Is this because of my PSU?

[stalgrim]

I just finished building my PC, the problem I'm having is that my GPU bounces between 511 MHz and 1.1GHz(It's OC setting), is this normal or what could be causing the problem?

 

[redguy54]

it's normal for it to throttle from idle to load.

 

[redguy54]

and it's not your psu

 

[stalgrim]

If that's true then my 7870 has no trouble going to 1230 MHz on a stock cooler with hardly any changes to temperature...

 

[redguy54]

What software are you stressing it with?

 

[stalgrim]

What software are you stressing it with?

Heaven 4.0, its the only thing that can get my CPU to go into high performance mode, playing games just caps it at 925 for some reason, Heaven 4.0 just makes it flip between 501,925 and 1230.

 

[stalgrim]

Your GPU shouldn't have any problem going to 1230mhz on 'stock' cooling. 'Stock' cooling on GPUs isn't like stock cooling on CPUs, especially non-reference models.

You could tell us the exact model GPU you have, and your CPU, and PSU. Help us, help you. You don't appear to have any problem though.

Even with max overvoltage allowed through software and a high overclock, your GPu should stay within temperature limits if your case has at least one rear exhaust fan. GPUs only really get hot when you edit the GPU bios and really push the voltage further than what the manufacturer sets as a conservative limit in the bios.

A lot of games don't really push your GPU, not nearly as much as a stress testing program will. Maybe if you gave us a little information about the FPS you get in stress testing programs and in a game that isn't CPU bound...

That was very informative, actually.

I'm using a 7870 Club 3D Joker graphics card with a 3570 CPU a 700W Thermaltake Toughpower PSU and a M75B Motherboard with a well cooled case using fans.

Using Engine and FurMark I get around an average of 40 FPS but my problem is that in games I can't get boost to activate at all. When I'm playing PS2 on max settings I'm always capped out on GPU and never CPU, I get around 40-45 FPS in a crowded area.

 

[stalgrim]

Thermaltake psu isn't that good but it's not terrible (you probably just got ripped off, but it'll work). 700w psu is serious overkill for a single gpu system, so im sure as bad as the thermaltake is and how little amperage it has on the 12v rail and thus it's true wattage is more like a 400-500w quality psu, it still should be complete overkill for a single gpu system, even as power hungry as the 7870 is.

Boost? You mean overclock, or max frequency? What is boost? lol... haha boost. AMD GPUs, and most gpus in general, have multiple power states, more than just idle/load. You can always edit your GPU bios so it's either 50mhz on idle/low load and then 1200+ whenever it's got something going on. But that isn't necessary.

I don't really see a problem. Video games tend to be much more GPU intensive than CPU intensive. Your GPU generally should be maxed out on a video game, they work independently of eachother, cpu and gpu (bottlenecking... doesnt really occur, not as people say it does anyways).

As for 40-45fps in a crowded area, that's good, first off, and secondly, that's because of your CPU, not GPU. That's why MMORPGs, Starcraft, strategy games, etc, tend to be CPU bound, not GPU bound, unlike most video games. When you got crowded areas, lots of actors, tons of AI, that sort of thing, it's generally about the CPU.

Overclock your CPU and you should see better performance in crowded areas. Meanwhile, your GPU is more than adequate for maxing out planetside 2. Your CPU is quite capable too, but every cpu/system is gonna take a hit in crowded areas. With an overclock on a 3570k though, it may not even be noticeable, it being such a strong cpu.

Anyways, I'm currently dealing with a faulty PSU. As stated above, when a PSU is a problem you get driver crashes, system crashes, BSOD, resets - stability issues, basically. You don't get worse performance or worse fps. Unfortunately even amazing hardware can be a lemon right out the gate. I am just not having any luck with this computer (3570k was really really bad overclocker, ram had to be RMAd, LED had to be RMAd, now my PSU is bad. On my last system I just had a bad GPU and got it replaced, and another system i built also had a really bad 3570k).

So even when I'm playing FC3 on ultra at 40 FPS and my system is stuck on default 925 MHZ that isn't a problem?

-anyway, the 7870 Joker has a 925 default setting rising to 975 when needed but during gaming it never goes that high, it just sits at 925. Even under Heaven 4.0 it bounces between 501 and 1185 (my max clock speed).

Also in a crowded area PS2 tells me specifically that my GPU is the problem.

 

[stalgrim]

Your gonna have to explain your problems like an adult. Open up msi afterburner/rivatuner (same thing), or hwinfo and pull up a graph of the gpu frequency. play game. see what frequency its at, what it goes to. Hopefully it's just all the way maxed out at your designated frequency.

have you overclocked your GPU? What is it at, at stock? You are aware that the manufacturer often overclocks non-reference models, a minor overclock usually to sell to people dumb enough to think it means something.

The 7870 having a default of 925 means you need to overclock it to get it to go higher. Where do you see it goes to 1185 on heaven?

Why does ps2 tell you specifically that GPU is the problem? How exactly? You realize that makes no logical sense right. There's a reason games like starcraft2, world of warcraft, are cpu intensive, and things slow down during maxed out army battles, when you are in the city... it's the CPU. a minimum fps of 40+ is just fine, but that's your CPU, not GPU.

PS2 is extremely CPU intensive, not GPU intensive. This is common knowledge. Crysis 2 says you need 8gb of ram for high performance but everyone knows that means nothing and it can't possibly use more than 3.5 since it's written to be 32 bit compatible. Likewise, I dont care what ps2 tells you, I'm telling you what everyone has known and proven.

That PS2 is a cpu intensive game, especially 'when it gets crowded'. Just google 'is ps2 cpu intensive'. The 7870 is complete overkill for PS2. The 3570k is great for it, but if you overclock it, that minimum fps will go way up even under maximum load.

And by the way, minimum fps is always about the CPU, not GPU.

Solved my own issue.