The SVD analysis of the AMIP run with the MRI AGCM shows that the standard model has a quite different mode to the observed for the period 1979-1988. Differences are found over the western Pacific, over the Eurasian continent and over the Arctic. A tuning of the gravity wave drag parameter yields different model climatology, particularly for the subtropical jet in the Pacific, and a teleconnection pattern in the Pacific/North American region. However the simulated SVD modes are not so different from each other. The tropospheric version of the model shows a response more similar to the observed. These differences are discussed together with whether this 10-year period can be used to verify the GCMs with respect to their performance on interannual variability.