AMD 7000 series flickering/artifacts issue, any known fixes?

[Oscarmk]

For quite some time I though I was the only one having this sporadic and extremely fast hard to catch artifacts at times, but then I found this thread...

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=368290

I am having the same problems seen in the videos in that thread, it seems to happen in only some games, and it is also way more common in some games than it is on others, but overall the problem seems to be a common issue.

The issues also vary with the drivers... 12.4, 12.6, 12.8 12.9 all present either more or less artifacts, but none of them is perfect.

I myself have a Sapphire 7850 OC (which I have already RMA'd once, the OC is factory and down clocking does not make a difference), that is very stable at 60 C during gaming and MAX of 68 C after running EVGA OC Scanner full screen for 1 hour, and seeing ZERO artifacts, which really makes me think this is a driver issue or perhaps just a big bunch of 7XXX series are defective, but the problem is so random, hard to see and only in certain games that only a portion of the 7XXX users notice it. Most likely all the 7XXX users that are running with zero problems just aren't playing the "trouble games".

I was just wondering if anyone found a way to fix this, or if anyone knows which drivers are the most stable?, or perhaps anyone wants to buy a 7850? I so regret buying this card =(...

 

[apache_lives]

sounds like a faulty video card

atitool and furmark tests

also perhaps a lacking PSU - what brand/model?

 

[maestro0428]

Sounds like a driver issue to me too. I have a 7850 and play a variety of games, but have never had an issue with it. What games are you having issues with?

 

[Supernova1138]

Which games are causing you trouble? I know that the 12.9 Beta driver caused artifacting in Skyrim with my 7870 HAWK, had to run driversweeper to purge 12.9 and roll back to 12.8, and that fixed it. Aside from that incident, I haven't had problems with artifacting.

If you are also having problems with your card not staying at 3D clockspeed when 3D applications are open, I would also stay away from 12.9, as with that driver overclocking your card will not fix that problem, leaving you to have to take the more complicated route of disabling powerplay to get your card to stay at 3D clocks.

 

[Coputernewbie]

Instead of replacing youre card try doing a fresh reinstall of the drivers for the card. When you go to add/remove in control panel and remove a program, it just removes "surface" files but leaves of lot of things behind. So try removing ALL the driver files using this:

http://www.guru3d.com/files_details/guru3d_driver_sweeper_%28no_installer%29.html (Now Proper URL)

When ran, it will go through your system directories and registry and remove all old trace files. It should be pretty straight forward. Hunt down the latest catalyst drivers and install for your OS version.

1) Try the link I gave you at the top of the post to the Guru3D site. Download it
2) Find the newest driver for your card and the OS you're using on AMD's site and download them. (non Beta Files)
3) Manually remove the Catalyst / ATI Radeon driver package(s) in the add/remove section of Windows
4) Reboot (do so anyway if not prompted).
5) While rebooting, go into Safe Mode and run the Guru3D program. it should find the ATI/AMD drivers and leftover files by default, and remove them.
6) Install newest Catalyst Driver suite you previously downloaded.

 

[robnof]

Make sure it isn't a driver issue before you diagnose it as a faulty gpu. Are you overclocking your vid card?

 

[Oscarmk]

I have also run ATiTool and it runs without issues, haven't tried Furmark because I heard it is a little dangerous. I will give it a try.

As for the card it is only factory overclocked by Sapphire, but downclocking the card does not have any effect on the artifacts. I have not tried driver sweeper so I will give that a try, what I did last time to remove was follow a thread at guru3d with about 30 steps to remove everything, including registry files.

My UPS shows max power draw of 250 W, and my PSU is a seasonic 620 W about 8 months old, card stays during gaming at constant 900/1200 which is the default factory OC clock, it never changes according to GPU-Z, load is 80-100 depending, and max temp is 60 with fans at 30%.

I am no sure what the 3D clocks are, are they the speeds that ar shown in GPU-Z?. I play in full screen non-windowed mode all the time.

In have already RMA my card once, and I am seeing exact same results, My motherboard a Maximis IV gene-z/gen3 has 2 pci -16x so I also tried seating the card at the other pci slot with the same results.

The worst offender is Guild Wars 2, for which there are a few threads of this glitches, but not that many, it could be the game i guess. Guild Wars 2 artifacts for the most part show in divinity reach town, and are quite uncommon on other areas. In Starcraft II, I dont see them, even thought many people with 7xxx series say they have artifacts in SC but not me. In Diablo 3, I have only seen them in the Auction House ocasionally, but I ha e never noticed during actual game play. I do not play other games, are there any free demos of games that would be a good test?.

 

[Coputernewbie]

Im just like you. I built my first computer and everything ran great, and then at some point or another I had to change out the drivers and thats when my problems occurred.

My computer wouldnt operate on MineCraft, Loong, PWI, or Forsaken World. (PC Games)

It would occasionally malfunction on Google Images, YouTube and even Windows Media Player. But for some reason I was able to play SWTOR. My point being that, the game probably doesnt have any baring on whether or not the spots will show. And considering how many times you said youve changed out the drivers, there is most likely a lot of leftovers.

Just try the Guru program and see if that help. Remember to follow the steps

 

[Oscarmk]

Im just like you. I built my first computer and everything ran great, and then at some point or another I had to change out the drivers and thats when my problems occurred.

My computer wouldnt operate on MineCraft, Loong, PWI, or Forsaken World. (PC Games)

It would occasionally malfunction on Google Images, YouTube and even Windows Media Player. But for some reason I was able to play SWTOR. My point being that, the game probably doesnt have any baring on whether or not the spots will show. And considering how many times you said youve changed out the drivers, there is most likely a lot of leftovers.

Just try the Guru program and see if that help. Remember to follow the steps

Where should I get driver sweeper from?. The link you gave me is incomplete, a search for in guru 3d only shows a post from 2010, then I read it got discontinue and now it is driver fusion???. What should I download?

 

[Coputernewbie]

Wow. Really sorry bout that! I apologize. here:

http://www.guru3d.com/files_details/guru3d_driver_sweeper_%28no_installer%29.html

Scroll down and go to "Download Locations".
Click "Mirror 7"

 

[Oscarmk]

Wow. Really sorry bout that! I apologize. here:

http://www.guru3d.com/files_details/guru3d_driver_sweeper_%28no_installer%29.html

Scroll down and go to "Download Locations".
Click "Mirror 7"

Thank you for link, should I use this or driver fusion?

 

[Coputernewbie]

I have tried other programs to solve my problem and have had complete success with this program. So from experience Id say to use this sweeper I sent you and not fusion.

 

[urdegish]

Did this resolve your problems Oscarmk?

EDIT: And is your monitor connected via VGA or HDMI?

 

[Marcin Woszczak]

I've noticed that when I disabled cleartype font flickering stops. As for me this issue common only with 1080p resolution. Maybe there is a problem with morphological filtering? I found this problem in most of dx10/11 games.