Bitcoin Forum

Hi,
i just bought an ATI msi 7950 3gb OC edition, but i'm very disappointed about its hashrate. I red that whit that card i can reach 600 or even more kh/s, but i barely reach 400kh/s, and, most important, i still don't know why!!

My frequency:
gpu clock @880mhz
memory clock @1250mhz
temp @70°

I tried whit:
-different version of cgminer (3.6.2, 3.7.0, 3.7.2), without changes
-different version of catalyst (13.1, 13.9, 13.12), without changes.
-different setting. I tried more or less every setting suggest in https://litecoin.info/Mining_hardware_comparison (https://litecoin.info/Mining_hardware_comparison).
 I noticed that:
 -i can't set intensity greater than 13. With 13 i haven't any hw error, with 14 or more, i have too much hw error.
 -i can't set thread concurrency greater than 8192. If i use greater value i have this error--->
maximum buffer memory device 0 supports says 536870912
your script setting come to 939524096
error -61 etc
failed to init GPU thread 0 disagling device 0

now i'm using this settings --gpu-threads 2 --thread-concurrency 8192 -I 13
                                       setx gpu_use_sync_objects 1
                                       setx gpu_max_alloc_percent 100

any help?? :(

up

Your thread concurrency is way too low. Try 25984.

Here is the cgminer.conf which gets all 3 of my 7950s up to 655kh all day long:

{
"pools" : [
    {
        "url" : "stratum+tcp://pool.pool.url:3333",
        "user" : "user",
        "pass" : "password"
    },
    {
        "url" : "stratum+tcp://pool.pool.url:3333",
        "user" : "user",
        "pass" : "password"
    }
]
,
"intensity" : "18,18,18",
"vectors" : "1,1,1",
"worksize" : "256,256,256",
"kernel" : "scrypt,scrypt,scrypt",
"lookup-gap" : "0,0,0",
"thread-concurrency" : "25984,25984,25984",
"shaders" : "0,0,0",
"gpu-engine" : "0-0,0-0,0-0",
"gpu-fan" : "0-85,0-85,0-85",
"gpu-memclock" : "0,0,0",
"gpu-memdiff" : "0,0,0",
"gpu-powertune" : "0,0,0",
"gpu-vddc" : "0.000,0.000,0.000",
"temp-cutoff" : "95,95,95",
"temp-overheat" : "85,85,85",
"temp-target" : "75,75,75",
"api-mcast-port" : "4028",
"api-port" : "4028",
"expiry" : "120",
"gpu-dyninterval" : "7",
"gpu-platform" : "0",
"gpu-threads" : "1",
"hotplug" : "5",
"log" : "5",
"no-pool-disable" : true,
"queue" : "1",
"scan-time" : "30",
"scrypt" : true,
"temp-hysteresis" : "3",
"shares" : "0",
"kernel-path" : "/usr/local/bin"
}

Also, download MSI Afterburner: http://event.msi.com/vga/afterburner/download.htm

Change settings to:

Power Level +20
Core 1152
Memory 1406

(MSI Afterburner works even if your card is not MSI brand)

There is some problem:
- I can't set intensity greater than 13. With 13 i haven't any hw error, with 14 or more, i have too much hw error.

- I can't set thread concurrency greater than 8192. If i use greater value i have this error--->
maximum buffer memory device 0 supports says 536870912
your script setting come to 939524096
error -61 etc
failed to init GPU thread 0 disagling device 0

one question: that overclock need an overvolt too?

No, they aren't overvolted except for that powertune setting in MSI Afterburner. They are voltage locked Gigabyte cards.

They are running on the 13.4 win7/8 x64 driver. Maybe flashing the card with another 7950 bios would help if nothing else will work. (there are guides on the forum, don't have the links handy though)

Oh, and they are running cgminer 3.7.2.

Try to find your max stable memory clock.  Then find the core clock that is equal the 60% of the max memory clock.   For some reason, this ratio improved my hash rate.  

For example, if your max memory is 1000, then you core clock should be 600.  Hope this makes sense.

You only need to enter that command once at the command prompt. It doesn't need to be a command in a .bat file that is run every time. It will say:



If it works correctly, and that's it, no need for that command again.

Also, have you tried it with the above MSI Afterburner settings?

For 7950 you must set --gpu-threads 1

if i set --gpu-threads 1 --thread-concurrency 8192 -I 13 my hashrate decrease :(
also, if i try to use highter value of I with  --gpu-threads 1 i have the same problem with too much hw error.

tomorrow i'll try some oc of my videocard with msi afterburn and i'll let you know...


