ATI Crashes - Compatibility or just the norm?

trentlad · 19 Sep 2010 at 16:15

So I've been using my Visiontek 4870 512MB card for over three years and crashes have been an everyday occurrence. In XP it almost never occurred but as soon as I moved to Vista and then Windows 7 64-bit I've had daily crashes at least once every five times I play a game.

The game simply freezes and after a few seconds the desktop appears with a message "Your display driver had stopped and has been successfully restored". Then it's back to normal.

Two very close friends owned Nvidia cards since their first rig and recently moved to an ATI card. The first friend said he was incredibly happy with his new 4870 card and the performance boost was incredible. It was only after I told him how my card was crashing everyday that he said he also was experiencing the exact same crashes on a regular basis.

The other friend just had a new Core i7 rig built by his local computer store and the very first thing he mentioned was the amount his 5850 ATI card is crashing in the exact same manner.

I've gone through about 30 driver updates and these crashes have always been present (except in XP).

What's the deal? Any suggestions about getting this working? Is this common for all ATI users? Is it down to 64-bit drivers? Could this be compatibility issues (I have nothing overclocked and RAM was stated as compatible with my mobo)?

Orcvader · 19 Sep 2010 at 16:22

Strange, my old Sapphire 4870 never crashed (unless I overclocked it too much). What cooler does it have, and what temperatures does it reach? Are the Vista and 7 fresh installs or upgrades?

Broken Hope · 19 Sep 2010 at 16:31

Have you tried another video card, Perhaps yours is faulty?

I've been using ATI video cards since the 8500 and never once have I had a crash.

liquidex · 19 Sep 2010 at 16:45

Had a 4870 512mb since launch that I replaced a couple of months back for my current 260 and never had any problems with it, even while I had it underclocked to speeds of 160/225.

Most of the time was on Win 7 32-bit however I did use 64-bit for a while before I switched back. Maybe go in to the windows\system32 and windows\system32\drivers and manually remove all traces of ati drivers then reinstall?

Stripes · 19 Sep 2010 at 16:52

I've had absolutely zero stability issues with my XFX 4870 512MB @stock card under Windows 7 64bit, and I've had it since December. In fact the only issue I have is that the fan sounds like it's screwed and probably needs replacing.

If I had daily crashes it'd have been RMA'd by now tbh.

Mr Paul · 19 Sep 2010 at 17:12

No crashes here, but that doesn't help you.

It could be the case that the card is on the way out which tied in with you upgrading to Vista/7 or another componant is on the way out, coinsidence maybe, but worth checking.

Can you try the card in another PC?

Check for dust etc?

trentlad · 20 Sep 2010 at 02:54

Orcvader said:
What cooler does it have, and what temperatures does it reach? Are the Vista and 7 fresh installs or upgrades?

Stock cooler and it reaches 80 at idle and 84 under load.

Broken Hope said:
Have you tried another video card, Perhaps yours is faulty?

I've tried my Nvidia 7300 GTX and haven't had a single crash and I played a ton of L4D with that card on this rig while waiting for the 4870 to mature in the market.

Mr Paul said:
Can you try the card in another PC? Check for dust etc?

That's a good idea to try the card out in another system but I don't have access to any others. I can ask around but all the people in my social/work life find gaming immature!! I've recently cleaned out the fan and it wasn't too bad since I keep my case internals tidy and clean it out pretty regular (the dust filters on the case help too).

Any other suggestions?

arc@css · 20 Sep 2010 at 02:56

Ideally I'd set the fan so that it idles at a lower temperature. Bit high imo, though they are designed to 'take it'.. but for how long varies.

cainer · 20 Sep 2010 at 03:14

idle at 80c

thats crashing from overheat at load surely??
cant be only 4c difference from idle to full load can it?

Yurihyuga · 20 Sep 2010 at 03:30

definetly why its crashing with 80c idle temps. Theres no decent aftermarket coolers for the 4870 on OCUK but google one, it will help.

Broken Hope · 20 Sep 2010 at 07:10

If it's one of the first 4870s then idling at 80c is perfectly normal, my 4870 used to idle at the same temps and I had 0 issues with it for the year or so I had it.

Now the fact he changed to another card and got no crashes would seem to suggest the card is at fault anyway. I'd look at getting a new one.

Mr Paul · 20 Sep 2010 at 13:49

Whack the fan speed upto 100% in the CCC and see if it crashes then

DIABLO · 20 Sep 2010 at 21:42

Don't think i've had a graphics card driver crash since i've had 5870 that was'nt down to overclocking to far.

thingemajib · 20 Sep 2010 at 21:50

aye, 4800s ran a tad on the hot side with stock coolers.

I did have that driver reset issue a few times when i was using the integrated hd3300 but nowhere near as frequently. My 5770 has never skipped a beat.

craig3000 · 20 Sep 2010 at 22:10

Yea it's the norm happens to everyone, it's why ATi are still in business :rolleyes:

80 degrees idle is your problem

Serpantine · 20 Sep 2010 at 22:51

The last time i had that error was with a 2900xt which was subject to many power failures in its lifetime..not good..

The severity of the error increased until a BSOD on boot aswell as obviously screwed memory.

I now have a 4870 1GB and have had no issues with it over the last year.

kylew · 20 Sep 2010 at 23:11

The norm, really? :confused:

As Craig said, ATi wouldn't be in business if you believed the idiots from these and other forums.

trentlad · 21 Sep 2010 at 02:54

craig3000 said:
80 degrees idle is your problem

Is it though? I've looked around and 80 idle on the 512MB card seemed to be pretty standard. Especially according to this thread where people post their 48xx idle/load temps.

The crashes aren't so frequent otherwise I wouldn't have continued for three years without being overly concerned. It just happens at least once a day and now I've had several friends move over to ATI and their experiencing the EXACT SAME ISSUE. Seemed like a rather strange coincidence but regardless it would be nice to find a fix or if it's RMA worthy.

*sigh* bloody visiontek lifetime warranty isn't lifetime if you don't register it within 30 days. NICE!

kylew · 21 Sep 2010 at 03:10

Move over to "ATi" Does that mean moved over to the same card? It could very well be a problem with the specific revision of 4870s that you have.

trentlad · 21 Sep 2010 at 03:29

One moved to the exact same card another to the 5850. It's so infrequent that they never even mentioned it until a game crashed while we were talking on vent.