Sapphire 6970HD issues

Hyraclyon · 11-03-2011, 07:54 AM

I've had an Sapphire HD 6970 card for a few months now but it recently started giving me massive artifacts and BSOD/reboots. This only happened when drivers were installed, and the few times I actually managed to start up a game I had no issues at all. So they were only present in the 2D windows environment. As the issues persisted I brought the card back to the retailer at which I bought it and received a new one after a few weeks. (It had to be sent to the sapphire HQ first.) However after I had installed the new card the same issues came back. At first they were not as bad as they used to be with the old card, but they gradually became worse as the AMD display driver kept on crashing and after a while it even rebooted the PC entirely. When I uninstalled the drivers the problems dissapeared, as had been the case with the old card. The chance that two cards break down one after the other is really small so I'd imagine the problem lies somewhere else. I just don't have a clue where to start looking.

These are my specs:

QuadCore Intel Core i5-2500K, 4333 MHz (42 x 103)

Sapphire radeon 6970HD 2gb

Asus P8P67 LE (3 PCI, 2 PCI-E x1, 2 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR3 DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394)

Kingston 9905403-181.A00LF 4 GB DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM x 2

Bequiet! Straightpower 450W atx Power Supply

Anyone have a clue?

HARDHELPER · 11-03-2011, 08:00 AM

Have you tried using this card in another computer? My guess (for the first time) is that your PSU might be on the edge of being too weak.

Hyraclyon · 11-03-2011, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HARDHELPER

Have you tried using this card in another computer? My guess (for the first time) is that your PSU might be on the edge of being too weak.

I haven't but I will do so tonight. With the old card however the problems also surfaced when they tested the card at the retailer, so at least for that one it seemed the card itself was broken. Let's hope it's not the same with this one.

Ok, so I tested it in another pc and had no issues at all. That pc has a 480W power supply. I also put an old 5770HD card (Which uses less power) I had lying around in the pc with which I had issues and had no problems anymore. So I guess it's the power supply then?

Tyree · 11-03-2011, 04:30 PM

The PSU would be the problem. The BeQuiet is poor quality and underpowered for the 6970.
You need a good quality 650W minimum PSU to safely power the 6970.
Both PSU's below are SeaSonic made, top quality and have a 5 yr. warranty.

Newegg.com - XFX Core Edition PRO650W (P1-650S-NLB9) 650W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply

Johnny1982 · 11-03-2011, 10:55 PM

450w is no way near enough for the HD6970. I would prefer to see it powered by a 750w PSU.

Newegg.com - XFX Core Edition PRO750W (P1-750S-NLB9) 750W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply

AMD's spec sheet says you need a minimum of 550w PSU, so add 30% extra for other components to that and you get to a figure of 715w total, hence my reasoning for a 750w PSU rather.

Tyree · 11-04-2011, 05:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HARDHELPER

Again, it's still for the system and not for the card itself Johnny. I understand you have your policies but please tell him the right things atleast.

550w-600w would be enough but since these forums wants you to use more than you need go for that 750w.

What "these forums wants" is never the issue. The power needed to safely supply the hardware with a sufficient supply of clean power to help insure longevity and prevent damage is our concern.
AMD says 550W or greater system power. Add 30%=710.

Power Supply Information and Selection

Hyraclyon · 11-04-2011, 05:04 AM

Ok I think i'm going for this one: Cooler Master Silent Pro 700W | Tech-Reviews UK

700w, 5 year warranty, apparently excellent quality according to that review and not too expensive. And I can get it at my local store.

Anyway thanks for the help guys, if I run into anymore trouble i'll report back in. :)

Tyree · 11-04-2011, 05:12 AM

Your money-your choice but I would suggest going with XFX or Corsair for the better quality.

Johnny1982 · 11-04-2011, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyree

Your money-your choice but I would suggest going with XFX or Corsair for the better quality.

I too would rather opt for the ones I linked earlier. The Cooler Master PSU only has 2x 6+2pin PCI-E connectors which is not a lot for a 700w unit, I know that's not the issue, but compare that with even the "modest" 650w XFX PSU linked by Tyree, that has 2x 6pin and 2x 6+2pin PCI-E connectors. My HX750w has 4x 6+2pin PCI-E connectors.

