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]

When this thread started he was at his 3rd return. How did you get 2 or 3 more cards to try in the last 4 or 5 days?

I live very close to Newegg, so shipping doesn't take very long because they always did next day shipping for me due to the problems I've had.

 

[Matthewmatt3]

Your 280X has locked itself down to very low core and memory speeds while gaming.Go into CCC and amd overdrive and accept the agreement and manually set the core and memory speeds to stock and increase fan speed to 100%.Disable power saving if it has been enabled,save settings and try playing a game.Also dont use beta drivers if possible.Use 13.12 whql.

Alright, I did what you said down to the letter with very little difference.

I'm just going to send the remaining 280X's back and save up for a GTX 780 or 780ti. For now my old GTX 460 is going back in.

 

[Zac Lloyd-Jones]

Your 280X has locked itself down to very low core and memory speeds while gaming.Go into CCC and amd overdrive and accept the agreement and manually set the core and memory speeds to stock and increase fan speed to 100%.Disable power saving if it has been enabled,save settings and try playing a game.Also dont use beta drivers if possible.Use 13.12 whql.

Alright, I did what you said down to the letter with very little difference.

I'm just going to send the remaining 280X's back and save up for a GTX 780 or 780ti. For now my old GTX 460 is going back in.

That sounds like a good idea 😉. I hope you have more luck with one of those .

 

[denus3]

Hi, I really dont know what you could do more but try to disable igpu at bios. The only thing that can have such issue is only if you running VirtuVMP in IGPU MODE.
But if you havent this program and never used i thin its really a defective card and like someone mentioned above newegg just give you same card 6 times. And don´t be angry with AMD its not their fault
I ran a 7970 GHz Vapor X and this card was great now i bought a gtx 780 Lightning it comes in monday! So just try to buy a card from sapphire and see if you have same issue!

 

[Kari]

I'm just going to send the remaining 280X's back and save up for a GTX 780 or 780ti. For now my old GTX 460 is going back in.

did you check what was using the cpu and the cpu clocks as well???

 

[Matthewmatt3]

I just got my old 460 back in. Everything is working as advertised. And I don't hate AMD or MSI, I especially love MSI, I just think Newegg got a really bad batch from MSI. I'm going to try one last 280X, This time from Sapphire to see if it was just MSI or if my computers truly hate the 280X.
If that fails I'm just going to deal with nVidia's S**t drivers while actually having a good gaming experience with a 780.

 

[Kari]

it's like talking to a wall... lol
have fun o/

 

[denus3]

I just got my old 460 back in. Everything is working as advertised. And I don't hate AMD or MSI, I especially love MSI, I just think Newegg got a really bad batch from MSI. I'm going to try one last 280X, This time from Sapphire to see if it was just MSI or if my computers truly hate the 280X.
If that fails I'm just going to deal with nVidia's S**t drivers while actually having a good gaming experience with a 780.

Yeah, try buying a 280X from Sapphire (in my opinion its best brand for amd cards) , if you have same issues, just wait and get MSI Gaming 780! and destroy any game!

 

[Matthewmatt3]

I forgot to upload this last picture of GPU-Z with TF2 running. This card was pushing just above 30 FPS in Team Fortress 2, compared to my broken GTX 460 that still managed to push 140 FPS.

If the Sapphire 280X does the same thing(I hope to god it doesn't) Then yes, The MSI Gaming 780 will be my new card. Once I save up enough money for that expensive card. Hell, Even the normal 780 is expensive!
I'll report back once I get the Sapphire card in.

 

[Veteran Brian]

I forgot to upload this last picture of GPU-Z with TF2 running. This card was pushing just above 30 FPS in Team Fortress 2, compared to my broken GTX 460 that still managed to push 140 FPS.

If the Sapphire 280X does the same thing(I hope to god it doesn't) Then yes, The MSI Gaming 780 will be my new card. Once I save up enough money for that expensive card. Hell, Even the normal 780 is expensive!
I'll report back once I get the Sapphire card in.

Wow i read this whole thread and im no starting to get scared of buying my 280x from asus 🙁 For Battlefield 4 and Dayz and Arma 3 ETC

 

[iam2thecrowe]

Alright, I did everything you said and this happened:

Everything is normal exept for the GPU usage, Which NEVER went above 23%. This is with a system running a 4960X @ 4.5 GHz 16GB of RAM and an 850 Watt PSU.

