AMD GPU idle power

[eodeo]

I'm getting a new GPU and I'd like it to be AMD 280x or 290.

Is there any way to get AMD GPU clocks to behave properly while idle with two monitors? Most of the time my system idles, so this matters a lot to me.

I used to use Nvidia inspector to force proper GPU clocks at idle. Is there some similar app for AMD GPUs? Both for idle and while playing back videos. Is this a defect of all AMD GPUs- do they really need that high clocks while playing a YT video or simply having the second screen?

Since I'm using Intel 4770k I've been thinking that maybe I could use the built in Intel GPU to power the second monitor that is set to Extend on my Win7 x64. Any ideas or is it another Nvidia GPU time?

 

[AsRock]

I believe your stuck with 50-60w usage with the 290 and some thing like 17w with a single. But maybe there are bios mods but cannot say it's worth the hassle or risk.

 

[GhostRyder]

I'm getting a new GPU and I'd like it to be AMD 280x or 290.

Is there any way to get AMD GPU clocks to behave properly while idle with two monitors? Most of the time my system idles, so this matters a lot to me.

I used to use Nvidia inspector to force proper GPU clocks at idle. Is there some similar app for AMD GPUs? Both for idle and while playing back videos. Is this a defect of all AMD GPUs- do they really need that high clocks while playing a YT video or simply having the second screen?

Since I'm using Intel 4770k I've been thinking that maybe I could use the built in Intel GPU to power the second monitor that is set to Extend on my Win7 x64. Any ideas or is it another Nvidia GPU time?

Its not the GPU that kicks up its speed, its the RAM clocks that jump up when multiple monitor are connected to the system. I have not found a program to fix this other than overriding the clocks yourself using programs like afterburner.

 

[AsRock]

Its not the GPU that kicks up its speed, its the RAM clocks that jump up when multiple monitor are connected to the system. I have not found a program to fix this other than overriding the clocks yourself using programs like afterburner.

But afterburner is not going be any good is it ?, due tot he fact that it will limit the max memory clocks when you need it.

 

[GhostRyder]

But afterburner is not going be any good is it ?, due tot he fact that it will limit the max memory clocks when you need it.

Profiles is the only way I could think of doing it but you would have to change it every time.

 

[Pill Monster]

I'm getting a new GPU and I'd like it to be AMD 280x or 290.

Is there any way to get AMD GPU clocks to behave properly while idle with two monitors? Most of the time my system idles, so this matters a lot to me.

I used to use Nvidia inspector to force proper GPU clocks at idle. Is there some similar app for AMD GPUs? Both for idle and while playing back videos. Is this a defect of all AMD GPUs- do they really need that high clocks while playing a YT video or simply having the second screen?

Since I'm using Intel 4770k I've been thinking that maybe I could use the built in Intel GPU to power the second monitor that is set to Extend on my Win7 x64. Any ideas or is it another Nvidia GPU time?

AMD GPU's use UVD clocks for hardware acceleration and the clocks are programmed into the BIOS. There's nothing you can do except a bios mod or disable hardware acceleration.

The problems with UVD mainly affect Tahiti Rev1 GPU's without boost. People don't realise but when a NON boost GPU is overclocked the UVD clocks are as well.

Naturally things can get a bit unstable when the GPU and memclocks start jumping around from 300mhz ~1100mhz while watching Flash vids or surfing with HW acceleration enabled.

Also happens while surfing in browser since FF and Chrome both trigger UVD.

With Rev2 cards it's not really a problem, as long as only the boost clocks are raised the UVD clocks will stay put.

 

[Pill Monster]

Lol, sorry I see I went off on a tangent there.... Short answer is the 300mhz/500mhz clocks are a "feature" not so much a defect..

It is possible to lower them with a bios edit. (Not sure about 290 if it can be modded or not).

 

[Aquinus]

Its not the GPU that kicks up its speed, its the RAM clocks that jump up when multiple monitor are connected to the system.

This. AMD forces memory clocks to run at full throttle with more than one display to ensure smooth performance. I guess when you keep the clocks down with multiple monitors that it becomes a problem to draw all 3 at once or something along those lines. I've heard of people with nVidia cards occasionally saying that in multi-monitor mode and dragging windows, performance seems to be lackluster which could be from the underclocked memory at idle unlike AMD.

 

[OneMoar]

don't get a 280X
and you can use msi AB for automatic 2d/3d clock profiling

 

[Pill Monster]

Yeah the 290 would be a pretty worthwhile upgrade from a 660. Can't say much for the drivers though... ..

 

[eodeo]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Bios tweaking is not an option for me. I want a simple, user friendly, real-time app that allows me to reign in GPU clocks since AMD clearly couldn't be bothered to do this for the last ~5 years.

