High DX11 CPU overhead, very low performance.

Okay in terms of overhead there's rarely any difference, all within the margin of error (Between 1023 and 1023.3)... Both by VBS, and both on the same OS (Windows 8.1 x64 all updates done).

1023:

Overhead:
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/7051727?

Fire Strike 1.1:
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/7051771?

1023.3

Overhead:
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/7055469?

Fire Strike 1.1:
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/7055520?

 

Supposedly AMD is now focusing on reducing GPU memory usage, as the first HBM cards will probably only support 4 GB.

I think we should start paying more attention to VRAM usage between driver revisions.

 

I only see that now. Can you tell me how you got 4.7GHz with only 1.23V on that 4790k. I would love to have 4.7ghz cause i think my cooling should be fine. I have MSI z97 gaming 5 motherboard. Can you maybe PM me your setting used so I can try it on my pc.

 

My next GPU will have at least 8 GB Vram the trend is to use more and more Vram for AAA games.

High end GPU level (and gaming) will need HUGE amounts of Vram, Shadow of Mordor and his 6 GB HD texture packis an example of what is coming:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2014-eyes-on-with-pc-shadow-of-mordors-6gb-textures

Following that trend 8 GB per GPU for 4K gaming can be the standard in no time.

 

ok so another interesting thing I've done. I overclocked my cpu from 4.4GHz to 4.6GHz. Temps is around 70C with max on aida 87C. Anyway the results. I've one api overhead test with it 4.4GHz and 4.6GHz

4.4GHz 1023.0 driver win 8.1

DX11ST= 1 418 371
DX11MT = 1 273 318
Mantle = 16 654 141

4.6GHz 1023.0 driver win 8.1

DX11ST = 1 446 349
DX11MT = 1 316 197
Mantle = 17 172 870 mil


So as you can see doesn't look like much of a jump but it's there. Mantle did better than before so I'm happy and after I tested i checked cpu temps on MSI afterburner and max I can see was 62C.

So my conclusion is i will say there is still some bottleneck driver wise. maybe if I have more cores I might see something better but not really as you can see by other reviewers that 6 real cores still gives low drawcalls. Maybe that 5930k @ 4.7ghz will be enough to power most AMD cards to the max but I doubt it.

 

WOW, great results !

 

I must say bf4 feels smoother already and was using mantle. I was using mantle even on 4.4GHz

 

15.200.1018.1 on Win8.1:



15.200.1023.3 on Win8.1:



I'd say well within error margins for this benchmark.

 

My guess is that dual GPUs get double the draw calls, right?

Here's mine. 1023.3, Windows 8.1, with the HW you see on the left.

 

It seems it's not that linear.

Here's with CF disabled (at 1080p), one 7950 at 1100/1500:

 

I still find it weird that you get a tiny bit higher numbers, although I have a 2600k@4.5 and a 7970@ 1150/1550 on top.

What are your RAM timings?

 

9-9-9-24.

Link me your GPU BIOS.

 

We have the same timings. Here's my bios. If you could mod it for 1.6V VRAM it would be nice too. I haven't found a way to do it, or any 1.6V VRAM bios that is in this version that doesn't have the 2d bug
The original 2nd bios of my GPU had 1.6V VRAM.

EDIT: The only other thing I can think of is that I'm running the card at PCI-E 2.0 @ 8x, because I have a PCI-E Intel network card and a PCI-E Asus sound card.

 

That's probably it. I have an Intel Network Card and a SoundBlaster Z, but they're both plugged into the mini PCI Express slots (the 1x)...

My 1st PCI Express Slot is blocked by the CPU cooler, my second is 8x, so my GPU is plugged in the third.

I noticed less micro-stuttering too when it's plugged into 16x as opposed to 8x (although benchmarks rarely show a difference) you can see using Aida that GPU memory speeds for reading/writing go up from 6200 mb/s to 11,000+ mb/s

Which is a massive bump.

 

Just another nail in the coffin of AMD. My 290 is my first and will be my last AMD product.

 

If you went for Kepler when you got that 290, you would probably still be crying over the money. I can't even imagine Titan users.

The number of pci express lanes in all socket 115x CPUs is 16. In order for you to have x16 speed you would have remove the extra cards from the pc completely.
I have a similar configuration. The Xonar D2X sits on the 2nd PCI-e (which is the first full length slot), and the Intel NIC sits on the 3rd PCI-e (which is the second x1 slot). The GPU is on the bottom x16 slot, with a 120mm fan blowing air from the sides of the RV-03 on it.

Code:

-        blank
------  Xonar D2X
-        Intel NIC
-        blank
------  7970
----     PCI
----     PCI
===   120mm fan

PCI-E tests never made much difference, and I don't believe they will, especially if the GPU stays on VRAM budget and doesn't request stuff from RAM all the time.

 

All you have to do is unplug the Xonar (assuming it uses the mini-pci express) and plug it in the "blank" above... I had my soundblaster z plugged into the PCI Express Slot 1 too for some time and my GPU was forced to be 8x as a result. Once I moved it up, that solved the problem.

 

Audio tangent: you should consider eliminating your PCI express audio cards in favor of asynchronous USB. The quality is significantly better plus you're not losing a slot and restricting ariflow. PCI-E audio cards have terrible EMI and DTC latency problems that you may not realize you're hearing until they're gone. It's worth doing a little research on the AVS Forums or Head-Fi to understand the issues at stake and find an external USB amp that fits your budget.

If you're simply looking for a recommendation, I did 6+ hours of research on this and wound up replacing my Xonar Essence STX with a JDS Labs O2+ODAC. It's expensive, but the quality is great and I was able to make the jump from triple to quadruple Crossfire in my Silverstone FT02 as a result. On the software side of things, I use EqualizerAPO to provide parametric equalization of everything running in Windows (including the OS itself)--my settings are guided by frequency-domain plots provided by GoldenEars for the headphones I use.

 

I have a Thermalright Archon and I can't really fit anything on the upper part of the motherboard. I might try moving everything one slot down, but I honestly don't believe that it will change anything regarding the amount of PCI-E lanes. The CPU has 16, and I don't know if my motherboard has a PLX.

I'm using the drivers from Maxedtech for the Xonar, and I honestly don't have any kind of problem with latencies or crackling etc. All the reviews of the card produce stellar audio numbers, and it comes equipped with an EMI shield. In short: I'll keep it until it melts

I'm actually saving this post because I didn't get any of the software/things you used for all of this, and I want to look into them. There is no computer budget for now, but I can take a look when the time comes

 

I wish I had waited for the 980.