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artifacting and AMD driver stopping&recovering


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#1
sajinsama

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I've been having a problem with this computer I built about a month and a half ago. I've RMA'd two graphics cards thinking they were the problem but obviously they were not. Basically, here's my problem. As soon as I load into a game, I will get an AMD driver has crashed and has recovered. After the driver recovers, I will then see artifacting or stuttering and then perhaps the display driver will crash again and recover. If i'm lucky, after that the game runs smooth. The game will continue to run smooth unless I decide to alt+tab out of the game and tab back in OR if I decide to close the game and re-open it. This happens with 4 different games I've tried playing.

Now, i've been through EXTENSIVE troubleshooting via google fix methods. I've updated all bios. I've updated every driver for all my hardware. I've properly uninstalled all AMD drivers the right way. I've even used driversweeper every time to ensure you guys i'm not a fool. I've re-seated my card numerous times. I've reseated my ram numerous times. I've used older drivers for the card. I've reseated my RAM once and reset my CMOS a few times which interestingly enough the first time seemed to have fixed my problem temporarily because after I had reset my CMOS, I ran all 4 games flawlessly. No artifacts. No display drivers crashing. Then after a restart, back to the normal problems. Artifacting. Display driver crashing and recovering. I've reset my CMOS another time and everything seemed the same way with drivers crashing. Another thing to note here is that when the display drivers crashes, i'll hear a buzzing sound if i'm using my usb speakers and the DVI adapter and port. If i'm using my HDMI cord when the drivers crash, i'll hear nothing at all. I've been intensely monitoring my temperatures for everything and nothing goes over 65 celcius. Anything rarely gets to 65. Nothing is getting overheated. My GPU stays from 32-50 max.

I'm almost convinced this is a ram issue or a voltage issue. I'm only running 1 stick of 4 gig ram. So, maybe I need 2? I honestly don't know.

I've ran prime95 for about 30 minutes and didn't see any problems with the CPU.

This is my first computer build and it's been literally depressing me so much having this issue. All I want to do is run games without any problems. :(

Here is my computer specs:

CPU: AMD phenom 2 x4 965

Motherboard: MSI 970A-G46 (MS-7693)

Memory: 1x4 gig corsair vengeance DDR3 1600 mhz ram (dram freq. 800mhz nb freq. 2000mhz)

Graphics: AMD radeon HD 7770 series

OS: windows 7 64 bit home premium

PSU: antec 550watt (model BP550 PLUS)

hard drives: Hitachi HDS721050DLE630
Hitachi HDT721032SLA380
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#2
sajinsama

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Just ram memtests. Passed all tests in 1 hour flat. No errors. -_-
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#3
phillpower2

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:welcome: sajinsama

See if the info at the link helps http://support.micro...b/2665946/en-us

The video card system requirements do include a minimum of 4GB of Ram but unless you have multiple applications running when you are gaming I would not think it would cause the issue.

Just a FYI, you need to allow memtest to complete 5 or 6 passes to get anywhere near accurate results and this can take hours and so is best left to run overnight.

Let us know how the above goes and if need be we can look at other possible causes and solutions.
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#4
sajinsama

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Thank you ever so kindly for your reply sir.

I have seen that microsoft page and have followed and completed all of the above steps and it didn't really help me.

I've reinstalled drivers yet again this time by installing the graphic driver via device manager and decided not to install any of the AMD catalyst stuff or the other things it comes with.

I'm having alot more luck with one game (apb reloaded). I very rarely crash in that game and can alt tab in and out of it without too many problems.

As for League of Legends. I'll constantly see purple and green flashes with what looks like a camera flashing at me as the screen blinks white and fades back into the way it's supposed to look.

I've also noticed this white flash happen during APB reloaded as well as i'm driving through the city.

There must be some kind of connection with this white flash and indicate to someone where this problem is coming from.

I only run ventrilo and a game while I play and I would think i'd be able to run those things with only 4 gig ram.

Also, i've noticed that rarely when my drivers do crash in APB, it's very heavy and it's as if the monitor is being unplugged for half a second. Because i'm seeing my monitor act as if there is no device plugged into it an the inactivity screen saver takes over for a few seconds.