It's funny that Nvidia not only has several apps that control clocks for each profile(idle/video/game...), but it has fixed the problem on their older GPU and they did it 3 years ago via common driver. My old gtx 460 did occasionally drop frames while playing back a video on the 2nd screen with the idle clocks. It wasn't notably bad, but I did notice it. My gtx 660 works like a charm. It even enhances videos and reduces noise, accelerates videos and does all of this while idle.

I want to thank you Pill Monster specifically. I was baffled how could possibly AMD have this problem and no 3rd party apps to solve it. I don't know what UVD is, but Google did. The very first hit brought me here. It's from a 2012 from a user that didn't believe that 7xxx series had the same problem- from his perspective for 2 generations.

i.e watching a YouTube video and playing a game will downclock the GPU to the frequency of the UVD
Solutions have also been posted to disable harware acceleration in flash videos.

I don't understand how can AMD rebrand 7970 to 280x and that to 380x and still not fix the problem they had back in 5xxx series, but I guess they are stubborn.

With Rev2 cards it's not really a problem, as long as only the boost clocks are raised the UVD clocks will stay put.

What are rev2 cards? 3xx?

Lastly, are high end AMD GPUs even stable? My last AMD GPU was 4850 and that one flaked all over the place. It always "recovered" after it crashed, but man was it annoying.

Short answer is the 300mhz/500mhz clocks are a "feature" not so much a defect..

Now that's funny

 

[AsRock]

Yeah the 290 would be a pretty worthwhile upgrade from a 660. Can't say much for the drivers though... ..

Umm not had a driver issue since the 4890, o shit that's wrong too not had a driver issue haha.

Shit happens and people make it sound like it only happens with AMD but surly that's not the case.


O yeah i don't uninstall old drivers i don't use DDU or alike, i did download DDU about 3 month ago but thought again why as i never had a issue and by time i did probably would need a more up to date version of it anyways.

So only time i would use some thing like DDU would be when a driver update fails which has yet to happen.

 

[eodeo]

I can buy AMD GPUs very cheaply here. Nvidia is like 50% more expensive and than it's about 10% slower. I'd really like to try getting one AMD so I'm glad that they're stable.

Is there any way I could make my integrated Intel GPU my main GPU driving one of the two monitors and doing the video acceleration- its perfect for that. Could I make only games use the 280x? I know I can do this if I physically switch video cables, but could this be done on a software level?

 

[eodeo]

What is DDU btw?

 

[Lui Leyland Robert]

What is DDU btw?

Display Driver Uninstaller

 

[Pill Monster]

Umm not had a driver issue since the 4890, o shit that's wrong too not had a driver issue haha.

Congratulations, now would you like to see a list of documented known issues ?

The bugs aren't the problem for me, the problem is that they don't get fixed.

 

[Pill Monster]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Bios tweaking is not an option for me. I want a simple, user friendly, real-time app that allows me to reign in GPU clocks since AMD clearly couldn't be bothered to do this for the last ~5 years.

It's funny that Nvidia not only has several apps that control clocks for each profile(idle/video/game...), but it has fixed the problem on their older GPU and they did it 3 years ago via common driver. My old gtx 460 did occasionally drop frames while playing back a video on the 2nd screen with the idle clocks. It wasn't notably bad, but I did notice it. My gtx 660 works like a charm. It even enhances videos and reduces noise, accelerates videos and does all of this while idle.

I want to thank you Pill Monster specifically. I was baffled how could possibly AMD have this problem and no 3rd party apps to solve it. I don't know what UVD is, but Google did. The very first hit brought me here. It's from a 2012 from a user that didn't believe that 7xxx series had the same problem- from his perspective for 2 generations.

i.e watching a YouTube video and playing a game will downclock the GPU to the frequency of the UVD
Solutions have also been posted to disable harware acceleration in flash videos.

I don't understand how can AMD rebrand 7970 to 280x and that to 380x and still not fix the problem they had back in 5xxx series, but I guess they are stubborn.

With Rev2 cards it's not really a problem, as long as only the boost clocks are raised the UVD clocks will stay put.

What are rev2 cards? 3xx?

Lastly, are high end AMD GPUs even stable? My last AMD GPU was 4850 and that one flaked all over the place. It always "recovered" after it crashed, but man was it annoying.

Short answer is the 300mhz/500mhz clocks are a "feature" not so much a defect..

Now that's funny

Hehe... Glad to help.




***Just noticed your question.... they are dependant on brand, ASUS DCUII and Powercolour seem to be the most problematic, especially Powercolor. I would not recommend Powercolour at all.
Higher end Sapphire cards aka VaporX/TriX are good, and MSI. 290 VaporX only use Hynix chips.

Black screens (TDR) can usually be resolved by forcing constant voltage in AB or bumping vgpu voltage or even a bios update, like the 290 TriX cards.
Occasionally drivers are to blame, check the release notes...


Worst case scenario is TDR with Elpida IC's.....then u may as well RMA the card.

 

[AsRock]

Congratulations, now would you like to see a list of documented known issues ?

The bugs aren't the problem for me, the problem is that they don't get fixed.

