Drivers & Software

[jerico1213]

seems like wattman issue wont ever get fix my @amd at this point im just gonna save money and swap back to intel nvidia tbh, its been 4 or 5 months getting unstable drivers giving us more errors than fixes, im currently using ryzen 7 3800x and a 6600 xt saphire nitro on a b450m S2H mother board, with a psu 750 gold certificade

[MADZyren]

Remove wattman as you don't need it for anything.

Download new drivers from AMD
Download driver removal tool from AMD

Use driver removal software to remove GPU drivers
Do a full GPU driver install

If doesn't work. Reinstall Windows from ground up using USB stick. Install Windows updates, reboot, update, reboot, update reboot. Install missing drivers. Install Steam or Epic and one game that used to crash, does it still do that? Do not overclock, do not use PBO. You could flash BIOS to latest while you are at it, before reinstalling Windows. Just to be sure, do not enable XMP/DOCP before testing that first game. If it works, enable XMP/DOCP to see if it was memory issue all along. I know many complain about AMD's drivers, but there are also plenty of people who don't have those issues.

[jerico1213]

correct if im wrong but wattman is part of adrenaline by default, yeah i tested multiples ways looking for a fix, but its a common error a lot of people has, friend of my running same gpu, but is using an i7, he said drivers from 22.10.2 never gave them random resets while playing, and for the most part on this forum ive seen full amd builds having this issue

[MADZyren]

"correct if im wrong but wattman is part of adrenaline by default"

I remember seeing wattman a long time a go, but can't remember where. It is not part of Radeon software at least anymore (or how do you access it?) I do use the Radeon overclocking part sometimes for testing, but there is no mention of wattman anywhere. Is it part of Ryzen master perhaps? I don't use that, as I change CPU clock settings and voltage from BIOS.

There are different kinds of builds. Most build work just fine, but some don't. Reason causing the issue is not always as straight forward related to which ever component or driver is suspected or has changed.

Something that does come into mind is that i7 doesn't support smart access memory. Maybe later GPU drivers require also latest chipset drivers and an up to date BIOS for that to work properly. Who knows.

 Which ever way, if you experience issues, do not overclock anything and first, try making the machine stable and work properly to exclude broken components. When everything works, then enable features like XMP, SAM, aso.

[jerico1213]

ive never done overclock, and yes wattman comes with adrenaline bydeafult its the main reason we can do overclock using amd adrenaline, you cannot remove i believe, if thats the case people wouldnt complain about it since the past 2 years ago

[MADZyren]

Where do you see it? How do you access it? I think OC part of Radeon software was once called wattman, but I have not seen that anywhere for a long time and I try voltages and clocks all the time, manual mostly.

[XFXDenier]

Any time a game crashes on my system I get a notification that, "Wattman has reverted back to default settings because of a crash," so, it's on there, somewhere.

[elstaci]

Not sure if Wattman is compatible with the new 6000 Series GPU Cards. I believe Wattman was replaced in Radeon Settings by Performance Tuning Feature: https://www.amd.com/en/technologies/software-performance

Here is AMD "How To Tune GPU Performance" using the above feature: https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/faq/dh2-020

[jerico1213]

Yeah thats the reason you get wattman errors, people usually recommend not to overclock if you get the wattman error, but its been really unstable with the past drivers that even you have default settings you will crash still or get a black screen followed by a reset of your pc, ending eith the wattman notification 

[elstaci]

In the link concerning AMD Performance Tuning it mentions it was made for the 6000 series GPU cards.

There you can over/under clock your GPU card for troubleshooting purposes.

[jerico1213]

But what is the point of having that, if you get wattman error even on default amd settings, makes no sense like does amd expect us to fix it? 

[elstaci]

If you completely deleted your AMD Driver from your PC using DDU and deleting the AMD Installaton folder at C\:AMD you shouldn't be getting any Wattman errors since Wattman has be replaced by Performance Tuning in Radeon Settings.

According to AMD Wattman page : https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/faq/dh-020

How to Tune GPU Performance Using Radeon Wattman

Article Number

DH-020

NOTE! The content contained in this article is based on Radeon™ Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.12.1 and earlier Adrenalin Edition drivers. For Radeon™ Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition instructions, please refer to article.

So if you still are getting Wattman errors can be due to left over Registry keys or files/folders concerning Wattman that wasn't deleted when you deleted older AMD Driver.

As far as I am aware, Performance Tuning took over for AMD Wattman and is compatible with the AMD 6000 Series GPU cards.

EDIT: Unless Wattman is still available in the latest AMD Driver under "Gaming" Tab and then selecting "Global Settings". I don't know since I don't have a AMD GPU installed in my computer.

[elstaci]

Is it possible to post a screen shot showing the AMD Wattman error you are talking about? that might be useful for and other Users.

