Gigabyte r9 280x rev 1.0 Grey screen / flickering

[rinkeeh]

Hi, first time poster here.
I recently started having issues with my 280x rev 1.0 which I bought upon release(year and a half ago or so), it crashes showing me nothing else but grey stripes, sometimes it sort of recovers into a black screen and then back into whatever I was doing before with a short prompt "AMD driver has crashed but managed to recover".

The problem happens at random(I presume), there's no definitive way of me recreating the crash, sometimes it crashes three times within 30 mins but sometimes it's going for days without any problems what so ever.

One thing I have recently noticed is that fan speed under sensors tab in GPU-Z is really random, shows values from as low as 800rpm up to 9000 rpm.

There are just couple of things I have tried:

• Underclocking to 1000/1400 as well as 850/1400
• Resitting into a different slot
• wiping the drivers / reinstalling couple of different versions (both beta and stable releases)
• reinstalling OS

I've looked at Gigabyte's website for a newer version of bios but I seem to have the newest version.

My specs:
Intel i5 2500k @ 3.30GHz
Corsair 8GB DDR3 @ 1333MHz
MSI B75A-G43 Motherboard
Gigabyte r9 280x rev 1.0
OCZ ZS Series 750w 80+ Bronze PSU

I'd appreciate any kind of guidance on what to do, thanks.

Below I'm going to include some screenshots of the issue


GPU-Z Screen:

GPU-Z sensors tab:

Example of the stripes:

 

[MrGenius]

If the fans can be verified to be working correctly, and there's nothing else that could be causing cooling problems, then it's probably your PSU. As in, it's dying. The 280X is one of the most power hungry GPUs ever made. It's basically a PSU killing machine. Particularly if you've been OCing it.

You might try replacing the TIM. But if it was applied correctly, it shouldn't need replaced. The thing there is, it's impossible to know whether it was or wasn't without checking it yourself. If you weren't the one who applied it last anyway. And by that stage, you're going to be re-applying it yourself anyway. So make sure you have some on hand first.

 

[rinkeeh]

Thank you for your response,

I highly doubt its a cooling issue. I had a look at the logs from just before the crash, temp seems to be just barely above 60c.
I had a feeling it might be PSU, it has been with me for over 2 years now, last time I used it with a different card it was with a 6850.
What PSU would you recommend in order to fix my problem?

 

[spicca]

I'm having this exact same problem with a Visiontek R9 280x, but my PSU is a 600w generic unit. Please update this thread if you solved the problem changing the PSU

 

[MrGenius]

What PSU would you recommend in order to fix my problem?

The best one you can afford. With emphasis on a strong +12V rail(single). Like at least 60A or better. I killed a 700W 80+B w/ 52A +12V rail fairly quickly(roughly 3 years daily use) with mine(OCed @ 1175/1850). I just bought a new CX750(62A +12V) for it. Hopefully it'll last a little while longer.

Edit: I stretched the truth a little there. I ran that 700W with a 6950 too(for like a year or so prior). The total time frame is accurate though. Plus my 6950, if anything, consumed as much or more power(also OCed to the max @ 975/1600). And certainly not any less than my 280X(actually I know for a fact not any less as verified with my multi-meter, which showed slightly more power consumption with my 6950 under equal loads, though that shouldn't have necessarily been the case, being rated @ 50W less). Anyway, all in the name of making a more fail-safe recommendation. Fault me if you must.

Anyhow, if you're sure it's not a cooling issue, I can pretty much guarantee you it's your PSU. Based on my experiences with a 280X.

 

[rinkeeh]

Please update this thread if you solved the problem changing the PSU

Sure, will do, although I'm in the middle of moving to another location so it might be a while before I get my hands on one to test it properly. Mine doesn't really cause any major issues with everyday use.

The best one you can afford. With emphasis on a strong +12V rail(single). Like at least 60A or better.

Thank you for the advice, I will adjust my build accordingly and post results when I get around to it, also I will replace the TIM just to be sure. Thanks again.

 

[spicca]

Sure, will do, although I'm in the middle of moving to another location so it might be a while before I get my hands on one to test it properly. Mine doesn't really cause any major issues with everyday use.

Thank you for the advice, I will adjust my build accordingly and post results when I get around to it, also I will replace the TIM just to be sure. Thanks again.

I'm assuming that you don't play very taxing games with your current rig, because mine starts glitching as soon as I play some graphics intensive game. As an example, I can't finish Dragon Age: Inquisition, I've played the entire game with this VGA, but I can't play the last scene because video starts flickering. I assume that it's very taxing on the CPU and HDD, leaving no juice left for the VGA

 

[rinkeeh]

I'm assuming that you don't play very taxing games with your current rig, because mine starts glitching as soon as I play some graphics intensive game.

