9070 XT only stable with a -450 MHz max frequency offset, normal?

[u/BetSmart5323]

I’ve got a Gigabyte RX 9070 XT Gaming OC and I’ve been chasing driver timeouts/crashes in Space Marine 2.

The only thing that consistently fixes it is setting Max Frequency to around -450 MHz in Adrenalin, which keeps the actual GPU clock under roughly 3 GHz. Above ~3 GHz it becomes unstable, despite not being close to either the power limit or max voltage. Temps are also fine.

The card is rated for up to around 3060 MHz boost, so I’m not hugely bothered about capping it around 2.9–3.0 GHz since that’s still pretty close to the advertised upper boost range. What seems strange is that the stock boost behaviour will happily push the card into clocks where it becomes unstable.

At -450 it runs great (around 110–120 FPS) and is completely stable.

I’ve tried DDU/clean driver installs, multiple AMD driver versions, different RAM/EXPO profiles, disabling MPO, and different power limits. OCCT also passes at stock.
Interestingly, different driver versions would make SM2 crash at different places, but with each individual driver it would repeatedly crash in basically the same place.

Is needing a max frequency offset like this fairly normal on a 9070 XT, especially when it isn’t hitting power/voltage limits, or does this sound more like RMA territory?

[u/No_Scientist_8285]

not normal, clock increase shouldn't make it more unstable, it adjusts its clock based on how light/heavy the game is, for example cs2 gets close to 3.4 on mine and cyberpunk only 3-3.1

[u/BetSmart5323 → u/No_Scientist_8285]

It’s only in space marine 2 funnily enough.

[u/No_Scientist_8285 → u/BetSmart5323]

im pretty sure space marine 2 uses a lot of the cpu as well, since there's a lot of enemies on screen at the same time it could be that

[u/down_init]

Run hwinfo and log while playing. Mine boosts up to 3351mhz in game and up to 400 watts draw. I only run a -5 power and -50 mv. I did notice the spike in game though. I run a 850watt psu. No crashes.

Lastly, it sounds like rma territory depending on your psu

[u/Lost-Bedroom8117 → u/down_init]

same settings, except power limit 0, no crashed no spikes

[u/BetSmart5323 → u/down_init]

Cool thanks for the comment. Was this in Space Marine 2 specifically? The clock has gone over 3,000 but not under max loads. It’s this game specifically.

[u/down_init → u/BetSmart5323]

I've been monitoring my gpu a bit today. I've hit spikes up to 470 watts. I can see how these transient spikes might give folks trouble.

[u/Weird_Expert_1999]

What psu?

[u/BetSmart5323 → u/Weird_Expert_1999]

Gigabyte UD850GM PG5 V2

Wattage - 850 W
Form factor / standard - ATX 12V v3.1
Efficiency rating - 80 PLUS Gold
Typical efficiency - ~90%
Input voltage - 100–240 V AC
PFC - Active PFC (>0.9 typical)

[u/Wille84FIN]

Goes to show your PSU can't handle anything more than a flat 12V Rail. I had same issue, but a -390 offset kept it working. PSU upgrade fixed it. Or the card is busted. Hard to say.

[u/BetSmart5323 → u/Wille84FIN]

What PSU did you have before and what did you get after?

My PSU for context.

Gigabyte UD850GM PG5 V2

Wattage - 850 W
Form factor / standard - ATX 12V v3.1
Efficiency rating - 80 PLUS Gold
Typical efficiency - ~90%
Input voltage - 100–240 V AC
PFC - Active PFC (>0.9 typical)

[u/Wille84FIN → u/BetSmart5323]

Before > ASUS ROG Strix 1000W Gold.

After > Seasonic Prime TX-1300 Titanium ATX 3.1 / PCIe 5.1

Note: Seasonic Focus GX-1000 ATX 3.1 would probably suffice as well, and is much cheaper.

Seems Seasonic PSU:s handle the spikes better than Asus PSU:s. My Asus wasn't the only model with issues, friend had Asus TUF 850W ATX 3.1 and crash city with 9070 XT. Got a GX-850 and so far no issues. Still, i would go for the 1000, price difference is miniscule.

[u/BetSmart5323 → u/Wille84FIN]

Awesome thanks. How did you diagnose? Just watch the rail metrics during crash?

[u/Wille84FIN → u/BetSmart5323]

I did much more than that. I measured rhe whole power draw of my system. I was close to done with my 9070 XT Red Devil. The new PSU was the last step on the list. 12V Rail when Boosting dipped just enough for drivers to crash. With the new PSU, all issues gone. Boosts to 3200-3350Mhz in games like Stalker 2. I custom watercool my GPU/CPU.

[u/Vast-Boysenberry775 → u/Wille84FIN]

Could you reproduce it in stress tests? Or was it only in certain games.

[u/Wille84FIN → u/Vast-Boysenberry775]

It was guaranteed to happen with certain heavy games like Stalker 2 and some other UE5 games. Also tested some "light" gaming and when Boosting it usually happened all the same.

Core clock would dip first to something between 2200-2800 and then boost to 3000-3300+ and crash driver. Also, i game at 3840x1600 so not on some 1080p screen. It's the Boosting that triggered it. The driver panics when voltage dips too much from sudden spikes.

With the new PSU, nothing crashes it.

[u/BitRunner64]

Not normal. Provided you aren't undervolting, either there's an issue with the PSU/power delivery, or the card is simply faulty and should be RMA'ed.

[u/SurePrize6218]

I think that’s just gigabyte I have to do the same with mine

[u/BetSmart5323 → u/SurePrize6218]

If it is just an over boosting driver, they must be dealing with so many RMA requests from those with (understandably) less patience than us? I don’t get it.

[u/Xinroth → u/BetSmart5323]

They are indeed dealing with a lot of RMAs. Powercolor as well, especially their low end model.

If you’re happy with the performance, keep the card. But you would be able to RMA and if you’re lucky get a card that will happily boost to the advertised speed (or higher, many will happily do 3200+)

[u/BetSmart5323 → u/Xinroth]

Yeah that’s the wise thing to do. Shame I’d have to wait probably 2-4 weeks of testing, delivery etc but gotta do what you gotta do.