R9 290 Crossfire Issue

CptTroll · Dec 20, 2013

Hi Tom's Hardware,

So recently I purchased two R9 290's to Crossfire. I've just started using them today and I can't help but feel they're vastly under performing.

I'm on LGA1155 using a Maximus IV Extreme (B3 Revision) and an i7 2600k. I also have a sound card in there (Not sure if that affects PCIE lanes). I should mention that my Motherboard manual states to run crossfire config in the first two PCIE slots, however the 290's run very hot and I decided to run the second card in a lower slot for ventilation reasons.

The FPS I get in games appears to be quite underwhelming compared to reviews of the same setup. I have tested both cards in Furmark and GPU-Z, the drivers are up to date. Am I missing something?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

Note 1: I use the AMD CCC to set profiles for individual games as well, if that's relevant.
Note 2: I tested Skyrim with one card (2560x1440) - average 90-100fps. Crossfire gets less.

Novuake · Dec 20, 2013

The bottom PCI-e slot runs at x4.

So the 290 in that slot will actually slow down the other one as they are trying to alternately render frames.

You NEED to use the X16/X8 slots.
You will have to improve cooling if there is a heat concern.

CptTroll · Dec 20, 2013

Novuake :

Thanks for replying,

I've tried moving the card to the second PCIE slot but no performance difference. FPS doubles in furmark tests but in Skyrim it stays at around 80-90. Hmmm...

Novuake · Dec 20, 2013

Oh yeah, do not use Skyrim for testing. Its barely compatible with dual graphics setups.

CptTroll · Dec 20, 2013

Novuake :

I was not aware of that! Well I've just tried Dota 2 and it runs better on one card as well. Could you recommend a game that would test well?

azzazel_99 · Dec 20, 2013

only some games will benefit from dual gpu setups. There are still alot of games that dont suppoer sli or xfire so your performance gains with 2 over 1 wont be noticeable.

Novuake · Dec 20, 2013

CptTroll :

Dota 2 is also not really capable of using 2 GPUs to their full extent.

Battlefield 3/4 would be a good bet.

CptTroll · Dec 20, 2013

Novuake :

I just tried Battlefield 3, at best a performance gain of 10 fps when crossfiring. Both cards appear to run fine in GPU-Z and the second card is being taxed, though not as heavily as the first.

Novuake · Dec 20, 2013

That seems normal. Scaling on Battlefield 3 will not be much because a single 290 is already very good for it. Now if you do the same thing with Battlefield 4 then there will be more scaling.

azzazel_99 · Dec 20, 2013

yea one 290 should max out bf3 completely with ease. Try bf4.

CptTroll · Dec 20, 2013

Novuake :

So would you say that it isn't necessarily an issue with the cards themselves, but they just need demanding games to push them properly and get the proper scaling? I'll just use one graphics card on less demanding games then.

RobCrezz · Dec 20, 2013

You should overclock your CPU if you havent already to avoid any CPU bottleneck, as the 2x 290 is very high performance.

Novuake · Dec 20, 2013

CptTroll :

Novuake :

So would you say that it isn't necessarily an issue with the cards themselves, but they just need demanding games to push them properly and get the proper scaling? I'll just use one graphics card on less demanding games then.

That is what I am saying.

Shocking777 · Dec 20, 2013

Your PSU? Just make sure it is enough to run both and the R9 290 cooling is garbage right now

reedy777 · Feb 3, 2014

CptTroll :

Hi Tom's Hardware,

So recently I purchased two R9 290's to Crossfire. I've just started using them today and I can't help but feel they're vastly under performing.

I'm on LGA1155 using a Maximus IV Extreme (B3 Revision) and an i7 2600k. I also have a sound card in there (Not sure if that affects PCIE lanes). I should mention that my Motherboard manual states to run crossfire config in the first two PCIE slots, however the 290's run very hot and I decided to run the second card in a lower slot for ventilation reasons.

The FPS I get in games appears to be quite underwhelming compared to reviews of the same setup. I have tested both cards in Furmark and GPU-Z, the drivers are up to date. Am I missing something?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

Note 1: I use the AMD CCC to set profiles for individual games as well, if that's relevant.
Note 2: I tested Skyrim with one card (2560x1440) - average 90-100fps. Crossfire gets less.

reedy777 · Feb 3, 2014

if you have vsync on and are getting audio chopping and poor performance
a. disable vsync
b. download and save the 9.2 beta drivers from
http://www.guru3d.com/files_details/amd_catalyst_13_11_beta_9_2_(13_250_18_november_7)_download.html
then uninstall current drivers by selecting uninstall when you run the driver package
once complete a message saying a reboot is required to complete process. before clicking yes disable you internet connection this is because if you don't windows will automatically install a later display driver that carries the issue of poor performance or audio chopping or both before it starts when vsync is enabled. you should notice the resolution on startup defaults to the lowest setting when there are no drivers installed
run the 9.2 driver package you downloaded from the link above. if you view log once complete the display driver should be v 13.250.18.0000 this should fix the problem and you'll be able to use vsync with good performance no audio problems until amd resolve it in a newer driver revision

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