@bitcointaco: flash the card with another 7950 bios...uhm...i'm not sure i'm able to do it. :(

thread 21712
vectors 1
gpu threads 1
worksize 256

Intensity 19

MSI afterburner settings:

clock 1080 fan 80% memory 1250

Download sapphire trixx to disable ulps settings.

Thank me later.

640 kh/s with pretty basic settings,  how much RAM are you running?

-w 256 -g 1 --thread-concurrency 14336 --intensity 19 --auto-fan --auto-gpu --gpu-engine 1100 --gpu-memclock 1250 --gpu-powertune 20

Catalyst 13.1
SDK 2.7
cgminer 3.3.1

if i use I = 19 i have 600 or more kh/s, but i also have 100% hw error!!

im using this config for my 7950 sapphire and i got average 670-675 from that if u have enough cooling i suggest to use 20 for intensity. if not you can get average above 600 with  intensity 17



setx GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT 100
setx GPU_USE_SYNC_OBJECTS 1
cgminer --scrypt -w 256 --shaders 0 --intensity 20 -v 1 -g 1 --lookup-gap 2 --thread-concurrency 21712 --gpu-engine 1100 --gpu-memclock 1500 --gpu-memdiff 0 --gpu-powertune 20 --temp-cutoff 90 -o "your pool adress" -u "user" -p "password"

how can i say that max intensity i can set is 13???? i know is low, but even with 14 i have too much hw error!!!

anyone can tell me why?

I would say your thread concurrency and intensity needs tweaking. You have to keep trying different values until you find the best hash and no HW errors and you also need at least 3gb ram to be safe. (you can still run 1,2 or even 3 cards on 2gb but with lower hash rate)

Ok first of all put in your shaders value. Look up the amount of shaders that your card supports and add it to your config.


I had hardware errors on my cards (5850 and 5870).
On some forum they said that increasing thread-concurreny could solve it.

I found a specific thread concurrency value that allowed me to go >I=13 without hardware errors.
With value 5824 I got HW errors but at 6144 none.

So my tip is to look up the thread concurrency value that works best.
Try values and look at the amount of HW errors per minute or per 10 minutes and look if upping or lowering the value helps.

Hope you find the golden ratio.

After you do find the perfect value try lowering the voltage to save power and try to overclock.

Put this into a command prompt EXACTLY as shown, proper captilization and everything:

setx GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT 100

And then hit enter. You can't do lowercase. This will solve the hw errors.

first of all, thanks for your help

@darksoft: sadly, nothing change :(

@st4nl3y: i have 4gb dd2 1066mhz

@Wilhelm:

i tried different value of thread-concurreny. Value greater than 8192 causes hw error, and values lower than 8192 causes hw error :(

Where can i find my shaders value? i found this link http://www.game-debate.com/gpu/index.php?gid=1588&gid2=890&compare=radeon-hd-7950-sapphire-3gb-boost-edition-vs-geforce-gt-640-144-shaders (http://www.game-debate.com/gpu/index.php?gid=1588&gid2=890&compare=radeon-hd-7950-sapphire-3gb-boost-edition-vs-geforce-gt-640-144-shaders). 1164.8 is correct? how can i put it in cgminer string?

i knew that if i overclock my video card, i need to overvolt, not to undervolt...are you sure is safe?

Have you downloaded AMD App SDK ? Which version ?

if you overclock your card it need more voltage, undervolt will  make the card crash.

Actually no, some cards can be overclocked and undervolted. I am running 3x7950 at 1050/1500 MHz , undervolted to 1.05V/1V/1V and getting 650KHS per card.. Depends on the card and ASIC quality really.
But , yes, the card will crash if you undervolt beyond a point.

yes, i downloaded it when i downloaded catalyst 13.9. I don't remeber the version...one of the last, i suppose..

I use bfgminer-3.6.0-win64 and this is my scrypt:

bfgminer --scrypt  -o stratum+tcp://xxxxxxxx -u y -p z --intensity 17 --worksize 256 -g 1

When I am away from keyboard I put intensity up to 20

I=17 550Kh/s
I=20 650-670Kh/s

No HW error.

Try this out. Any other miners are not working as good as this one. ;)

Do you have a link for 3.6.0 win 64 version?

i tried 3.9.0 and it didn't recognize my videocard, and 3.2.6 version but i see non difference with cgminer..

Make sure you have installed the latest SDK. It is very important for mining. Your SDK version actually affects hashrate more than the drivers. In your Add/Remove Programs, you should see both Catalyst and SDK.
If you want to try a clean install , this link here  (http://www.cryptobadger.com/2013/04/build-a-litecoin-mining-rig-windows/) can help you out with setting up your miner.
This link  (http://www.cryptobadger.com/2013/04/build-a-litecoin-mining-rig-optimization/) will help you understand how to overclock and optimize your rig.

