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7970 Odd Screen issue

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Proteos

Gawd
Joined
May 28, 2008
Messages
656
Lately I've noticed that my 7970 does some funky stuff on screen. Please see this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t65fvgTabo (this is not my video, but it's identical to what happens with mine). Has anybody else run across this issue? I do not believe this is a hardware issue, as it does not happen in game (BF3 or SC2) and my temperatures are pretty good (66C max on load). Should I look into RMAing my card? I've tried all drivers out and have the same issues (12.1, 12.2 and 12.3). Thanks for any help in advance :)
 
I believe its an issue with the drivers. Montior your clock speeds with afterburner and see if they spike up and down. I had a similar problem with my setup. It did not happen that offten though. Another user suggested trying another browser. I was on the 12.3 drivers and ended up going back to 12.2 drivers. When you uninstall just make sure you get rid of all traces of the drivers.

Heres what my afterburner looked like:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1685904
 
The issue arose with my old benq v2400w using dvi. I just bought an xl2420t and I'm using a mini dp to dp cable, and the issue still persists. It's not nearly as bad as the video I linked; mine is much more sporadic and appears to not be triggered by the same thing every time (as far as I can tell right now).
 
Hammerforged, thank you for the input. I have not oced yet, but I will monitor my speeds in ccc next time it happens.
 
Proteos said:
Hammerforged, thank you for the input. I have not oced yet, but I will monitor my speeds in ccc next time it happens.
Click to expand...

I am also using one 120hz monitor and mini dp to dp cable (monoprice). My issue sounds exactly like yours. It only started once I updated to the 12.3 drivers. Last night I tried the 12.4 betas and the issue was still there. So I cleaned out all my drivers and went back to 12.2 and it no longer happens. If you do try 12.2 drivers just make sure the other drivers are completely gone. Good luck.
 
hammerforged said:
I am also using one 120hz monitor and mini dp to dp cable (monoprice). My issue sounds exactly like yours. It only started once I updated to the 12.3 drivers. Last night I tried the 12.4 betas and the issue was still there. So I cleaned out all my drivers and went back to 12.2 and it no longer happens. If you do try 12.2 drivers just make sure the other drivers are completely gone. Good luck.
Click to expand...

What method do you use to remove all the drivers? I've been using driver sweeper in safe mode, but I've thought about using atiman.
 
Thats probably better than what I do. I usually just clean uninstall the drivers through control panel, restart. Then I go into the c drive and delete the AMD/ATI folder. For some reason this folder sticks around even after uninstalling everything. It will show every driver youve ever installed if you dont delete it. Its in the main root of the c drive for me. Then in control panel I go to free up disk space (under performance and maintenance I think) and that gets rid of all my temp files and cleans up leftovers. Not sure if that last step does anything but it cant hurt I figure ha.
 
Haha, sounds good. I'll give the 12.2 drivers a shot again and see if the problem persists. Thanks again for all the help!
 
Mine does that too...
but I notice it only happens when it changes the clock speed...

like in this video it happens when it change the clock to higher value to run the videos, you can notice the problem when he press play.

I´m using eyefinity, dunno about single displays.
 
Looks like my problem still persists. Had no issues for two days after switching to the 12.2 drivers after a clean sweep of the drivers on my computer... but this morning the issue reared its ugly head again. Hopefully this is fixed in the 12.4 drivers...
 
Thats really odd that it would work for a couple of days then start back up like that. Can you think of anything you installed or did different that would change it? You can always try the 12.4 beta or 12.1drivers out there. I dont have a link but you can search the forum for them and give it a shot.
 
I have this issue with my 5870 when I overclock it. But only in 2d mode. In game I get no issues.
 
Looks like the card is switching profiles, probably from LP 2D to Perf 2D. My 4850 would do this whenever I upgraded drivers. I had a autopatcher for it to lock the card in perf 3D at all time so that wouldn't happen. I'll see if I still have it when I get off work.
 
I had this exact same issue with both of my 7970's.

I RMA'd my first one (gigabyte custom cooler) because of it, and then was bummed when the replacement (Sapphire stock cooler) had the same issue.

I found that I only had this issue over DVI and HDMI, and I think I found a solution. Read on.

For me the problem arose when i switched out my two 6970's for a single 7970.

