



## sulphur

well for gus and cosmi,i had the same problem my PSU was GIGABYTE Odin 800w,it came with a software,when it reaches 400w it restarts,but i disabled and worked well.


----------



## Shroomalistic

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
@cosmiqeddie
A lot of interesting info in your gpu-z log. Your temps look fine. I noticed your only getting 40% under load. Your clocks are weird as well. You idle clock is not the normal clock for a 4850 X2.

-Did you modify your bios at some point or get a bios from some one else? Please take the time to fill out your system specs in your OCN profile.
-What power supply are you using. Is you i7 overclocked, if so is it stable?
-How long have you have your 4850 X2?
-How much overclocking did you do to your card in the past?
-Did you try reseating the card?
-Did you wipe old drivers in safe mode?
-Are your cpu temps high?

my 1gb came with those same clocks, I emailed my bios's to sapphire and they sent me a new set with proper clocks. I was getting all kinds of weird distortions with that bios. drove me insane. new one fixed alot of my original problems.


----------



## cosmiqeddie

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic*


my 1gb came with those same clocks, I emailed my bios's to sapphire and they sent me a new set with proper clocks. I was getting all kinds of weird distortions with that bios. drove me insane. new one fixed alot of my original problems.


so did u finally get ur 4850x2 fixed? or still problematic? any auto restart like mine?


----------



## cosmiqeddie

Quote:



Originally Posted by *sulphur*


well for gus and cosmi,i had the same problem my PSU was GIGABYTE Odin 800w,it came with a software,when it reaches 400w it restarts,but i disabled and worked well.


software?? i din know we can control PSU through software! is there one for my acbel too?


----------



## cosmiqeddie

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic* 
my 1gb came with those same clocks, I emailed my bios's to sapphire and they sent me a new set with proper clocks. I was getting all kinds of weird distortions with that bios. drove me insane. new one fixed alot of my original problems.

mind sending me the updated bios?


----------



## Shroomalistic

Quote:



Originally Posted by *cosmiqeddie*


mind sending me the updated bios?


yeah freeze ups and all kinds of weird stuff. PM me your email and Ill send the bioses over. remember there is a master and a slave. I can forward you directly the email I got from sapphire.


----------



## djthechemist

I know im not a moderator
but i do know the rules here
please don't double or tripple post
just re-eddit your msg, or do multiple quotes in a single msg.

again im not trying to me a mod in anyway, but
its driving me insane reading the last few pages trying to catch up.

thanks!


----------



## rico2001




----------



## guscol

Quote:


Originally Posted by *cosmiqeddie* 
mind sending me the updated bios?

http://support.asus.com/download/dow...Language=es-ar


----------



## Shroomalistic

Quote:



Originally Posted by *guscol*


http://support.asus.com/download/dow...Language=es-ar


why asus? these are sapphire cards. asus dont make a 4850x2.


----------



## guscol

Quote:


Originally Posted by *shroomalistic* 
why asus? These are sapphire cards. Asus dont make a 4850x2.


sorry a tried to send you the bios of your motherboard jaja


----------



## rico2001

*Update to Opening Post:

3DMark06 v1.1.0a link added.*


----------



## d4martin

Heys Guys,

what's happening? ;-)

Seems to be a bit slow on these threads, what's new?

For all those 'Bat-fans' (Nan na, nan na, nan-na, nan na, Bat-fans) - out there, there's a review of the HD5870 - they think it looks a bit like the bat mobile

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/gra...0-1gb-review/1

Martin


----------



## rico2001

Ha martin,
Either no problems, no users online, or all the 5800 series buzz. I have been meaning to post some pics of my shroud modifications, just haven't got around to it.


----------



## krazyatom

i wonder if new 5850 will beat up my 4850 x2..


----------



## MIGhunter

Quote:


Originally Posted by *krazyatom* 
i wonder if new 5850 will beat up my 4850 x2..

If the leaked stats are all true, I'm sure it will.


----------



## rico2001

From what I can tell from techpowerup's review with a simulated 5850 and my own benchmarks I could match to theirs, the 5850 will beat a 4850 X2 by ~10-18%. Sad thing is we may not know from upcoming 5850 reviews. Everyone seems to leave the 4850 X2 out in their reviews. Hopefully they won't.


----------



## d4martin

Hey Krazyatom,

what's the news with your Hardware upgrades? Any changes yet?

Martin


----------



## rico2001

*4850 X2 shroud modification*

Crued and simple: I removed the black shroud and cut off the side legs. Reinstalled the shroud. Now I have all of the noise reducing and temperture reductions that removing the shroud all together have, without loosing the structural pcb support the shroud give. Also I'm not taking up 3 pci slots, that by flipping the shroud upside down will have. Of course if you are concerned about resale value, I wouldn't advise this modification.


----------



## guscol

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


*4850 X2 shroud modification*

Crued and simple: I removed the black shroud and cut off the side legs. Reinstalled the shroud. Now I have all of the noise reducing and temperture reductions that removing the shroud all together have, without loosing the structural pcb support the shroud give. Also I'm not taking up 3 pci slots, that by flipping the shroud upside down will have. Of course if you are concerned about resale value, I wouldn't advise this modification.





















nice i do it tooo


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


*4850 X2 shroud modification*

Crued and simple: I removed the black shroud and cut off the side legs. Reinstalled the shroud. Now I have all of the noise reducing and temperture reductions that removing the shroud all together have, without loosing the structural pcb support the shroud give. Also I'm not taking up 3 pci slots, that by flipping the shroud upside down will have. Of course if you are concerned about resale value, I wouldn't advise this modification.


Nice job Rico. Inspired work!

Martin


----------



## rico2001

Thanks guys, just make sure you deburr the shape edges.


----------



## Jon A. Silvers

I want to make a crossfire 4850x3 ,with my 4850x2 and sapphire 4850 dual slot fan version,I have p35 chipset and one x16 and x4 pcie express lanes,the only problem is that I am not shure that my psu will live to do that,cause i have antec ea500d .It haves 34 amps on 12v rail .


----------



## Outcasst

No way will a 500w manage that.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jon A. Silvers* 
I want to make a crossfire 4850x3 ,with my 4850x2 and sapphire 4850 dual slot fan version,I have p35 chipset and one x16 and x4 pcie express lanes,the only problem is that I am not shure that my psu will live to do that,cause i have antec ea500d .It haves 34 amps on 12v rail .

If I'm not mistaken, your msi p35 neo2 fr mobo has pci-e 1.0 slots, which would mean you are at the limit for for a 4850 X2 with a pci-e 1.0 X16 (= pci-e 2.0 X8). And you would be running a 4850 on a pci-e 1.0 X4 slot, which would seriously hurt it's performance. That is your first problem.

Secondly, your psu won't do for 4850 X3. You are again at the limit with your 500W pcu and a 4850 X2. I tried powering 4850 X3 with my antec 650W and my pc would not turn on. So I had to get an additional psu. Hope this helps you.


----------



## Jon A. Silvers

It helps that part with antec,
Thers a review on techpowerup about pcie express scaling :
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/A...press_Scaling/

I know about pcie express slots,but I wanted to see how much will it affect my performances,I will borrow then psu from a friend.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Jon A. Silvers*


It helps that part with antec,
Thers a review on techpowerup about pcie express scaling :
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/A...press_Scaling/

I know about pcie express slots,but I wanted to see how much will it affect my performances,I will borrow then psu from a friend.










Are you getting a 5870 or are we still talking about 4850 tri-fire? Their bandwidth draws are different when talking pci-e.


----------



## Jon A. Silvers

I know they are ,but it should be less demanding.
Psu isn`t a problem it worked on my antec ea500d
the only problem is that it didn`t wont to make tri fire,it says pcie x4 disabled ,or isnt properly conected via crossfire ?


----------



## phreakboy

Just received my 4850x2 yesterday. (Damn this thing IS hugh and heavy...could function as a weapon though







) Didn't have time to install it yet but I'll post some pix hopefully in a few days.

Hopefully my PSU will cope with this baby, but as I read previous posts it should.

A hugh thank you for this community for pointing me out this awsome card!


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *phreakboy* 
Just received my 4850x2 yesterday. (Damn this thing IS hugh and heavy...could function as a weapon though







) Didn't have time to install it yet but I'll post some pix hopefully in a few days.

A hugh thank you for this community for pointing me out this awsome card!









Congrats, well put. You will love the card.









Post some pics of the card and/or benches (see first post) and I'll add you to the owners list.


----------



## DuckYy

just got my open box 4850x2. the metal housing for it is bent at the end. somebody obviously used it for a while but it works. hope it doesnt crap out on me. will post pics and benchmarks tomorrow.

btw, how does the warranty work? do i need to register it?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *DuckYy*


just got my open box 4850x2. the metal housing for it is bent at the end. somebody obviously used it for a while but it works. hope it doesnt crap out on me. will post pics and benchmarks tomorrow.

btw, how does the warranty work? do i need to register it?


Hia DuckYy, welcome to the owners thread. Please take pics of your card when can, I'm not sure if you are talking about the black metal shroud that covers the whole card or the case mounting bracket on the back of the card. If your card works, you will love it's performance.

If you brought your open box from newegg, quickly install it and make sure it works, since they have a 30 day refund policy. If your card does work and seems in good shape you can register it with Sapphire here. I have not used Sapphires 2-3 year warranty so I can't tell you exactly how it works. What I have heard from others is you have to send the card to them with $15 and they will send you a replacement.


----------



## DuckYy

thanks for the help rico. both the shroud and mounting were bent actucally. i bent back the mounting but the shroud is another story. the card seems to work properly but i havent installed the drivers yet. going to format all my hard drives and reinstall everything back in

how long before i have till i have to register this card or could i just wait till it breaks to register it?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DuckYy* 
thanks for the help rico. both the shroud and mounting were bent actucally. i bent back the mounting but the shroud is another story. the card seems to work properly but i havent installed the drivers yet. going to format all my hard drives and reinstall everything back in

how long before i have till i have to register this card or could i just wait till it breaks to register it?

No problem, your welcome. Yea the black shroud is pure support so being bent is not a problem. The mounting bracket is more important and you can bend it back slightly (be careful) to straighten it back. I too had an open box that the back mount was bent, I think someone was turning the card to take it out or something. I can't answer how long you have to register, and hopefully, it is not already registered by the previous owner.


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *d4martin* 
Hey Krazyatom,

what's the news with your Hardware upgrades? Any changes yet?

Martin









Hi Marin,

I tried to install 4850 x2 and antec 650 PSU to my Dell 435 MT, but my dell doesn't like my 4850 x2








I can't even finish my fresh window installation. I tried vista and window 7, but no luck. I can go into boot menu and install windows, but it won't finalize.
I get blue screen with display driver failure. I don't understand.. I didn't even finish installing window. I tried geforce 9800gt, ati 4830 and they work without any problem. I don't think it's my PSU because I used this PSU for my Core 2 Duo set up with my 4850 x2.

Any of you guys have suggestions?


----------



## rico2001

@krazyatom
So it blue screens even before drivers are installed. Did you try to install windows and do all your updates for windows with another card, then put in the X2?


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
@krazyatom
So it blue screens even before drivers are installed. Did you try to install windows and do all your updates for windows with another card, then put in the X2?

Oh I haven't done that yet. I will go home tonight and try to update my OS.
Thanks Rico!


----------



## krazyatom

Rico,

I wonder why sapphire tech official web has only catalyst 9.7 only for 4850 x2?
Are they just lazy updating new driver?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *krazyatom* 
Rico,

I wonder why sapphire tech official web has only catalyst 9.7 only for 4850 x2?
Are they just lazy updating new driver?

They are always behind in updating their drivers on their site. They don't keep up on a weekly basis like use hardware enthusiasts do.


----------



## DuckYy

took these this morning before i left. will probaly start testing it on wednesday


























fixed the picutures


----------



## Jon A. Silvers

Here are some pics of my gpu ,I will upload more pics of just gpu .


----------



## phreakboy

Just installed the card last night. This think is soooooo loud, that modification must be done to it as soon as possible. IT does sound like an airplane engine







I'll be getting 2x Noctua NF B9 fans and will be using them instead of the standard fans. Probably not as efficient as the 2xVF900 solution but it1ll do the job!

Oh and sorry for the real nasty cable jungle







I will be repainting the inside of the case hopefully soon and will be doing som house and cable management dremeling as well!




























Did not have time to do any other testings yet, but if I will I'll post some additional pix as well


----------



## rico2001

Nice pics, guys!









@ *phreakboy and DuckYy*
rep+ to both of you gents and added to owners list.

rep+ for your pics as well, *Jon A. Silvers*









Update to OP: Owner list up to date 9-29-2009


----------



## guscol

Quote:


Originally Posted by *phreakboy* 
Just installed the card last night. This think is soooooo loud, that modification must be done to it as soon as possible. IT does sound like an airplane engine







I'll be getting 2x Noctua NF B9 fans and will be using them instead of the standard fans. Probably not as efficient as the 2xVF900 solution but it1ll do the job!

Oh and sorry for the real nasty cable jungle







I will be repainting the inside of the case hopefully soon and will be doing som house and cable management dremeling as well!




























Did not have time to do any other testings yet, but if I will I'll post some additional pix as well


nice components ,very clean pc, but the cables are very messy


----------



## krazyatom

@Rico,

Yesterday I reinstall my window vista 64bit completely. I updated everything using geforce 9800gt and I was able to replace 9800gt to 4850 x2.

1. I updated everything with 9800gt
2. I replaced my card with 4850 x2
3. I was able to go into window screen and installed catalyst 9.9
4. I reboot and I received same blue screen with display driver failure. After that, I couldn't go into window screen, so I went to safe mode and used driver sweeper.
5. I used driver sweeper to remove ati driver and I was able to go into window screen.
6. I had to remove all the ati related component.
7. reboot
8. I used catalyst 9.7, but same thing









I couldn't find anyone with dell 435 mt with 4850 x2...









I didn't have enough time to try more older drivers...

Any advice?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *krazyatom* 
@Rico,

Yesterday I reinstall my window vista 64bit completely. I updated everything using geforce 9800gt and I was able to replace 9800gt to 4850 x2.

1. I updated everything with 9800gt
2. I replaced my card with 4850 x2
3. I was able to go into window screen and installed catalyst 9.9
4. I reboot and I received same blue screen with display driver failure. After that, I couldn't go into window screen, so I went to safe mode and used driver sweeper.
5. I used driver sweeper to remove ati driver and I was able to go into window screen.
6. I had to remove all the ati related component.
7. reboot
8. I used catalyst 9.7, but same thing









I couldn't find anyone with dell 435 mt with 4850 x2...









I didn't have enough time to try more older drivers...

Any advice?

Tough one man. I notice two things you didn't mention. Just to verify, between your step 1 &2, did you uninstall the nvidia drivers, reboot, safe mode, driver sweep nvidia drives, reboot, install X2? On completion of step 3, did drivers say "complete" without error, please reboot?

All in all, two things are coming to mind with your situation: either you have a bad card or you have a crappy 650W psu. Do you have another pc you can try the X2 in?


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Tough one man. I notice two things you didn't mention. Just to verify, between your step 1 &2, did you uninstall the nvidia drivers, reboot, safe mode, driver sweep nvidia drives, reboot, install X2? On completion of step 3, did drivers say "complete" without error, please reboot?

All in all, two things are coming to mind with your situation: either you have a bad card or you have a crappy 650W psu. Do you have another pc you can try the X2 in?

Rico,

I think i did uninstall everything using driver sweeper including nvidia driver.
I uninstall everything from normal reboot too.
It did told me that driver install complete and let me reboot, so yes it was completely installed.
I thinking about installing window 7 and try few drivers.
If this doesn't work, my 4850 x2 is going back to core 2 duo set up








I have spare E8400, so I should be ok!

I also got myself Foxconn black ops x48 board for $80 from newegg to replace my abit ip-35 pro.


----------



## phreakboy

Thank you for the add rico2001









@ guscol--> right this thing IS a mess...and I hate it there are two things that I must have with my computer: clean wiring and to be as silent as possible (watercooling is out of my budget right now)


----------



## krazyatom

I gave up on my 4850 x2








I tried many older driver for my dell 435 mt, but it won't help.
I guess this is problem from dell. I will just use 4850 x2 with my core 2 duo set up.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *krazyatom* 
I gave up on my 4850 x2








I tried many older driver for my dell 435 mt, but it won't help.
I guess this is problem from dell. I will just use 4850 x2 with my core 2 duo set up.

Sorry to hear krazyatom. I've had a problem or two with customers dell machines and upgrading hardware, was a pain in the neck. Perhaps you can get a nice e8000 or Q95/9650 to beef up that system the card does work in.


----------



## phreakboy

Can someone please help me?:swearing: I tried to flash my bios and during it I had a power failure..
BAD LUCK...

Now when I turn on the computer all I get is a black screen and nothing else...I tried booting from a USB disk but still nothing...seems I've bricked the card?

How can I reset the old bios (it had the original -noisy bios-) 09/16/2008...
I have actually saved the bios for the first chip but did not save it for the second..

I hope I can "unbrick" the card somehow....

I have the 4850x2 2 gig version with the follwing data
PN ; 288 40E87 201 SA
SKU : 11139-00

The PN and SKU number can be seen on the top of the card (on a green sticker)









Can someone send me the original two BIOS roms?

Thanx for your help


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *phreakboy* 
Can someone please help me?:swearing: I tried to flash my bios and during it I had a power failure..
BAD LUCK...

Now when I turn on the computer all I get is a black screen and nothing else...I tried booting from a USB disk but still nothing...seems I've bricked the card?

How can I reset the old bios (it had the original -noisy bios-) 09/16/2008...
I have actually saved the bios for the first chip but did not save it for the second..

I hope I can "unbrick" the card somehow....

I have the 4850x2 2 gig version with the follwing data
PN ; 288 40E87 201 SA
SKU : 11139-00

The PN and SKU number can be seen on the top of the card (on a green sticker)









Can someone send me the original two BIOS roms?

Thanx for your help









How do you know which bio you have? maybe updating bio can fix my dell computer problem..


----------



## phreakboy

2 krazyatom:

1. Download and install â€˜Radeon Bios Editorâ€™ (RBE)

2. Download and install â€˜ATI WinFlashâ€™ or click on the get winflash button at the bottom (3rd button from the right side)

3. Run RBE and click the â€˜Acquire/flashâ€™ icon at the bottom

4. Locate your installed â€˜ATI WinFlashâ€™ software by clicking browse at the top right (ATIWinFlash.exe)

5. Click â€˜Analyzeâ€™ at the bottom to refresh the attached graphics card list then you can see the bios of your card

Hope this helped a bit to solve your problem...









Actually my problm might be a bit more complicated....after turning on my computer I can't see a thing on my screens, I meen even no BIOS message stuff...the monitors are just blinking like when tey are in sleep state.

...meaning that it seems the card blocks the mobos bootup -which I have never heard of before-

I have a "spare" 9800gx2 card so I'm using it right now but this is a REAL pain in the ass...just got my crd and bammm it really is like a brick....

OH and Rico2001.... I have checked my diagnostic LEDS as well and LED D1250 is green so it "seems" everything is OK....

Dunno this is becoming frustrating for me


----------



## Outcasst

Hmm... Windows update has just prompted me to install some new graphics drivers. Release date was today... I'm on the 9.9's already.


----------



## Shroomalistic

its probly 9.8's they are usually a little behind. Just got an update for it too and my 8800gts


----------



## vicious_fishes

9.9's have been out a while.. it's october remember ?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *phreakboy* 
OH and Rico2001.... I have checked my diagnostic LEDS as well and LED D1250 is green so it "seems" everything is OK....

Dunno this is becoming frustrating for me










Thanks for LED info, adding to OP. rep+

*Update to OP:*
4850 X2 LED checking info added.


----------



## phreakboy

Can any1 help me out with the original BIOS roms for the 4850x2?
please....


----------



## phreakboy

Well I luckily found a "modified bios" on the net so no need for the bios now.

1) I made a USB boot disk, copied atiflash 3.6 and the 4850x2 bios roms to it
2) used an old PCI card to actually get a screen after the boot, set the boot to PCI card in the mobo's bios, then powered off the machine
3) after that I just simply flashed the two roms right after eachother and then restart

and everything is back to normal again -took some sweat and a few hours of my time,but it was worth it, I savbed my bricked card.
Now tomorrow I'll be picking up 2x Noctua BF9 fans so I can get rid of this airplaneengine sound.
Will be making a few pics of the mod to post it here


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *phreakboy* 
Can any1 help me out with the original BIOS roms for the 4850x2?
please....









They're in this thread somewhere. If you can't find, I'll upload mine for you.


----------



## phreakboy

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
They're in this thread somewhere. If you can't find, I'll upload mine for you.


Thank you for your help rico2001







My modified bios version has only minor modification which can be found here.

Ofcourse you only need the two .rom files. I advise anyone who wants to flash his BIOS to do it in old DOS mode and NOT in windows mode.....I really think it is much safer that way.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *phreakboy* 
Thank you for your help rico2001







My modified bios version has only minor modification which can be found here.

Ofcourse you only need the two .rom files. I advise anyone who wants to flash his BIOS to do it in old DOS mode and NOT in windows mode.....I really think it is much safer that way.

I always tell people is is best just to make a copy both bios es and modify your own. It's easy to do and safer than using someone else's bios. And I like flashing in windows opposed to outside of windows. I wrote a nice article on this whole process some 40 pages back.


----------



## phreakboy

In my case the only opportunity was to do flashing in BIOS, but true you can use RBE to modify the bios.

and I'll take a look at that article or yours


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *phreakboy* 
In my case the only opportunity was to do flashing in BIOS, but true you can use RBE to modify the bios.

and I'll take a look at that article or yours









See pages 177-179.


----------



## Shroomalistic

Well I think Im gonna put my 4850x2 2gb up for sale, Im gonna move on to a 5850 here soon. If anyone is interested pm me, im gonna let go for cheap.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic*


Well I think Im gonna put my 4850x2 2gb up for sale, Im gonna move on to a 5850 here soon. If anyone is interested pm me, im gonna let go for cheap.


shroom, that sounds like a good plan. the 5850 looks to be great price/performance card. i'm going to sell all my cards shortly except for my 4850 x2 and like before, i'm going to start with the 5850 x2.


----------



## porksmuggler

i think I'm headed to the 5850 soon also, the 4850X2 has been great for the last 6 months though









wondering if anyone could point me towards a list of newer mid tower cases that will fit a 4850X2. I've done quite a few builds since I got the card, and haven't found one yet that will work.

guess i could go through the owners list, but that would take a while


----------



## Shroomalistic

im a little bummed out, newegg just gotthe sapphire 5850's in stock and they already sold out like in a matter of 2 hours or so. I wont have my money for the card till tomorrow. I would prefer to get the xfx anyways.


----------



## vicious_fishes

why ? they're all the same...


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *porksmuggler* 
i think I'm headed to the 5850 soon also, the 4850X2 has been great for the last 6 months though









wondering if anyone could point me towards a list of newer mid tower cases that will fit a 4850X2. I've done quite a few builds since I got the card, and haven't found one yet that will work.

guess i could go through the owners list, but that would take a while









Nothing wrong with moving on, we all do evertually.







Hope to see you guys with a 5850 X2 someday soon. porksmuggler, you can get my case in my sig, it fits the X2 and is fairly cheap, ~$30-$50 without psu. You will have a 1/2" clearance once the X2 is installed. I got mine from 3btech.com

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic* 
im a little bummed out, newegg just gotthe sapphire 5850's in stock and they already sold out like in a matter of 2 hours or so. I wont have my money for the card till tomorrow. I would prefer to get the xfx anyways.

Don't worry about it Shroom, I think newegg staggers their supply. It is almost like clockwork they put more up for sale once a day to day and a half. You just have to catch it. Good luck, buy Sapphire lol.


----------



## rico2001

A few people have pm'ed me recently on the length of the 4850 X2 and if it fits in their case. Here is pic I've sent to them for anyone else interested.


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


shroom, that sounds like a good plan. the 5850 looks to be great price/performance card. i'm going to sell all my cards shortly except for my 4850 x2 and like before, *i'm going to start with the 5850x2 *


Sounds like a good plan. I've thought about the same thing, especially since the 5850 seems to be such a great performer. I really don't see why I should need a 5870x2.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kimosabi*


Sounds like a good plan. I've thought about the same thing, especially since the 5850 seems to be such a great performer. I really don't see why I should need a 5870x2.


Most everyone is way past "need" at this point and besides, I'm addicted to more power.


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Most everyone is way past "need" at this point and besides, I'm addicted to more power.









Yeah I hear ya bro. It depends on the wallet really. If it's full and bills are paid, everything is possible. But since my 4850x2 has served me so well you could say that I'm a xx50x2 fanboy now.


----------



## porksmuggler

So I went back through the thread looking for mid-towers that fit the 4850X2, not as much variety as I imagined:

Antec Nine Hundred
COOLER MASTER CM 690
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 (saw it, but wondering if it really fits...)
COOLER MASTER HAF 922
Chiefmax HERO 23

Any others confirmed?


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *porksmuggler* 
So I went back through the thread looking for mid-towers that fit the 4850X2, not as much variety as I imagined:

Antec Nine Hundred
COOLER MASTER CM 690
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 (saw it, but wondering if it really fits...)
COOLER MASTER HAF 922
Chiefmax HERO 23

Any others confirmed?

I have coolmaster cm 690 and it barely fits without moving harddrive storage.


----------



## DuckYy

this is just a hypothetical upgrade, but if i were buy a 5870, would it perform as a single 4850 or a 4850x2?


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:



Originally Posted by *DuckYy*


this is just a hypothetical upgrade, but if i were buy a 5870, would it perform as a single 4850 or a 4850x2?


It would perform around 15-35% better than a 4850x2. Depending on game, resolution and so forth.


----------



## DuckYy

let me rephrase that, if i were to CF it with a 4850x2, would it perform as a 4850 or a 4850x2


----------



## SgtHop

I don't know if you can go between generations, but, in theory, a 5870 and a 4850X2 crossfired would perform like a 5870 and a 4850X2 in trifire. Cards don't scale performance when paired with a card of lesser performance. Of course, I don't really understand your question, so that may not answer your question.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DuckYy* 
let me rephrase that, if i were to CF it with a 4850x2, would it perform as a 4850 or a 4850x2

The first two numbers of the card must match to CF, example: 38xx + 38xx, 48xx + 48xx, 57xx + 57xx, 58xx + 58xx


----------



## phreakboy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *porksmuggler*


So I went back through the thread looking for mid-towers that fit the 4850X2, not as much variety as I imagined:

Antec Nine Hundred
COOLER MASTER CM 690
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 (saw it, but wondering if it really fits...)
COOLER MASTER HAF 922
Chiefmax HERO 23

Any others confirmed?



I have the Antec case and I can fit the 4850x2 in, though I only use 1 HD in that drivecage where the videocard is located. (Same situation as krazyatom)


----------



## vicious_fishes

i, on the other hand, hacked a slice out of the front of my case.

it did have 11 hard drive mounts though XD


----------



## Shroomalistic

come tuesday your gonna have to kick me out of the club.

My 5850 will be here and Im shipping out my 4850x2 for a gtx 260 physX card


----------



## krazyatom

I know this is off topic question, but I have no one else to ask








I purchased a new mobo foxconn black ops x48 board and I am having problem overclocking cpu..

I have ddr3 1600mhz memory 4 x 2gb and it said timing 9-9-9-24.
Do I have to put that timing into my bio memory set up?
I have E8400 and I set FSB to 450FSB Multiplier is set to 9X.
I must be doing something wrong... it will freeze my computer..
I was playing around with many voltage settings, but I just can't find anything stable...
now I am more confused






















I had no problem with my old board abit ip-35 pro. OC was so easy and stable, but not this board..... W HY









I used prime95 blend test and it will give me error without any overclock, so I thought it was my memory setting related.


----------



## SgtHop

Yeah, you're going to want to make sure your timings are all right. But comparing your OC between boards is something you generally don't want to do, because different chips will act differently. The only way you can get another stable overclock on a different board is to start over.


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


Yeah, you're going to want to make sure your timings are all right. But comparing your OC between boards is something you generally don't want to do, because different chips will act differently. The only way you can get another stable overclock on a different board is to start over.


Oh.. i guess you're right..
Do you recommend updating my bios?

I downloaded latest mobo bio and I received 3 files..

7A3F1P06.BIN
AUTOEXEC.BAT
AWDFLASH.EXE

Do I just double click awdflash.exe from my window 7 64bit?