I was getting about 575KHS per card with no overclocking at all and I haven't seen HW errors ever.

Unfortunately, there is no link available any longer. I got this from bfgminer.org a while ago :(

i'm sure i have istalled SDK with the driver, but in may Add/Remove Programs i see only AMD catalyst install manager...  ???

P.S: thx for the links, very interesting!

Like I said before adjust your TC and I to find the best value with no HW errors. Try this for example:

setx GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT 100
setx GPU_USE_SYNC_OBJECTS 1
cgminer --scrypt -o stratum+tcp://global.wemineltc.com:3334 -u xxx -p xxx --thread-concurrency 16000 --lookup-gap 0 --gpu-engine 1120 --gpu-memclock 1500 --gpu-powertune 20 -w 256 -I 18 -g 1

You have 1792 shaders - GPU-Z will tell all. Try an even multiple of that, so 7168, 10752, etc. with -g 1 for 7950's. The wrong thread concurrency will throw HW errors nonstop. I recommend 7168 since it looks like you don't have much RAM.

thanks, and thanks @ for the replies

I try different values of TC, and the ones who works better are 7168 and 8192. With -g 1 hashrate get lower, i don't know why. In any case intensity CAN'T get highter than 13.

Here what i tried:
cgminer.exe --scrypt -o stratum+tcp://stratum.coinium.org:3336  --gpu-threads 2 --thread-concurrency 8192  -I 13       works fine
cgminer.exe --scrypt -o stratum+tcp://stratum.coinium.org:3336  --gpu-threads 2 --thread-concurrency 7168  -I 13       works fine
cgminer.exe --scrypt -o stratum+tcp://stratum.coinium.org:3336  --gpu-threads 2 --thread-concurrency 8192  -I 13  -g 1     lower hashrate
cgminer.exe --scrypt -o stratum+tcp://stratum.coinium.org:3336  --gpu-threads 2 --thread-concurrency 7168  -I 13  -g 1     lower hashrate
cgminer.exe --scrypt -o stratum+tcp://stratum.coinium.org:3336  --gpu-threads 2 --thread-concurrency 10752 -I 13    thread concurrency too high, cgminer error.
Any of this string with I = 14, too many HW error

I will try later with  --lookup-gap 0,  --gpu-powertune 20 and -w 256 adn see what happen

it seems that nothing change :(

i don't know what to do :(

IMHO, I personally think something is off with your drivers. You haven't got something correct in the OS/drivers.
If your hardware is working fine at I=13, it should work fine at I=20.

Did you by any chance have an Nvidia card on the system before this ? Are those drivers still on the system?

Edit : Can you do a fresh Windows install ?

Get rid of this line:

--gpu-threads 2

I don't know what to say...before this driver videocard i had an ATI hd4870... and when i have uploaded the driver i removed the old one also whit driver sweeper... :(

a fresh Windows istall for now it's impossibile :(


@darksoft: if i remove that line, hashrate decrease... :(

Remove that line and increase your intensity

i did it...i had hw error, even with 14 of I :(

Use this and tell me what you get:

setx GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT 100
cgminer.exe --scrypt -o stratum+tcp://stratum.coinium.org:3336  -g 1 --thread-concurrency 22400  -I 20 

You don't need the SDK as cgminer has opencl built into it.

Running 640khs avg with these settings using the latest CCC drivers.

Thread-concurency 22400
Gpu-core 1079
Gpu-mem 1250
Voltage in Afterburner 1.019
Intensity 19

Really don't need to set anything else in the config.

Don't play with the lookup gap, it's not a variable that you're supposed to mess with.

You don't seem to be trying enough variations of thread concurrency.


Only run one GPU thread with your 7950, otherwise you will always have hardware errors above 13 intensity.

cgminer doesn't 'come with opencl', it compiles kernels that speak the language of opencl. OpenCL is part of the standard AMD drivers (APP specifically) and has been for a good while now. You normally only need the SDK for development or kernel analysis.

always the same error
If i use greater value i have this error--->
maximum buffer memory device 0 supports says 536870912
your script setting come to 1468006400
error -61 ...decrease TC or increase LG.
failed to init GPU thread 0 disagling device 0

i can't use tc values so high :(

P.S: i used an other pool..

i don't know what to say...

until now in any setting that i've used i've always had HW error with above 13 intensity. I see non changes with  one or two GPU thread, i see  non changes with every values of TC i ever tried.

