Sapphire 5870 blank screen of death (old bios?)

[thedrs]

My problem: computer hangs with a black screen. only reset solves it.

I bought a new computer custom made and i bought a separate gfx card.

Even when i just installed the game that came with my Sapphire HD 5870 (dirt2) the game hangs/frezzes during the intro right after the map screen where you see your race badge. The freeze occurs always at the same spot which goes to indicate it is not a heating problem (i also manually increased the gpu fan speed and rechecked - same issue)

The computer also locks up in wow (world of warcraft) after a few minutes of playing.

I am using the latest catalyst drivers i could find (11.5).

I saw in the vga bios section that there are newer bios versions than mine (see below mine) there are 12.012.XXXXXXX...

I am a little afraid to brick this expensive card by flashing it's bios.

can someone help ?




-------------------------
HW
CPU: core-3-2100
MB: Gigabyte H67M-D2H-B3 [latest bios F4]
GPU: SAPPHIRE HD5870 1GB GDDR5 PCIE (Game Edition)
GPU BIOS: VER012.011.000.006.034494

No overclocking in GPU/CPU

SW
Win 7/x64 Professional SP1
ATI Driver: aitumdag 8.850.0.0 (Catalyst 11.5) / Win7 64

[micropage7]

what about switch the driver back to the original thing?
or if the game has newer patch, using it. it may solve the err
btw. it just show on gaming or daily use?

[Law-II]

Hi

Sorry to see you are having issues, from what you have said.

Dirt 2 maybe a GFWL problem, have you patched the game?

In which case you will need to uninstall the game and reinstall the game; allowing GFWL to update fully, you may be required to restart the game several times

WOW not sure, possibly driver related

advise

Uninstall the catalyst 11.5 drivers from your windows controll panel; add and remove programs, do not use express uninstall, use custom and select all the items

reboot, (press F8) to select safe mode

run Driver Sweeper to remove the ATI Drivers in windows safe mode then reboot;

then re-install catalyst 11.5 use custom setup and select the driver and ccc

good luck

atb

Law-II

[Play3r]

Trying running Furmark and see if you have any issues

http://www.ozone3d.net/benchmarks/fur/

[thedrs]

micropage7: original drivers hanged too that was the reason i upgraded.

Law-II: dirt2 was installed via steam engine (internet install) the box only contains a code. the only patch on their site is for the boxed dvd version. so i didn't install the patch.
I tried to install the a catalyst hotfix for 11.5 from about a week ago so that covers the re-install issue. still happens.

play3r: ran furmark - several minutes with the burn-in test on 1280x1024 - ran smoothly and then got stuck (somewhere around the 4th minute) - gpu was at 86-87 C / fan at 41% (my settings are automatic so the fan speed adjusted itself during the test from 35 to aroun 41%)
sidenote: i ran 3D Mark11 too - all the cinematics showed fine and several seconds after the first test the system hung/froze again

Thanks for the efforts of helping me - I really don't know what the problem is ...
Maybe someone with a sapphire 5870 here can tell me there is still hope ... ?

[rickss69]

Bump that fan up to 100% and try again...you should not be having any issues with that card.

[Law-II]

Originally Posted by thedrs

micropage7: original drivers hanged too that was the reason i upgraded.

Law-II: dirt2 was installed via steam engine (internet install) the box only contains a code. the only patch on their site is for the boxed dvd version. so i didn't install the patch.
I tried to install the a catalyst hotfix for 11.5 from about a week ago so that covers the re-install issue. still happens.

play3r: ran furmark - several minutes with the burn-in test on 1280x1024 - ran smoothly and then got stuck (somewhere around the 4th minute) - gpu was at 86-87 C / fan at 41% (my settings are automatic so the fan speed adjusted itself during the test from 35 to aroun 41%)
sidenote: i ran 3D Mark11 too - all the cinematics showed fine and several seconds after the first test the system hung/froze again

Thanks for the efforts of helping me - I really don't know what the problem is ...
Maybe someone with a sapphire 5870 here can tell me there is still hope ... ?

Hi

Remove the side panel from your case "be careful" and run your test's once more; this way you will know if it is heat related.

nb: fill in your system spec's please

atb

Law-II

[RejZoR]

This is getting a bit ridiculous. It's like buying a car just to find out it's constantly overheating, has electrical problems and you have to replace ECU software right after you purchase it. Haven't they tested anything? I had similar problem and after searching there are loads of such cases i was not even aware till now. It's a bit stupid that you throw out 200+ EUR for something that's broken on arrival.

[Anusha]

i think you should RMA the card. it should not be BIOS related.

could it be a power issue? maybe not enough power coming to the video card when it is stressed.

