Did Windows 7 screw my card/pc.?

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realmatrix

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I am having a sapphire HD 4670 on asus p5kpl-cm.
My PC was running pretty much ok since the day I built it 6 months ago.I had been running windows vista all this while when I decided to give windows 7 rtm a try. Installation was fine..but after a while the screen started to flicker ( thick horizontal black bars ) . I suspected it was a driver issue hence after playing around a bit I removed the installation and restored it with the windows vista image (acronis true image) which I was previously using.
To my horror the screen has also started to flicker here in vista. Many suggested lcd screens don't flicker like crt ones if there is an issue with refresh rate...but I never modified the refresh rate..its been on the default settings.I changed the vga cable as well.
A fresh install of windows vista did not help as well

I removed the card and at first the system did not post from the onboard vga ( blank screen).
After a while it did post ... and windows booted successfully.
The screen did not flicker from the onboard vga...so I had come to the conclusion something was wrong with the card.
Later I plugged the card back in..yet again it did not post even though all fans were running.
On the 3rd attempt it did post. and windows booted.

Don't know why the motherboard doesn't post on the first try if I add or remove the card Never happened before when I added or removed hdd's etc.

As of now I am having display output from the card and it has flickered only once..but it might start to flicker again.

It all started after I installed windows 7.Don't know who is to blame.I have uploaded a video to give an idea of what actually happens
http://rapidshare.com/files/280891525/flickering.avi

Feels a bit frustrating just how a system running fine gets screwed when u install a new OS.
 
Installing an OS won't break your card. It was just a coincidence that your card went bad.
 
Sounds like your card may need some "baking" look here I have never tried it myself, but your video card sounds alot like some of the ppl who got it to work after having it in the oven ^^
 
Androish said:
Sounds like your card may need some "baking" look here I have never tried it myself, but your video card sounds alot like some of the ppl who got it to work after having it in the oven ^^
Click to expand...

4670 hasn't been out for more than 2 years so your card should be under warranty no matter what brand it is. Putting it in the oven while its under warranty would be very very stupid.
 
Unfortunate coincidence.
I suspect the gfx card or PSU is dying.
 
Don't really have a clue..what I did right.
I removed the card..cleaned the dust around the fan..which had piled on it for about 3 months.
Checked on the board connections as well.

After cleaning and reinstalling it hasn't flickered yet..

But if it does flicker even once I am going to send it for replacement. Besides the only way I can convince that the card is behaving weird is by showing them the clip I shot from my phone coz otherwise u can't really notice anything wrong with it.

So was dust the real culprit or is the card faulty.?
 
It could have been just a bad connection or the gfx card overheating.
 
if you insist its windows 7 is your problem, then try windows vista to convince yourself ;)
 
If you really had that much dust built up after 3 months then there is definitely a good chance that it could have been causing a short or interfering somehow. I make it a habit of cleaning it out (just a quick air can blow here and there) at least once a month and then every 3-4 months, physically shut down the system, take outside and commence full cleaning.

You might want to invest in some filters for your fans to help control the dust situation.
 
The dust isn't that bad. It was just a fine thin layer. only around the fans.Since the htpc is on top of the cabinet with all sides open..dust is a concern. I normally have the vents covered with a cloth when not in use.
The card was never overheating even though it is dangerously close to the tv tuner card.I have made sure the metal pins from the rear of the tv tuner don't have any contact with the gfx card.Since the gfx card is long enough the fan protrudes out hence airflow is not obstructed.

However this was the first time I removed any component after I built it this feb.
Do cards tend to loosen up from the slot..with time.? Well a bad connection could be a case coz since the time I have reinstalled the card..the screen hasn't flickered yet.

I doubt the PSU could be a suspect else there would be bsods,restarts.Besides I am using an ANTEC EA psu with consumption about half its capacity.
 
jvz555 said:
if you insist its windows 7 is your problem, then try windows vista to convince yourself ;)
Click to expand...

Haha couldn't have said it better (even though he used vista before, it's still funny). Sounds a lot like a coincidence, but like everyone else has said, it's probably still under warranty.
 
The only software that I can think off that might damage an ati card is furmark without the .exe renamed to anything else to bypass limitations.
 
unrealsword said:
The only software that I can think off that might damage an ati card is furmark without the .exe renamed to anything else to bypass limitations.
Click to expand...

well now you've just piqued my interest... renaming furmark? eh? limitations? software damaging hardware?????
 
stainremover said:
well now you've just piqued my interest... renaming furmark? eh? limitations? software damaging hardware?????
Click to expand...

