Radeon R9 290 running way under-clocked?

[Bouskinthor]

Hey, I recently upgraded to a Gigabyte R9 290 and I have found that it is running way under its designated clock rate for both memory and GPU.

GPU is running around 300Mhz
Memory is at 150Mhz?

This is my Build:
-AMD FX 8350
-Asus Crosshair V formula
-Gigabyte Radeon R9 290
-16GB Corsair DDR3 Ram part number CMZ16XM4A1600C9
-Corsair H100 cooler
-Corsair HX 850W PSU

Thanks in advance!

 

[EasyLover]

From which software you are taking these readings? My GPU clock at idle is 324MHz whereas it is rated at 1006MHz (780Ti). Run some video graphics test software like FurMark, 3DMark, Heaven etc and during this test, check the clock speeds and post here.

 

[Bouskinthor]

From which software you are taking these readings? My GPU clock at idle is 324MHz whereas it is rated at 1006MHz (780Ti). Run some video graphics test software like FurMark, 3DMark, Heaven etc and during this test, check the clock speeds and post here.

Thanks for response.

Those readings are from AMD Catalyst Control Centre
The problem may be worse then I thought.

I just did a Furmark test and after about 10 seconds my screen went black. When it happened the GPU temp was reading at 52C. I was playing music as well and about 5 seconds after the screen went black the music started stuttering and then stopped completely.

 

[EasyLover]

What is the cooling mechanism for your CPU?

 

[Bouskinthor]

What is the cooling mechanism for your CPU?

Corsair H100 water cooler

 

[EasyLover]

Sorry, I should have read the specs clearly first. Anyhow, CPU and mobo are compatible. CPU has a good cooling solution. Which version of R9 290 is this? Is this gigabyte windforce or other model?

 

[Iron124]

My Gigabyte R9 270 does the same thing, runs at 300Mhz and 150Mhz respectively when idle. Throttles up to max when intensive gaming or FurMark is used.

Cutting to black is a sign of a failing card, overheating, or a driver issue. Have you had this problem in any other applications, are you getting satisfactory FPS in games and HD multimedia?

 

[Bouskinthor]

Its a windfore model.
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=193_1575&products_id=26600

Do you think it could be my mobo? It has PCIE 2.0 not 3.0. Could that be a problem?

 

[Bouskinthor]

My Gigabyte R9 270 does the same thing, runs at 300Mhz and 150Mhz respectively when idle. Throttles up to max when intensive gaming or FurMark is used.

Cutting to black is a sign of a failing card, overheating, or a driver issue. Have you had this problem in any other applications, are you getting satisfactory FPS in games and HD multimedia?

Haven't had any issues in games yet, most intensive I have played so far is Portal 2 though.

My Windows experience Index is at 2.0 for gaming graphics, which is obviously way to low for this card.

 

[EasyLover]

Its a windfore model.
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=193_1575&products_id=26600

Do you think it could be my mobo? It has PCIE 2.0 not 3.0. Could that be a problem?

PCIe generations have nothing to do with it. This seems to be a driver related error. Are you using OC Guru II software from Gigabyte? Also, have you tried to play any game and encounter the same problem?

 

[Bouskinthor]

I just downloaded and installed OC Guru II, I haven't encountered the problem in a game yet. I have only had this card for 2 days and haven't played anything intensive.

 

[smeezekitty]

Those are normal clocks as idle.
Under load it should come up. I would be concerned about crashes though
You might try increasing the powerlimit

This is off topic but what do you think of Portal 2?

 

[Bouskinthor]

Those are normal clocks as idle.
Under load it should come up. I would be concerned about crashes though
You might try increasing the powerlimit

This is off topic but what do you think of Portal 2?

How do I increase the power limit, is that something I would do in OC Guru II?

I think portal 2 is great, love the challenges. I kind of proffered Portal 1 though.

Thanks

 

[smeezekitty]

Do you see a power limit or power target option?
If so try setting it to +10 or 110% depending on the format.
If that doesn't work try maxing it out.

Sometimes when the GPU hits its power limit it is less graceful than it should be

Ok. I just started playing Portal 1 so I was just curious

 

[Bouskinthor]

Do you see a power limit or power target option?
If so try setting it to +10 or 110% depending on the format.
If that doesn't work try maxing it out.

Sometimes when the GPU hits its power limit it is less graceful than it should be

Ok. I just started playing Portal 1 so I was just curious

Put the power limit at Max and ran Furmark. The clock rate went up to its proper speed but computer screen still went black after 10 seconds.

 

[EasyLover]

Wow. Don't go for power target limit as of yet. First of all run some heavy game like BF4, Crysis 3 and run the game at Ultra settings and see if it crashes. Also, you should consider removing/uninstall the drivers and then install again the drivers. Make sure to boot in Safe mode before un-installing the drivers just in case.

 

[Bouskinthor]

Wow. Don't go for power target limit as of yet. First of all run some heavy game like BF4, Crysis 3 and run the game at Ultra settings and see if it crashes. Also, you should consider removing/uninstall the drivers and then install again the drivers. Make sure to boot in Safe mode before un-installing the drivers just in case.

OK, will try all this and see how I go.

Thanks Heaps!

 

[smeezekitty]

Wow. Don't go for power target limit as of yet. First of all run some heavy game like BF4, Crysis 3 and run the game at Ultra settings and see if it crashes. Also, you should consider removing/uninstall the drivers and then install again the drivers. Make sure to boot in Safe mode before un-installing the drivers just in case.

Increasing the power limit shouldn't cause a problem as long as your temps are ok.
Screen blacking out during load testing is definitely not normal. Does your card have a VRM temp
monitor?

 

[Bouskinthor]

OK I reinstalled the drivers and that didn't seem to do anything. The problem has gotten a bit worse as well (not since new drivers, just in general) The screen has begun playing up and crashing even just using Chrome.

VRM temp is idle around 36C

 

[smeezekitty]

I would return the card

 

[EasyLover]

Can you check this card on other PC?

 

[Bouskinthor]

I don't have another PC to check it on. I have just put my old card back in and ran furmark and had no issues. It's a radeon 6970.

 

[EasyLover]

Well, in that case it is safe to assume that card is faulty and you should RMA it.