AMD First And Last Time >_<

[baggpipes]

What version of Catalyst is recommended for the 7970???

 

[Dent1]

The shop wont give me a refund only a replacement and i don't see the point if related the the HD 7xxx cards.

You might not have a choice, not sure if Nvidia have an equivalent ATM.

Swap it with an ASUS version. It it solves your issue than it was an isolated issue with Sapphire.

If swapping to ASUS or another brand doesnt solve your issue then the fault might be on your side.

Also,

"my screen will cut out and it will say i should be using 1920x1080 which i am i turn off and on my screen and it works again"

I actually had that issue recently. Turned out to be my HannsG monitor. Ended up dying that very month. Probably unrelated to your issue, but wanted to drop that in there.

 

[LiveOrDie]

I would test another manufacturer. I suggest ASUS Direct CU II! This looks to be a beast of a case

Well that card cost a bit more and the shop doesn't sell it

 

[LiveOrDie]

You might not have a choice, not sure if Nvidia have an equivalent ATM.

Swap it with an ASUS version. It it solves your issue than it was an isolated issue with Sapphire.

If swapping to ASUS or another brand doesnt solve your issue then the fault might be on your side.

Also,

"my screen will cut out and it will say i should be using 1920x1080 which i am i turn off and on my screen and it works again"

I actually had that issue recently. Turned out to be my HannsG monitor. Ended up dying that very month. Probably unrelated to your issue, but wanted to drop that in there.

Screen works fine on my 480 running @ 120Hz also it only drops out when using the DP seem to happen after my screen come out of sleep didn't happen with DVI-D but i was also running my memory clock at full speed all the time to lower the glitches.

 

[TRWOV]

i really think AMD is cheaping out on components,

AMD doesn't manufacture cards.


Is your friend having the same issues? or the issues present themselves only in your PC?

 

[LiveOrDie]

AMD doesn't manufacture cards.


Is your friend having the same issues? or the issues present themselves only in your PC?

No i tested my monitor on his PC he doesn't get the issue because his screen only support 60Hz.

 

[wolf]

Which shop did you buy it from in Perth dude? what other brands do they stock?

Sapphire used to be kickass IMO but these days they arent even nearly leading the pack. do you have a reference model?

If possible I'd take the Gigabyte windforce 3x model

 

[radrok]

They'll probably need to iron out the drivers as I have seen many peoples complaining about glitches on HD79xx, I think your best bet is to try a clean windows install, I know it is a pain but it could solve your problems, I know as personal experience that the Catalysts tend to conflict with the wierdest parts in your system.

For example if I set edge detect AA on CCC I somehow get bluescreens , I also gave up on CFX and unplugged one of my cards, soooo many less problems!

You could even replace your card with a custom GTX 580, over 950 MHz on core eats almost every game at 1920x1080.

 

[HossHuge]

I have 2 Sapphire cards and have issues with both of them. My 6850 Toxic won't let me display 1080p to more than one screen and my 6770 cuts out sometimes when extending to another screen. However, my Asus 6580 works without any problems.

 

[OneMoar]

if you had spent as much time searching the forum as you did writing this rant your problem would be solved =/

 

[Wrigleyvillain]

FWIW never had any issues with any of my Sapphire cards going back to 9800 Pro. My present cards are Sapphire too.

 

[OneMoar]

every-card I have owned was a sapphire never had a issue with any of them save my 3850 agp that ran upwards of 115c

 

[OneMoar]

the DVI must be DUAL link if you want 120hz over DVI
use the DP connector and set the monitor info overrides via CCP

 

[Xaser04]

Hmmm I can't say I have experienced any driver issues on my HD7970.

I don't exactly fit into the norm either running Eyefinity (PLP, Portrait & Landscape).

This does sound like a very specific driver or HW bug which should hopefully be ironed out in the future (hopefully it is drivers).

 

[Horrux]

In the case of the 9600GT I was using XFX as an example, in this incident it was Nvidia's fault.