[TC-man]

Originally Posted by thedrs

My problem: computer hangs with a black screen. only reset solves it.

I bought a new computer custom made and i bought a separate gfx card.

Even when i just installed the game that came with my Sapphire HD 5870 (dirt2) the game hangs/frezzes during the intro right after the map screen where you see your race badge. The freeze occurs always at the same spot which goes to indicate it is not a heating problem (i also manually increased the gpu fan speed and rechecked - same issue)

The computer also locks up in wow (world of warcraft) after a few minutes of playing.

I am using the latest catalyst drivers i could find (11.5).

I saw in the vga bios section that there are newer bios versions than mine (see below mine) there are 12.012.XXXXXXX...

I am a little afraid to brick this expensive card by flashing it's bios.

can someone help ?




-------------------------
HW
CPU: core-3-2100
MB: Gigabyte H67M-D2H-B3 [latest bios F4]
GPU: SAPPHIRE HD5870 1GB GDDR5 PCIE (Game Edition)
GPU BIOS: VER012.011.000.006.034494

No overclocking in GPU/CPU

SW
Win 7/x64 Professional SP1
ATI Driver: aitumdag 8.850.0.0 (Catalyst 11.5) / Win7 64

Hi,

First post here

Well, do not flash the videocard, the videocard should work out of the box without bios upgrade.

What power supply unit are you using now? An underpowered/weak psu can cause freezes. And what about the rest of the PC? Please fill in the specs of the PC. Otherwise it's really difficult to help with this few info.

If this build is really that new, then another possibility is the memory modules. Bad memory can also cause the issues you are having now. Test those with memtest86+.

Hope this helps a bit!


Good luck!

[thedrs]

Thanks again for the help, here are my answers:

rickss69: bumped to 100% still hangs, but at a little later stage (I manage to pass the first test in 3d mark11 and hang on the combined test). Left it on 100% and lowered the Mhz to 800 (default is 850) , mem stayed at 1200 --> froze at the same place (combined test).

Law-II: My system hangs with the side panel open too.

RejZoR: I totally agree - but here I am with the card and I just want it to work - don't want to start RMAing especially since the internet is full of "5870 crashes" posts It would be great just to hear from 1 Sapphire 5870 owner with the same MB as me that everything works fine for them...

Anusha: My full specs are below

My system won't hang when it's idle for days. Or even when it's bitcoin mining using 100% GPU power at 83C/41% fan it will hold for days and won't get stuck. This happens only when I run graphic operations

I opened a ticket with sapphire tech support - don't know if that can help...

My system
---------
CPU-Z: http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1836045
GPU-Z: http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/ury9h/
PSU: seasonic HT600 (600W)
OS: win7/64x DX11

[ZenZimZaliben]

Have you benched your CPU? Maybe your CPU is overheating and it's not the Video Card at all.

You said this was a custom computer. Maybe your CPU Block isn't seated properly. Did you run the system with a card prior to the 5870 and it worked just fine?

Maybe you bumped the CPU block and it unseated the cooler. Like popped one side of those pushpins.

Did this system come with a card? Was it Nvidia? If so did you remove all Nvidia drivers and use a program like driver cleaner.

[rickss69]

Open up gpu-z and RealTemp and run the game/bench you are having problems with. They will record the max temps when the box is ticked. (Maybe stop the game just before you get to the point of crashing/freezing)

[thedrs]

TC-man: mem86+ test passed ! PSU written below...

ZenZimZaliben: system was custom built and the only card it ever had was the 5870 (it also has an onboard gfx but i never used it) - i really don't think it is a CPU issue and I was there when he built the system and saw it - the block was mounted correctly and no bumps... He did the HW inst and no SW evisted before i installed the fresh copy of win7/x64 a few days ago...

rickss69: the benchmark that i use to check the hang doesn't hang exactly the same sec so it is hard to stop it.. i used gpu-z but i think it can't record the progress of heat on file - maybe i will try the realtemp if it can log to file that can be good for me.

I will also try to add another fan to the chasis maybe the MB is heating too much...

THANKS again for the help everyone ... we are gona solve this !

Here is a re-cap of my system and what i have done:

My system
---------
CPU-Z: http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1836045
GPU-Z: http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/ury9h/
PSU: seasonic HT600 (600W) http://www.seasonic.com/letter/products/PC/ps050416.htm
Monitor: DVI connection used
PCI Cards: no other PCI cards
Chasis fans: 1x80mm sucking in air in the front (there is place for another one but i don't have a fan on it) + 2x80mm in the back sucking air out.
OS: win7/64x SP1 w/ all updates + DX11 - clean install no viruses
Apps/Games causing issues: dirt2 (no opatch available - inst from steam), WOW, fumark 1.9, 3d Mark11
Memtest 86+: passed!
My tech background: sysadmin/PC technition, programmer.
Things I tried that didn't help: gpu fan 100% + lowered GPU Mhz from default 850 to 800 (mem @1200 default).