----------



## SgtHop

Actually, I don't really know anything about flashing BIOSes, and I don't want to give you bad directions that result in bricking your board. I recommend either reading the instructions on the manufacturer's website or searching the forums for the proper directions. You also might want to search for any issues with that version of the BIOS, and see if it's worth updating, or whether it will decrease performance.


----------



## rico2001

@krazyatom
Not the right thread for this subject and you would get better results from the intel motherboard section.


----------



## phreakboy

Maybe this question has been brought up before -hope not-....but I'll ask anyway

Dunno if my PSU is a bit less but when I'm gaming with 4850x2 after a certain amount of time susually 15-20 minutes I get a black scren and the system totally freezes. IS it possible that my 55 watt PSU is too small for the card. I don't have any problem in 2D. and I have 2 monitors hooked up to it (check my system).

I tried disabling one monitor when I game, but the same thing happened.
I moved GPU-Z to the other screen so I could see the current temps of the card while gaming.

I have crossfire enabled by default, had a bios flash to the card almost with the same parameters as rico2001 described in this thread earlier (page 177-179).

Before flashing I had the same problem. Hpefully I don't have a faulty card....and all I have to do is just get a bigger PSU

Thanx for your comments!!!


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *phreakboy*


Maybe this question has been brought up before -hope not-....but I'll ask anyway

Dunno if my PSU is a bit less but when I'm gaming with 4850x2 after a certain amount of time susually 15-20 minutes I get a black scren and the system totally freezes. IS it possible that my 55 watt PSU is too small for the card. I don't have any problem in 2D. and I have 2 monitors hooked up to it (check my system).

I tried disabling one monitor when I game, but the same thing happened.
I moved GPU-Z to the other screen so I could see the current temps of the card while gaming.

I have crossfire enabled by default, had a bios flash to the card almost with the same parameters as rico2001 described in this thread earlier (page 177-179).

Before flashing I had the same problem. Hpefully I don't have a faulty card....and all I have to do is just get a bigger PSU

Thanx for your comments!!!


Maybe you should change your driver. I had problem with 9.9 now I had to go back to 9.8


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


@krazyatom
Not the right thread for this subject and you would get better results from the intel motherboard section.


Sorry for the off topic questions. I was just desperate








I will go do more research! THx


----------



## rico2001

@phreakboy
try other drivers like krazyatom suggest and if that doesn't work try this. Since are may be right about your psu, I say 600W min., but anyway try to underclock both gpus to 550mhz and the mem down to 950 mhz. Play as normal and see if then you problems go away. Those settings will use less power and will confirm you are having a lack of power problem.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *krazyatom* 
Sorry for the off topic questions. I was just desperate








I will go do more research! THx

Not a problem at all man. I was just suggesting you will get much better help from those that specialize in mobos posting in the correct section of the forum.


----------



## guscol

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


Maybe you should change your driver. I had problem with 9.9 now I had to go back to 9.8



men the 9.8 are more estable?
because i have issues ,my system freeze a lot in a white or pink screen and i got 9.9s


----------



## guscol

hey guys inspired by rico here is my cheap mod of 4850 x2 , no more heat, no more bended card,no more jet noise and donÂ´t affect the resale price.sorry for my english


----------



## d4martin

Hey Guscol,

What are your temps like? Wouldn'y your card be better with some more clearance?
Why not use one of the higher up PCI-X slots- that way the card isn't getting a back-blast of hot air bouncing off the bottom of the case. I thought on the A6T deluxe you where supposed to use the first slot first. I'll check the manual though - I'm probably wrong.
Nice job. Looks like some nice workmanship, Great pictures too!!!









Martin


----------



## rico2001

@guscol
WOW, that looks great. So clean looking. I want one. Your card looks straight and supported. Very unique looking. Great job man!









oh forgot, rep+ for you my friend.


----------



## guscol

Quote:



Originally Posted by *d4martin*


Hey Guscol,

What are your temps like? Wouldn'y your card be better with some more clearance?
Why not use one of the higher up PCI-X slots- that way the card isn't getting a back-blast of hot air bouncing off the bottom of the case. I thought on the A6T deluxe you where supposed to use the first slot first. I'll check the manual though - I'm probably wrong.
Nice job. Looks like some nice workmanship, Great pictures too!!!









Martin



the reason for put in the lower pci is because i need the pciÂ´s for my tv card and my sound card i probe it and works perfectly and is better lookin no lost fps


----------



## Extreme_kid

@ Rico : Please add me to the list,










Installed my 4850X2 for the first time last night and WOW its &^%$ loud ! Id heard it to be loud but not this much at only @50% ! I really need to do something about the noise !









@Guscol : Awesome Mod ! +REP

how much quieter is it now ?


----------



## guscol

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Extreme_kid* 
@ Rico : Please add me to the list,










Installed my 4850X2 for the first time last night and WOW its &^%$ loud ! Id heard it to be loud but not this much at only @50% ! I really need to do something about the noise !









@Guscol : Awesome Mod ! +REP

how much quieter is it now ?


men in idle mode is very quiet but loaded is different is loud but the temps down and the fans dont reach 100% sorry again for my english


----------



## Extreme_kid

Quote:


Originally Posted by *guscol* 
men in idle mode is very quiet but loaded is different is loud but the temps down and the fans dont reach 100% sorry again for my english

Nothing to apologize for your english is good enough and I appreciate you taking your time to post pictures of each step , with my sensitive ears I need something really quite , guess I have to order the VF900s =/ but before that I need to figure how to connect the fans to the card ?







Maybe a 3pin to 2 pin converter ?


----------



## Odel

I just have a normal 4850... Sad day...


----------



## Extreme_kid

Im trying to run a few tests with my new 4850X2 @ stock but every time I click on 3DMARK06 it doesnt load up and doesnt pass the intro Logo







I changed the card with my GTX280 and it works fine , what could be the problem here ?!


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Extreme_kid* 
Im trying to run a few tests with my new 4850X2 @ stock but every time I click on 3DMARK06 it doesnt load up and doesnt pass the intro Logo







I changed the card with my GTX280 and it works fine , what could be the problem here ?!









what drivers? What 06?


----------



## Extreme_kid

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


what drivers? What 06?


its the latest drivers , downloaded last night from ATI's website ? its 3DMARK06 build 1.1.0







here it says it could be a hotfix problem , Im downloading the newer version 1.1.0a and will post back in few mins


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Extreme_kid*


its the latest drivers , downloaded last night from ATI's website ? its 3DMARK06 build 1.1.0







here it says it could be a hotfix problem , Im downloading the newer version 1.1.0a and will post back in few mins


When it comes to 3dmark apps, it is usually not the card. Re-installs and/or installing latest of 06 and vantage often fix most problems. If not, try cat. 9.8 hotfix drivers instead of cat. 9.9. See OP of this thread for latest 3dmark apps.


----------



## Extreme_kid

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


When it comes to 3dmark apps, it is usually not the card. Re-installs and/or installing latest of 06 and vantage often fix most problems. If not, try cat. 9.8 hotfix drivers instead of cat. 9.9. See OP of this thread for latest 3dmark apps.


Thnx for the quick reply ! I just installed the newer version *1.1.0.A* and it loaded up !









btw , do you think this adapter would fit into the card's 2pin fan socket ?


----------



## SgtHop

It should, if it's the standard 2 pin adapter, which I do believe it is.


----------



## krazyatom

i can't believe all my problem came from my g.skill memory. lol
I used plain vanilla ddr3 1333mhz crucial memory and my overclock hit 3.9ghz with stock voltage!

Now I can use foxconn black op for full 16x 16x bandwidth.
What kind of video card do you guys recommend for tri xfire?

4850 1gb?

4870 1gb?

I want to go with sapphire because 4850 x2 is sapphire, but 4850 1gb has so many models..


----------



## rico2001

@krazyatom
No way, really. I would not have guessed the mem. Live and learn.









The tri-fire 4850 is smoother than the 4870 mix, although in a few tests, the 4870 is a hair faster.


----------



## SgtHop

I'd stick with the 4850s, price vs performance is better, and if you use GPUTool and overvolt, you can get a mean overclock going.


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


@krazyatom
No way, really. I would not have guessed the mem. Live and learn.









The tri-fire 4850 is smoother than the 4870 mix, although in a few tests, the 4870 is a hair faster.


Yea, that is so strange. g.skill memory works fine from my dell 435mt.
My crucial memory is like very cheap and plain memory lol I got them $10 a piece. Installed 4 x 1gb.

I would get a 4850 1gb because stability is much more important








Now I should look for cheap place to buy.


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


I'd stick with the 4850s, price vs performance is better, and if you use GPUTool and overvolt, you can get a mean overclock going.


I will download GPUTool and overvolt when I have 4850 1gb


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


Yea, that is so strange. g.skill memory works fine from my dell 435mt.
My crucial memory is like very cheap and plain memory lol I got them $10 a piece. Installed 4 x 1gb.

I would get a 4850 1gb because stability is much more important








Now I should look for cheap place to buy.


Too bad I just sold mine last a few days ago. I don't believe the 4850 has soft-volt mod ability, and if I'm not mistaken gputool won't work for it.


----------



## SgtHop

Interesting. I was always under the impression that you could volt mod it.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


Yea, that is so strange. g.skill memory works fine from my dell 435mt.
My crucial memory is like very cheap and plain memory lol I got them $10 a piece. Installed 4 x 1gb.

I would get a 4850 1gb because stability is much more important








Now I should look for cheap place to buy.


Glad you hear you got the problem licked Krazy!!!









Wow 3.9Ghz that's more than enough to stop your CPU bottlenecking your 4850x2.
And now your going for tri-fire- COOOL!







!!!!!!!
Let's see some bench marks of before and after and some game bench marks too for us to get a comparison.

Way to go!!!!

Martin


----------



## d4martin

Also I've put my pre-order in for Windows 7 64bit upgrade.
Comes out (over here at least) on 22nd October.

Lots of bench marking planned to show difference between Vista 64 and Win 7
Then difference between Catalyst 9.2(yes I'm still on that) and 9.8
and finally in early November WHEN I get the corsair H50 to watercool by rig; comparison between stock and overclock.

Martin


----------



## SgtHop

Last I checked, 9.9 is the most current. 9.10 is still in beta, which means it should be released here shortly, so you can expect that here pretty soon.


----------



## rico2001

Nope, no option.


----------



## SgtHop

That sauce. It is weak. How about on a reference 4850?


----------



## rico2001

The 4850 does have the right voltage regulator module.

List of adjustable cards:
- Reference design AMD RADEON 5850 with VT1165 voltage regulator
- Reference design AMD RADEON 5870 with VT1165 voltage regulator
- Reference design AMD RADEON 4870 with VT1165 voltage regulator
- Reference design AMD RADEON 4870 X2 with VT1165 voltage regulator
- Reference design AMD RADEON 4890 with VT1165 voltage regulator


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *d4martin*


Glad you hear you got the problem licked Krazy!!!









Wow 3.9Ghz that's more than enough to stop your CPU bottlenecking your 4850x2.
And now your going for tri-fire- COOOL!







!!!!!!!
Let's see some bench marks of before and after and some game bench marks too for us to get a comparison.

Way to go!!!!

Martin


Yes, I was able to go over 4.0 GHZ, but I had to increase my volts.
Before I came to work, it was running 7 hours straight without any error using prime 95, so it seems to be stable.

I am not familiar with any bench mark tools, but when I am done with stress test, i will give you guys results


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


I am not familiar with any bench mark tools, but when I am done with stress test, i will give you guys results










Quick furmark 90 second tests are good, and any game you have will do also. Get FRAPS to log your frames per sec. Anything to show on the thread helps other out.


----------



## Shroomalistic

got my 5850 yesterday and shipped my 4850x2 out today. bye bye thread. I ended up trading the 4850x2 for a gtx 260. figured that would make a good cuda/physx card to match the 5850


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


Yes, I was able to go over 4.0 GHZ, but I had to increase my volts.
Before I came to work, it was running 7 hours straight without any error using prime 95, so it seems to be stable.

I am not familiar with any bench mark tools, but when I am done with stress test, i will give you guys results











Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Quick furmark 90 second tests are good, and any game you have will do also. Get FRAPS to log your frames per sec. Anything to show on the thread helps other out.


Not to worry Krazy,

it's pretty easy to run game bench marks on Fraps, and fun as you get to play at the same time. We can talk you through it. Plus if you go through all the tests on page 1 of this thread too, we can compare numbers. Great way to see the best set up between systems, overclocks and operating systems for the 4850x2.

P.S. what temps you getting for your overclock? (this is your E8400 right? Not your i7 - think you said you had to move the 4850x2 'cause it wouldn't fit. Is this right? Sorry only going by what I remember and what's in your signiture)

Martin


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Shroomalistic*


got my 5850 yesterday and shipped my 4850x2 out today. bye bye thread. I ended up trading the 4850x2 for a gtx 260. figured that would make a good cuda/physx card to match the 5850



Well sad to see you go and you are always welcome on the read, once an owner, always an owner. Never know, your experience with the X2 may help someone out on the thread sometime down the road. Take some pics and benches on your 5850, Iâ€™m interested to see more OCN member results.


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *d4martin*


Not to worry Krazy,

it's pretty easy to run game bench marks on Fraps, and fun as you get to play at the same time. We can talk you through it. Plus if you go through all the tests on page 1 of this thread too, we can compare numbers. Great way to see the best set up between systems, overclocks and operating systems for the 4850x2.

P.S. what temps you getting for your overclock? (this is your E8400 right? Not your i7 - think you said you had to move the 4850x2 'cause it wouldn't fit. Is this right? Sorry only going by what I remember and what's in your signiture)

Martin


Oh I sold my 435mt to my friend because it was definitely not a good gaming machine. It also would not recognize my 4850 x2.. maybe dell hates it









My cpu E8400 temperatures are all depend on my apartment room temperature. Lowest I had was like 33-35c and highest i got was like 53c-55c.

My 4850 x2 temperature goes up to like 70c in auto setitng, so I had to set my fan to 100%. 4850 x2 is very loud







that's the down side.
4850 x2 temperature is fine, but actualy hardware is pretty hot!
It makes me want to buy 5850, but so far i have no problem playing games with 4850 x2.


----------



## Shroomalistic

if you think the 4850x2 is loud at 100% you should here the 5850 at 100%


----------



## SgtHop

Yeah, the 4850X2 isn't really all that loud compared to some of the reference coolers.


----------



## rico2001

Correct I would agree, found my reference 4890 just as loud as my 4850 X2.

@Shroom
Too bad you couldn't keep your 4850 X2 for a few days to compare with the 5850.


----------



## phreakboy

Since I HATE a noisy computer here is my mod for the 4850x2

A have actually used two Noctua NF-B9 fans for this mod. (has an airflow of 64.3 mÂ³/h @ 1600RPM)
This is cheaper than using two VF-900 fans and regarding weight it is lighter a bit








Modification took about 25 minutes in all and here are the steps:

1. First unsrcew the 8 small screw securing the shroud.
2. Remove the 8 support pins that actually hold the shroud. I used pliers because it did not come off with my hand
3. The two fans are secured on the heatsink by 4 screws, so take them off as well.
4. By using cable ties secure the 2 fans on the heatsink

Yeah I know it may not look super sexy (bit of getto mod







), but it'll do the job.

Card is next to me on the desk right now, but I'll be puting it in and doing some temp tests.

Here are the pix-->


----------



## phreakboy

Just as expected, fans have almost no sound, very good temps

I have another two Noctua 120mm fans in my case, 1 for rear ventillation, 1 for CPU cooling.

(Ofcourse the Antec 900 case has two front fans for the drive cages and 1 hugh top fan for ventillation.







)

I'm happy with the mod, now the big work is still in front of me....cable management

Anyways, here is my card installed and my temps:



















Furmark temp after 3 minute bench










Temp for core_1










Temp for core 2


----------



## rico2001

@phreakboy
Superb fan mod, temps look good, on par with stock so no loss. rep+


----------



## krazyatom

[email protected]

Nice fan mod. What was your temperature before you swap your fans?
your temperature doesn't really impress me though.
I used 100% stock fan speed and I get similar temperature, but it's hella noisy. Thinking about getting two zalman vf-900, but I am not sure if it worth investing $$$ since 5850 is only $260.
Does anybody know how quiet 5850 is.


----------



## Jon A. Silvers

you will probably have a non reference 5850 in near future,or you can buy lately cooling for one,but there is not a quiet 5850 with reference design.
And 4850x2 is killingly quiet with two zalman`s vf900,and should be faster than 5850, but it doesn`t have dx11,and more power hungry .


----------



## vicious_fishes

5850 scored 20100 3dmark06, 4850x2 2gb got 20400. driver updates = more on the 5850 in future.


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jon A. Silvers* 
you will probably have a non reference 5850 in near future,or you can buy lately cooling for one,but there is not a quiet 5850 with reference design.
And 4850x2 is killingly quiet with two zalman`s vf900,and should be faster than 5850, but it doesn`t have dx11,and more power hungry .

getting two zalman vf900 will cost you like at least $60.
Is it easy to swap fan using vf900?

Do you know if zalman vf900 will work with ati 5850?

I love my 4850 x2, but stock fan is really noisy.

buy new 5850 for $260 + $30 vf900 = $290 and sell 4850 x2 for $140

total cost $150

or

buy two zalman vf900 for $60

That's like $90 diffeerence

Ugh..


----------



## jeffreytp

I have a brand new SAPPHIRE HD 4850 X2 2G/1G GDDR3 PCI-E running on the DFI LanParty UT X58-T3EH8 motherboard. There is power to the GPU. D1250 is green and there are two LED's under the heatsink which are red. The 4 LED's to the left of D1250 are off. The two fans on the board are not spinning and I am not getting any display on my monitor. What is wrong?


----------



## rico2001

@jeffreytp
First welcome to the owners thread, here are the LEDs. Check your pci-e cables to see if they are plugged in correctly, Take the card out and see if you can identify which LEDs exactly.

LED's for 4850 X2 (also found in first post of this thread)
D1601 : ASIC CTF Enable (GPU overheat protection)
D29 : 8 pin external connector no power
D30 : 6 pin external connector no power
D25 : Boot up fault LED (Re-plug the VGA board or D1601,D29,D30 all failed)
D1250~D1252 : Turn on with normal behavior in the left ASIC
D1253~D1255 : Turn on with normal behavior in the right ASIC


----------



## gsk3rd

Well as of tomorrow I will be the new owner of a 4850x2. Made a trade for my two 4870 1gbs and some cash so I can go down to a single card solution.


----------



## rico2001

Congrats gsk3rd, you will love the card.


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:


Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes* 
5850 scored 20100 3dmark06, 4850x2 2gb got 20400. driver updates = more on the 5850 in future.

I should try to download 3dmark06 tonight and compare my score with you.
Is 20100 a good score for 4850 x2?


----------



## krazyatom

@Rico

I just realized that I can use my ati 4830 1gb for triple xfire.
Do you think this set up will do fine?
I currenrtly have catalyst 9.8 and do you think it will automatically detect my 4830? I do have cross fire bridge that came with me when I bought 4850 x2.

also, if i am trying to do triple monitor set up do I connect everything to 4850 x2?

options:

A: connect primarily monitor to 4850 x2 and connect other two monitor to 4830 1gb.

B: connect all 3 monitor to 4850 x2.

C: connect 2 monitor to 4850 x2. (including primarily) and 1 monitor to 4830.

I saw someone playing world of warcraft using 3 monitor set up and it was awesome


----------



## rico2001

@krazyatom

"I just realized that I can use my ati 4830 1gb for triple xfire.
Do you think this set up will do fine?" *Yes, its is perfectly fine, match mem clocks and all will be well. Terrific setup.*

"I currenrtly have catalyst 9.8 and do you think it will automatically detect my 4830?" *I wouldn't advice just installing the card without uninstalling the drivers, sweeping in safe mode and then reinstalling drivers.*

"I do have cross fire bridge that came with me when I bought 4850 x2.
also, if i am trying to do triple monitor set up do I connect everything to 4850 x2?" *With crossfire enabled, you will only be able to connect 2 monitors to the primary card, either the X2 or the 4830. If you install the 4830 and do not crossfire it with the X2 (still CF'ed), you will be able to run 2 moniotrs on the X2 and (2) monitors on the 4830.*

"options:

A: connect primarily monitor to 4850 x2 and connect other two monitor to 4830 1gb.

B: connect all 3 monitor to 4850 x2.

C: connect 2 monitor to 4850 x2. (including primarily) and 1 monitor to 4830.

I saw someone playing world of warcraft using 3 monitor set up and it was awesome







"

*It is difficult but not impossible to game on (3) monitors, with the X2 alone or with the X2+4830.

4850 X2 alone:
What you have to do is disable crossfire, then plug in the (3) monitors tot he X2. Get and setup softTH. Run game if it works.

4850 X2 + 4830:
What you have to do is disable crossfire from 3 gpus to 2, then plug (2) monitors to the X2 and (1) to the 4830. Get and setup softTH. Run game if it works.

SoftTh is a software mod that uses (1) card for the graphics and the other card for the triple monitors spanning (instruction). I've had mild success using this program since it is hard to setup and work. Thank god for eyefinity.









My efforts are in this thread somewhere, you will have to look through to find them. Good luck.*


----------



## rico2001

Update to OP:

-GPUZ v0.3.6 added


----------



## vicious_fishes

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


I should try to download 3dmark06 tonight and compare my score with you.
Is 20100 a good score for 4850 x2?


haha, yep. remember i have a quad & you have a dual, so your score will be slightly lower


----------



## phreakboy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


[email protected]

Nice fan mod. What was your temperature before you swap your fans?
your temperature doesn't really impress me though.
I used 100% stock fan speed and I get similar temperature, but it's hella noisy. Thinking about getting two zalman vf-900, but I am not sure if it worth investing $$$ since 5850 is only $260.
Does anybody know how quiet 5850 is.


MY temps were about 2-3 degrees higher than now, but yes, it was VERY noisy this is why I made this mod.
The VF-900 mod should be good as well (had the same cooler on mx previous card a 4850 toxic), though pricewise it costs more thn the two fans, and the weight of the 2 VF-900 is greater than 2 fans.

As I said before this might not be the most elegant mod, but is surely absolutly silent!


----------



## gsk3rd

Quote:


Originally Posted by *phreakboy* 
MY temps were about 2-3 degrees higher than now, but yes, it was VERY noisy this is why I made this mod.
The VF-900 mod should be good as well (had the same cooler on mx previous card a 4850 toxic), though pricewise it costs more thn the two fans, and the weight of the 2 VF-900 is greater than 2 fans.

As I said before this might not be the most elegant mod, but is surely absolutly silent!









I am actually going to use this mod for my card but will put a small spin on it.

what do you guys thing of 2 ultra kazes?


----------



## krazyatom

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


@krazyatom

"I just realized that I can use my ati 4830 1gb for triple xfire.
Do you think this set up will do fine?" *Yes, its is perfectly fine, match mem clocks and all will be well. Terrific setup.*

"I currenrtly have catalyst 9.8 and do you think it will automatically detect my 4830?" *I wouldn't advice just installing the card without uninstalling the drivers, sweeping in safe mode and then reinstalling drivers.*

"I do have cross fire bridge that came with me when I bought 4850 x2.
also, if i am trying to do triple monitor set up do I connect everything to 4850 x2?" *With crossfire enabled, you will only be able to connect 2 monitors to the primary card, either the X2 or the 4830. If you install the 4830 and do not crossfire it with the X2 (still CF'ed), you will be able to run 2 moniotrs on the X2 and (2) monitors on the 4830.*

"options:

A: connect primarily monitor to 4850 x2 and connect other two monitor to 4830 1gb.

B: connect all 3 monitor to 4850 x2.

C: connect 2 monitor to 4850 x2. (including primarily) and 1 monitor to 4830.

I saw someone playing world of warcraft using 3 monitor set up and it was awesome







"

*It is difficult but not impossible to game on (3) monitors, with the X2 alone or with the X2+4830.

4850 X2 alone:
What you have to do is disable crossfire, then plug in the (3) monitors tot he X2. Get and setup softTH. Run game if it works.

4850 X2 + 4830:
What you have to do is disable crossfire from 3 gpus to 2, then plug (2) monitors to the X2 and (1) to the 4830. Get and setup softTH. Run game if it works.

SoftTh is a software mod that uses (1) card for the graphics and the other card for the triple monitors spanning (instruction). I've had mild success using this program since it is hard to setup and work. Thank god for eyefinity.









My efforts are in this thread somewhere, you will have to look through to find them. Good luck.*


Thanks for your advice.
I will work on my triple xfire set up this weekend


----------



## krazyatom

My 3dvantage came out.

3dmark score P10511 3dMarks

CPU score 7719

Graphics Score 11952

Ugh.. not sure if this is good.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


My 3dvantage came out.

3dmark score P10511 3dMarks

CPU score 7719

Graphics Score 11952

Ugh.. not sure if this is good.


That's right on par, see OP. Remember you are running a dual core not a quad core and 3dmark scores are half based on cpu score. The 4850 X2's gpu scores usually range from 11.8k-12.5k


----------



## gsk3rd

I am going for the 4850x2 benchmark crown once I get my WCing setup done.


----------



## gsk3rd

So appearently I have been had. I thought I got a 4850x2 2gb. Nope, got a 1gb version instead. Besides the missing gb what are some other differences between the two cards?


----------



## rico2001

@gsk3rd
Damn bro, sorry to hear. Go kick your friend's ass.

With (2) 512mb, resolutions at or over 1600, performance is seriously hurt. Here is a review: http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/articl...hd_4850_x2_1gb


----------



## gsk3rd

well I have spent the good part of the day benching with the new setup and proud to say I met my 3dm06 goal of breaking 21k.










I still have some tweaking to do so I will not say I am done but this will hold me over for now.


----------



## rico2001

Congrats, gsk3rd! Nice score.


----------



## SgtHop

That is a pretty nice score.
I've noticed, though, that the 4800 threads have died in the weeks since the 5800s have come out. Interesting how quick it happened...


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


That is a pretty nice score.
I've noticed, though, that the 4800 threads have died in the weeks since the 5800s have come out. Interesting how quick it happened...


Which 4800 thread? It's up to users to keep them alive.


----------



## SgtHop

This one doesn't seem to have been affected quite as much, but I've noticed a lack of activity on the 4890 thread...


----------



## rico2001

What I try to do here is address a question or two, offer praise to owners in here. Sometimes post a review if I find one or bring up an interesting point on the card. The 4890 thread has 4 times as many owners then the 4850 X2. It should be pretty active. I tried to contribute to the 4870 X2 thread up a little but there isn't much interest there anymore. Guess many have moved on.


----------



## kimosabi

*waiting for the 5850x2*


----------



## krazyatom

I might go for ati 5850 or 5870.
Which card should I get and which brand?
I think xfx is good because it has double life time warranty, so resell values are awesome.
I want to play world of warcraft using 3 monitor. New ati 5 series supports 3 monitor set up! so kool


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *krazyatom*


I might go for ati 5850 or 5870.
Which card should I get and which brand?
I think xfx is good because it has double life time warranty, so resell values are awesome.
I want to play world of warcraft using 3 monitor. New ati 5 series supports 3 monitor set up! so kool


Well guys,

unless I win big on the Lottery, I'll be keeping this card for quite a while. If anything, may get a 4850 to go tri-fire sometime in the future, but that will be quite a bit away.

Anyway have pre-ordered Modern Warefare 2.









Anyone from the UK - try www.coolshop.co.uk Â£24.99.

I ordered mine 2 days ago when the price was Â£22.99. Have used them before - seem good. Prices very good. Have seen retailers trying to sell it on pre-order for Â£40-Â£50


----------



## rico2001

hia martin,

Nothing wrong with holding on the the X2 beast. I'm keeping mine forever. When is MW2 coming out? Nov. ??, may put down a pre-order myself.


----------



## rico2001

*Update to Opening Post:

ATI Catalyst 9.10 suite links added.*


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


hia martin,

Nothing wrong with holding on the the X2 beast. I'm keeping mine forever. When is MW2 coming out? Nov. ??, may put down a pre-order myself.


November 10th.

Looks good- I was a big fan of COD4 so this is a must buy for me

Online nickname d4martin








I look out for you.

This weekend - I be installing Windows 7 64 Professional- and re-installing all my apps and games.
Interested in the _'virtual'_ XP mode.

