• Hardware

  • Need help with notebook crossfire

hey guys! I just got my new laptop and as it turns out it has 2 gpu's:
AMD Radeon hd 7670m
AMD Radeon (tm) hd 6520g

I am new to the crossfire...and its the first time I have ever bought an ati (as you can see in my profile picture I am an nvidia fan :P )

anyways I checked the ati drivers and crossfire is enabled

however when gaming only one of the gpu's is working and its the 6520g

heres a pic of the first one : http://postimage.org/image/q5no33j85/

and heres a pic of the second one: http://postimage.org/image/4snlsoa6r/

edit: look at the gpu loads in the pics

it may be just a stupid little setting somewhere...I don't know...but I can't figure it out...all I know it is enabled in the ati drivers settings...

I expect to get at least an fps of ~30 (now its between 13~18)

thanks in advance!
You can't crossfire 2 completely different graphics cards. You have 2 ATI cards because your CPU is an AMD CPU which would have an AMD chipset which will have an AMD on board IGP (Integrated Graphics Processor). Laptops nowadays come with 2 graphics processors one on board and one with a dedicated GPU. When you're gaming the PC uses the dedicated graphics processor in order to render those huge frames. However if you're just using your PC for internet surfing or anything that requires low GPU usage, it will use the integrated IGP so that it saves energy and battery and make the dedicated GPU last longer in a way.

You don't have 2 cards, you have 1 card and 1 on board. You can't crossfire. You can only crossfire if 2 of the cards have the same first 2 digits. For example: You can crossfire an HD 7870 with a 7850, but you can't crossfire an HD 7870 with a 7950. You can crossfire an HD 6870 with a 6850 but you can't crossfire a 6870 with a 7870 or 7850 or any other card that's newer/older, faster/slower card. (Basically first 2 digits)

As for Nvidia, you can only SLI with the same cards with each other. So 670 with 670, 680 with 680. You can't SLI a 670 with a 680 or vise versa. (Again, basically the first two digits)
hmmm okay, but it doesn't make sense... because 7670m>6520g
shouldn't my laptop be using the 7670m when gaming?
It does use that when gaming. If it doesn't right click on your desktop and manually change it.

Oh and if you're running on battery, it won't automatically change it so bear in mind that.
AvoK95 wroteIt does use that when gaming. If it doesn't right click on your desktop and manually change it.

Oh and if you're running on battery, it won't automatically change it so bear in mind that.
And even if it does change, the 7670M's clockspeeds are throttled to save battery power. This will kill 3D performance. One can force 3D clocks I believe, but the battery would be flat in no time.
AvoK95 wroteIt does use that when gaming. If it doesn't right click on your desktop and manually change it.

Oh and if you're running on battery, it won't automatically change it so bear in mind that.
ahhh thanks dude that worked! apparently the game was running on "power saving" so I switched it to "high performance" and my fps jumped to 28~29 :D
But i read somewhere those laptops actually crossfire somehow...
Again...
AvoK95 wroteYou can't crossfire 2 completely different graphics cards. You have 2 ATI cards because your CPU is an AMD CPU which would have an AMD chipset which will have an AMD on board IGP (Integrated Graphics Processor). Laptops nowadays come with 2 graphics processors one on board and one with a dedicated GPU. When you're gaming the PC uses the dedicated graphics processor in order to render those huge frames. However if you're just using your PC for internet surfing or anything that requires low GPU usage, it will use the integrated IGP so that it saves energy and battery and make the dedicated GPU last longer in a way.

You don't have 2 cards, you have 1 card and 1 on board. You can't crossfire. You can only crossfire if 2 of the cards have the same first 2 digits. For example: You can crossfire an HD 7870 with a 7850, but you can't crossfire an HD 7870 with a 7950. You can crossfire an HD 6870 with a 6850 but you can't crossfire a 6870 with a 7870 or 7850 or any other card that's newer/older, faster/slower card. (Basically first 2 digits)

As for Nvidia, you can only SLI with the same cards with each other. So 670 with 670, 680 with 680. You can't SLI a 670 with a 680 or vise versa. (Again, basically the first two digits)
yasamoka wrote
AvoK95 wroteIt does use that when gaming. If it doesn't right click on your desktop and manually change it.

Oh and if you're running on battery, it won't automatically change it so bear in mind that.
And even if it does change, the 7670M's clockspeeds are throttled to save battery power. This will kill 3D performance. One can force 3D clocks I believe, but the battery would be flat in no time.
that's interesting....I will look into it and see if I can somehow force the 3d clocks only when my laptop is plugged in...and be on normal clocks when on battery...

edit: but can it reach the same performance as the normal 7670 (the one for the desktop)?
Nemesis-301 wrote
yasamoka wrote
AvoK95 wroteIt does use that when gaming. If it doesn't right click on your desktop and manually change it.

Oh and if you're running on battery, it won't automatically change it so bear in mind that.
And even if it does change, the 7670M's clockspeeds are throttled to save battery power. This will kill 3D performance. One can force 3D clocks I believe, but the battery would be flat in no time.
that's interesting....I will look into it and see if I can somehow force the 3d clocks only when my laptop is plugged in...and be on normal clocks when on battery...

edit: but can it reach the same performance as the normal 7670 (the one for the desktop)?
I have said this before you bought yourself a laptop. Laptop parts are very slower than desktop parts. A GTX580M has the same performance as a desktop's GTX560Ti.

You will never get the same performance as a desktop 7670.
Nemesis-301 wrotethat's interesting....I will look into it and see if I can somehow force the 3d clocks only when my laptop is plugged in...and be on normal clocks when on battery...
I meant to say that one can force 3D clocks in battery mode. Those 3D clocks are already applied when the laptop is plugged in, as the adapter can supply enough power to operate the laptop at this power, while the battery would run out pretty fast.