MSI R9 280X never exceeding 15 FPS in BF4

[Matthewmatt3]

I'm about to seriously throw this card out the window if I can't fix this problem.

Anyways, My problem is exactly what the title says, I can't get this card to exceed 15 FPS in BF4 and the GPU usage never goes above 30%. I'm new to the AMD scene because my old 460(Which at this point can out-perform my new 280X) Had driver issues.

My specs are the following:

Win7 x64
Intel Core i7 2600K
Gigabyte Z68 X P-UD3 Mobo
8GB of 1333Mhz RAM
650 Watt Corsair PSU.

I would also like to state that I'm on my fourth MSI 280X from newegg because of the same problem. And there is no overheating as the card doesn't go past 30% usage.

I've also tried all compatable drivers for this card to no avail. Help would be appreciated.

 

[Matthewmatt3]

Alright, I decided to try something different. I set ALL overclocks down to stock. This gave me *somewhat* of an improvement. I am now going from 15-20 FPS to around 25-30 with drops into the single digit numbers. That's still not even half half of the MINIMUM performance that most people get with this card in similar systems.

All tests were done with all in-game settings in ALL games on the lowest settings possible. And before you say my PSU can't handle it read this:

I've tested in three systems, number one being my main rig with an i7 2600K @ stock & OC'ed with a 650 Watt PSU from Corsair, Number two being my video editing rig with an i7 4960X @ stock & OC'ed with an 850 Watt PSU from Corsair and the third being my friends system with an 8350 @ stock & OC'ed with a 1100 Watt PSU also from Corsair.

Other things I have done to try to fix this problem were testing my RAM with Memtest, No errors. So I thought it could be the RAM clock speed and voltage, So I overclocked it all the way from 1333Mhz to 1866Mhz and everything in between to no avail.

 

[smeezekitty]

Single digits? Yeah something is screwed
Even my 6670 doesn't hit single digits

 

[iam2thecrowe]

I keep seeing all these people with the EXACT card I have gaming at 120+ FPS is BF4 on Ultra. Some of them with worse CPU and PSU's than me. It's driving me crazy to the point that I'm about to throw the card straight into the bin and cut my losses.

And before you say "Oh get a 770 or a 780" I would have, but, EVERY Nvidia card I had would lock up and bluescreen CONSTANTLY after the 320.xx drivers. AMD was my last hope, But obviously neither card manufacturer can just WORK.

Sorry for the rant, I've been dealing with Newegg support as well as AMD/ATi support for almost two months. I've gone through soon to be SIX 280X's with the same damn problem!

Apparently 20 years IT experience can't even fix this card.

so your having issues with AMD and nvidia cards, sounds like something else is the problem then perhaps......
time for a full clean install of win7 or 8 for you.
it is also strange you say cpu usage is near 100% and gpu 30%, sound to me like the cpu is having a problem, overheating and throttling perhaps

 

[Omegaclawe]

Well, either you have a rootkit on all your systems, you have some other software that you have consistently installed that's causing issues, or you've really, really lost the lottery on these cards.

What I would try in order of drastic-ness (if it hasn't been tried already):
Use older drivers that are still compatible. Go all the way back to the point where the drivers will still think the card is a 7970. See if that changes anything.
Do a completely fresh install of windows, installing nothing but the drivers on the CD that came with the program and a single piece of software to test load. Do not do any other modifications to the system. Do not connect the system to the internet, if at all possible, during this test.
Do the same thing, but this time, use a completely isolated system. No network connectivity, brand new hard drive (not merely reformatted) No additional hard drives, install everything Via manufacturer CD's.

If that last one doesn't work, you can eliminate even a particularly nasty day-0 rootkit as a source of the issue, but suffice to say, your experience is highly atypical.

 

[Matthewmatt3]

Like I've said 50 times. I've re-installed 7, 8 and 8.1 8 times each! I've also tried it in three different systems with the same damn problem.

Anyways, I ran the GPU-Z PCi test for around 40 minutes and it stayed at 95-99% usage the whole time only hitting 65 degrees max in all three systems. It's only when I game that I see these problems. There is no way that I have any viruses or root-kits because I've re-installed in ALL THREE systems.

The only other thing I can try is try the card in my other fiends system he's currently building, But I doubt it will be any different.

*Sigh* anyways, Happy new year to you guys, I hope you guys have a good one. at least you guys can actually use your damn computers.

 

[Matthewmatt3]

Also, All three systems work fine with their original cards, It's only when I put one or two of the six MSI 280X's I've gotten in them they flip a shit.

 

[abuzz]

well i was now going in the thread section, and i found that most of the problems in the thread were related to AMD gpus.
iam not saying amd is bad, but its something you will not want to see. and coming to your problems i think you should do a one last
RMA , and install a new aftermarket cooler for your procy.may that help

 

[Matthewmatt3]

I keep seeing all these people with the EXACT card I have gaming at 120+ FPS is BF4 on Ultra. Some of them with worse CPU and PSU's than me. It's driving me crazy to the point that I'm about to throw the card straight into the bin and cut my losses.

