MSI R9 390 FPS/Stuttering/Performance Issues

aszumski98

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Jan 10, 2016
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Greeting PC Master Race,

I have a huge problem with my Graphics Card. When I play CS:GO sometimes I get 30FPS to 100FPS in performance. When I turn down settings it's the same 30-100FPS.

My Specs:
i7-4790 @3.6 Ghz
MSI R9 390 Gaming 8G
8GB HyperX Fury Red 1866 Mhz
Gigabyte Z97MX-Gaming 5
120GB SSD
1TB HDD
EVGA 750W G2 80+ Gold

Sometimes it performs well and most of the time it's garbage.

For example let's say I'm lucky and I get 250FPS in CS:GO. Then I reboot the PC and launch up the game and it's not even close to 250FPS, it's max at 100FPS.

I get normal temperatures 60-70oC (Temps are not a problem)

This is useless but I found a way to predict if my PC is not going to co-op with me. I boot the PC start up MSI Afterburner and then I click on K (Kombustor) which is a stress test for GPU. The rule is that if it is on ~270FPS on start up then I'm gonna get good FPS and performance in games. If it's 60-100FPS I'm screwed.

I tried everything MSI Afterburner, DDU, New Drivers, Windows Reinstall, Windows 10, Windows 7.

Please help and feel free to ask me anything I missed to write in the description!

Every answer is helpful and counts!
 


Are you running stock clocks? and what driver version?
 


I'm using 1040 Mhz Core and 1500 Mhz Clock. I had used both Crimson 16.1 and Catalyst 15.7 and it doesn't change anything in FPS or stutter. I'm using 15.7 because I could change color saturation.
 


Newegg tells me the cards clocks are "Core Clock 1060 MHz (OC Mode) 1040 MHz (Gaming Mode) 1000 MHz (Silent Mode)"
Put card into OC mode with STOCK clocks and voltage in MSI afterburner and see how that runs? I would open up GPU-z and go to sensors tab, set the refresh to 3 seconds and run a stress test like furmark for 5 minutes, then close it and see what the sensors show the core clock doing. Is it maxed out or constantly spiking and throttling?
 
What is your psu? Left stock the card will run 1060mhz under gaming assuming temp and power ok. It sounds like the clocks are not ramping up properly. Use afterburner to see what your gpu usage and clock speed is in csgo when at 230fps and 100fps. Those cards keep clock speeds down when usage is low which will be the case in csgo. You can download clockblocker to lock core clock when full screen gaming
 
Are you using the MSI gaming app that came with your gpu to get the overclock? I had the same problem when using the MSI gaming app. I stopped using it and just use afterburner and it fixed the problem.
 


I just noticed that when it hits about ~75oC then the card utilizes full speed. It's weird when it's below 70 it's garbage. I also see when temps are low clocks are low and memory usage is also low. So in MSI kombustor I get 270FPS+ on temps 75> and when it's 75< it's 30-50FPS. If there is more than 270fps in Kombustor my GPU runs great in games. Is there any way I could lock temps on 75oC and more?
 


I found something interesting when my GPU is below 75oC it runs like garbage clock speeds are messed up and memory is low. When its above 75oC it runs like a charm, clock speed is above 1000Mhz, memory is normal and core speed is normal.

Above 75oC: http://imgur.com/UzA9oHW

Below 75oC: http://imgur.com/3cLG2Hi

In a short summary, my card needs to be hot to run good but how do it keep it above 75oC?
 
Do you have frame pacing on for game or benchmark? That could holding back performance. I would definitely go with the latest driver. If you wanted it to run hotter, you can overclock it (which would also improve FPS and void your warranty if they find out) and do a custom fan curve. The MSI Gaming App set to OC 1060 (memory also OCs to 1600 I believe) will raise your temps. Of course all this will lead to more power usage and shorter card, just to be clear.
If you continue to have issues, MSI have awesome service. I didn't like my temps under load on my R9 290 Gaming, so they sent me a R9 390 Gaming 😀!