Sapphire HD6870 Problem

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
V

vwluke

Distinguished
Apr 27, 2007
24
0
18,510
I recently built a new computer with these specs:

Intel i5 2500k
MSI: P67A-G43
8GB GSkill RaptorX
Sapphire HD6870 1GB
1TB Seagate HD
WIN 7 X64
Thermalake V3 430w Case

My issues is that my computer randomly locks up with a diffrent color screen and vertical lines. I have to restart my computer to solve the issue. I noticed that this issue usually occurs while browsing youtube or other flash based content. it has yet to happen while gaming. My question is if i should RMA the card.

I searched google and found that the 5xxx where infamous for having this issue but i havent found anything for the 6870.

I am running all updated drivers.

any help would be apprecaited

Thank you

 
Sort by date Sort by votes
ubercake

ubercake

Splendid
Oct 28, 2009
7,270
5
29,815
Is the PSU the TR2-430 (can you see the label)?
If so, the PSU looks to be able to handle a single 6870 fine. You do have the OC edition of the 2500 processor, though. Are you OC'ing anything?

If you're OC'ing anything, you could be exceeding the 12V available on the rails and that can cause issues. Stop OC'ing anything and run the system that way or pick up a PSU with more gusto (ie Corsair TX650).

If you're not OC'ing and your memory checks out OK, return/exchange that video card.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
V

vwluke

Distinguished
Apr 27, 2007
24
0
18,510
I am not OC'ing anything everything is on stock speeds i will run the memory test when i get home. Its wierd though i was playing the witcher 2 for a couple of hours yesterday with no errors it only happens with flash content and it seems that if i disable hardware accelaration it stops the issue.

The PSU is a TR2-430
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
R

RazberyBandit

Distinguished
Dec 25, 2008
2,303
0
19,960
Like Ubercake, I'd question the PSU under load conditions, but we're not talking about load conditions here. We're talking about a card running in UVD-mode during Flash playback. And while the Tt TR2-430 is not a very good PSU (especially for a power/gaming build), it should be sufficient. He does bring up a good point regarding overclocking, though. If indeed you are OC'ing your CPU, you very well could be running into power deficiency issues.

Perhaps Flash needs updating...?

Also, by recent drivers, are you referring to Catalyst 11.6? I've run into many people over the last month or so complaining about issues with 11.6, most of which were resolved by using or rolling-back to 11.5 or 11.4 instead.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
V

vwluke

Distinguished
Apr 27, 2007
24
0
18,510
I am currently using 11.6. but you bring up a valid point i will try to roll back the drivers. i am using the most current flash player but i will try to update to flash 11 beta to see if that helps. Its hard to check if the issues is fixed because it happens randomly.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
V

vwluke

Distinguished
Apr 27, 2007
24
0
18,510
I am home and in front of the computer i ran the windows memory test and no errors. i also updated flash to flash 11 beta. its hard to diagnose the problem since it happens so randomly is there a way to test it?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
R

RazberyBandit

Distinguished
Dec 25, 2008
2,303
0
19,960
Aside from simply playing Flash videos and trying to make it happen again, no...

Replicating the conditions under which the problem occurred previously should be as simple as that, unless there was something else you were doing simultaneously.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
V

vwluke

Distinguished
Apr 27, 2007
24
0
18,510
i downgraded to ati 11.5 drivers and been on youtube clicking random videos for 15 minutes and no error. So i gave up and went back to playing The Witcher 2 which actually is getting a solid 50-60fps with the 11.5 drivers. Keeping my fingers crossed that its just a driver issue.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
R

RazberyBandit

Distinguished
Dec 25, 2008
2,303
0
19,960
I'd suspect the card then, as it seems to have a problem operating in UVD mode, and/or alternating between 2D and UVD mode.

Can you still return it to the vendor? If so, exchanging or RMA'ing it shouldn't be a big deal. If you have to go through Sapphire, you'll have to explain the problem to their tech support. At that point, you'll have to satisfy their requirements to approve an RMA. You may wish to speak to Sapphire tech support regardless to see if they've encountered the issue previously and are aware that it's a problem.

I had my own issues with recent Flash 10 version updates on my 4890 and 4850 systems. Both systems would regularly suffer display driver lock-ups during Flash playback when switching from boxed to full-screen and back. Fortunately, GPU recovery would kick-in and prevent system crashes. The most-recent Flash update cured the problem on both my systems, but I suspect a little-known issue existed between ATI/AMD GPUs and Flash. It's possible such an issue still exists, or a new one may have arisen.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ubercake

ubercake

Splendid
Oct 28, 2009
7,270
5
29,815
The recommended wattage is to try to cover those generic supplies which don't have the right proportion of wattage available to the 12V rail and should be considered a general guideline only. Your supply has enough Wattage and Amperage available on the 12V rail for your card. The following review shows the power requirement for a system with a 6870 at full load:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6850-6870-review/10

I don't think a power problem would cause an issue with Flash content only. You'd definitely see this thing fail while playing games if power was a problem as the load on the GPU would be at its highest while gaming and in turn the power draw would be at its highest.

I think RazberyBandit makes a good point with regard to the UVD to 2D mode as the trigger.

I would go the RMA route first. Get a new card. If the same thing happens, you can conclude the drivers and the interaction with flash is the issue. But I wouldn't think AMD customers would just accept their cards not working with flash, though. So I think this case is more isolated and due to a faulty card.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
R

RazberyBandit

Distinguished
Dec 25, 2008
2,303
0
19,960
I would also suspect it's an isolated issue, but having run into similar issues myself on ATI/AMD hardware while using Flash recently, I'm not entirely certain. Exchanging the card to see if a replacement suffers from the same issue would definitely narrow it down, as ubercake explained. Should a second card suffer from the same problem, then you should completely uninstall Flash, update your browser(s), and reinstall it. Heck. You might even want to try that now. At least then you'd be certain you've avoided any potential version errors/conflicts.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
V

vwluke

Distinguished
Apr 27, 2007
24
0
18,510
Its such a wierd problem i would understand if it was doing it while under heavy load but while playing flash content and having it happen so randomly its a pain to test. I dont want to RMA it and have them not find anything wrong with and send it back to me.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
V

vwluke

Distinguished
Apr 27, 2007
24
0
18,510
on newegg.com i checked with them and its not a big issues to do a RMA. but i did do what u recommended. I uninstalled all my drivers flash and browsers. I installed CAT 11.5 and Google Chrome instead of Firefox. Been watching videos on youtube for about 45 minutes without a error. keeping my fingers crossed
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom