Radeon 2600PRO 512MB Crossfire issues

YouIdiot · Nov 3, 2007, 08:03 PM

Hi all. First things first, my specs:
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3P (rev 3.3) mobo
Silverstone ZEUS 650W PSU
3GB Kingstom DDR2 667 RAM
Core 2 Duo 6320 Processor
Two HIS Radeon 2600PRO 512MB Graphics Cards.

On with the show.
I researched a fair bit before buying the cards, and found that for my mobo these two cards working together should Crossfire without any Interconnect bridges, internal or dongles, and should do it with absolute ease.

I initially tried installing one card and then the other, yet every version of Catalyst I installed didn't even recognise my Crossfire option. So I went back to the beginning, installed both cards at once, and Catalyst finally showed me a Crossfire option, yet the box is greyed out.

Now I have a sneaking suspicion that the cards may require some sort of dongle, because the PCIe on my mobo and the cards I got should interconnect without a problem, but I am a suspicious sod and don't want to buy another piece of useless cabling that will just strangle my cat when I can't get it working.

Please help.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Nov 3, 2007, 08:19 PM

Are you sure that motherboard is Crossfire compatible? From what I remember you actually need a Crossfire certified motherboard for anything to even work unless you want to in some way/shape/form modify your motherboard

YouIdiot · Nov 3, 2007, 08:20 PM

Oh yeah, got the motherboard because it's compatible. Did have an NVidia GeForce 8500GT in it, but went the other way to make the most of the mobo.

YouIdiot · Nov 7, 2007, 04:02 AM

I would really love some assistance guys, absolutely no-one in my area knows anything even remotely connected with Crossfire, and I'm tearing my hair out.

Dyre Straits · Nov 7, 2007, 04:47 AM

I downloaded the manual for that motherboard. On page 17 of the English version, it shows an onboard Power Connection (Molex-type) and specifically states that "when installing two .... cards, please connect the power cable from the power supply to this connection." So, if your two cards are being powered each separately and directly from the power supply, you may need to make the switch to this connection. It's not clear as to whether the power to each card has to be disconnected, only that this one 'must' be connected if two cards are installed.

So far, it seems the only thing that sticks out that could be a factor.

Good luck!

YouIdiot · Nov 7, 2007, 05:34 AM

Thanks Dyre.

I'm assuming the way you wrote your reply that the power connection is on the motherboard itself? If that's the case then I've already done that. Additionally, the two cards don't have external power supply connections at all. It's a bit of a curly one...

Dyre Straits · Nov 7, 2007, 05:41 AM

OK. Yeah. I picked up a VisionTek HD2600 XT 512 DDR3 a little over a week ago and was surprised that it didn't require an external power connection. So, this was something I wasn't sure about on your setup.

Have you downloaded any of the updated drivers/BIOS for that motherboard, yet? Usually, that's the very first thing I do with a new system. It could be that the drivers needed for the newer video cards don't exist and you need to update the board.

YouIdiot · Nov 7, 2007, 05:44 AM

Good point. I might have to look into it, except the website for my motherboard is down at the moment. Lucky me. At least I should be able to update the BIOS

YouIdiot · Nov 7, 2007, 06:19 PM

Well, this is a turn-up for the books. Warning for all: [COLOR=red]Don't buy an HD 2600 PRO on a GA-965P-DS3P (rev 3.3)[/COLOR]

I found out the hard way. On the 29/10/07 I purchased two HD 2600 PRO's under the impression that the internal CrossFire connectors were built into the motherboard, and that I simply needed to plug in the monitor to be able to activate CrossFire. I was wrong.

The impression I had gotten was from a variety of sources.
First, the motherboard manual advised that an internal bridge wasn't necessary;
I also checked an online comparison chart which advised that these two graphics cards combined with my motherboard chipset didn't require the internal bridge. Even the website dedicated to the motherboard stated nothing about an internal bridge requirement.

And today, I find that this has been added to the CrossFire explanation on the Overview section of my motherboard: [COLOR=#ff0000]Attention: When attempting to enable ATI Crossfire Technology on this board. In case of unable to get Crossfire Technology working normally, please make sure to use ATI graphic cards that have hardware Crossfire bridge. (Please refer to ATI official website for more Crossfire Technology supporting details: [/COLOR]

[COLOR=#810081]http://ati.amd.com/technology/crossfire/charts.html[/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]*EDIT*[/COLOR]

After looking into a further comparison chart, I have found that it's the only chart to suggest to me that the two graphics cards, while being ideally suited to one another, need an internal bridge to work. Funny thing is, the card itself doesn't have an internal bridge connector. This poses the obvious question: If it's an ideal card for my motherboard, why doesn't it have the bridge connectors, or, why does the motherboard not ship with the bridge connector?

