Info Radeon VII owners/buyers thread

[DrMrLordX]

Finally got a bit more time to play with this thing.

I'm observing odd (and not altogether desirable) behavior from the card when running benchmarks. It seems like the card throttles back clocks based on workload. It does this no matter what voltage or power level setting I choose for the card, and I can't even set clocks to a uniform 1802 MHz and get it to stay there 100% of the time. For example, if I run something like Ice Storm Extreme (3DMark), the card never runs faster than 1300 MHz, so it limits scores. If I run Unigine Superposition, it'll stay mostly close to 1780 MHz, but it'll dip to ~1660 MHz from time to time. It does this even if I run the fans full bore and keep it relatively cool. Still haven't upped clock targets. I'm curious as to how that will affect things.

In any case, some benchmark performance seems stymied by this behavior. It might be a driver problem.

edit: looks like I may be CPU-limited on my 1800x @ 4.0 GHz. I have fewer problems with loss of clockspeed at 1440p (many benches I'm running are 1080p or lower). I have performed other manipulations to prevent GPU clocks from dipping below desired levels, but I'll go into that more later.

 

[n0x1ous]

Its louder than I expected. I can't believe this 7nm chip with open air 3 fan cooler is louder than 1080ti FE but it is. Did a bit of undervolting and it was happy with 75mv undervolt but no more. Helped the noise and temps a little but once this thing gets to 2100rpm its very noticeable

 

[ZGR]

How are your Junction temps? I hear the card throttles hard when past 100C or so? I'm not referring to core temps.

Luckily, this is fixable.

 

[n0x1ous]

the Junction throttle is 110C from what I've read. highest I saw was 105 and was mostly around 100 on mine. Clock's are very stable in the 1750 range most of the time.

 

[Alcolawl]

Hey guys and gals,

Fellow Radeon VII owner here. I decided to sign up to contribute to this discussion a bit, share my experiences, help, etc. Additionally, I've created a community Google doc, that I've already shared with Reddit where fellow Radeon VII owners can share their overclock / undervolt settings. My aim is to build a decent library of information when it comes to pushing these cards to the limit, one way or another, so we (and future owners) can all use it to get the most out of our cards. I'd greatly appreciate it if some of you could find the time to contribute to the document. I think it could be helpful going down the road.

Radeon VII Undervolting/Overclocking Community Sheet

If anyone has any suggestions, additions, etc. for the sheet, I'm all ears.

I'm experiencing much of the same behavior that DrMrLordX is experiencing with the clocks bouncing up and down depending on workload. I'm not sure if it's by design, but the maximum clock I have set isn't a constant. I understand that this is supposed to be a "Boost Clock" but I find that, depending on how hectic or demanding the scene is (no matter what benchmark or game) the clocks will go up and down. Sometimes during BFV, my core clock will sink to 1660 MHz when indoors or other less-than-demanding areas. This is with Radeon Chill off, btw. I'm hoping further driver refinements are in order.

 

[jackstar7]

Hey guys and gals,

Fellow Radeon VII owner here. I decided to sign up to contribute to this discussion a bit, share my experiences, help, etc. Additionally, I've created a community Google doc, that I've already shared with Reddit where fellow Radeon VII owners can share their overclock / undervolt settings. My aim is to build a decent library of information when it comes to pushing these cards to the limit, one way or another, so we (and future owners) can all use it to get the most out of our cards. I'd greatly appreciate it if some of you could find the time to contribute to the document. I think it could be helpful going down the road.

Radeon VII Undervolting/Overclocking Community Sheet

If anyone has any suggestions, additions, etc. for the sheet, I'm all ears.

I'm experiencing much of the same behavior that DrMrLordX is experiencing with the clocks bouncing up and down depending on workload. I'm not sure if it's by design, but the maximum clock I have set isn't a constant. I understand that this is supposed to be a "Boost Clock" but I find that, depending on how hectic or demanding the scene is (no matter what benchmark or game) the clocks will go up and down. Sometimes during BFV, my core clock will sink to 1660 MHz when indoors or other less-than-demanding areas. This is with Radeon Chill off, btw. I'm hoping further driver refinements are in order.

