Gigabyte R9 380 G1 Gaming 4GB Constantly Throttling [solved]

[eltano06]

new bios 2016/01/25 (Increase Stability) http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5462#bios

dont know which one to download, i flash f51 a few weeks ago.

 

[EntropyZ]

new bios 2016/01/25 (Increase Stability) http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5462#bios

dont know which one to download, i flash f51 a few weeks ago.

You have to identify which which memory modules your card has. GPU-Z can tell you if it's Hynix or Elpida.

What's weird is how they released 3 VBIOS'es on the same day for Hynix VRAM, even I am having a hard time choosing when they don't seem so different on the website.

At least they finally have provided something for the customers that are unhappy with their card.

For now my card runs fine with the current F51, I think these change voltage regulation and clock speed bumps when GPU is used.

I wonder if TPU will update it's database, one pet peeve of mine if how BIOS updates don't have comprehensive firmware update details anywhere. It's like choosing from a box of assorted chocolates, you won't know what you're actually getting.

Edit: I noticed some text meant for ants.
Please note:
You can only update VBIOS version of the same series.
If your VBIOS version is:
F1, it can only be updated with VBIOS versions F2-F9.
F10, it can only be updated with VBIOS versions F11-F19.
F20, it can only be updated with VBIOS versions F21-F29.
Could this mean that the card with an old revision card should not be updated? Like for instance they put better VRM solution for an F2 rev. board, and the older F1 card doesn't have sufficient components to use the new VBIOS in a stable condition. I am having second thoughts here, the firmware updates for Gigabyte are so convoluted. There isn't a separate page for a manufactured card under a new revision, so I'm guessing the new VBIOS are compatible, but what I can't find information on is changelogs for the source VBIOS.

Also read this on a bitcoin forum:

Spoiler

gigabyte triple fan gpus are voltage locked, period. no amount of software changes or bios changes will change the voltage. it's hardware locked because gigabyte is too cheap to to put components on the PCB that allow the user to change voltage. unless you have multimeter probe reading or kill-a-watt reading to prove me wrong, this is what I will continue to believe and spread.

I guess, no wonder the G1 series have issues. My next card is probably going to be from MSI since they are my other "go to" brand for aftermarket cooler cards, at least they seem to have better user feedback not counting the ones with coil whine. Gigabyte should stop ****blocking their users with mediocre overclocking and stability compared to other brands on what should have been their top-of-the-line cards.

Edit2: All 3 of the new released vbios for Hynix fail to flash. Also ATIWinFlash can't even read one of the version numbers. VGA@BIOS has the same problem. Any advanced information isn't even in the ROM files and fail to display. Wut? I'm getting trolled here.

 

[Szkupek]

Hello, I'm new here and only basically know english.
But returning to the topic..
I have the same card and the same issue. And i manage to flash the F71 and F21 bios through ATIWinFlash (at testing F21 now, bc after flashing F71 its react strange if i launch some stress tests on it).
But i wonder that i have (the GPU-Z says) F1 revision i can flash the other than F2-F9 bioses to it, and demand working card properly ? On Gigashyte site there is no bios named like that ?
Edit: GTA V lag and stuttering like before the flash so no changes here....

 

[EntropyZ]

Hello, I'm new here and only basically know english.
But returning to the topic..
I have the same card and the same issue. And i manage to flash the F71 and F21 bios through ATIWinFlash (at testing F21 now, bc after flashing F71 its react strange if i launch some stress tests on it).
But i wonder that i have (the GPU-Z says) F1 revision i can flash the other than F2-F9 bioses to it, and demand working card properly ? On Gigashyte site there is no bios named like that ?

Someone over in this thread mentioned that GPU-Z value is for card revision and NOT the BIOS that is currently flashed, hence it will always stay that way unless you have a different version of the board.

Strange that even with newest ATIWInFlash, it doesn't recognize any of the new BIOS and says there doesn't seem to be any ROM data in the files. It can't be a corrupt download. Mine simply fails for some reason, I wonder if I have to reflash to the original BIOS to be able to put any modified versions, I've only been able to get F51 working.

Also F71 seems to be based off of older source BIOS version, maybe they put it there just so people would guinea pig test that.

 

[Szkupek]

Okay, so if it is card revision, from where i can find out that what my VBIOS version is ?!?!
I had 2 graphics card from gigabyte before and no problem with them, they also overclock pretty well i think, but they were nvdias gpu's...

 

[EntropyZ]

Okay, so if it is card revision, from where i can find out that what my VBIOS version is ?!?!
I have 2 graphics card from gigabyte before and no problem with them, they also overclock pretty well i think, but they were nvdias gpu's...

GPU-Z has a place that says "BIOS Version".

Original: F50 is 015.049.000.004
F51 is 015.049.000.009
F21 and F42 are 015.049.000.011

It says right on the Gigabyte's site which versions they actually are based off of. Hopefully you have backed up the original ROM if something goes wrong, because VBIOS flashing isn't without problems sometimes.

