RX 6950 XT (reference model) - Low power draw

mellie192 · Aug 18, 2023

Hi everyone, I hope someone can help me out with this, it's driving me crazy.
3 months ago I bought a reference model RX 6950 XT, but after comparing it online with other video's I saw it massively underperformed.
So today, by coincidence, I came across this video and it looks like I'm facing the same issue.
After running Furmark, I found out the power draw peaks at 280W!

I'm not sure what to do and/or how to fix this issue, does anyone have any suggestions?

My full PC specs:

GPU: AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT (AMD reference model)
CPU: Intel i9-10900
PSU: Gigabyte GP-P1000GM 1000W
Motherboard: MSI B460 Tomahawk
RAM: 32GB Trident Z RGB 3200 mhz (4x 8gb)

What I've tried:

Windows 11 factory reset
AMD firmware re-install
Wattage boost in Afterburner (only helped a little, didn't bump it pas 300w)

leezhiran · Aug 18, 2023

Have you checked if both of the 8-pin plugs are in their postion?

GerKNG · Aug 18, 2023

284W is the stock PPT powerlimit of a 6950XT.

Assimilator · Aug 18, 2023

mellie192 said:
Intel i9-10900

There's your problem.

P4-630 · Aug 18, 2023

mellie192 said:
After running Furmark, I found out the power draw peaks at 280W!

It is known that Furmark is throttling down GPU's.

Vya Domus · Aug 18, 2023

Furmark is no longer a good tool for this.

Also what power reading are you actually referring to, is this total board power ?

mellie192 said:
So today, by coincidence, I came across this video and it looks like I'm facing the same issue.

The guy tested cyberpunk and gta 5, two games known to be very CPU bound at times.

I ran into a bug with my 7900XT where the fan would get set manually to something like 20% when I was messing with the overlocking and it cause the card to throttle the clocks for seemingly no reason even though the temperature would not go high. Maybe set the fan speed manually to something like 80% and also increase the power target to maximum and see if this still happens.

And use AMD's adrenalin software for this not something like afterburner.

ViperXZ · Aug 18, 2023

Let it run TimeSpy or Firestrike Ultra, you'll probably see more normal behavior of your GPU there.

damric · Aug 18, 2023

GerKNG said:
284W is the stock PPT powerlimit of a 6950XT.

This. And it's for a reason. If you exceed this using MPT you better keep a very close eye on edge temp.

Devon68 · Aug 18, 2023

Yup seems about right

Processor	5800x3d
Motherboard	msi b550m mortar
Cooling	tr scenic 280v2
Memory	2666 16g*2
Video Card(s)	7900xtx

Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard	ASRock B650E Steel Legend Wifi
Cooling	Arctic Liquid Freezer III 280
Memory	2x16GB Corsair Vengeance RGB 6000 CL30 (A-Die)
Video Card(s)	RTX 4090 Gaming X Trio
Storage	1TB Samsung 990 PRO, 4TB Corsair MP600 PRO XT, 1TB WD SN850X, 4x4TB Crucial MX500
Display(s)	Alienware AW2725DF, LG 27GR93U, LG 27GN950-B
Case	Streacom BC1 V2 Black
Audio Device(s)	Bose Companion Series 2 III, Sennheiser GSP600 and HD599 SE - Creative Soundblaster X4
Power Supply	bequiet! Dark Power Pro 12 1500w Titanium
Mouse	Razer Deathadder V3
Keyboard	Razer Black Widow V3 TKL
VR HMD	Oculus Rift S
Software	~2000 Video Games

System Name	Firelance.
Processor	Threadripper 3960X
Motherboard	ROG Strix TRX40-E Gaming
Cooling	IceGem 360 + 6x Arctic Cooling P12
Memory	8x 16GB Patriot Viper DDR4-3200 CL16
Video Card(s)	MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Ventus 2X OC
Storage	2TB WD SN850X (boot), 4TB Crucial P3 (data)
Display(s)	Dell S3221QS(A) (32" 38x21 60Hz) + 2x AOC Q32E2N (32" 25x14 75Hz)
Case	Enthoo Pro II Server Edition (Closed Panel) + 6 fans
Power Supply	Fractal Design Ion+ 2 Platinum 760W
Mouse	Logitech G604
Keyboard	Razer Pro Type Ultra
Software	Windows 10 Professional x64

System Name	AlderLake
Processor	Intel i7 12700K P-Cores @ 5Ghz
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master
Cooling	Noctua NH-U12A 2 fans + Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme + 5 case fans
Memory	32GB DDR5 Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 6000MT/s CL36
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio
Storage	Samsung 980 Pro 1TB + 970 Evo 500GB + 850 Pro 512GB + 860 Evo 1TB x2
Display(s)	23.8" Dell S2417DG 165Hz G-Sync 1440p
Case	Be quiet! Silent Base 600 - Window
Audio Device(s)	Panasonic SA-PMX94 / Realtek onboard + B&O speaker system / Harman Kardon Go + Play / Logitech G533
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 750W
Mouse	Logitech MX Anywhere 2 Laser wireless
Keyboard	RAPOO E9270P Black 5GHz wireless
Software	Windows 11
Benchmark Scores	Cinebench R23 (Single Core) 1936 @ stock Cinebench R23 (Multi Core) 23006 @ stock

System Name	Good enough
Processor	AMD Ryzen R9 7900 - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora Edge
Motherboard	ASRock B650 Pro RS
Cooling	2x 360mm NexXxoS ST30 X-Flow, 1x 360mm NexXxoS ST30, 1x 240mm NexXxoS ST30
Memory	32GB - FURY Beast RGB 5600 Mhz
Video Card(s)	Sapphire RX 7900 XT - Alphacool Eisblock Aurora
Storage	1x Kingston KC3000 1TB 1x Kingston A2000 1TB, 1x Samsung 850 EVO 250GB , 1x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB
Display(s)	LG UltraGear 32GN650-B + 4K Samsung TV
Case	Phanteks NV7
Power Supply	GPS-750C

System Name	Main
Processor	Ryzen 5950x
Motherboard	B550 PG Velocita
Cooling	Water
Memory	Ballistix
Video Card(s)	RX 6900XT
Storage	T-FORCE CARDEA A440 PRO
Display(s)	MAG401QR
Case	QUBE 500
Audio Device(s)	Logitech Z623
Power Supply	LEADEX V 1KW
Mouse	Cooler Master MM710
Keyboard	Huntsman Elite
Software	11 Pro
Benchmark Scores	https://hwbot.org/user/damric/

System Name	Ryzen 2023
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7700
Motherboard	Asrock B650E Steel Legend Wifi
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15
Memory	G Skill Flare X5 2x16gb cl32@6000 MHz
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Radeon RX 6950 XT Nitro + gaming Oc
Storage	WESTERN DIGITAL 1TB 64MB 7k SATA600 Blue WD10EZEX, WD Black SN850X 1Tb nvme
Display(s)	LG 27GP850P-B
Case	Corsair 5000D airflow tempered glass
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime GX-850W
Mouse	A4Tech V7M bloody
Keyboard	Genius KB-G255
Software	Windows 10 64bit

RX 6950 XT (reference model) - Low power draw

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