Radeon 7850 problem

[arska1994]

So I really would like if someone could help me fix this problem... About a week ago I started having these issues. When I finished playing and returned to desktop, my PC started lagging and acting weird. I don't know how to describe it other than saying that it felt like a game that my graphics card couldn't run. The cursor was "warping" instead of "flowing" where I wanted it to go. It took minutes just to get to the Control Panel or just trying to explore my files. At this point using my PC had become so irritating that I just turned it off.

I was surprised after I turning my PC back on after the night. Everything ran smooth and normal. But once again, after playing... Same problem occurs. I tried restarting the PC and the problem was still there. So I realized that if I wanted a smooth internet experience I had to turn my PC off for about 20-60 minutes after gaming.....

Then I noticed something... When I right clicked the desktop and chose Screen Resolution and the window popped up, there's a drop menu next to a text saying "Display:". Normally the drop menu just says "1. X223W" as it is my monitor (I don't have multiple monitors and never have had). But when I was experiencing this lagging, it kept changing:

X223W -> Mobile PC Display (Or some Mobile PC thing) -> Non-Generic PnP Monitor -> X223W etc.

And it kept changing constantly. It changed through the three in a second and then it just continued the same routine.

I started my PC in Safe Mode. The problem was nowhere to be seen. I wiped the Radeon 7850 drivers and restarted. After that the lagging stopped. I then proceeded to download older drivers for 7850 and after that the problem came back.

After wrestling with the on/off problem for days I decided it was time to format the PC and reinstall Windows 7. Now the problem has turned around. It doesn't lag as much when I am in internet but when I play, the game starts lagging every 5 minutes. 4 minutes of smooth gameplay and 1 minute of weird lagging.

I have absolutely no idea what would be causing this kind of behaviour and I am getting a bit freaked because this computer was my first "adult" purchase as I am 18 years old.

Is my graphics card broken? I read somewhere that this card had some 2D/3D Clocking issues but I have no idea how to fix them and I don't even know what they are.

Specs:
Graphics card: AMD Radeon HD 7850
Processor: Intel Core i5-3570K 3,40 GHz
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme 4
8GB RAM

Please can someone help?

 

[rdc85]

try check the temperature of the card and the processor...

it sound like the card is throtle-ing because overheat,...

 

[haider95]

Yeah sounds like an overheat issue. Easiest GPU temp monitoring software is GPU tool, comes with a built in stress test too. Run stress test and report back

 

[arska1994]

I downloaded GPU Tool but for some reason it didn't work... I downloaded FurMark and ran a 5 minute stress test. GPU temperature was at it's max at 63 degrees celsius. I did watch the whole process and it didn't seem like it was going to get any warmer. I downloaded prime95 and I am currently running it and monitoring CPU temperatures at the same time.

 

[haider95]

I know this is the oldest one in the book but download the latest drivers, disconnect your internet and un-install the AMD drivers you're currently running through the control panel. Then check device manager to make sure there are no AMD drivers in there. Reboot the PC and since you're not connected to the internet it won't update drivers, Then install the drivers you downloaded and reboot. see if that fixes it. Most of the time (60% its the damn drivers). Also, while you're at it.. run both prime95 and furmark at the same time. If your problem starts happening then its safe to say that the PSU is not providing enough power

 

[arska1994]

I know this is the oldest one in the book but download the latest drivers, disconnect your internet and un-install the AMD drivers you're currently running through the control panel. Then check device manager to make sure there are no AMD drivers in there. Reboot the PC and since you're not connected to the internet it won't update drivers, Then install the drivers you downloaded and reboot. see if that fixes it. Most of the time (60% its the damn drivers). Also, while you're at it.. run both prime95 and furmark at the same time. If your problem starts happening then its safe to say that the PSU is not providing enough power

I did the driver thing you suggested. Didn't fix anything. I then 'under'clocked the GPU and the problem went away.. Almost. Now my PC does not lag when I'm surfing on the internet but when I'm playing games sometimes I get these horrible lag spikes. I noticed that during these lag spikes MSI Afterburner says that my GPU usage drops from 90%-100% to 0%. I'm not sure if the GPU usage drop causes the lag or other way around. Is it possible that this has something to do with the PSU like you thought?

 

[haider95]

What power supply are you using

 

[arska1994]

What power supply are you using

Super Flower Golden Green Pro 400W

 

[hardice2000]

Is it the same game that you played and got the same problem?
If this happens after playing with that one specific game then it could be a memory leak or the game didn't fully close out.
Check your Task Manager and see if the game or something else is running in the background and eating up your resources when this happens.

 

[arska1994]

Is it the same game that you played and got the same problem?