The 9600GT's the problem was actually a conflict with particular motherboard chipsets. Not sure whether it was on a driver level or hardware level. Nvidia went on record to admit it was their fault, but said it was too isolated to fix. There was an article on Fudzilla or another hardware site with a PR guy from Nvidia apologising.

My point was that whether you go Nvidia or ATI camp, there will eventually be problems, some will be the fault of the hardware, some will be hardware conflicts or software conflicts other times it will be the sub vendor e.g. Sapphire, XFX, BFG or whomever cutting corners.

There is no point playing the blame game boycotting brands. Just RMA your 7970 and get another brand and move on.




Know two piece of hardware is the same when they leave the factory. Your batch could of been made to a lesser quality.

Your item could of been dropped during transport from abroad Asia to Australia. It could of been dropped during transport from the supplier to the retailer. It could of been dropped again by the postman during delivery from retailer to your door. My point is, the item could of been damage before it arrived, that isn't ATIs fault.



You are not helping things. You are just fuelling the OPs paranoia. If you have driver issues create your own thread!

Could *HAVE* been. English. It's a language. Learn it. However, I agree on all points.

Screen works fine on my 480 running @ 120Hz also it only drops out when using the DP seem to happen after my screen come out of sleep didn't happen with DVI-D but i was also running my memory clock at full speed all the time to lower the glitches.

Looks to me like a problem with your DP interface on your monitor...

But yeah, Sapphire doesn't have the greatest reputation for reliability, durability or overall quality... Buying a brand new model from a discount manufacturer, you're going to pay the early adopter's tax AND the "discount" tax...

 

[BlackOmega]

What else can i say, other than I hate this 7970, it has a load of problems --which piss me off. The drivers are S##T and I really think AMD is cheaping out on components. Take this for one, the DVI port can't handle 120hz but the DP port can. But even then, using the DP port, just randomly, my screen will cut out and it will say I should be using 1920x1080 --which I am. I turn off and on my screen and it works again. I was going to wait for nvidia high end card but I think what ever they release next will do.

One of the longest run-on sentences I've ever read. Try using some punctuation next time, other than commas.
Fixed.

Yup, this is why I prefer nvidia nowadays. I used to be a die-hard ATI/AMD user until I tried an old 8800GTX during my time with an HD4870. I then sold the 4870, got a GTX 285 and never looked back. Things with nvidia cards usually just work.


To be fair though, the level of issues you're seeing aren't typical of what users usually report.

Qubit, care to elaborate?
I went from an 8800 to a 4870 and couldn't have been happier. My 1 4870 was more powerful than my two 8800's in SLI. Never had any issues with those cards either.
Since then, I've probably had at least another 10 ATi cards and until just recently, never had an issue with drivers.
For some reason anything after the 11.9 drivers just do weird things with my unlocked 6950's. And for the first time ever, I had the driver stop responding.

I seriously hope that AMD put together a good driver team.

Live OR Die, Remember the 9600GT? It was plagued with problems, like bluescreens of deaths, black screens of deaths. Your post is bias! I actually had the XFX 9600GT I had to change motherboard chipsets to stop the random lock ups. I don't blame Nvidia, I blame XFX. Once I had the card stable, about a year later it overheated and died. I was offered a free ATI 4830 which was stable and performed a little better.

http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=61430
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/275361-33-9600gt-black-screen-death
http://www.overclock.net/t/1190961/nvidia-9600gt-black-screen-of-death
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?200966-XFX-9600GT-(Blackscreen-of-Death)
http://www.giantbomb.com/pc/60-94/9600gt-blackscreen-of-death/35-17452/

You can blame Nvidia too. A few years back I had some 9600 GSO's in SLI and they were working great. Update my driver, artifacts all over the place in certain games; mainly BF2142 --my fav at a the time. Roll the driver back to the previous version no artifacts. So I get a hold of Nvidia and tell them that their driver is screwy. What do they do? Tell me my hardware is bad. :shadedshu
If my hardware was bad it would artifact with every driver.

