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Drivers & Software

ishaan
Newcomer

Event Viewer Code 0x15 and Performance Drops in Fallout 4

I have an RX 460 4GB GPU. While installing adrenalin driver 19.1.2 I get error in events viewer with error code 0x15 for amdkmdap and problem status 0x0. I tried DDU but it did not work. I tried re installing windows 10. I have installed drivers for chipset. My specs are-

MOTHERBOARD - AB350M GAMING 3

RAM - CMK8GX4M1A2400C16R 8GB

GPU - RX 460 4GB

CPU - RYZEN 3 1200

PSU - VS 450

CURRENT CHIPSET VERSION-18.10.1018

BIOS-F25

EDIT- Here is a image showing the error. Also see my performance jumps in Fallout 4 in attachments.

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40 Replies
ishaan
Newcomer

Anyone?

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hello

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I'll give it a shot.

Are you having any visual issues on your computer or any actual Errors pop up not in "Event Viewer"?

If so, then explain further the actual video issues you are having. 

Try installing a previous older AMD Driver and see if those same "Event Viewer" errors shows up. Delete all Event Viewers logs so you will have a clean Event Viewer showing all new recent logs.

Thanks for replying! The errors are only in event viewer but I am having problems running games like Fallout 4 on ultra. Like in some areas with dense trees and shadows it runs well over 35 but in really random areas it drops to 19. Other games are unplayable as well due to similar issues. I will try your fix.

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In addition to the other fine advice you have here and I know you already did DDU and that other stuff but humor me here as I was running into similar stuff with 3 of my AMD cards.

Try to just simply do this and see what happens.
1. Make sure all Windows updates are done.

2. Have 19.1.2 driver downloaded, don't upgrade through Radeon Settings.

3. Disconnect from the internet.

4. Run the 19.1.2 installer and choose clean install.

5. Reboot and if you still get an error see 6.

6. Express install the same driver again over the driver you just installed. Don't remove the other one first.

See if that helps. If not hopefully the info the other guys want will help or you may just have to open a support ticket with AMD.

Thanks for replying. I have not tried this fix. I'll see if it works.

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Clean installing over previous driver did not fix the issue. I am still getting the error. I think it may be a issue in AMD drivers about which we should report it to them?

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ishaan wrote:

Thanks for replying. I have not tried this fix. I'll see if it works.

Try pokester‌ method first since it requires using the latest AMD Drivers. Also you probably need to configure in AMD Wattman your RX 4xx card to work correctly or better.

pokester‌ can show you how to correctly configure your RX 4xx card to work at its best using AMD Wattman.

Note: finally figured out how to Quote other Users comments using the "Quotation Marks" on top of the Reply Menu Bar.

You answered while I was writing this comment. Open an AMD Online Support Ticket, as mentioned by Pokester, from here: Online Service Request | AMD 

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I was talking about pokester's method only. I tried installing 19.1.2 using his method which did not resolve the issue.

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I'm confused. In the OP you can't get the driver loaded. In another reply your having trouble in games. Which is it? Is the driver loaded and you are just having issues in games? If so explain exactly what happens. Like for instance the screen goes black but I can continue to hear audio playing. 

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It seems his biggest issue is:

The errors are only in event viewer but I am having problems running games like Fallout 4 on ultra. Like in some areas with dense trees and shadows it runs well over 35 but in really random areas it drops to 19. Other games are unplayable as well due to similar issues. 

IMO he needs to lower his game settings....Ultra is too high.

I can get the driver loaded up and running. I have no problem starting games. The problem is that all games are unstable. The fps drops randomly from 60 to 40 in wolfenstein 2 and in Fallout 4 I am having issues in forest area. The thing is that I think the reason behind lower performance is the error 0x15 shown in event viewer for amdkmdap. Otherwise there is no problem installing drivers and initializing game.

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Your graphics card is below the recommendation of the game and you shouldn't be playing on Ultra:

What Are the System Requirements for Fallout 4 on PC?
  • OS: Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit OS required)
  • Processor: Intel Core i5-2300 2.8 GHz/AMD Phenom II X4 945 3.0 GHz or equivalent.
  • Graphics Card: NVIDIA GTX 550 Ti 2GB/AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB or equivalent.

