MSI R9 290X Lightning low CF performance

TheDigitalRealm

New member
Okay, so a few months back I purchased two of these, and tested them on air one at a time.
With the LN2 bios and a +200mV core voltage (and the same mem and aux voltage) I was able to get 1200+ core and 1600+ memory on each card stable with the same profile using MSI afterburner.

Now with both cards under EK water blocks still on the LN2 bios, I'm unable to get over 1100MHz core and 1500MHz memory clock. I've tried deleting the profile and working my way up again, and playing with Auxiliary and memory voltages more but nothing seems to be working. Is this just a result of Crossfire or is there something else at play here?

I've tried reinstalling drivers and the temperatures are fine (about 35-40 degrees load with two 480mm radiators)
 
First off why are you using it on air/water with the LN2 bios? Just keep it on the regular one?

Also if the everything was the same then you just put a block on it and now it won't hit those clocks you may have just pushed them for too long and the silicon can't cope with the loads since temps are not an issue i can't really think of any other reason why it wouldn't.
 
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Firstly, because Luke over at LinusTechTips found he was able to get far better results with the ln2 bios enabled, and so did I.
Secondly, I was using the Overclocks for benching only, which doesn't permanently damage silicon. It's running high oc's for a long period of time that causes damage. I very much doubt it since the PCB is extremely over built on the lightning cards, and memory was worked on for weeks to make sure it was stable at higher frequencies. I haven't yet tested if the LN2 bios is just unstable with two cards in Crossfire, so I'll probably the normal bios and see how far I get?
 
Yeah could quite possibly be degradation - try disabling crossfire and trying but Id be surprised if it made THAT much difference
 
Firstly, because Luke over at LinusTechTips found he was able to get far better results with the ln2 bios enabled, and so did I.
Secondly, I was using the Overclocks for benching only, which doesn't permanently damage silicon. It's running high oc's for a long period of time that causes damage. I very much doubt it since the PCB is extremely over built on the lightning cards, and memory was worked on for weeks to make sure it was stable at higher frequencies. I haven't yet tested if the LN2 bios is just unstable with two cards in Crossfire, so I'll probably the normal bios and see how far I get?

I'm almost certain its because the silicon is degrading. It doesn't matter if you run a high OC for a long period of time, just running it at a high clock degrades it, do it enough and yes it will start to age quicker. PCB has nothing to do with the degrading silicon core and the memory is still subject to degradation as well despite being over specced. Just because it is stable does not mean it is good for the card to run at high clocks every time you bench.

As tom said crossfire won't make a difference if any.
 
The LN2 bios is limited to +200mV core and +100 memory voltage. so, as I said before, I highly doubt it considering I've run a 7950 at +200 for two years just fine. Considering I ran it at 1200MHz for about two weeks for 3-4 hours a day, it makes it even less likely as the source of the problem. I am aware degradation always occurs, but it can be limited by great voltage regulation and high quality components.

I'd like opinions on whether changing to the regular bios might yield more stability in Crossfire, as the LN2 may just be unstable in Crossfire.

If it is degradation, then it's what I get for pushing limits I guess. Still, 1100 isn't anything to complain about.

Sorry about being rude, I've had a bad few days. My A level results were pretty poor - poor enough that Uni isn't on the cards.
 
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Not responding to the OP, however isnt 1200mhz on the core pretty standard for the 290(x)? as my 290x hit 1200 without really increasing the votage. Also would it be a good idea for me to keep the cards on stock clocks? as I plan to keep them for a while.

Both of them are watercooled and never go above ~46c. Sorry for the noob question, I just got concerned after reading the above posts.
 
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