Why does GPU usage suddenly go up to 100% after approx. 1 hour browsing the net?

[Black Panther]

So I'd be on TPU and generalnonsense_net-this_site_no_longer_exists as you can see from screenshots below.

While I have TPU's upload image tab open with my image (while uploading these very same pictures) the clocks increased to 735/1050, but GPU usage remained at 0% and if I closed the tab the clocks resumed once more at 157/300. This seems normal...

So this seems ok and I'm not complaining


BUT:

Then after approximately an hour of normal browsing, GPU usage goes up to 100% and core and vram clocks go up from 157/300 to 735/1010 as if I was gaming.
I noticed because I heard the GPU's fan fluctuating - idling it's at 25% but when this happens it starts going between 27% and 30% making me hear the change in rpm.

This happens even if I don't upload any images, view any gifs, or open any other tabs.

What's even more sinister is that GPU usage remains 100% even after I quit Firefox.

I restart windows, resume FF at the same browsing pages I had left, and GPU usage is once more 0% and the clocks once more at power-saving 157/300.

In fact another weird thing just happened again. While typing out this post GPU usage was 0% and my clocks 157/300. While I was uploading the screenshots GPU usage remained 0% but clocks went up to 735/1010. I closed the screenshot tabs. Clocks went back down to 157/300. After some minutes I checked again but now the GPU clocks somewhat went up again and are now "stuck" at 735/1010 even though all I have been doing was typing this post. :wtf

After like some more minutes to an hour more, my GPU usage will increase to 100%


I tried this out for 5 times now, and the same things always happened.

What's the deal here?

 

[Kenshai]

Did it start doing it with Firefox 4? Try turning off hardware acceleration in the advanced tab in the options.

 

[BinaryMage]

Seems unlikely that hardware acceleration would use 100% of his GPU, though. Are you perchance running any programs (example: BOINC) that would kick in if your CPU/GPU usage was below a certain level?

 

[Black Panther]

Seems unlikely that hardware acceleration would use 100% of his GPU, though. Are you perchance running any programs (example: BOINC) that would kick in if your CPU/GPU usage was below a certain level?

I made sure to disable BOINC after this started happening.

After like some more minutes to an hour more, my GPU usage will increase to 100%

And I have to quote myself. As of now, my GPU increased to 100% same as in the 2nd picture in my OP. And if I quit FF it still remains at 100%.

 

[Black Panther]

Did it start doing it with Firefox 4? Try turning off hardware acceleration in the advanced tab in the options.

Turned hardware acceleration off but didn't work (I said that clocks remain high even if I quit FF so I don't think FF is the problem).

I more tend to think it's the 11.4 driver. And there I was so happy with this driver which runs all my games perfectly

________________

Here's like 20 minutes after I close Firefox:
Note the 100% gpu usage is only on gpu1... gpu2 remains 'normal'

There's the task manager in view too so you can see which processes are running.

 

[kn00tcn]

cuz you have the infamous 99% bug that's well known & appeared around 11.1 & people are waiting for a fix?

http://twitter.com/#!/CatalystCreator/status/53927782459244544

 

[Black Panther]

Thanks, I never heard of that.

I don't have mouse lag though..

 

[entropy13]

Firefox 4 reaches around 30-40% GPU usage only, so it's most probably something else causing it (the drivers?).

 

[qubit]

Sounds like a hardware acceleration bug in FF4 or the video drivers. I've not noticed this on my setup, if that helps.

 

[Mussels]

i certainly dont have this problem with FF4 and 11.4


my guess is that something else has crashed, for example, the flash plugin for firefox. try disabling hardware accel flash and see how that goes.

 

[MT Alex]

I get the same thing every now and agian on my 5870, and I don't use FF. Mine usually sticks after using VLC on one monitor and browsing on the other. Never happened with 10.2a, only after upgrading to 11.2. I installed 11.4 preview last night, in hopes of rectifying the problem. I'll let you know.

EDIT: Stuck again after VLC on one and IE9 on the other. Looks like 11.4 isn't a fixer.

 

[Black Panther]

Did it start doing it with Firefox 4? Try turning off hardware acceleration in the advanced tab in the options.

Thanks, I think that worked. Yesterday it didn't but probably it was because I didn't reboot the pc. Today I've had the pc powered on for 8+ hours; clocks fluctuate between 157/300 and 400/900 (as is supposed to since I viewed youtube this time) and they go back to 157/300 ant 0% usage.

Now I wonder - does hardware acceleration have any advantages after all? I didn't notice any between having it on and switching it off...

 

[kn00tcn]

ya that tweet was about 2 major bugs, the mouse lag that appeared in 10.12 & the 99% that appeared ~11.1

i have the mouselag, but dont have the 99%, i'm not sure if it affects 4800 series

one thing i wonder though is if anyone with the 99% bug is using the old CCC or has not installed the APP drivers

 

[Black Panther]

I think I'm going back to 9.12

Just discovered that playing Fallout NV on 11.4 gives me the same problem as happened on the rest of 10.x and 11.x drivers i.e. I start getting 1-3 fps during VATS gameplay. On 9.12 this didn't happen.

 

[qubit]

This really sounds like a nasty driver bug and it so puts me off buying AMD. I really don't see stuff like this using nvidia. I've had my GTX 285 for two years, which worked nearly flawlessly and now my recent GTX 580, which works fine too.

I'm not being a fanboy saying this, it's my personal experience. I bought ATI for years and when I was using ATI (4870 was my latest card) I did tend to see more glitches of one kind or another.

From my own experience, the most glitch-free hardware combinations are Intel CPU, Intel chipset and nVidia graphics.

 

[Black Panther]

This really sounds like a nasty driver bug and it so puts me off buying AMD.

It doesn't for me. And while saying this I point out that my present graphics card is the very first AMD card I used on my own pc.
I've always tried to use the maxim "if it ain't broken don't try to fix" but I can't help trying to make it better...

Like I did when upgrading Nvidia drivers (using a FX5500, or using an 8600GTS, or using an 8800GT, and even 8800M GTX in sli on a laptop) and got greeted with a nvkdll... bsod... If changing drivers solved the problem I was happy.

The 9.12 drivers worked fine for my card, on all of my games ranging from Sims 3 to Metro 2033.
But I kept experimenting...

Testing and testing will ultimately get the best results. I'll keep testing even when I get the greatest game-performance.

 

[qubit]

BP, you sound like a true enthusiast - I salute you!

But seriously, try to keep a mental note of how many glitches you see with AMD compared to how many you saw with nvidia. I was a staunch ATI user until I tried out a used 8800 GTX a couple of years back. It was this card that convinced me to eBay my 4870 and get the GTX 285. (And boy, did I bore people about it on here, lol.)

I dunno, maybe you'll have a different experience to me.

 

[cdawall]

maybe its all the HD pr0n sites you visit?


i had the same issue with my 4 series cards ended up reinstalling and all was well

 

[Bluescreendeath]

I have this problem too.

When I was playing Supreme Commander, it used up all my VRAM and caused my GPU to be at 100% even when I exited the program. I had to restart my PC every time it happened.

I'd say it's a software glitch.