Not having a VII, but enjoying the insights of a sheet like this, I would suggest a "room temp" or "ambient temp" column so people can consider warmer vs cooler climates. Considering the polar temps in some regions right now, that might keep room temps low and in turn keep some headroom available that might not be there otherwise.

 

[PhonakV30]

Its louder than I expected. I can't believe this 7nm chip with open air 3 fan cooler is louder than 1080ti FE but it is. Did a bit of undervolting and it was happy with 75mv undervolt but no more. Helped the noise and temps a little but once this thing gets to 2100rpm its very noticeable

This proved that there is limit for 7nm.It's extremely hard to cool 300w 7nm chip.I just think 250w is top limit for 7nm chip.

 

[n0x1ous]

They shoulda done a liquid version like they did with vega and fury x

 

[DrMrLordX]

Its louder than I expected. I can't believe this 7nm chip with open air 3 fan cooler is louder than 1080ti FE but it is. Did a bit of undervolting and it was happy with 75mv undervolt but no more. Helped the noise and temps a little but once this thing gets to 2100rpm its very noticeable

Sounds like your card is in the same ballpark as my Vega FE. My Radeon VII undervolts like a champ. Default voltage is specced at 1.128V but I can run mine as low as .991V which is a nice drop. My VegaFE actually undervolted by more (.15V) but was set so high by default (1.25V) that it still needed a lot of voltage to operate.

How are your Junction temps? I hear the card throttles hard when past 100C or so? I'm not referring to core temps.

Luckily, this is fixable.

Depends on how I operate the card. If all I do is undervolt, I can get TJunct down to 80C or less running the fans full-bore. It gets a little warmer than that with the default fan profile, but nothing much above 90-100C (in other words, lower than the reviews). Performance is still normal with this configuration.

I have seen absolutely no thermal throttling yet. Of course, I have not pushed TJunct above about 105-106C in any of my testing.

Now, on to some other data:

It looks like testing the limits of this card at lower resolutions is a non-starter for me. I can't really push it at 1080p. It's hard (but possible, sometimes) to get it to clock high in light workloads or where my CPU may be a bottleneck. But I have found a partial solution to maintaining higher clockspeeds: overclocking.

Because my particular card undervolts so well, it's possible to set higher clockspeed targets with voltage set below defaults. You don't have to follow the voltage curve specified by Wattman when overclocking. In particular, I use this profile right now until I can find something better:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<GPU DevID="66AF" RevID="C1">
    <PPW Value="1"/>
    <FEATURE ID="4" Enabled="True">
        <STATES>
            <STATE ID="0" Enabled="False" Value="1701"/>
            <STATE ID="1" Enabled="False" Value="1825"/>
            <STATE ID="2" Enabled="False" Value="1950"/>
            <STATE ID="3" Enabled="False" Value="1701"/>
            <STATE ID="4" Enabled="False" Value="1950"/>
        </STATES>
    </FEATURE>
    <FEATURE ID="12" Enabled="False">
        <STATES>
            <STATE ID="0" Enabled="False" Value="950"/>
            <STATE ID="1" Enabled="False" Value="1001"/>
            <STATE ID="2" Enabled="False" Value="1070"/>
        </STATES>
    </FEATURE>
    <FEATURE ID="5" Enabled="True">
        <STATES>
            <STATE ID="0" Enabled="False" Value="1050"/>
        </STATES>
    </FEATURE>
    <FEATURE ID="9" Enabled="False">
        <STATES>
            <STATE ID="0" Enabled="False" Value="0"/>
        </STATES>
    </FEATURE>
    <FEATURE ID="8" Enabled="False">
        <STATES>
            <STATE ID="0" Enabled="True" Value="0"/>
            <STATE ID="1" Enabled="True" Value="0"/>
            <STATE ID="2" Enabled="True" Value="0"/>
        </STATES>
    </FEATURE>
    <FEATURE ID="17" Enabled="False">
        <STATES>
            <STATE ID="0" Enabled="True" Value="0"/>
        </STATES>
    </FEATURE>
    <FEATURE ID="19" Enabled="False">
        <STATES>
            <STATE ID="0" Enabled="True" Value="0"/>
        </STATES>
    </FEATURE>
    <FEATURE ID="20" Enabled="False">
        <STATES>
            <STATE ID="0" Enabled="True" Value="0"/>
        </STATES>
    </FEATURE>
    <FEATURE ID="21" Enabled="False">
        <STATES>
            <STATE ID="0" Enabled="True" Value="0"/>
        </STATES>
    </FEATURE>
    <FEATURE ID="22" Enabled="True">
        <STATES>
            <STATE ID="0" Enabled="False" Value="29"/>
            <STATE ID="1" Enabled="False" Value="100"/>
            <STATE ID="2" Enabled="False" Value="50"/>
            <STATE ID="3" Enabled="False" Value="100"/>
            <STATE ID="4" Enabled="False" Value="72"/>
            <STATE ID="5" Enabled="False" Value="100"/>
            <STATE ID="6" Enabled="False" Value="94"/>
            <STATE ID="7" Enabled="False" Value="100"/>
            <STATE ID="8" Enabled="False" Value="105"/>
            <STATE ID="9" Enabled="False" Value="100"/>
        </STATES>
    </FEATURE>
</GPU>