 

[Szkupek]

Yes, i have my safety backup. But like you said Gigabyte make this bios stuff really convoluted.
Now I will try F42 and say if something will gets better

 

[EntropyZ]

Yes, i have my safety backup. But like you said Gigabyte make this bios stuff really convoluted.
Now I will try F42 and say if something will gets better

Hopefully you'll have better luck than me. For me software just refuses to flash any of the newly released files because the version isn't a match.

Only F50 (Original) and F51 seem to work. Am I missing something here or what.

 

[Szkupek]

I really dont know what happened but when i try flash F42 it's says that "VBIOS cannot be found", strange...

 

[EntropyZ]

I really dont know what happened but when i try flash F42 it's says that "VBIOS cannot be found", strange...

Yeah that is the same problem I am having right now.

The best part is:

All of these BIOS'es are actually tested none oi them are marked as beta or whatever. And I haven't even seen a thread on their forum about anyone complaining. Probably because almost nobody uses OC Guru II which is mostly a reskin of MSI Afterburner and the update button provided which only takes to the Gigabyte website.

Everybody doesn't even know there's a new BIOS released. Like I was surprised when I saw F51 pop out of nowhere two weeks ago or so.

What is hell is happening there... they need to get their s**t together 'cause things are more likely to fall apart on the user-end.

Edit: I'm going to change one statement slightly, when I typed in "I haven't even seen a thread on their forum about anyone complaining" I mean't about the BIOS that were released. What I did find is at least 3 threads have people complaining about the card not being able to keep it's advertised base clock speed during gaming. While still seems like an issue in some games, the point is that even though there are some unhappy people out there Gigabyte's response is *meh, your Core i7 isn't enough to run this card* or something along those lines, WTF?

 

[Szkupek]

i totally agree with you about their approach to users of their products.
and now i bricked my r9 380 after flashing F42, through cmd.exe using atiwinflash XD
ehh whats more i must to get through to be a happy user of my "new" r9 card....

 

[eltano06]

i totally agree with you about their approach to users of their products.
and now i bricked my r9 380 after flashing F42, through cmd.exe using atiwinflash XD
ehh whats more i must to get through to be a happy user of my "new" r9 card....

boot from your intel gpu, and flash f51. with atiwinflash

 

[Szkupek]

yes i done it already XD but thanks for the advice !

 

[EntropyZ]

Sometimes even iGPU is useful for something, lol.

I'm still waiting for Gigabyte to fix their s**t. Or just admit that they have screwed up.

 

[Szkupek]

Yup, me too.
Some of users said that he flashed his two gigabytes with msi bios and dont tell how ? xd
Or he was just a random crazy guy ?

 

[EntropyZ]

Yup, me too.
Some of users said that he flashed his two gigabytes with msi bios and dont tell how ? xd
Or he was just a random crazy guy ?

You can bypass checks sometimes to allow different BIOS to be written, so long as the source firmware version is acceptable, it is not very recommened, that's why I haven't done that myself.

ATIWinFlash is only a GUI for ATIFlash software. You can use the other exe to insert command parameters, there's a substantial list of them, but for as a new user, wouldn't go and try anything yourself with the risk of bricking the card forever.

 

[Szkupek]

Mhm, nah im not yolo enough to do this xd
The only way to get that thing fixed is waiting :< , from the other hand is kind sad that Gigashyte have end-users is their as* (gently said).

 

[EntropyZ]

Mhm, nah im not yolo enough to do this xd
The only way to get that thing fixed is waiting :< , from the other hand is kind sad that Gigashyte have end-users is their as* (gently said).

That's the world of customer support these days, I'm not even going to bother dealing with them since there is a high chance you will be wasting your time and nerves. On the other hand some people have been able to profit by sending their card for RMA, wasting their time and getting frustrated but they get offered an upgraded version as a replacement later. And then they (Gigabyte) send that card at the wrong address. LOL.

 

[Szkupek]

That's the world of customer support these days, I'm not even going to bother dealing with them since there is a high chance you will be wasting your time and nerves. On the other hand some people have been able to profit by sending their card for RMA, wasting their time and getting frustrated but they get offered an upgraded version as a replacement later. And then they (Gigabyte) send that card at the wrong address. LOL.

This these times you must have luck in life. If there is no problems - okay, everything is fine, but when something goes wrong you are a bit fu**ed up and left alone.. These days at this range of prices and taxes we should have door-to-door worldwide service. This situation with missed address-priceless.

 

[EntropyZ]

This these times you must have luck in life. If there is no problems - okay, everything is fine, but when something goes wrong you are a bit fu**ed up and left alone.. These days at this range of prices and taxes we should have door-to-door worldwide service. This situation with missed address-priceless.

Oh so basically similar situation(s) that I am seeing in some countries including mine... just great. In tech forums like this one, at least you can try and get real help. I didn't think I would need any. Until now thanks to Gigabyte. They gave me the final reason to sign up.

 

[Szkupek]

Oh so basically similar situation(s) that I am seeing in some countries including mine... just great. In tech forums like this one, at least you can try and get real help. I didn't think I would need any. Until now thanks to Gigabyte. They gave me the final reason to sign up.