[TC-man]

Hi,

memtest86+ passed, then the memory modules are A-Okay. The problem may be the PSU, I know it's a Seasonic 600W. Is it an all new build, i. e. everything is new including the PSU? I remember the Seasonic SS-600HT was a year 2005 model, so it depends on how old the PSU really is, and when did you buy it? Even the best PC component can wear out/get broken. So perhaps try out with another PSU (preferably a less old PSU with similar or even better specs) and see if you are still getting freezes and black screens. If you are still getting those issues after replacing the PSU with a newer one with similar or better specs, then there's a big chance that the videocard is the problem, the only thing you can do is rma.

[RejZoR]

BUIOS cannot ever be "too old". Every card MUST work with the supplied BIOS. Just like every car that comes from the factory has to work with the engine taht they have integrated in it. You never get back to get an entire engine replacement. It's the same here. So "old" BIOS cannot be the reason. There can be factory faults but that shoudl happen on very limited numbers of cards and such issues should be resolved with max priority.

[thedrs]

i tried several PSUs before the seasonic they didn't hold the gfx card at all - system wouldn't even start.
all components are brand new and were not shelved for long.

in this, 27 page long thread:

http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=260&threadid=122932&STARTPAG E=27&FTVAR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear

A guy told me there was a bios problem with this card before feb 11, so maybe the gfx card was older than that...

[thedrs]

OK, used realtemp w/ logging to a file and ran 3d mark11.

(also added a 4th fan on the front of the chasis just to be sure)
set the fan to 80%.

Computer froze on the 2nd or 3rd test.

log at the time of freeze shows 44C on each of the CPU cores and 54C on the GPU - this is definatly not a CPU or GPU heating problem.

But maybe its the MB that heats up as the GPU get pretty hot and it might be heating the board components ...

[Mussels]

you didnt give your complete system specs like we ask in stickies in all over the forum, but i'm having a random guess that it might be your memory here. if its not overheating and the PSU is sufficient, its the next thing on the list to look at.

[TC-man]

Originally Posted by thedrs

OK, used realtemp w/ logging to a file and ran 3d mark11.

(also added a 4th fan on the front of the chasis just to be sure)
set the fan to 80%.

Computer froze on the 2nd or 3rd test.

log at the time of freeze shows 44C on each of the CPU cores and 54C on the GPU - this is definatly not a CPU or GPU heating problem.

But maybe its the MB that heats up as the GPU get pretty hot and it might be heating the board components ...

Those temperatures are fine. Perhaps use this tool, the Video Memory Stress Test (use the upper link, the other one is the floppy version), to test the videomemory and see whether there are errors. If there are errors then that means the videoram is defective, or at least a part of it which again is enough to cause the freezes/crashes.

Alternate download link for the same tool.

[thedrs]

Thanks everyone - it seems a solution has been found !

After many hours of analyzing the hanging problems with the new computer - it seems the MB requires better cooling and it is the reason for hanging and freezing of the computer.

I manage to successfully duplicate the computer freeze by just running the 3d mark11 benchmark test where the computer constantly hangs. (it also hangs on other gpu tests and games but this is the easiest and fastest way to duplicate the problem)

Tests I did show the problem is not related to the GPU/CPU/Memory, I ran temperature file loggers during the 3d mark11 benchmarks and saw the GPU/CPU temps where fine and even low during the benchmarks. I even ran the GPU at 100% fan which lowered it's temp dramatically and it still hanged.

Software wise, everything is latest drivers and bios (I did not upgrade GPU bios though).

The simple thing that solved everything was just to open the case on both sides and put a big fan there - all benchmarks worked without freeze and all games worked too. I even OC the GPU under load (with the approved catalyst s/w) and it keeps working fine.



http://www.googis.net/pictureposts/comp-w-fan.jpg [pic of comp with fan]

The case I am using was old all of the rest of the system was new - so the MB cooling wasn't enough - the card seams to heat up the MB too much. This is a pic of my inside:



http://www.googis.net/pictureposts/comp.jpg

So now I am on the market for a better (albeit, still cheap) case or better MB+case...

I was recommended:

Thermaltake Element T (VK90001N2Z) eSPORTS CASE

hope this is the end to all my problems...

[Anusha]

By all means get something with good cable management and 90degree rotated hard drive bay.
Cannot recommend one by model though. Not nuf knowledge in that regard. Good luck.