7900GT Overclocking problems

KWJay · 26 Apr 2006 at 13:59

Hi, was just wondering if anyone else is having the same problems as me with their 7900gt's.... whenever i try and dectect optimal clocks using cool bits after a few seconds i gettiny coloured dots appearing all over the screen, then the screen starts to flash on and off and i have to reset my pc. I'm using the Inno3d cards but just can not complete an optimal detection at all! anyone else with this problem or any advice on it at all?

man_from_uncle · 26 Apr 2006 at 14:04

Nope. Sounds like it might be a bad bit of memory that's boardline able to function at all. Have you tried overclock manually, 5mhz at a time? In fact have you played any games at stock to see if it runs?

wellibob · 26 Apr 2006 at 14:51

Forbar`d card, return it. Think its unlucky u cant overclock it, all the ones ive used, go 560 on core and 780 on mem easy. Try new install, if it still plays up, u got a duff card, well one that wont clock anyroad. Overclocking can be a bit hit & miss, and i have to balance out all my components, ie cpu, memory, and gpu, so they all overclock without affecting how my pc works. If i run stock on cpu, i can get a lot more from the GT card memory wise, balance it all out, and have a good play.

easyrider · 26 Apr 2006 at 16:23

Agreed that card sounds a gonna

KWJay · 26 Apr 2006 at 18:45

Yeah, i have been having problems with the pair that i bought. I get random lock ups, even when running in 2d in windows, get the whole little coloured dots and flashing screen. I was thinking it could be a problem with the cards themselves seeing as it does it in windows and when playing games. and as far as i know even if you oc the 3d core and mem clocks the 3d stay at default unless you oc them right? think im gonna contact the vendor (not OCUK btw!!) and return them as faulty.

Kabaala · 27 Apr 2006 at 00:21

I had the same with the coloured dots similar to dead tft pixels the last time i tried to find max mem and core speeds. Mines the BFG version.

wilders · 27 Apr 2006 at 00:49

You could try manual overclock and see how far you can push it?

easyrider · 27 Apr 2006 at 00:56

wilders said:
You could try manual overclock and see how far you can push it?

If the card won't auto detect then manually setting it wont do any good

Kabaala · 27 Apr 2006 at 09:20

Just a thought to those suggesting returning it. 'If' it runs fine @ stock then it's doubtful that you'd get a replacement from them as overclocking voids the warranty...

KWJay · 27 Apr 2006 at 09:29

thats true, but i've also had the problem when running at stock in windows. i'll start up a vid file, maybe open a new window and it would just suddenly go... i'm gonna try my luck as i've only had them about 2 weeks and the place i got them from allows me to return up to 28 days after receipt if the goods turn faulty. although had to order a back up card as these are the only vid cards i have! oh well, at least i;ll get to see what ATI cards are like, found a bargain one that will at least allow me to play pro evo while im waiting!

KWJay · 27 Apr 2006 at 13:43

Can someone confirm for me that if i oc the 3d section of the graphics card it should have no bearing on the 2d section? i was under the impression that the reason there's 2 sepparate sections is that the 3d stuff will kick in when you boot up a game

Corasik · 27 Apr 2006 at 14:04

While some parts of the GPU may be disabled in 2D mode to save power, if you were to crank up a hyperthetical 350mhz GPU to 1000mhz in '3D' mode, the entire GPU would be running at that speed, including the 2D Section.

If you imagine playing a game within a window, the 2D section is still drawing windows elements on the screen, while the 3D section is drawing the games graphics. Plus the entire GPU will run hotter the farther you clock it, and while many people will have overclocked chips for years (infact I dont believe I have ever lost either a CPU or a GPU to overclocking personally), there is always a risk that damage will be done.

KWJay · 27 Apr 2006 at 18:54

well, i've been running just the one card for the last few days at stock speeds. was ok last night but i had a crash this afternoon and it has just taken me about 3 hours to get back into windows! The other card won't even complete the fear benchmark without locking up my system, so both now def going back. i've had it with them! lol!! still, once i get things sorted out im still going with the 7900gt's as when they worked they worked like a charm. oh well, had to get some dodgy equipment one day didn't i!

Darkwave · 27 Apr 2006 at 18:57

Corasik said:
While some parts of the GPU may be disabled in 2D mode to save power, if you were to crank up a hyperthetical 350mhz GPU to 1000mhz in '3D' mode, the entire GPU would be running at that speed, including the 2D Section.

If you imagine playing a game within a window, the 2D section is still drawing windows elements on the screen, while the 3D section is drawing the games graphics. Plus the entire GPU will run hotter the farther you clock it, and while many people will have overclocked chips for years (infact I dont believe I have ever lost either a CPU or a GPU to overclocking personally), there is always a risk that damage will be done.

Eh? No that isn't right. :confused:

The card underclocks itself in 2D mode (Windows), then when you go into a 3D application or a game, it will put itself back to stock speeds (or whatever speeds you have set 3D mode to.) It's not because of different "sections" on the chip, it just has a switcher to set its own clocks when needed.

KWJay · 27 Apr 2006 at 19:09

Exsomnis said:
Eh? No that isn't right.

The card underclocks itself in 2D mode (Windows), then when you go into a 3D application or a game, it will put itself back to stock speeds (or whatever speeds you have set 3D mode to.) It's not because of different "sections" on the chip, it just has a switcher to set its own clocks when needed.

Thats what i thought. Since the chip doesn't need to run anywhere near as quick in 2d mode as it does in 3d mode it would be bad design if it ran at the same clocks in both. This is what made me think it was a problem with the cards as the crashes were happening in both windows and games...

JoyPadJedi · 27 Apr 2006 at 20:32

Just to let you know KWJay, I had the same problem with my BFG 7900GTX - dots......everywhere...... I thought my pixels were all dying. :eek:

Plus the usual crashes/artefacts/flashing/etc even at stock speeds. Send it back, it's what I did/am doing! Perhaps even point them to this article:

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=235

What vendor is your card BTW?

KWJay · 27 Apr 2006 at 20:49

Mine are Inno3d and don't come pre-overclocked. but even just a small overclock caused the dots issue, which then occasionally happens when using windows. my thinking is that if its that unstable if the clocks are increased even slightly, whats the chance of them failing completely a little way down the line when playing some more demanding games?? I'm hoping the seller wil take them back as faulty and let me choose ones from a dif manufacturer or give me a refund, but well have to see what happens.

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