Peekaboom
04-17-2010, 01:02 PM
Hello. I'm looking to buy a GX640, but have become aware of a rather nasty driver issue (which I also believe Justin@Xotic has noticed). The original post from notebook review forums is below. I'm wondering if there is anything can be done to solve these problems.
GX640 PCI-E x16 @ x1 problem and other driver problems (http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=476342)
I've recently purchased my GX640 and can say it's a great machine at a great price. Overall satisfied, however the biggest problem is the current driver support for the Radeon HD 5850.
Out of the box, the MSI Catalyst drivers are:
Driver Packaging Version 8.69-091211a-096612C-MSI
Provider ATI Technologies Inc.
2D Driver Version 8.01.01.994
2D Driver File Path /REGISTRY/MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet004/Control/CLASS/{4D36E968-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}/0001
Direct3D Version 8.14.10.0723
OpenGL Version 6.14.10.9252
Catalyst™ Control Center Version 2010.0302.2233.40412
These drivers seem to have some issues. The major one is the PCI-E x16 bus being stuck in x1. This problem on my computer occurs when I enable PowerPlay's "Maximum Battery Life", which forces the PCI-E bus goes to x1. However when I switch to PowerPlay's "Maximum Performance" the PCI-E bus stays at x1. This occurs even if I change the clock (overclock/underclock), in Max Performance mode. The only method that I found, to reset the bus to x16 is to keep PowerPlay in "Maximum Performance" and reset the computer. You can see that this can be pretty annoying in order to get full performance.
I've also noticed some other issues like:
- When I close my lid, the monitor turns off, however when I open my lid, the monitor stays blank. I have to sleep and resume to boot up the monitor.
- Sometimes when I resume from sleep, it seems the driver unloads and I can't sleep again, nor can I open GPUZ.
Now I have tried to install the latest Catalyst drivers (10.3) from the ATI website. These drivers are:
Driver Packaging Version 8.712-100302b-096986C-ATI
Provider ATI Technologies Inc.
2D Driver Version 8.01.01.1010
2D Driver File Path /REGISTRY/MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet004/Control/CLASS/{4D36E968-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}/0001
Direct3D Version 8.14.10.0735
OpenGL Version 6.14.10.9704
Catalyst™ Control Center Version 2010.0302.2233.40412
They install correctly, however when I reboot, the computer hangs on a black screen just before the login screen of Windows 7. I am forced to revert back to Last Known Good (LKG) drivers.
Actually this was a bit of a pain to figure out how. This is because F8 to force the safe mode screen at boot doesn't work at the regular boot screen. You have to go to the subsequent boot screen to get F8 to work (in some RealTek boot screen which is an option from one of the secondary boot screens).
I think I've read some others that trouble installing the Catalyst 10.3 driver, like me. And also have the PCI-E being stuck at x1 issue. What I want to gather is that if we all have the same problem. Or if we have different VBIOS's that give different symptoms of the same problem.
My VBIOS version is (from GPUZ):
VER012.020.000.002.036533
If any of you are experiencing all these problems or a subset of these problems, please state which ones and your VBIOS.
I think min2209 has suggested that he can install 10.3 Catalyst drivers.
Thanks guys
GX640 PCI-E x16 @ x1 problem and other driver problems (http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=476342)
I've recently purchased my GX640 and can say it's a great machine at a great price. Overall satisfied, however the biggest problem is the current driver support for the Radeon HD 5850.
Out of the box, the MSI Catalyst drivers are:
Driver Packaging Version 8.69-091211a-096612C-MSI
Provider ATI Technologies Inc.
2D Driver Version 8.01.01.994
2D Driver File Path /REGISTRY/MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet004/Control/CLASS/{4D36E968-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}/0001
Direct3D Version 8.14.10.0723
OpenGL Version 6.14.10.9252
Catalyst™ Control Center Version 2010.0302.2233.40412
These drivers seem to have some issues. The major one is the PCI-E x16 bus being stuck in x1. This problem on my computer occurs when I enable PowerPlay's "Maximum Battery Life", which forces the PCI-E bus goes to x1. However when I switch to PowerPlay's "Maximum Performance" the PCI-E bus stays at x1. This occurs even if I change the clock (overclock/underclock), in Max Performance mode. The only method that I found, to reset the bus to x16 is to keep PowerPlay in "Maximum Performance" and reset the computer. You can see that this can be pretty annoying in order to get full performance.
I've also noticed some other issues like:
- When I close my lid, the monitor turns off, however when I open my lid, the monitor stays blank. I have to sleep and resume to boot up the monitor.
- Sometimes when I resume from sleep, it seems the driver unloads and I can't sleep again, nor can I open GPUZ.
Now I have tried to install the latest Catalyst drivers (10.3) from the ATI website. These drivers are:
Driver Packaging Version 8.712-100302b-096986C-ATI
Provider ATI Technologies Inc.
2D Driver Version 8.01.01.1010
2D Driver File Path /REGISTRY/MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet004/Control/CLASS/{4D36E968-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}/0001
Direct3D Version 8.14.10.0735
OpenGL Version 6.14.10.9704
Catalyst™ Control Center Version 2010.0302.2233.40412
They install correctly, however when I reboot, the computer hangs on a black screen just before the login screen of Windows 7. I am forced to revert back to Last Known Good (LKG) drivers.
Actually this was a bit of a pain to figure out how. This is because F8 to force the safe mode screen at boot doesn't work at the regular boot screen. You have to go to the subsequent boot screen to get F8 to work (in some RealTek boot screen which is an option from one of the secondary boot screens).
I think I've read some others that trouble installing the Catalyst 10.3 driver, like me. And also have the PCI-E being stuck at x1 issue. What I want to gather is that if we all have the same problem. Or if we have different VBIOS's that give different symptoms of the same problem.
My VBIOS version is (from GPUZ):
VER012.020.000.002.036533
If any of you are experiencing all these problems or a subset of these problems, please state which ones and your VBIOS.
I think min2209 has suggested that he can install 10.3 Catalyst drivers.
Thanks guys