M17x R-2 Primary GPU clocks stuck at 300mhz and 400mhz

So i decided to format my computer before the lan tournament i'm supposed to be at right now. terrible decision.

I format. install drivers (chipset first). transfer all of my files over. download all my steam games. reboots in when necessary.

start up counter-strike source and i notice I'm getting 100FPS less than i normally do. ran the video stress test, same thing.

started up furmark in extreme burn mode and opened GPU-z simultaneously. the core and memory MHZ of the primary gpu wouldn't go passed 300mhz and 400mhz respectively, even with furmark running. the secondary gpu was running at 550mhz and 888mhz though.

so im like, okay... either the bios is messed up or the primary gpu is broked.

flashed the bios with A02 (even though it has A02 already). nothing.

switched the secondary gpu into the primary gpu slot (switched heatsinks to because they're not identical). and left the primary gpu out. with furmark running, now the secondary gpu was getting 300mhz/400mhz in the primary gpu slot.

dell believes my motherboard has gone south, and is sending a tech out with a new motherboard to replace it.

I really don't want some deeeeeeucher messing with my system. I can take this thing apart with my eyes closed, but he's going to screw something up, I know it. if anyone has heard of a GPU not properly upclocking when needed, and a fix, let me know.

(and yes, I've tried the microsoft, dell and 10.3 drivers. all give the same behavior.)

 

Oh and you know how the gpu's normally drop down to like 200mhz and 250mhz when the system isn't doing anything? the primary gpu doesn't now. its literally stuck at a constant 300/400.

 

Have you tried pressing the stealth button?

 

M17x R-2 has a stealth mode? does this button only work with OSD installed because I've pressed it and it doesn't seem like it does anything at the moment.

Since i formatted the computer since i first got it, I've never installed OSD.

 

Yes you need the OSD installed. I bet that's your problem.

 

Would the secondary GPU run at full clocks though? if the system were in stealth mode?

I'm just saying cause I just reformatted again and I think I missed my window of opportunity to install OSD. The installation reaches 90% and says that it failed to start the OSD service.

 

Can you put your system into stealth mode joker and, with furmark running, tell me the clock speeds of your secondary GPU? thanks

 

Install the chipset and video drivers and then install the OSD. It should work fine after that. I'm pretty sure it's the stealth mode function giving you trouble.

 

Probably not. What if you just turn it off for a few sec. Might be a driver glitch.

 

Ok I just checked the clocks, they should be like the attachments in stealth mode and when it's turned off. Your clocks don't match that but I'm fairly certain I've seen a similar situation before because of stealth mode. Try getting that OSD installed and pressing the stealth button to see if it clears it up. If that's not it, then try reinstalling the drivers (without using driversweeper/registry cleaner). I doubt it's a hardware problem. BTW if all else fails, try resetting your system by taking out the battery (disconnect the AC power source too obviously), pressing the power button for 30 seconds and then restarting.

 

Okay. Got OSD installed.

When i pressed the button, it said stealth mode access detected, or something, I hit yes. Then a stealth mode symbol appeared on the screen, to indicate that stealth was enabled. during this time, while running furmark, gpu 1's clocks remained 300 and 400 while gpu 2 became 200 and 250.

when i hit it again, i got a balloon tip saying full power will be enabled, press any key to continue. while running furmark after this, gpu 1 remained 300/400 while gpu 2 went back to 550/887.5

 

Are you running the multigpu furmark? Otherwise the regular furmark only stresses a single GPU, not both.

 

yes

(i wanted to just say yes but my message was too short)

 

Just turn the system off for a few sec. I had this issue with 280s many times. It's a driver glitch.

 

Aikimox. I've completely taken the computer apart. removed the motherboard. reseated everything. this isn't that kind of issue.

 

Well if the clocks didn't revert to normal after doing the hard reset (I'm assuming you did it), then it's either a driver glitch or you might have faulty hardware. It's hard to tell without actually being there and testing your system.

 

Than re-install the video drivers and if necessary - the chipset, as Joker suggested and maybe even the OS.
And yes, if that doesn't help - it's a hardware problem.

 

BTW, are you @stock drivers or 10.3?

 

So here's what I found out, this may or may not be a permanent fix for a reason i'll explain later.

okay so I fixed the problem by formatting yet again, and installing the OSD third, after chipset and video drivers (10.3).

with the clocks fixed, and since i don't like using OSD, i decided to format again and not install it, thinking the graphics card had been snapped out of it and now everything was gravy. upon first logging in after my new reboot and installing drivers and stuff (OSD not included) the clocks were fine, (200/250) and upclocking to (550/888). however, after a few reboots and a hop and a skip, i noticed that my games had yet again slowed down. sure enough, gpuz showed the primary gpu as (300/400).

this was to my horror. I've come to the conclusion that installing OSD and keeping it installed is the only way to prevent this from happening. the reason im not sure if this is a real fix (and instead i really do have a hardware problem) is that i ran my first m17x r-2 (before the replacement came) for about a month without OSD being installed and i never had this issue...

does anyone who hates OSD as much as me notice that their system begins having this problem if they don't have OSD installed?

