Stuttering in Witcher 3, AMD Crossfire

[Dr__Zchivago]

Hey all,

Since I started The Witcher 3 this summer, I've seen some insane stuttering and periodic artifacts when I am running in Crossfire mode.

When I use any single card independently, I can run at full graphics settings with no problems, hiccups, stuttering, or trouble of any kind.

Has anyone else seen this, and come up with some solution? I've been back and forth with AMD reps about it, but I have yet to encounter anything that made a difference.

Hardware is listed under my name (everything is water-cooled - at no time are any temps above 45 C), and I have cycled through setting configurations in game and in the Catalyst Control Center - although, I must apologize for being not very scientific about record-keeping, since I don't have notes on each config and results.

Looking to fix this - I never had trouble in The Witcher or The Witcher 2, nor in any other games (including BF4, amazingly enough).

Z

[InfernoStorm]

The issue is likely caused by incompatible/unstable driver version for your cards or one of your cards is defective. It's most likely the driver causing the issue when crossfire is enabled. Have you tried previous driver versions? I recommend downloading DDU and cleaning out the drivers and then try reinstalling older driver versions to see if the issue goes away.

EDIT: Since you got three cards, have you tried swapping out one at a time to see if it might be one of the cards causing the issue?

[Dr__Zchivago]

InfernoStorm wrote:
The issue is likely caused by incompatible/unstable driver version for your cards or one of your cards is defective. It's most likely the driver causing the issue when crossfire is enabled. Have you tried previous driver versions? I recommend downloading DDU and cleaning out the drivers and then try reinstalling older driver versions to see if the issue goes away.

When I first installed The Witcher 3, on release day, the issue was present. I was running 14.50...something driver pack. So, I rolled back to the previous driver (released late 2014).
A week or so after release, AMD released a new set of drivers and I updated. Sometime in July another update was released, and I updated. I am now trying the most recent beta drivers.
The stuttering issue has been present throughout all, and I have written to AMD with each new driver release and spoken on the phone with their reps.

Every time I update:
1 - Disable Windows automatic device installation via gpo
2 - Completely uninstall the previous drivers and software package (including Catalyst Control Center, etc.) using "Express uninstall all AMD software and drivers."
3 - Update chipset drivers (AMD)
4 - Install new graphics drivers and software.
5 - Enable Windows automatic device installation via gpo

InfernoStorm wrote:
EDIT: Since you got three cards, have you tried swapping out one at a time to see if it might be one of the cards causing the issue?

I can be more specific: "use any single card independently" meant this, exactly. Additionally, I have also run the game from each card, individually, with all three installed - no problems. The stuttering only shows up when Crossfire is enabled, in any configuration (ie: ordered 1, 2, 3 ; 2, 1, 3 ; 3, 1, 2 ; 3, 2, 1, etc.).
Also, I have zero problems in any game except TW3, when Crossfire is enabled.

Z

[InfernoStorm]

If it's just TW3 then obviously your cards are not at fault.

It seems like other people are having this issue (I'm pretty sure you already seen these threads):
https://community.amd.com/thread/183218
http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=402217

AMD definitely needs to release drivers to fix this issue for TW3, otherwise I doubt there would be a workaround solution.

[Dr__Zchivago]

InfernoStorm wrote:
If it's just TW3 then obviously your cards are not at fault.

It seems like other people are having this issue (I'm pretty sure you already seen these threads):
https://community.amd.com/thread/183218
http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=402217

AMD definitely needs to release drivers to fix this issue for TW3, otherwise I doubt there would be a workaround solution.

Yeah - I'm just adding to the long list of forum posts in the hope that somewhere there is someone who has found a configuration to solve this - haha.

Even running the game at the lowest graphics settings does nothing to abate the stuttering - I doubt the two support cards are even active in such a setup (I have also tried disabling ULPS).

Z