7970m Logging Thread, Games with Utilization Issues (Only post logs, NO questions please)

You should run the game in full screen mode with no background processes (web page open, really?) and use the after burner overlay in game to see FPS and utilization in real-time without the use of Fraps. I am sure there is a way to take in game screen shots in full screen. The problem I am seeing is, how could WoW possibly be using that much of the GPU? With 70% of that amount of power, you should be seeing some things far beyond 60 FPS in a game like WoW.

As for 12.8, you could try it, but I am not risking it. I won't download any thing but an official driver directly from Sager's support center. Check the release notes: AMD Catalyst

Still no 7000m cards supported through AMD WHQL. Because of this, any thing could be expected to happen if drivers are installed for an unsupported card. Definitely stay with the stock sager driver if WoW utilization was lower with the same FPS.

 

I did run the game in fullscreen and there is absolutely no difference. 70% utilization is only with the 12.8 drivers; with the stock drivers its the same fps but 35-40% utilization sometimes going up to 70% in some areas where I get 80-100 fps. I know wow is not really optimized for AMD cards but still I expect at least constant 50-60 fps in this game.

 

I just got me a brand new Sleeping dogs game, as many suggested that I sholud not play battlefield 3 untila fix will come out. So I listened, altought bf 3 was the main reason I bought this laptop.
Gues what??? Yes your right same old enduro crap on sleeping dogs. Theres a built in benchmark. I can get 99% utilization all the time when maxed out, but I was getting 20-35 fps which for me isn't enought. I think that for game like this at least 40 would be alright as at 30 it looked choppy.
So I turned down that FXAA+supersampling thing from extreme to normal and wualla- 40% utilization and same , somethimes even lower FPS.
Its starting to get really frustrating with all this, as the money I spend for a new laptop just went down the drain, And its been almost 4 months now and nothing is fixed. Not even corrected a bit.. Im not beeing able to play BF 3 as I can't play with 30 fps like some users can, cause its limmiting my skills badly and even new games dont work like they should???
I had gaming laptos before(ASUS,MSI) and wanted to swith to clevo couse of the promo parts and conservative look . But so far my experience with clevo+amd is just terrible, and miles worse than with laptops I owned before

 

there was acknowledgement about the enduro issues with our cards on the 9th. It was stated that the issue is being looked into. as they have already released the driver updates for this month, i dont think that any fixes will be available until next month, possibly even October. But there was public acknowledgement on twitter. I joined twitter just to follow AMD regarding the issue with the 7970m.
Unfortunately I do not have my sager yet so i cant say i share your pain. Mine will be ordered on the 5th, the first day back to classes, but i am still set on the 7970m. And its not just Clevo/Sager having these issues, its a problem across all 7970m machines that use/can use Enduro.
Dont miss understand, I dont expect you guys not voice your concerns, but dont give up hope either.
I know this doesnt belong under the logging thread. sorry.

Other note, how is the utilization for other games?
MW3
Prototype 2
Darksiders 2
Fallout 3
Fallout- New Vegas
Dead Island
Mass Effect 3
Assassins Creed 2 or newer
Kane and Lynch 2
Ghost Recon Future Soldier
Dead Space 2
Homefront
Red Faction

Also, posting game developers and game engines my be helpful

 

Graphics Card: AMD 7970m

AMD Catalyst Driver Version: 12.5

Operating System: Windos 7 Home - 64bit

Issue Details: Under-utilization

Games with under-utilization issue: Batman: Arkham City, BF3 Multiplayer, Skyrim (oh my god Skyrim)

CPU Details: Intel 3610

Motherboard or System Make & Model: Whichever one came with the NP9170EM

Motherboard BIOS Version: Stock from factory.

I didn't get it all the time with games, but these 3 I noticed it a LOT.