Now I'm just confused.

YouIdiot · Nov 7, 2007, 07:19 PM

N/A

Dyre Straits · Nov 7, 2007, 11:59 PM

Man...even though it appears you did all your necessary homework, somebody at the other end didn't do theirs!!!

I read recently another similar situation where Microsoft Knowledge Base support advised that it was possible to share a flatbed scanner on an XP network. Eventually, that was found to be incorrect.

I wonder just how many of us have been victims of 'after the fact' corrections???

YouIdiot · Nov 8, 2007, 06:36 AM

Well now all I'm waiting for is an apology from the motherboard provider and hopefully a large cash incentive. LOL as if I'll get that. Thanks for your your help guys. It might not have come to a good conclusion, but you've at least shown a fair bit more tech-savvy knowledge than the bastards who make the bloody things.

YouIdiot · Nov 8, 2007, 09:23 PM

And another piece of the puzzle is chewed up by the dog: I check the motherboard website this morning, and they've removed the CrossFire warning I quoted above! They should be politicians with the amount of backflipping they've done!

YouIdiot · Nov 23, 2007, 12:13 AM

*UPDATE*

It seems as if I have found the error.

Naturally, in relation to the evil email I sent to my mobo manufacturer, they replaied stating that the mobo does have the capacity with my particular video card, and that the internal bridge connectors were only an optional extra.

Also I checked out the fixes in the latest Catalyst drivers bundle, which addresses the problem of "no internal bridge connectors for HD 2600 PRO running CrossFire".

After some fiddling and swearing, I found that the Cat drivers 7.10 and CCC version 7.9 work together with CrossFire actually able to be enabled! Gaming beauty!

A quick warning though: For those of you contemplating an HD 2600 PRO, try the XT instead. Is worth the extra money if you have the mobo/stats to run it.

For those of you who are curious:
CCC and Cat versions both 7.10: No CrossFire option visible in CCC Main Menu.
Cat drivers 7.9 and CCC version 7.10: CrossFire option visible, tickbox greyed out.
CCC and Cat drivers both 7.9:No CrossFire option visible in CCC Main Menu.

Didn't use Omega drivers at all as Vista support not yet developed. Would have liked to try though...

Nov 3, 2007, 08:03 PM	#1
YouIdiot DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Tasmania, Australia Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	Radeon 2600PRO 512MB Crossfire issues Hi all. First things first, my specs: Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3P (rev 3.3) mobo Silverstone ZEUS 650W PSU 3GB Kingstom DDR2 667 RAM Core 2 Duo 6320 Processor Two HIS Radeon 2600PRO 512MB Graphics Cards. On with the show. I researched a fair bit before buying the cards, and found that for my mobo these two cards working together should Crossfire without any Interconnect bridges, internal or dongles, and should do it with absolute ease. I initially tried installing one card and then the other, yet every version of Catalyst I installed didn't even recognise my Crossfire option. So I went back to the beginning, installed both cards at once, and Catalyst finally showed me a Crossfire option, yet the box is greyed out. Now I have a sneaking suspicion that the cards may require some sort of dongle, because the PCIe on my mobo and the cards I got should interconnect without a problem, but I am a suspicious sod and don't want to buy another piece of useless cabling that will just strangle my cat when I can't get it working. Please help.

Nov 7, 2007, 04:02 AM	#4
YouIdiot DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Tasmania, Australia Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	I would really love some assistance guys, absolutely no-one in my area knows anything even remotely connected with Crossfire, and I'm tearing my hair out. __________________ What's the magic word? Gimmeee!

Nov 7, 2007, 05:34 AM	#6
YouIdiot DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Tasmania, Australia Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	Thanks Dyre. I'm assuming the way you wrote your reply that the power connection is on the motherboard itself? If that's the case then I've already done that. Additionally, the two cards don't have external power supply connections at all. It's a bit of a curly one... __________________ What's the magic word? Gimmeee!