What values of TC should i try??? Values above 8192 are impossible to me.. :(

It's, insane!! throughout this day my hashrate decrease from 500kh/s to 400kh/s without any changes. ANY. It doesn't make any sense!!

For MSI R7950, I get 600kh/s and 70c constant temp with (I have a little help from the -20c outside temperature):

set GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT=100
setx GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT 100
cgminer.exe --scrypt -I 20 -w 256 --gpu-engine 1000 --gpu-memclock 1400 --no-submit-stale

You should also unlock MSI afterburner :

1st - Dowload the latest MSI AfterBurner link located in Update above and install.
2nd - Locate the folder where MSI Afterburner installed to, open it, and locate the CFG file named MSIAfterburner. When you 1st dbl click this file it will ask you what program you want to use to open it, choose "Notepad" and click "ok" Once you have the MSIAfterburner CFG file open in notepad you need to change a couple of settings near the bottom:

UnofficialOverclockingEULA = I confirm that I am aware of unofficial overclocking limitations and fully understand that MSI will not provide me any support on it
UnofficialOverclockingMode = 1 (to keep PowerPlay active (may not work on old ASICs), 2 to traditionally disable PowerPlay or to 0 to temporary disable unofficial overclocking path)<--Do not type this, just for reference I have mine set to = 1

After you have made these changes, DO NOT forget to click "file" and "save" before exiting notepad, or your changes will not take into effect!"

Also, I forgot to mention, put the del *.bin at top of command to remove previous scrypts. Like this:

del *.bin
set GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT=100
setx GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT 100
cgminer.exe --scrypt -I 20 -w 256 --gpu-engine 1000 --gpu-memclock 1400 --no-submit-stale


Also, I found out using cgminer 3.1.1 is a lot more stable than 3.7.2, since I use 3.1.1 I get more hashing power... and now my rigs never freezes!

first of all, thx for the reply.

i have some questions:
1)what's the difference between set GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT and setx GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT lines? i only have used setx GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT = 100...  ???

2)my vc is already OC with MSI afterburn, but i didn't changed .cgf file, i did everything by menu. Anyways, i check MSIAfterburner.cfg and i see that UnofficialOverclockingMode is already set to 1, but there is no setting for UnofficialOverclockingEULA. I tried to set it = 1, but when i save it says that i have no autorization to save it...i don't know why. I'm running win 7 64 bit as administrator...

now my clock are: mem@1600, engine@1020

now i'm little confused. I have to start cgmier everytime with a prompt and write that line before?

P.S: i will try cgminer 3.1.1, thx!

i noticed an other thing: if my cpu is at 100% my hashrate slowly decrease until it's more or less 15/20% lower.

anybody can tell me why?

setx GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT 100   

is correct, the other is not

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=396495.msg4279845#msg4279845

ohh, and if you keep running low TC (e.g. 8000 something) set -g 2 and -I 13

not ideal, but better than nothing

thanks everyone.

@mgoldfinger: very usefull link!

Did you solve your porlbem?

If not, try to reinstal your drivers (with restart) and then run CMD with admin rights, use both setx 100 and 1 lines, then exit cmd and run it once again!

Now try the very basic cgminer config with pool adress, user and password, and -I 19. Dont use thread, gpu, nothing, only -I 19.
Tell me what you have :)

i decided to format my pc and to do a fresh istall.

All i get is:
1)my gpu's driver crash if i use 1100 core clock, frequency that worked fine before the format.
2)SAME exacly situation, (can't use I> 13 etc etc) but lower hash/rate because point 1).

NO COMMENT!

what should i do? an other fresh istall?

it is now low at all... all my 7900 and r9280x cards has the same , 8192 and 13 intensity.
Try to mind correct cpu and memory speed. this helped me

Obvously you don't have enough memory. In order to increase TC you have to have enough memory usable for windows. I bet you run Win 32bit which gives only 3GB that is insufficient, or otherwise have some other computer configuration that does not allow to use enough memory.

i run win 7 64 bit with 4gb ddr2 1066mhz...

i thought that my ram was enought: how can i check if i have some "bad ram configuration"?

i also noticed an other thing: when my cpu is at 100%, cgminer works bad: hash rate decrease and my gpu load decrease from 98/99% to 80/90%. Can this be connected with my other cgminer problems?

Thanks to the helpful responses I solved a similar issue that I was having. Thank you all that contributed.

Just add more memory and you will be able to increase TC and then intensity. Also, sometimes windows uses less memory than available because of the settings in bios.

thx!