Batman: AC - During the fight with Joker when all the glass falls from the ceiling and while inside GCPD...framerate slowed to 10-15 fps or worse. Showing an average GPU % at 70-80.
BF3 Multiplayer - On and off. Seems like most of the time when I transition into and out of buildings but otherwise normally I can get 30-40 fps, but it will chug at times down to 10-20. Average GPU % at 80-99%
Skyrim: Everytime I go into a dungeon the framerate blows and it's sitting around 20, while outside at Ultra settings it's going merrily at 40-50. GPU% no idea.

 

I just bought Clevo P150EM with 7970 and have yet to test it, but reading this makes be a bit angry. But there are just a few things I don't understand, and I would appreciate it if you guys could explain it to me.
So AMD is the maker of this card right? And AMD is the maker of Catalyst? How is it that AMD has produced a card, that has no supported drivers? As you just stated with :

I just don't get this ?

 

I dont think this is the thread for this question, try here for some good Q&A and good rants

 

New driver is beta AMD Catalyst 12.x (8.982.7.0) with 7970m support , I hope - it will fix Enduro issues.

 

nope, no change. i know people say this a lot on forums, but i will never buy another AMD product again.

 

As I said in an another thread, never is a long time...

 

Yeah but this is just too much. The way they've (haven't) dealt with this situation is so bad. I agree, I am NEVER buying AMD again.

 

Dear friends we just need wait a little, anyway 7970m is a monster (680m monster too but price) last beta driver with date August 8, dats why no Enduro fix ((( but here is Catalyst creator twitter ( Andrew D (CatalystCreator) on Twitter) he say 9Aug - " For those with 7970M - Enduro issues are also being investigated " We will get fix in 2 weeks, I bet.

 

I agree that it has been incredibly stupid from AMD's part to keep us in in the dark. No official statements whatsoever (only something from a few employees). I have only had Nvidia cards since 9800 pro and x1650 pro (580 gtx currently). Still, the price of 680m seems unjustified and it is a shame the 7970m turned out this way. However, at least for me the real problem is AMD not communicating with the customers.

I would honestly be more happy with the situation if they just informed the problem cannot be fixed (if this indeed turns out be the truth), and said they wouldn't do anything about it. I would switch to a 680m but also bear less ill will towards AMD since I know these things happen to both Nvidia and AMD at times (and with any high-tech stuff).

AMD, start communicating with your customers and save some face...

 

I just started Darksiders 2, about an hour into it, and it's good so far. There was a couple hiccups where it would stutter for less than a second, but it's been mostly 50+ FPS.

I'm going to eventually (yeah...) get back into my save of Dead Space 2 I started on my G73 and I'll post my experience with that later. Much, much later...

 

Well their customers this time are the laptop manufacturers. However it seems like their customer didn't do anything as well (Clevo). And we weren't even buying it straight from Clevo.

 

Hi ppl,
Today I had enough of AMD's HD 7970M... I finally traded mine for a new Nvidia GTX680M (4Gb DDR5 version), and now... all my games work, i've more performance with lower temps + better battery life
Shame I had to pay more (a lot more) to finally have a high-end GPU working properly.

I still hope for a fix to HD7970M, and I will continue to follow all the threads related to the issue hoping for good news!

Thank you for all the efforts and please continue to force/demand AMD for a fix,
Best Regards to all

 

Hey guys,

Really hope this gets sorted out, here's my input:

Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3610QM (2.30GHz) 6MB
8GB VENGEANCE CORSAIR 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2x4GB)
AMD® Radeon® HD 7970M - 2GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
250GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND

ISSUES:

Battlefield 3: FPS CAPPED AT AROUND 40 on the HIGH pre-set, Lowering settings to the LOW pre-set DECREASES GPU utilisation (drops to around 35% from 60%) causing an equal drop in FPS (down to 20)

ARMA2 (DayZ mod/no Dayz mod): No differences between mod/no mod, fps around 40 on HIGH pre-set settings, looking into the sky, around 60% GPU utilisation, and again a drop in FPS and GPU utilisation when lowering the settings.

