AMD vs Intel and Crossfire 7950s

[Valhalla]

Hello,

I currently have an asrock 970 extreme 3 R2.0 Mobo and a FX 8320 @4.4GHz 1.4V and my two GPUs seem to be bottlenecked in both bf3 and bf4... My GPU usage is random on MSI after burner, like tons of spikes and ditches it goes from 20%-100% in under 1 second. Any way I went to go look if Intel would help me. First off let me say I don't want to change since it would be very expensive. So I went and googled it and this is what popped up:http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/crossfire-sli-scaling-bottleneck,3471-4.html

It said there that in BF3 the difference between the 3770k and 8350 was nearly nonexistent so what am I doing wrong? Is it my oc, 6GB DDR3 1333mhz or what?

Please tell me as I want to fix the bf4 frame rate. Also in some bf4 maps I get 90-120fps ultra 1080p (10 lower than o should, I can live with it) and in others like paracel storm I get 40-70fps and the dips make the game hard to play... How can I fix this?

Thanks so much to who ever helps me fix it.

[Archangel1994]

Try upping the power limit, that often solves GPU usage fluctuating.

[Valhalla]

Try upping the power limit, that often solves GPU usage fluctuating.

Okay, I tired but that failed to do much. Is my CPU not working as it should?

[Archangel1994]

Okay, I tired but that failed to do much. Is my CPU not working as it should?

No way that in 30 seconds you tested upping the power limit and then over a period of time looking at the GPU usage.

[Valhalla]

No way that in 30 seconds you tested upping the power limit and then over a period of time looking at the GPU usage.

I did that before lol.

[Sauron]

Check the ram usage in-game, if it's constantly at 100% that's the bottleneck and I suggest you get 2 more gb (1333mhz is fine, you don't need to ditch what you have if you have a free slot).

 

Are you running the mantle api or direct-x 11? whichever you are using, try the other and see if the problem is fixed, report back with news about this

 

Make sure the cards aren't overheating, in that case they could be slowing down to prevent damage. Use msi afterburner to set the cooler's fan speed to 100% and try to run bf4 again and see if the problem is fixed. If it is, a custom fan curve will solve the problem permanently.

 

I strongly doubt the cpu is the problem, but check if that is overheating too, if it is turn off the oc and see if the problem is fixed. In fact, try disabling the oc during all tests, it's better.

[Freaksmacker]

2 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots (PCIE2 @ x16 mode; PCIE4 @ x4 mode) plus only 6 gigs? How about a mb that supports at least pcie 2 in at least a 8x8 but 16x16 is preferred. Odd amount of ram . 8 gigs preferred I would say get a mb 990chipset that supports 16x16 pci-e 2 or 3 with 8 gigs of ram. Old school balance your ram with matching sticks.

[Valhalla]

Check the ram usage in-game, if it's constantly at 100% that's the bottleneck and I suggest you get 2 more gb (1333mhz is fine, you don't need to ditch what you have if you have a free slot).

Are you running the mantle api or direct-x 11? whichever you are using, try the other and see if the problem is fixed, report back with news about this

Make sure the cards aren't overheating, in that case they could be slowing down to prevent damage. Use msi afterburner to set the cooler's fan speed to 100% and try to run bf4 again and see if the problem is fixed. If it is, a custom fan curve will solve the problem permanently.

I strongly doubt the cpu is the problem, but check if that is overheating too, if it is turn off the oc and see if the problem is fixed. In fact, try disabling the oc during all tests, it's better.

Thanks for your help, I tried mantle and my game would get better fps, but it would not let me alt tab and it would crash, also win 8 would see bf4 as other programs. I tried without oc (before) and got lower fps, not by much though. Also with or without oc my cpu goes to (using windows 8, resource mmonitor and eye balling the 8cores graphs) it looks like never going over 70-80%. Is this normal?

2 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots (PCIE2 @ x16 mode; PCIE4 @ x4 mode)

So 4x should be good, I don't think that's the issue...

[Faceman]

What monitor are you using?  Is it 60Hz?  If yes, enable V-Sync because there is no point in having your GPUs work harder than they need to.