 

yeah, without ever uninstalling OSD, the clocks of the primary GPU just got stuck at 300/400. stealth mode button isn't helping.

so to conclude: when my primary gpu gets stuck at 300/400mhz, the only fix seems to be a clean format and an installation of OSD after chipset and video. this fix is short lived, and eventually the primary gpu becomes clocked at 300/400 again

and the only thing ive done with the computer is download my steam games, transfer over my documents, pictures and music, and play my steam games. no overclocking of the gpus, nothing.

I now believe that, even though software fixes the problem temporarily, and since there's no way I'm doing anything that no one else does (like playing counter-strike source) that there must be a hardware problem at the root of this issue.

 

why are you asking stuff like this? i specifically said in the original post of this thread that i've tried dell stock, 9.12 and 10.3 drivers.

i mean, you're trying to help, but are you really if you don't take the time to read my problem?

 

ZenithNoesis,
I have had similar issues with clocks and OSD after exiting certain programs. When I first boot everything is good but upon exiting a game or app OSD isn't working and GPU Clock doesn't down-clock all the way.
When the clocks get stuck does your OSD still work?
Try these to see if you get a change;
1) When clocks get stuck go into programs-OSD and execute launch as the admin (right click) - See if this has any effect on your clocks
2) Dell T/S has also had me run OSD in compatability mode, under Windows XP SP3 or Vista SP2 - Same as above, see if this effects your clocks

I never tested without OSD installed

 

What's your power plan set at? High performance?

Have you made sure that all the Advanced power options set the GPUs to the highest clocks possible?

I'm asking because I've had slow performance all of a sudden in games and couldn't solve it. Clocks were down on GPUs and CPU.
I checked the advanced power options, and it appears like all of the clock/power related options (CPU & GPU, PCI Express, etc. - just go through all the options there are and make sure there is no power saving and the highest performance levels set for everything) had reset to the lowest performance/power settings without me doing anything (for example, GPU Power State had reset to Balanced Mode, Maximum and Minimum Processor state had reset to 5%, Link State Power Management was on Maximum savings etc.). Resetting those to the highest values fixed it for me.

Might be worth a shot, although it might not help with your problem as it's not the same system or problem.

 

Don't get frustrated without a reason. I did read your post, but probably missed the last sentence (it looks like a part of your sig, you know )
I asked you that question because I had exactly the same problem with 280s. The primary GPU would get stuck at max clocks all the time.
Now, I also remember that it was after a clean install and no OSD was on the system. Though switching to an older driver fixed the issue.

 

I opened a thread a while ago for exactly the same problem with 280M. The clock never goes up in game.

Reinstall nvidia driver helps, but not permanently

I figured out it was PowerMizer, by disabling it, everything was fine. I manually change the clock speed with Nvidia tool.

Since the beta driver, there is no problem so far. Maybe something similar with ATI?

 

guise, i solved the problem.

if you're using 10.3 drivers, you can make it happen yourself: disable powerplay. don't set them to max performance, i mean uncheck the box that says enable powerplay.

your main card's clocks should go up in GPUZ to 300 and 400 respectively, from 200/250, but youll notice they don't go up (and therefore you have dramtically decreased performance) when you run a game or furmark.

in short: don't disable powerplay if you're using 10.3 drivers. select max performance on both and there you go.

 

the reason the problem kept reappearing after i thought it was fixed is well, because i instinctively disable powerplay and powermizer on my computers because i always want the best performance. the irony is that i got the worst performance instead!

lol

 

i just read your post after figuring out what was going on myself! thanks for sharing! +rep

 

i think the reason changing drivers didnt work is because powerplay stayed disabled across drivers (remembered my settings or something).

 

Moral Of The Story: Do Not Disable Powermizer Or Powerplay. Especially If You're Using Non-stock (not From Dell) Drivers.

 

Moral of the story: never underestimate the power of PEBCAK.

 

Can I just ask where the powerplay disable/enable actually is?

 

Rightclick-> CatalystControlCenter->Graphics->PowerPlay

 

Thanks Aikimox, d'oh moment right now.

 

in my defense, disabling powerplay shouldn't turn your computer into a pile of poop xD