ZeroCore not working (GPU not turning off when idle) on Windows 10

Snaiper · 15 Oct 2015

Basic info:

OS: Windows 10 Pro (x64)
GPU: Sapphire Radeon R9 270X TOXIC (Factory OC)
Drivers: 15.10 Beta (Latest)

I have Sapphire Radeon R9 270X TOXIC graphics card in my system and everything has been running fine since I first put it in and installed Windows 8.1 onto my system (mind a few driver crashes that were resolved by mere reinstallation of drivers). Then I upgraded to Windows 10 very successfully (after two weeks of Windows 10 update not working properly, which was resolved right on this very forum - THANK YOU!!)

Everything seems to work well on Windows 10, except for the fact that AMD's ZeroCore technology which my GPU has is just not working. When my PC is idle and/or when my screen is off my GPU should turn off, and that was so on Windows 8.1, but that does not happen in Windows 10 - my GPU stays constantly on. And to me it is just not know why that is.

TOXIC version of the 270X has LED-lit text on it saying "Sapphire" which turns on and off alongside the GPU. Now, whenever it turns on or off a "bzing" sound can be heard, which I suppose is normal, and when turning on the PC from cold state of off, it can turn on and off twice in 2 seconds; but that's normal and has been like so ever since I bought the card. That's just the LED text, fans don't turn on and off like that. Now, the reason I'm saying that is because when my screen is off and PC is inactive, when ZeroCore is supposed to kick in, I can hear that "bzing" sound happen, yet nothing turning on or off. As if the GPU wants to turn itself off, yet something, such as Windows system, is not letting it happen. Whilst my PC is inactive, I hear that sound every 5-10 minutes (didn't measure quite right, but that is about the period I feel it happens in, and that is also the time when ZeroCore is supposed to kick in) - as if the GPU is going to sleep "Heya, good night" and Windows 10 is just like "Nope, you ain't!"

Now, I assure you that my GPU works fine and there aren't any hardware damages. So, I suppose we should focus on the software side of things.

TL;DR:
Ever since the upgrade to Windows 10, ZeroCore is not working; my GPU is not turning off when the screen is off. It used to work fine on Windows 8.1.

Issue reported on AMD Forums

Snaiper · 18 Oct 2015

Update:

I've provided further links to other websites I've put questions about this issue on.
I speculate the issue has to do with AMD's Catalyst drivers that came out for and alongside Windows 10.
I've found that I am, after all, not the only one reporting this issue.
And there's still no solution in sight.

fracking4oil · 18 Oct 2015

Have you tried hibernate rather than sleep mode? Sleep mode has issues (at least for me), although I'm on a Nvidia card.

Edited: Also does your PSU support c6/c7 states (only the newer PSUs do)? If not you may need to disable them in your bios.

Snaiper · 18 Oct 2015

fracking4oil said:

Have you tried hibernate rather than sleep mode? Sleep mode has issues (at least for me), although I'm on a Nvidia card.

Edited: Also does your PSU support c6/c7 states (only the newer PSUs do)? If not you may need to disable them in your bios.

ZeroCore kicks in whenever the screen is off, at least that's how it worked and is supposed to work.
I also use hybrid sleep, which has nothing to do with ZeroCore really.
It used to work fine on Windows 8.1 and therefore there shouldn't be any issues now.

I am not sure if it supports it or not, but no changes have been made in BIOS since the upgrade. I'll have to check on that.