[Valhalla]

What monitor are you using? Is it 60Hz? If yes, enable V-Sync because there is no point in having your GPUs work harder than they need to.

I have a 120 and a 60-75 IPS. I like the IPS more but alternate between IPS and 120 for gaming, the two are not plugged in at the same time. Also will my GPUs not want to work becuase they see that it's 60hz?

[Faceman]

I have a 120 and a 60-75 IPS. I like the IPS more but alternate between IPS and 120 for gaming, the two are not plugged in at the same time. Also will my GPUs not want to work becuase they see that it's 60hz?

No, its just that anything above 60fps won't be noticeable.  There is no tangible benefit to having more than 60fps when the monitor can only display 60 frames per second.  Enable V-Sync and let us know if this helps.  If the two were plugged in at the same time, that would be something to point to, but try the V-Sync first.

[Sauron]

it looks like never going over 70-80%. Is this normal?

 

I'd say so, it's probably due to the fact that bf4 doesn't fully use all 8 cores, it's an optimization issue of the game and doesn't concern your hardware.

It seems like a memory bottleneck, try upgrading to 8gb and see what the results are (even if the problem isn't fixed it's still very nice to have 8gb ) in the meanwhile you might want to use mantle and bear with the alt-tabbing crashes until you get the new memory.

 

Another thing that must be said is that bf4 isn't the best coded game out there by any stretch of the imagination. It's possible that the framerate drops and poor resource usage are just due to bugs and bad coding, if a friend of yours also has bf4 you should ask him if he's getting any drops in paracel storm and if he is, then you are not experiencing any bottleneck and the fault is all on the game.

[Valhalla]

I'd say so, it's probably due to the fact that bf4 doesn't fully use all 8 cores, it's an optimization issue of the game and doesn't concern your hardware.

It seems like a memory bottleneck, try upgrading to 8gb and see what the results are (even if the problem isn't fixed it's still very nice to have 8gb ) in the meanwhile you might want to use mantle and bear with the alt-tabbing crashes until you get the new memory.

Another thing that must be said is that bf4 isn't the best coded game out there by any stretch of the imagination. It's possible that the framerate drops and poor resource usage are just due to bugs and bad coding, if a friend of yours also has bf4 you should ask him if he's getting any drops in paracel storm and if he is, then you are not experiencing any bottleneck and the fault is all on the game.

I have 2 friends with identical builds to each other and one friend with 2x780s. They have 7950, i5 4670k and 8GB, so I tell the 7950 guy to test it, the problem is he does not have two GPUs.. I think that cf I'll borrow his ram and test it, also does the 8320 normally bottleneck?

[Faceman]

Another thing I forgot to mention is that when you use more than 1 GPU, the frequency of your RAM has more of an impact on performance- at least for Haswell CPUs.  It wouldn't hurt to upgrade to 8GB of at least 1600Mhz, but you can get performance RAM for the same price as 1600Mhz, so no reason to not buy the nice stuff.

 

Intel will flat out run better than AMD because of the stronger cores which has an impact on the minimum FPS which is the most important FPS. 

 

Try enabling V-Sync, play around and get back to us.

[Sauron]

I have 2 friends with identical builds to each other and one friend with 2x780s. They have 7950, i5 4670k and 8GB, so I tell the 7950 guy to test it, the problem is he does not have two GPUs.. I think that cf I'll borrow his ram and test it, also does the 8320 normally bottleneck?

 

If the game is causing the drops chances are you will get them even on a single card, but it's a good idea to lend him one of yours to see what happens. I'm almost certain the 8320 isn't the bottleneck, expecially when overclocked (the only difference between the 8320 and te 8350 is clock speed).

 

What version of the catalyst driver are you running btw?

[Valhalla]

Another thing I forgot to mention is that when you use more than 1 GPU, the frequency of your RAM has more of an impact on performance- at least for Haswell CPUs. It wouldn't hurt to upgrade to 8GB of at least 1600Mhz, but you can get performance RAM for the same price as 1600Mhz, so no reason to not buy the nice stuff.

Intel will flat out run better than AMD because of the stronger cores which has an impact on the minimum FPS which is the most important FPS.

Try enabling V-Sync, play around and get back to us.