My configuration was as follows:

Left Side Monitor (1600x1200 portrait): DVI
Center Monitor (2560x1600, landscape) DisplayPort
Right Side Monitor (1600x1200 portrait): DVI

I was using the ASUS DirectCUII models so they had two DVI ports each. When I switched to the 7970 I used an HDMI to DVI converter for one of the side monitors.

The issue immediately became apparent upon switching to the 7970 on the side monitors only, but not on the center monitor. Turning the monitors off and on again made the sparkles go away until the next power cycle. Switching one of the 6970's back in made the problem go away, so it was definitely related to the video card.

This is what I did to fix the problem

I replaced the DVI cables. That simple.

It appears as if the 7970 is more sensitive to lower quality DVI cables than most other video cards. The DVI cables I was using were the cheapest ones I could find online five or six years ago. Just on a whim, I used a more solid one I got with one of my monitors and swapped it in, and the problem was instantly gone.

it wasn't what I was expecting based on the symptoms, but it worked. :p
 
Thank you all for the feedback. In relation to the cables, does anyone know where I can purchase a 10 ft mini dp to dp cable to see if the monoprice cable I bought is the issue?
 
Proteos said:
Thank you all for the feedback. In relation to the cables, does anyone know where I can purchase a 10 ft mini dp to dp cable to see if the monoprice cable I bought is the issue?
Click to expand...

What output are you currently using when you see the problem? DVI? I never saw my issue over DP at all (but then again, maybe my DP cable was much better than the DVI cables I was using)

I'm not good on sources for cables though. I apologize. Lately I have been using ones that came with my monitors...

I used to swear by cable4pc.com, but their selection seems to be frozen in time in the late 90s. No DP to be found there at all.
 
Zarathustra[H];1038623139 said:
What output are you currently using when you see the problem? DVI? I never saw my issue over DP at all (but then again, maybe my DP cable was much better than the DVI cables I was using)

I'm not good on sources for cables though. I apologize. Lately I have been using ones that came with my monitors...

I used to swear by cable4pc.com, but their selection seems to be frozen in time in the late 90s. No DP to be found there at all.
Click to expand...

I am currently using a mini dp to dp cable, but I also saw the issue on my old monitor using dvi. I need a long cable due to the positioning of my tower, not enough room to keep it close to the monitor.
 
Proteos said:
I am currently using a mini dp to dp cable, but I also saw the issue on my old monitor using dvi. I need a long cable due to the positioning of my tower, not enough room to keep it close to the monitor.
Click to expand...

Hmm. Maybe the length is exacerbating the issue? If you pick up another cable I would recommend emphasizing good cable shielding.
 
Its very simple, my HD5850 has done it all its life. it is clock speed management while using multiple monitors. The HD5000 and newer ATI/AMD cards switch core and memory speed differently when you play videos while using dual monitors

Example:
Single monitor HD5850 idle core speed: 157MHz Memory speed: ~400MHz
Dual monitor HD5850 idle core speed: 400MHz Memory speed: 1000MHz
Dual and single monitor HD5850 video playback (h.264 decoding or 2D video acceleration): 300MHz Memory Speed: 900MHz

What you see on that line is the GPU clock and memory clock switching to lower speeds when they begin playing video, its been known since the HD5xxx launch and does nothing to the hardware. It happens only on dual monitor, but is not really a reason for RMA since it is the card's normal behavior.
 
Thanks, I'll give another cable a shot. Now to find a better shielded cable.... Anyone know where else I can find good cables other than monoprice?
 
Proteos said:
Thanks, I'll give another cable a shot. Now to find a better shielded cable.... Anyone know where else I can find good cables other than monoprice?
Click to expand...

Actually, never mind.

My issue appears to ahve been different from yours. I apologize for the confusion (network at work is terrible, and It was taking forever to load the video.

My issue looked like this and was not related to playing video's, but rather occurred all the time.
 
Zarathustra[H];1038623434 said:
Actually, never mind.

My issue appears to ahve been different from yours. I apologize for the confusion (network at work is terrible, and It was taking forever to load the video.

My issue looked like this and was not related to playing video's, but rather occurred all the time.
Click to expand...

Not a problem at all. I'm at work as well, but responding from my phone :) I still would not be surprised if it had something to do with the cable. I may swap out the cable and see what happens.
 
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