And before you say "Oh get a 770 or a 780" I would have, but, EVERY Nvidia card I had would lock up and bluescreen CONSTANTLY after the 320.xx drivers. AMD was my last hope, But obviously neither card manufacturer can just WORK.

Sorry for the rant, I've been dealing with Newegg support as well as AMD/ATi support for almost two months. I've gone through soon to be SIX 280X's with the same damn problem!

Apparently 20 years IT experience can't even fix this card.

so your having issues with AMD and nvidia cards, sounds like something else is the problem then perhaps......
time for a full clean install of win7 or 8 for you.
it is also strange you say cpu usage is near 100% and gpu 30%, sound to me like the cpu is having a problem, overheating and throttling perhaps

well i was now going in the thread section, and i found that most of the problems in the thread were related to AMD gpus.
iam not saying amd is bad, but its something you will not want to see. and coming to your problems i think you should do a one last
RMA , and install a new aftermarket cooler for your procy.may that help

If I sound pissed or I hurt any feelings in any way, I'm sorry.

My card IS NOT overheating. There is NO need for an after market cooler, My friend water-blocked his 280X with the SAME PROBLEM. My card NEVER goes above 45 Degrees because it UNDER-CLOCKS itself all the way down to 300Mhz Core and 400Mhz Memory, Even when gaming. The problem is it wont budge from those clocks unless I do synthetic tests.

The GPU usage spikes up and down from 0% to 30% every 1-2 seconds while gaming, but, stays at a static 99% in synthetic.

Also, Newegg will not let me RMA my cards after the fourth card RMA, I'm stuck with two PoS MSI 280X's that do the same thing in three systems. As soon as those systems get their original cards put in. Keep in mind the 4960X system has an nVidia and my 8350 system has a 290 stock, they work normally again. both systems other than my 2600K have 1100 Watt PSU's(I replaced the 850 in the 4960X system yesterday.)
I'm not understanding what is going on.

 

[Matthewmatt3]

Last point before I go to bed.

After the third 280X RMA Newegg only sent me REFURBISHED cards. I could tell because one had one of it's two BIOS missing or corrupt as soon as I tried it.

 

[Matthewmatt3]

Okay, I did one last ditch effort attempt to get this card going. Magically is started running at clock speeds other than the idle ones. I've noticed that it Tops out every clock I set no problem, here's the problem though.
It will now only use a maximum of 800MB of Video RAM. It goes all the way up and stops when it hits 800MB.
I also did the maximum overclock I've seen this card do and it jumped all the way up to those clocks no problem. Still doesn't get anywhere near 40 FPS on Low, with drops into the 10's.

To make sure nobody get's confused about my system specs from this post on I will ONLY be testing in the 4960X system @ stock & 4.5Ghz with an 1100 Watt PSU. Because obviously people on the internet seem to think an i7 2600K is slow and outdated. or that a 650 Watt PSU is too small when it says right on the card's box it only needs 500 Watts MINIMUM for one card, that's no overclocking.

 

[rounakr94]

Your card is running in power saver mode. I had same problem with my sapphire 280x toxic. Try to change it from Catalyst Control centre under power/performance tab. And if that too fails contact MSI Tech Support.

 

[Matthewmatt3]

Your card is running in power saver mode. I had same problem with my sapphire 280x toxic. Try to change it from Catalyst Control centre under power/performance tab. And if that too fails contact MSI Tech Support.

The only thing under the Performance tab is AMD OverDrive, which is set to "Enable graphics overdrive" No change.

I've seen some people with the same card that have WAAAAY more settings in CCC than I do. Some people even have that power by temperature overdrive mode that, Guess what? I don't have even with my friends 290.

 

[Matthewmatt3]

Your card is running in power saver mode. I had same problem with my sapphire 280x toxic. Try to change it from Catalyst Control centre under power/performance tab. And if that too fails contact MSI Tech Support.

Do you have a little more info on how to change from Power Saver mode?

 

[Matthewmatt3]

Your card is running in power saver mode. I had same problem with my sapphire 280x toxic. Try to change it from Catalyst Control centre under power/performance tab. And if that too fails contact MSI Tech Support.

Another thing is under the Performance tab there is a check box that I checked to "Enable Graphics OverDrive" But right below that it says "Clock settings are applied only when the GPU is running in high-performance mode"

If the card is stuck in power saving mode, even after toggling the BIOS switch on and off, Are there any other ways to just make the PoS work?

 

[smeezekitty]

Did you try disabling ULPS?

 

[iam2thecrowe]

when you did a clean install of windows, did you only install catalyst whql drivers, no antivirus (these can often cause software conflict issues), and a game to test? bare minimum install? sounds like there may be something your installing that is casing the problem, as its happening on all computers you try, which would be very unusual. there must be some common denominator besides the cards, as it's unlikley (although still possible) that that many cards could be faulty.