Yeah, you're right. I mainly play csgo / dota 2 which are not very demanding games but it is mainly where it tends to crash, however it has never happened when playing Path of Exile even though the gpu / cpu usage seems to be about the same. Do you also not have any issues when the card is idle? e.g. watching youtube / surfing the web?

 

[spicca]

Yeah, you're right. I mainly play csgo / dota 2 which are not very demanding games but it is mainly where it tends to crash, however it has never happened when playing Path of Exile even though the gpu / cpu usage seems to be about the same. Do you also not have any issues when the card is idle? e.g. watching youtube / surfing the web?

In deed, I have problems randomly, either watching movies or in YouTube. Sometimes days pass with no problems and then it starts flickering uninterruptedly like today. I just got in touch with the VGA seller (bought it from eBay) and he confirmed that his PSU was a Raidmax 1000w, so there is that.

 

[Steevo]

The grey screen is usually caused by state transitions, from low power to playback speed, or to 3D clocks, and the voltage to the core is too low and causes this hang. Try using Afterburner to force constant clocks and voltage and see if the issues goes away, if it does you may consider flashing a different BIOS onto the card, or exchanging it.

 

[spicca]

The grey screen is usually caused by state transitions, from low power to playback speed, or to 3D clocks, and the voltage to the core is too low and causes this hang. Try using Afterburner to force constant clocks and voltage and see if the issues goes away, if it does you may consider flashing a different BIOS onto the card, or exchanging it.

Care to explain a little more to do this, please?

 

[MrGenius]

Well...maybe. But I doubt it. And that doesn't explain it happening while the GPU is under high load. And in my experience, those circumstances(while under low load) are far from the usual cause. They would be rare instances more likely. Hence the particular modifications he's suggested are rather unheard of. And are almost never required to solve the issue. Particularly if the problem has evolved over time/period of usage. And not something that's always been a problem with the card, since it was new. If so, then maybe those things might work. Or at least appear to solve the problem to some degree. Most likely though, you'll find you wasted your time with all of that. I've owned many a card, and I've never had to do any of those things to make any of them work right. I have wore out more PSUs than the average joe though. And had new ones fix many different problems with all of them. IMO the most common cause of graphics card issues stem from inadequate supply of power.

And if the problem is a new one, that highly suggests a change in the system. Such as degradation of the PSU. And not something that can be fixed by any amount of tweaking with AB, or changing other parameters such as the BIOS.

But have at it. I could be wrong. Just make sure you know how to undo whatever you might do, before you do it. Because you'll probably want, possibly need, to after you have. And it did nothing. Or made things worse.

And since I'm not suggesting you do them...I'm not going to hand you that rope to hang yourself with by telling you how. Somebody else probably will though.

 

[Steevo]

Care to explain a little more to do this, please?

Download Afterburner, enable voltage control, set core voltage at 1.25volts, and core speed at 1000Mhz, set memory speed at 1500Mhz.


Those speeds and volts are well within specs for the card, run them and see if the issue remains.


http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Gigabyte/R9_280X_OC/30.html


Please see the clock speed/voltage chart listed here for proof that its safe.

 

[OneMoar]

If the fans can be verified to be working correctly, and there's nothing else that could be causing cooling problems, then it's probably your PSU. As in, it's dying. The 280X is one of the most power hungry GPUs ever made. It's basically a PSU killing machine. Particularly if you've been OCing it.

You might try replacing the TIM. But if it was applied correctly, it shouldn't need replaced. The thing there is, it's impossible to know whether it was or wasn't without checking it yourself. If you weren't the one who applied it last anyway. And by that stage, you're going to be re-applying it yourself anyway. So make sure you have some on hand first.

non sense complete and utter
if I had to wager I would say its powerplay/ULPS misbehaving no need to mess with the voltages in AB simply go into the options and disable ULPS;change the overclocking mode to unoffical without powerplay reboot and re-test
if it checks out you can go ahead and make a custom 2d/3d profile set for power savings
else a vbios update may be in order ( you can use another vendors bios if its a reference board else you will need to contact gigabyte and have them send you one)
as for the youtube related bsods disable flash hardware acceleration

 

[MrGenius]

Ok, if you say so. You're a funny guy. You know that right? It's damn near impossible to take you seriously sometimes. Kind of like a belligerent drunk or something.

 

[spicca]

non sense complete and utter
if I had to wager I would say its powerplay/ULPS misbehaving no need to mess with the voltages in AB simply go into the options and disable ULPS;change the overclocking mode to unoffical without powerplay reboot and re-test
if it checks out you can go ahead and make a custom 2d/3d profile set for power savings
else a vbios update may be in order ( you can use another vendors bios if its a reference board else you will need to contact gigabyte and have them send you one)
as for the youtube related bsods disable flash hardware acceleration

I think I'll try Mr. Genius advice, my PSU is a 600w generic piece of..equipment, and the specs from visiontek for the VGA are 750w min., so it makes sense to replace it

 

[Tatty_Two]

I think I'll try Mr. Genius advice, my PSU is a 600w generic piece of..equipment, and the specs from visiontek for the VGA are 750w min., so it makes sense to replace it

In reality you don't need a 750W PSU, the card at gaming load sucks around 250W, what you do need is a strong 12V rail, preferably a single rail, there are plenty of members around here with high quality single rail gold rated 650W PSU's chugging 280X's along no problem, I am only adding this point because it may be that you can get a 750W bronze unit cheaper but the wattage is not always king in these cases.