Okay, give me a bit

If the game is causing the drops chances are you will get them even on a single card, but it's a good idea to lend him one of yours to see what happens. I'm almost certain the 8320 isn't the bottleneck, expecially when overclocked (the only difference between the 8320 and te 8350 is clock speed).

What version of the catalyst driver are you running btw?

14.7RC2 I think, the beta one, same thing happened with the 14.4 but even worse. I borrowed a single 4GB DIMM from my HTPC (1333mhz) and put it in, I will run a game with 10gigs, in 3x2gb and 1x4gb all 1333mhz.

[Sauron]

14.7RC2 I think, the beta one, same thing happened with the 14.4 but even worse. I borrowed a single 4GB DIMM from my HTPC (1333mhz) and put it in, I will run a game with 10gigs, in 3x2gb and 1x4gb all 1333mhz.

 

good, let me know how that went

[cthomas1489]

Hello,

I currently have an asrock 970 extreme 3 R2.0 Mobo and a FX 8320 @4.4GHz 1.4V and my two GPUs seem to be bottlenecked in both bf3 and bf4... My GPU usage is random on MSI after burner, like tons of spikes and ditches it goes from 20%-100% in under 1 second. Any way I went to go look if Intel would help me. First off let me say I don't want to change since it would be very expensive. So I went and googled it and this is what popped up:http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/crossfire-sli-scaling-bottleneck,3471-4.html

It said there that in BF3 the difference between the 3770k and 8350 was nearly nonexistent so what am I doing wrong? Is it my oc, 6GB DDR3 1333mhz or what?

Please tell me as I want to fix the bf4 frame rate. Also in some bf4 maps I get 90-120fps ultra 1080p (10 lower than o should, I can live with it) and in others like paracel storm I get 40-70fps and the dips make the game hard to play... How can I fix this?

Thanks so much to who ever helps me fix it.

Sorry, don't have too much time at the moment to help you out, but long story short they are more than likely bottlenecked..... I know this because I discovered it the exact same way with an 8350 and CF 290X's... Look back in my threads and you'll find it. It's the fact that the 990FX boards are still PCI 2.0 I feel. In BF4 I was not nearly getting as a high a framerate as I should have been and it wasn't consistant either... jagged framerates in most games.

Also, benchmarks showed it not to be performing as high as it should.

[Faceman]

Also, benchmarks showed it not to be performing as high as it should.

Thats because an 8350 bottlenecks a single R9 290X, no way in hell it is going to provide enough juice for Xfire 290s.

[Valhalla]

Sorry, don't have too much time at the moment to help you out, but long story short they are more than likely bottlenecked..... I know this because I discovered it the exact same way with an 8350 and CF 290X's... Look back in my threads and you'll find it. It's the fact that the 990FX boards are still PCI 2.0 I feel. In BF4 I was not nearly getting as a high a framerate as I should have been and it wasn't consistant either... jagged framerates in most games.

290xs are much more powerful, I understand thanks for your contribution, I will look at your other posts.

Thats because an 8350 bottlenecks a single R9 290X, no way in hell it is going to provide enough juice for Xfire 290s.

7950s are faster than a 290x though...

[cthomas1489]

Thats because an 8350 bottlenecks a single R9 290X, no way in hell it is going to provide enough juice for Xfire 290s.

 

Yeah, just sayin I feel 7950s will find themselves in a similar situation.

 

Here's the link: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/172253-question-about-290x-crossfire-on-pci-20-x16-x16-at-4k-resolution/

[Valhalla]

good, let me know how that went

Also what map should I use, players and game mode?

[Faceman]

7950s are faster than a 290x though...

Hm... no a 7950 is not faster than an R9 290X.

Also what map should I use, players and game mode?

Multiplayer, any made, any game mode, 64p

[Sauron]

Also what map should I use, players and game mode?

 

well, the ones that are giving you problems normally. I'd say play in an empty server when doing your tests, so the randomness is minimized.

[Valhalla]

Hm... no a 7950 is not faster than an R9 290X.

Two 7950S

well, the ones that are giving you problems normally. I'd say play in an empty server when doing your tests, so the randomness is minimized.

Empty server will not stress my CPU though...