But like Tyree says, ultimately the onus is on you which model you purchase.

PS: Looking at that review you posted, at idle that PSU is pushing out almost 13v on the 12v rail, NOT GOOD for your graphics card and the 5v Rail is also below spec. I WOULD STEER CLEAR FROM THAT PSU ALTOGETHER.

greenbrucelee · 11-04-2011, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hyraclyon

Ok I think i'm going for this one: Cooler Master Silent Pro 700W | Tech-Reviews UK

700w, 5 year warranty, apparently excellent quality according to that review and not too expensive. And I can get it at my local store.

Anyway thanks for the help guys, if I run into anymore trouble i'll report back in. :)

You should go for a better brand as suggested.

The psu should be your main concern when having a custom system epsecially when it comes to the graphics card.

Running underpowered like you have been doing can cause other components to fail.

Hyraclyon · 11-04-2011, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenbrucelee

You should go for a better brand as suggested.

The psu should be your main concern when having a custom system epsecially when it comes to the graphics card.

Running underpowered like you have been doing can cause other components to fail.

And it seems it has done exactly that. Installed my new 700w psu, (not the one I suggested earlier, instead I went for a corsair) but the pc starts up and then after a few seconds just reboots. This then continues endlessly. Once it started up briefly but I then got artifacts and a disfigured bluescreen. So it can't be the PSU (although it could have caused it), can't be the graphic card because it works in another pc.. So I'm guessing my motherboard/cpu or ram got screwed up.. This is turning out to be one expensive little venture.

greenbrucelee · 11-04-2011, 10:42 AM

artifacts are usually down to the vram on the graphics card being damaged usually by heat or power.

Sometimes they can happen due to a faulty or corrupt graphics driver.

CPUs very rarely fail unless exposed to heat.

ram can by tested by downloading memtest86 burn to disk and with one ram stick installed boot from memtest and run for several passes then swap sticks.

You can also test wether the motherboards ram slots are ok by swapping the sticks to different slots and running memtest again.

Look at your motherboard for burned parts or damaged capacitors.

Hyraclyon · 11-06-2011, 01:18 PM

Ok so I continued to search for the cause, and I am now typing this from my former non-functioning pc with another graphics card in it. It seems my old HD5770 and nvidia 9800gtx both work fine on this motherboard, I have no issues at all. Meanwhile the graphics card with which I had issues is now in another pc also running as smooth as butter.

So the card itself is non-faulty, it can't be the psu because it was replaced by a quality one, and the motherboard, cpu, hard drives and ram work fine with other cards. The bios has also been updated, I even reset it after that didn't work just to be sure, but to no avail. My only guess right now is that for some reason my Asus P8P67 LE motherboard's PCI-e slot does not connect with the HD 6970 properly..

greenbrucelee · 11-06-2011, 01:27 PM

do other cards work ok in that slot?

Hyraclyon · 11-07-2011, 12:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenbrucelee

do other cards work ok in that slot?

Yes they do. It's just the 6970 that gives me problems, but not in other computers. It's a really weird problem.

Johnny1982 · 11-07-2011, 01:59 AM

I'm guessing your new PSU is the Corsair GS700. The Gaming Series - GS Model is not recommended by TSF. They are manufactured by a different company to the AX, HX, TX ranges. Have you tried a different higher quality PSU? Maybe a Friend's computer.

Derek12 · 11-09-2011, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyree

What "these forums wants" is never the issue. The power needed to safely supply the hardware with a sufficient supply of clean power to help insure longevity and prevent damage is our concern.
AMD says 550W or greater system power. Add 30%=710.

Power Supply Information and Selection

Pc only boots after resetting cmos!?

I have no more to say except HARDHELPER is totally right.

Johnny1982 · 11-09-2011, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derek12

Pc only boots after resetting cmos!?

I have no more to say except HARDHELPER is totally right.

Your choice, but we are giving you info from experiences from our side. Choose whoever you prefer to trust. Tyree has loads of experience and is the Manager of the Hardware Team.

Cheers Johnny