I had 2 problems with my 280X that had similar symptoms to you, the first was due to a faulty 12V rail on my PSU (but the PSU was a 7 year old 750W Bronze), the second was after several months of use and that turned out to be a too aggressive overclock that no longer remained stable at the stock 3D voltage, I tweaked the volts and all was well after.

The suggestion to disable ULPS is a good an easy one too as problems have been commonplace.

 

[spicca]

In reality you don't need a 750W PSU, the card at gaming load sucks around 250W, what you do need is a strong 12V rail, preferably a single rail, there are plenty of members around here with high quality single rail gold rated 650W PSU's chugging 280X's along no problem, I am only adding this point because it may be that you can get a 750W bronze unit cheaper but the wattage is not always king in these cases.

I had 2 problems with my 280X that had similar symptoms to you, the first was due to a faulty 12V rail on my PSU (but the PSU was a 7 year old 750W Bronze), the second was after several months of use and that turned out to be a too aggressive overclock that no longer remained stable at the stock 3D voltage, I tweaked the volts and all was well after.

The suggestion to disable ULPS is a good an easy one too as problems have been commonplace.

Ok, then I'll try the voltage tweak and the ULPS disabling while I consider what PSU brand and model to buy. The voltage tweak you mention is the same one that OneMoar said? And how do you disable ULPS? It is from the Catalyst dashboard?

 

[Tatty_Two]

Try the ULPS first, you can do that in AfterBurner as OneMoar explained, you would only be able to tweak voltage if you had a programmable controller but AB will only give you that option if you do have but if you don't know what you are doing I would leave that until last AFTER the ULPS and PSU as a last resort.

 

[spicca]

Try the ULPS first, you can do that in AfterBurner as OneMoar explained, you would only be able to tweak voltage if you had a programmable controller but AB will only give you that option if you do have but if you don't know what you are doing I would leave that until last AFTER the ULPS and PSU as a last resort.

I'll try all this, this thread has given me hope, I was about to throw my rig out of the window. Considering I hijacked the thread from rinkeeh, lol

 

[rinkeeh]

if I had to wager I would say its powerplay/ULPS misbehaving no need to mess with the voltages in AB simply go into the options and disable ULPS;change the overclocking mode to unoffical without powerplay reboot and re-test

I just found some time to test around and this seems to be working so far, I did a 30 min furmark test which would usually crash well within 5 mins and now I'm just spectating some games in dota 2 / csgo to see if I can somehow recreate the issue. Seems stable at stock clocks, no new components have been exchanged so far. I'll try as to test it tonight in as many games as I can and will report tomorrow.

 

[spicca]

I just found some time to test around and this seems to be working so far, I did a 30 min furmark test which would usually crash well within 5 mins and now I'm just spectating some games in dota 2 / csgo to see if I can somehow recreate the issue. Seems stable at stock clocks, no new components have been exchanged so far. I'll try as to test it tonight in as many games as I can and will report tomorrow.

Well I have tried this solution too and for a couple of days it seem to work fine, although with the memory and core underclocked at 850/1400. As soon as I try to go back to the stock clocks 1050/1500, the flickering returned with a vengeance. I'm in the process of PSU change, as soon as I try with a new one I'll report the results.

 

[rinkeeh]

Well I have tried this solution too and for a couple of days it seem to work fine, although with the memory and core underclocked at 850/1400. As soon as I try to go back to the stock clocks 1050/1500, the flickering returned with a vengeance.

For me it's the exactly opposite, any clock changes seem to cause the flickering and stripey screen, stock clocks + changes I've mentioned above seem to be the most stable so far.

EDIT:
Btw what PSU are you exchanging to?

 

[spicca]

If I wanted to change the bios of my card how would I know which is the right one? I have downloaded 3 bios and none of them worked. As I've said my VGA is a Visiontek R9 280x

 

[MrGenius]

Oh...just go buy a new PSU and prove me right already. J/K. Well, not really.

I'm still not encouraging you to change the BIOS though. But the "right" one would be the one for your card(as in a Visiontek 280X BIOS). Where you can find another one of those, I haven't a clue.

I just found a thread you might want to read though. If you haven't already.
http://www.reddit.com/r/litecoinmin...miner_i_bought_6x_visiontek_r9_280x_gpus_any/