PassMark Software - Video Card (GPU) Benchmarks - High End Video Cards 

I do not know why the RX 460 is so under rated. I request you to see the Digital Foundry video for RX 460. Their review is the MOST reliable and their benchmarks say that the 4GB RX 460 is equivalent and even beats the GTX 950 in some titles. The GTX 950 runs Fallout 4 well above 30 on ultra and so should mine.

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Even though the cards may share similar hardware performance it doesn't mean they perform the same in games, it also doesn't mean the drivers are the issue. To be honest when drivers have to be changed to be optimized for a game it usually means one of two things or both. 1. The game engine is optimized to use say Nvidia and a proprietary feature like physx or the new ray tracing for instance. Or they just flat out optimized for say Nvidia and not AMD. 2. The game does not conform to direct x standards and may additionally be optimized for say Nvidia.

So you really can't expect fallout to run exactly the same on different cards. If AMD is having to work around, in the drivers, dealing with heavy physx particle effects, then yes the AMD is going to take a performance hit. Nothing you can do about that, and it isn't a bug. Same with AMD cards being way better at DX 12, Vulkan and compute heavy tasks.

This all being said I personally played through fallout 4 and at that time was on a R9 380x and I noticed no issues, but honestly I don't sit there with my frame counter up all the time. Unless I start noticing slow downs and stuttering I don't really look for it. Now my card I played on was still a bit faster card than yours.

Since reading this I can tell you I have also tested it on my RX 580 and it runs good for me. I think you likely just have a minimally specked card for that game and need to lower your expectations. Basically I have to agree with kingfish‌ on this. But I really did try to replicate your troubles.

I have installed and played four intensive High Graphics games since I had a computer. Using both AMD and Nvidia GPU cards. Never had any problems visually. (Noobie in that respects).

I am a noobie when it comes to those types of games. I see Users complaining about Frames per second and other technical aspects of playing games. Never looked at that when I played those types of games. The only thing I cared about was that the game runs smoothly. All of them did. Have no idea if my FPS were 20 or 200 in any of the games.

But I guess if you are a diehard gamer you can tell very minor nuances or performances in games while playing and thus annoys you and want to have it fix. Now if the game is blurry or distorted, then I try to configure the game to work correctly. It really doesn't matter if I need to use low or high Graphics settings. As long as the game looks good and run well.

Just my opinion on gaming. In my case being ignorant of the technical aspects of gaming makes it enjoyable for me as long as the game run well. 

I couldn't agree with you more. As they say though beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I am tickled with over 60fps at 75hz  but other swear they can tell when frames drop below 120fps on their 144hz or better monitors. So it really is about your goals and expectations. However those with that level of discriminating tastes are usually buying the top end equipment, not expecting hardware that is actually bellow minimum specs to work like a High Mid Tier to Flagship card. 

Okay had my kid do some testing on his old gaming computer that he still has Fallout 4 installed on too. It's an i5 with a 1050ti. Now that card is a bit more powerful than yours. My kid says it is dipping into the 40's at 1080p on high too. So this isn't even an AMD thing. That game just wan'ts more powerful hardware. It was nice of my son to cut into his valuable "gaming time" LOL, to do that for me. 

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The RX 460 is better of with games on medium rather than high, 

Best bet for gaming is to bump up the memory to 16GB which will make the whole rig run better.

While I agree that a gaming computer today should have 16 gigs to play current AAA titles. Fallout 4 did not need 16, 8 was plenty and watching my system monitor I don't see where it used more than about 5 in reality. So while a great thought and wonderful general suggestion I don't think going to 16 will make his under minimum spec card work better. 

Here are the Fallout 4 System Requirements (Minimum)

  • CPU: Intel Core i5-2300 2.8 GHz/AMD Phenom II X4 945 3.0 GHz or equivalent
  • CPU SPEED: Info
  • RAM: 8 GB
  • OS: Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit OS required)
  • VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 550 Ti 2GB/AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB or equivalent
  • PIXEL SHADER: 5.0
  • VERTEX SHADER: 5.0
  • FREE DISK SPACE: 30 GB
  • DEDICATED VIDEO RAM: 2048 MB

Fallout 4 Recommended Requirements

  • CPU: Intel Core i7 4790 3.6 GHz/AMD FX-9590 4.7 GHz or equivalent
  • CPU SPEED: Info
  • RAM: 8 GB
  • OS: Windows 7/8/10 (64-bit OS required)
  • VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 780 3GB/AMD Radeon R9 290X 4GB or equivalent
  • PIXEL SHADER: 5.0
  • VERTEX SHADER: 5.0
  • FREE DISK SPACE: 30 GB
  • DEDICATED VIDEO RAM: 3 GB (4 GB AMD)
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I play L4D2 and while 32-bit the resources that game uses in 64-bit Windows was rather eye opening

then the guzzling of more memory for graphics in 1809 I am sticking with my option that 16GB is now the new sweet spot.

