• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

XFX 4890 losing signal under 3D

Joined
Aug 11, 2011
Messages
393 (0.09/day)
Location
Denmark
System Name Coming up in september
I'm about to buy an XFX Radeon 4890 with an aftermarket Arctic Cooling Twinturbo Pro, but theres a problem, he says he often looses monitor signal during 3D games, but works fine during internet browsing and desktop things, but he also states that he has a very low quality PSU, a 700W Energon, which supposedly also could be the problem, the card would cost approximately 47 euros including shipment. Any suggestions on what the problem could be, and how likely it is the GPU?
 

AsRock

TPU addict
Joined
Jun 23, 2007
Messages
18,853 (3.08/day)
Location
UK\USA
Processor AMD 3900X \ AMD 7700X
Motherboard ASRock AM4 X570 Pro 4 \ ASUS X670Xe TUF
Cooling D15
Memory Patriot 2x16GB PVS432G320C6K \ G.Skill Flare X5 F5-6000J3238F 2x16GB
Video Card(s) eVga GTX1060 SSC \ XFX RX 6950XT RX-695XATBD9
Storage Sammy 860, MX500, Sabrent Rocket 4 Sammy Evo 980 \ 1xSabrent Rocket 4+, Sammy 2x990 Pro
Display(s) Samsung 1080P \ LG 43UN700
Case Fractal Design Pop Air 2x140mm fans from Torrent \ Fractal Design Torrent 2 SilverStone FHP141x2
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V677 \ Yamaha CX-830+Yamaha MX-630 Infinity RS4000\Paradigm P Studio 20, Blue Yeti
Power Supply Seasonic Prime TX-750 \ Corsair RM1000X Shift
Mouse Steelseries Sensei wireless \ Steelseries Sensei wireless
Keyboard Logitech K120 \ Wooting Two HE
Benchmark Scores Meh benchmarks.
I'm about to buy an XFX Radeon 4890 with an aftermarket Arctic Cooling Twinturbo Pro, but theres a problem, he says he often looses monitor signal during 3D games, but works fine during internet browsing and desktop things, but he also states that he has a very low quality PSU, a 700W Energon, which supposedly also could be the problem, the card would cost approximately 47 euros including shipment. Any suggestions on what the problem could be, and how likely it is the GPU?

Maybe it's overheating ?.. Why don't he just rma it with XFX ?.
 
Joined
Aug 11, 2011
Messages
393 (0.09/day)
Location
Denmark
System Name Coming up in september
Maybe it's overheating ?.. Why don't he just rma it with XFX ?.

We are situated in Denmark and that would cost the same as me just buying it off of him, and the card is 2 years old so the danish shop warranties are void...

Do you think it's likely an overheating problem with the aftermarket cooler? I was more thinking along the lines of the PSU not being able to provide enough powert during intense 3D games
 
Joined
Mar 19, 2010
Messages
137 (0.03/day)
Location
Northern California
Processor AMD Ryzen 9 5800X3D
Motherboard Gigabyte Aorus Ultra X570
Cooling Cooler Master ML360R AIO w/ 6 fans in push/pull
Memory 64GB G'Skill DDR4 3600 CL16
Video Card(s) RTX 4080 FE
Storage Samsung 960 Pro + Samsung 980 Pro
Display(s) Samsung C32HG70 32" 1440P 144Hz
Case Corsair Obsidian 800D
Audio Device(s) X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro + Maverick Audio TubeMagic D2 DAC
Power Supply Superflower Leadex III Gold 850w
Mouse Logitech G600
Keyboard Corsair K55
I experience the same issue with my 2x 4870x2 setup if I allow any of the GPUs to go up above the low 90's. Really anything above 90C is pretty iffy, even though these cards are supposed to be rated to 104c.

I use MSI Afterburner to set a custom fan curve that has the fan hitting 100% at about 80C and that tends to keep the temps in check.
 