League of Legends: 60 FPS (capped with Vsync) never drops below 60 on all HIGH settings however, when looking into GPU utilisation it hovers around 60% and under.

Minecraft: FPS around 50-60 utilisation around 60% however FPS drops at random moments down to 10 FPS for around a second and half.

3DMARK Vantage/ 3DMARK 11: Wont actually register the graphics card despite setting CCC to prioritise each program as "high power".

I have used the following drivers each with similar results, barely any noticeable improvements OR and dramatic degrading:

12.6 - 2012-05-22
12.6 - 2012-05-30
12.6 - 2012-06-04
12.6 - 2012-06-11
12.6 - 2012-06-12
12.7 - 2012-06-12
12.7 - 2012-06-25
12.7 - 2012-06-26
12.8 - 2012-07-27
12.8 - 2012-07-27
12.8 - 2012-08-08

All these where gathered from a mixture of AMD's official site, Clevo's download page and Drivers Search – BenchmarK3D

I sent my laptop back to PCSpecialist who (+rep to those guys) let me pay £150 to upgrade (I say "upgrade" however the 7970M really should be on par with the 680M meaning it shouldn't strictly be considered an UPgrade) as I was still in my 7 day cooling off period, so it was either pay to change the card or request a refund and re-order a new system.

I would strongly recommend anyone who thinks that this 7970M stuff is only affecting a few people to re-consider if they are planning on ordering the 7970M. I had read a lot about the Enduro issues before ordering and figured "whats the worse that can happen" assuming it was the typical "people with issues complain while those without say nothing" theory however, upon experiencing the 7970M I am happy with paying a higher price to know that what I order will work out of the box as opposed to ordering something which isn't exactly fully functional.

I hope you 7970M guys really do get this sorted and AMD actually churn out a fix for it. I cant imagine they wouldn't however I didn't particularly feel like playing the waiting game.

Hopefully I've been of some sort of help, sorry I haven't covered everything its just as I type this message my laptop is still away for the replacement.

Really hope this gets sorted,
Kind Regards
Edd

 

Seriously? I doubt it. AMD has known about this for probably more than two months now, and despite the lack of commitment and attention to this matter that they have shown publicly with the closed threads and veiled threats made to it's customer's comments on public forums, I see this as being a situation where AMD is simply going to shrug their shoulders at this, and claim that it is just in our imaginations, and ignore it.
I have had my 7970m GPU Laptop now for over two months, and I am feeling a great deal of 'buyer's remorse', so much so, that I am now working on sending my Clevo back in to the reseller, and having my GPU swapped out for an Nvidia 680M, despite the much higher cost that I will pay. It's worth it to pay more to have a far better GPU that plays games at their highest settings all the time without fail, and to have Optimus that works when I need it to, as opposed to AMD's product that is having nothing but problems.

Enduro is a HUGE FAIL on AMD's behalf, and the bad PR that they are getting from their major screw up is going to cost them many new customers in the future, as well as their past customers who bought a defective GPU in good faith, like me.
From now on, it's Nvidia all the way for me, and for others I assume just as well.

_____________________________________________________

 

I think you are wrong. I too believe that AMD has known about the issue for months now. But, I also believe that they have been working hard to solve the issue but have been unsuccessful in solving it. Since it has been as long as it has without any acknowledgement, I think that AMD has found an issue that is not solvable. Otherwise they would have made some kind of an announcement about fixing the issue.

Many of you will say you will never buy another AMD product again, but wait until something like this happens with Nvidia and you'll be switching the team again. Things like this happen around high-tech stuff, especially in computer parts.

 

I understand things like this happen but I think it is a shame that nobody steps up and admits that there is an issue and takes its RESPONSIBILITY in the matter. It does not solve the problem to say that things like this happen in tech stuff. Its human to make mistakes but for such a big mistake the company that made it should acknowledge it, apologize for it and fix it instead of ignoring it. The fact that this mistake was made is not what I blame AMD for, the lack of communication and the overall way they handled the issue is.

