No 390 Crossfire Performance Increase in Games

bossescc · Apr 9, 2016

Hello,

Potent Specs:

- CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core (Overclocked @ 4.5 GHz)
- Cooling: Corsair H100i v2
- Memory: 24GB DDR3/1866MHz [PNY 16GB + Corsair Vengeance 8GB]
- Motherboard: MSI Gaming 990FXA
- Power Supply: Corsair HX1000i ATX Modular Platinum
- SSD: PNY 480GB 2.5" SATA 6.0Gb/s
- Video Card: 2x XFX AMD R9 390 8GB DDR5 (Crossfire)

When I run a 3d mark firestrike test, I do get a score increase, however when I play games (specifically Rise of the Tomb Raider) I seem to get no fps increase at all.

3D Mark Scores:

12,411 (2 gpu)
9,203 (1 gpu)

Rise of the Tomb Raider In-Game Benchmark (Medium Settings)

85fps (2 gpu)
82fps (1 gpu)

Things that I have made sure already:

1. My power supply is strong enough. My maximum system wattage with everything overclocked is 820 watts. The HX1000i also has platinum efficiency and shouldn't have any issues.
2. Latest drivers for crimson software are installed (16.3.2). I do not have the beta one installed (16.4) as it always fails to install, but it has no impact on ROTTR which was fixed in 16.1.
3. In MSI Afterburner while running the benchmark both GPU's 'usage %' are fluctuating correctly and both being used.
4. Crossfire is correctly enabled, and when playing ROTTR I have the crossfire logo in top right corner.
5. My CPU usage stays between 50-70% when running the benchmark, my cpu shouldn't be bottlenecking my system.
6. Vsync is turned off both globally in crimson and in ROTTR game settings.
7. My GPU temps stay below 70C when running the benchmark, and are properly cooled. I have seven fans in my computer running the standard front bottom to back top air flow plan.
8. Nothing in my computer is overheating
9. GPU-Z confirms than both GPU have crossfire enabled and run at PCI-E x16 speed.

The only thing I could thing of is DirectX12 which is disabled for ROTTR because when I enabled it, the crossfire logo goes away. I dont really understand what directx is anyway, and if that would be the problem help is appreciated. Other than that I have checked every single thing online and Im still not getting performance boosts in game, but 3dmark shows that the second gpu is working.

** When running the 3dmark graphics test 1-2, there is a VERY noticeable 50-100% fps increase in the tests. I know the GPU crossfire is enabled and working, but it doesn't seem to give me any performance increase in games.

I know this is a long post, any help is appreciated as $500 for no fps increase is very frustrating.

Thanks!
-Jonah

Arronleeds · Apr 9, 2016

not all games run sli or cf perfect, you shouldnt be cross-firing 390s with an fx cpu anyway mate, you will be getting bottlenecked. when you run firestrike what is your gpu score with 1 card and both cards.

bossescc · Apr 9, 2016

Thanks for the response. I know the fx 8320 isn't the best for 2 390's which is why I have it overclocked to 4.5GHz. There will be bottleneck, but I'm getting a 0% increase in fps in ROTTR which doesn't make a lot of sense.

3D Mark GPU:

23,500 (2 gpu)
12,400 (1 gpu)

This is about a 90% increase in performance, which sounds about right for crossfire. I'm totally baffled.

jerdle · Apr 9, 2016

Rise of the tomb raider can only run crossfire using dx 11. The game developer needs to patch the game in order for it to work with crossfire in dx 12.

That said your single 390 in tomb raider dx12 may well outperform cf mode in dx11

bossescc · Apr 9, 2016

dx11

85 fps (2 gpu)
82 fps (1 gpu)

DX12

83 fps (1 gpu)

DX## doesn't seem to change the fps performance of the game at all really. It doesn't seem like it has to do with that. Is there anything else that could be the cause?

jerdle · Apr 9, 2016

You are looking at average frame rates. Look at the minimums.

king3pj · Apr 9, 2016

bossescc :

You answered your own question with this post. My guess is that the FX 8320 is the part of your PC that is limiting your performance. Not the 390s. If 82-85 FPS is the maximum that your CPU can crank out in Rise of the Tomb Raider adding a second 390 cannot make the framerate go higher than 82-85 FPS.

