7970 Driver Stopped responding

[tornadog]

Couple of weeks back I switched to the higher clocked bios on the Sapphire dual-x to see its overclocking limit. I was able to hit 1275/1725 at 1.25V. I did some benchmarks and was happy with the scores. I didnt have Trixx start at windows startup, so I was running at stock after that, at least I think so.

Two days back I tried the new 12.7 leak, but I had the problem with the HDMI audio. So I rolled back to 12.4 which is the only driver that worked. Now when I boot into windows, and open a browser window, the driver stops responding. It also happens when I just click the start button or click on anything.

As a last resort I switched to the 950 bios and it is working fine. Any idea whats going on?

 

[blackened23]

TDRs usually happen because of unstable overclocks. You can a) revert to a lower overclock b) increase manual fan settings or C) increase voltage through afterburner (note that powertune isn't the same as increased voltage, you must manually input it in afterburner) or D) combinations of a-c

 

[tornadog]

heres whats bugging me. On the 950 bios, I have it overclocked to 1200/1600 and ran heaven all night, no issues.

With 1000 bios, at stock speeds, no overclocking, it gives me TDRs, and that too when I am doing nothing.

 

[blackened23]

heres whats bugging me. On the 950 bios, I have it overclocked to 1200/1600 and ran heaven all night, no issues.

With 1000 bios, at stock speeds, no overclocking, it gives me TDRs, and that too when I am doing nothing.

Yeah that is weird,...you'd think the 2nd BIOS would have higher voltage paramters, but TDRs would indicate it may not.

 

[tornadog]

I have a week before my RMA window closes, should I return it? I was almost going to do it because of the audio issues. Now this too, not encouraging for a card I intend to keep for a while!

 

[Rvenger]

Yes, RMA. Driver crashes are one of the issues that the Sapphire dual-x has. Something is wrong with the card I bet.

 

[blackened23]

I have a week before my RMA window closes, should I return it? I was almost going to do it because of the audio issues. Now this too, not encouraging for a card I intend to keep for a while!

So you can OC it on BIOS1?, I probably wouldn't because i'd just stick it on BIOS 1 and OC it, thats just me though - I don't mind tinkering with voltages and all that stuff manually. But it all depends on how much it annoys you. If its annoying enough yes, especially if you have just a week left.

 

[lavaheadache]

I'm not inclined to think it is the card just yet. Since your issues started after a driver update I would think you are having software issues. Grab a cheapy hard drive and try a fresh install on the drive and see how things go. This way you don't lose your old OS and get to start with a clean slate.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Or just edit the TDR in registry.

 

[Rvenger]

I'm not inclined to think it is the card just yet. Since your issues started after a driver update I would think you are having software issues. Grab a cheapy hard drive and try a fresh install on the drive and see how things go. This way you don't lose your old OS and get to start with a clean slate.

Newegg reviews show quite a few with that issue on the DualX OC cards.

 

[tornadog]

I have requested an RMA from newegg. Now to decide what to get next....same card or another flavor of 7970 or go nvidia!

 

[Plimogz]

What browser are you using?

 

[tornadog]

IE9

 

[Rvenger]

670 FTW or the Powercolor PCS+ with the Vortex II heatsink. Had a very good review on it.

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/46...x_ii_overclocked_video_card_review/index.html

 

[tornadog]

Kinda moot since I already ordered it, but how is the MSI N670 PE? I have not owned an MSI card in a long time, but the last time I had, it fared me well. I also like the blue accents on the Twin Frozr fans.

I dont know why but I have something against EVGA, just keep them as my last choice anytime I am looking at Nvidia cards.