After reinstalling Windows I have only played BF3, Tomb Raider and Grand Theft Auto IV. Tomb Raider suffers like 2-3 of these lag spikes and then continues smoothly. The lag spikes strike BF3 so hard and so often that I haven't even tried to hang out to see if they end. GTA IV's lag spikes won't go away either.

This is what happens during the lag spikes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG3gRfS11hI&feature=youtu.be
Windows 7 keeps playing the "New device has been found" sound keeps repeating

 

[hardice2000]

What power supply are you using

Super Flower Golden Green Pro 400W

I'm thinking the PSU is the source of the problem, may not be getting enough power to the card. I haven't heard of that brand so I can't give a definitive answer. 400W also may not be enough for the card, AMD always gives a higher wattage (recommended by AMD is 500W for a 7850) than you really need for their cards, but you may need a 500W or higher PSU.

 

[smeezekitty]

Never heard of super flower so I would be suspicious. 400 watts is also about the minimum for a typical system with a 7850 - decent 450+w would be preferred.

That said it does not sound like a PSU issue to me. I am suspecting a bad card.

 

[arska1994]

What power supply are you using

Super Flower Golden Green Pro 400W

I'm thinking the PSU is the source of the problem, may not be getting enough power to the card. I haven't heard of that brand so I can't give a definitive answer. 400W also may not be enough for the card, AMD always gives a higher wattage (recommended by AMD is 500W for a 7850) than you really need for their cards, but you may need a 500W or higher PSU.

Yeah I have thought about that too. F*uck me then... First serious buy of my, what seems to be an unlucky adult life...
Do you know why it took like six months for the PSU to get to this point? When I got this PC I was playing BF3 for hours per day and it didn't have any problems, Far Cry 3 ran smoothly too. Did it "age" faster under heavy use or something?

You may notice from the disbelief and the questions that I have absolutely no idea what to do to a PC when it comes down to actually opening it

 

[smeezekitty]

Sometimes the capacitors in a PSU fail causing reducing its maximum power output.

 

[arska1994]

I have an unused 500W power supply (I bought it when I was young and naivé and thought I could actually get enough money for a PC myself). It is APX power supply and I don't know anything about is it good or not. Maybe some day in the hopefully not so distant future I meet someone who can actually navigate inside a PC and test the other PSU.
Tomorrow I'm going to call my friend and ask about possibly switching video cards for a while to see if it is the cause.

 

[hardice2000]

What power supply are you using

Super Flower Golden Green Pro 400W

I'm thinking the PSU is the source of the problem, may not be getting enough power to the card. I haven't heard of that brand so I can't give a definitive answer. 400W also may not be enough for the card, AMD always gives a higher wattage (recommended by AMD is 500W for a 7850) than you really need for their cards, but you may need a 500W or higher PSU.

Yeah I have thought about that too. F*uck me then... First serious buy of my, what seems to be an unlucky adult life...
Do you know why it took like six months for the PSU to get to this point? When I got this PC I was playing BF3 for hours per day and it didn't have any problems, Far Cry 3 ran smoothly too. Did it "age" faster under heavy use or something?

You may notice from the disbelief and the questions that I have absolutely no idea what to do to a PC when it comes down to actually opening it

Some of the cheaper PSUs will degrade due to bad parts/work.
But I wouldn't quite write-off the PSU just yet.
If you can, see if you can swap in your card into someone else's computer and see how it works when playing a similar game (don't forget to make sure they have the same drivers). Make a note of that computer's specs if you do.

If you get similar problems, then you'll know the card was bad. If it runs fine then I'll put my money on the PSU.

**Edit** I just saw your above post, I'm just too slow with my responses

 

[arska1994]

**Edit** I just saw your above post, I'm just too slow with my responses

Nah, no problem. I think I went a bit hyper active
It seems like I just need to look on the bright side. At least the PC works perfectly when I'm not playing games! But to be fair... Who would buy a gaming PC to play amirite? :lol:

 

[arska1994]

So when I play my GPU clocks are at 1000/1225 and when I get the lag spikes they plummet to 300/500. I have been reading that other people has had the same problem with AMD HD 7800 series.

 

[rdc85]

Actually superflower is a good brand according to Tom's PSU article, They are OEM manufacturer rarely sells with they own brand...
but again it will depends of the type or the model of the PSU...

 

[haider95]

Even if that power supply IS 80+. you're forgetting that its only 400w out of which the systems probably getting around 360 or something. Dude test the card out in another PC if you can

 

[arska1994]

Even if that power supply IS 80+. you're forgetting that its only 400w out of which the systems probably getting around 360 or something. Dude test the card out in another PC if you can

Going to visit my friend in the weekend. We're going to put my card in his PC and see if these problems occur. I probably just need to relax until then and not play anything.