Nov 7, 2007, 06:19 PM	#9
YouIdiot DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Tasmania, Australia Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	Well, this is a turn-up for the books. Warning for all: [COLOR=red]Don't buy an HD 2600 PRO on a GA-965P-DS3P (rev 3.3)[/COLOR] I found out the hard way. On the 29/10/07 I purchased two HD 2600 PRO's under the impression that the internal CrossFire connectors were built into the motherboard, and that I simply needed to plug in the monitor to be able to activate CrossFire. I was wrong. The impression I had gotten was from a variety of sources. First, the motherboard manual advised that an internal bridge wasn't necessary; I also checked an online comparison chart which advised that these two graphics cards combined with my motherboard chipset didn't require the internal bridge. Even the website dedicated to the motherboard stated nothing about an internal bridge requirement. And today, I find that this has been added to the CrossFire explanation on the Overview section of my motherboard: [COLOR=#ff0000]Attention: When attempting to enable ATI Crossfire Technology on this board. In case of unable to get Crossfire Technology working normally, please make sure to use ATI graphic cards that have hardware Crossfire bridge. (Please refer to ATI official website for more Crossfire Technology supporting details: [/COLOR] [COLOR=#810081]http://ati.amd.com/technology/crossfire/charts.html[/COLOR] [COLOR=black]EDIT[/COLOR] After looking into a further comparison chart, I have found that it's the only chart to suggest to me that the two graphics cards, while being ideally suited to one another, need an internal bridge to work. Funny thing is, the card itself doesn't have an internal bridge connector. This poses the obvious question: If it's an ideal card for my motherboard, why doesn't it have the bridge connectors, or, why does the motherboard not ship with the bridge connector? Now I'm just confused. __________________ What's the magic word? Gimmeee! Last edited by YouIdiot; Nov 7, 2007 at 08:23 PM. Reason: Further info

Nov 7, 2007, 07:19 PM	#10
YouIdiot DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Tasmania, Australia Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	N/A __________________ What's the magic word? Gimmeee! Last edited by YouIdiot; Nov 7, 2007 at 08:28 PM. Reason: Unrelated ranting

Nov 3, 2007, 08:19 PM	#2
H3X4D3C1M4L DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 6,818 Rep Power: 0	Are you sure that motherboard is Crossfire compatible? From what I remember you actually need a Crossfire certified motherboard for anything to even work unless you want to in some way/shape/form modify your motherboard

Nov 3, 2007, 08:20 PM	#3
YouIdiot DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Tasmania, Australia Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	Oh yeah, got the motherboard because it's compatible. Did have an NVidia GeForce 8500GT in it, but went the other way to make the most of the mobo.

Nov 7, 2007, 05:44 AM	#8
YouIdiot DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Tasmania, Australia Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	Good point. I might have to look into it, except the website for my motherboard is down at the moment. Lucky me. At least I should be able to update the BIOS __________________ What's the magic word? Gimmeee!

Nov 8, 2007, 06:36 AM	#12
YouIdiot DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Tasmania, Australia Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	Well now all I'm waiting for is an apology from the motherboard provider and hopefully a large cash incentive. LOL as if I'll get that. Thanks for your your help guys. It might not have come to a good conclusion, but you've at least shown a fair bit more tech-savvy knowledge than the bastards who make the bloody things. __________________ What's the magic word? Gimmeee!

Nov 8, 2007, 09:23 PM	#13
YouIdiot DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Tasmania, Australia Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	And another piece of the puzzle is chewed up by the dog: I check the motherboard website this morning, and they've removed the CrossFire warning I quoted above! They should be politicians with the amount of backflipping they've done! __________________ What's the magic word? Gimmeee!

Nov 23, 2007, 12:13 AM	#14
YouIdiot DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Tasmania, Australia Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	UPDATE It seems as if I have found the error. Naturally, in relation to the evil email I sent to my mobo manufacturer, they replaied stating that the mobo does have the capacity with my particular video card, and that the internal bridge connectors were only an optional extra. Also I checked out the fixes in the latest Catalyst drivers bundle, which addresses the problem of "no internal bridge connectors for HD 2600 PRO running CrossFire". After some fiddling and swearing, I found that the Cat drivers 7.10 and CCC version 7.9 work together with CrossFire actually able to be enabled! Gaming beauty! A quick warning though: For those of you contemplating an HD 2600 PRO, try the XT instead. Is worth the extra money if you have the mobo/stats to run it. For those of you who are curious: CCC and Cat versions both 7.10: No CrossFire option visible in CCC Main Menu. Cat drivers 7.9 and CCC version 7.10: CrossFire option visible, tickbox greyed out. CCC and Cat drivers both 7.9:No CrossFire option visible in CCC Main Menu. Didn't use Omega drivers at all as Vista support not yet developed. Would have liked to try though... __________________ What's the magic word? Gimmeee!