GPU Temp and Usage Inconsistencies - AMD CrossFire W5000

[xpertsnowcarver]

http://i1166.photobucket.com/albums/q606/xpertsnowcarver4/GPUtempUSAGE1_zps3210367e.jpg

Original Problem: Cards ran at 95C, but fans only around 40-45% (according to GPU-Z V0.7.6), which was resolved by installing MSI Afterburner to force fans at 100%.

Current Problems: Please explain the inconsistencies illustrated by MSI Afterburner regarding temperature and usage.

Setup:
2x AMD W5000 CrossFire'd (Using Bridge Connector)
ASUS Crosshair V Formula-Z

After searching and searching, I feel none of what I found directly resolved my confusion. As you can see in the screenshot above, the secondary GPU reads ZERO usage and ZERO temperature when the PC is doing nothing but running MSI Afterburner (to run GPU fans at 100%). I noticed that only the primary GPU is operating, while the secondary is completely shut off. At this moment, if you run GPU-Z, many oddities occur. (A) You suddenly hear the fan of the secondary GPU kick on and run 100%. (B) By observing MSI Afterburner, the temperature of the secondary GPU rockets from zero to about 50-60C. (C) Usage of the secondary GPU somehow pegs 100%. (D) The temperature of the secondary GPU gradually increases from 50-60 to as high as 70-80. AGAIN, WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING BUT RUNNING GPU-Z.

So I'll close GPU-Z, then, according to MSI Afterburner, the temperature and usage smack dead zero... As if the secondary GPU is disabled. Weird right?

So I'll open the game Civilization V G&K. Same exact thing occurs, (A) through (D). The secondary GPU is running at 100% usage at about 70C, while the primary GPU seems to be doing all the work, fluctuating around 40-50% Staying around 50C. To be honest, when installing the secondary GPU, I didn't notice any improvement what so ever regarding rendering in Civilization V or SolidWorks 2012.

http://i1166.photobucket.com/albums/q606/xpertsnowcarver4/GPUtempUSAGE2_zps8ef69f9e.jpg

But once the game is closed, same thing. Secondary GPU appears to be disabled.

So itemized questions:

When CrossFire'ing, do both GPU's act as ONE? Or is MSI Afterburner truly showing me that the secondary GPU is No-Trottle or Full-Throttle?

Is the secondary GPU suppose to turn off when no graphics processes are required? Is there a MOBO power saving setting I need to disable?

Why is it that GPU-Z would kick on the secondary GPU? And how could the usage possibly be 100%? What is it even processing?

In the meantime, I'm going to pull out both GPUs and run each solo to make sure they operate correctly each on their own.

 

[xpertsnowcarver]

Thanks to the post suggestions provided at the bottom of my thread, I was able to find more information. The solution was found from:

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1821317/amd-7850-crossfire-beta-2nd-gpu-constant-usage.html

I went ahead and changed the values for all 0000-0004.

After running both GPU-Z (now version 0.7.7) and Civ V. Here is a screenshot of what I expected.

ALTHOUGH, I'm still seeing about a 20C spread between the two GPUs. I have fantastic air flow through the case with one fan pointing directly into the cards, and two other indirectly flowing towards the cards. 70C is about the max temp one seems to hit, since I have the fans forced to 100% all the time. However, the other doesn't seem to exceed 50C, and both seem to have the same usage.

http://i1166.photobucket.com/albums/q606/xpertsnowcarver4/GPUtempUSAGE3_zps1c10afb4.jpg