If you are observant, you'll notice that I moved my lower clockspeed range up, dramatically. I have the minimum specific clockspeed target set to 1801 MHz @ .991v and the maximum set to 1950 MHz @ 1.080V . It's important to note that you do not want to set the minimum and maximum clockspeed target to the same thing. It does not hold clocks at a higher level, and it can cause bizarre dips in memory clockspeed some of the time. Not sure why.

I've also noticed that it is very easy to overclock memory. I have no third-party tools to confirm that the memory overclocks are working, though some of my benchmark performance numbers seem to suggest that it helps. Right now I'm running memory at 1050 MHz. I may try more later. Sadly, I have no way of monitoring HBM hotspot temp at this time, so I'm a bit reluctant to push too hard, especially when I have no memory voltage controls.

In any case, manipulating clockspeed targets set my average GPU clockspeed closer to a constant speed of 1801 MHz than default settings. I still get dips into the high 1600s for reasons I can not explain. Temperature does not seem to correlate to the dips. I have the fewest dips in 1440p and 4k benches. I also get higher power draw in benches where I see fewer clockspeed dips (imagine that). Overall, performance is now improved. I picked up around 1100 points (~17000->~18100) in Unigine Superposition 1080p medium versus default settings.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Hmm, looks like 1950MHz is not stable in certain 1440p benchmarks using voltages up to 1.1V . I am throwing in the towel on that clockspeed until I can nail down the problem.

Apparently, some of the posters over on OCN have observed that replacing the stock thermal pad on the GPU with liquid metal and/or lapping the stock cooler can improve TJunct temps somewhat. There may be fitment problems and/or air bubbles causing poor TIM performance in the stock configuration. That's going to significantly limit overclocks. The card throttles at TJunct temps of 110-115C, and temps can get pretty high in the stock configuration as it is.

 

[DrMrLordX]

According to some banter I've heard, EK is going to release a custom block for Radeon VII in maybe 4-6 weeks:

https://www.overclock.net/forum/18067-ek-water-blocks/1718440-amd-radeon-vii-waterblock-2.html

Looks to me like any serious overclocking of this card is going to require a proper block.

edit: might be my last post for awhile on the subject of underclock/overvolt, since I seem to have reached the limit of what the card will do while keeping temperatures in a sane range. I have no interest in removing the cooler and replacing the stock pad with liquid metal or doing any lapping of the stock cooler. This configuration will have to do unless I make the leap to water.

