Odd 7950 issue

[mojothehut]

So I've recently built a new computer, and threw down some heavy cash on a Sapphire 7950 OC edition.
About 1 out of every 10 times I load a game, WoW, SWTOR, Alien vs Predator,Skyrim, anything... the game runs like crap
It's happening right now in WoW, I'm at a consistent 12 ..yes twelve.. frames per second. No matter how many times I restart the game, it does not fix the problem. Only thing that works is a system reboot.

Now when this issue isn't happening, I enjoy WoW on Ultra at 60fps. Every other game runs smooth as silk too... until this bizarre issue pops up.
I have no idea what causes it. I don't let my computer go into sleep or hibernate, or even turn off HD after hours of idle use. Only power saving feature I use is my monitor shuts down after an hour.
Rest of my hadware is as follows.
Asus Sabertooth 990FX
AMD 975 @ 3.6ghz
Corsairs 8gb DDR1600
WD 500gb 32mb cache hd.
Win 7 64 bit, fully updated.
Corsair 650watt PSU
(this is a brand new rig, no previous hardware)
I've gone from the 12.1 drivers that came with the cd to the current 12.3 pre-cert and the issue still pops up. Usually its after about 12-15 hours of idle time. I let my computer on for several days in a row, usually running FAH cores.
It doesn't seem to be a heat problem as GPU-Z reports my card idles at 28c and under heavy load around 50-55.
In my event viewer the only error is after each reboot is an odd "AODDriver 4.1 failed to start." I uninstalled this driver after doing some reading and the error still shows up each reboot. Not sure if that error has anything to do with the bizarre frame rate lag issue.

So frustrating to pay this much money and have this issue.
Any ideas?

 

[Stuka87]

I think you should load up some monitoring software. Start MSI afterburner to manage everything GPU related, and then task manage for CPU. It doesn't sound like a hardware issue. But would help to rule it out.

 

[mojothehut]

Curious what MSI afterburner would be able to tell me that is important?
GPU-Z shows that the video card throttles right during games.
Under load: 900 core, 1250 ram
Idle, 300 core, 150 ram.

Fan idles at 21%
Under heavy load around 30-35%

 

[badb0y]

Check the clocks when you launch WoW, they might still be in idle state or something like that.

 

[mojothehut]

Yeah I have, I run the render test on gpuz too during the issue, it maxes out the clock rates on the video card. Doesn't seem to help
But yea, I can load up skyrim during the low frame rate bug and tab out to see my clock rates are at max.. i don't get it =(

 

[badb0y]

OP uninstall all AMD graphica drivers and run driversweeper to remove all the crap left over then install the 12.2 pre cert drivers. Hope it fixes the problem.

 

[mojothehut]

Ran driversweeper, installed 12.2.. Will report back (probably tomorrow since it takes like 15 hours for the issue to happen)

For the record, I'm disappointed with my over all 7950 experience. Blaming drivers right now. Guess I can't expect much from buying cards that are so new, drivers are behind in support.
Next time I wont be buying tech so bloody new.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Check what GPU-Z reports your PCI-E link width at. It may be a combo mobo/card issue, with the PCI-E link state. Also check under Win7 Power Options / Advanced, and disable PCI-E link state power management.

 

[Stuka87]

Curious what MSI afterburner would be able to tell me that is important?
GPU-Z shows that the video card throttles right during games.
Under load: 900 core, 1250 ram
Idle, 300 core, 150 ram.

Fan idles at 21%
Under heavy load around 30-35%

MSI Afterburner gives more information and it graphs them out. The one I am interested in is GPU load. The fact that it clocks up doesn't mean its actually being fully utilized.

Also, what does your CPU do when this issue occurs?

 

[mojothehut]

Check what GPU-Z reports your PCI-E link width at. It may be a combo mobo/card issue, with the PCI-E link state. Also check under Win7 Power Options / Advanced, and disable PCI-E link state power management.

I disabled state power management in win7,
GPU-Z reports PCI-E 3.0 x16 @ 16 1.1 ?
When i enable the render test in gpu-z, the read out changed to
PCI-3 3.0 x 16 2.0

So under load it goes from 1.1 to 2.0

 

[mojothehut]

Is there a bios option for something like this I should disable?
I have Cool'N'Quiet for my cpu disabled so it always runs at 3.6ghz.

 

[mojothehut]

MSI Afterburner gives more information and it graphs them out. The one I am interested in is GPU load. The fact that it clocks up doesn't mean its actually being fully utilized.

Also, what does your CPU do when this issue occurs?