 

I disagree with you about the timing of AMD and the 7000 series GPU.
They KNEW that there had to be problems with the non Alienware models, because there are differences between those and the Sager models- Alienwares don't have the Muxless IPGU/DPGU issues, but all the other Clevo brands do. How could they not know this?

As having BOTH products over the last 12 years, I can say that I am no exclusive "fanboy" of either company or product, but I am greatly disappointed in AMD for making a faulty (not complete at the very least) GPU product. I agree with you in regards to AMD not being able to fix their blunder, and that this is a marketing/Public Relations nightmare for them, and this is why they are not making this issue in terms of public comment well known.
This is also why I say (in my opinion) that despite all the rosy and well-meaning hopeful comments by current 7970M GCN GPU owners about a very quick fix to this utilization problem via patch coming shortly from AMD, is naive and without merit.
It's not going to happen.
I also believe that AMD has known about this for months now, and I agree with you that they are, and will be, unable to fix this problem in the next 6 months, if ever.

If I were a betting man, I would say that odds are, they won't.

I never had any problems with Nvidia, and I am not aware of any problems that they have had in the last 10 years of so with any product of theirs (Optimus was not a big problem, and was fixed quickly, and didn't create the far more important FPS problems that the AMD Enduro has).

I gave this new 7970M GPU a chance because of the much lower price, but in the end, I and countless others realize that we made a mistake in selecting AMD in the first place.
I am swapping my GPU over to the Nvidia 680M, and be done with the stress and worry.
_______________________________________________________

 

There was the Nvidia 8000/9000 series which were known to burn out after a time. In many ways it was much worse than the enduro issue as it could brick the mobo if it was integrated. Legal action followed, but they pretty much screwed over their customers.
In the end it's pointless being a fanboy of either company as they can both produce rubbish products.
I do agree that AMD must have known about the issue a while ago. It's an issue in any laptop with switchable graphics, although some can bypass it. They aren't doing themselves much good by acting as if it were a surprise. It shows disrespect for their customers.

 

At least Nvidia was upfront and honest about the situation. AMD is hiding like dog that just got caught eating from the dinner table

 

That's not strictly true. I remember having this argument with Asus when mine failed. They hid the issue for some time before being sued.

 

Everybody keeps going on about this being unfixable. Yes, they're taking their time with a public statement on the matter, but you have to remember that this card runs flawlessly in Alienware computers. The card itself is fine. So unless Enduro (software) is completely unfixable (which i doubt) then I feel this will get solved. I agree that AMD is not doing themselves any favours by being so silent on the matter but I still don't agree this cannot be fixed.

 

Two Worlds II: Saw this game on Steam for $10 for it and the DLC so I decided to grab it. Completely maxed AA with everything on. Framerate is *stupid censored word got deleted* at the very beginning, but that may have been from physics loading or something. After about 15 seconds, it ran fine at 30~ FPS. Either it's locked at 30, or utilization sucks. Once I feel like actually testing, I'll use afterburner and see what I get.

Edit: This is with DX10 mode, btw. Also, I'm pretty far into Darksiders II and no issues at all. It has been running at 60~ since the beginning. There were just those couple hiccups in the tutorial area.

Edit2: Next game I get will be Spec Ops: The Line unless Borderlands II comes out before I get around to that, and I'll update on how that runs.

 

Spec Ops suffers from mild under-utilisation. Great game though, the story is what you play it for.

 

That's what I'm getting it for. Since I work offshore, I rarely play a game for online anymore.

Also, Two Worlds II is hardly worth $10, mainly because the voice acting is seriously detracting it from me, lol.

 

Enduro might also have a hardware component to it, that one can bypass with the mux-cable. The problem could be unsolvable and AMD's silence isn't that encouraging.