Anyway, I have been (as before) testing intensively using Superposition 1440p to look for instability. The following Wattman profile seems to work reliably:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<GPU DevID="66AF" RevID="C1">
    <PPW Value="1"/>
    <FEATURE ID="4" Enabled="True">
        <STATES>
            <STATE ID="0" Enabled="False" Value="808"/>
            <STATE ID="1" Enabled="False" Value="1374"/>
            <STATE ID="2" Enabled="False" Value="1940"/>
            <STATE ID="3" Enabled="False" Value="808"/>
            <STATE ID="4" Enabled="False" Value="1940"/>
        </STATES>
    </FEATURE>
    <FEATURE ID="12" Enabled="False">
        <STATES>
            <STATE ID="0" Enabled="False" Value="708"/>
            <STATE ID="1" Enabled="False" Value="848"/>
            <STATE ID="2" Enabled="False" Value="1090"/>
        </STATES>
    </FEATURE>
    <FEATURE ID="5" Enabled="True">
        <STATES>
            <STATE ID="0" Enabled="False" Value="1150"/>
        </STATES>
    </FEATURE>
    <FEATURE ID="9" Enabled="False">
        <STATES>
            <STATE ID="0" Enabled="False" Value="0"/>
        </STATES>
    </FEATURE>
    <FEATURE ID="8" Enabled="False">
        <STATES>
            <STATE ID="0" Enabled="True" Value="0"/>
            <STATE ID="1" Enabled="True" Value="0"/>
            <STATE ID="2" Enabled="True" Value="0"/>
        </STATES>
    </FEATURE>
    <FEATURE ID="17" Enabled="False">
        <STATES>
            <STATE ID="0" Enabled="True" Value="0"/>
        </STATES>
    </FEATURE>
    <FEATURE ID="19" Enabled="False">
        <STATES>
            <STATE ID="0" Enabled="True" Value="0"/>
        </STATES>
    </FEATURE>
    <FEATURE ID="20" Enabled="False">
        <STATES>
            <STATE ID="0" Enabled="True" Value="0"/>
        </STATES>
    </FEATURE>
    <FEATURE ID="21" Enabled="False">
        <STATES>
            <STATE ID="0" Enabled="True" Value="0"/>
        </STATES>
    </FEATURE>
    <FEATURE ID="22" Enabled="True">
        <STATES>
            <STATE ID="0" Enabled="False" Value="32"/>
            <STATE ID="1" Enabled="False" Value="100"/>
            <STATE ID="2" Enabled="False" Value="50"/>
            <STATE ID="3" Enabled="False" Value="100"/>
            <STATE ID="4" Enabled="False" Value="72"/>
            <STATE ID="5" Enabled="False" Value="100"/>
            <STATE ID="6" Enabled="False" Value="94"/>
            <STATE ID="7" Enabled="False" Value="100"/>
            <STATE ID="8" Enabled="False" Value="105"/>
            <STATE ID="9" Enabled="False" Value="100"/>
        </STATES>
    </FEATURE>
</GPU>

1940 MHz is about as far as I can go right now. I don't know that I need any more clockspeed out of this card. It barely eclipses 100C TJunct, and only near the end of the run. The memory overclock seems stable. I picked up a total of ~1500 points in standard Superposition 1080p (now running 18484 versus ~17000 score from default). That's 8% higher than stock, and 22% higher than my overclocked VegaFE that never got any higher than 15000 (stock was around 13100, which was pathetic).

From the wall, the total system pulls around 450W once the card heats up (more heat = more power draw). That's 50-60W less than I had to burn on my overclocked VegaFE.

I would also like to amend my previous statements about raising the minimum clockspeed limit. At least on Superposition, it isn't having much observable effect anymore. Not sure what happened, but at this point it seems like I can leave the minimum clockspeed target alone without losing performance.

If AMD will release a liquid-cooled version of this card, I am confident that end users will be able to hit speeds of 2100 MHz GPU or higher, with good results.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Looks like I may have found a driver bug.