I didn't think this way too. Maybe I m a little hypocritical, but the other products from gigabyte were not so bad. Motherboard with AM3 socket and some NVidia GTS 250 and 450 worked pretty well. Ehh, i think almost every company get to sink low...(I think its the way to said getting bad quality)

 

[EntropyZ]

I didn't think this way too. Maybe I m a little hypocritical, but the other products from gigabyte were not so bad. Motherboard with AM3 socket and some NVidia GTS 250 and 450 worked pretty well. Ehh, i think almost every company get to sink low...(I think its the way to said getting bad quality)

Yup, some bad apples can spoil the rest. Humans are very susceptible to mistakes, but in this case not only does it waste their time but ours as well. I've had pretty good experiences before with their low to mid end products as well.

The only other time I've had issues with something was an MSI 760G motherboard which I had to RMA twice and just gave up after that, the board wouldn't start or POST in case you are wondering.

*sign* In the mean time I will try to mess around the ROM files with a VBIOS editor to get some clues.

Edit: Not even the Radeon BIOS editor can read those files. Okay, I'm just shrugging here saying "Wut am I supposed to do?". Guess I am going to play the waiting game like everybody else then.

Edit2: Viewed an edited post, GTAV shouldn't lag under most circumstances. I've only ever had lag/stutter before when I had only 4GB of RAM, since upgrading to 8GB I've never had stutter with some graphics option tweaking. There are 2 GFX settings somewhere that reduce lag, not sure where I picked up the tip to reduce them because they are set as default.

 

[Szkupek]

Yup, some bad apples can spoil the rest. Humans are very susceptible to mistakes, but in this case not only does it waste their time but ours as well. I've had pretty good experiences before with their low to mid end products as well.

The only other time I've had issues with something was an MSI 760G motherboard which I had to RMA twice and just gave up after that, the board wouldn't start or POST in case you are wondering.

*sign* In the mean time I will try to mess around the ROM files with a VBIOS editor to get some clues.

Edit: Not even the Radeon BIOS editor can read those files. Okay, I'm just shrugging here saying "Wut am I supposed to do?". Guess I am going to play the waiting game like everybody else then.

I think they dont care about our time, more I'm sure of it !
Once I had one MSI motherboard and it was pretty good its depends on what example you will get messed with xd
If will the Bios editor worked on this card bios i would have used it a long time ago

 

[Emuaust]

I have been following this thread and thought I would sign up to share my findings. I have a G1 R9 380 4GB and have been struggling to get better or even similar performance to my old 7870 but only on some games. After going to the F51 bios I did notice with MSI afterburner that my card was being fully utilized but was still struggling with games like Fallout 4 and pretty much every Source engine. I tried running games at 1080p and found for source engine games I was able to get reasonable performance which should be no surprise for an R9 380 but if I went to 1440p I was struggling to get 45 fps. Fallout 4 I was able to hit the core clock's default highest but couldn't get any higher than about 400mhz when I was indoors and it was rendering at about 35 to 45 fps vs the locked 60fps outdoors.

My solution? disable vsync, with the power limit at +20% I have the card running at a core clock of 1040mhz and a memory clock of 1500mhz and I'm able to hit and hold the maximum core clock and have it stable AND I'm able to run source engine stuff at 1440p at 150+fps and a similar performance indoors in fallout 4.

Oddly we tried a MSI 4GB R9 380 in the same tower and I was able to run the same games with vsync turned on without any hassles.

 

[EntropyZ]

Gigabyte kind of went full retard when they thought of making the card downclock down to half of what the card's base clock should be during "gaming" which is what the card is advertised for. Feels like running a 750Ti all the time. Shouldn't even have to mess with power limit to enable the card go past base clock, but it doesn't work that way, I'm used to Nvidia cards after all, but those used boost clocks with not having me do anything at all it just scales to whatever it needs to do perfectly, while I see in graphs how AMD GPU's seem to lose frames over lag spikes sometimes which hurts average FPS very noticeably.

(If I was living in America I would sue them for false advertising or something, lol ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°), just to show them that they shouldn't mess with their customers)

As I've said almost every game runs fine except the ones with questionable engines. The combination of F51 bios and 16.1 beta Crimson driver seems to have made a noticeable difference but not enough to keep core clock stable for certain titles.

Also you can't expect Fallout 4 to run on Ultra at 1080p with 60fps on the R9 380. Shadow and God Ray detail must be turned down in order to have over 45fps outdoors which does go to 60 when not looking into an area with lots of objets/npcs. I don't really care for those in particular since I run a ReShade preset alongside the game to make it look more aesthetically pleasing, this also makes the extra unused resources of the GPU be put to work while still retaining almost the same frame rate (as good as it is).

Tuning settings helps most at the end of the day, when you can't blame anything else.

If and when there's an actual usable VBIOS from Gigabyte's website which alleviates the core clock droop users are having, I will post what helped with final notes and leave this thread to its fate.