Since then I've always looked at buying ATi over Nvidia since ATi actually tries to help.



As for Sapphire, I have 2 unlocked 6950's that work great. No problems with the cards themselves. They work great, run cool, and aren't too loud even being reference cards. All in all, I've been fairly happy with them. Getting another two Sapphire 6870's here in a day or two, so I'l check those out as well.

So maybe the 60 Hz out on the DVi port is just a design "feature" of the 79xx cards?

 

[radrok]

So maybe the 60 Hz out on the DVi port is just a design "feature" of the 79xx cards?

It'd be a massive letdown, dual link DVI should let you run 2560x1600 @ 60Hz or 1920x1080 @ 120Hz

 

[INSTG8R]

FWIW never had any issues with any of my Sapphire cards going back to 9800 Pro. My present cards are Sapphire too.

Ditto. I have sworn by Sapphire since my 9800 and have never bought another brand right up to today(I even went thru the nasty X1900 Xfire phase with them) They were and I believe are still there biggest AIB(Peeled the stickers of my X1900's and wouldn't ya know it was ATI and Ruby underneath) Nothing wrong with Sapphire at all. I would at this point chock it up it immature drivers more than anything.

Tho I will say I am a little suspicious where Sapphires "Signature" cards are(Vapor-X, Toxic) That is what I am still waiting on personally.

 

[BlackOmega]

It'd be a massive letdown, dual link DVI should let you run 2560x1600 @ 60Hz or 1920x1080 @ 120Hz

Agreed. It would be kind of strange that they wouldn't have a 120Hz out. However, it could be driver related, hell, it could even be BIOS related to the card. I had a screwy BIOS on one of my ATi products, but it wasn't anything that a simple flash couldn't take care of.

 

[ChristTheGreat]

Yup, this is why I prefer nvidia nowadays. I used to be a die-hard ATI/AMD user until I tried an old 8800GTX during my time with an HD4870. I then sold the 4870, got a GTX 285 and never looked back. Things with nvidia cards usually just work.

To be fair though, the level of issues you're seeing aren't typical of what users usually report.

Well, Looks like it's not the same for everybody.. I have a friend with a GTX 580, unstable driver, BSOD, but when he overclock of 1mhz the GPU, all is going back to normal. He have alot of issue with drivers.. Also, alot of people seems to have issues with some of the GTX 560 or other, of gigabyte, since an update of driver, they needed to flash the bios (think it is about the vGPU).

I do not have any problem with any drivers on my HD6950 since over a year. Same for my HD5770 and HD4870. I've been playing on my TV HDMI with the HD5770, and I update the driver every month. No crash, nothing. I have afriend running eyefinity on an HD6850, no problem at all...

Should I blaim nVidia for my old 2x 7600GT, worked fine alone and when they got in SLI, one died when I installed the driver? Should I blame nVidia for my old 8800GT, over driver 160, Oblivion framerate was really bad, like 70% less... nVidia or AMD, they have both problems.

What else can i say other than i hate this 7970 its has a load of problem which piss me off, the drivers are S##T and i really think AMD is cheaping out on components, Take this for one the DVI port cant handle 120hz but the DP port can, But even then using the DP port just randomly my screen will cut out and it will say i should be using 1920x1080 which i am i turn off and on my screen and it works again, I was going to wait for nvidia high end card but i think what ever they release next will do.

What was your card before? nVidia? have you deleted everything related to it?

have you also tried driver that came with the CD of the HD7970?

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Sapphire lover here as well. I thought I had issues with 120hz as well but it turns out only one of the 2 dvi ports on the card supports 120hz out. For my 6970 its the dvi port beside the hdmi and dp. Have you tried both of the dvi ports with a dual dvi cable? Using 12.2p drivers here. Shows up as 12.3 on gpuz.

 

[qubit]

@BlackOmega & ChristTheGreat

I'm glad they work for you guys and as I said to Frick earlier, people can have wildly different experiences with either brand and both be right, because there's so many variables involved.