Memory overclocks seem to hold "just fine" in games and game benchmarks, but GPGPU benchmarks show mixed results. For example, in AIDA64, I can get superior memory read/copy results from overclocked memory, but I get inferior single-precision Julia due to the memory downclocking itself to 800 MHz for the duration of the benchmark. Not sure why it's doing that.

edit: if I leave memory @ stock, it mostly completes GPGPU benchmarks without downclocking memory. Though repeated attempts to overclock memory and then reset to default will eventually cause every GPGPU benchmark run to downclock. It gets "stuck". At least that's what I experienced with GPUPI.

 

[DrMrLordX]

For those of you on the other side of the pond, Radeon VII is in stock!

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/pc-components/graphics-cards/amd/radeon-rx-vega-7

. . . for the low, low price of just 799 pounds. Heh. And they've got a total of 15 at that price.

 

[Feld]

I happened to catch an Amazon preorder for a Sapphire card and figured what the hell. I'm a bit worried about how noisy it may be, but I'll see what I can do about it. At least with Amazon's easy return policy, I'll be able to send it back if I don't like it. They estimate it'll be delivered March 1.

 

[DrMrLordX]

I happened to catch an Amazon preorder for a Sapphire card and figured what the hell. I'm a bit worried about how noisy it may be, but I'll see what I can do about it. At least with Amazon's easy return policy, I'll be able to send it back if I don't like it. They estimate it'll be delivered March 1.

Interesting. Looks like Amazon didn't get in on the initial allocation of cards. So they get in on the second wave. How much did they charge you?

Also, if you are worried about noise, just undervolt the thing. You can leave everything else at stock and just run voltage down to about 1v without difficulty. Some go a bit lower.

 

[Alcolawl]

I happened to catch an Amazon preorder for a Sapphire card and figured what the hell. I'm a bit worried about how noisy it may be, but I'll see what I can do about it. At least with Amazon's easy return policy, I'll be able to send it back if I don't like it. They estimate it'll be delivered March 1.

I wouldn't worry about the noise. The first thing you should do with this card is undervolt, as suggested previously. That brings the fan down to sane speeds and noise levels rivaling other cards. At 52%-55% the noise is still much less than my Reference Vega 56 fan.

 

[Feld]

Interesting. Looks like Amazon didn't get in on the initial allocation of cards. So they get in on the second wave. How much did they charge you?

Also, if you are worried about noise, just undervolt the thing. You can leave everything else at stock and just run voltage down to about 1v without difficulty. Some go a bit lower.

Yeah, that's the plan. Undervolting should go a long way. They charged the same as AMD and Newegg: $699 plus tax. Though with my Amazon store card, I'll get 5% back (mostly canceling out the tax). It said expected in-stock date was February 27th.

I wouldn't worry about the noise. The first thing you should do with this card is undervolt, as suggested previously. That brings the fan down to sane speeds and noise levels rivaling other cards. At 52%-55% the noise is still much less than my Reference Vega 56 fan.

Thanks for the info. I'll definitely do that. But if a version is ever released with a stock AIO cooler, I'll probably get that and sell this one.

 

[Feld]

Well I hadn't canceled my nowinstock notifications yet and just got another notification for an XFX Radeon VII preorder on Amazon. Only this one has an in-stock date of Feb 23 and delivery date of Feb 27. Especially considering XFX has a much better reputation regarding customer support, I ordered this one and canceled my order for the Sapphire card. So I get my card sooner and with better quality support for no additional cost.

 

[PhonakV30]

https://www.techpowerup.com/252693/...-watercooler-onto-the-amd-radeon-vii#comments

His 24/7 stable settings on Radeon VII are 2122 MHz core, 1265 mV, and 1252 MHz memory, resulting in a 3DMark Firestrike graphics score of around 33,000. Even at such a high voltage, the watercooling keeps temperatures very low at 40°C GPU, 60°C Hotspot.

, Finaly GCN at 2122Mhz !