I forgot to upload this last picture of GPU-Z with TF2 running. This card was pushing just above 30 FPS in Team Fortress 2, compared to my broken GTX 460 that still managed to push 140 FPS.

If the Sapphire 280X does the same thing(I hope to god it doesn't) Then yes, The MSI Gaming 780 will be my new card. Once I save up enough money for that expensive card. Hell, Even the normal 780 is expensive!
I'll report back once I get the Sapphire card in.

Wow i read this whole thread and im no starting to get scared of buying my 280x from asus 🙁 For Battlefield 4 and Dayz and Arma 3 ETC

there is nothing wrong with 280x's, this is the only case i have ever seen these problems. not to mention 7970's are based on the exact same design with just a different bios and there hasnt been any major issues with them. I suspect he is getting the same dud card sent back to him by msi.

 

[Matthewmatt3]

Alright, I did everything you said and this happened:

Everything is normal exept for the GPU usage, Which NEVER went above 23%. This is with a system running a 4960X @ 4.5 GHz 16GB of RAM and an 850 Watt PSU.

I forgot to upload this last picture of GPU-Z with TF2 running. This card was pushing just above 30 FPS in Team Fortress 2, compared to my broken GTX 460 that still managed to push 140 FPS.

If the Sapphire 280X does the same thing(I hope to god it doesn't) Then yes, The MSI Gaming 780 will be my new card. Once I save up enough money for that expensive card. Hell, Even the normal 780 is expensive!
I'll report back once I get the Sapphire card in.

Wow i read this whole thread and im no starting to get scared of buying my 280x from asus 🙁 For Battlefield 4 and Dayz and Arma 3 ETC

there is nothing wrong with 280x's, this is the only case i have ever seen these problems. not to mention 7970's are based on the exact same design with just a different bios and there hasnt been any major issues with them. I suspect he is getting the same dud card sent back to him by msi.

What ever is acutally going on weather it's newegg or MSI, I don't think I'm ever buying another AMD card, I'm sick and tired of it. I have my GTX 460 back in and it's working AS ADVERTISED with no problems.
I sent the remaining two MSI 280X's back to newegg and I'm waiting for the refund.
I'm waiting to get my Sapphire 280X from Amazon, if that does the same bullcrap I think I'll just save up for another three months for a GTX 780.

So yeah, AMD or Newegg F***k'd up pretty badly.

 

[Matthewmatt3]

I'm just going to send the remaining 280X's back and save up for a GTX 780 or 780ti. For now my old GTX 460 is going back in.

did you check what was using the cpu and the cpu clocks as well???

Sorry, I didn't see this post until today lol. The only things that were using the CPU cores, Etc, were either the game itself or the Windows processes that I probably don't want to close.

The GPU was usually never going above it's idle clocks and the usage was either at 0% or 27%, It never went any higher. And as seen in the GPU-Z screenshot while playing TF2 everything basically stayed at idle, even the voltage. It's really strange that it did that in three systems with six "Different" cards.

All of these systems have been running clean installs of Windows 7 and 8.1 a few times over so I don't think is could be any malware.

I'm still waiting for the final 280X I'll be testing from Sapphire from Amazon, I hope it will be better.

 

[mick500]

up the power limit. install msi afterburner and force constant voltage and crank it right up. Oh, and just in case, if you installed any lucid virtue software, uninstall it.

this is my 7970, which is the same gpu as your 280x

After doing that, you should have disabled ULPS in the registry. It's a power saving feature that you want turned off as your card is clearly trying to conserve power. Not crossfire specific as you said.

I am also skeptical in the fact that you went from 2-3 returns to 6 in 4 or 5 days.

 

[Matthewmatt3]

up the power limit. install msi afterburner and force constant voltage and crank it right up. Oh, and just in case, if you installed any lucid virtue software, uninstall it.

this is my 7970, which is the same gpu as your 280x

After doing that, you should have disabled ULPS in the registry. It's a power saving feature that you want turned off as your card is clearly trying to conserve power. Not crossfire specific as you said.

I am also skeptical in the fact that you went from 2-3 returns to 6 in 4 or 5 days.

