Author Topic: ATI/AMD radeon HD5450 - question before install  (Read 507 times)

Offline Desmoric

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ATI/AMD radeon HD5450 - question before install
« on: February 14, 2013, 02:31:58 PM »
Hi,

I bought 2 sapphire Radeon HD 5450 1GO to install on my motherboard (MSI K9A Platinium) witch support CrossFire. I've actually a radeon X1300 128MB (works fine but "too short" with some graphical application like CAO/DAO or Gimp).

I would like to know if the drivers included in the PCLinuxOS packages (dkms-fglrx and fglrx-control-center) will work fine with my new Radeon ?

Witch is the best way to process ?
1- install driver first and install new video cards on motherboard after to be recognized
or
2- install new video cards on motherboard and install driver after.

On this page (http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/index.aspx), the result of my request is the 13.1 version of catalyst driver needed (enable here).
But PCLinuxOS packages "corresponds to ATI Catalyst version 12.4".

Is a new package needed ?

Best regards

Offline µT6

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Re: ATI/AMD radeon HD5450 - question before install
« Reply #1 on: February 14, 2013, 04:46:17 PM »
when changing video cards, the recommended process is to install vesa drivers for the video card installed first

then shut down the system, remove old card, put new card and then with the new card load old vesa drivers(previously installed) and from there install the required drivers for the new card

the problem i see is that you mention two video cards, i ignore how pclinux, linux in general handles two video cards, possibly with the driver won't be a problem at all but no idea since not much users here mentions such setups

about the driver version, remember that new drivers, like the 13.1 are tested first and then loaded to repos, so 12.4 available on repo should work, this video card is nothing new and has been supported by the driver for at least 2 years now and amd site says that this feature, crossfire has been supported since version 8.6 but i could be reading wrong

that is from software, from hardware, does your psu support those two cards? you should have a 500w+ psu afik

what i find weird is why you choose two 5450 to run in crossfire, that is as expensive but less powerful than a 1 hd 7750 afik and consumes same watts

maybe both 5450 if passively cooled will be quieter
“Out of everything I've lost, I miss my mind the most!”

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Offline Desmoric

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Re: ATI/AMD radeon HD5450 - question before install
« Reply #2 on: February 15, 2013, 03:59:22 AM »
Quote
when changing video cards, the recommended process is to install vesa drivers for the video card installed first

then shut down the system, remove old card, put new card and then with the new card load old vesa drivers(previously installed) and from there install the required drivers for the new card


Witch is the difference between "normal" driver and vesa driver ?

Quote
the problem i see is that you mention two video cards, i ignore how pclinux, linux in general handles two video cards

My motherboard can accept 2 video cards with crossfire system (for ATI, SLI for Nvidia) : for 1 or multiple screens, 1 or 2 gpu could run together in parallel instead of ggu from the motherboard chipset. This run good with 2 identical video cards.

Quote
that is from software, from hardware, does your psu support those two cards? you should have a 500w+ psu afik

My motherboard is certified for this and the video cards too (verified on the AMD/ATI website (http://sites.amd.com/us/game/products/certified/Pages/certified-components.aspx).
And I choose HD5450 because of passive cooled and only 19w consumption. I think my tower power supply is good to assume this (my actual X1300 is about 130 w consumption).

Offline µT6

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Re: ATI/AMD radeon HD5450 - question before install
« Reply #3 on: February 15, 2013, 06:18:48 AM »
"Witch is the difference between "normal" driver and vesa driver ?"

the normal one is the amd or the xorg native driver supporting your x1300, normally supporting 2d and 3d, vesa doesn't support any of that but supports other things present on most cards, perfect for this step

"My motherboard can accept 2 video cards with crossfire system (for ATI, SLI for Nvidia) : for 1 or multiple screens, 1 or 2 gpu could run together in parallel instead of ggu from the motherboard chipset. This run good with 2 identical video cards."

i understand that, what i said is that not much users in linux uses multiple video cards in this type of setup so my knowledge here is limited about the process, your hardware is ok and you can proceed with the steps you mention with the hardware you have

about the hardware, yes, if your mainboard says that is crossfire and both slots are pci x16 or x8 you can do it

what i mentioned was the psu, if it can deliver or not enough watts to make system run stable with the rest of the parts present, remember that you are changing from one old weak video card to two new video cards using probably more power, if your psu is just 350w, you can expect surprises like sudden resets or hard shutdowns without pressing any button

on most sites for two video cards the minimum recommended is a psu at 450 or 500w, from there my recommendation, no relation with the mainboard at all

the 19w you mention is not the consumption of the video card, it is heat generated to the heatsink, look at this link

"Radeon HD 5450 CrossfireX (dual GPUs)
A second card requires you to add another 25 Watts. You need a 350+ Watt power supply unit if you use it in a high-end system. That power supply needs to have (in total accumulated) at least 35 Amps available on the +12 volts rails. 

For each card that you add, add another 25 Watts as a safety margin.

There are many good PSUs out there, please do have a look at our many PSU reviews as we have loads of recommended PSUs for you to check out in there. What would happen if your PSU can't cope with the load?
bad 3D performance
crashing games
spontaneous reset or imminent shutdown of the  PC
freezing during gameplay
PSU overload can cause it to break down"

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/radeon_hd_5450_review,6.html

they mention a 350w real psu, i have some here that says 600w but in reality those are 300w only, if you have a good thermaltake or similar good brand psu with enough watts then you should be ok, considering that i don't know the rest of the hardware you have like cpu, hard disks and similar stuff using power from the cpu

you didn't mentioned why you choose two weak video cards over one stronger
“Out of everything I've lost, I miss my mind the most!”

Ozzy Osbourne

Offline Desmoric

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Re: ATI/AMD radeon HD5450 - question before install
« Reply #4 on: February 19, 2013, 06:13:31 AM »
Thank you for your really complete answers.

I don't remember the maximum capacity of my PSU. I'll see on it to be sure and I feed back to you.

EDIT : My PSU is a 450 W
« Last Edit: March 16, 2013, 03:13:52 AM by Desmoric »