Heres a science project for you.
Open Catalyst. Turn fan manual control. Turn down fan to 1%. Run furmark. Enjoy the smell of baking electronics.
 
Furmark overheats your GPU's VRMs and it effects the Ati VRMs so badly that the card can die (VRM's reaching 150+ deg celsius and just dying)
 
Don't know whats wrong everything was fine...I was about to place the lid on the cabinet.
Seems like if I touch the card/wires or anything...the board does not boot the next time...until I remove all connections and reconnect them

Some pin or something maybe wrong in the board/gfx card or psu.

I have decided to rma the psu and gfx card.

Should I rma the motherboard as well coz it boots sometimes and sometimes it doesn't
 
I was thinking about removing all components cleaning them up..and re fit them..this weekend

Before I send it to rma..is it worth trying?
 
You need to determine what is causing the bad connection, nobody can do that for you unless they replace everything.
Dont RMA working products.
A good clean is recommended, careful not to damage the PCI-E slot connections on the motherboard.
 
Do they replace the product with a new one ..coz my gfx will be 3 months old this sep 30. and motherboard and psu are 6 months old.

Assuming if the pci-express slot was damaged...it wouldn't work at all..it posts at times...and later if I touch any connection on the board (when the system is off)...the next time all leds are lit and fans spin..but there is no display

I hope a thorough cleaning of all parts should help..I hope it should solve the problem coz I really don't want to rma and wait for weeks.
 
They will return it to you if it still works.
You may be charged for the privilege and you may also be believed less next time you contact them with a problem.

How do propose a bad connection works?
You cant just say a product is completely broken or working, there are intermediate issues as well and some are not the fault of the device in question.
 
I have decided to the rma the card coz this is what happened again..even after cleaning all contacts etc etc.

I expect to get it replaced by a new one coz it was only 2.5 months old.

I have no reason to believe that the pci express slot could be faulty else there would be no display at all in the first place.
 
Nenu said:
You cant just say a product is completely broken or working, there are intermediate issues as well and some are not the fault of the device in question.
Click to expand...

what else could cause flickering..if not the card.

bad vga cable..checked
psu....doubt.that else there would be restarts ,bsods..etc etc
damaged pci slot...then there would be no display at all.
ram..i don't think so

the only way I can convince the reseller that the card maybe faulty is by showing them the video clip..coz if they try it on some other pc it may or may not flicker

Frankly speaking I find my self in precarious situation..as to how am i gonna convince them if they can't replicate the problem..
 
A bad connection isnt necessarily just on/off, it may have a slight resistance across it which will drop voltage.
This could be caused by a loose connection or dirt on the contact and can result in occasional errors.
Not all connections are required for the card to run and thus a non critical bad connection can change data in transmission while the card is functioning, thus causing strange issues.

realmatrix said:
Frankly speaking I find my self in precarious situation..as to how am i gonna convince them if they can't replicate the problem..
Click to expand...
This is one reason why its a good idea to prove what is at fault before RMAing.
 
The vga cable I am using does not have a ferrite core ( cylinder behind the pin). Could that be a reason for the screen to flicker.I was using it for about 3-4 months with no probelm...

I will try getting a better quality cable..and test it..
 
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I changed the cable...yet there is flickering..trouble is its random it may not occur 9 out of 10 times I use the pc.I am not able to isolate the problem..unless I remove the gfx card and use on board graphics.

When it does flicker it usually starts after there is heavy GPU usage ..such as watching a HD movie..or if I play a game.

However I am able to recreate the flickering deliberately...if I hit the detect display button in ATI CCC under desktop and display options.

I wanted to confirm..if its normal for the screen to flicker..if one hits the detect display button.

If not so then the card is indeed faulty..and I will RMA it.

(I am using a PCI E 2.0 card on a PCI - E 1.0 slot...could that be a problem as well. Before purchasing the card I had verified that 2,0 cards are backward compatible. and for HD4670 a pci express 1.0 slot wouldn't cause a noticeable performance decrease ..as its an entry level card. )
 
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Could the flickering be a symptom of a bad PSU..

I am of the belief that if the psu is faulty,there would be random reboots,crashes..bsods...

which is not the case here.
 
lloose said:
Heres a science project for you.
Open Catalyst. Turn fan manual control. Turn down fan to 1%. Run furmark. Enjoy the smell of baking electronics.
Click to expand...

LOL, why not just OC the card to stupid levels and take the HS off while it's running Furmark? I think that'd be a fun project too! :p

So my post isn't totally useless; I would say it's just a coincidence that your card went bad after installing Win7. But to confirm it, I would try to find another PC to put the card into to replicate the problem. That's the only true way to test it.
 
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