How to fix random FPS drops with Radeon Pro 500 series cards
Aug 27, 2017 11:22:08 GMT
Trautman likes this
Post by Mat HD on Aug 27, 2017 11:22:08 GMT
Note before reading this: The issue appears to be fixed for 17.9.2 and later!
Thanks to rd_rooster over at Reddit for finding this one out!
"Myself and others have had issues with the radeon graphics cards in the new iMacs that will suddenly go from 60 FPS to 10-15 FPS. This seems triggered by loading new maps or times when the GPU quickly drops from being heavily loaded to lightly loaded. I have seen this most in overwatch when loading a new map or into the menus. Others have seen it in Fallout 4.
My theory is that it has to do with the GPU dropping into some sort of low power state and getting stuck there. Keep in mind I am going to list my steps to solve the problem, however not all of these may be necessary to fix the issues.
Install the 17.6.2 Radeon 500 series drivers from bootcampdrivers.com. These older drivers are important because new drivers prevent the GPU from using the Overdrive/Wattman functionality in the drivers.
Follow the directions within the readme to enable Overdrive/Wattman functionality
Install Mac smc fan control and set the auto adjusting temperature such that it is based on the GPU diode. Note this will make your iMac sound like a jet engine but your temps and performance will be much better
Follow the steps in the driver readme to use MSI afterburner to enable overclocking on the GPU
Open up the AMD driver control panel and go into global settings and go into wattman, then enable Radeon Chill. This throttles the GPU while idle in games. It made a big difference playing overwatch. You can also play with the sliders to overclock your card. For instance I set the power envelope to 30% and GPU frequency at 10% and got much better performance while keeping the GPU in the 80-90 C range while gaming.
So after doing these steps, I got no FPS drops while playing overwatch for several hours. Normally I would have to alt-tab out a couple times an hour after loading a new map. I think the critical piece is enabling the AMD wattman functionality, as this gives the drivers better control over the GPUs low power states.
This also got me much better performance in overwatch, so anyone who is into this game I strongly advise giving this a try."
Please also note that going forwards I will be modifying the driver package to re-allow radeon chill to be activated from 17.8.2 V2 onwards.
Thanks to rd_rooster over at Reddit for finding this one out!
"Myself and others have had issues with the radeon graphics cards in the new iMacs that will suddenly go from 60 FPS to 10-15 FPS. This seems triggered by loading new maps or times when the GPU quickly drops from being heavily loaded to lightly loaded. I have seen this most in overwatch when loading a new map or into the menus. Others have seen it in Fallout 4.
My theory is that it has to do with the GPU dropping into some sort of low power state and getting stuck there. Keep in mind I am going to list my steps to solve the problem, however not all of these may be necessary to fix the issues.
Install the 17.6.2 Radeon 500 series drivers from bootcampdrivers.com. These older drivers are important because new drivers prevent the GPU from using the Overdrive/Wattman functionality in the drivers.
Follow the directions within the readme to enable Overdrive/Wattman functionality
Install Mac smc fan control and set the auto adjusting temperature such that it is based on the GPU diode. Note this will make your iMac sound like a jet engine but your temps and performance will be much better
Follow the steps in the driver readme to use MSI afterburner to enable overclocking on the GPU
Open up the AMD driver control panel and go into global settings and go into wattman, then enable Radeon Chill. This throttles the GPU while idle in games. It made a big difference playing overwatch. You can also play with the sliders to overclock your card. For instance I set the power envelope to 30% and GPU frequency at 10% and got much better performance while keeping the GPU in the 80-90 C range while gaming.
So after doing these steps, I got no FPS drops while playing overwatch for several hours. Normally I would have to alt-tab out a couple times an hour after loading a new map. I think the critical piece is enabling the AMD wattman functionality, as this gives the drivers better control over the GPUs low power states.
This also got me much better performance in overwatch, so anyone who is into this game I strongly advise giving this a try."
Please also note that going forwards I will be modifying the driver package to re-allow radeon chill to be activated from 17.8.2 V2 onwards.
