Core and mem freq keeps jumping around

[fffblackmage]

I use ATT v1.6.9.1386. I had the monitoring window open and noticed the core and vram frequency jump from my 400c/400m underclock to 675/971.88. It keeps jumping back and forth as I web surf and stuff.

For example, as i type, it stays at 400/400, but once i start dragging this post window, it jumps up and comes back down after i stop dragging the window.

However, once I change the freq in ATT (to any arbitrary freq), it stops doing any kind of jumping.

Oh, I'm also using the catalyst 9.5 beta, could that be causing the jumping?

 

[Grinja]

It could be the beta drivers ...
When you drag the window does your GPU activity fluctuate at all?

 

[Modular]

This is a power saving feature. When you're in stricltly 2D mode, the card downclocks to save power. When a low power 2D load (such as watching a movie, or dragging a window around) is introduced, the drivers ramp up the clock speed to enhance the performance. This has been done for years and is nothing to worry about at all.

 

[fffblackmage]

Originally posted by: Grinja
It could be the beta drivers ...
When you drag the window does your GPU activity fluctuate at all?

Well, I guess I'll know it's the beta drivers when they're no longer beta. XD

I checked the GPU usage, while my underclock is at 250/250, in rivatuner and sure enough, the usage goes from less than 10% to 40-50%, depending how fast I drag a window around.

I moved to 801/1125 overclock and tried dragging a window around. Interestingly, usage went up to about 30%. That's a lot of processing for just moving a window around at the desktop....

However, while I did these test, the clock frequency did not fluctuate at all. This only seems to happen when I first boot into windows, though I'll have to experiment more with what might cause/stop it (things like if ATT auto-overclocking when I go into games stops or cause the fluctuations, or if loading 250/250 underclock at start-up is the cause).

Originally posted by: Modular
This is a power saving feature. When you're in stricltly 2D mode, the card downclocks to save power. When a low power 2D load (such as watching a movie, or dragging a window around) is introduced, the drivers ramp up the clock speed to enhance the performance. This has been done for years and is nothing to worry about at all.

afaik, the hd4830 doesn't have that power saving feature. I also don't know why the clocks jump to 675/971.88 in particular, because the default clocks are 585/900.