Radeon 6870, low performance and stuttering after wake

[ectoplasmosis]

I've just put a Radeon 6870 in one of my machines with a fresh install of Lion.

The card was detected out of box and works with full acceleration... but 3D is very slow.

My Cinebench score before sleep is 35fps on a Core i7 system with 12GB RAM; after waking from sleep even moving windows around/triggering Mission Control is jerky.

I don't need multi monitor support so am willing to try a different frame buffer if it'll help. I'm running a 27" Cinema Display via mini displayport if that makes a difference.

Many thanks

 

[ectoplasmosis]

Using Mac Pro 3,1 system definition if that helps...

 

[ectoplasmosis]

Changed system definition to iMac12,2, post-sleep slowdown now gone but 3D performance is still half of what it should be.

It also takes the graphics card a second to come out of low-power idle mode; for example, when activating Mission Control from rest/idle the window scaling animations are jerky, but if I activate Launchpad a couple of times first the graphics card "wakes up" and subsequent Mission Control animations are smooth... until the system is left to rest for a second that is, and the cycle starts again.

The graphics card is also making quiet screeching/beeping sounds whilst this is happening.

All this leads me to believe that the GPU power management is not being handled properly; how can I see what is happening with the GPU clocks in real time, and how can I fix it if they're broken?

 

[xc68000]

Yep me too. Using 6870 and 3,1. From what I've read this was fixed by apple for iMacs and ati 2600 devices, but their fix did not resolve anything for our cards.

I've heard older graphics drivers work but I don't know which ones to try.

 

[xc68000]

I found a workaround on another forum. After I wake from sleep, if I switch resolutions to something other than normal that has a different refresh rate (I used 800x600@56Hz) and then switch back, I get normal performance again just as I would had I rebooted.

Weird, I hope someone figures this out soon.

 

[ectoplasmosis]

I have now fixed the slow performance after wake by making a custom Mac Pro 5,1 system definition in Chameleon Wizard and setting the correct vendor ID in AppleGraphicsPowerManagement.kext as per the following guide: viewtopic.php?p=337142#p337142

After running the Unigine Heaven benchmark a few times it became apparent that my 6870 is performing as it should be; the fan spins up, the GPU core hits 70degC and spits out a result of ~55fps at 1920x1080 which is par for the course at stock clocks according to this thread: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=52970

I then came to realise that Cinebench is a shite benchmark that for whatever reason doesn't stress the GPU enough to activate the high performance clock profile. Whilst running it the fan remains slow and the core stays at a relatively frosty 55 degrees. It may have something to do with the fact that I'm running a 27" Cinema Display @ 2560x1440 and the Cinebench render window is but a tiny portal, making the drivers reluctant to kick the card up the arse if it's not rendering a fullscreen 3D viewport...

Anyway, all sleep and performance issues are now moot, and most importantly the graphics card clocks right down when idle so I'm happy as Anne Widdecombe in vat of pasties.

My .plist files below for reference:

org.chameleon.Boot.plist

	<key>EthernetBuiltIn</key>
	<string>Yes</string>
	<key>GenerateCStates</key>
	<string>Yes</string>
	<key>GeneratePStates</key>
	<string>Yes</string>
	<key>Graphics Mode</key>
	<string>2560x1440x32</string>
	<key>GraphicsEnabler</key>
	<string>Yes</string>
	<key>Kernel</key>
	<string>mach_kernel</string>
	<key>Kernel Flags</key>
	<string>npci=0x2000 darkwake=0</string>
	<key>Legacy Logo</key>
	<string>Yes</string>
	<key>Theme</key>
	<string>LoginToLion</string>
	<key>Timeout</key>
	<string>1</string>
	<key>UseKernelCache</key>
	<string>Yes</string>

smbios.plist

	<key>SMbiosdate</key>
	<string>10/07/10</string>
	<key>SMbiosvendor</key>
	<string>Apple Inc.</string>
	<key>SMbiosversion</key>
	<string>MP51.88Z.007F.B03.1010071432</string>
	<key>SMboardproduct</key>
	<string>Mac-F221BEC8</string>
	<key>SMfamily</key>
	<string>Mac Pro</string>
	<key>SMmanufacturer</key>
	<string>Apple Inc.</string>
	<key>SMproductname</key>
	<string>MacPro5,1</string>
	<key>SMserial</key>
	<string>pendulousspunksack</string>
	<key>SMsystemversion</key>
	<string>1.0</string>

 

[xc68000]

Thanks that worked for me.

Would only kernel panic at first, but then I found elsewhere you have to delete the AppleTyMCEDriver.kext when you use MacPro 5,1.

I did not have to change the AppleGraphicsPowerManagement kext even though my vendor ID is 1002 like yours. I showed it as loaded in system report. I did go ahead and edit it after confirming my tests just in case, but did not notice any difference in FPS/benchmarks, or fan speed. My 6870 has gotten up to 80-85C while playing some games and I really can't hear any change to fan speed.

I wish I could see fan speed. I use iStat and RadeonMonitor.kext to see GPU temp, but it does not show fan speed. I think my 6870 is one of the reference design ones.

 

[lloeki]

Interestingly enough, with a 5770 I have the opposite behavior: if my two identical monitors are connected via 2*DVI (or HDMI) at boot, MC jitters. If I make the machine sleep/wake or plug/unplug a screen it fixes itself. Both are at 60Hz. No resolution allows for a refresh rate change (only 60Hz is available) so I can't test that.