Oh I absolutely agree if your building a machine today or want to run AAA titles from the last couple yeas 16 is a must at this point. I went with 32 on my build last year. Overkill for games but it is great for Photoshop and the minor video editing I do. 

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I want to point out too here to the OP not you hardcore, look at the minimum specs. Now your card performance wise is a little below the minimum those minimum specs at that time were not getting you 1080p on high those minimum specs were for 720p on low. The recommended specs are what you need for 1080p High. In reality if you are running that game today and running at 1440p or 4k, you will need even higher specs than the recommended hardware. 

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This may also be helpful illustrating the point. Following what kingfish‌ already did, and BTW he is the one that told me about this nifty utility (Lightshot)  for the screen shots too!  

I pulled this quote from this person at the forum at pcgamer_com back when fallout 4 came out being seemingly happy about how it ran on his hardware, seemingly understanding the expectations of their hardware. Notice what he says his settings are then notice where his card is and where your card is in hierarchy:

andy ray 2 years ago

"i have gtx 1050 and i3 6100 and on medium/low settings buttery smooth"

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The GTX 1050 is a tad weaker than my GTX 1060 so you will have to dial back on the settings more than I do

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I'd say the 1060 is a lot faster than 1050, the 1050 ti is a good bit faster than the regular 1050 and ours over clocks like a champ. The 1060 is on par with an AMD RX 570 and the 1060ti at roughly the RX 580 level at 1080p IMHO the 580 pulls well ahead at 1440p mostly due to the 8gb of memory. 

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I understand my card is not that powerful enough to run ultra in all games but I created this thread because I want to get clear of that error. So my question is does anybody else have such an error while installation? If not please help me out. It may not be the cause of low performance in Fallout 4 but I am sure that it has something to do with stuttering in other games and sometimes unexpected crash in Crysis 3. Fallout 4 is not the only game. I played Wolfenstein The Old blood on max 1080p. It is a pretty old game but I was surprised to see how badly it ran in very specific parts of game and breaking wooden crates destroyed my frames. One more thing I want to say is that these system requirements are inaccurate and just used for pushing in new GPUs in the market. I have played many other games on high-ultra at 1080p and these were one of those in which my card was in the minimum system requirement list.

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To be honest your card isn't powerful enough to run Ultra and get consistent 60 FPS until you get to about 10 year old titles, speaking of titles older than that. I bet it can't come close to doing it on the original Crysis. 

Wolfenstein the Old Blood is not that old and at 1080p has fairly high requirement. Of that series it is also the one that EVERYONE complains about having game engine issues. So again not an AMD issue there either. You mention Crysis 3, it still brings my RX 580 to it's knees at max settings. Cryengine is one of the most hardware demanding engine out there. Not sure about the unexpected crashes as you have not elaborated on what happens when it crashes or supplied diagnostic information. If you are getting those that may be a driver issue. This happens on most RX 4 and 5 series cards since wattman was introduced in the drivers. You need to set your power limit setting in wattman to the maximum for your card, it's a slider just crank it all the way up. That will likely fix the issue of crashes, if not in that game it still will help stability across the board. If it doesn't help, when it crashes reply back with exactly what happens when it crashes and any error code and a direct x diag text file and we likely can figure out at least where the problem is originating from.