Seems better than just using virtual PC(with a 'virtual copy' of Win XP)- as I do now, as the programs can run through the Win 7 desktop and not in a Win XP window. Also can access USB devices, so hoping that means my printer and scanner will work through my old apps (Photoshop CS and Illustrator CS2). It's annoying having to save files as .jpg or .PDF, etc, just to copy over (from virtual Win XP)to Vista desktop so I can print them.

I'm hoping that this will see me through until I can affort CS5 when that comes out- (If it's Windows 7 64bit compatible - that is!!!! Adobe have been getting a bit lazy.)

What's the best 4850x2 driver for Windows 7 64bit at the moment??










Martin


----------



## vicious_fishes

catalyst 9.10 bring you guys any improvements ? enabled supersampling AA for me.

for the record, 2x SSAA looks better than 8x MSAA, it's that good.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes*


catalyst 9.10 bring you guys any improvements ? enabled supersampling AA for me.

for the record, 2x SSAA looks better than 8x MSAA, it's that good.


Haven't tried them out yet, I'll install now and run a few benches.


----------



## gsk3rd

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Haven't tried them out yet, I'll install now and run a few benches.

Sweet let us know. I am about to install W7 and going to use 9.10.


----------



## kairi_zeroblade

how's the scaling with the 9.10??


----------



## sulphur

My Cpu,GPU catalyst 9.10:









Resident Evil Benchmark:
9.9








9.10









Vantage:
9.7:








9.9:








9.10:


----------



## rico2001

@sulphur
Thanks for the comparison.







rep+

I should have mine up shortly.


----------



## rico2001

Testbed:
E8300 @ 3.8G
6Gb DDR2
ATI Catalyst 9.8
ATI Catalyst 9.10
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850 X2 2GB

*3DMark Vantage

Catalyst 9.8









Catalyst 9.10









Crysis

Catalyst 9.8









Catalyst 9.10









STALKER Clear Sky

Catalyst 9.8









Catalyst 9.10









Extra bench for fun:

Heaven 1.0

Catalyst 9.10
















*
Heaven benchmark is beautiful and very demanding maxed out.


----------



## vicious_fishes

looks like the era of 4800 fps improvements is over.

for current games at least anyways :/


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *vicious_fishes*


looks like the era of 4800 fps improvements is over.

for current games at least anyways :/


Been over actually. If you read the release notes, ATi has been focusing on crossfire performance and peaked at cat. 9.7, 9.8. And I think you are right, they are moving on to the newer game titles.


----------



## jamesj

Hi guys, have been reading this thread with interest.

I run a 4 monitor setup for work which is what attracted me to the 4850x2.
I use a windowed app with 3d graphics on 1 monitor, and the rest is 2d.
I currently accomplish this with a PCIe gf 9400gt + PCI (ouch) gf 6200, each with 2 outputs.
performance is starting to bite generally tho so I've decided it's about time for a total upgrade. have got an i7 860, gigabyte p55-ud4 and this card on order along with other bits and pieces.
I read earlier in this thread however that using 4 outputs requires disabling crossfire on the card - is this likely to effect me?
beyond a basic 'combining the power of 2 cards on a single output' I have little idea about crossfire - and I only found that out in the last few days! It has been years since I was heavily into games so I'm pretty out of touch now on how it's all changed.

with the 4 outputs all running on the 4850x2 (and crossfire disabled) is it in effect like having 2 separate 4850's powering 2 monitors each?

the new mobo has a PCIx8 slot as well as PCIx16, so I could have a setup (I think?) with the 4850x2 in crossfire mode powering 2 of the monitors, and the old GF 9400GT powering the other 2 - altho I've never used a multi graphics card setup with cards from different companies before, I think this should work - any comments?
This wasn't my original plan (one of the pro points of the 4850x2 was that I can switch to using just a single card) but have just thought of it now.

thanks for any advice you can offer









James


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *jamesj*


Hi guys, have been reading this thread with interest.

I run a 4 monitor setup for work which is what attracted me to the 4850x2.
I use a windowed app with 3d graphics on 1 monitor, and the rest is 2d.
I currently accomplish this with a PCIe gf 9400gt + PCI (ouch) gf 6200, each with 2 outputs.
performance is starting to bite generally tho so I've decided it's about time for a total upgrade. have got an i7 860, gigabyte p55-ud4 and this card on order along with other bits and pieces.
I read earlier in this thread however that using 4 outputs requires disabling crossfire on the card - is this likely to effect me?
beyond a basic 'combining the power of 2 cards on a single output' I have little idea about crossfire - and I only found that out in the last few days! It has been years since I was heavily into games so I'm pretty out of touch now on how it's all changed.

with the 4 outputs all running on the 4850x2 (and crossfire disabled) is it in effect like having 2 separate 4850's powering 2 monitors each?

the new mobo has a PCIx8 slot as well as PCIx16, so I could have a setup (I think?) with the 4850x2 in crossfire mode powering 2 of the monitors, and the old GF 9400GT powering the other 2 - altho I've never used a multi graphics card setup with cards from different companies before, I think this should work - any comments?
This wasn't my original plan (one of the pro points of the 4850x2 was that I can switch to using just a single card) but have just thought of it now.

thanks for any advice you can offer









James



First off, welcome James to OCN and to the 4850 X2 owners thread. Here is the deal with the 4850 X2. One pci-e 16X 2.o slot is required and you need about 650W min. power supply. Running multiple monitors with the 4850 X2, can be ran two ways. The X2 is two gpus on the same board running together. You can run 1-2 monitors with crossfire enable (2 gpus together as one) or you can run 3-4 monitors with crossfire disabled (separating the 2 gpus). When crossfire disabled you will have the gaming power of only one gpu and the game will run on one monitor, while the other 2-4 monitors will remain in whatever mode you have them in (cloned or shared desktop).

The performance of using only one gpu is still pretty good and can play most game titles, but running both gpus in crossfire is really where the power of the whole card shines. As you mentioned you also can add another card, such as another 4800 or nvidia card to run 2 monitors and have the 4850 X2 with crossfire enabled running 2 other monitors. Before buying the 4850 X2, a few notes: some people find the card a little loud since it has 2 high rpm fans, opposted to a slightly larger single fan which most other card have. Also the 4850 X2 is 11-1/2" long so make sure you have 11-3/4" of clearance.

Side note: since you are doing a rebuild, you may want to consider a 5800 series card. Both 5850 and 5870 can power 3 monitors. The 5850 is 5-10% faster than the 4850 X2. Just a thought but the 4850 X2 is still a great card. Hope that helps you out.


----------



## jamesj

thanks for the detailed reply rico, think I've got it all now. I expect the 4850x2 will be fine for my needs powering all 4 monitors in non-crossfire mode, however can also try it in crossfire mode if need be with the old GF 9400gt board running 2 monitors that don't have to do a great deal.

thanks also for the heads up re: noise/length - am a bit fussy with regards to noise while I'm working but if it is too loud I'm happy trying some of the fan mods suggested in this thread, and the size is nothing a quick bit of hacksaw work can't fix


----------



## porksmuggler

Curious if anyone has compared the hdmi realtek audio on the 4850X2 to motherboard audio? Would the 4850X2 audio compare to the audio on my motherboard?

http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_I...QNm&templete=2


----------



## rico2001

@jamesj
Well the noise level is most noticeable when 3D clocks are on and fan ramps up past 35% and higher. The newer 4850 X2's, I'd say the past 6 months, have a new bios which has a quieter fan profile. At 2D clocks the card's fans will be at 12% which makes the card pretty quiet. As you may have seen my mod and others, work well to reduce fan noise levels when the fans are really going over ~35%. So while you are working, doing 2D application stuff, you would be fine.


----------



## SgtHop

I still really don't think the fans on these are that loud. I think people just like to complain, lol.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SgtHop* 
I still really don't think the fans on these are that loud. I think people just like to complain, lol.

Same here, I've never found them to be loud either but I always feel the need to at least mention it to people not familiar with the card and may buy one down the road.









Quote:


Originally Posted by *porksmuggler* 
Curious if anyone has compared the hdmi realtek audio on the 4850X2 to motherboard audio? Would the 4850X2 audio compare to the audio on my motherboard?

http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_I...QNm&templete=2

This is one area of the 4850 X2, I don't have any knowledge on.


----------



## guscol

i dont see nothing about estability of 9.10 in windows 7


----------



## azianai

I gotta take my name out of the club =(
just traded my 4850X2 for a 4890 with AC Twin Turbo cooler to keep the computer as quiet as possible.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *azianai* 
I gotta take my name out of the club =(
just traded my 4850X2 for a 4890 with AC Twin Turbo cooler to keep the computer as quiet as possible.

Aw, hate to hear it man, but the 4890 is a good card as well. Be sure to stop back in on the thread from time to time, your experience with the card is invaluable to others.









Update to OP:
Owners list up to date 10-29-2009


----------



## tipsycoma

Is there a major difference in performance between the 1 GB and 2 GB version of this card?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *tipsycoma* 
Is there a major difference in performance between the 1 GB and 2 GB version of this card?

The 2GB version is a lot better than the 1GB version. Here is why. How they call out the total amount of ram is a little misleading. The 2GB version has 1GB per gpu and the 1GB version have 512mb per gpu. In any crossfire configuration, including both X2 cards, the memory is not added together, itâ€™s kinda shared/paired with each other. So the 2GB version has a total memory of 1GB paired and the 1GB version has 512mb paired.

So what does this mean performance wise? It means, with the 1GB version (512mb per gpu), that any game or 3D application it has been shown that at resolutions at or above 1600, the card is close to or out of vmem and performance suffers a good bit. This is also true with any 512mb card at this point. And results will vary, not all games demand the same amount of mem usage. So say at 1600 res, playing L4D, you will probably be as fast as a 2GB model but when playing Crysis or Stalker CS, you will be slower than a 2GB model.


----------



## rico2001

Resident Evil 5 - Cat. 9.8 vs. Cat 9.10 (4850 X2)


----------



## guscol

my 4850 x2 got new home


----------



## Outcasst

So close to 20k


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *guscol* 
my 4850 x2 got new home

Nice- I didn't know the HAF cases came in different colours- or have you had this thing power-coated?

Like the 2 tone - red/black look.









Martin


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *guscol*


my 4850 x2 got new home


Nice guscol, I still love the shroud mod the best.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Outcasst*


So close to 20k


Good score man. Try to up the cpu a little more, you'll reach your goal.


----------



## TehStone

How's the stability/driver support fellas?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *TehStone*


How's the stability/driver support fellas?


All the driver stability issues were worked out some months ago, around Catalyst 9.4. Since then, from what Iâ€™ve experience and seen from other owners, has been smooth sailing. The issue these days, which are common to all ATi cards, is single game optimizing. Resident Evil 5 had some performance issues for us and ATi has worked that issue out in Catalyst 9.9/9.10. Installation of the drivers are smooth and straight-forward and adjusting options in Catalyst Control Panel are simple.

The 4850 X2 drivers Iâ€™ve liked and have given me zero problem with:
Cat. 9.2, 9.3, 9.5, 9.6, 9.8, 9.9, 9.10


----------



## kimosabi

lol Like last time I've obviously fallen behind on the drivers. Still 9.7 here.


----------



## guscol

impressed with the catalist 9.10 and resident evil 5 almost the double of fps


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *guscol*


impressed with the catalist 9.10 and resident evil 5 almost the double of fps


+1 agreed.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


All the driver stability issues were worked out some months ago, around Catalyst 9.4. Since then, from what I've experience and seen from other owners, has been smooth sailing. The issue these days, which are common to all ATi cards, is single game optimizing. Resident Evil 5 had some performance issues for us and ATi has worked that issue out in Catalyst 9.9/9.10. Installation of the drivers are smooth and straight-forward and adjusting options in Catalyst Control Panel are simple.

The 4850 X2 drivers I've liked and have given me zero problem with:
Cat. 9.2, 9.3, 9.5, 9.6, 9.8, 9.9, 9.10


Had three freeze ups in COD4 on the last two nights I've played.
on Windows 7 Pro 64 bit, Cat. 9.10. Animation sometimes seems a little bit jerky- which is really weird. This baby is usually as smooth as silk. Only two things I've changed are clean install to Windows 7 and a change up to Cat 9.10, so has to be one of them. Anyone else had the same problem? I've never had a promblem before this( although not a big problem). Could be the Winsdows 7 drivers though. Usually rock solid in Vista 64 bit. Sometimes played constantly for 4 hours or more and never experience anything like this. Goes to show how spoiled I am- a few jutters and a couple of freezes and I'm complaining-LOL.









If there is a link to 9.9 for Win 7 64 bit - goes anyone have it?
May give it a go to see if that improves it.

Martin


----------



## rico2001

Martin, I'll try out COD4 with 9.10 and let you know if I notice any un-smoothness. To be honest, I change drivers so much, sometimes I don't get a chance to play every game I have on every driver revision.


----------



## jamesj

finally got my 4850x2 today after 2 weeks in the post due to mail strikes. very pleased so far









even after the bios tweak to bring fan speed down to 3% it sounds quite loud to me (I do not want to be able to hear anything in the PC) but that's no biggie, plan to do the Noctua fan mod that someone posted earlier in the thread which should solve that.

I was concerned that my card may have problems as I got it on ebay, and afterwards looking through the seller's history 2 months ago he purchased a 4850x2 labelled as 'broken/nonworking' - so far it's been fine, and scores a 12.5k rating in 3dmark vantage which seems fairly standard. can anyone suggest any other free benchmarking tools that would give the card an extended stress test? (I don't play any games to test it with).

thanks for the tips already posted in here!


----------



## rico2001

@Martin
Well COD:MW is still smooth as silk with cat.9.10. Man I do love that game.







Could be the Win7 difference. Try 9.9's

@jamesj
Welcome back James, and glad you are enjoying the card. Sorry to hear you think the fans are loud at 3%, I don't hear the card at all at 3% and barely heard it at 12%. I guess we all have difference cases and are running different exhaust fans in our systems. There are a number of mods, us owner have done to reduce the sound futher. My second 4850 X2 was used and it was great for the most part and I've never had a problem with them.

About other programs, if you look at the opening post (OP), you will find a number of free benchmarks you can use, and test your cards stability.

Please when you get a chance, sill out your system specs and at some point, post a pic or bench so I can add you to the owners list. Thanks.


----------



## rico2001

*4850 X2: CINEBENCH R10*


----------



## rico2001

*Update to OP

Tools added:
MSI AfterBurner Overclocking Tool v1.4
GPUTool CTP1 Overclocking Tool 
Unigine Heaven Benchmark Tool v1.0
Street Fighter IV Benchmark Tool v1.0
Resident Evil 5 Benchmark Tool v1.0*


----------



## rico2001

*Update to OP

ATI Catalyst 9.11 Drivers* added


----------



## SgtHop

Hmm...I think it's time for me to update.


----------



## kimosabi

Any word about the 5950? Teh interwebz is full of 5970 but that's really not very interesting to me.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kimosabi*


Any word about the 5950? Teh interwebz is full of 5970 but that's really not very interesting to me.


Nothing much yet but I'm keeping my eye out.









What I have heard:
-end of November (27th?)

I think the 5970 is interesting but not the card you and I are after.


----------



## phreakboy

5970?...man these stuff are coming out damn quick....but lets face it...do we actually use the full power of the 4850x2 all day long???

Well I don't actually I only game occasionally, when I have time -that is 2-3 hours a week-

These cards are for sythetic test phreaks with loads of money









Anyways I'll be reading reviews when they'll come out, but I'm happy with my X2 for a while


----------



## SgtHop

And those who enjoy Crysis. I heard it gets 30FPS with highest settings at 1600.


----------



## kimosabi

Yeah I'm pretty happy with the 4850x2. Not much trouble going on at all. I do need DX11 and tesselation to get the most out of a couple of upcoming games though.


----------



## rico2001

Testbed:
E8300 @ 3.8G
6Gb DDR2
ATI Catalyst 9.10
ATI Catalyst 9.11
SAPPHIRE Radeon 4850 X2 2GB

*3DMark Vantage

Catalyst 9.10









Catalyst 9.11









Crysis

Catalyst 9.10









Catalyst 9.11









STALKER Clear Sky

Catalyst 9.10









Catalyst 9.11









Unigine Heaven

Catalyst 9.10

















Catalyst 9.11

















Resident Evil 5

Catalyst 9.10









Catalyst 9.11








*

Another nice little gain in this driver revision. It's good to see ATi not being complacent and continuing to make improvements for the 4000 series.


----------



## kimosabi

Yeah I installed the 9.11's yesterday and I noticed a slight improvement on IL-2 Sturmovik as well. That's the only game I play BTW.


----------



## guscol

what about estability?


----------



## Outcasst

Time to take me off the list









Card is sold and is waiting to be replaced by the 5870.


----------



## rico2001

Sorry to see you go, Outcasst. Fun while it lasted and the 5800 series is quite nice so far.

*Update to OP

Owners list up to date: Nov. 29, 2009*


----------



## kimosabi

Not as nice as it should be. *hint*









*edit* In fact, I WILL hold on until I see a 5950. Gotta test my principles every once in a while....


----------



## rico2001

Yay. Luckily I didn't blow all of my "sold 4800 cards" money on my 5850. So I have have some change left and going to save back up for the 5950 in January (hopefully). On the bright side, maybe the price will be lower than it would be if it was out today.


----------



## SgtHop

Are you going to take the time and buy all the 58/900 cards like you did with the 4 series?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


Are you going to take the time and buy all the 58/900 cards like you did with the 4 series?



Not sure yet but most likely. The 5950 will be next for me though.


----------



## SgtHop

Aye. I ponder selling all of my GPUs and forking over the $600 for a 5970, but, that's a lot of work, and a lot of cash...


----------



## rico2001

The 5970 is too rich for my blood and I only had ~$525 to play with anyway. I'll get that card around May or June. Hopefully the 5950 will be under or at $500 on release. SgtHop, you should try out one of the 5000 series, the overclocking is and the gains from it are outstanding.


----------



## SgtHop

Yeah, I think I'll be making the motions to sell all my ATI cards. If I get a new one, it's going to be the 5970. I figure I can get $600 for all my cards, or close to it. Maybe a few dollars over.


----------



## kimosabi

I'm starting to crumble. The Powercolor 5870 LCS looks to be my biggest challenge so far. I want that card.......


----------



## SgtHop

Well, guys, it's been great, but I just shipped out my 4850X2. Time to come off the list.


----------



## kimosabi

I did it. Sorry Rico. I have plenty of time to regret it though, won't be in stock before 15. December.


----------



## SgtHop

Yeah, there's a 5970 out there with my name written all over it. I'm sure though that I won't be regretting it. It's one beast of a card.


----------



## rico2001

Np SgtHop, it's been a good run. What 5000 are you going to get. Congrats kimosabi, although the 5850 is really the cards to get, real "sleeper" card. Are you going to hold on to your 4850 X2?

Update to OP: Owner list up to date Dec. 9th, 2009


----------



## SgtHop

I'll be getting the 5970. Going all out this time round.


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Congrats kimosabi, although the 5850 is really the cards to get, real "sleeper" card. Are you going to hold on to your 4850 X2?


Yeah, I've noticed the 5850's overclocking and scaling compared to the 5870 but I'll be damned if the 5870 won't satisfy my needs too. Yeah, I'll be holding on to the 4850x2. Nice to have for a backup.


----------



## ritchwell

The list is getting smaller.


----------



## SgtHop

And it will continue to. How often do you see 3870X2s anymore?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SgtHop* 
I'll be getting the 5970. Going all out this time round.

Nothing wrong with that. Why not.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kimosabi* 
Yeah, I've noticed the 5850's overclocking and scaling compared to the 5870 but I'll be damned if the 5870 won't satisfy my needs too. Yeah, I'll be holding on to the 4850x2. Nice to have for a backup.

No doubt. Both 5800 are outstanding and you can't go wrong with either. I also plan on getting the Sapphire Vapor-X 5870 when the time is right.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ritchwell* 
The list is getting smaller.

What are your future plan, ritchwell?


----------



## SgtHop

My thoughts exactly, sir. It's a bit hard selling my old cards though. 4850X2 was the easiest by far, just because it's so special.


----------



## ritchwell

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
What are your future plan, ritchwell?

Until the price come down on the 5xxx, i will hold on to the 4850x2, I do have a 4870CF on my spare computer. I would love to have the 5970.


----------



## Hav4k

Hi.
Should enable the CrossfireX with one 4850 X2?.








Bye.


----------



## SgtHop

Yes, if you want to run using both GPUs.


----------



## Hav4k

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SgtHop* 
Yes, if you want to run using both GPUs.

Thanks for the answer.
I have enabled CrossfireX, but my PC freezes while i'm playing Crysis Warhead, World in Conflict or Call of Juarez Bloun in Blood and i have to restart the computer. However, Modern Warfare 2 or Far Cry 2 works fine in CrossfireX, what's wrong?.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Hav4k* 
Thanks for the answer.
I have enabled CrossfireX, but my PC freezes while i'm playing Crysis Warhead, World in Conflict or Call of Juarez Bloun in Blood and i have to restart the computer. However, Modern Warfare 2 or Far Cry 2 works fine in CrossfireX, what's wrong?.









First off, welcome to the owners thread.









Second, please fill out your system specs. This will myself and others held you with problems better. What drivers are you using? After a successful driver installation, your crossfire setting should already be enables in catalyst control center (ccc). Did you wipe drivers in safe mode after uninstalling previous drivers?


----------



## Hav4k

Hi rico2001.

My PC specs are: Intel E8400, Seagate 500 GB, Corsair 2x2GB DDR2 800, MSI P45 Neo-F, Corsair TX 650W, Sapphire 4850 X2 2GB and Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit. I'm using Catalyst 9.11 and i did a clean install of OS and drivers because my PC is new.

Thanks for you attention. Bye.


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Hav4k*


Hi rico2001.

My PC specs are: Intel E8400, Seagate 500 GB, Corsair 2x2GB DDR2 800, MSI P45 Neo-F, Corsair TX 650W, Sapphire 4850 X2 2GB and Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit. I'm using Catalyst 9.11 and i did a clean install of OS and drivers because my PC is new.

Thanks for you attention. Bye.


If you edit your system specs here you will find your system listed in your signature.









Welcome to OCN and our little club here and congrats on having a great card!


----------



## Hav4k

Hi.

I have contacted with AMD and Sapphire support asking for a solution of my problem, these are the answers:

AMD:

Quote:

Thank you for contacting AMD.

The fact is that the operating system recognizes the video card ATI Radeon HD 4800 X2 series as 2 video cards, this makes the Catalyst Control Center has the option to enable Crossfire X.

In some applications can run, but many others will have this kind of problem, therefore you have to keep the Crossfire X disabled.

And yes, there is support for CrossFire X in version 9.11, but the problem is you are trying to make the Crossfire X with 1 video card alone. The Crossfire X works for more than 1 video card.

Any doubt, contact.

Best regards,

AMD Global Customer Care
I'm confused, why works fine with with some games and not others?









Sapphire:

Quote:


Hi. The card freezes with CrossfireX enabled in games like Crysis Warhead or World in Conflict. Bye.

----------

Dear Sir

Please check as following:

1: Update motherboard bios and chipset driver to the latest version, please note this.

2: Clear your motherboard CMOS and back to the default setting again.

3: Check your power supply (650~700W) suggestion

4: Remove your previous card driver first (Nvidia or ATI drivers) and reinstall v9.11 or CD driver again.

If still the same, please contact your reseller and test your card on other motherboard as well.

Check this way. Thank you.

Regards

----------

I tried all suggestions and problem persists in my motherboard (MSI P45 Neo-F, MS-7519) and also in other (Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L). My power supply is a Corsair TX 650 W and my PC works fine while im playing with my old 7900GS. Searching Google, i find more people whith the same problem:

http://forums.amd.com/game/messagevi...hreadid=121543
http://forums.amd.com/game/messagevi...hreadid=111303
http://www.vgaforum.com/showthread.php?p=148030
http://www.vgaforum.com/showthread.php?t=21806
http://www.vgaforum.com/showthread.php?t=21759

Â¿No support CrossfireX for this card by Catalyst 9.11 with these games or factory default? Thanks for respond. Bye.

----------

Dear Sir

Please contact your reseller for hardware checking first. Test your card under other motherboard ans see. If there is hardware issue, please apply the RMA process direct from them. Prepare your receipt or invoice for them. Thank you.

Regards
Should I RMA the card? I don't know what to do...







Any other suggestion?.

I'll appreciate your help.

Bye.


----------



## rico2001

I asked this before and you did not answer. What other drivers have you tried? Did you wipe remaining drivers properly? Get gpu-z and take a screen shot for us. It will tell you if you if the two gpus are in crossfire. You can also look in ccc, under information center, hardware info.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Hav4k*


Hi.

I have contacted with AMD and Sapphire support asking for a solution of my problem, these are the answers:

AMD:

I'm confused, why works fine with with some games and not others?









Sapphire:

Should I RMA the card? I don't know what to do...







Any other suggestion?.

I'll appreciate your help.

Bye.



I had some similar problems running cat 9.10 under Windows 7 64bit. I 've dropped back to cat.9.9 (still the odd crash ) but have been playing Crysis for days(just got the Maximum version- Â£12 from Tesco Entertainment) with only one crash. I had the odd crash in Modern Warefare 2 if I was caught in an explosion in Multiplayer games-(or other very intensive graphicial situation). After going back to a driver or two this rarely happens.

Only ever had a freeze or crash since up grading to Windows 7 64 bit and have had this card almost a year. Guess the Windows 7 drivers are still in the early stages.

This was mentioned months ago - have noticed some texture stuttering in Crysis (distance trees and clouds sometimes flicker) seems to disappear if I reduce the resolution or play in a window. I'm sure this will disappear after I overclock the CPU- which I'm hoping to do over Christmas. I'll also check for latest patches (just bought it) to see if this helps.

My new Corsair H50 has managed to get my stock idle temps down from 30 - 35C idle to 22C-27C idle, but sure I can get this lower still. When using Prime95 at 100% load the temps have been a touch high. I think I have just a touch too much Artic Silver 5 on there. I used the 'single thin line' method- which is too much - should have used an amount the size of a grain of rice apparently. Must be true as I've been using less each time I re-install it and the temps have got lower. I've been letting the AC5 bed in before each re-install. Great product for i7 CPU.
Now more confident to overclock and retest everything. Will let you know how I get on.

Martin


----------



## rico2001

Hia Martin,
I have win7 but still afraid to install it for that very reason, I see see people having issues with it and ATi cards.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Hia Martin,
I have win7 but still afraid to install it for that very reason, I see see people having issues with it and ATi cards.


Hi Rico,

I've not had that many problem with it. It's been annoying but not terrible. I only tend to play Crysis, Modern Warefare 2, COD4 and L4D at the moment. Most of the freezes were at graphically intensive moments- as I said before when getting blown to bits by bombs etc. Once I overclock I'll have a better picture of what the extent of the issues are. I'm not sorry that I upgraded. Luckily there's a few drivers I could drop back too to help easy the problem.

The texture stuttering in Crysis - I noticed this on the Crysis demo months ago when using Vista 64bit so that's not a Win 7 problem. I managed to get through the full singleplayer version of MW2 without noticing any problems. Only noticed in Multiplayer- guess alot more going on!!

I would say to go for it, or if you have a second PC -try it on that. You can install it for a month before having to enter the serial number so you could test it first. Or make an 'Image' of your current system which you can revert back too. Only real problem is if your hardware isn't fully compatible- my girl-friend was fuming that she couldn't use her mobile any more to transfer photos on to Win 7 as it wasn't supported- no driver for it. Hee hee.

Will say I think Win 7 is a little bit slower than Vista but you soon get used to it.


----------



## Hav4k

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


I asked this before and you did not answer. What other drivers have you tried? Did you wipe remaining drivers properly? Get gpu-z and take a screen shot for us. It will tell you if you if the two gpus are in crossfire. You can also look in ccc, under information center, hardware info.


I'm sorry, I haven't explained well: I install Windows 7 and the last drivers (9.11) for the first time in my new PC, and i tried also the CD drivers. I unistalled/reinstalled the drivers following your instructions (Safe Mode) and the crash persist.

GPU-Z and CCC: Screens

Bye.


----------



## pipnasty

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Hia Martin,
I have win7 but still afraid to install it for that very reason, I see see people having issues with it and ATi cards.


