XFX ATi 4870 issues

[Nemper]

As the title says, i am having issues with my new GPU. On SOME games the screen will go white about 10 minutes into play (can vary from anything up to 30 mins), and then the screen will just shutdown after a few seconds of the white screen. On PR i have not had this issue (although some models have been going invisible...). The games i have tested that crash are ArmA 2 and Borderlands. (The source engine doesn't crash either). My specs are on my profile and i was wondering if anyone could help me. My particular version of the 4870 apparently has issues with being very warm. I don't know much about overheating symptoms, but could this be one? I know that SOMETHING about the GPU is at fault as using my brothers old nvidia 8800 series and it can run Borderlands without having a single crash. I contacted XFX, but all they told me to do was run a driver cleaner which didn't work. I am running on Windows 7 32 bit. I have also tried this with the 64 bit version, having the same errors. At the moment I am only running a few background applications and Firefox and the idle temp on my GPU is 64C. Could this be just a faulty card, even though it is only SOME games that crash like this?
Thanks in advance, I hope you can help.

[bagpiperdude90]

I hate to say this because I hope you have done this - but did you download the latest drivers off ATI's website? The drivers on the disc are buggy and SHOULDN'T be used.

[bigmoose332]

Here's some stuff to check dude

- Does your power supply support your card? i.e.. is it giving your card enough power? A card will progressively come under more load and thus use more power over time. Which is why you may find it working fine first, and gradually it gets worse.

- Do you have the most recent windows 7 drivers? A lot of companies were on board with getting compatible drivers for win7 (they didn't for Vista) but some still aren't quite up to date properly yet!

- Is it getting to hot? The symptoms you're describing are often the result of something progressively worse. Check your temp gauge on it, if it's getting crazy hot this sort of thing can happen.

Bigmoose

[Nemper]

I originally used downloaded drivers, then used the disc drivers to test if they would work, and now i have been using the downloaded drivers (CCC 9.12 and 9.11 before that) for sometime now. I have tested two power supplies as of yet. An 800w one and a 560w one. Both have the exact same errors. I have not tested it's temperature ingame as of yet, but in PR it doesn't crash and it is a very demanding game, and so i would've thought it wouldn't be overheating as Borderlands isn't demanding at all. AA is forced off in that game unless you have Nvidia drivers.
Thanks again.
(I will update when i get a reply from XFX support, it's christmas time and could take a while)

[bostonh]

Hey, I have been having this issue also. It crashes when I'm playing games that really tax the card. It's an XFX 4870. I had a ticket into XFX and they told me the same thing as you, to no avail.

I have found some answers on some other forums.

This could possibly be due to an issue with memory clocking - in CCC try setting your memory clock to 900 instead of 925. I am not home until later today, otherwise I would try, I will definitely try when I get home.

I originally thought it was heat as it seemed to be cumulative - if I was doing something extremely taxing to the card it would "heat up" and fail faster. Heat is still on the table, however the temperatures I get at the fail (72-74 degrees) aren't hot enough to make the GPU fail (this card runs hot, but it should be fine when hot).

I'm hoping its the memory clock issue, and I'm hoping that it will be addressed with the next version of the drivers.

Hoping this helps.

[bostonh]

Just wanted to add this: did some more research. Apparently this problem may be caused by the GPU clock switching to and from 500 and 750 mhz while in 3d game (should stay at 750 while in a 3d game) and thus the card can't handle the switches.

To fix this possibility of the problem you would use rivatuner and set it to stay at 750 mhz all the time. I will be trying this when I get home as well.

The link to where I found this solution:

AMD Game Forums - Radeon 4870 Graphic lockup crash fix

[Nemper]

This could possibly be due to an issue with memory clocking - in CCC try setting your memory clock to 900 instead of 925. I am not home until later today, otherwise I would try, I will definitely try when I get home.

This can't be the issue as the CCC already has the card set on 900MHz, and in response to the AMD thread, i had previously looked at this, and no one seems to be getting the same type of crash as me. I get the white screen then the monitor switches off. Thanks for the responses, and i have i can get it fixed soon.

[Nemper]

OK. So i decreased the Memory clock by 25Mhz on ATi Overdrive, and miricle! On Borderlands it works! Have not tested ArmA 2 yet, but we shall see. I am going to boost it up to 900MHz again now from 875MHz. If this then doesn't crash then it may NOT be the MHz change that fixed it. Could've been the various playing around I have done with my PC. But if it does, then we know that, that was it. I hope this fix worked for others as im sure many people are furious with ATi for bringing out such a dodgey card, and I'm slightly angry at XFX for allowing such a shoddy cooling system to be on such a high-end card. I have to say this is probably the last time i go ATi. Nvidia form here on out I say.

[Nemper]

OK just this minute tested on 900MHz and 895MHz. Both of them crash the computer. I will now do the 875MHz test once more to make sure that this is infact the fix.

[Nemper]

Yes, that is a definate fix. Tuning down the memory clock from 900MHz to 875Mhz in ATi Overdrive. Worked perfectly. I can live without the 25Mhz, but it's somthing I SHOULD have...

[Stampp]

I have had the same issue with Borderlands and (of all things ) GTA 4 with my XFX 4870 1gb. Over the last three weeks I have been pulling my hair out trying to fix the problem. I've been through 4 versions of catalyst drivers, adjusted fan speeds, tried compatibility mode, set processor affinities, tried new sound drivers, sacrificed small animals to various and sundry pagan deities. I even bought a new 650 watt corsair power supply. All to no avail.

Gave your fix a try yesterday, and it worked like a charm! Was able to play for hours with the memory clocked at 875. So, I'm a tad peeved that the card won't work at stock settings, but at least it *is* working now.

Thanks a lot for the help!

[Nemper]

Haha Glad I could help. I was doing the same thing. Just so you know, if any other games STILL crash (ArmA 2 for example -.-) then underclock it FURTHER :/ Had to underclock my PC to 840MHz on it's memory clock for ArmA 2. I think i could clock i up further but i cant be arsed to test right now.... Have to play the game for 10mins to 1 hours to test if it works, only to do it all again when it crashes... Glad i could help.