I'm trying to elaborate more on the problem so that you, more experienced individuals can help me track down the problem.

Thanks so much for your time.
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#5
sajinsama

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These are artifacts similar to what i've been getting.






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#6
phillpower2

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Thanks for the update sajinsama :thumbsup:

Did you allow memtest to run for 5 or 6 passes?

Download Speedfan and install it. Once it's installed, run the program and post here the information it shows. The information I want you to post is the stuff that is circled in the example picture I have attached.
If you are running on a vista machine, please go to where you installed the program and run the program as administrator.

Posted Image
(this is a screenshot from a vista machine)

To capture and post a screenshot;

Click on the ALT key + PRT SCR key..its on the top row..right hand side..now click on start...all programs...accessories...paint....left click in the white area ...press CTRL + V...click on file...click on save...save it to your desktop...name it something related to the screen your capturing... BE SURE TO SAVE IT AS A .JPG ...otherwise it may be to big to upload... then after typing in any response you have... click on browse...desktop...find the screenshot..select it and click on the upload button...then on the lower left...after it says upload successful...click on add reply like you normally would.

Depending on the results we may need to run further software for comparison http://www.cpuid.com.../hwmonitor.html

Screenshot instructions are provided to assist those that may read this topic but are not yet aware of the “how to”.
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#7
sajinsama

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Right. I have these 2 programs already. CPUID and Speedfan. I've been watching my temperatures like a hawk. Nothing goes above 50-60c.

Also, i'd like to note that i'm using an older version of the 7xxx series drivers as the newest drivers seemingly gave me more trouble than these. I'm using 12.10 drivers.

Attached Thumbnails

  • fanspeed1.jpg

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#8
phillpower2

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Temps are very good but the +12V rail on the PSU is showing as being very low and there no +5V reading showing at all.
See PSU tolerance table below for guidance.

Please run HWMonitor and provide a screenshot for us so that we have a comparison to Speedfan http://www.cpuid.com.../hwmonitor.html
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#9
sajinsama

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okay wow. nice it seems high. lol?

Attached Thumbnails

  • cpuid1.jpg

Edited by sajinsama, 22 March 2013 - 01:26 PM.

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#10
phillpower2

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Please note that any testing software is for guidance only and it is not conclusive unless there is a pattern forming, your +12V rail and the +5V rail look bad on the PSU so another test and screenshot for us if you would please; http://www.piriform....file-to-the-web thanks.
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#11
sajinsama

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Okay. I got that. Here's the link.

http://speccy.pirifo...RtAED7V0CmEj7In

I'd also like to point out that one time, I had reseated my ram into another slot and back to slot 1. Then I reset my CMOS on the motherboard. I ran 4 different games with 0 stutters, artifacts, or crashes very extensively. I restarted my computer and bam the problem came back.
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#12
phillpower2

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I asked back in my reply #6

Did you allow memtest to run for 5 or 6 passes?

What is the answer please.

Speccy has also shown problems with your PSU (see attachment) so I suggest that you swap in a known good PSU for testing purposes or have yours tested by a tech store, be sure that it is 500W or above and has a 75W 6-pin PCI Express power connector.

A FYI, if you have been running the computer for any length of time with a PSU that is putting out such high volts on the +12V rail and low volts on the +5V rail there is a high chance that some if not all hardware has been damaged.
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#13
sajinsama

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Ohhh god... That's terrible news.... Uhhhh. Yeah. I haven't run memtest that long but I will now. Thanks for the advice.
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#14
phillpower2

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An additional check that you can do is in the BIOS, it may be under a heading such as "PC Health Status"

NB: BIOS voltage readings.

The readings are not conclusive in the BIOS as the computer is under the least amount of load, if they are higher or lower than what they should be though it does suggest a PSU problem.

Let us know what the readings are there please.
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#15
sajinsama

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I got some errors on memtest86 as I ran it while I slept.

Time: 7 hours
Iterations: 6
errors: 65535+

error confidence value: 136
lowest error address: 00109fb1000 -4255.6 mb
highest error address: 0013fffffffc 5119.9mb

bits in error mask: ffffffff
bits in error mask total: 32
min: 1
max: 30

avg: 12358

max contiguous errors: 65535
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