Hi Rico, I haven't had any problems with my 5850 running on Win 7 64 bit.. the games I've played on this OS w/o any problems are:
Dragon Age Origins, Prototype, Batman Arkham Asylum, Torchlight, COD 5: WAW, Red Faction Guerilla, Lost Planet (Dx10), Street Fight IV, Mini Ninjas

But I noted when playing Far Cry 2, the game's movement is severely lagging (have tried on DX10 and DX9, still same







). To explain: it's like when you move your character around, every few seconds the movement will slow down/lag (while maintaining FPS). It's not a microstutter thing, more on the game not being able to run well on Win 7 64bit - i think.

Hope that helps


----------



## rico2001

@Martin
Yea I understand the problems are not many but I like having 0 problems, which is what I get with vista.








I'm thinking of getting another hard drive to put win7 on and I only want to get to win7 for the experience of using it. Hopefully win7 will gain 100% stability in Cat. 10.

@Hav4k
ok. I would now try one version back, Cat. 9.10 drivers. Your gpu-z looks fine, both gpus enables in crossfire.


----------



## pipnasty

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


@Martin
Yea I understand the problems are not many but I like having 0 problems, which is what I get with vista.








I'm thinking of getting another hard drive to put win7 on and I only want to get to win7 for the experience of using it. Hopefully win7 will gain 100% stability in Cat. 10.


haha it's pip by the way, not martin


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *d4martin* 
Hi Rico,

I've not had that many problem with it. It's been annoying but not terrible. I only tend to play Crysis, Modern Warefare 2, COD4 and L4D at the moment. Most of the freezes were at graphically intensive moments- as I said before when getting blown to bits by bombs etc. Once I overclock I'll have a better picture of what the extent of the issues are. I'm not sorry that I upgraded. Luckily there's a few drivers I could drop back too to help easy the problem.

The texture stuttering in Crysis - I noticed this on the Crysis demo months ago when using Vista 64bit so that's not a Win 7 problem. I managed to get through the full singleplayer version of MW2 without noticing any problems. Only noticed in Multiplayer- guess alot more going on!!

I would say to go for it, or if you have a second PC -try it on that. You can install it for a month before having to enter the serial number so you could test it first. Or make an 'Image' of your current system which you can revert back too. Only real problem is if your hardware isn't fully compatible- my girl-friend was fuming that she couldn't use her mobile any more to transfer photos on to Win 7 as it wasn't supported- no driver for it. Hee hee.

Will say I think Win 7 is a little bit slower than Vista but you soon get used to it.


Quote:


Originally Posted by *pipnasty* 
haha it's pip by the way, not martin









@pipnasty

I was replying to Martins post not yours. It was long so I didn't quote it, I just did @Martin. I know your name, no harm no foul.


----------



## Hav4k

I tried Catalyst 9.10, World in Conflict run fine but Warhead still crash.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Hav4k* 
I tried Catalyst 9.10, World in Conflict run fine but Warhead still crash.









Have you tried 9.9. Remember to use Driver Sweeper in Safe mode to clean out the older driver remains . Restart and then install 9.9. - then re-start again.

Is it crashing at random points such as quiet points in the game, or always in busy fire fights?????

Have you tried running it at lower resolutions too - even try running in a window may help to pin-point the problem.

Is your card over-clocked? Is your CPU over-clocked?
How many hard-drives and card installed in your motherboard ?- in case it's a low power problem

Thanks

Martin


----------



## rico2001

Well warhead is a very buggy beast for most of us. Make sure all of the warhead patches are installed. It's given my problems with all of my ati cards since day one, a year ago.


----------



## Hav4k

Quote:


Originally Posted by *d4martin* 
Have you tried 9.9. Remember to use Driver Sweeper in Safe mode to clean out the older driver remains . Restart and then install 9.9. - then re-start again.

Is it crashing at random points such as quiet points in the game, or always in busy fire fights?????

Have you tried running it at lower resolutions too - even try running in a window may help to pin-point the problem.

Is your card over-clocked? Is your CPU over-clocked?
How many hard-drives and card installed in your motherboard ?- in case it's a low power problem

Thanks

Martin

Hi.

I have tried Catalyst 9.9 and it has failed.

The description of the crash is the following: it begins a few minutes to start playing in any situation of the game, then the screen goes totally black or freezes but the sound still plays a few seconds until it "distorts". This only happens when I enable CrossfireX in CCC.

I tried running it at lower resolutions too with identical result.

No and no. A hard drive (Seagate 500GB) and one 4850 X2. Â¿The Corsair isn't enough for my PC?.









Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
Well warhead is a very buggy beast for most of us. Make sure all of the warhead patches are installed. It's given my problems with all of my ati cards since day one, a year ago.

I have updated the game to 1.1.1.711 and it's still happening. What's driver version are you using on Vista 64? How do you configure CCC?.

Thanks for the answers.

Bye.


----------



## rico2001

*Update to Opening Post:

ATI Catalyst 9.12 suite links added.*


----------



## Hav4k

Hi.

I tried Catalyst 9.12 on W7 and Crysis Warhead still crash, but only in Enthusiast mode (=very high). I have read Catalyst 9.11 release notes pdf and this crash is fixed for Vista, but no mention for 7 with Crossfire enabled.
I'm thinking that the problem is drivers on W7 and no hardware issue, so I wait for the next Catalyst revision to try it again.

NOTE: Sorry for my bad English, i'm not an English native speaker.

Bye.


----------



## rico2001

Hav4k, do have another pc (non win7), you can try your X2 in? Are you only having issues with Crysis Warhead? How are you with Crysis?


----------



## phreakboy

Heya Rico









I see temporarely "droped in" a 5850 in your rig, how's it going?


----------



## SgtHop

Well, the spoils from the sales of this card have paid off, and I just ordered my 5970 today. I'm a very happy man.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *phreakboy* 
Heya Rico









I see temporarely "droped in" a 5850 in your rig, how's it going?

Hia phreakboy, the new cards goes well. Performs very fast (10-15% faster than a 4850 X2) and its really smooth. The 4850 X2 is still my favorite card though and never selling it but it was time for me to move on to the 5000 series.

How is your 4850 X2? Still better than your toxic? How are the temps of your fan mod? Ever get the zalmans you were talking about?


----------



## lurkingdevil

Hi guys,
I recently bought a "Used - Like New" 4850x2 off amazon for $180. I was about to get a 4890 but when I saw this, I thought this is a better deal.
So well now when I tried the card in my system, it refuses to give any display at all. The motherboard gives 1 long and 2 short beeps (video card problem). I have a 600W PSU. The psu has 2x 6pin pci-e connectors(no 8-pin). So I just connected the 6 pin in place of the 8 pin socket. After looking through the net, it appears that the two extra pins are just ground and people have managed to run their card with the 6-pin connector. There are only 2 red leds visible when on the card when it is powered on. The fan and everything works but there is not display. 
I am very eager to run this card. Any help is appreciated.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *lurkingdevil*


Hi guys,
I recently bought a "Used - Like New" 4850x2 off amazon for $180. I was about to get a 4890 but when I saw this, I thought this is a better deal.
So well now when I tried the card in my system, it refuses to give any display at all. The motherboard gives 1 long and 2 short beeps (video card problem). I have a 600W PSU. The psu has 2x 6pin pci-e connectors(no 8-pin). So I just connected the 6 pin in place of the 8 pin socket. After looking through the net, it appears that the two extra pins are just ground and people have managed to run their card with the 6-pin connector. There are only 2 red leds visible when on the card when it is powered on. The fan and everything works but there is not display. 
I am very eager to run this card. Any help is appreciated.


Lurkingdevil, welcome to the forum. First off, you canâ€™t run two (6) pin plugs with the 4850 X2, it wonâ€™t work or at least I have never heard of anyone that ran a 4850 X2 with (2) 6pin plugs. You have to use (1) 6 pin and (1) 8pin pci-e power plug. The other (2) pins in the 8pin plug are not just ground pins but allow for the extra 75W of power to go through the other pins. In your case, see if you have the molex 8pin adapter, that comes with all 4850 X2 cards. Looks like this:










Look at the card and see which (2) LED lights are on. See the first post of this thread for definitions of the 4850 X2 LED lights. Hopefully you didnâ€™t just buy a bad card. I believe you just have a power problem. Having only 600W also may be a problem. Although some owners have gotten by with a 600W psu, the recommended minimum is 650W. If you are running a overclocked quad core cpu, 600W is probably not enough.

Please fill out your system specs in your use option on the forum. It will help others in helping your with problems.


----------



## lurkingdevil

Thanks for your reply rico.
It is actually a OCZ 650W PSU. I understand I need the 8 pin connector. Sadly the seller did not send the 8 pin adapter and it is very difficult to find one locally. I will contact the seller regarding this and keep you posted.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *lurkingdevil*


Thanks for your reply rico.
It is actually a OCZ 650W PSU. I understand I need the 8 pin connector. Sadly the seller did not send the 8 pin adapter and it is very difficult to find one locally. I will contact the seller regarding this and keep you posted.


Np and 650W will work. Let me know if you have a problem locating one, I'll send you one of mine.


----------



## lurkingdevil

Well you see there is a catch.
I am currently in India and I bought the card from a US seller. The seller refused to send the adapter half-way around the world because of shipping cost. It is great of you to offer to send me one but for the same reason I think you shouldn't. Besides, it will take it forever to reach me. 
Either I'll buy one off ebay from one of those hong-kong sellers. They seem to have everything and they ship worldwide $5 lol. Or, I will most probably hack one together :
http://www.isyougeekedup.com/how-to-...or-video-card/


----------



## rico2001

Well that mod looks a little dangerous but seems like it should work fine. Let me know if I can help. The part is very small and light, so other than time, I don't think it would cost much to ship.


----------



## lurkingdevil

Its late here now, I'll think over it tommorrow and let you know how it works out if I do the mod. I have all the equipment to do and test the mod before putting it in action so I think I should be ok.


----------



## phreakboy

Hey Rico,

Seems everyone is happy with the new 5850, think I'll get one for myself next year. I really love the 4850 for it quat DVi out put (now I'm using 3 monitors) this was te main reason why I bought it -and it was a killer deal as well-

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
How is your 4850 X2? Still better than your toxic? How are the temps of your fan mod? Ever get the zalmans you were talking about?

Sure it's better than the toxic 4850, but unfortunatelly since I play with GTA IV, performace wise in this game it's almost the same (GTA for does not use crossfire) BUt anyways in other games it stil rocks @ 1920x1200

Temps are ok with the 2 Noctua fans, maybe even cooler than stock and no, I dumped the 2 Zalman coolers idea, my fan mod works alright for me with absolutley no noise at all!

HApppy gaming and a merry Xmas with a hopefully better year to you Rico and all others on the board!


----------



## lurkingdevil

SUCCESS!!









I have FINALLY booted the system with the card on.








I made my own connector with the above posted hack. It went into the socket easily and is working fine. Cutting the two pins took more time than I thought, boy they are made of some hard plastic. Also after installation of the card, I was having problems with it giving display. My monitor accepts analog so I had to use the dvi to d-sub convertor. I was getting intermittent display and it was only (1) colour. I knew when the connector is loose, this happens but I tried to tight it by hand as much as possible but to no avail. Then I took a screwdriver and screwed the converter to the graphics card so now its tight and giving perfect display. Downloading the drivers now, I can't wait. 
Thanks alot rico.This was an upgrade from a X1600PRO LOL. So, thats like a double epic upgrade? 
I will later hook it upto my larger tv with hdmi, hopefully I should be able to play most games at 1920x1080 with ~40fps atleast.(excluding the extra-demanding ones like crysis)
I am a happy boy.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *phreakboy*


HApppy gaming and a merry Xmas with a hopefully better year to you Rico and all others on the board!










Happy Christmas to you Phreakboy.

We'll all be celebrating at different times due to the time zones we are in, but hope it all goes well













































Happy Christmas Rico and everyone else. Hope you all have a great one.


----------



## lurkingdevil

Can you tell me how I can control the fan speed, its a bit loud. I used to do it with ati tray tools but now I removed that and got CCC. I dont think its possible to adjust the speed through CCC.
I am not getting the performance boost I had expected, could it be because the rest of the system is rather old? I was getting 15fps avg at high 1280x1024 in world in conflict








Also please tell me what else I should use to make sure everything is working fine with the card.

EDIT: 30-55 average fps in cod4 at 1280x1024 all settings on
i was expecting more









EDIT2: ok games are also crashing, i think its the power supply

what do you suggest should I do to make sure the graphics card is working 100% fine and its the rest of my system that is being the bottleneck?


----------



## SgtHop

First off, welcome to OCN. Second, if you could fill out your system specs in the user control panel, that would be great, and would help us find any potential incompatibility problems.


----------



## rico2001

@phreakboy
Thought you had a 4890. I'm going to work on getting some more monitors myself. Really want to play with eyefinity.

@lurkingdevil
Yea man, I don't think 500W is going to cut it, especially when the 4850 X2 really starts to pull the juice.

@d4martin
Same to you. Merry Christmas to you, SgtHop, phreakboy, lurkingdevil and everyone here on OCN.


----------



## SgtHop

Oh, yeah, if you've got a 500, I'd definitely say change that, get something around the 650 range, or higher.

Also, Merry Christmas to you, too, Rico, and to everyone else.


----------



## lurkingdevil

i got the graphics card working without crashes now.
i ran furmark at default and i'm getting 4383. should i be getting more?
i am getting 73fps average.
also i wanted to know if the rest of my system spec would have much effect on the furmark score. i am running a single core athlon at 2.6ghz(sucks, i know), i will be upgrading in a few months but right now i want to make sure that the graphics card is performing at 100% and is not a bad card.

also i am having a side effect of installing the card.
it is that when i start my pc the default mouse pointer speed goes is very high(the slider is still set at its default location) and i have to go to the control panel and lower it. now then after some time while the pc is on, the speed becomes very less and I have to go to control panel to set the slider at its original place.

also what do you think about 4850X2 vs 5850. consider that i got a 4850X2 for $180 and the 5850 goes for about 280..


----------



## rico2001

Hard to tell if a furmark score is good, if you don't say what resolutions you were running. Again please fill out your system specs in your user profile. Any single core cpu will seriously hurt the performance of the 4850 X2. A new cpu would be a good choice for your next upgrade. About your last question, 4850 X2 / 5850 comparison, see my review in my signature.


----------



## lurkingdevil

Sorry i forgot to include the resolution.(how did i miss it >_<)
I was running it at 1280x1042, everything default. Yes I understand a single core will hurt performance of 4850x2, but is there some benchmark that only stresses the gpu and is very less affected by the cpu. I will see if I can get this card on a faster cpu to do some benchmarks.

I saw some weird behaviour yesterday. I had installed ati tray tools. O clicked on set default clock and it set the clocks at (500/750 - much lower than the stock ones). But in gpu-z it was showing the stock clocks(625/993). Then I ran furmark and got a highier score?!?
Then furmark reports clocks as "500/750 from gpu-z". i have no idea what to make of it.
Also while running furmark ati tray tools shows taht both gpu are at 100% activity. Would that mean the card is doing the best it can; or is it that gpu-activity will be at 100% no matter what cpu.


----------



## rico2001

It has to do with more than stress. You system is unbalanced, high end video card, low end cpu. The cpu pushes the workload the gpus does, so even though one game may be more graphically demanding than another, the X2 will needs a comparable cpu to help it work at it's maximum efficiently.


----------



## lurkingdevil

so what you're saying is, I will be getting a significantly lower score in all benchmarks till I upgrade the cpu?


----------



## rico2001

Yes, across the board. But it's not the end of the world and all your games will be more than playable. Just you performance won’t be where they would be with a more modern, high cache, 3Ghz and higher dual core or quad core cpu. This thread is long but you can find just about every score on here to compare and see for yourself.


----------



## lurkingdevil

Yes I know its not the end of the world








Well the sad thing is, games are on borderline playability. I'll have to live with it for 2-3 months. Atleast cod4 is very much playable.
I have noticed I am getting about the same fps on different resolutions and different settings on details, indicating a cpu bottleneck.
I know i can find just about anything in this thread but browsing through 270 pages is kind of impractical; still I'll browse the thread like 25 pages/day.

EDIT: I need help getting CCC to install. I have removed ati tray tools and only the drivers are installed right now. I have ran the setup a multiple times, it will go through the whole process without errors but CCC would never show up.
This problem started occuring when I installed ATT but now that I have removed it, I can't get CCC to install. Any ideas?


----------



## lurkingdevil

Left 4 Dead :
More info: I see a framerate drop of about 2-3 when going from 800x600 to 1280x1024.
Changing the setting "Effect" from low to high also drops framerate by 6-8. Changing all other settings produces no framrate change. (Not counting the extreme anistropic and 4x-8x msaa). So my interpretation is that the effect setting produces more load on the cpu(by causing more(or detailed) physics effects); and the cpu starts to show its caps.
Am I correct?

Street Fighet IV benchmark tool:
I downloaded this to do some more gaming benchmarks, and I am glad to find that this runs great








I am getting a rank of B with everything high and no AA. I think I got about average of 62fps(dont remember accurately). With 4xAA I am getting average of 46fps.
Will increasing AA always reduce fps even if I'm cpu bottlenecked?

Sorry for so many questions, I'm curious lol.


----------



## XeqtR

Hi guys! 
I just saw this awesome thread all about the 4850X2







I am new here, just have me registered for one question. 
I saw that some of you overlocked the beast to 700MHz/1200MHz in ccc overdrive. I've the 4850X2 2GB version, overlocked to 700Mhz/1100Mhz. My question is, is it artifacts when you have overlclocked the memory to 1200MHz, both cores? Because I haven't tried clock to 1200MHz.

cheers!


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *XeqtR* 
Hi guys!
I just saw this awesome thread all about the 4850X2







I am new here, just have me registered for one question.
I saw that some of you overlocked the beast to 700MHz/1200MHz in ccc overdrive. I've the 4850X2 2GB version, overlocked to 700Mhz/1100Mhz. My question is, is it artifacts when you have overlclocked the memory to 1200MHz, both cores? Because I haven't tried clock to 1200MHz.

cheers!

Welcome to OCN and the 4850 X2 owners thread, XeqtR; always good to see new members. With the 4850 X2, it is a bigger stretch (overclock) to get the memory up to 1200 when you are at 700 core. This is b/c the stock voltage for the core and memory of the card and itâ€™s lack of being increased. In the bios, you can increase the core voltage a little but the memory voltage, not at all. Most owners Iâ€™ve seen can to 700core/1150 mem and few can do 700/1200.

The memory on the 4850 X2 is rated at 1000 mhz so overclocked to 1200mhz can cause problems and artifacting. The core is a different story. Since the core is identical to the 4870, itâ€™s capable of 750-800mhz. Again since the 4850 X2 doesnâ€™t have the same voltage as the 4870 X2, itâ€™s hard to reach 4870 core clocks. Some 4850 X2 owners, which a modded bios, have found a safe stable overclock of 720mhz/1050-1100mem. My best is 735core/1050mem.

Hope this helps. Please post a pic, benchmark score, or gpu-z verification to get added to the ownerâ€™s list. Again welcome to the forum and when you get a chance, please fill out your system specs. in your user preferences. That will help others help you when addressing problems or questions you may have.


----------



## XeqtR

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Welcome to OCN and the 4850 X2 owners thread, XeqtR; always good to see new members. With the 4850 X2, it is a bigger stretch (overclock) to get the memory up to 1200 when you are at 700 core. This is b/c the stock voltage for the core and memory of the card and it's lack of being increased. In the bios, you can increase the core voltage a little but the memory voltage, not at all. Most owners I've seen can to 700core/1150 mem and few can do 700/1200.

The memory on the 4850 X2 is rated at 1000 mhz so overclocked to 1200mhz can cause problems and artifacting. The core is a different story. Since the core is identical to the 4870, it's capable of 750-800mhz. Again since the 4850 X2 doesn't have the same voltage as the 4870 X2, it's hard to reach 4870 core clocks. Some 4850 X2 owners, which a modded bios, have found a safe stable overclock of 720mhz/1050-1100mem. My best is 735core/1050mem.

Hope this helps. Please post a pic, benchmark score, or gpu-z verification to get added to the owner's list. Again welcome to the forum and when you get a chance, please fill out your system specs. in your user preferences. That will help others help you when addressing problems or questions you may have.


Thank you!









Oh, okey I see. My 4850X2 2GB is overclocked to 700MHz/1115MHz, and it runs stable in every game and bench I've thrown at it. Why I asked, was because when I bought my 4850X2, I clocked the memory to whole 1175MHz, and I think it was with ccc 8.11, maybe 8.12. Every game had no artifacts and neither benches. 
But the thing is from that point to now is that I can't have the memory clocked to 1175MHz anymore :S. In css stresstest, I can see small artifacts. So now I keep the memory at 1115MHz and running ccc 9.12. So that I thought was a little strange, because 1175MHz worked fine before.

rico2001, is it hard to moddify the BIOS on the 4850X2? Flash BIOS?
And what do you think about that why I can't have 1175MHz clocked memory anymore?

I've filled in my systems specs in settings, and also filled in my signature








Here are some pics on GPU-Z, CPU-Z, Core Temp and my 3DMark Vantage P score:



















As you can see, the 4850X2 scores pretty damn good in Vantage









Again, thanks!


----------



## lurkingdevil

The second gpu on my 4850x2 is not going upto the 3d clocks while doing a run of furmark. There is a short peak in the graph after which it comes back to 2d clocks.
First gpu :









Second gpu : 









Is this normal?

EDIT: I just noticed there is no load on second gpu, but crossfire is enabled. 
I am also running a fresh install of xp with only catalyst drivers installed.


----------



## rico2001

XeqtR, make sure you run furmark in "full screen" mode. Half the time, not always, if you run a 3d application in "windowed" mode, it will only use one gpu. Give that a try.

*Udpate to Opening Post:*
Owners list up to date: Jan. 8th, 2010


----------



## lurkingdevil

Problem fixed 
Complete removal of drivers then a reinstall of drivers fixed it. Now its using both gpus.


----------



## XeqtR

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
XeqtR, make sure you run furmark in "full screen" mode. Half the time, not always, if you run a 3d application in "windowed" mode, it will only use one gpu. Give that a try.

*Udpate to Opening Post:*
Owners list up to date: Jan. 8th, 2010

Okey rico, I'll do that








Otherwise I play Crysis with 1920x1200, DX10 Very High, 8XAA, it's no match for this card. Ingame fps are like 30-45 outside









Still one more question, is hard to modify the BIOS on the 4850X2, or flash the BIOS on the card?

Cheers!


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *XeqtR*


Okey rico, I'll do that








Otherwise I play Crysis with 1920x1200, DX10 Very High, 8XAA, it's no match for this card. Ingame fps are like 30-45 outside









Still one more question, is hard to modify the BIOS on the 4850X2, or flash the BIOS on the card?

Cheers!


Np. The 4850 X2 is an outstanding and powerful card. As for modifying the bios, it's not hard at all, just have to be careful. See pages 177-179 for a step by step tutorial of flashing the 4850 X2.


----------



## Gatroo

Cheers guys! im back on the forum again xDDDD
i dunno that some of u remember me or not but np...









i just wanted to say hello to all you guys!


----------



## XeqtR

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Gatroo*


Cheers guys! im back on the forum again xDDDD
i dunno that some of u remember me or not but np...








i just wanted to say hello to all you guys!










I am new here so..







Hello!


----------



## rico2001

Welcome back Gatroo! Long time no see, what's it been ~6 months? How's the 4850 X2?


----------



## Gatroo

well pretty much nothing new i think im going to change my card soon ,but im not sure about it








1 question... if i want to overclock it to 700mhz than i need to put my fan speed on 100% or 70% is enought for it.









but yeah good to see you guys again









tiger out!


----------



## SgtHop

Depends on your temps and your tolerance for noise. If it's too warm for your liking at whatever fan speed you have it set as, increase it until you think it gets too loud. Chances are you won't overheat the card.


----------



## kimosabi

The 4850x2 is so good that I haven't even installed my 5870 yet. That's how good it is.


----------



## XeqtR

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kimosabi*


The 4850x2 is so good that I haven't even installed my 5870 yet. That's how good it is.


Hehe, yeah you are right about that. Have now my 4850X2 2GB running at 700MHz/1120MHz, and those clocks seems to be fine, no trouble so far. And in couple of days, I am gonna order my 2nd 4850X2 2GB version. Looked up some reviews with those 2 running and it seems work very well with the newest drivers.


----------



## XeqtR

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Gatroo*


well pretty much nothing new i think im going to change my card soon ,but im not sure about it








1 question... if i want to overclock it to 700mhz than i need to put my fan speed on 100% or 70% is enought for it.









but yeah good to see you guys again









tiger out!


I have mine on 700MHz/1120MHz, and the fan is running at auto, no problems







I don't think you have to put it on 100% or 70%.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *XeqtR*


I have mine on 700MHz/1120MHz, and the fan is running at auto, no problems







I don't think you have to put it on 100% or 70%.


Same here, I ran mine on auto for daily gaming use. Only set fans manually for benching.


----------



## jeffreytp

I have this card with the stock fans and even with the fans set auto at their slowest speed (3%), they are still the loudest thing in my case. Anyone ever change out these fans for quieter ones?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jeffreytp* 
I have this card with the stock fans and even with the fans set auto at their slowest speed (3%), they are still the loudest thing in my case. Anyone ever change out these fans for quieter ones?

Yes a few owners have installed other fans and hs/fan combo. They are all in this thread, use search tool. Btw, you must have no exhaust fans in your case, if your 4850 X2 is the loudest thing in your case. I can barely hear mine at 12%. I've found all the top cards have some noise level to them, goes with the territory.


----------



## SgtHop

Anything with an 8 after the series is going to be a bit noisy. And, I was about to say, unless your fans run at about 400RPM, you probably have some airflow issues. I could never hear the fans on my 4850X2, and I always thought the people that complained about the noise weren't really listening.


----------



## kimosabi

Any news on the 5850x2?


----------



## SgtHop

I haven't heard anything. Seems like the whole world just kinda forgot about it.


----------



## rico2001

I'll haven't forgot about the 5950, I have my money ready.







No news about it for awhile now. I expect we will start to see some info next month after 5830 drops.


----------



## mrhandy65

i have windows 7 and i run linux, am i going to be able to use this card?


----------



## SgtHop

On 7, yes. I don't know how Linux will work with it though, I don't run it.


----------



## mrhandy65

i just read that there are no working ati drivers, so i hope i can get it to work, but i have onboard i guess.. lol... its not like i game on windows... i was going to keep my 4890 till i read this thread.. so thank you everyone here.. im ordering my 4850X2 tonight! 209 on newegg.com!


----------



## SgtHop

Everything after 9.7 was made to work on 7, so I don't know where you were hearing there were no drivers for it. Mine ran fine on 7 with the 9.9s.


----------



## mrhandy65

well i read there was no driver made by ati that worked, and that u needed to get them from sapphire, but if ati makes them, that is great too


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *mrhandy65*


well i read there was no driver made by ati that worked, and that u needed to get them from sapphire, but if ati makes them, that is great too


Yes that was true. When the 4850 X2 was first released back in Nov. 2008, ATI didn't have any drivers for the card for the months of Nov. and Dec. and owners used drivers provided by Sapphire. ATi then started to support the card in Catalyst version 9.1 (Jan. 2009). The 4850 X2 was been supported ever since. It has been fully stable in all games since Cat. 9.4 drivers IMO.


----------



## mrhandy65

ok.. makes sense, i was reading the first pages of this post.


----------



## SgtHop

Oh, right, makes sense. Yes, any current driver will work. I still have no clue about Linux, though. Rico, any insight?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


Oh, right, makes sense. Yes, any current driver will work. I still have no clue about Linux, though. Rico, any insight?


The 4850 X2 started being supported in ATi drivers for Linux in Cat. 9.2 and onward.

Quote:



AMD Proprietary Linux Catalyst 9.2 Release Notes

ATI Desktop Product Family Support

The ATI Catalyst™ Linux software suite is designed to support the following ATI
desktop products:
ATI Mobility Radeon™ X3400
ATI Mobility Radeon™ X600
ATI Mobility Radeon™ X2600
ATI Mobility Radeon™ X300
ATI Mobility Radeon™ X2400
ATI Mobility Radeon™ X200
ATI Mobility Radeon™ X2300
ATI Mobility Radeon™ 9800
ATI Mobility Radeon™ X1800
ATI Mobility Radeon™ 9600
ATI Mobility Radeon™ X1600
ATI Mobility Radeon™ 9550
ATI Mobility Radeon™ X1400
ATI Mobility Radeon™ 9500
ATI Mobility Radeon™ X1300
ATI Mobility Radeon™ Xpress 1100 series
ATI Mobility Radeon™ X1200
ATI Mobility Radeon™ Xpress 200 series

Note: The ATI Radeon™ HD 3870X2 series of product is currently
not supported by the ATI Catalyst™ Linux software suite

Note: All-in-Wonder™ variants based on the above are also supported.
However, video capture is not supported.