AsRock

TPU addict
Joined
Jun 23, 2007
Messages
18,853 (3.08/day)
Location
UK\USA
Processor AMD 3900X \ AMD 7700X
Motherboard ASRock AM4 X570 Pro 4 \ ASUS X670Xe TUF
Cooling D15
Memory Patriot 2x16GB PVS432G320C6K \ G.Skill Flare X5 F5-6000J3238F 2x16GB
Video Card(s) eVga GTX1060 SSC \ XFX RX 6950XT RX-695XATBD9
Storage Sammy 860, MX500, Sabrent Rocket 4 Sammy Evo 980 \ 1xSabrent Rocket 4+, Sammy 2x990 Pro
Display(s) Samsung 1080P \ LG 43UN700
Case Fractal Design Pop Air 2x140mm fans from Torrent \ Fractal Design Torrent 2 SilverStone FHP141x2
Audio Device(s) Yamaha RX-V677 \ Yamaha CX-830+Yamaha MX-630 Infinity RS4000\Paradigm P Studio 20, Blue Yeti
Power Supply Seasonic Prime TX-750 \ Corsair RM1000X Shift
Mouse Steelseries Sensei wireless \ Steelseries Sensei wireless
Keyboard Logitech K120 \ Wooting Two HE
Benchmark Scores Meh benchmarks.
We are situated in Denmark and that would cost the same as me just buying it off of him, and the card is 2 years old so the danish shop warranties are void...

Do you think it's likely an overheating problem with the aftermarket cooler? I was more thinking along the lines of the PSU not being able to provide enough powert during intense 3D games

Well i guess he screwed it as if he registered the card on the XFX there would of been a double lifetime warranty with it.

Well i do have a 2900XT that does it and the ram modules are damaged due to heat.
 
Joined
Aug 11, 2011
Messages
393 (0.09/day)
Location
Denmark
System Name Coming up in september
I experience the same issue with my 2x 4870x2 setup if I allow any of the GPUs to go up above the low 90's. Really anything above 90C is pretty iffy, even though these cards are supposed to be rated to 104c.

I use MSI Afterburner to set a custom fan curve that has the fan hitting 100% at about 80C and that tends to keep the temps in check.

Alright, thats at least a good reference, I would just assume his aftermarket cooler would keep it cool ,but perhaps he installed it in a wrong manner, or something.
 
Joined
Aug 11, 2011
Messages
393 (0.09/day)
Location
Denmark
System Name Coming up in september
Well i guess he screwed it as if he registered the card on the XFX there would of been a double lifetime warranty with it.

Well i do have a 2900XT that does it and the ram modules are damaged due to heat.

I agree, however it's very common down here to not bother with any other warranty that the actual scandinavian 2 year warranty, it might sound abit awkward for anyone abroad, but thats just a fact, even for the enthusiast level ;p

Perhaps it indeed is the heat, but he must have flunked something on the new aftermarket cooler. I'm currently trying to decide whether to buy it, and reseat the cooler and hope for the best, or forget it complete.
 
Joined
Mar 19, 2010
Messages
137 (0.03/day)
Location
Northern California
Processor AMD Ryzen 9 5800X3D
Motherboard Gigabyte Aorus Ultra X570
Cooling Cooler Master ML360R AIO w/ 6 fans in push/pull
Memory 64GB G'Skill DDR4 3600 CL16
Video Card(s) RTX 4080 FE
Storage Samsung 960 Pro + Samsung 980 Pro
Display(s) Samsung C32HG70 32" 1440P 144Hz
Case Corsair Obsidian 800D
Audio Device(s) X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro + Maverick Audio TubeMagic D2 DAC
Power Supply Superflower Leadex III Gold 850w
Mouse Logitech G600
Keyboard Corsair K55
I'd say it's probably the memory or the VRMs that are overheating, as opposed to the core itself - though it's harder to measure those temps. Often aftermarket coolers focus so much on cooling the GPU that they end up neglecting the secondary components (video memory, VRM, etc)
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jan 12, 2010
Messages
1,526 (0.29/day)
System Name Custom Built
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard Asus PRIME A520M-A
Cooling Stock heatsink/fan
Memory 16GB 2x8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 2400MHz
Video Card(s) MSI 1050Ti 4GB
Storage KINGSTON SNVS250G 256GB M.2 + 2 data disks
Display(s) Dell S2421NX
Case Aerocool CS103
Audio Device(s) Realtek
Power Supply Seasonic M12II-520 EVO
Mouse Logitech MX Master 2S
Keyboard Logitech
Software Windows 11 Pro 64-bit
Is it at stock? I got the losing signal and hard freeze when I overclock mine, among other things. I would suspect that PSU too, very low 12V rail power.
 