 

[DrMrLordX]

Well I hadn't canceled my nowinstock notifications yet and just got another notification for an XFX Radeon VII preorder on Amazon. Only this one has an in-stock date of Feb 23 and delivery date of Feb 27. Especially considering XFX has a much better reputation regarding customer support, I ordered this one and canceled my order for the Sapphire card. So I get my card sooner and with better quality support for no additional cost.

Glad to hear it. Be sure to let us know how it goes! I'd like to see some more owner feedback in here.

, Finaly GCN at 2122Mhz !

Mine hasn't gone past 1940 MHz yet (at least, not stably). The thought of putting my card under water is tempting . . . but I can't really justify that with my CPU holding me back.

 

[Feld]

Glad to hear it. Be sure to let us know how it goes! I'd like to see some more owner feedback in here.



Mine hasn't gone past 1940 MHz yet (at least, not stably). The thought of putting my card under water is tempting . . . but I can't really justify that with my CPU holding me back.

I just got a notification that my order has already shipped and will be delivered on Wednesday - a full week earlier than the preorder had specified. Awesome!

 

[DrMrLordX]

I just got a notification that my order has already shipped and will be delivered on Wednesday - a full week earlier than the preorder had specified. Awesome!

Cool. More data for us. Enjoy the card.

 

[Krteq]

Good news

Just an update on anyone waiting on an EKWB water block. I'm in contact with them directly via email and this is the latest....

"Hello

Yes, we started working on a block for this card and we expect it to be available probably by the end of March.

Best regards, Igor"

OC.uk forums

 

[Feld]

Good news
OC.uk forums

I contacted them myself about whether they will release a compatible block for their MLC system and got this response today:

Hello,
Thank you for contacting us today ‍
it wont be for a while but yes im sure that we will make it. Once we make a block for a card it is very easy to convert to the mlc block so we will release the main block first and shortly after
If you have any other questions or need any additional help please feel free to ask
Best regards

 

[Feld]

Well I got my card today. First impression is that for a flagship card, XFX did a terrible job of packaging it. I could hear the card sliding around inside the box before I opened it, and sure enough, the flimsy cardboard inside that was meant to hold the card in place had simply been crushed by the weight of the card. The flimsy packaging is entirely inadequate for holding the GPU securely in place during shipping. Fortunately there didn't appear to be any noticeable physical damage from all the jostling around that must have happened in transit and I was able to get it running in my system without issue.

Ran it through some benchmarks and most ran fine (Firestrike, Time Spy, Heaven, Valley), but Superposition wouldn't run 1080p extreme at stock settings. As soon as the load screen finishes my computer just hard reboots on its own. I got it to run successfully though after undervolting the GPU by 100 mV to 1038 from stock levels of 1138. Though even with that undervolt, I can't get it to run Superposition at 4k optimized, although in that case it just soft crashes the benchmark instead of causing a reboot. It feels like a possible PSU issue, though it's a 1000W Corsair unit that shouldn't be struggling. Then again, maybe a couple years of near-continuous mining has taken its toll on the PSU.

But speaking of mining, I can still do that just fine with the Radeon VII. Running at an even stronger undervolt (1001 mV) and -20% power limit with the memory at 1100 MHz I still get 87.7 MH/s mining Ethereum while drawing 231 W from the wall above system idle levels. With those settings the GPU clock sits at 1682 with the fan at 2882 rpm, standard temp at 75, and junction temp of 95.

But at 2882 rpm, it's too noisy for me. The system is an open case and coming from a Vega 64 Liquid, the stock fan profile is simply too loud. So I backed the fan speeds off a little to stay under 2500 which makes a huge difference in noise, and only seems to raise temps a few degrees. Still, I need to get this thing water cooled. I'll give overclocking a go just to get an idea of what the card is capable of, but I'm never going to run it that way aside from doing some benchmarks as long as this stock air cooler is still strapped to it. I wonder if the cooler might be a lot quieter and more efficient if that big red "RADEON" logo on the top of the shroud wasn't blocking the exhaust for a large portion of the heat sink fins.