HD6850 No Signal Crash

[fullrespect]

Hi there. Recently I've bought a pair of 6850's to run them in CF configuration , but the cards seems to be faulty. When I run Crysis or FarCry2 , I'm receiving black screen/no signal crashes. Suddenly the monitor enters in stand-by mode , sound still running for a few seconds and that's it. Freeze. I have to reset the PC.
I'm experiencing the same issues with both cards.
However , lowering the memory frequencies at 900MHz solves the problem , on both cards. This sounds to me like a faulty card.

Should I RMA the cards ? Or wait for a new bios version to fix this issue ?

Have a nice day ,
Seby

P.S. Note that I've tested another card (A.sus HD6850) and it works like butter with the same setup , same drivers.

[Dark Mantis]

Hi and welcome to the Gigabyte Forum.

Yes iot could possibly be a faulty card but I think we should check out any other options first. What PSU are you using, make/model please?

What other devices are installed in the system?

[fullrespect]

I've tested with two different setups :

1st setup :

CPU : AMD Phenom ll X6 1090T Black Edition
Mobo : Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4 / F3 Bios
RAM : Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB DDR3 1600MHz CL8
HDD : Samsung 320GB SATA-II 7200RPM 16MB NCQ SpinPoint F1 Series / WDC WD6400AAKS 640GB SATA-II 7200RPM 16MB
VGA : 2 x Gigabyte HD6850
PSU : Seasonic S12II-620 Bronze 620W
OS : Windows 7 x64
DRV : Catalyst 10.12a

2nd setup :

CPU : AMD Phenom ll X3 700e
Mobo : MSI 785GT-E63
RAM : A-Data Vitesta Extreme Edition 4GB DDR2 800MHz
HDD : 2 x WD 1TB Enterprise (Raid Edition) in RAID0
VGA : 2 x Gigabyte HD6850 | 1 x  ASUS HD6850
PSU : Corsair CX400W
OS : Windows 7 x64
DRV : Catalyst 10.12a

Testing methods : All stock , running FarCry 2 benchmark at full details (1920 x 1080)

Results :

2 x Gigabyte HD6850 - No Signal crash , every time.

1 x Asus HD6850 - Runs fine , all 3 benches. No problems at all.

With the 1090T setup I'm experiencing another problem : when I put in a single GPU  , the system randomly fails to boot (no image , no boot beep , no nothing). Sometimes it's OK , but not always. With both cards installed , my PC boots perfectly.
Can this be an issue between my mobo (GA-790XTA-UD4) and the newcomer HD6850 ? Should I try the latest bios (F4A .. yeah , beta) for my mobo ?
Also , in 3D applications , sometimes I'm getting BSODs , and it's very frustrating since with my old HD5850 everything it's perfect.

Thanks,
Seby
 

[Dark Mantis]

Well I would say that neither of your systems contains a PSU with enough power to run both cards together. I am suprised the 400W one even starts, it's a testiment to Corsair's quality that it does. So I would suggest replacing the PSU with another Corsaair unit but with a bit more power this time. Try a 1000W if you want to run triple Crossfire or at least a 750W for a dual Crosssife setup.

[fullrespect]

No , you totally misunderstood me.

Testing 1st Gigabyte HD 6850 on setup 1 and 2 - No Signal Crash.
Testing 2nd Gigabyte HD 6850 on setup 1 and 2 - No Signal Crash.
Testing Asus HD6850 on setup 1 and 2 - Runs fine.
Testing Gigabyte HD6850 Crossfire with my SeaSonic 620W PSU on setup 1 - No Signal Crash.

So , the problems persists in single card config / crossfire config ... ANY CONFIG.

HD6850 it's not a hungry card , it runs like a dream on a quality 400W PSU. 5770 ~= 6850 at power requirements. My PSU supports an overclocked GTX 480 , but cannot handle the "monster" called HD6850 ? The problem is elsewhere.

P.S. HD6850 doesn't support triple crossfire.
P.S.ll  Ah , and one more thing. The No Signal crash doesn't appear in all 3D applications. I have problems running Crysis , FarCry2 , Battlefield : Bad Company 2 , but BlackOps and NBA 2K11 runs fine.

[Dark Mantis]

Sorry, but that's what it looked like.

I would certainly advise updating the BIOS (using QFlash of course) just to make sure that it isn't just a BIOS issue.

You might be suprised to find that Gigabyte recommends a minimum of 550W PSU for the motherboard and the same for the GPUs.

[fullrespect]

Ok , but why the same issues are present on both mobos ? MSI mobo + Gigabyte HD6850 = Crash. Gigabyte mobo + Gigabyte HD6850 = Crash. Don't know what to say , but this is strange. Different setups , same cards , same problems. The version made by Asus has higher frequencies = more power consumption but runs smooth.

IMO , the memories are faulty / memory power system is weak or something like that.

[Dark Mantis]

It would seem that the cards could be faulty but I find it hard to believe that both would have the same fault. It sounds more like a software or firmware issue.

Are you using the latest BIOS version on the motherboard?
Have you tried clearing the CMOS completely first?

[fullrespect]

It would seem that the cards could be faulty but I find it hard to believe that both would have the same fault.

Yes , I find it hard to believe it too , but the AMD forums are full of users with the same problems. I can provide a link , but I don't know If I'm allowed to.

Are you using the latest BIOS version on the motherboard?

No , I'm using F3 , and the latest is F4A. It's a beta bios and it seems to just update the CPU Agesa Code (support for 1075T , 1045T etc) , so nothing that can help me.

Have you tried clearing the CMOS completely first?

Yes , a couple of times. When I plug in a single Gigabyte HD6850 and I get a beautiful no boot , I must reset the bios to make it work again. With both Gigabyte HD6850 cards installed I have no problems booting the system.

[Dark Mantis]

No , I'm using F3 , and the latest is F4A. It's a beta bios and it seems to just update the CPU Agesa Code (support for 1075T , 1045T etc) , so nothing that can help me.

The thing is often the full extent of the fixes isn't stated in the BIOS update info box. So quite often you will find that other issues are addressed at the same time.

[fullrespect]

Ok , I'll flash the latest bios version and let you know about the results. Thanks.

[fullrespect]

As I expected , the bios update won't cut it. The same black screen/no signal crash occurs. Any ideas ?

Should I make a quit video and post it to show you the real thing ?

[Dark Mantis]

Well it certainly wouldn't hurt. I am not sure if it will help either but the more info the better.

[DJ_OXyGeNe_8]

If you play 64bit it happens, try 32bit

Crysis/Bin32

I've

GA-890FXA-UD5
MSI HD 6870 Twin Frozr
AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE
Kingston HyperX 1600 4GB
Tagan 480W

Win 7 64bit

I'm playing in very high settings (1280 x 1024 - my LCD monitor is 1280  x 1024) There is no problem

[Villy_Da_Man]

The card is not working, whole buch of them is malfunctioning.

Read this topic http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,3884.0.html and there are many more and AMD GAME and ohter forums...