 

Received my laptop today.

First test was Aion:
No problem with everything max out, the game seems to be locked at 60fps.

The other games I have you guys already test them so yeah.

 

It could be unsolvable. It's all speculation though. I am just going to try and enjoy the computer playing games with under utilisation for 2 more weeks and see if AMD say anything though. That is my (their) deadline to provide some info on this issue before I swap to Nvidia.

 

Graphics Card:
7970m

AMD Catalyst Driver Version:
stock

Operating System:
win7 64

Issue Details:
60% utilization when there is heavy action on screen

Games with under-utilization issue:
bf3 , tera , star wars: the old republic

CPU Details:
i7 2670qm

Motherboard or System Make & Model:
clevo p170em

 

Well, before you consider swapping out your AMD 7970M for the Nvidia 680m, please be aware of the cost differential on it first.
I contacted Sager about a swap, and at first, they refused to do the swap, but I asked and asked, and they finally said okay to give me the 680m instead of my 7970m.
Well, then they told me the price of this swap, and then I almost choked on my sandwich while reading their reply.
The price to swap out the GPU's?

$700!

Yeah, $700 for the swap, which doesn't even include the shipping charges for both ways that I would have to pay for.
That is way too high for me, and I simply cannot afford it.
So if you think that this kind of money to swap out cards is financially do-able, then go for it. As for me, there's no way in the world I will do this for that kind of surcharge. It's outrageous, and I can't afford to do that.
I am now stuck with a Sager Laptop with a 7970M GPU that simply is not as good as was advertised.

My prediction is that AMD won't offer any kind of fix for the Enduro problem this year or next, so we are all stuck
with gaming laptops that are doomed to mediocrity and low FPS rates compared with Alienware and those with the Nvidia GPU's.

The only good news to this mess, is that I won't be an AMD customer any longer. It's Nvidia from now on.

 

You should demand for better terms. They sold you a defective product, and you are protected by consumer rights. 700 is way out of line. Or ask for a refund and order a new laptop with 680m or some other card.

 

Graphics Card:
7970m

AMD Catalyst Driver Version: Stock CCC with the 12.7 beta display driver installed over it.

Operating System: Windows 7 64-bit

Issue Details:
Nearly all games I play do not fully utilize the GPU. I also experienced frequent BSODs with the stock display driver.

Games with under-utilization issue:

Battlefield 3: Jumps between 60 - 90% utilization. The weird thing is that some maps will have consistent utilization, while others do not.

Two Worlds II: I constantly get around 60% GPU utilization.

Guild Wars 2: Only getting between 40 to 70% utilization at all times. This sucks seeing as it is the game I play the most. In fact, the game performs better with FXAA turned on because it will utilize more of the GPU for whatever reason.

Total War: Shogun 2 - About 80% GPU utilization.

Skyrim: Runs with full utilization in outdoor areas, caves and indoors run in between 70% and 90% and occasionally drop to the low 30fps.

Hawks 2: Only utilizing ~60% GPU. I haven't actually monitored this one in MSI Afterburner yet, but it seems to me that the reason the GPU doesn't get too hot and why it drops in framerate from 60+ FPS to 25+ FPS on the same scene would be due to under GPU utilization.

CPU:
i7 3610qm

System Make & Model:
Sager/Clevo NP9150/P150EM

I would like to mention that some games, however, only a few, do not encounter this issue whatsoever. Among these games are Dota 2, Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Trine 2. Trine 2 pulls nearly 99% GPU utilization the whole game.

 

I agree with you 100%.
The problem is though, I have had my Sager (via XoticPc) now for two months, so I cannot get a refund for it. I have to go through XoticPc to do this, because it has to have an RMA before I can ship it back, so I don't know what else to do otherwise. I don't know if I can just contact Sager firsthand and deal with them directly, instead of going through XoticPc.
What bothers me, is that I also have a two year warranty that I bought with my Laptop, and shouldn't that count for something?
Can't I use the extended warranty in some way with this swap?