Alright, so, When I actually had a 280X I tried disabling ULPS in RegEdit and it was already off. When I get my Sapphire 280X I can try again but I'm sure it will still be disabled. We'll see though...

About the returns, I live a few miles from newegg and the UPS distribution center and because of the problems I've had with Newegg they gave me next day shipping. The only reason I still use Newegg is because of how close I am to them.

Also, What exactly does ULPS do? Because, I only had one card and I thought it was for Crossfire.

 

[Ryan721]

Matthew, how many cores are your CPUs from both of your computers? Games like BF4 recommend a six core. also im not sure if this would relate to your GPU not running to its fullest potential, but if you are trying to run games like BF4 you should really look into some 1600mhz RAM. Your GPU may be bottlenecked because your other hardware is not powerful enough to run the game.

Im not an expert with gaming computers, but im just thinking it might not be as complicated is you think it is. Just throwing stuff out there though.

 

[Matthewmatt3]

Matthew, how many cores are your CPUs from both of your computers? Games like BF4 recommend a six core. also im not sure if this would relate to your GPU not running to its fullest potential, but if you are trying to run games like BF4 you should really look into some 1600mhz RAM. Your GPU may be bottlenecked because your other hardware is not powerful enough to run the game.

Im not an expert with gaming computers, but im just thinking it might not be as complicated is you think it is. Just throwing stuff out there though.

It was first run in my main system with the i7 2600K and ended up only being tested with a 4960X, also briefly run with an 8320. I don't understand this whole BF4 needs a six core or more CPU when people with even an i5 2500K or the Phenom II X4.

This also isn't just Battlefield, Any game I play locks itself down to below 25 FPS. I play Team Fortress 2 a lot and even just standing still the frames go from 25 max down to 4 every 1-2 seconds. As seen from the images of GPU-Z the clock speeds and voltages spike up and down at the same rate that the frames do, while the GPU usage never goes above 27%.

About the RAM. From what I've seen the speed of the RAM makes very little difference to gaming performance. There are people that pay money for fast RAM(I.E 1866Mhz or 2133Mhz) that can get the same performance for gaming with 1600Mhz RAM.

Also, my RAM is at 1600Mhz.

 

[Antaredja Kartasasmita]

Maybe, it's newegg the problem, or the card just doesn't like you?

 

[Antaredja Kartasasmita]

This is why people, don't buy from Newegg

 

[Matthewmatt3]

This is why people, don't buy from Newegg

Yeah, My guess would be Newegg. Lol. I'm still waiting for the Sapphire 280X from Amazon, though. Crossing my fingers in hopes that this card will work.

I don't think I'll be ordering anything from Newegg again, even though they are literally 15 miles away from me.
Other than this problem I've had two other dumb problems with them.

 

[smeezekitty]

Personally no problems with NE so far

 

[Antaredja Kartasasmita]

This is why people, don't buy from Newegg

Yeah, My guess would be Newegg. Lol. I'm still waiting for the Sapphire 280X from Amazon, though. Crossing my fingers in hopes that this card will work.

I don't think I'll be ordering anything from Newegg again, even though they are literally 15 miles away from me.
Other than this problem I've had two other dumb problems with them.

You learnt your lesson, Buy from Amazon, cheaper and more deals, altough newegg makes a good reviewer

 

[Matthewmatt3]

This is why people, don't buy from Newegg

Yeah, My guess would be Newegg. Lol. I'm still waiting for the Sapphire 280X from Amazon, though. Crossing my fingers in hopes that this card will work.

I don't think I'll be ordering anything from Newegg again, even though they are literally 15 miles away from me.
Other than this problem I've had two other dumb problems with them.

You learnt your lesson, Buy from Amazon, cheaper and more deals, altough newegg makes a good reviewer

Yeah, You're right. I ordered from Newegg because the MSI 280X Gaming 3G was actually cheaper by about $40.

 

[Its_Byte_00]

Not a single person saw this guy is full of shit?

He went from having a i7 2600k and a 3930k to having a i7 2600k a 8350 and a 4960x system and 12 years of it exp to 20?

By my logic, he's just a troll

 

[Antaredja Kartasasmita]

If you can't get any refund, just use all the 6 cards to mine litecoins, hell. you could gather money