[goodplay]

Generally, the Wattman pop-up is not the cause. It's a generic advisory that something has gone wrong in your system.

Looking in 'Windows reliability history monitor' and/or 'event viewer' may help to determine where issue was.

There are 3 driver/software install options, see https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/faq/rsx2-install

[elstaci]

In my opinion, Wattman shouldn't even be popping up since Wattman is not included in the 6000 series AMD drivers.

If it is a Generic Advisory it will confuse the User believing that the Driver has Wattman installed.

But then again you probably know more about the latest AMD Driver than I do.  I just find it strange that A Wattman error would pop up in a Driver that doesn't even have Wattman as a feature.

But then again I could be completely wrong C-:

EDIT: Goodplay does have a good point that it probably is a different issue causing your PC to reset. I presume by Reset you mean the PC shuts down or the AMD Driver resets to defaults.

If the PC is shutting down then it could be Overheating, Power, Overclocking, Defective GPU card, or Driver.

By the way the Maximum Operating Temperature for your GPU HotSpot is 110c. So if it goes to far past 110c it can cause your PC to shut down if that is what you mean by that your PC Resets.

[goodplay]

Perf./Tuning is still Wattman at its core.

The pop-up could be reworded better though.

[elstaci]

Thanks for the clarification.

Yes I do agree the wording needs to be updated so as to not confuse User into believing they are using the old Wattman feature.

[cwiggles]

Hi all,

I'm coming into thie thread a little late, however, I am seeing most of the same issues on my X99 based system ever since I upgraded from a RX-590 to a RX-6700XT. The system was rock solid with the old RX-590 but not so with the 6700XT.  I did just try the 22.10.2 drivers but the PC resets became more frequent and random, not to mention the video playback corruption when enabling hardware decoding. 

I've found the 22.5.2 to be the most stable for my setup, but the PC resets still occur, but much less often.  I didn't realise Wattman was the cause of the resets as I never saw any messages from the Adrenalin control panel until 22.10.2. This also explains why I do not experience these resets when running some of my Steam games under POP-OS. In fact the games I play generally run better/smoother under POP-OS and Steam than Win10 and Steam, though I do admit I have a narrow range of games I play. 

I just hope AMD can address this Wattman and hardware decode issues or I too may have to look elsewhere. 

Craig

[jerico1213]

Im back, the issues with it its not being able to trust default settings anymore, i dont know what is amd doing but seems like you their default settings are buggy, my gpu its only 8months old never had an issue until 22.10.x i tested myself all my components and they are all fine, but still is this reset damaging my pc? I can't tell im jist hoping amd can fix their drivers issues soon, because i really liked how stable was before getting more updates and uf you are wondering downgrading to the 22.5.1 does not work as you expect, it was runnin fine till yesterday but the resets started to happen again

[Dr_Sinister]

Hey all.  I've had nothing but instability issues with AMD drives for some time now.  I purchased an XFX 6900 XT Black Merc edition last year and while trying to keep the card cool, adjusting fan curve, the drivers would always reboot my system in the middle of gaming with the message, "Default Radeon WattMan settings have been restored due to unexpected system failure".   I've decided to underclock and undervolt my GPU and now it appears to finally be stable while only having the fan curve max out at 50% and still keeping the card cool.

[jerico1213]

hmmm, at this point im just giving up, i dont really want to buy a new power supply just to test if its working or not, but i was hoping to adm fix this issues, all i can see right now is poeple having the same issues as me, but we dont have a fix from amd yet

[cwiggles]

Hi all,

As I mentioned earlier, using the AMD Debian drivers for POP-OS (Ubuntu based) and running a selection of Steam games I have not experienced the power reset issue. So to try and replicate this setup on Windows, I 

- booted into Safe Mode
- Used DDU to remove the video drivers
- rebooted and allowed Windows Update to install it's AMD video driver. So NO Adrenalin install at all.

It's early days yet, but so far, no crashes / power resets and I would normally have expected at least one or two resets based on my previous experiences.
|
I'll stick to this setup for a week and if no resets occur then I'll install Adrenalin 22.5.1 and if the issues start to re-occur then I think it's pretty conclusive it *is* related to the Adrenalin suite causing this and not the PSU perse. 

Craig

[jerico1213]

i do wish you a stable experience, been still trying to figure what could the error be on my build

[cwiggles]

Well sorry to report that the issue still occurs, less frequently but non the less it still occurs. At this point I am now leaning towards a faulty RX-6700XT, or the PSU has become marginal. Although the PSU is a Corsair HX 1200i, it is quite a few years old. 5+ years. All in all, it's a real bugger to diagnose.

I'll install 22.5.1 now to see if things change either for the better or worse. Still not sure why under POP-OS I haven't experienced the reset issue at all using AMD's Debian driver. Just a pity not all my Steam games work under Linux at the moment. 