Note: Software driver support for ATI FireGL™, Integrated, Mobility
™ and Desktop products prior to the Radeon™ 9500 is available from

www.amd.com
ATI Radeon™ HD 4870 X2 Series
*ATI Radeon™ HD 4850 X2 Series*
ATI Radeon™ X1650 Series
ATI Radeon™ HD 4800 Series
ATI Radeon™ X1600 Series
ATI Radeon™ HD 4670 Series
ATI Radeon™ X1550 Series
ATI Radeon™ HD 4650 Series
ATI Radeon™ X1300 Series


----------



## SgtHop

Well, there you go. It does work.


----------



## BountyHead

So has any one here had experience with Sapphire RMA. They got my 4850x2 on the 20th. Im itching for it back seeing as how ME2 comes out tomorrow lol


----------



## mrhandy65

i know this thing is big, will it fit in a antec 300 case?


----------



## foothead

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mrhandy65* 
i know this thing is big, will it fit in a antec 300 case?

It's about 12 inches long. You may need some modding to get it in (doubtful in an antec) but expect to lose a couple HDD bays.

Does anyone have a resolution higher than 3840x1200? I'm specifically looking for 5760x1200 if possible, mostly out of curiosity.

It was awesome at 3840x1200 though.


----------



## mrhandy65

i would like to not have to mod, but prepared to do so if the need arises....i got enough bays in my case. so loosing 2 wont bother me.


----------



## foothead

I had to give up four.
It seems that the graphics card creates a pocket of heat underneath it, so I installed a fan in the HDD bays to blow air out the open PCI slots in the back of the case.


----------



## rico2001

*Update to OP

ATI Catalyst 10.1 Drivers* added


----------



## SgtHop

If only I had an ATI card to run those 10.1s on, lol. I'm assuming you're going to be doing some benchmarks, right Rico?

EDIT: WAIT. I do have an ATI card to run them on.


----------



## phreakboy

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jeffreytp* 
I have this card with the stock fans and even with the fans set auto at their slowest speed (3%), they are still the loudest thing in my case. Anyone ever change out these fans for quieter ones?

Hi Jeffry,
I found the noise of 4580x2 awful so I've done my mod, check http://www.overclock.net/7368767-post2618.html

It definately works for me, almost no sound at all. Stock cooloer sucks


----------



## XeqtR

Hey guys!

Got my 2nd 4850X2 2GB for 2 days ago, so I'll share some pics and benchmarks









And here she is, ready to get benched.









Shining all new. The new 4850X2 is beneath.









Cablemanagement is not the easiest thing in Antec 900, specially when you've 2 beast of a cards.









Some benches folks:

3DMark 06. roughly 27332 points.









3DMark Vantage. Both 4850X2's on stock, a P score of 21669.. I can tell that's a lot.









And Crysis of course. At HIGH DX10 1900x1200 NoAA, 68avg fps.









Otherwise the CrossFireX scaling is working very well for me. Running with ccc 10.1.


----------



## SgtHop

That's sexy, do want. Closest thing I ever had was one with a 4890, which was sexy as well, but not as sexy as a matching pair of cards.


----------



## kimosabi

Having four GPU's in one system sure is appealing. Good scores mate, you can now play Crysis.


----------



## rico2001

@XeqtR

Killer quad-fire 4850 setup. rep+ await some benches. Should be interesting since the drivers are much better for tri- and quad- crossfire than a year ago.


----------



## XeqtR

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kimosabi*


Having four GPU's in one system sure is appealing. Good scores mate, you can now play Crysis.










Hehe







1 4850X2 2GB killed crysis already, but I ordered the 2nd from France, and all in all it just was 250 Euros. I think I did a great deal


----------



## XeqtR

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


@XeqtR

Killer quad-fire 4850 setup. rep+ await some benches. Should be interesting since the drivers are much better for tri- and quad- crossfire than a year ago.


Yeah Rico. I did look at some reviews from like almost 1 year ago. At that time QuadFire 4850X2 scaled "okey", but not as good as it does now. I've compared my system to many other QuadFire setups, some with 2x 4850X2's, and I do score much better now with newer and more mature drivers







And it was not so easie to get one more 4850X2, not here in Sweden. Out of stock everywhere. But I had luck and did find a good site (pixmania.com) from France.


----------



## XeqtR

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


That's sexy, do want. Closest thing I ever had was one with a 4890, which was sexy as well, but not as sexy as a matching pair of cards.


Sounds nice







did they work well together?


----------



## SgtHop

Yup. Somewhere on this thread I have a benchmark, but I have no idea where. It was a while ago.


----------



## XeqtR

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


Yup. Somewhere on this thread I have a benchmark, but I have no idea where. It was a while ago.


Oh okey. It's a bit hard to find with so many pages here ^^


----------



## SgtHop

Yeah, it really is, but it worked great.


----------



## SgtHop

Quote:



Originally Posted by *XeqtR*


Oh okey. It's a bit hard to find with so many pages here ^^


EDIT: Found it. http://www.overclock.net/6747161-post1883.html

Forgot that I got a rep for posting it, lol.


----------



## XeqtR

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


EDIT: Found it. http://www.overclock.net/6747161-post1883.html

Forgot that I got a rep for posting it, lol.


Good score there







Most have looked cool to have the 4850X2 with a 4890


----------



## SgtHop

Aye. Judging by my clocks though, it was on my old Foxconn, which wasn't very good, and it would have been rather cramped.


----------



## XeqtR

Hey again folks. Did do some benches today with my overclocked QuadFire setup, So I'll share them with you







Got also some new personal records, like in 3Mark06 and Crysis.










*3DMark06:* A score of 27410, my personal record.









*And Crysis:*

At HIGH DX10 1900x1200 NoAA. Now there I got roughly 72.96avg fps. That is superb!









AT HIGH DX10 1900x1200 16XQAA. 70.65avg fps.. with 16XQAA. Not bad at all.









My next target is to break 28k in 3DMark 06, so I'll see how that goes. I also got a score of P22669 in Vantage, and a gpu score over 23k, but forgot to take a pic of it. Will do it next time


----------



## SgtHop

Good scores, comrade. I tried to get Rico to sell me both cards at the same time, but these are his favourite, so I only got one of them, lol. Good luck getting those goals.


----------



## XeqtR

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


Good scores, comrade. I tried to get Rico to sell me both cards at the same time, but these are his favourite, so I only got one of them, lol. Good luck getting those goals.


hehe. They are not so very easy to get. If it just weren't Sapphire who maked 4850X2, it would be easier to get hand on one . Do you have your 4850X2 installed and all?


----------



## SgtHop

No, I sold it a month or two ago. I was going to get a 5970, but I couldn't find one, and ended up squandering all my money on Nvidia cards, unfortunately. Oh well, I suppose. I could have even run quadfire with two 4890s and one of these in my new rig, but it never happened.


----------



## gsk3rd

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


I'll haven't forgot about the 5950, I have my money ready.







No news about it for awhile now. I expect we will start to see some info next month after 5830 drops.


How much do you think it will cost? Do you think it will suffer from clocks like the 5970?


----------



## SgtHop

I'm going to fathom a guess that the 5850, given the current market price, would be around $550, but that's pure speculation. I have no source, so don't ask for one, lol.


----------



## XeqtR

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


No, I sold it a month or two ago. I was going to get a 5970, but I couldn't find one, and ended up squandering all my money on Nvidia cards, unfortunately. Oh well, I suppose. I could have even run quadfire with two 4890s and one of these in my new rig, but it never happened.


Oh okey. Yeah the 5970's were out of stock for like 1-2 month or something. 
hehe I saw at your PC specs that you have a couple of geforce cards









The 5970 is an interesting card, but it never got my attention to buy it.. Maybe I think it's cuz I already did have 1 4850X2 and did have thoughts about to getting a 2nd which I now have. Plus imo it wouldn't be worth the money to upgrade from a 4850X2 to the 5970.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *gsk3rd*


How much do you think it will cost? Do you think it will suffer from clocks like the 5970?


My guess would be, it will cost somewhere around $480 ~ $520 and may be clocked around 650mhz core. The lower clocks is not a problem for either 5950/5970 IMO. I know the reasoning behind it and as long as they leave the voltage as 5850s, 5870s and leave room fr adjustment, it would be good in my book.


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Hey everyone,

Just popping in to see how all of you are doing. I'm still amazed at how much activity this thread still has with all this talk about HD6000 series and such now. Everyone has been doing a great job and once again I'd like to commend *rico2001* on his continued effort for moderating this thread ever since the day he got ownership. Keep up the great work everyone.









*~ Open1Your1Eyes0*


----------



## gsk3rd

Well guys I am leaving the club. Selling my 4850x2 1gb and going back to two 4870s. Was fun, will see ya when the 5950 drops!


----------



## Wolfeshaman

alright now the first thing i am going to say is i just do not have time enough to read all 200+ pages. right now though i am about 110 into reading. from what i have been reading is that this card. (it is on order and should be here by next sat at latest.) had alot of problem but that it has been corrected at this point? ive seen a coupld of times that if you take off the shroud it will let the card run both cooler and quiter. been eyeballing this card for awhile but want to make absolutely sure im not going to be having massive issues on a 200+$ card


----------



## SgtHop

Well, that's what they say, removing the shroud does that stuff, but it really doesn't run that loud, at all. I also had no problems with cooling on mine, but the general consensus is that it should run as cool as possible, yadda yadda yadda.

I never thought it was that loud, but mine was in a 1200, so there was a lot to cover it up.

Also, if you remove the shroud, it removes some of the structural integrity of the card, so it will bow because it's so long. Some have put the shroud on the back side of the card to fix this, which is a pretty neat idea.


----------



## Wolfeshaman

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


Well, that's what they say, removing the shroud does that stuff, but it really doesn't run that loud, at all. I also had no problems with cooling on mine, but the general consensus is that it should run as cool as possible, yadda yadda yadda.

I never thought it was that loud, but mine was in a 1200, so there was a lot to cover it up.

Also, if you remove the shroud, it removes some of the structural integrity of the card, so it will bow because it's so long. Some have put the shroud on the back side of the card to fix this, which is a pretty neat idea.


that actually really is. though i am going to be running the DuOrb cpu cooler within the case and the case can fit up to 8 120mm fans plus a 80mm where the back of the motherboard tray is. i think i saw one post on here somewhere where someone said they jury rigged a coat hanger to hold the card from the bowing. (could be wrong though). i guess we will have to see.


----------



## Wolfeshaman

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


Well, that's what they say, removing the shroud does that stuff, but it really doesn't run that loud, at all. I also had no problems with cooling on mine, but the general consensus is that it should run as cool as possible, yadda yadda yadda.

I never thought it was that loud, but mine was in a 1200, so there was a lot to cover it up.

Also, if you remove the shroud, it removes some of the structural integrity of the card, so it will bow because it's so long. Some have put the shroud on the back side of the card to fix this, which is a pretty neat idea.


that actually really is. though i am going to be running the DuOrb cpu cooler within the case and the case can fit up to 8 120mm fans plus a 80mm where the back of the motherboard tray is. i think i saw one post on here somewhere where someone said they jury rigged a coat hanger to hold the card from the bowing. (could be wrong though). i guess we will hav


----------



## SgtHop

I suppose that a coat hanger would work, but there's significantly less...ghetto...methods of securing your card. I just left the shroud on, it worked fine for me. Not too loud, and it never got hot. It's all about preference, though, so wait until you hear it with your fans ramped up.


----------



## rico2001

@Wolfeshaman

If you have room and don't want to do anything radical with the shroud, you can unscrew it and flip it upside down. This will give you the sound reduction of having removed the shroud altogether but still keep the structural support that the shroud gives the card.

edit: Also welcome to the owners thread.


----------



## SgtHop

Hmm...maybe that's what I was thinking of. I don't really remember, I can't look at it and tell, because I don't have mine anymore.


----------



## Wolfeshaman

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


@Wolfeshaman

If you have room and don't want to do anything radical with the shroud, you can unscrew it and flip it upside down. This will give you the sound reduction of having removed the shroud altogether but still keep the structural support that the shroud gives the card.

edit: Also welcome to the owners thread.


if it ends up being an issues i'll look into it. as of right now though i am going to be running 5 Case fans (the 4x120mm and 1x80mm.) that coupled with the Duorb CPU cooler should be enough either way to keep the cards temp down.

edit: thanks for the welcome


----------



## Wolfeshaman

So alright kinda dumb question. how can i tell if a mobo will support the 4850x2? i realized tonight as im sitting here excited for tomorrow and ordering everything that i really dont know. does the mobo have to support the hybridCF or the mobo have to be outright CF? please quick help much appreciated. mobo suggestions welcome price range can only go up to 100$ maybe just barely more due to funding issues.


----------



## SgtHop

Any board supports Crossfire, as it's non-proprietary. Even the EVGA SLI boards support Crossfire.


----------



## Wolfeshaman

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SgtHop* 
Any board supports Crossfire, as it's non-proprietary. Even the EVGA SLI boards support Crossfire.

so basically i can choose any mobo because this card only takes on PCI-E slot? im just trying to figure this out before i order something that will not work with this card.


----------



## SgtHop

Yep. If it has an x16 2.0 slot, unless there's something wrong with the card, it'll work. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think I am.


----------



## Wolfeshaman

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SgtHop* 
Yep. If it has an x16 2.0 slot, unless there's something wrong with the card, it'll work. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think I am.

sweet this takes a load off my mind. was worried for a minutes because i had read somewhere that the dual GPU's can have issues on a board that does not state specifically that its crossfire. now if i can find a full atx board ill be happy though if not meh MAtx will work just tighter fit for cpu cooler.


----------



## SgtHop

Aye. If you do happen to buy a board that doesn't work, I will eat my shoe, and post pics of it.


----------



## xgeko2

You know even if it does work you should still say it dosn't i want to see this guy eat his shoe lol. Anyways im awaiting my 5850 and thinking about baking my 4850x2 to see if this fixe's it =/


----------



## SgtHop

Hurr hurr. I would request proof of it not working, I like my shoes.


----------



## Wolfeshaman

Quote:



Originally Posted by *SgtHop*


Hurr hurr. I would request proof of it not working, I like my shoes.


it should work. researched it a little bit more (no offense but i like to have thorough knowledge beforehand). also the board i ended up with claims to support cfx which is the internal version of cf. it was ordered today though it may take longer than claimed due to bank not switching the address associated with the card when the address was changed for mailing/over all account. even if it ship tomorrow though i got the guaranteed three day shipping so should be here on Friday. (its only going from NJ to NH anyway)


----------



## SgtHop

Like I said, I don't know of any board that doesn't support crossfire, especially since this isn't true crossfire in the sense that it's two cards connected.


----------



## xgeko2

The cool thing about the x2 cards is the fact that it has a seperate chip on board the card its self that will negotiate the cross fire for you. All you have to do is enable it in the driver or in your game. So literally it will work on any pci-e slot. I believe the name of the chip is the PLX chip that does all of this xfire magic!


----------



## rico2001

The 4850 X2 will work with any mobo with a pci-2 2.0 16x slot. Will even work on a pci-2 1.0 16x (equivalent to pci-e 2.0 8x), with a minor decrease in max performance on certain high demanding game titles like crysis and stalker cs.


----------



## SgtHop

The master has spoken, and my shoes will remain intact.


----------



## Wolfeshaman

thats the biggest thing that will be happening with this card Crysis. i was running a Evga 9600gt in the previous computer (prefab bleh) and it was able to play it on all medium setting at around 40-50 fps. cannot wait until i can play it on solid very high (this is original crysis no enthu setting)


----------



## Wolfeshaman

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Wolfeshaman*


thats the biggest thing that will be happening with this card Crysis. i was running a Evga 9600gt in the previous computer (prefab bleh) and it was able to play it on all medium setting at around 40-50 fps. cannot wait until i can play it on solid very high (this is original crysis no enthu setting)


figures that now the siggies start working for me. but also thank you all for all the advice and such.


----------



## lurkingdevil

Would flipping the shroud to reduce noise void warranty? Has anyone tried doing this?
The shroud is not symmetric so when you flip it, either left and right or top and bottom sides would be exchanged depending on how you flip it. Also I might have issues with the sata port on the motherboard. The card already hides all but 2 ports on my old motherboard and I don't have a right angled connector..
Any suggestions?


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *lurkingdevil* 
Would flipping the shroud to reduce noise void warranty? Has anyone tried doing this?
The shroud is not symmetric so when you flip it, either left and right or top and bottom sides would be exchanged depending on how you flip it. Also I might have issues with the sata port on the motherboard. The card already hides all but 2 ports on my old motherboard and I don't have a right angled connector..
Any suggestions?

No flipping the shroud upside down won't void your warranty. A few owners including myself have done it and since it only involves unscrewing (8) small screws and no physical modifications to the hardware, there is no risk of voiding your sapphire warranty. The only downside of the procedure is you will use up the area of three pci slots. About your sata ports, just get 90 degree sata cables.


----------



## xgeko2

Hey rico you ever hear of anyone doing a hard volt mod on a 4850x2? i think if i can revive mine i might try to slap it with some voltage.


----------



## lurkingdevil

Ok, I tried flipping it but I couldn't get it to fit in the pci-e slot. After flipping the left and right sides, the shroud would extend towards the pci-e slot and hence the the card wont go in the slot. Flipping it front and rear and the shroud would extend into the dvi output backplate at the back side. How did you guys do it?

I tried placing the card without the shroud but I'm not too comfortable with the sag at the back...
Why sapphire didn't vent the shroud for better airflow...I have no idea...


----------



## kimosabi

Whoa! My first testrun on the 5870 and holy cow, WHAT AN IMPROVEMENT! Running the 10.2 drivers on it and the games I play, it's pretty much max out and enjoy, all the way.

Still have the 4850x2 for backup though but I did not imagine it would be this much of a difference.


----------



## ritchwell

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kimosabi*


Whoa! My first testrun on the 5870 and holy cow, WHAT AN IMPROVEMENT! Running the 10.2 drivers on it and the games I play, it's pretty much max out and enjoy, all the way.

Still have the 4850x2 for backup though but I did not imagine it would be this much of a difference.


I just got my asus 5870s yesterday and very happy with it. My result on 10.1 and stock setting using vantage.


----------



## rico2001

*Update to OP

Owners list up to date: Feb. 17, 2010
&
ATI Catalyst 10.2 Drivers added*


----------



## Sardaukar

Hey guys, a newbie here. Just wondering what the best option would be to try and reduce temps on these HD4850X2s.. Ive got two of them in quad fire - they seem to run alright but i dont have a way of checking temps for each card. I know they got hot though because the lower portion of my case heats up pretty good - bordering on burning your hand after some time. The case is a Thermaltake Kandalf, non LCS. Ive got a 250mm side panel fan @ 800rpm, 3 120mm fans on the front, a 120mm on the back and a 92 on the back. All the 120s and the 92 i think run at 1300rpm. I dont know if i can make these go faster. The cards are running their stock HSFs. Mobo is a Gigabyte GA EX38T DQ-6. Any help would be very much appreciated.


----------



## rico2001

@Sardaukar

First off, welcome to the owners thread and OCN. When you get a chance, please fill out your system specs. Helps others diagnose your issues better.

The only two ways I know of for bringing down the temp of 4850 X2 quad-fire is: 1) remove both or the top card's black shroud, support the cards from sagging and if you need more cooling, install a 120mm fan to blow across both cards. 2) run all four gpu fans on manually, at say 50~70% or whatever it takes to keep your temps within range.

btw: what are your temps? If I remember correctly, when I ran my quad-fire, my temps were fine.


----------



## Renfeld

i have one and get 20221 3d06 with no o'c with amd x4 2 @ 3.9
the thing is that the card benchs slower with 750 / 1100 overclock.....
weird huh !
overall faster at 3d than 4890 that i had....
eats aa for three meals a day !
i have 2d o/c of 625 / 993 and makes desktop fly !!!!!!
ive heard not real far behind 5850 for high aa dutys....
i am sure that card tops this though....this cost less-
runs crysis benchmark on my machine 1650 / 1050..."or whatever" high / dx9 /at 34fps av no aa
when i run at 1440 / 900 aa has no empact and i can run 8hq with no slowdown at about 45fps...
not kidding...
at 1400 / 900 not much will slow this down
21.6 samsung.....


----------



## Renfeld

Heres the deal....
I have a sapphire 4850 X2 that i just got from the egg
stock clocks at 625 / 993
with a X2 550 running at 4 gig 3Dmark 06 score 17500 or so
with a X4 945 running at 3.8 gig 3Dmark o6 score 19500 or so

The very peculiar thing is that when i overclock to 700 to 750 and 1150 mem
the 3D scores go down about 200 points and thats with both 2 and four core cpu's
Ive never had a card slow down after a overclock before.....Has anybody ?

i dont really think the cpu is bottlenecking because a 3.8 X4 amd is a pretty stout performer.....
i am using latest 10.1 drivers.....
if i could find out what is going on here this card should flat scream at 750/1200
PLEASE HELP-
any help on this card

gigabyte ud3 770 X2 550 @4.05 15x270 X4 945 @3.88 14.5x260
gskill 2 X2
4850X2
4 X Raid
OCZ 800 watt
win xp ____________


----------



## mth91

water cooling is the best for the 4850x2. you're really not gonna get good temps without it.


----------



## Renfeld

Quote:



Originally Posted by *mth91*


water cooling is the best for the 4850x2. you're really not gonna get good temps without it.


ya but the card doesnt crash
just no improvment from o/c.....


----------



## SgtHop

It means the OC was unstable. You'll either have to back down the clocks or bump up the voltage, but I don't remember if RivaTuner has support for the x2.


----------



## xgeko2

The improvement over 700mhz on that card is very minimal and you might be damaging your card running it at those speeds. I had mine on water and the max i could go and still see improvement was around 720mhz core That was mainly because i couldn't push the voltage any.


----------



## rico2001

The core is solid, the memory is the weak link, where you can easily do some damage to the 4850 X2. Its good to keep the memory at or under 1100 mhz. With the stock voltage and it not being adjustable, most of us cap out around 730mhz. Xgeko2 is correct in there is a bigger gain from stock (625 mhz) to oc of 700 mhz, than the little higher clocks you can get to over 700 mhz.


----------



## Renfeld

mine will run 750 1100 with fan on full using the latest tray tools and finish 3d2006 stable but the 625 993 clocks beat it every time ?
UUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHH
running phenom2 x4 @ 3.9 thats enough right ? 
Ive never had a video card slow down after a o/c before .....
LOL
have tried most of the later drivers 
no difference-
Why does this card do this ?
Please Others......let me know any experience like mine....
pushes 20000 default 3dmark o6 625 / 993
less at 700 / 1100
strange , Why ?
I noticed that this card takes more system memory away from windows than my 4890.......running 2 x 2 gskill


----------



## XeqtR

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Renfeld*


mine will run 750 1100 with fan on full using the latest tray tools and finish 3d2006 stable but the 625 993 clocks beat it every time ?
UUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHH
running phenom2 x4 @ 3.9 thats enough right ? 
Ive never had a video card slow down after a o/c before .....
LOL
have tried most of the later drivers 
no difference-
Why does this card do this ?
Please Others......let me know any experience like mine....
pushes 20000 default 3dmark o6 625 / 993
less at 700 / 1100
strange , Why ?
I noticed that this card takes more system memory away from windows than my 4890.......running 2 x 2 gskill


Hmm.. From what I red 700MHz Core and 1100MHz Memory clock is the sweet spot for the 4850X2, and ofc I've seen higher clocks for the card too. Myself have 2 of these beasts, 2GB versions. 1st card running @ 700MHz/1115MHz, and it's stable, no artifacts at all. The 2nd 4850X2 is running @ 700MHz/1065MHz, cuz If I try the memory to 1100MHz, I can sometimes see small small artifacts in crysis for example, so I clocked down the memory to 1065 till I didn't see any artifacts at all and now it's working like a charm









Did you OCed both gpus in overdrive?

cheers!


----------



## Renfeld

Quote:



Originally Posted by *XeqtR*


Hmm.. From what I red 700MHz Core and 1100MHz Memory clock is the sweet spot for the 4850X2, and ofc I've seen higher clocks for the card too. Myself have 2 of these beasts, 2GB versions. 1st card running @ 700MHz/1115MHz, and it's stable, no artifacts at all. The 2nd 4850X2 is running @ 700MHz/1065MHz, cuz If I try the memory to 1100MHz, I can sometimes see small small artifacts in crysis for example, so I clocked down the memory to 1065 till I didn't see any artifacts at all and now it's working like a charm









Did you OCed both gpus in overdrive?

cheers!


Yes both o/c in tray tools-
Why slower o/ced than at stock ????????????


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Renfeld* 
Yes both o/c in tray tools-
Why slower o/ced than at stock ????????????

Probably because your over doing it. test how it runs at 700 core 1100mem then bump the core up slowly until its not giving an improvement anymore Then your probably just at your max clock. You might want to try a mem speed of 1050 for anything over 700 and see how your gains are affected.


----------



## not available

i have never had a card that OC'd well. i cant get more than 50Mhz on my core before it starts artifacting. not even worth OCing at all in the end, but not like you see any ingame benefits from most GPU OCs anyway.


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *not available* 
i have never had a card that OC'd well. i cant get more than 50Mhz on my core before it starts artifacting. not even worth OCing at all in the end, but not like you see any ingame benefits from most GPU OCs anyway.

All depends on what your doing and what settings you have enabled. I have this hd 5850 and oced from stock to 920mhz core and i see huge gains in all games except ancient ones like half life or doom. especially when i start maxing out the AA and quality settings once you get into high detail it can mean a night and day difference.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *not available*


i have never had a card that OC'd well. i cant get more than 50Mhz on my core before it starts artifacting. not even worth OCing at all in the end, but not like you see any ingame benefits from most GPU OCs anyway.


What psu do you have?

note: It would help to take some time to fill out your system specs. Helps others help you.


----------



## lurkingdevil

I finally had enough of the annoying noise. I had previously tried flipping the shroud but that didn't work because the shroud only fits one way(unsymmetrical) and I was uncomfortable with the card sagging down at the back without the shroud so I placed the shroud back on and lived with it. After a few days I tried sleeping with it on(its in my bedroom) and thats when I got completely fed up with it. So, the next day I decided to remove the shroud and do something about the sagging. Here is what I did :


























Yes, those are rubber bands








As you can see the pcb is nearly horizontal. If you look hard enough though you can notice a very slight bend, that bend is not due to the weight, it is now incorporated into the pcb over time but it is very slight, therefore, I didn't add a fourth band to force it completely horizontal.
At first I was trying to stuff some foam under the backside of the card, held in place by the hard drive bay but that would require me to cut the foam to proper size, much work. The foam method would have worked too though but rubber bands turned out to be easy and effective. Some advantage of having mid-tower.








Doing this striked off 4 degrees from the temp. and the reduced noise is great.


----------



## rico2001

^ Like the mod lurkingdevil, whatever works.


----------



## foothead

Anybody have one of these on water? The XSPC block looks nice.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *foothead*


Anybody have one of these on water? The XSPC block looks nice.


My friend kimosabi, has his on water.

http://www.overclock.net/case-mod-wo...ml#post5484665

...and there are a few other owners throughout this thread are on water as well.


----------



## foothead

How do they overclock?

idk if the $100 for the block would really be justified unless they can get pretty high core clocks.


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:



Originally Posted by *foothead*


How do they overclock?

idk if the $100 for the block would really be justified unless they can get pretty high core clocks.


Your looking at around 700 +- 30mhz core. I had mine on water and really low temps but it just didnt help it to go any higher.


----------



## frankydee

ThatÂ´s my log from my watermodding..... Link


----------



## kimosabi

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xgeko2* 
Your looking at around 700 +- 30mhz core. I had mine on water and really low temps but it just didnt help it to go any higher.

Yup. Didn't help me much either. Roughly 700mHz core is what you're looking at, foothead. The gains are very slim if you voltmodded and got it even higher too. I just put it under water because I like watching those temps every once in a while lol.

Rico, no 4850x2 for me nowadays, got the 5870 LCS installed.









Damn that late 5850x2.........


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *kimosabi*


Yup. Didn't help me much either. Roughly 700mHz core is what you're looking at, foothead. The gains are very slim if you voltmodded and got it even higher too. I just put it under water because I like watching those temps every once in a while lol.