Sager wants WAY TOO MUCH money for this swap, and I simply cannot afford this kind of outrageous price for this!
Indeed, for this kind of money that they are asking, I can almost put down half the money on a NEW Sager Laptop, instead of changing GPUs, but as I said, I have no more money to spend on this!

I really want to swap out my cards for a new Nvidia, but I cannot afford it one bit. It's too much for me. I am stuck with a defective AMD product, with VERY LOW FPS rates on games that I play, and with an almost ZERO chance that AMD will provide a Enduro patch "cure" anytime soon.
This really sucks.

_____________________________________________________

 

Of course you take the problem to the reseller you bought the laptop from. This is obviously a warranty question, since they sold you a product that doesn't perform as it should. If they will not switch the card, you should be entitled to a refund.

 

Enduro issue has a hardware component to it? ? Yes of course, the Ivy Bridge series.... In fact, there is nothing wrong with the 7970m at all. Get your facts straight..... Also, you should do some research before you get your equipment. If you are going to set up a new system, maybe with a vm, and extensively using it for leisure and work, you have to do your homework. Straight up with no enduro, the 7970m beats the gtx680m in graphics computing. Go to all the testing sites and look. So why are you complaing about the card itself? Take out the Ivy Bridge and it runs like a dream. Run it on an AW and it performs well.

 

Sorry, but what you have said makes no sense at all.
Like Sandy Bridge, you CANNOT "take out Ivy Bridge", as it is a Intel Motherboard design component.
Second, AW's also have Ivy Bridge, and they have no issues with Enduro-related problems, because Dell/Alienware has had a switch remedy for disabling Enduro via hardware or software means, so that is not a fair comparison here.
The fault is with AMD and their design specs of their GPU and VBios.
If AMD would only get going and create a bios/software solution to this problem, we as their customers would be more than happy if they did so.
Call me a cynic, but I am not confident at all that they ever will, despite the PR and marketing nightmare that this is causing to them and to their financial bottom-line.
I guarantee you that Nvidia is making a big deal about this, and is going to capitalize on this in every way possible, and will loudly gloat and advertize this whenever and where ever they can.

It seems that the $300 dollars we all saved in choosing and buying the AMD 7970m GPU was a foolish choice after all, and one that we will end up regretting for a long time to come in more ways than one.

 

Ok, so the top models of Alienware use AMD CPUs (not...)? Also, AW users can't use the power saving feature they paid for. Go troll some place else.

Oh, and is that you, @md_Guy?

 

your post makes no sense.
Also, its not Ivy Bridge, - I had a Sandy Bridge CPU in my p150em and it had that same Enduro problem. On AW it only performs well when Enduro is disabled, enable it and it runs just as bad.

 

No sense? The fault is not with the hardware of the 7970m, does that make sense to you? No? The problem is with managing the switch between igpu and dgpu WITHOUT a hardware switch. Still does not make sense? If you had a processor without the igpu, where would the problem be?
Still not getting through? Blame the software, sure! Enduro is not good enough. But to say the 7970m is junk is just ignorant.

 

Nvidia goes through the IGP just fine clearly proving that it can be done successfully and that AMD is at fault here. This also proves that you are an idiot

 

Hehe.. Nice one Nvidia has good driver support. Good for you that you got a 680! What are you doing here in the 7970m logging thread?

 

why are people arguing in the logging thread? there are many other threads to have a fight in.

 

Ive actually had both. Will never buy AMD again though

 

Srs. There's a billion topics for this, why pick the stickied logging thread for arguing about Enduro and AMD?

 

Cause we are mad.

 

where the F*** are the update for the 7970!!!! sick of slouching 7970. work that s***

 

this situation is really awful. Still waiting for an answer from AMD.