Craig

[jerico1213]

yeah i did have issues still with 22.10.2 it is definitely not a WHQL drivers  i hope amd removes that mark so people wont update to it, 22.5.1 installed rn, its behaving decent for now ill test for a week now and see if its working as it should

[cwiggles]

I saw a video on GamersNexus where they discussed transient spikes caused by some GPUs that could trip the PSU load protection resulting in the PSU powering off and then on again. Very much like I am experiencing. Only real way to test is to change the PSU.

[jerico1213]

that would be really weird, its usually the cpu with high voltage, gpu is usually more stable 

[MADZyren]

I saw the GN too and I think also Jayz2Cents mentioned it and someone else, maybe Hardware Unboxed. I think it was about Nvidias 30-series board, maybe 3080 and 3090 perhaps. Also applies to 40 series. The whole point of why you either need a PSU that supports new standards or an old PSU that has like twice the power than what is the highest your GPU draws (1200W for 600W 4090 for example) is because while it doesn't need that much power, PSU has to be able to deliver lots and lots of... was it amperes is milliseconds, because power draw changes so rapidly. If you have a high quality PSU, you don't technically need that much more extra power, but double the GPU draw is just an easy rule of thumb which fits most PSU's.

[cwiggles]

Hi all, I received a suggestion from the Hardware Unboxed forum suggesting I try turning off the "PCI Express Link State Power Management" under my Windows Power Plan settings. So far so good, no power reset for the past 8hrs. As before, I'll run with this setting for a few days and if there are no more power resets then I'll try with newer Adrenalin releases. Currently still on 22.5.1.

Craig

[cwiggles]

I spoke too soon.  

Perhaps I'll try a fresh install of Windows next. <sigh>

[MADZyren]

Can't remember anymore if you already tried it, but slowering PCIe gen4 to gen3 might perhaps help if that link state reduced how often it happens. Also you do have two separate cables  from PSU to GPU and not just one split to two? Would be good to test with another PSU but Incan understand buying one without known reason... Is just to justify at least unless old one is cheap or old or underpowered 

[cwiggles]

Hi,
The motherboard is PCIe 3 only, it's an older Intel X99 based board, and yes, I have two separate power cables to the card, no split power cables.  I think I have an old 850W Gold Gigabyte modular PSU somewhere, just not sure if all the cables are still with it though. I think I'll try building a fresh Win10 boot drive and see how things go. Failing that then I'll see if I have enough parts for the GB PSU. 

Craig

[jerico1213]

so quick update about this wattman errors, ive been using the 22.5.1 (WHQL) for about 3 days with no issues, thing i did change i got a fresh windows install once again, installed amd drivers, and stopped using the chrome, i did multiple test while playing final fantasy with opera gx open instead chrome, i dont have any issues at all, ive seen some people talking about chrome doing some mess when alt tabbing from a game to any kind of source video that has a frame cap, we also have a new drivers version 22.10.3 im afraid to test it being honest, this are still optionals drivers they dont mention anything about the wattman crashes or the issue being solved

[elstaci]

If you really don't have a good reason to update your AMD Driver and the current driver at the moment is working fine I would just keep using the current driver until you are forced to update due to a game or app or some new feature that you want to have or to fix.

[jerico1213]

The only thing i really want is the direct upgrades tbh, since I play on dx11 every game, but oh well hoping we can get soon a new whql drivers, its been 5months since the last one, sigh... 

[Dr_Sinister]

Only thing I can suggest is try lowing your GPU voltage and possibly your max frequency(MHz).  I lowered both on my card, which is an XFX 6900XT, and it hasn't reset my PC since.

[cwiggles]

Ok, I'll look into that for my MSI 6700XT. 

Craig

[cwiggles]

Just a small update. Have now installed a fresh install of Windows 10 on a spare SSD. I will just run with a lightly configured setup and see how things go. So basically, just the bare essentials for testing purposes. 

One thing I did omit to mention was this PC initially had a Nvidia gfx card in it. Some people on Hardware Unboxed discord server were pretty sure this was the most likely cause, despite me using DDU to clean out any leftover video drivers. Time will tell if the fresh install fixes the issue. If not then I'll look at the GPU voltage/freq suggestion from Dr Sinster

[MADZyren]

"Have now installed a fresh install of Windows 10 on a spare SSD. I will just run with a lightly configured setup and see how things go. So basically, just the bare essentials for testing purposes. "

Good idea.

"One thing I did omit to mention was this PC initially had a Nvidia gfx card in it."

Ok. If you used DDU and told it to remove Nvidia remnants too, that should have done it, but now with a fresh install, it is no longer an issue anyway.

[cwiggles]

Oh well, power resets still occurring after a fresh Win10 Pro install. The PSU has a USB connector which will allow Corsairs ICUE app to report on the PSU, just need to find the cable.

In the meantime, I'll install the 22.10.13 driver to see if there is any change,