2 questions:
1)which setting can i check?
2)which is the relationship between TC and intensity? i mean, with lower TC is sure that i can't use high value of intensity?

Spent days with your same problem. It ended up mainly being memory clock and thread concurrency.
This is getting me 675kh/s:
Core:1160
Memory:1550

setx GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT 100
cgminer --scrypt -o stratum+tcp://server.com:3333 -u user.name -p password -w 256 -g 1 --lookup-gap 2 -I 19 --thread-concurrency 21712 --gpu-powertune 20

but i can't use that value of I and TC :(

problems, problems, problems!

I've try my hd7950 with an other pc, with 8gb ddr3. Like someone have said, 4gb wasn't enought. With 8gb, i can use I = 17, maybe even more!
But now i have other problems! I CAN'T setting any value of TC!! Simply, if i write  "--thread-concurrency" followed by any correct number (ever low, like 8192), i have a lot of HW!!

Why???? :(

i use like before cgmier 3.7.2 and catalyst 13.9...

It won't work with I > 13 and TC = 8192. You will be getting HW errors!
Try to increase TC gradually: e.g.  8192 -> 12000 -> 16000 -> 18000 -> 20000 -> 24000
Leave away intensity and overclocking. Set them to defaults.
Then, when you will reach max thread concurrency, try to increase intensity the same way.
And then overclocking and tuning (powertune, etc.).
Have you executed this in a batch file or with the command line (this is important):

setx GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT 100

 
This is my cgminer.conf for the 7950 running on a shitty 10 years computer with 4GB memory and giving 600+ khashes.

"intensity" : "20",
"vectors" : "1",
"worksize" : "256",
"kernel" : "scrypt",
"lookup-gap" : "2",
"thread-concurrency" : "24000",
"shaders" : "0",
"gpu-engine" : "1000-1150",
"gpu-fan" : "50-100",
"gpu-memclock" : "1250",
"gpu-memdiff" : "0",
"gpu-powertune" : "20",
"gpu-vddc" : "1.000",
"temp-cutoff" : "85",
"temp-overheat" : "75",
"temp-target" : "65",
"api-port" : "4028",
"auto-fan" : true,
"auto-gpu" : true,
"expiry" : "120",
"gpu-dyninterval" : "7",
"gpu-platform" : "0",
"gpu-threads" : "1",
"hotplug" : "5",
"log" : "5",
"no-pool-disable" : true,
"no-submit-stale" : true,
"queue" : "3",
"scan-time" : "30",
"scrypt" : true,
"temp-hysteresis" : "3",
"shares" : "0",
"kernel-path" : "/usr/local/bin"

Here are some Cgminer settings for popular video cards:
http://switchercoin.com/gettingstarted

See if their settings for HD7950 work for you.

Just answer simple question, did you set both setx command and restart CMD?
Do not use any batch file, just go to catalog with cgminer and run
cgminer with your pool account and tc 22000. If there is error that this is too much,
probably there is issue with setx options. I have the same when i don't use this option and restart cmd

uhm..now it seem it's work!!

but i have to do some more test to be sure. One question: why you choose 22000?

It does not deppend on tc, just one of best tc for this card. It all depends on setx max alloc.
Simple step:

1. Run cmd
2. Setx
3. Exit cmd
4. Run cmd
5. Run Cgminer.

And setx commands in windows must be set only one time, so now it all should work properly :)

thx man!

Have fun with mining :)

is it the same if i overclock with msi afterburn or i set the new frequency in my cgimer .conf?

Just so i don't leave the thread with what ended up being the issue with my Sapphire 7950.

1. I did not have the set allocation at the beginning of my batch file. I did do it in DOS but for some reason the memory was still being allocated.   
What this did was allow me to get over the TC - 8192. Also I added the "del *.bin" at the top of the batch file because of what i read the .bin files can cause issues.

del *.bin
set GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT=100
setx GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT 100

2. Also i re-installed windows due to GPU-Z was telling me my AMD drivers were having errors. I was playing with different drivers maybe they all did not get removed properly and causing conflicts.

3. I was having a issue where every hour or so my PC would shut down and i noticed that the USB devices were going to sleep. I had all ready ran through my power settings ensuring they were set to "never sleep/shut down", but i did not do it to the USB or the PCIe settings so i am assuming that did help and or issue #2 might have had something to do with that as well.

I am running at about ~660 kh/s.

Thank you for all the replies!  8)

is this (set GPU_MAX_ALLOC_PERCENT=100) really usefull?

No, it is wrong.

thx!!

one question: when i run cmd as administrator, in which path i have to write del *.bin?

In your cgminer folder