I guess my question to you is what is the problem here? Do you have a 144Hz monitor? If not than there is no benefit to anything over 60 FPS. I would just turn on VSYNC and enjoy the game.

jerdle · Apr 9, 2016

He wont want V sync on if he uses dx11 - I've seen the fury x hit under 1 fps minimums with it and everything cranked XD.

...now I want to see what v sync looks like when frame rate drops below 1 fps.

bossescc · Apr 9, 2016

Thanks for all the responses.

Yes i have a 144hz monitor, so over 100 fps makes a big difference for me.

If my fx8320 is the problem, what do i do here. Is there a better am3+ option, bc mine is overclocked almost to a 9590 i see no point in another cpu. Any suggestions?

Thanks guys.

king3pj · Apr 9, 2016

bossescc :

I would not bother upgrading to a 9590. It won't be much different than your overclocked 8320 and there are no better options that don't require a new motherboard.

This is one of the problems with the FX CPUs. For the most part, they won't stop you from getting 60 FPS gameplay but high framerates in many CPU intensive games can be impossible to hit.

The only meaningful upgrade you could make is to a nice i5 or i7. This would require a new motherboard and if you go with one of the new Skylake models it would also require new RAM. The problem is that you could make that upgrade and there are still some games that won't reach 144 FPS. You would see higher framerates in CPU intensive games than your FX CPU though.

This is why I went with a 1440p monitor for my SLI 970 setup instead of 144 Hz. I can see that extra resolution in every game I play. With a 144Hz monitor it's only going to happen some of the time and as more demanding games come out you will find more and more games where you can't get near 144 FPS.

Arronleeds · Apr 9, 2016

Have you tried other games? No point trying just one is there.

Fx CPUs should only ever be used for low-mid ranged PCs, not ones with semi high end gpus in crossfire like yours.

bossescc · Apr 9, 2016

I have 144hz mainly for csgo, which gpu doesn't even matter, so 60fps is fine for most other games, but I'd figure I'd try to get over 60 anyway.

I'll be home soon to test min framerates, maybe in the future I'll upgrade cpu/board/ram when games get too intense for the 8320.

I'll try to add a few more ghz to my processor and see if it helps, im only at 1.35v @ 4.5ghz.

Thanks for the help guys.

bossescc · Apr 9, 2016

In ROTTR, I ran the benchmark on medium settings.

2 GPU:

105 (min:48, max:142)
76 (min:11, max:98)
63 (min:12, max:92)

Overall: 81fps

1 GPU:

110 (min:52, max:153)
79 (min:5, max:108)
63 (min:4, max:99)

Overall: 85fps

My minimums seemed to be higher on the single gpu (could just be a fluke). This time the fps was switched from last time (1 gpu did better), so basically they are the same fps with about the same minimums. When actually playing the game and doing the same pathway walkthrough I get the exact same fps, spikes in the same places, higher fps in the same places, etc.

I'm sure the 8320 is bottlenecking to some extent. During the second and third test my cpu usage hung around 85%, which would signify a pretty high bottleneck. On the first test however, it only sat around 50%, and still no performance increase.

Rocket League:

I got around 180 fps average with 2 gpu, but stayed around 230 fps with just 1 gpu. Better fps with one card.

Watch Dogs:

Crossfire was a bit buggy, glitchy shadows but it still worked in full screen mode. I got the exact same fps with both 1 and 2 gpu (around 40-60fps), with cpu load at around 40%.

Overview of my findings:

Understand: Bottlenecking is a problem in my rig and prohibits gaining fps on cpu hungry titles with high settings.

Dont Understand: With low cpu usage of anywhere between 40 and 70%, still no performance increase. Also on lowest settings on ROTTR, still no performance increase.

I still have 11 days to return gpu if it is not worth keeping (got it on sale @ BestBuy for $315).

I figure I'll keep my new power supply for future proof builds.

maxalge · Apr 9, 2016

bossescc :

In ROTTR, I ran the benchmark on medium settings.