As far as fixing the installation errors I already told you what I think you should do, if that doesn't work, and it absolutely should you may need to re-install Windows, you have to have something wrong. If that doesn't work or if you would like to try it first,  I would try that card in another machine. If it works you know it's not the card. Unless you have faulty hardware like the card, motherboard or power supply there is no reason this card should not operate as intended unless the driver installation is hosed, and the method to fix that, I already gave above or Windows has issues itself, so cut your losses and re-install. Beyond that your expectations of what this card should do are just too high. I litterally own 4 currently supported AMD cards and not a one of the currently has an issue that I know of. Now that being said, I did have issues getting the drivers loaded until last week on 3 of those older cards, but the most recent cumulative update from MS fixed this not a change in the AMD drivers and using how I said above to install the drivers did finnally get the current drivers loaded. Thanks MS for that not AMD, it was never AMD's fault. It suits them that they are team red, because when it comes to game and OS optimization they are treated like the red headed step child. But for me it's expected and just part of the fun and experience of supporting the underdog. 

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I attempted re-install of windows and your method too but it did not work. I want to ask if there are any utilities or any of windows inbuilt security that I am forgetting to turn off. I do not have any other system to troubleshoot. If you have any other methods I can try please tell. I do not have any 'expectations' , I was just testing my card.

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There is no GTX 1060 Ti. the next card up from mine is the GTX 1070 which is not available in a single fan configuration.

My GTX 1060 is overclocked so it slugs it out with the RX 580 fairly well. The RX 580 does have more VRAM but I am not a believer that more VRAM will not solve the issue of a slow GPU.

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Sorry meant the 1060 6gb, it is not only more ram but faster too.  on the 1050 they go to Ti.  Don't know why the naming conventions are not consistent. Hope you know what I meant though.

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The extra ram doesn't make the gpu faster but if you run out of ram it then bottlenecks the gpu. So it isn't that it makes it faster its that it doesn't potentially make you slower.  You don't see this at 6gb at 1080p but some of my games now use over 7gb at 1440p on ultra. So believe it or not it does make a difference. This is the very reason the top 4k cards are coming with 11 and 12 gigs now. At that upper end you actually need it.

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WINDOWS 10 VERSION 1809 | HARDCORE GAMES™ 

I posted a screenshot of the VRAM usage on my GTX 750 to illustrate why additional memory is needed for Windows 10 looking forward.

The old way with WDDM and Vista up changed as Windows now shares more memory with the video card than ever. Which is why I focused on it with 1809.

I appreciate the screen shot but I wasn't questioning that 16 should be a minimum these days. I believe I already said as much a couple times above.

Yes you are very correct that the new Windows will share more ram MS is continuing to make large changes to the graphics subsystem. In fact the switch to their universal driver requirements is beginning to happen. I fear this one will be a painful evolution though. So far Intel has been the only ones making the switch and there have been a lot of confusion and complaints. Back to current changes, even many older cpu's with integrated graphics that used to me limited to say 512 mb under Windows 10 get access to much more memory. So your information is great but is something I am already familiar with, but am sure others may not be. I am sure it will help other users that may stumble upon this thread.

Thanks for the share! 

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Hey pokester! I fixed my issue. If you are interested in my solution. I fixed my problem by running the AMD minimal setup for 19.1.2. The driver installed without errors. However this time around the minimal setup installer showed error 1603 saying file path specified not found. Do you have any solution for that? I do not know why can' t AMD get their drivers right. Every user complains about some problem in the installation.Every game you pick is filled with Nvidia's technology which has a really huge impact on performance while this is not the case with NVIDIA. Keeping this in view I think one should go for NVIDIA if he can get it for just a few bucks more. I do not like this AMD 'catch up' game for performance for every game. What's your say?

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Thanks for the link. I fixed the problem myself by just changing the install destination folder. Now all my drivers are installed in an error free way. Also kingfish I looked at your post from passmark and compared it to fallout 4 tomshardware benchmark. First see this-

Fallout 4 Benchmark Results: Full HD With Ultra Preset 

 Now compare this with the passmark software site. What you may find that radeon HD 7850 that is placed much below my card in the passmark site is able to play Fallout 4 at ultra in tomshardware benchmarks. This indicates some problem with my system as the lower end HD 7850 is able to play the game at ultra at 30 fps average while mine manages only 19. Please justify.

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with more shared memory this will load the swap file and rob a machine of performance if there is not enough main memory to handle the needs

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Yep thats how page files work. You run out of ram the unused data is relocated to the disk first and if memory is still thin, it will begin to page the current memory requests too. Of course that means you still have to have something asking for more than you have. 

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