Rico, no 4850x2 for me nowadays, got the 5870 LCS installed.









Damn that late 5850x2.........



My 4850 X2 is sitting on the sidelines as well; only running the 5850 now. Put my saved up money toward another car, was also tired of waiting for the 5850X2 (5950).


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
My 4850 X2 is sitting on the sidelines as well; only running the 5850 now. Put my saved up money toward another car, was also tired of waiting for the 5850X2 (5950).

I think once they get the 5850x2 out rico you should definitely start a official owners club =D ill join asap XD


----------



## Open1Your1Eyes0

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xgeko2* 
I think once they get the 5850x2 out rico you should definitely start a official owners club =D ill join asap XD

I second this. *Rico*, you have done a superb job with my thread and I would highly support it if you created the Official HD5950 Thread as well.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xgeko2* 
I think once they get the 5850x2 out rico you should definitely start a official owners club =D ill join asap XD

I'll Third that!!









Not only have you done a good job, you've attracted a great bunch of FRIENDLY people too. I've yet to see any negative comments through out the whole thread. It's a joy to read through.










Martin


----------



## Danny Boy

Add me add me, i have 1(soon to be 2 in quad xfire)


----------



## rico2001

Udpate to OP:

Owners list up to date March 25, 2010
ATI Catalyst 10.3 Driver Suite
GPUZ v0.3.9
CPUZ v1.53 32 & 64bit
MSI AfterBurner Overclocking Tool v1.5


----------



## CRizzy141

So in looking over this thread, is the inference a GPU OC is much more newb-friendly than CPUs pretty solid?

Edit - For modest gains, I mean.


----------



## xgeko2

Quote:



Originally Posted by *CRizzy141*


So in looking over this thread, is the inference a GPU OC is much more newb-friendly than CPUs pretty solid?

Edit - For modest gains, I mean.


It all depends on your setup and how far your willing to push it. If your a newb over clocking anything i think you will probably find it about the same. Gpu's maybe slightly easier if your not looking for huge gains.


----------



## d4martin

Hi Danny Boy,

I see you have Win 7 (32 or 64bit?)

Which driver do you use? Had any problems? Which programs or games do you use, etc? There are very few Win 7 people with this card, here at the moment (unless they haven't updated their signatures!!!!!). Could be useful to know for any later adopters of Win 7.

Thanks

Martin


----------



## jeffreytp

Quote:


Originally Posted by *d4martin* 
Hi Danny Boy,

I see you have Win 7 (32 or 64bit?)

Which driver do you use? Had any problems? Which programs or games do you use, etc? There are very few Win 7 people with this card, here at the moment (unless they haven't updated their signatures!!!!!). Could be useful to know for any later adopters of Win 7.

Thanks

Martin

I have been using this card and on W7 64Bit for over 6 months. no issues. ATI Catalyst Control Center Version 2010.0302.2233.40412


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jeffreytp* 
I have been using this card and on W7 64Bit for over 6 months. no issues. ATI Catalyst Control Center Version 2010.0302.2233.40412

Yes it seems all Win7/4850 X2 issues cleared up around Cat. 9.6 ~ 9.8.


----------



## ahmedelbehery

good thread


----------



## jmadiaga

post deleted.


----------



## hellspawnpr

heres a screen shot of when i use to own one


----------



## rico2001

@hellspawnpr
Not bad, although the X2 doesn't scale incredibly well in 2006. What did you get in Vantage.


----------



## XeqtR

New personal records in 3D Mark Vantage:

Xtreme score: X12496, almost 12500. A GPU score of 12264.









P Score: 22715. A GPU score of 24107.


----------



## rico2001

XeqtR, nice scores. Are you still rocking quad-fire 4850's? How is the scaling these days, with the modern drivers (Cat.9.8 and up)? Wasn't too good when I have (2) 4850 X2's back in the Cat. 9.5 days. ATi claimed to make huge improvements for quad-gpu configurations in the Cat.9.8.


----------



## XeqtR

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


XeqtR, nice scores. Are you still rocking quad-fire 4850's? How is the scaling these days, with the modern drivers (Cat.9.8 and up)? Wasn't too good when I have (2) 4850 X2's back in the Cat. 9.5 days. ATi claimed to make huge improvements for quad-gpu configurations in the Cat.9.8.


Thnx rico2001!

Yepp, I'm still rocking with dual 4850X2's 2GB versions








Right now I'm using Catalyst 10.3 beta, and all previous drivers have worked very good for me I most say. But 10.3 beta has worked best, it did gave me the most performance increase over all the previous drivers.

And atm, QuadFire seems to scale very well. In some games, I did get 100% boost from Crossfire to QuadFire. So I've seen some sick fps increases









So far I love these 2 cards, theirs sick raw performance and everything


----------



## rico2001

Nice XeqtR, that's great to hear. I wish I still had two X2's. It had potential a year ago and good to hear it's scaling better now.


----------



## twm.7

Hello,

As you can see, I'm back ! 
I had some troubles with my card and I'm happy to say that thoses are now fixed.

Long story short I received a new HD4850X2 2GB and to be honest I forgot how loud it was ! 
I don't know how I was able to stand the noise !

So I'm now looking for a way to quiet it.
I read about the quiet bios flash, the VF900 mod, and watercooling.

Here come my questions :
What is a reasonnable temperature for the card ? I don't want it to heat more than a "safety" point.
Are two VF900 able to cool it correctly ?
If I go Watercooling, what radiator size would be required to cool it ?
Thank you =)


----------



## rico2001

Welcome back twm.7

Most of you questions are answered in the previous pages and post on this thread.

Anyways,
-42 idle/70~75C load
-try to stay under 85C if possible (95 max)
-(2) VF900 do well, although don't expect much lower than stock cooler, they are mainly for quieter sound.
-I not much into watercooling, ask my friend kimosabi, watercooling king


----------



## twm.7

Thank you,

I'll try to read the hundred of pages I missed by not beeing here for a while =D

For the VF900s I didn't expected getting better temps, just lower the noise of the card, so that might be the cheapest solution right now n_n

I'll ask kimosabi right away for the radiators =)


----------



## rico2001

Also be careful, when you use the Zalmans, you remove the black shround, which gives the 4850 X2's pcb much of it's support. Watch out for a little sagging due to the extra weight of the Xalmans and the removed shoud. Many owners support the back end of the card.


----------



## twm.7

Thank you for the advice.

I think I'll go WC,
I have some "ideas" that I definitely want to give a shot to.


----------



## lurkingdevil

I think you should first try removing the shroud. When I removed it, the noise was significantly lower and easily bareable. When you remove the shroud, use something to support the back end of the card. Dont use rubber bands like I did a few pages back. They do work for a while but overtime they get loose and thus are rendered useless.

I have now made a custom support out of the body of a cheap plastic pen. I cut the pen to approximate size first leaving about 1 cm extra. Then sanded it down to just the right size. 
In this picture, I did not place the support perfectly vertical because it was bending the card upwards. Apparently it still required a bit more sanding.


----------



## rico2001

I totally agree with you, lurkingdevil. Removing the shroud is probably the best thing you can do for the most impact on sound and temps.

...btw, nice card support you have there in your case. Whatever it takes to get the job done.


----------



## legend999

What you guys think that are the best drivers for this baby?

I began to artifact and BSOD with the latest ones...


----------



## twm.7

I did a fresh install (w7 x64) and installed the 10.3, since my pc randomly freeze and crash when playing bfbc2.
I don't know if it is driver related, I'll have to check that out when I have more time.

For your problem, just swap your drivers, if all is ok after that, it would mean that yeah, the drivers are not so good ^^


----------



## phreakboy

Hi every1,

It's been a long time since I posted here, but now I might need a little help...
My 4850x2 is going wild from time 2 time and I guess the proglem is with i's Bios. I got it bricked once, but luckily I brought it back to life again.

Can someone post me the "latest" master and slave BIOS for the 2 gig version with Qimoda memory... Since I know that there are 2 versions of 4850X2-s out; one uses Samsung the other uses Qimoda memory.

And the BIOS is different for the two versions. The ones I found is SE87QAM.006 and SE87QAM.006.

I checked with Radeon Bios editor and it's release date is 12/12/2008









is this the latest bios???

Problem is that in many games the game and the machine freezes and the only thing that helps is a complete restart.

I noticed this happen in Crysis first, then in many games as well...


----------



## twm.7

It happens to me too, I launch bfbc2 and all the computer freez, even the sound start to repeat itself and I have to reset the computer. Don't know if it's gpu related or not though.


----------



## phreakboy

I don't know either....
But maybe -at least on my side- my 550W PSu could not be enough...I changed my processor to a Quad 9550 a few months ago and since then I have this freezing problem more often. but as I see twm.7 your PSU is way OK ?)


----------



## twm.7

Yes, in fact I've been on this rig for a year and a half and never had that before...
Don't know what is causing that.

[hs]
Nice contry that is yours. =)
[/hs]


----------



## phreakboy

Me neither...Previously I had a 4850 Toxic and never-ever had freezing problems...but since I got the X1 it happens from time to time...but only in games that really use the GPU...for instance I had freezing in Crysis, grid, but no problems with Cm Dirt 2 or Flatout ultimate carnage.

Even during Crysis benchmarking I have this wierd thing...and the movie during benchmarking is like reading a comicbook.

I tried a few catalysts...but still had the same problem. Funny thing but I even thought this might be somehow related to the G.Skill memory -though this sounds stupid I know-...but as I see you 2 have G.skill memory and a similar mobo as mine.

Though this should not be a problem...but I've serched here and there and a few people had problem with these memories..


----------



## twm.7

Now that you mention it, I think I had that freez with crysis too... I haven't played it for a while but I the more I think about it and the more I believe it was the case.


----------



## ritchwell

Hey rico2001 I just sold my sapphire 4850x2 just recently, got to say it was a great card when i had it. Thanks

Ritch


----------



## phreakboy

My problem was solved...figured out my PSU was getting small so i swithced it to a bigger one Cooler Master Real Power M700...so all my stuttering and hickups are gone....
have stable 35-40 fps in Crysis









Oh by the way I'm thinking about getting another 4850x2 for quadfire power (price is very good for it under200 Euro for a used one)....do you think 700W will be enough?????


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ritchwell* 
Hey rico2001 I just sold my sapphire 4850x2 just recently, got to say it was a great card when i had it. Thanks

Ritch

It sure is a great card. Had it's quirks but overall a great performer. Hope your card went to a good home. What card did you move onto?

@ phreakboy

What psu were you running before?


----------



## phreakboy

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rico2001* 
@ phreakboy
What psu were you running before?

I had a 550W Chieftec.

I really no problems with it, but I changed my E8400 processor to a Quad 9550 about 5 months ago so under heavy games I guess the power was not enough...


----------



## phreakboy

Rico,

I just wanted to ask you a question...
When you were doing those trifire test with the 4850x2+4850 cards did the 4850 have 512 megs or 1 gig memory?

Or this doesn't really count in trifire....

I am just qurious....


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *phreakboy* 
Rico,

I just wanted to ask you a question...
When you were doing those trifire test with the 4850x2+4850 cards did the 4850 have 512 megs or 1 gig memory?

Or this doesn't really count in trifire....

I am just qurious....

I was using a 1GB 4850 so not to limit the memory of my 4850 X2 2GB. If you use a 512 4850, it's still tri fire but you would only have a crossfire memory pool of 512 mb for the configuration. It would work fine, you just won't be as fast as the tri-fire config could be, especially at higher resolutions (1600+) that demand more memory.


----------



## phreakboy

Thanx Rico










Anyone tried the new *10.4 catalyst* for *4850x2*?....any performance leap like in 10.3..or it really isn't important to upgrade??

I actually checked ..I only have *10.2*....that's why I'm asking


----------



## Aximous

10.4 working fine here, actually I had to upgrade from 10.2 since I had blurred textures in many titles with that.


----------



## phreakboy

Thankx Aximous


----------



## phreakboy

I decided to go and get the 10.3 catalyst and did a few benches with Stalker COP. Here are my results:










Default ultra settings










Extreme settings result with custom setup.










Custom settings I used.

I did not hae more time for benches...this is all I have right now....but will try to do some others as well









I did not have any tweaks on the card, or processor, everything was running with default


----------



## rico2001

Nice work phreakboy.


----------



## ciprianni

hello guys. just wondering if two ZALMAN VF950 will fit the HD4850x2 and if it is much improvement over stock? thanks


----------



## Aximous

I doubt that, 2 vf900's fit the card but they are almost touching each other and the 950 is a lot bigger so...


----------



## XeqtR

Quote:


Originally Posted by *phreakboy* 
My problem was solved...figured out my PSU was getting small so i swithced it to a bigger one Cooler Master Real Power M700...so all my stuttering and hickups are gone....
have stable 35-40 fps in Crysis









Oh by the way I'm thinking about getting another 4850x2 for quadfire power (price is very good for it under200 Euro for a used one)....do you think 700W will be enough?????

I am running 2x 4850X2's OCed on a TX850W PSU. It delivers 72Amps on a single 12v rail.
The most important thing is the amps. 700Wattage will be enough, but you most look at the amps, and it's better to have a PSU with 1x 12v rail, than splitted.

Btw, how much amps does your current PSU deliver?

EDIT: I looked up your PSU. It has 4x +12v rails, 19amps on each if I remember. I don't dare to tell how well your PSU will handle another 4850X2.
Imo and from my own experience, I wouldn't recommend anything less than a 750W psu (e.x from corsair, TX750W would be enough for dual 4850X2's).

On another note, if you get another 4850X2, It remains only to see how well your current psu will handle 2 of those


----------



## victordoug

Hi guys, I just bought this card to run 4 monitors but it appears that if crossfire is enabled, two ports become useless. I have tried all releases of the Catalyst but none gives me the option to manipulate Crossfire. The crossfire just doesn't appear on any of the Catalyst version. There is only one 4850 X2 card showing in the device manager. I am sure this issue has been discussed before but I could not find it.

I would really appreciate it if anybody can provide a solution to this problem. It is defcon 1 here. I am extremely frustrated. I had to hack out structural parts of the tower to make room for this elephant and now I can't even use it for intended purpose.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *victordoug* 
Hi guys, I just bought this card to run 4 monitors but it appears that if crossfire is enabled, two ports become useless. I have tried all releases of the Catalyst but none gives me the option to manipulate Crossfire. The crossfire just doesn't appear on any of the Catalyst version. There is only one 4850 X2 card showing in the device manager. I am sure this issue has been discussed before but I could not find it.

I would really appreciate it if anybody can provide a solution to this problem. It is defcon 1 here. I am extremely frustrated. I had to hack out structural parts of the tower to make room for this elephant and now I can't even use it for intended purpose.










Well first welcome to the OCN and the 4850 X2 owners thread.

If you go into CCC (Catalyst Control Center), then the CrossfireX section, uncheck the box to disable crossfire and give you ability to use all (4) dvi ports.










A pic of my 4850 X2 with options for (4) displays









A pic of my 4850 X2 running (3) monitors









Hope that helps, enjoy the card.


----------



## victordoug

Rico thanks for warm greeting and quick response. Actually the issue is that there is no option for Crossfire on my system. I have tried 7 different versions of Catalyst ranging from 8.11 to 10.5 and none of them give me option to do anything with Crossfire. There is no tab, tree or selection of Crossfire on any Catalyst versions that I have installed.

Do you see 2 4850 X2 cards in your Device manager? I only show one and the tech support at sapphire say that card might be defective but I have seen many people complaining about the issue of having no way to turn Crossfire OFF. Thanks again.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *victordoug* 
Rico thanks for warm greeting and quick response. Actually the issue is that there is no option for Crossfire on my system. I have tried 7 different versions of Catalyst ranging from 8.11 to 10.5 and none of them give me option to do anything with Crossfire. There is no tab, tree or selection of Crossfire on any Catalyst versions that I have installed.

Do you see 2 4850 X2 cards in your Device manager? I only show one and the tech support at sapphire say that card might be defective but I have seen many people complaining about the issue of having no way to turn Crossfire OFF. Thanks again.

Yes, you should see (2) 4850 X2 devices in device manager. Sounds like your card is just not installing correctly. Open up gpu-z and see if it shows (2) gpus. Also open up CCC, under hardware info: you should see (1) primary adapter and (1) linked adapter.

Driver installation instructions:
-uninstall drivers
-reboot to safe mode,
-use Driver sweeper to remove all remaining drivers from your system
-reboot to normal mode
-install correct drivers
-reboot
-check ccc and gpu for above.


----------



## victordoug

Tried all of the above but still no crossfire setting tab in CCC and only one 4850 X2 in the device manager. It seems like the card is defective. Thanks for your help


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *victordoug*


Tried all of the above but still no crossfire setting tab in CCC and only one 4850 X2 in the device manager. It seems like the card is defective. Thanks for your help


Sorry to say, that does sounds like the case. Did you buy the card used? I'd try the card in another pc before calling this case closed.


----------



## victordoug

No this was supposed to be new with open box on ebay. Seller is being responsible and is allowing me to return the card. I don't have any other desktop to try and I am not sure anybody else will let me cut out their towers with snips to try this card out. LOL...

There are a lot of people complaining of the same problem on the blogs so I am guessing this problem is very common.

It looks like a very cool card and a few games that I tried ran great but unfortunately that is not what I need it for so it has gotta go. I will go with USB video adapters for now. Thanks again for your help.


----------



## phreakboy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *XeqtR*


I am running 2x 4850X2's OCed on a TX850W PSU. It delivers 72Amps on a single 12v rail. 
The most important thing is the amps. 700Wattage will be enough, but you most look at the amps, and it's better to have a PSU with 1x 12v rail, than splitted.

Btw, how much amps does your current PSU deliver?

EDIT: I looked up your PSU. It has 4x +12v rails, 19amps on each if I remember. I don't dare to tell how well your PSU will handle another 4850X2. 
Imo and from my own experience, I wouldn't recommend anything less than a 750W psu (e.x from corsair, TX750W would be enough for dual 4850X2's).

On another note, if you get another 4850X2, It remains only to see how well your current psu will handle 2 of those










Thanks for the advice and help XeqtR


----------



## XeqtR

Quote:



Originally Posted by *phreakboy*


Thanks for the advice and help XeqtR










No problam at all


----------



## victordoug

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


Sorry to say, that does sounds like the case. Did you buy the card used? I'd try the card in another pc before calling this case closed.


Hello Rico, We had communication about all 4 DVI ports not working and crossfire option not available in the catalyst. Well I found the problem. I used the 8 pin PCIe to molex adapter provided in the package but only attached 1 molex to the PSU and left the other one hanging. So only one GPU was getting power hence the other one refused to show up for the job.

I found that out when I was watching a 4850 review video on youtube and the guy mentioned that this card needs two molex connected to 8 pin PCIe adapter. I basically smacked myself on the head, attached the cable, reinstalled CCC and crossfire tab now shows and all 4 DVI Ports are working.

Gladly the card survived the ordeal. I wanted to update you on this issue just incase you hear about this problem again. I also contacted amd to let them know about the resolution to the problem. Thanks for keeping this thread and helping!!


----------



## burnin-snikers

Hello everybody!

I have 4850 X2 2GB from Sapphire. Unfortunately is dead. It works 5-10 secs and then goes to black screen. I think is dead beause some elements on the VGA board is blown up (or something like this). Here are the photos of dead elements on the board. 


Unfortunately I cant see what is written on the dead resistor. Please somebody help me! I need a photo of working 4850 X2 where resistor is clearly visible.

Thanx for helping!

P.S. I can't RMA my card because I live in Russia. We have no 2 year warranty for Sapphire cards


----------



## quiquirinn

Quote:


Originally Posted by *victordoug* 
Rico thanks for warm greeting and quick response. Actually the issue is that there is no option for Crossfire on my system. I have tried 7 different versions of Catalyst ranging from 8.11 to 10.5 and none of them give me option to do anything with Crossfire. There is no tab, tree or selection of Crossfire on any Catalyst versions that I have installed.

Do you see 2 4850 X2 cards in your Device manager? I only show one and the tech support at sapphire say that card might be defective but I have seen many people complaining about the issue of having no way to turn Crossfire OFF. Thanks again.

maybe u fail flashing bios , that happen with me and crossfire option disappear , try to flash again , remember u need master and slave bios


----------



## n3XusSLO

EDIT: I've found some bioses that were posted in this thread on page 137, but it still crashes, though no vertical lines now







just a total freeze, I guess it's an improvement XD

Hello,

would someone be kind enough to post the Sapphire 4850 X2 1GB master and slave bios? It doesn't matter if they are new or old.

One question though: on this size: http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/i...ace=&memSize=0 there are the 512 and 1gb version of bioses, I presume that I should use the 512, but there is only one, shouldn't there be a master and slave anyway?

Also, should I try the 1GB version of the bios per card if I can't get the 512 version of slave and master? How likely it is for my GPU to take a trip to the local PC shop if it fails









The reason for this is that I'm having the "vertical lines problem", I've bought a new PSU since I thought it was a problem, I got a brand new GPU since the fan died on the old one (well atleast thats what they said, but they could just replaced the fan right?) and I've also bought a new mobo, CPU and more ram.

Nothing helps







If the new bios wont work I'll demand they replace this gpu with a Nvidia, since I noticed many Radeons 5xxx also have these problems


----------



## ciprianni

hi there guys.

For "burnin-snikers". I took apart my graphics card and took the picture you wanted. Unfortunately there is no writing on the resistor and I couldn't measure it on the board directly either. The multimeter will read 0.0 ohm which is not right (unless its a capacitor?). I don't have the proper equipment to take out the resistor and measure it separately - sorry for that.

http://img441.imageshack.us/i/dscf9513.jpg/ & http://img193.imageshack.us/i/dscf9511o.jpg/


----------



## Zimeon

Hey, thought id register up and do some bumping on this thread. Found thourgh a link about the 2 x 4850x2 review regarding quadfire setups. I've been thinking of getting a second 4850x2 for a while now as they are dirty cheap secondhanded nowdays and would make a cheap upgrade, assuming my power supply can handle it xD

Anyway, as Rico2001 mentioned in his post, on page 124, that the fourth GPU doesn't really make any difference and sometimes even makes the whole system slower than with 3 4850's. Has the new drivers made any difference to this, has anyone tried it out? Even tho the second 4850x2 would be around 100e it would still be a shame to waste that money









Btw, here's my modification on the card I already have, using two thermalright V2 coolers.


----------



## xgeko2

Your best bet would be to just get a 4850 and do tri-fire. The drivers have gotten a little better as far as crossfire scaling goes but It's more of a limitation between the games and the windows api. The 4th gpu isn't going to be doing a whole lot for you.


----------



## ciprianni

hi Zimeon. could u tell me what heatsinks are u using on that card please?

edit: never mind. i found them


----------



## Zimeon

Quote:



Originally Posted by *xgeko2*


Your best bet would be to just get a 4850 and do tri-fire. The drivers have gotten a little better as far as crossfire scaling goes but It's more of a limitation between the games and the windows api. The 4th gpu isn't going to be doing a whole lot for you.


Thought as much, well lets see which one i can find first second handed









As a recap if others wonder: Thermalright V2 coolers are being in use.

http://zimeon.null-byte.org/index.ph...ang=fi&news=11

A few more pictures in there if someones interested.


----------



## FriedSushi87

Is there a 5000 series card of this nature? With multiple outputs?


----------



## quiquirinn

my old 4850x2 and my new 5870 SOC







[/IMG]


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *FriedSushi87*


Is there a 5000 series card of this nature? With multiple outputs?


Well all of the 5000 series cards can run 3 or more monitors. You can call the 4850 X2 a bit ahead of it's time and testing platform for multi-monitor functionality.

Quote:



Originally Posted by *quiquirinn*


my old 4850x2 and my new 5870 SOC







[/IMG]


Nice cards man, I'm a sucker for dual fan cards.


----------



## xgeko2

Ok Im about to bake my card second gpu is dead Starting the deconstruction now and will let you know results later hopefully I can bring this bad mofo back to life.


----------



## xgeko2

Well baking my 4850x2 did not help anything lol =/ it was worth a try.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *xgeko2* 
Well baking my 4850x2 did not help anything lol =/ it was worth a try.

Sorry to hear, xgeko2


----------



## ComfortablyNumb

Hello!

Finally after reading 296 pages I decided to post. I was going to make a grand entrance at 300 but the thread has slowed down.

Here's my 4850x2 1GB









In the case









And some benchmarks:
3DMark Vantage+gpu-z+cpu-z









And 06...









I wish I had Crysis (ok, just too buggy). Add me to the owners list!


----------



## phreakboy

Hi ComfortablyNumb,

Congratualtions to your card dude, I think you'll love it. I have mine for over a year,l since then many new cards were introduced, but I'm stuck with this. Serves me good, though during gaming it sometimes freezes, maybe I need to take it apart put some new thermal paste on the chips...


----------



## coreylittle

I need some help. I just got one bran new for my second computer and it shuts off the computer as soon as i run a game. I tried Heaven 2.1 and it ran for 10 seconds before shut off. I tried msi kombuster and it shuts down as soon as it opens.

Computer specs are
i5 750
4gb ddr3
3 x 150gb raptorx
1 2tb
msi p55cd53
bfg 550 power supply


----------



## SgtHop

I'm going to say it's the power supply, sounds like it's not providing enough power to the card.


----------



## coreylittle

That is what i was afraid of. It was a BFG so i figured it was a quality power supply but i guess not. More Testing today.


----------



## SgtHop

Could just be defective. Grab a PSU tester and see if it's a defective PSU, or put the 4850x2 in your main rig to test the card.


----------



## victordoug

Hi guys, I got two economical solutions that don't require a lot of work or money. One is a PCI slot fan that is rated at 50 CFM, whisper quiet and has dropped my card's temprature by about 15`. It now idles at about 45 which is astonishing to me. Under load it only goes up to about 75. Other is a Scythe 100mm X 12mm slim fan. This will replace the two card fans. I got two in crossfire right next to each other with 4mm to space so the one in the back was getting very hot. Replaced the factory fans with two of these. The installation is pretty funky because I got them held up by two way tape. LOL. It is very strong and I can pick up the whole card with one fan and it won't come off. These fans are rated at 45 CFMs each and they are much quieter then factory. Same drop of about 15` idle and about 10` load. Can beat the value.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Scythe-KAZE-JYU-...efaultDomain_0

http://www.chiefvalue.com/product-_-...00154479010060


----------



## ComfortablyNumb

It was fun while it lasted... I'm ditching my sucky 1GB and moving on to a 4870x2







Ok, it was fine until I realized that 1GB isn't enough for anything, plus the card is kinda loud... My new 4870x2 has whispering quiet Accelero Extreme








Bye!


----------



## sprout

Hello everyone. It's been a while since I stopped in. Yep, I'm still rockin' the 4850X2. Actually, I was just reading a 5830 review and the X2 was included in the comparison graph. Nice to see our "old" cards can hang with or spank a new 5830.

Source


BTW- Page 5??!! Have we really dropped that far?


----------



## porksmuggler

10.8b hotfix just for us, well the 4870X2 also...

http://support-prod.amd.com/us/kbart...08bHotfix.aspx


----------



## twm.7

Hi, I think I've got new problems with my 4850x2...

Is that normal that, when I right click on CCC in the notification area, I see 4 4850x2 ?









Also, it doesn't let me choose if I want to activate the crossfire (It show the disable option as it was enable (but isn't, I don't understand). This is for the number one and two "cards".









For the two other, here it is:









Also, this is a clean install of windows 7, with the latest 10.8 drivers.
It is not overclocked (not anymore) and went just fine until now...

If I enable crossfireX by entering CCC, just two "cards" remain.

I bet something is wrong, but I don't know...
Is my card having troubles ?


----------



## SLoWPoKeSE

You're menu's are as they should be TWM.7. You noticed that the card has 4 ports on the back right? That's 2 outputs per GPU. With Crossfire disabled that means you have 4 displays possible hence 4850x2 listed 4 times. The option to disable crossfire is greyed out because it's already disabled. With crossfire Enabled from CCC you have only 2 displays possible from the linked GPU's, thus 4850x2 is listed only twice. I don't see any cause for alarm from your posted pics as I reproduced the exact same effect turning crossfire on and off. And unless you're planning on using 3 or 4 screens I would leave crossfire on all the time.