2 GPU:

105 (min:48, max:142)
76 (min:11, max:98)
63 (min:12, max:92)

Overall: 81fps

1 GPU:

110 (min:52, max:153)
79 (min:5, max:108)
63 (min:4, max:99)

Overall: 85fps

My minimums seemed to be higher on the single gpu (could just be a fluke). This time the fps was switched from last time (1 gpu did better), so basically they are the same fps with about the same minimums. When actually playing the game and doing the same pathway walkthrough I get the exact same fps, spikes in the same places, higher fps in the same places, etc.

I'm sure the 8320 is bottlenecking to some extent. During the second and third test my cpu usage hung around 85%, which would signify a pretty high bottleneck. On the first test however, it only sat around 50%, and still no performance increase.

Rocket League:

I got around 180 fps average with 2 gpu, but stayed around 230 fps with just 1 gpu. Better fps with one card.

Watch Dogs:

Crossfire was a bit buggy, glitchy shadows but it still worked in full screen mode. I got the exact same fps with both 1 and 2 gpu (around 40-60fps), with cpu load at around 40%.

Overview of my findings:

Understand: Bottlenecking is a problem in my rig and prohibits gaining fps on cpu hungry titles with high settings.

Dont Understand: With low cpu usage of anywhere between 40 and 70%, still no performance increase. Also on lowest settings on ROTTR, still no performance increase.

I still have 11 days to return gpu if it is not worth keeping (got it on sale @ BestBuy for $315).

I figure I'll keep my new power supply for future proof builds.

for your info, you will never reach 100% cpu usage in the vast majority of games because most games wont use more than 1 - 4 cores

no gain in fps regardless of settings = cpu is the limiting factor

a fx processor regardless of overclock will bottleneck a single 390, much less two in CF which adds overhead on top

bossescc · Apr 9, 2016

http://i.imgur.com/BqAFvda.png

Is it normal for gpu to jump from 0 to 100 and back like this? Or is that bottleneck.

Also, should I return the 390 while I still can since it provides no performance increase (assuming I don't want to upgrade cpu/board/ram anytime soon)

turkey3_scratch · Apr 9, 2016

Yeah CPU is bottlenecking. A bottleneck could cause those jumps indeed.

Or simpler solution look at CPU usage of each core.

bossescc · Apr 10, 2016

So I'd assume to go ahead and return the card?

turkey3_scratch · Apr 10, 2016

Or upgrade to Intel.

bossescc · Apr 10, 2016

Mobo + cpu + ram like $600 tho

I want to be positive its cpu bottleneck bc i get zero fps increase, i feel like i shouls get something in at least watch dogs with the 3d mark results

turkey3_scratch · Apr 10, 2016

CPU usage of each core?

bossescc · Apr 10, 2016

During ROTTR Medium Settings Benchmark:

Map 1: All 8 cores sat between 40-80%
Map 2: All 8 cores sat between 85-100%
Map 3: All 8 scores sat between 70-100%

As a general rule all 8 cores are using about the same load, and often in the high 80's and 90's

Arronleeds · Apr 10, 2016

this is why you shouldnt get 8 core cpus for gaming, especially not fx series, people call us intel fanboys but its because we want people to get the best performance, an 8350 alone will bottleneck a 970/390 or higher, another added to the equation just makes it worse, you dont need to go buy an i7, an intel i5 4460 and a cheapish motherboard will do you.

also you dont need any more ram, if you have microcenter near you (if you live in the us) you can get well good prices on cpus, i hate the uk xD

bossescc · Apr 10, 2016

Well, I guess I have about 3 options.

1. Return the 390, as it has little performance increase on fx, and down the road I'll upgrade all the parts, since one 390 is probably enough.
2. Get 4th gen intel processor and mobo.
3. Get 6th gen intel processor, mobo, and ram.

To be honest I'll probably just return the card now while I still can and save up for a much better computer a couple years down the road. I get high enough fps on the games I play. Since I bought a 1000w power supply, I'll have enough juice to get some beefy nvidia cards down the road when I decide to upgrade (two 980ti minimum is like 850w). I appreciate all of your responses, although amd makes good gpu's, rip cpu xD

jerdle · Apr 10, 2016

AMD will be releasing good CPUs in 4Q 2016

bossescc · Apr 10, 2016

jerdle :

True but that means minimum new mobo, plus the cpu obviously.

Maybe 390 will be a lot cheaper if i decide to get it a year from now.

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