TBH, i don't care again making it sound like nVidia don't have any. Well there is the multi monitor problem that i some what care about but that's fixed in the fury cards as i understand.

Sure as long as you post nVidia's too .

As long as i am having no issue's .

 

[Pill Monster]

TBH, i don't care again making it sound like nVidia don't have any. Well there is the multi monitor problem that i some what care about but that's fixed in the fury cards as i understand.

Sure as long as you post nVidia's too .

As long as i am having no issue's .

Yeah but you are one person and don't represent the big picture. Yes I'm sure Nvida have there share of driver bugs and I'm sure they get fixed.

I used to think the same way as you, up until about a year ago.
I didn't experience the same bugs everyone else talked about either, and my first AMD card was a 9800 Pro I thought they were all trolling (except for the TDR's)

But then I did start to notice some and that AMD take a very long time to fix them if at all.
I can give you an example right now actually....the notorious S3 sleep bug is back in the 15.7 drivers. This bug first appeared after the 12.11 update about 3 years ago, it's been a constant recurrence ever since....


It's the truth, I'm not going to sugarcoat it.....

 

[AsRock]

Take the time they need to if i am not having any issue's well it just that lol, not seen any thing of this sleep bug either not video card wise anyways.

 

[Pill Monster]

Take the time they need to if i am not having any issue's well it just that lol, not seen any thing of this sleep bug either not video card wise anyways.

Well you're lucky then, it's a very well known and highly annoying bug. Been around for years...
https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=a...=6I2vVcG2CqG1mwWS1r7QBA#q=Catalyst+S3+resume+

It mostly occurs after self initiated standby, i.e not when the user manually puts the system to sleep.

Catalyst driver is supposed to save the GPU state and restore it on wake up, not sure this is happening... It's to do with ACPI anyway...

The most frustrating part is the bug disappears and reappears with different driver versions.

It appeared back in W10 after updating from 15.20.1023 to 15.20.1046.

 

[AsRock]

Lets face it nVidia have all kinds of sleep issue's too over the years. and a quick search will just show the problem happen on both sides all the time it keeps getting broken.


Might explain why i don't get the bug as i have no reason to leave a computer on longer enough for it to have to go to sleep.

I just put mine to sleep \ or turn it off if i don't plan on using it lol.

 

[GhostRyder]

TBH, i don't care again making it sound like nVidia don't have any. Well there is the multi monitor problem that i some what care about but that's fixed in the fury cards as i understand.

Sure as long as you post nVidia's too .

As long as i am having no issue's .

They fixed it with the low power usage of the memory, this memory uses so little power compared to GDDR5 that even at full clocks it does not make a difference (Or that's what I am interpreting based on the fact the memory stays clocked up yet the power usage remains low).

I can buy AMD GPUs very cheaply here. Nvidia is like 50% more expensive and than it's about 10% slower. I'd really like to try getting one AMD so I'm glad that they're stable.

Is there any way I could make my integrated Intel GPU my main GPU driving one of the two monitors and doing the video acceleration- its perfect for that. Could I make only games use the 280x? I know I can do this if I physically switch video cables, but could this be done on a software level?

Umm you want to use the default AMD GPU for games then the integrated for the second monitor. That will not work because Intel disables that feature when using an AMD GPU. If you really want to do that, the best option is to buy one of the USB to HDMI (Or similar) adaptors that when the monitor is hooked up to it the system uses that thing for that monitor.

My system has dual monitor hooked up to it currently, the top card of the three keeps its memory clocks up which is what causes it as I said before. To me its not really much of an issue mostly because its not that big an amount of power as it is. Do you leave it on 24/7 or something to that effect?

 

[Aquinus]

My system has dual monitor hooked up to it currently, the top card of the three keeps its memory clocks up which is what causes it as I said before. To me its not really much of an issue mostly because its not that big an amount of power as it is. Do you leave it on 24/7 or something to that effect?

I'm also not convinced that it's a bug. To me, it seems to be the case that clocks are kept up in multi-monitor to make sure 2D remains smooth. I remember someone complaining about 2D not being very smooth with 3 displays with a nVidia card but, my memory is a bit hazy on the details. Maybe someone with 3 monitors and a nVidia GPU(s) could let us know if 2D feels smooth or not?

FWIW, having one of my 6870s in ULV when both were working still was drawing ~30 watts in ULV mode. If the primary is sucking down 60, then the 390 won't be more, it will be less (for me.)

I should have it tomorrow by the end of the day as well, so I will give a "first impressions" post when that occurs.

Edit: I just talked to a friend who has a 760 and he said that in multi-monitor, it's okay at stock but if he overclocks manually without using app profiles that his displays flicker from the memory clock underclocking too much (more than they would at stock.) Granted, this is also two displays so a third might behave a bit differently. Either way, I've never had issues with multi-monitor setups and I don't intend to yet, I'll eat the power consumption if that means smooth and reliable 2D multi-monitor performance.