 

[Matthewmatt3]

when you did a clean install of windows, did you only install catalyst whql drivers, no antivirus (these can often cause software conflict issues), and a game to test? bare minimum install? sounds like there may be something your installing that is casing the problem, as its happening on all computers you try, which would be very unusual. there must be some common denominator besides the cards, as it's unlikley (although still possible) that that many cards could be faulty.

Actually, Yes, I only installed the 13.12 CCC suite, No AV or anything. This last re install of 8.1 only had the CCC drivers and Afterburner installed.

Still made no difference. And I did test in three very different systems with the same problem. All six MSI 280X's and even a water-cooled 290 have the same problem in all the systems that a few of my friends and I own.
They are also a little mad that we re-installed Windows over and over and it didn't fix it. The only system I am testing the two 280X's I'm stuck with is the 4960X system now with the same issue.

 

[Matthewmatt3]

Did you try disabling ULPS?

And what is that exactly?

EDIT: I just looked up ULPS. I only want to run one 280X in my system because the other one( Now that I'm stuck with it) Is for my other system. Since I don't use Crossfire I don't need it.

 

[Matthewmatt3]

Here's a picture of what it actually does when gaming.

As you can see, every clock speed, voltage and all that spikes from the absolute maximum, to the very minimum every 1-2 seconds.
This happens in all three systems with PSU's ranging from 600 to 1200 Watt's. The only thing that could be the cause is the fact that all three PSU's are made by Corsair, And to go through SIX 280X's with the same exact problem is making me now think some how either all three PSU's are magically faulty at the same time, that I just got incredible luck with six 280X's or the combination of the Corsair PSU's and the GPU's don't work well together.

So confused now, but I think I might be getting somewhere here.

And yes, That 21 FPS is the absolute maximum I've seen from these cards, Ever.

 

[Datcu Alexandru]

Hmm looks like the card starts at normal clocks and then goes down. did you use that oc program amd has to change the temp? maybe it downcloacks in order to stay sub 50.

Either way i wish you luck and hope this won't turn you away from future AMD products. I have seen plenty of problems but man this is waaaaaaaaaaaay beyond anything ive seen. You must have broken 100 mirrors to have this much bad luck with the silicon draw.

 

[Matthewmatt3]

Hmm looks like the card starts at normal clocks and then goes down. did you use that oc program amd has to change the temp? maybe it downcloacks in order to stay sub 50.

Either way i wish you luck and hope this won't turn you away from future AMD products. I have seen plenty of problems but man this is waaaaaaaaaaaay beyond anything ive seen. You must have broken 100 mirrors to have this much bad luck with the silicon draw.

AMD CCC did not come with the Temperature to performance editing thing. Just AMD OverDrive, Which says "Clock settings will only apply if the graphics card is running in high-performance mode"
Every site that tells you how to fix that said to switch from BIOS one to two on the card itself with the computer powered off. This made no difference, And this isn't just Battlefield any more, Hell, I can't even get TF2 or even Minecraft going at over 30 FPS.

I've always had problems with nVidia drivers over the years so I thought going with AMD after nearly seven years would be a good choice. WRONG! My old GTX 460 can out-perform this guy.

I'm seriously just hoping it's Driver related because I'm not a hardware guy. Spending two weeks testing six GPU's in three systems with totally different hardware is tiring.

 

[Omegaclawe]

I would seriously try using a driver from the 7970 era. Since that card really is a 7970, and reviewers noted that it worked with the prior drivers (which even called it a 7970) it should work on good hardware.

Additionally, you might try turning off the PCI Express Link State Power Management in Windows power options advanced tab... and maybe also disable CPU parking.

 

[Matthewmatt3]

I would seriously try using a driver from the 7970 era. Since that card really is a 7970, and reviewers noted that it worked with the prior drivers (which even called it a 7970) it should work on good hardware.

Additionally, you might try turning off the PCI Express Link State Power Management in Windows power options advanced tab... and maybe also disable CPU parking.

I looked up some older drivers for a 7970 and it always came up with the ones I have now, I'll look a little harder though.
PCI Express Link State Power Management should be easy enough to find.

All I don't know how to do is how to disable CPU parking, I have never even heard of it before.

Anyways, Thank's for the advise, I'll be sure to try all of these tomorrow.

 

[Mahisse]

Did you try actually updating the BIOS and drivers for your motherboard. It really sounds like your problem is sourced from your motherboard or BIOS setup.

 

[Matthewmatt3]

Did you try actually updating the BIOS and drivers for your motherboard. It really sounds like your problem is sourced from your motherboard or BIOS setup.

My motherboard BIOS are up to date, Not sure about the drivers though. The thing is, this happens in three different systems with six 280X's, as well as a water-blocked 290. Once the original cards for those systems are placed back in they work flawlessly again, It's only when one or two of these 280X's get put in they freak out.