G73: Something keeps resetting GPU Engine Clock to 405 MHz...

Hey all, I've just noticed a problem with my G73-A1 that I don't remember ever having before... For some reason, the 5870's engine clock speed keeps getting reset to 405 MHz.

I know this wasn't always happening because I've checked the status in the past with the AMD GPU Clock Tool, and every time I opened it up (or clicked the "Get Info" button), it always reported 700/1000 MHz, as usual.

But recently I noticed that the Engine Speed keeps getting reset down to 405 MHz for some reason... I'm running the newest vBIOS released by Asus, the latest CPU BIOS firmware and ATI Cat 10.11 (GPU driver version 8.791.0.0, release date 10/26/2010).

Anyone else having this problem, or have any idea why it's happening? I skimmed through the forum threads but couldn't find any mention of it. So far, I've just been manually resetting the engine clock speed to 705 MHz with the AMD Clock Tool whenever I notice that it's been scaled back to 405. The Memory Clock speed hasn't changed; it always stays at 1000.

I've made sure that "Twin Turbo Mode" isn't on, and I've double-checked my Power4Gear settings to verify that everything like Intel DSP is off...

 

It's just power saving. Powerplay, perhaps?

 

This thread may help: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus-gaming-notebook-forum/537789-g73jh-a1-hd-5870-405-700-back-forth.html

 

I thought that might be it too, because I DO have Powerplay enabled, but it's getting clocked down to 405 MHz when the laptop is plugged in... And in the power options settings, I have it set to maximum performance when plugged in...

You think it's a problem with not being able to scale back up when I plug/unplug the laptop? I suppose I can try disabling PowerPlay completely, and set the power settings to "Max Performance" for both "Plugged In" and "Unplugged" just to be safe....

But yeah, right now the machine is plugged in, and it's still reading 405 clock speed...

Thanks

Josh

GAH! Thanks for the link... I swear, no matter how well I try searching different terms with Google or in the forum's search, I always repost a topic. Sorry. Lemme check this link out...

Thanks

 

No worries. I actually just added that one to the sticky after I posted it here. I remembered it from a couple of days ago. I'm not sure if it's exactly the same problem you're having. You may want to think about trying one of the other modified VBIOSes if your power settings don't do the trick.

 

Also, it doesn't clock up until a game or something else needs it. Try furmark in windowed mode to see the reading jump.

 

Clocking down to 405 on the beta vBIOS is normal when PowerPlay is enabled. It ramps up to 700 on 3D load, and 500 on video playback.