Joined
Aug 11, 2011
Messages
393 (0.09/day)
Location
Denmark
System Name Coming up in september
I'd say it's probably the memory of the VRMs that are overheating, as opposed to the core itself - though it's harder to measure those temps. Often aftermarket coolers focus so much on cooling the GPU that they end up neglecting the secondary components (video memory, VRM, etc)
That sounds very likely, I'll have to check that if I decide to buy it, but the aftermarket cooler is pretty expensive and has 2 big fans with a large heatsink, so I really think without an OC it should at least be able to play some 3D games.
Is it at stock? I got the losing signal and hard freeze when I overclock mine, among other things. I would suspect that PSU too, very low 12V rail power.
Yes, the card has never been overclocked according to the owner, and I also suspect that the PSU might be a problem since he has a low quality Energon...
 
Joined
Jan 12, 2010
Messages
1,526 (0.29/day)
System Name Custom Built
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard Asus PRIME A520M-A
Cooling Stock heatsink/fan
Memory 16GB 2x8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 2400MHz
Video Card(s) MSI 1050Ti 4GB
Storage KINGSTON SNVS250G 256GB M.2 + 2 data disks
Display(s) Dell S2421NX
Case Aerocool CS103
Audio Device(s) Realtek
Power Supply Seasonic M12II-520 EVO
Mouse Logitech MX Master 2S
Keyboard Logitech
Software Windows 11 Pro 64-bit
Yes, the card has never been overclocked according to the owner, and I also suspect that the PSU might be a problem since he has a low quality Energon...

Then I suspect 100% in the PSU, also I think Got no rice is right too, and a bad PSU can even worse the situation because it can make the VRM work harder if it has a incorrect voltage, ripple, etc... and the extra heat from core or VRM can affect the memory chips..
 
Joined
Sep 4, 2009
Messages
974 (0.18/day)
System Name Grond
Processor Ryen 5 3600x PBO ~ 4.4GHz / fabric at 1900
Motherboard MSI b550 Tomahawk
Cooling XSPC Raystorm CPU w/ am4 mounting bracket+ 2 RX360 radiator + xspc Razor R9-290 w/ backplate
Memory 32gb Crucial Ballistix @ 3800
Video Card(s) XFX R9 290 w/ XSPC Razor full cover block and backplate
Storage WD SN850 1tb-OS, SN750 1tb, Samsung 860 Evo 1tb, WD blue hdd 4tb
Display(s) Samsung 23" 120hz 3d LCD w/ 3d glasses, using 'lightboost' trick
Case NZXT H630 white watercooling case
Audio Device(s) Onboard realtek ALC 1200+ Sennheiser HD 598
Power Supply XFX Pro 850 XXX semi-modular
Mouse Logitech G703 Wireless
Keyboard Steelseries 6 v2
Software Windows 10 Pro (Had some mystery error on Win7 and decided to go W10)
Ask him if you can test it on your system first. Tell him he can be present when you try it out.
That way you can see if it's just a bad PSU, or a dying card.
 
Joined
Aug 11, 2011
Messages
393 (0.09/day)
Location
Denmark
System Name Coming up in september
Ask him if you can test it on your system first. Tell him he can be present when you try it out.
That way you can see if it's just a bad PSU, or a dying card.

It's a too far distance :) However I asked him to log the temperatures during couple mins of 3D gaming with GPU-Z, and hopefully he will be able to. Also he said he replaces his PSU with a Cosair TX v2 1.5 months ago, but didn't comment on whether the problem still persisted, awaiting his reply.
If it did, It must be the GPU and possibly dying memory ?

Edit: Turns out he bought a GTX 580 at the same time of the PSU and thus did not test the GPU with the new powersupply, and doesn't want to mess with case now that they're installed and running.

I'm going to buy it and hope for the best
 
Last edited:
Top