----------



## twm.7

Ok thx, it's because it starts artifacting and I was pretty sure I had not 2 (and 4) card listed before... Thx =)


----------



## SLoWPoKeSE

Hi guys,
I have had my 4850x2 for about 7-8 mos. and I'm running into heat problems. I removed the shroud and zip-tied the back so my desk fan could blow onto the heatsinks and I leave the stock fans at 100% which has helped a good deal. I live in South Texas and ambient temps in my house gets in to the 90's at times. I was looking at the Thermalright V2 mod and considering to try it, but I can't find anywhere that's still selling them. Does anyone know where you can still buy these or could someone suggest another type. I don't give a damn about how loud it is, my main concern is getting the best possible air cooling. I saw the one with a V2 and an HR-03 installed... is it possible to install two HR-03's one up and one down, or does the length of the fin-body interfere with installing the backing plates for the 2nd one? Any insights would be much appreciated. thanks


----------



## lurkingdevil

I need help!
I was just working on my pc(2D, not gaming) and all of a sudden the screen goes blank. Reboot, nothing. Cold reboot, nothing. I open up the case and find out that two leds on the graphic card are red.

They are D25 and D1601.

I've tried reseating the card into the pcie slot multiple times but to no avail..
I've also checked the power coming into the card with a multimeter and all the pins have power.

I'm freaking out...


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *lurkingdevil* 
I need help!
I was just working on my pc(2D, not gaming) and all of a sudden the screen goes blank. Reboot, nothing. Cold reboot, nothing. I open up the case and find out that two leds on the graphic card are red.

They are D25 and D1601.

I've tried reseating the card into the pcie slot multiple times but to no avail..
I've also checked the power coming into the card with a multimeter and all the pins have power.

I'm freaking out...

The LEDs are:
D1601 : ASIC CTF Enable (GPU overheat protection)
D25 : Boot up fault LED (Re-plug the VGA board or D1601,D29,D30 all failed)

Take out your card and check the pins for damage and/or dust/debris. Have you tried another pci-e card, if the 4850 X2 is not the issue, you may have a pci-e going bad.


----------



## lurkingdevil

Quote:



Originally Posted by *rico2001*


The LEDs are:
D1601 : ASIC CTF Enable (GPU overheat protection)
D25 : Boot up fault LED (Re-plug the VGA board or D1601,D29,D30 all failed)

Take out your card and check the pins for damage and/or dust/debris. Have you tried another pci-e card, if the 4850 X2 is not the issue, you may have a pci-e going bad.


I made sure the card was receiving power by using a multimeter. All pins were showing the correct voltage.

I tested the card on another computer and it doesn't work there either. Same two LEDs are going red.

Any other ideas?
I think its warranty time







, which means being without a discreet gpu for atleast a month(I'm not in US).


----------



## ciprianni

Hi there lads. I haven't posted in a long time so hopefully my english won't let me down








My crappy q-tec "600W" power supply just died when i was playing a game (can't remember which one). I went to the shop and bought a Corsair TX850W. Everything seems to be working as normal, but and there is always a but:
1. Games frame rates are very low after the power supply died and i replaced it with the Corsair.
2. Is there any chance the video card is 50% damaged or any other PC component even though the pc appears to be working?
3. I have never ran any benchmarch on the PC before the "death" occured so i can't compare the score.
4. I also have one GREEN led and two RED leds on under that black heatsink and i don't know if this is ok?
5. Any chance of my processor bottle-neck the gpu?
Now if anyone has a similar computer to mine (see sig rig) and is kind enough to run a benchmark and compare the results? This test might tell me if something is "smoked" in my pc.
Thank you very much guys. I apreciate it.


----------



## Aeonus

I noticed I'm not on the owner list, though I recall putting some pic evidence here earlier...well here's again:










So 690/1175 comfortably at 30 degrees centigrade, cooled with the XSPC block. I recall load temps being 32ish. I haven't tweaked volts or anything yet, but I suppose I could get it over 700 later on. I have crossfire disabled because I have more than two displays, and I mainly bought the card for the 4 connectors anyway.


----------



## rico2001

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Aeonus* 
I noticed I'm not on the owner list, though I recall putting some pic evidence here earlier...well here's again:










So 690/1175 comfortably at 30 degrees centigrade, cooled with the XSPC block. I recall load temps being 32ish. I haven't tweaked volts or anything yet, but I suppose I could get it over 700 later on. I have crossfire disabled because I have more than two displays, and I mainly bought the card for the 4 connectors anyway.

Added to owners list; welcome to the club.


----------



## darkev

guys i need help! i recently had a bad bios flash and now my card is bricked! iget no signal but i know the card still works because my pc still posts, i have 2GB version

pn: 288-40E87-201SA and sku: 11139-00-40R

could someone pls be kind enough to upload their bios? my email is [email protected] PLEASE HELP ME!!!!

i already tried all the bios on techpower using the m for master and s for slave using the correct id 0 and 1... PLS!!! HELP ME!!!


----------



## rico2001

Quote:



Originally Posted by *darkev*


guys i need help! i recently had a bad bios flash and now my card is bricked! iget no signal but i know the card still works because my pc still posts, i have 2GB version

pn: 288-40E87-201SA and sku: 11139-00-40R

could someone pls be kind enough to upload their bios? my email is [email protected] PLEASE HELP ME!!!!

i already tried all the bios on techpower using the m for master and s for slave using the correct id 0 and 1... PLS!!! HELP ME!!!


See page #176, post #1757


----------



## legend999

This card still rocks after all this time....i think i'll wait fot the 7*** generation to come.


----------



## Aximous

Exactly my thoughts too.


----------



## SLoWPoKeSE

I'm having a problem and was hoping someone could help. I'm trying to use extended desktop with my HDTV 1920x1080 (DVI to HDMI), and my LCD monitor 1440x990 (DVI). I'm using ports 1 and 2 on my 4850x2 and I have crossfire turned on. Everything seems to work at first but as soon as you start a couple of programs the computer freezes up...rather it starts refreshing about 1 frame per 2 seconds, and the screens will black out and then come back on. A windows bubble will come on to say that the driver stopped working but then was reinitialized or something. With only one screen connected the card works perfectly. I was under the impression 2 screens could be used with crossfire still enabled, both are set at 60hz refresh. Could the two different monitor types and resolutions be causing the problem? Do I need to disable Crossfire even though I am only using two monitors? Sorry for the long explanation just trying to be clear. Thanks


----------



## Aximous

Try it with different driver versions maybe. I used to ran my 26" 1920x1200 lcd screen on dvi and a 17" 1024x768 crt with a dvi to vga adapter without any trouble at all, used it while gaming, multiple applications and even extending a vm on the crt.


----------



## SLoWPoKeSE

Ok I don't know what the deal was...I plugged the monitor in _after_ the computer was booted and it's working perfectly....


----------



## Gatroo

Hi guys im back for one big big question...
what driver are u guys using 4 your 4850x2?????????
wich is the best ?


----------



## Aximous

I don't know which is the best but I'm using 10.9 mostly because I'm lazy to upgrade, but this one runs great without any issues.


----------



## Gatroo

ohh ..

(now hungarian)
-----------------------
hello







en is 10.9et hasznaltam eleg sokaig csak aztan ugye felmentem 10.12re amivel nemtudtam overclockozni.. mert test minidig failezett es amikor test nelkul overclockoztam akkor meg kÃ©k halÃ¡lom lett pedig ien a 10.9-essel nem volt...
szal vissza mentem 10.9-re de most ugyan ez a baj ***? :S


----------



## Aximous

Ã‰rdekes ilyennel mÃ©g nem talÃ¡lkoztam, de maradjunk angolnÃ¡l Ãºgy talÃ¡n tÃ¶bben tudnak segÃ*teni.

The problem he wrote is that after upgrading from 10.9 to 10.12 he couldn't oc without failing the tests or bsods but the problem still persists after switching back to 10.9


----------



## lurkingdevil

I just got back my 4850X2 from RMA and...

I plug it in, install 10.12 drivers, boot up fine. Make sure crossfire is on, start crysis benchmark, it loads and as the benchmark starts, system freeze..









I reboot and do it again, this time the bench runs fine, then I run furmark, about half way through I start seeing artifacts and few seconds later : black screen.

I uninstall the 10.12 drivers and get 10.9. This time on system start up, I'm seeing artifacts even in windows. Disable crossfire, still artifacts and black screens.
So I put my monitor cable to the lower to ports on the card. 
If I'm not wrong, when crossfire is off, top two ports are controlled by one gpu and the bottom two by the other.

Now everything runs fine as long as crossfire is off, and monitor at one of the bottom ports. If I keep the monitor at the bottom port and turn on crossfire then run some 3d and boom, freeze/black screen.









I think this means one of the two gpus on the card is bad? Anyone have any other ideas?


----------



## Aximous

My guess is that your first gpu is bad. I could be wrong on this, but I doubt that they manufacture these cards anymore so the one you got from RMA could be a refurbished one.


----------



## lurkingdevil

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aximous*


My guess is that your first gpu is bad. I could be wrong on this, but I doubt that they manufacture these cards anymore so the one you got from RMA could be a refurbished one.


I think so too. They sent me just the card in some bubble wrap. It looks new(no dust at all) but there are some marks on the dvi ports.

The sad part is, I paid approximately $45($30 international shipping, $15 rma fees) for the RMA. Turnaround time was about a month. I'd hate to do that again..


----------



## Aximous

I'd mail them with the story and ask for a refund instead of returning another card, though I'd hate to leave this awesome card, but what can one do with one that's not working







, and this seems the most viable solution.


----------



## lurkingdevil

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aximous*


I'd mail them with the story and ask for a refund instead of returning another card, though I'd hate to leave this awesome card, but what can one do with one that's not working







, and this seems the most viable solution.


I doubt they're just going to give me a refund on just the basis of my story..
I'll send them a support ticket and see what they say.


----------



## Aximous

Good luck with it anyway


----------



## lurkingdevil

I got the issue resolved.

Now its going to come as a bummer....

THE SATA CONNECTOR WAS JAMMING AGAINST THE SHROUD
















I pulled the card out of my system to check on a different computer. It seemed to work just fine there. So I brought it back home to check on my system again, thinking it might just work here too, but it didnt, same old artifacts. I reseated the card multiple times to no avail. This is when I noticed the sata connector and the shroud jamming against each other causing the card to bend upwards every so slightly. The card would go into the pci-e slot with a slight push so I didn't notice it before.
I unscrewed the shroud and put the card in and...voila!








No artifacts and both gpus working in crossfire just fine.


----------



## Aximous

That's good to here, I used to have issues like this with my old mobo and the ata ribbon cables just under the gpu, had to use some force to get the card in place.


----------



## lurkingdevil

Maybe I spoke too soon....I got artifacts and BSOD after returning from hibernation. It seems to be running ok after a reboot though...


----------



## Aximous

That sounds a software issue to me, either the os or the driver. Try installing different version drivers and see if it helps. I'm running 10.9 and it's totally fine after coming back from sleep.


----------



## DragonZeal

I don't know if any of you has tried this yet but I used the Hybrid PhysX mod.
http://www.ngohq.com/graphic-cards/17706-hybrid-physx-mod-v1-03-v1-04ff-113.html

I have a 4850x2 and had a Geforce 210 512Mb just lying around.
I decided to try the mod and tested it with FluidMark.
I used the latest Nvidia drivers available and afterwards applied the mod.

Results without the mod:









Results with the mod:









Off course you could go with a better card.
I tried this after reading a review on Tom's Hardware:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-physx-hack-amd-radeon,2764.html

Just wanted to share these results.


----------



## Aximous

I was planning to do the same just the lack of cash made me decide otherwise







, nice results tho you got there.

Also go to usercp and add your system so we can see it in your sig, there is a system details, add system menupoint there.


----------



## skunkxracing

ok guys first this is my first post here. i have always been an overclocker, and a huge amd fan. also as a side note i added you as a friend on steam rico. ok so on to my post, i have the rig you see below, and yes it has 3 hd 4850x2 cards on it, but i dont run it in crossfire because as you can see i have 11 monitors on it. and the only game i play is counter strike so one gpu is plenty powerful for 299 fps on high setting on it. soooooo.... my question is this on my rig its wierd because i will be just fooling around all of a sudden my vid driver locks up, never playing a game tho, and sometimes when it does it win 7 will recover it and it will be fine, other times it will lock up the computer and i have to restart. if this happens over the next few days it will continue to lockup and sometimes even when im not at the computer, i will come back and one of the cards fans are revved up and the system is locked up.. then after it does it usually a dozen times then it will finally stop and it will run continuous for a couple weeks, cuz i never shut it off. then eventually it happens again. so my question is what the hell driver will work best so it stops doing this becuase i trade stocks with this and to have it unstable can cost me a lot of money if i have to restart it and not watch what the stocks are doing. currently i have cat. 10.5 and i have had a couple of version prior to it and they all did the same thing, i know there are newer ones out but i dont want to have to try every new one just to find out it may not be any better.. please help fellow 4850x2'ers. thanks

p.s. sorry i didnt excel in english class hence the continous run on sentances

pps i know the power supply has enough juice its 1250 watts


----------



## Aximous

Wow now that's just one hell of a setup.

On topic I've never had a single lockup with the last 2 drivers I used: 10.9 and 10.12. Also are the cards overclocked at all, and what are the temps of the because that could also cause the lockups, I guess they are pretty cramped up on that board.


----------



## skunkxracing

hey thanks for the quick response. no the cards are not overclocked for the fact that i dont need the extra performance because its mostly charting, and secondly i knew heat would be an issue. i have 4 120mm case fans, one of which is directly above the gfx cards on the top of the case drawing heat away and out from the cards. maybe i cut a hole and add one 120mm blowing cool air onto the cards as well. yes im going to do that for good measure. as far as temps maybe that contributed because i have in ccc all the fans to auto speed control and one gpu had its fan running at 25% when i checked and it was an idle temp of 70c. damn i shoulda checked that before. but im not conviced thats it because the dump that happens is always the ati driver. so you were stable on 10.9 and 10.12, anyone else with more than one of these beasts running those stable??? also i went ahead and changed the fan controls to all manual and the gpus that werent as hot i have set at 45% and the hotter ones set at 55% fan speed, that seemed to help gpu temps to about 62c onn the hot ones. oh and incase anyone is wondering 3 of these things with all the fans set to 100% sounds like my computer is getting ready to launch off the Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier. haha!

ok so any other ideas before i start to upgrade drivers?????? thanks ahead


----------



## Aximous

That 70c idle is kind of hot, though not that hot that it would cause issues like this, so the best bet is to experiment with the drivers, see if you can find one which is stable for you.

On the fan speed, I hate how loud even one is not to mention three.


----------



## DragonZeal

First I would think that there is something wrong with your PSU.
But the problem you mention also happens @work.
It is a driver problem in combination with Windows 7.
Did you already try Windows 7 32bit?
But all three collegues have Windows 7 64bit.
And they have Intel graphics cards.

So I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to install the newest drivers.
I have Windows 7 32bit on my system which will be added soon.


----------



## DragonZeal

Aximous did you leave the fans at stock speed?
I'm wondering if putting two or three 120mm/140mm aside would be interesting.


----------



## Aximous

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DragonZeal;11935484*
> First I would think that there is something wrong with your PSU.
> But the problem you mention also happens @work.
> It is a driver problem in combination with Windows 7.
> Did you already try Windows 7 32bit?
> But all three collegues have Windows 7 64bit.
> And they have Intel graphics cards.
> 
> So I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to install the newest drivers.
> I have Windows 7 32bit on my system which will be added soon.


A PSU problem would cause his system to reboot when the cards exceed the PSU's limits, I know, I had problems like that. Trying 32bit windows wouldn't be a good idea as he has 8GB of ram also I may be wrong on that one but the 32bit also limits the ram of vgas.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DragonZeal;11935493*
> Aximous did you leave the fans at stock speed?
> I'm wondering if putting two or three 120mm/140mm aside would be interesting.


I used to have them set to auto in CCC and I didn't really have problems with them other than the ram getting too hot and causing artifacts in stress tests. Now I have a custom profile in MSI Afterburner, same cooling performance just a little quieter.


----------



## skunkxracing

you beat me to the punch ax, when he suggested x32 i cringed at the though of trying to run all those charts with only 3 gigs of ram, which is 32 bit limit. i am currently in safe mode sweeping drivers off, and just finished download of 10.12, so im gonna give it a shot. i will post more after it finished if it worked. also i was just browsing this site and found a thread with my problem addresses but no real solutions. its the atikmkdag.sys dump. soooo we will see as people have reported the issue as well on 10.12.


----------



## lurkingdevil

Good luck skunkxracing.
Just for the win, will you post a few pictures of your computer with all those cables connected?


----------



## skunkxracing

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lurkingdevil;11966646*
> Good luck skunkxracing.
> Just for the win, will you post a few pictures of your computer with all those cables connected?


well after much bs i finally got it working again, 10.12 didnt work i couldnt even get all my monitors recognized, so i uninstalled and driver sweept again. then i installed 10.11 and after a while did manage to get all the monitors to work then to get catalyst to get all the monitors oriented correctly is a nightmare, but i got it working well, only time will tell how it worked, i also deleted the atikmdag.sys driver and let the new install put it back with a new one, so i hope that helps.

also yes ill post some pics of it soon


----------



## Aximous

Good to hear you got them working, I hope they stay that way.

Looking forward to the pics


----------



## skunkxracing

well no pics yet, as i have been having issues AGAIN!!!! let me just say i have always been and amd guy( except for this rigs cpu) but this ati crap is pissing me off, why cant they make stable drivers, i just dont get it. i love the cards and there features but damnit if i cant keep it runnin then whats the point. maybe i need to look for all new gpu's, after spending about a grand on these







plus i dont know if there are any other 4 head gpu's except for going to Matrox, which i will spend even more on..... im not happy right now as its crashed twice in the last two hours. ok rant over..... for now


----------



## skunkxracing

well i am trying one final attemp, i just underclocked all gpu's to 500mhz and all ram to 750mhz from 625/993 respectively. i wish i could go lower but thats as far as ccc would let me go. so i hope if i had one core that was messing up the whole game, then underclocked should help... i hope. i does run just a little bit cooler too incase that was an issue.

im open to other suggestions as im at a loss now guys...


----------



## Aximous

With afterburner you can go even lower, I think to 425 or something like that. One thing that hit my mind is that maybe you could try removing cards one by one to see which one messes things up.


----------



## skunkxracing

yeah i may try that, cuz if i needs to buy another one if its funky than so be it, so long as it stops crashing. also im going to try gpu [email protected] as i have plenty of gpu power to spare, and maybe with that much load i can weed out a bad card if thats what it is. thanks aximous


----------



## Aximous

You're welcome, hope you can work it out someway


----------



## lurkingdevil

Maybe you should take all the cards out and then put them in one at a time.
Test your rig with just one card, then two and so on.

Another thing you might want to look out for is that the cards aren't jamming against any SATA connectors. This happened with me, it caused the card to bend slightly which caused me all sorts of artifacts and freeze ups.


----------



## DragonZeal

I hope you can solve the issue skunkxracing because I can only dream of the setup you have.

I'm going to do the Noctua mod soon.
I'm also going to test my Asus Physx PPU with my 4850x2 2Gb.
To see the difference between my G210 as dedicated physx card.


----------



## DragonZeal

The PPU mod with my Asus Ageia Physx doesn't work.

When I finally order my Zotac GT430 I will test it again.


----------



## skunkxracing

well ive been hard at work on my system, all the ati drivers really do suck. i tried 10.12, 10.11, 10.9 and my trusty 10.5 that was crash happy. well im not sure what they do to the ccc or driver but nothing new that 10.9 will recognize all my monitors, well that is for some reason i am unable to turn off crossfire on one of the cards with those ones, so i loose display outputs. so i though ok i have been wanting to change my two independant sata 500gb drive to raid 0, so i thought maybe i do that and start fresh with a new win7 install. did that and thought i would try 10.12 from the git-go. still would not turn off crossfire on one card, so back to 10.11......... same. i walked away from it because i was about to have some broken monitors.... very discouraging, no to mention i wanted to participate in boincers gone bonkers 3 but with these driver problems i cant get boinc to even work. well the new version that you can use your GPU's anyways, i got an older one to work on cpu only. no fun when i have 4800 stream processors to boinc with. on a plus note the raid 0 works great!!! haha


----------



## skunkxracing

ok i have some pics of the setup now. it seems i have 10.12 app drivers working out well for now. enjoy!


----------



## Aximous

Looks sweet, though, I'd advice getting some sort of support for the cards, especially the bottom one as that seems too warped to me. Also if you're at it and get supports you can also remove the shrouds to help with both the temps and the noise.


----------



## skunkxracing

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aximous*


Looks sweet, though, I'd advice getting some sort of support for the cards, especially the bottom one as that seems too warped to me. Also if you're at it and get supports you can also remove the shrouds to help with both the temps and the noise.


but dont the shrouds themselves help to support the cards i would hate to undo that, also i was thinking of just supporting the 2 incoming power wires to each card as i feel that is a majority of the downward pressure.


----------



## Aximous

Yes they do give support, hence I said if you get supports remove them


----------



## lurkingdevil

Quote:



Originally Posted by *skunkxracing*


but dont the shrouds themselves help to support the cards i would hate to undo that, also i was thinking of just supporting the 2 incoming power wires to each card as i feel that is a majority of the downward pressure.


The bottom card doesnt look good to me. A few pages back, you'll see I was having issues because of the card bending. 
Yes, you could possibly use the power cables to _pull_ the cards up. 
Also, it almost looks like you have kept your case upside down. If you were to keep your case sideways, you could remove the shrouds off each of the card, it significantly reduces the noise and temperatures.


----------



## skunkxracing

wow thats a great idea actually, i am getting ready to move the setup to a new office so that will be my chance to do that on its side. as a side note that ultra case has psu on bottom mobo on top(but upside down)in the case so everything is where it was intended, thats one reason i got that crappy case, so the heat from 6 gpu's could be drawn right out the top fan.


----------



## phreakboy

Hey Rico, you can take me off from the list, since I passed away the trusty old 4850x2 gig for a pair of 6850 Sapphires. These should consumelower power in IDle, but should also do some wild results in games.

It was fun being an owner of sucha fantastic card, but we all have to step forward sometime


----------



## no0bi

can some one plssss send me the master and the slave bios vor the 2Gb version i bricked my old with the silent bios. I need the ver. 011.011.000.000.000000 thanx ..i looked for it on google and in this forum but the fiels donut work well for me


----------



## Sluggo

I'm selling a brand new XSPC full cover block for this good ol' card if anyone out there is interested. Was getting ready to wc, but I just got the HD6950.

PM me if you want to trade or buy. Thanks guys


----------



## Joro Corona

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *skunkxracing;12158353*
> wow thats a great idea actually, i am getting ready to move the setup to a new office so that will be my chance to do that on its side. as a side note that ultra case has psu on bottom mobo on top(but upside down)in the case so everything is where it was intended, thats one reason i got that crappy case, so the heat from 6 gpu's could be drawn right out the top fan.


I realize I'm likely resurrecting this, but I figured I'd throw alittle insight on the issues with the ATI drivers. With multiple monitors the drivers adjust the powermiser settings too low and the card isn't capable of running multiple displays. The way I remedied this on my system was edit the card bios and change the powermiser clock settings. Before my card would clock down to 175mhz or something absurd and I'd get bars and screen corruption then loss of output signal and such. By adjusting my lowest powermiser setting to 400mhz, I have no issues with my multiple displays.

Just figured I'd throw it out there.


----------



## catshark

I am Fixing a computer our compay built for a customer and i cant install the video card Drivers for the radeon hd 4850 x2.

I am running XP 64bit
On a Asus P6T
with a 2.6ghz intell
and 6gb of Ram

I tired the drivers that came on the disk this lead to lock up at windows boot.

I tried the latest drivers this lead to a black screen with a blinking cursor( _ ) after driver installation and does not respond.

I updated my mobo bios because i thought it might help and it didn't.
I tried reinstalling xp that didnt help.

I went into device manager and tell it to use the drivers from the directory of the latest drivers it somewhat worked. But now i dont have administartive rights to change the reslotuion and the display settings being saved are invalid.

How do i fix this?








Please Help


----------



## Aximous

I am using the 11.4 drivers without a single issue, so I would try those combined with a good old driver sweeper as a starter. If even that doesn't work then my guess is that the issue is probably OS not the drivers.


----------



## catshark

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aximous;13746303*
> I am using the 11.4 drivers without a single issue, so I would try those combined with a good old driver sweeper as a starter. If even that doesn't work then my guess is that the issue is probably OS not the drivers.


When i run driver sweeper i can remove all files except for 2 dll files.

My co worker that originally assembled the sytem said that he had trouble with the VC drivers.

Whell i will try this when i get into work tomorrow.
THX


----------



## Aximous

If you run it in safe mode you should be able to clear those dlls too.


----------



## catshark

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aximous;13766021*
> If you run it in safe mode you should be able to clear those dlls too.


Thats what i thought but it wont let me remove them


----------



## Aximous

Strange, if that's the case I'd try to do few scans with some good antivirus's and antimalwares.


----------



## catshark

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aximous;13770882*
> Strange, if that's the case I'd try to do few scans with some good antivirus's and antimalwares.


Its a now a fresh installation of Xp 64bit


----------



## catshark

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *catshark;13765789*
> When i run driver sweeper i can remove all files except for 2 dll files


The 2 files i cant remove are:
ati2vexx.dll
atiadlxx.dll


----------



## Aximous

Try this:
http://forums.amd.com/game/messagevi...hreadid=139372


----------



## DragonZeal

I see it has gotten pretty quiet here.
I'm still a owner of this card with the Noctua Mod.

Everything runs fine.
Even Mass Effect 2.

As long as they support DirectX 10 or 9 I will keep this card.

I was thinking to upgrade to 2x 6950 but I'm going to wait.

Don't need DirectX 11 right away

All games already look great.

Are there still other owners of this card?


----------



## Aximous

Aye I'm still running this one too, what exactly is the noctua mod you mentioned?


----------



## DragonZeal

phreakboy posted this on this thread
thanks to him my card is alot quieter now

http://www.overclock.net/7368767-post2618.html


----------



## lurkingdevil

I'm sad.
My first card broke down so sent it to RMA. I bought it second hand so had to pay $15 to sapphire for RMA. Also had to pay $15 for international shipping, and month and half wait.

Second card has now started to show issues. When on load, the temperature hits about 76-79C, the whole computer locks up with artifacts on screen. 
Fortunately this does not happen with all games, for example in BC2, temp never goes above 73C.


----------



## DragonZeal

Hmmm. Strange
Does your motherboard overclock by default?

How about your airflow?

What powersupply are you using?


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *lurkingdevil*


I'm sad.
My first card broke down so sent it to RMA. I bought it second hand so had to pay $15 to sapphire for RMA. Also had to pay $15 for international shipping, and month and half wait.

Second card has now started to show issues. When on load, the temperature hits about 76-79C, the whole computer locks up with artifacts on screen. 
Fortunately this does not happen with all games, for example in BC2, temp never goes above 73C.



Which games give you problems?? Some Games favour Nvidia more.
Do you have the 1gb or 2Gb version as these are quite different beasts.

-'D is for' Martin


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *catshark*


I am Fixing a computer our compay built for a customer and i cant install the video card Drivers for the radeon hd 4850 x2.

I am running XP 64bit
On a Asus P6T
with a 2.6ghz intell
and 6gb of Ram

I tired the drivers that came on the disk this lead to lock up at windows boot.

I tried the latest drivers this lead to a black screen with a blinking cursor( _ ) after driver installation and does not respond.

I updated my mobo bios because i thought it might help and it didn't.
I tried reinstalling xp that didnt help.

I went into device manager and tell it to use the drivers from the directory of the latest drivers it somewhat worked. But now i dont have administartive rights to change the reslotuion and the display settings being saved are invalid.

How do i fix this?








Please Help



I had Windows XP 64 bit version and it was awful. Driver support was extremely limited. It was so bad that Vista 64bit was better (HA ha !) To tell the truth I never had a problem with Vista 64!!!

1. Try to remove and replace the CMOS battery as this solved the problem for me on a new build recently on an ASUS PK5 deluxe (C2D) motherboard). Also try to get latest bios in case this is an issue.

2. Also try removing some of the RAM if the sticks you are using aren't listed on the P6T vendors list (available from the ASU support page for the P6T motherboard). Perhaps only use one stick to see if it Posts. If so check each stick to check for faulty RAM, then check different combinations to see what works. The ASUS P6T uses tripple channel memory, but double channel works fine.