Okay Afterburner installed (though not Kombustor, not sure what that is so i didnt install it)
According to the hardware monitor in Afterburner, well its kind of hard to read. Shortly after I tab out to check, my GPU usage drops. But it looks like its at full when I run Skyrim/TOR/WoW.
Ah okay after some more testing, Only Skyrim and AvP can push the GPU usage up to around 85-90%, WoW and Tor run around 70%. Is it a bad thing that these games aren't at 100% while running? Forgive my noob-ness with these questions.

 

[formulav8]

Kombustor doesn't matter right now in your case. Its just a variant of Furmark for putting full load on the gpu for mainly stability reasons.

 

[thilanliyan]

Have you checked your CPU temps? Run something like Prime95 (small FTT test) to fully load the CPU and check temps. If the CPU is throttling due to overheating it can cause drastic slowdowns in games.

 

[mojothehut]

Have you checked your CPU temps? Run something like Prime95 (small FTT test) to fully load the CPU and check temps. If the CPU is throttling due to overheating it can cause drastic slowdowns in games.

My CPU during long game play doesn't climb above 50C.
But I ran Prime95 anyway, after a short FTT, I was a 52C.
I don't think thats near too warm is it?

 

[Stuka87]

52C is fine for a Phenom II. Anything below 55 is fine. When you get above 60 things get sketchy.

BTW: You can detach the monitor in Afterburner and make it large. Makes it much easier to read.

The GPU usage being down means your CPU is most likely pegged out and can't feed the CPU fast enough. This is typical of Skyrim, its very CPU bound.

 

[mojothehut]

52C is fine for a Phenom II. Anything below 55 is fine. When you get above 60 things get sketchy.

BTW: You can detach the monitor in Afterburner and make it large. Makes it much easier to read.

The GPU usage being down means your CPU is most likely pegged out and can't feed the CPU fast enough. This is typical of Skyrim, its very CPU bound.

Hmm okay ran Prime95 again, Actually hit and held at 62*
Im using the stock cooler that came with the 975. Gah maybe I should find a better one ...
However thats the highest Ive ever seen the cpu temp. I check it during the frame rate issue and its never anywhere near that, nor does it get that high during gaming. So not sure its a cpu heat issue when that frame rate bug hits =\

 

[thilanliyan]

Did you check your CPU speed is actually at full speed when it hit the 62C? Or is it throttling immediately when it hits 62C?

And what are you using to see what the CPU temp is?

 

[mojothehut]

Did you check your CPU speed is actually at full speed when it hit the 62C? Or is it throttling immediately when it hits 62C?

And what are you using to see what the CPU temp is?

Its at 3600mhz full time, like I said I disable C&Q so it doesnt throttle at all.
I use CPU-Z and CPUID HWMonitor to watch temp&fan speeds.

 

[Silverforce11]

If it happens 1 in 10 times its not your hardware or drivers. These things should be consistent. It sounds like a bunch of viruses, detecting an online connection and activating, eating up CPU cycles.

 

[mojothehut]

If it happens 1 in 10 times its not your hardware or drivers. These things should be consistent. It sounds like a bunch of viruses, detecting an online connection and activating, eating up CPU cycles.

Virus eh, well to be safe I ran ESET 5, full system scan. Nothing
Ran Malware, nothing
SpybotS&D, nothing

=\

 

[Silverforce11]

I use to to have this same problem, used Microsoft Security Essential, scanned, found 6 or so trojans. Removed them, problem went away.

 

[mojothehut]

Well after using driver sweeper to remove all things 12.1, running on 12.2 precert again and the low frame rate is back. Every game runs like like crap, 10-15fps. Only thing that makes it go away is a reboot, sooo frustrating, I dont know what else to try.
CPU isn't overheating, 39C right now during the issue.

 

[Stuka87]

Have you ever had any other card in this system? If not, do you have a another card to pop in and test with? If another card is fine, it sounds like its time to RMA your 7950. If it does it with another card as well, then you know the 7950 is most likely fine, and its something else.

When you have your slow issue, is everything else (Windows etc) responsive as it should be?

 

[mojothehut]

Have you ever had any other card in this system? If not, do you have a another card to pop in and test with? If another card is fine, it sounds like its time to RMA your 7950. If it does it with another card as well, then you know the 7950 is most likely fine, and its something else.

When you have your slow issue, is everything else (Windows etc) responsive as it should be?

I've never had another card in this system. Though I did toss in an old 4850, ran it for a while, had the problem after opening and closing a few games. =\
Everything else in Windows runs fine and is speedy as ever during the issue.