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Ideas? Low GPU Usage

A

Andretti

n00b
Joined
Jan 24, 2011
Messages
11
Looking for some advice here on what to do. My video is the older 4870x2 in cf4 running under Win7 x64. I'm finding most newer titles are are not scaling well with low GPU usage showing in Aferburner.

BF3, Skyrim, NFS Run and Saints Row 3rd all showing less than 45% usage on all 4 cores with my fps rarely going above 33-35 at 2560x1600. Why is the usage so low? I updated to 11.11 but it created noticeable micro stuttering in BF3 so I've moved back to 11.10
Older titles like Crysis2 gives me over 90% usage with buttery smooth frame rates. Could this issue be caused by AMD not really supporting the older DX10 cards in their drivers? What really bothers me is I know my cards can do much more but their just not being put to work, even the fan speeds stay low.

EDIT: of course, vsync forced off thru Catalyst
 
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QuadCF support hasn't been added for any of these newer titles yet that I know of.
 
like the above guy said theres no cf profiles, i believe in the 12.1 preview drivers that are floating around it has the ability to make custom cf profiles, you might want to check those drivers out.
 
Well at least I've now learned the reason for this. My fear was the newer drivers would no longer fully support the older cards since I had read a forum post saying the 11.11 improvements only applied to 6xxx series cards. I'll look into the 12.1 preview drivers or wait (as always) for the official release.
 
No, I never delved into using any profiles. I'll check it out but if there's profiles available for these new titles then it makes me wonder more why AMD always lags by at least 1-2 months. I just tested two others, Take On Helicopters and Race Injected. Same issues with them too.
 
i switched a couple days ago to the 12.1s and they have been working flawlessly for me.

the only new title im really playing atm is Serious Sam 3 though. 12.1s increased crossfire usage by over 40% for both GPUs over 11.11 Cap 1 for me. there seems to be less microstutter in SS3 at lower fps also. im just about finished d/ling bf3 that i got on sale on origin, so ill be able to post about the 12.1s for that in a few hours.
 
basically getting 100% usage in bf3 on my 6870s at eyefinity resolution. everything set to medium with no ambient occlusion or AA.


here is a screenshot of my usage...

bf3gpu.jpg
 
That's pretty impressive, looks like my Crysis2 usage and your temps are pretty decent too. As samuelmorris recommends, I'm going to install the latest profiles and try BF3 first.
 
Andretti said:
That's pretty impressive, looks like my Crysis2 usage and your temps are pretty decent too. As samuelmorris recommends, I'm going to install the latest profiles and try BF3 first.
Click to expand...


i installed 12.1 right over my 11.1(CAP 1) installation. if the latter combination doesn't work for you, it might be worth a try with the 12.1 drivers.
 
AMD has to open a relationship with the software developer to get early access to the title, whether or not it has a beta, in order to be able to have a crossfire profile for it by release. Usually this costs a substantial amount of money, and AMD choose not to invest in this. AMD also have a minimal number of paid support staff, relying on unpaid volunteers to deliver some of the help via the forum (which is off-limits to the paid support staff). Spreading the limited resources in the right places sees AMD focusing their attention on highly publicised beta titles such as Battlefield 3, which did work well for crossfire users early on.
 
I've done some testing with both the 11.1 and 12.1 CAPs. Prior to this I've never used any of the profiles out there but with my hardware it looks like that's the best way for me to go for now.

BF3 - 2560x1600, High with no AA/AO

- With 11.90 & no CAP, GPU utilization mid 90's for two, other two at almost zero, FPS around 40
BF3Highw_119NoCAP.jpg


- With 11.11 & no CAP, GPU utilization all four just over 50%, FPS around 45
BF3Highw_1111NoCAP.jpg
]

- With 11.11 & 12.1 CAP, GPU utilization mid 90's for two, other two almost zero, FPS around 35
BF3Highw_1111CAP121.jpg


I think we all would agree AMD needs to change something in their process since history shows this issue happening over and over again. Someone unfamiliar with hardware shopping for a new PC seek out advice from people they know who are. How many times have you been asked for advice on new hardware? I'm surprised AMD is not investing more into this, it's self destructive over time.
 
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