3. Make sure you have the Sapphire drivers for the card as these are better an the ATI ones- last that I heard -What's the concenus on this folks???

Sapphire drivers for Win XP 64bit here: 
http://www.sapphiretech.com/presenta....aspx?psn=0006


----------



## lurkingdevil

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DragonZeal;13843427*
> Hmmm. Strange
> Does your motherboard overclock by default?
> 
> How about your airflow?
> 
> What powersupply are you using?


No OC by default. I'm currently running open air, but case airflow is OK. The thing is that the card should take those temperatures easily.
PSU in sig.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *d4martin;13853421*
> Which games give you problems?? Some Games favour Nvidia more.
> Do you have the 1gb or 2Gb version as these are quite different beasts.
> 
> -'D is for' Martin


Just Cause 2 does this for example. It also happened in MW2 SP once or twice.

I have 2GB version.

I could log the temperatures using GPU-Z and post them here.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


> Just Cause 2 does this for example. It also happened in MW2 SP once or twice.
> 
> I have 2GB version.
> 
> I could log the temperatures using GPU-Z and post them here.


I had similar problems which where driver related. The screen would freeze if I got caught in or near an explosion in MW2 multiplayer. I had to revert back 2 driver revisions before this stopped happening. The latest driver revisions tend to be to support new problematic games it seems at the expensive of others. I'll have to check which driver I'm using (8.11??? typing this from work). Had no problems since. Mostly play Bad Company 2 these days. I'm sure Rico had a list of links to most of the revisions of these drivers, eariler within this thread as that's where I got mine.
I haven't overclocked my 4850x2 but could perhaps give stock temp reading here too.


----------



## Aximous

Ye technically all of my issues with this card could be resolved with trying out a few versions of drivers. Only thing I can't get rid of is artifacting in BC2 but that is prolly due to unstable memory oc on the card.

FYI my idle temps @750 core are around 42Â°C on core1 and 46-48Â°C on core2, the memory temps are within 3Â°C range of the cores. Load temps max out at 74Â°C core1 and 80Â°C core2, though the memory temps get up in the higher 80s. (load temps are furmark extreme burn-in)


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aximous*


Ye technically all of my issues with this card could be resolved with trying out a few versions of drivers. Only thing I can't get rid of is artifacting in BC2 but that is prolly due to unstable memory oc on the card.

FYI my idle temps @750 core are around 42Â°C on core1 and 46-48Â°C on core2, the memory temps are within 3Â°C range of the cores. Load temps max out at 74Â°C core1 and 80Â°C core2, though the memory temps get up in the higher 80s. (load temps are furmark extreme burn-in)


Again I haven't overclocked the card and the only artifacting I ever noticed in BC2 was in second mission - cross a frozen river and wait by a house as an enemy armoured car is coming up the road. I looked at the nearest window from a sharp angle and noticed artifacing on the glass. Not sure if BC2 is depentent on the CPU too, which may help depending on how powerful your CPU is.
Do you have enought air flow through your case as this card dumps hot air in to the case. Also as Rico has mention in the past to get the best out of this card your CPU should be running at 3ghz so that may help. I have a i7-920 quad core which seems to help a bit

Ok temps in GPU-Z with all setting set to show highest reading while running second mission in (BC2) Battlefield Bad Company 2 - second mission from start until the tank is destoryed. Ran it in hardest mode so died a lot LOL:

hope this helps


----------



## lurkingdevil

Why does gpu load says 9%, when set to max?


----------



## Aximous

You should really try running occt or furmark for measuring load temps, playing games simply isn't stressful nor reproducible.

On BC2 yes the game is very demanding on both gpu and cpu, between loading levels I see 100% load on my poor C2Q, it struggling with it very much, but it still gets the job done => I won't dump a pile of cash for upgrades yet









As for the load temps and my case airflow, I have a HAF fully loaded with fans, to be more specific I have 2 120mm fans blowing directly on the card, also for temps anything below 95°C is totally acceptable, the card can handle around 105°C without problems, though I wouldn't run that hot for extended periods. As for the ram temps, the card's memory cooling is simply garbage tbh.


----------



## lurkingdevil

Furmark crashes the system, as in it locks up. I run it with the temperature monitoring on and it usually freezes when temperature hits somewhere around 80C. 
I get a similar load when running Just Cause 2, it stays at around 95-99% usage and that also locks up the system unless I increase fan speed to control temperatures.

BC2 on the other hand is not that demanding, in terms of gpu usage. Load temp in BC2 hang around 70C.

Your idle temp are way too good. My card idles at 58-60C with the shroud on..

I'll rerun furmark to be sure.

UPDATE : It did it again in furmark. Load temp were 75-78C with fan speed at 86%(yeah..). It stayed there for a couple of minutes before it froze. When it freezes the fans are still going at full on and I can feel the heated air come out, as if its still on load. 
I'm starting to think the issue is not with the gpu but something else that is slowly getting heated to the point it cant take it anymore because it does not suddenly freeze at load temps but does it after a few minutes.


----------



## Aximous

Try to check out the temps of the cpu and the nb and see if any of them get too hot (though they shouldn't), if those are alright then it's probably the vga that decides that it's too hot for it, try pointing few fans on it.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *lurkingdevil*


Why does gpu load says 9%, when set to max?



Not sure why the load only says 9% at Max. Haven't used it for years - Sorry
I started GPU-Z first - set everything to record the Max reached and then started the game. I must have been playing for 30-45 mins as it was on the hardest level settings and so kept dying. Thought the Tank explosion would have been quite a heavy use of the GPU???

Weird !!??!!









Lurkingdevil - are there any tests you would like me to run? If so let me know which ones and which version you are running.

M


----------



## craigs911

my HD 3870x2 1GB died and im looking for another cheap AMD/ATI dual GPU card i cant find any HD 3850x2 cards how much could i get a 4850x2 i paid Â£45 for this lone 4850 1GB GDDR3 card
and Â£70 for my 3870x2
i cant crossfire my mobo only has 1 PCIE slot i would event take another HD 38XX-X2 card


----------



## lurkingdevil

Quote:



Originally Posted by *d4martin*


Not sure why the load only says 9% at Max. Haven't used it for years - Sorry
I started GPU-Z first - set everything to record the Max reached and then started the game. I must have been playing for 30-45 mins as it was on the hardest level settings and so kept dying. Thought the Tank explosion would have been quite a heavy use of the GPU???

Weird !!??!!









Lurkingdevil - are there any tests you would like me to run? If so let me know which ones and which version you are running.

M


Your load temperatures equal my idle temps









--------------------------------------GPU 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ GPU2 ----------------------------

















EDIT : I know why it says 9% gpu usage. You missed to check the box that says continue refreshing in background. When you play a game gpuz stops recording until you bring the gpuz window in focus again.

What is your ambient room temperature?
Mine is somewhere around 30C I think, I don't have a thermometer though.

I'm almost 100% positive my issue is related to temperatures because in games where load temps dont go above say, 74C I get no lock ups.


----------



## Aximous

As I said earlier, try pointing fans at the card, also removing the shroud helps a little but it's not that significant.

If you guys want I can throw up a photo of how I have the card setup to get my temps.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *craigs911;13892181*
> my HD 3870x2 1GB died and im looking for another cheap AMD/ATI dual GPU card i cant find any HD 3850x2 cards how much could i get a 4850x2 i paid £45 for this lone 4850 1GB GDDR3 card
> and £70 for my 3870x2
> i cant crossfire my mobo only has 1 PCIE slot i would event take another HD 38XX-X2 card


The cheapest I have seen these go for on ebay are still over £100 (_Buy it now_ price). Never seen one in an ebay auction yet.
Guess it depends on what you call 'cheap'???
These are very large cards - little longer than the HD4870x2, and would require a good 500+ PSU with a 6 and 8 pin cable. Your case should also have very good air flow as the card dumps hot air in the case.

Hope this helps


----------



## craigs911

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *d4martin;13893996*
> The cheapest I have seen these go for on ebay are still over £100 (_Buy it now_ price). Never seen one in an ebay auction yet.
> Guess it depends on what you call 'cheap'???
> These are very large cards - little longer than the HD4870x2, and would require a good 500+ PSU with a 6 and 8 pin cable. Your case should also have very good air flow as the card dumps hot air in the case.
> 
> Hope this helps


dose a little my
3870x2 was 12-13 inches had to relocate my HDD`s to fit it was a sapphire card

not sure what it is but these dual GPU cards have really caught my eye i guess its because for me they offer best bang for the buck

thanks


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lurkingdevil;13893586*
> Your load temperatures equal my idle temps
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> EDIT : I know why it says 9% gpu usage. You missed to check the box that says continue refreshing in background. When you play a game gpuz stops recording until you bring the gpuz window in focus again.
> 
> What is your ambient room temperature?
> Mine is somewhere around 30C I think, I don't have a thermometer though.
> 
> I'm almost 100% positive my issue is related to temperatures because in games where load temps dont go above say, 74C I get no lock ups.


Good job I supplied the screen shots or we may never have figured that one out -









I'll try again and supply new GPU-Z shots. Obviously this isn't going to be suitible for _scientific purposes_







but would be useful as a general comparision or point of reference to see if your card is faulty, driver issue etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc without forcing it to overheat

Keep smiling, chat to you soon


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *craigs911;13894114*
> dose a little my
> 3870x2 was 12-13 inches had to relocate my HDD`s to fit it was a sapphire card
> 
> not sure what it is but these dual GPU cards have really caught my eye i guess its because for me they offer best bang for the buck
> 
> thanks


Sapphire cards seem to be the best in my opinion.

One 4850x2 would be better than two 4850 in crossfire if you planned to use these for gaming.
4850x2 has 4x dvi on the back.

I'd agree as these do offer great _bang per buck_, pounds or Euros etc


----------



## x86overclock

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *xgeko2;5890343*
> Ya right now the easiest way to do it is with rivia tuner although your not going to get much higher than 700 mhz because the voltage is restricted on this card so if you want to risk your hardware and get higher clocks you either have to flash the bios and increase the voltage or do a volt mod you might get lucky and be able to do anywhere from 720-730 without volt moding it but if your looking for a higher clock then that you should do a lot more reading on doing a volt mod.


I have 2 ATI Radeon 2gb HD4850x2s in CrossfireX my question is what are the optimal Northbridge, NB pcie, pcie i/o voltages for running my multi gpu setup? System specs are the following: AMD Phenom2x4 Deneb 965{C3} 4.0 GHZ NB 2.4 GHZ/MSI GD70 790FX/2x2 GB OCZ AMD B.E. DDR3 1600{9-9-9-27-36}/Seagate Barracuda 1TB 32mb cache HDD/2x Sapphire ATI Radeon 2GB HD4850x2s 700/1050 mhz X4 gpus.


----------



## DragonZeal

Quote:



Originally Posted by *craigs911*


my HD 3870x2 1GB died and im looking for another cheap AMD/ATI dual GPU card i cant find any HD 3850x2 cards how much could i get a 4850x2 i paid Â£45 for this lone 4850 1GB GDDR3 card
and Â£70 for my 3870x2
i cant crossfire my mobo only has 1 PCIE slot i would event take another HD 38XX-X2 card


I wouldn't buy a DirectX 10 card like the 4850X2.
I would rather aim for a DirectX 11 card.
Its a shame that you have only 1 PCIe slot.
This review caught my eye:
http://www.kitguru.net/components/gr...ew-crossfirex/

I'm thinking of buying two 5830.
You get DirectX 11 and Eyefinity.

Maybe even 1 5830 could be enough for you.
It all depends on what your performance needs are.

In the future when you decide to do another mod try do to the noctua mod.
These are decent fans.
I have them on my 4850X2


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lurkingdevil;13893586*
> 
> What is your ambient room temperature?
> Mine is somewhere around 30C I think, I don't have a thermometer though.
> 
> I'm almost 100% positive my issue is related to temperatures because in games where load temps dont go above say, 74C I get no lock ups.


Ok this time BC2 run on first and second missions on the settings below.
Very very different from before but have completed the game and used it on multiplay with no problems. Seems that I have driver 9.7


----------



## Aximous

Those temps are completely okay.


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aximous;13965666*
> Those temps are completely okay.


Which driver do you have?


----------



## Aximous

11.6


----------



## d4martin

BC2 again with graphics set to 1680x1050

Missions 3 and 4




























Noticed some very slight stuttering in the water texture near start of the third mission and the game seems to be very very slightly jerky - hardly noticeable-still very playable.


----------



## craigs911

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DragonZeal;13961464*
> I wouldn't buy a DirectX 10 card like the 4850X2.
> I would rather aim for a DirectX 11 card.
> Its a shame that you have only 1 PCIe slot.
> This review caught my eye:
> http://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/zardon/sapphire-hd5830-hd5850-xtreme-edition-review-crossfirex/
> 
> I'm thinking of buying two 5830.
> You get DirectX 11 and Eyefinity.
> 
> Maybe even 1 5830 could be enough for you.
> It all depends on what your performance needs are.
> 
> In the future when you decide to do another mod try do to the noctua mod.
> These are decent fans.
> I have them on my 4850X2


i might just get one of those 5830 xtreme edition looks good


----------



## lurkingdevil

Quote:



Originally Posted by *d4martin*


BC2 again with graphics set to 1680x1050

Missions 3 and 4




























Noticed some very slight stuttering in the water texture near start of the third mission and the game seems to be very very slightly jerky - hardly noticeable-still very playable.


BC2 also runs okay with me. Apparently it is not as demanding or a better way to phrase would be that BC2 uses GPU as required unlike other games that will just max out the gpu even at the menus and everywhere else throughout the game.

MW2 does that in some cutscenes, especially that long one at the end.


----------



## emomartin

I get the "grey stripes" when i connect my secondary to my 4850 x2 1GB. Im using ccc 11.6. I've tried to clock down to 310/495 and i still get the GSOD. I've also upped the volts a little with RBE but without any success. It works flawlessly with just one monitor connected. What should I do?

Edit: Btw after the GSOD and I've restarted my PC, windows 7 says that I've gotten a BSOD.


----------



## lurkingdevil

Guys I'm now getting artifacts at bios








Geting gray bars at windows load screen and bsod after it loads..

Is the card gone?


----------



## Aximous

Try it in a different PCI-E slot, see if that helps.


----------



## lurkingdevil

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aximous*


Try it in a different PCI-E slot, see if that helps.


I only have 1 PCI-E slot..


----------



## Aximous

That sucks, can you try it in another pc?


----------



## lurkingdevil

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aximous;14012896*
> That sucks, can you try it in another pc?


Yeah, I could take it to my dad's pc. I'll also have to take my PSU because his psu doesn't have the 8 pin connector.

This had to happen on my birthday


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lurkingdevil;14009951*
> Guys I'm now getting artifacts at bios
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Geting gray bars at windows load screen and bsod after it loads..
> 
> Is the card gone?


If the card gets knocked out slightly it will give grey lines and artifacts in bios. Try to make sure it's secure. It's quite a brick but only held in by a cope of screws. Also check the the card isn't bending too much as well.

This seemed to happen to me once in a blue moon but wasn't sure if it was me or my cat









Usaually when switching off and on again it should be fine or try reseating it and then re-try. If it happens continually then I'd be worried. Let us know


----------



## d4martin

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *emomartin;14004827*
> I get the "grey stripes" when i connect my secondary to my 4850 x2 1GB. Im using ccc 11.6. I've tried to clock down to 310/495 and i still get the GSOD. I've also upped the volts a little with RBE but without any success. It works flawlessly with just one monitor connected. What should I do?
> 
> Edit: Btw after the GSOD and I've restarted my PC, windows 7 says that I've gotten a BSOD.


You can only use one monitor if your using crossfire. This is effectively two cards together. Try un-ticking the cross fire option.


----------



## lurkingdevil

Quote:



Originally Posted by *d4martin*


If the card gets knocked out slightly it will give grey lines and artifacts in bios. Try to make sure it's secure. It's quite a brick but only held in by a cope of screws. Also check the the card isn't bending too much as well.

This seemed to happen to me once in a blue moon but wasn't sure if it was me or my cat









Usaually when switching off and on again it should be fine or try reseating it and then re-try. If it happens continually then I'd be worried. Let us know


The whole system is placed open-air, horizontally. I tried to reseat it a couple of times but it kept happening continually.

Right now I'm using crappy onboard graphics and the card is lying on the table. I'll reseat it and see if anything changes.


----------



## Aximous

Quote:



Originally Posted by *d4martin*


You can only use one monitor if your using crossfire. This is effectively two cards together. Try un-ticking the cross fire option.


You can use 2 monitors actually, the 2 dvi ports closer to the pcb belong to GPU1 and work when CF is enabled, the other 2 belongs to GPU2 and they won't work if CF is enabled.


----------



## lurkingdevil

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aximous*


You can use 2 monitors actually, the 2 dvi ports closer to the pcb belong to GPU1 and work when CF is enabled, the other 2 belongs to GPU2 and they won't work if CF is enabled.


The other two can also work with CF enabled. If you attatch your monitor to GPU2 ports and THEN enable CF then the top two ports will be disabled.


----------



## Aximous

Hmm didn't know that, nice little feature, though the point is that with cf on only 2 monitors will work.


----------



## lurkingdevil

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aximous*


Hmm didn't know that, nice little feature, though the point is that with cf on only 2 monitors will work.


Yes, thats true.

And as to my current situation, Sapphire support has asked me to check it on another computer. I will do so tommorrow. Here's hoping it works out..


----------



## lurkingdevil

It didnt work. Still showing artifacts at boot.

Sapphire support says my card is out of warranty..
I guess its time to bake.


----------



## lurkingdevil

The bake didnt work. I eventually bought a ASUS GTX560. Its been a good time on the ati side. You can take my name off the list rico.

For now I'm loving this card.


----------



## tbob22

I'm guessing this might be bad ram.


















Already tried a bake at 385 / 8min and 425 / 8min with no change.

Diagnostic lights:


Only one DVI will display anything:









It should be noted, I baked it with the PLX bridge heatsink attached. Probably was a bad idea, but it did not seem to harm it anymore than it already was.

I did the bake with the GPU's facing upward, I noticed some people baking with the GPU facing down.

Any other ideas? What about a heat gun? PLX bridge problems?

Edit: I should probably make my own thread.. But here it is, this is the reason I was thinking maybe it has something to do with the PLX bridge:


















It is like one of GPU's are not working, half of the image looks fine and the other half is all messed up (at least during windows boot).


----------



## d4martin

Quote:



Originally Posted by *tbob22*


I'm guessing this might be bad ram.


















Already tried a bake at 385 / 8min and 425 / 8min with no change.

It should be noted, I baked it with the PLX bridge heatsink attached. Probably was a bad idea, but it did not seem to harm it anymore than it already was.

I did the bake with the GPU's facing upward, I noticed some people baking with the GPU facing down.

Any other ideas? What about a heat gun? PLX bridge problems?

Edit: I should probably make my own thread.. But here it is, this is the reason I was thinking maybe it has something to do with the PLX bridge:

It is like one of GPU's are not working, half of the image looks fine and the other half is all messed up (at least during windows boot).



Wow that doesn't look very healthy - anyone here got any ideas????


----------



## Aximous

Those diagnostic leds could help you solve it, Rico had a list about which led means what somewhere in this thread, maybe that could help.

Edit: here it is:
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *rico2001;5149603*
> *Radeon HD4850X2 LEDs*
> 
> D1601 : ASIC CTF Enable (GPU overheat protection)
> D29 : 8 pin external connector no power
> D30 : 6 pin external connector no power
> D25 : Boot up fault LED (Re-plug the VGA board or D1601,D29,D30 all failed)
> D1250~D1252 : Turn on with normal behavior in the left ASIC
> D1253~D1255 : Turn on with normal behavior in the right ASIC
> 
> At BOOT/POST, the card's fan will spin @ 100% for a short while, the LEDs will light up for a brief period and then go out. This is NORMAL behaviour as the card is performing it's own type of POST test.
> 
> Green LEDs lit mean the VGA card is working normally. A RED LED will show on D1250~D1252 / D1253~D1255 to show normal operation.


----------



## tbob22

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aximous;14308625*
> Those diagnostic leds could help you solve it, Rico had a list about which led means what somewhere in this thread, maybe that could help.
> 
> Edit: here it is:


I think they are OK, but I'm not 100%. This is what they are doing:

D29 - Off
D30 - Off
D25 - Off
D1601 - Off
D1250 - Green
D1251 - Orange
D1252 - Red
D1253 - Green
D1254 - Orange
D1255 - Red


----------



## Aximous

Well dunno about the orange ones, mine only has 1 green led on, can't tell which one is it, the one closest to the VRM heatsink.

Edit: it seems I have a few (2-3) red leds on too but they are under the heatsink


----------



## tbob22

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aximous*


Well dunno about the orange ones, mine only has 1 green led on, can't tell which one is it, the one closest to the VRM heatsink.

Edit: it seems I have a few (2-3) red leds on too but they are under the heatsink










Hmm. Well I guess the LED's aren't showing any faults. I'll probably just grab a heatgun, remove the PLX heatsink and heat up that area. And maybe using flux + a heatgun on the GPU's.


----------



## Aximous

Have you tried contacting Sapphire support?


----------



## tbob22

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Aximous*


Have you tried contacting Sapphire support?


I haven't, I guess I should at least try.

I re-flashed the bios using a secondary pci card. Everything went smoothly, but it still has the same issue.


----------



## Phoriver

I have one of these cards and damn is it loud even at "12%". 
Has anyone changed the fan settings in its bios to solve this problem? And it seems like the rear fan is spinning much faster than the fan closest to the rear of the case.

Anyone have this issue?

Edit: Nvm.. flashed it so it runs at 2% fan speed up to 45*C and ramps up slower... it's not all that bad now.


----------



## Barett

Ok I will first say I am completely new to Overclocking. I have never done it before, but wanna try it now. I just wanted to ask you guys some questions if that is ok?

First of all I have a 4850x2 2gb. It is in bios 11.008 and I was wondering is that bios current enough to have the reduced fan noise? Right now it doesn't bother me cause my case is pretty loud too (Antec 900).

Second, I have my card overclocked right now through Catalyst. It is at 700/1120. Under load it runs 65-70C. I am not sure if I can push it harder. I think it might be safe to up it from 1120. How can I stress test it to make sure? Is the test in Catalyst fine?

Thanks


----------



## Aximous

I use OCCT for stress testing, it has built in error checking which is good for checking how stable your oc is. Others use Furmark for stressing, you can use whichever you fancy. Not sure how you stress the card but 70Â°C load is ridiculously low tbh, with a proper stress test you should expect load temps in the high 80s, but don't worry the card can easily take up to 100Â°C!

For overclocking I suggest using MSI Afterburner, it will let you set clocks beyond 700MHz, for example I had mine clocked at 780MHz for benching.

As far as bioses, I have no idea, I always used the bios that came with the card from the factory, never bothered flashing a newer one.

Edit: Also you can set fan speed in Afterburner, even set a custom profile, it works wonders.


----------



## Barett

Thanks for the help


----------



## skunkxracing

Well it looks like I may have had one of my 3 4850x2. Thru trouble shooting I found that my comp would boot fine with that one out of the system. Tryed different pcie slots same result. Push the power button and all the fans in the system kick over a revolutions then stop, it doesn't even try to post. Any ideas?


----------



## MGF Derp

Try baking it. I just baked one back to health. And also I am in, new owner of a Sapphire 4850x2 and digging it.


----------



## tbob22

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MGF Derp*
> 
> Try baking it. I just baked one back to health. And also I am in, new owner of a Sapphire 4850x2 and digging it.


What temp and how long did you bake it for? I still have a dead 4850x2 sitting here, tried baking it at 385/8min and 425/8min with no difference..


----------



## strandtentje

*bamp*

I have one of these.

Thinking of selling it. What is it worth to date? (Anyone interrested? ^^)

Before I sell it, I might try to cf it with a friend's hd4850x2. Just youknow, for kicks and giggles. I foresee scaling to be terrible and enough microstutter to exterminate a small antilope colony.


----------



## Computech2012

Will the 4850 X2 have any problems fitting into an Antec 300 ?.


----------



## porksmuggler

I've finally moved on to a new vid card, but not entirely by choice. Just curious, is anyone running a 4850X2 on a ASUS Z68? Wondering if it's just the GEN3 model I have, because the 4850X2 functions perfectly in every other system I've tested.


----------



## DragonZeal

According to Tomshardware this card is still considered as a good card if you look at their hierarchy chart.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

Is there really that much difference between Directx 9 and 11?

I have one 6870 2Gb.
Should I return to my 4850x2?

Any advice would be welcome.


----------



## Aximous

Yes it is still a good card, though if you have the 1GB version it will be pretty limiting on big resolutions.

DirectX 10 and 11, well not much, some good stuff in 11 but I wouldn't call it mainstream so it's not a biggy tbh.

I switched to a 1GB 6870 from a 4850x2, and I've seen a little performance increase, not to mention the lower power requirement and support for DX11 and some other newer technologies, so I say you're better off with the 6870 even though the 4850x2 is an amazing card.


----------



## DragonZeal

I assume you have 2 6870 in Crossfire.


----------



## Aximous

Yes I do, but when I switched from my 4850x2 I had only one.


----------



## DragonZeal

I also have 2 6870.
But I switched to a mini-itx build and have only 1 PCIe.


----------



## Aximous

Stick with the 6870 then, slightly more powerful card, also eats less power and not to mention cooler.


----------



## DragonZeal

Only one problem.
I have the 2Gb version that came with 1 fan.
I was to late to buy a dual fan version here in Belgium.
I managed to find 2x 2Gb version and put the Arctic Accellero Xtreme III on it.
But this cooler takes 3 slots and my Bitfenix Prodigy doesn't provide enough space for this.


----------



## Aximous

Well if you only have one card you can fit in there then I don't really see a question here


----------



## Aeonus

Hmh, it seems my XSPC Razor waterblocked HD4850X2 2GB is starting to die. I updated my PC just yesterday and about 4 times out of 5 it fails to boot with the card attached, shining the VGA led at my face. No idea what's wrong, but without the card the PC works just fine.

Any suggestions on replacement? I hardly ever play anything, but I want at least 2 dual-link DVI ports and am interested in a card for which there is a full-cover block available. The two Thermochills would be a bit of an overkill for the CPU alone, after all.

EDIT:
Preferably AMD and with Displayports. I'm looking into the Eyefinity 6 editions though none seem to have compatible blocks available for them.

EDIT2: Got an Asus HD7770 and everything's fine and well in the world.


----------



## Shiryu_Libra

hey ppl... anyone who still have a copy of the bios for this
hd4850 x2
PN: 288-40e87-201sa
SKU#11139-00

this baby still workin' but I try to flash some custom bios and lost the slave bios and I cannot make it work
or there's any chance to someone tell where to find some ancients bios jejejeje

cheers and thanks for anyone that could help me


----------



## RichardPwnsner

I've seen several posts here and elsewhere complaining about intermittent "no signal" problems on boot, and have been experiencing this myself on and off for the past two years until the past day, when it inexplicably went chronic. I'm happy to report a belated solution for everyone.

The problem is that Sapphire's stock bios is set to deliver an inadequate signal at boot. To fix it, you may need to fly blind like I did, but it's really not that hard as long as you have a laptop or second PC around to get the following files:

Download the new bios here: http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/42160/Sapphire.HD4850X2.512.090113.html

Download ATIFlash here: http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/2230/mirrors.php

Download a Windows 98 dos disk here: http://code.google.com/p/fleetcommand/downloads/detail?name=win98boot.zip&can=2&q=

Download the HP USB utility here: http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=197

(1) Run the HP utility and select "create a bootable dos disk" (something to that effect), and point the program at the win98boot folder you've extracted. This creates the bootable USB.

(2) Extract the ATIFlash program directly to the root of the bootable disk (e.g. C:\). This saves a little bit more work if you're going in blind.

(3) Copy the new .rom file to the root as well. Optionally, name it something simple (e.g. 'sapphire.rom').

(3) Disconnect all drives except the USB stick so your box automatically boots to DOS. Then restart the computer and give it a minute or so to make sure it gets to the DOS prompt.

(4) Finally, simply input "atiflash -f -pa -padevid=9443 sapphire.rom" and hit enter. Then let it go to town, keeping an eye on activity on the USB fob if you want to determine when it's done.

If all goes well, a simple reboot should bring you back to the land of GUI. The only wrinkle I can see is the devid--I'm not sure if this is according to card, in which case it should be universal, or by port, in which case you might have to find another parameter to enter. Hope this helps someone out.


----------