I can't really remember the details of the differences now, as it's been about three years or so, but there always seemed to be some stupid glitch or other when running games with AMD in my rig. Also, swapping out video cards could cause problems, too. Note that I was running XP back then, too, which makes quite a bit of difference.

Of course, things change over time and three years is a long time. However, whenever I see threads about driver/game glitches on TPU, many more of them seem to be about AMD problems than nvidia problems, so it doesn't look like things have changed all that much, really.

One thing I do remember though, is when I compared the 4870 and the 8800 GTX:

- the 4870 benched higher in official tests, but didn't feel that much faster in practice
- some games actually ran faster on the 8800 GTX! No, I don't remember which ones now
- Fallout 3 gameplay was smoother on the 8800 GTX, with less hitches, despite the 8800 GTX having lower frame rate performance
- The 8800 GTX is pretty quiet while gaming and keeps the card at a reasonable temperature. Running both fans at 100% made a leafblower out of the 4870, but was only moderately loud on the 8800 GTX. nvidia's cooler cooled better (4870 ran really hot) and made less noise while at it. I really hate loud fan noise

I then got the GTX 285 and the experience was like the 8800 GTX, only with waay more horsepower!

 

[Dent1]

Could *HAVE* been. English. It's a language. Learn it. However, I agree on all points.

Dude. I'm English, I butcher the language a lot less than the Americans on here.

You agree with my point, but when you make an unrelated criticism it devalues the message I was trying to put across.

 

[GSquadron]

I have never switched even brand!
Nvidia Palit

 

[ChristTheGreat]

@BlackOmega & ChristTheGreat

I'm glad they work for you guys and as I said to Frick earlier, people can have wildly different experiences with either brand and both be right, because there's so many variables involved.

I can't really remember the details of the differences now, as it's been about three years or so, but there always seemed to be some stupid glitch or other when running games with AMD in my rig. Also, swapping out video cards could cause problems, too. Note that I was running XP back then, too, which makes quite a bit of difference.

Of course, things change over time and three years is a long time. However, whenever I see threads about driver/game glitches on TPU, many more of them seem to be about AMD problems than nvidia problems, so it doesn't look like things have changed all that much, really.

One thing I do remember though, is when I compared the 4870 and the 8800 GTX:

- the 4870 benched higher in official tests, but didn't feel that much faster in practice
- some games actually ran faster on the 8800 GTX! No, I don't remember which ones now
- Fallout 3 gameplay was smoother on the 8800 GTX, with less hitches, despite the 8800 GTX having lower frame rate performance
- The 8800 GTX is pretty quiet while gaming and keeps the card at a reasonable temperature. Running both fans at 100% made a leafblower out of the 4870, but was only moderately loud on the 8800 GTX. nvidia's cooler cooled better (4870 ran really hot) and made less noise while at it. I really hate loud fan noise

I then got the GTX 285 and the experience was like the 8800 GTX, only with waay more horsepower!

I'm glad for you also for this, but I can tell you that ALOT of people are having problem with nVidia card or drivers also.. I am on a few forums, french and english, and I can confirm this. I can confirm also that the G80 has a build quality which is not that good. Just remember the oven fix. How can you bake a card and get it working again? it is also a fix for laptop having nVidia chipset problem (like the aspire 4520 )

And for the 8800GTX -> HD4870, well, this can depend of alot of thing, some people have different story about it. There is just no point, the HD4870 is just faster than the 8800GTX, I don't know about your smooth gaming, it could be much more different thing that cause have cause this... if I compare what I had like performance with my old 8800GT 512mb vs my old HD4870, there is difference, in any game I played... And by the way, you can't only check on one forum and say "oh in this one, there is more people having issue with AMD card than nVidia", it will be different on other forum, just keep this in mind. I could tell much more about nVidia also, they have their own problem, and AMD also. That's it

Anyway, this is not the subject of the topic, but like I said, some people will have different story about. You guys should stop yelling at those companies and try first to solve the problem, there is an answer to everything