7900 XT problems

[NOQ]

Hello.

I would like some advice from those who know more about graphic cards.

Ordered a 7900 XT along with a new power supply which is 1000w gold. The power supply is fantastic! The 7900 Xt not so much.

Before installing my 7900 XT I used display driver uninstaller. Once I booted up and installed the new drivers I experienced game crashes mostly in benchmark runs but also some games would crash after the main menu of a game.

I first tried older drivers but the same problem. And during boot before the manufacturer bios menu I got graphical artefacts. (Pictures attached).

Secondly, I tried a different power cables to the gpu maybe that was the issue. This didn’t help and even managed to cause my system to crash.

Thirdly, switching back to my old 480 gpu I was able to boot back into windows. After I decided to try an alternative x16 slot I have on my motherboard.

My 480 ran fine. I’ve ruled out the pcie slot, ssd connection, and power supply. I tried one more time with the 7900 XT and although less crashes they still existed. Benchmarks were barely better than my 480 at 1080p and any higher setting or resolutions caused my games and system to crash. Even if the benchmarks could complete I would get hitching and stutter.

I use windows 10.

The games I tried were

Cyberpunk 2077 (froze before the main menu)
Horizon Zero Dawn (benchmark crash in infinite loading while trying to play the game)
Borderlands 3 (benchmark and game stutter and hitching)
Deus Ex Mankind Divided (able to benchmark but lower score and barely better than my 480)
Witch 3 (stuttering and hitching)
Far Cry 6 (benchmarks but would crash when trying to load into the game)

I use a display port cable to a 144hz 1440p monitor. Used a different cable, used a different slot on the gpu but the artefacts when booting are still there. But not on my 480.

 

[NOQ]

That looks like a knackered graphics card. You’re getting a messed up boot screen before any drivers have even loaded

Thank you. I was worried that might be the issue.

 

[NOQ]

I would ring customer service and send card back you've done everything I would have done

Thanks. I've been assigned a ticked but will chase it up tomorrow. Ever sent anything back yourself?

 

[NOQ]

Did you use old PSU cables with the new PSU?

Hi. New PSU cables. The power supply I got comes with a native 16pin slot similar if not the same power connector Nvidia is using now. I used that 16pin to two6+2 pins for my card. I did try regular 8pin to two 6+2pins but black screen. Same if I use two 8pin to 8pins.
I'm using that 16pin to a single 6+2pin for my 480 and everything seems fine. I did try a different wall socket too but no change.

 

[NOQ]

Yup mine is also knackered and needs to go back, actually pretty similar symptoms to yours.

Real shame as I was excited to get it for the price and would have been perfect for my system.

I'm going to DSR mine as I can't be doing with the hassle of the rma process etc.

Hi. This was my first new GPU ever, I've also brought second hand so feel your frustration. Did you get it for £700? I think the price has gone up now too. Q: did you get a game code/coupon sent to you?

 

[NOQ]

Yeah I got it for £700. Yes I got the code, but you need to redeem that somehow, which I obviously have not done.

Shame, becuase I would have liked the card and the game code, thought it was a good deal. But with DSR (distance selling regulation) I feel I have an "out" and I am going to take it because the thought of parting with £700 to go through the RMA process is not appealing, I don't want the hassle or the stress of it.

If it had worked I would not have returned it.

How did you get your code? I read in one of these forums that it's under a barcode on your invoice but I didn't see one. I know you're meant to get a code then enter that code on AMD rewards and then a hardware checking tool. But I haven't got that far yet.

 

[NOQ]

The card has a faulty vram module/modules as shown by the artifacts he gets on boot up. No amount BIOS tweaking, driver updates or clean windows installations is going to fix that, just send back for a replacement.

This! This might be it because when turning up the graphics even at 1440p I would get crashes in Borderlands 3/Far Cry 6 about the data being lost or something similar. If I kept the ram usage around 2-3GB I would get less crashes. I think you've hit the nail on the head with it being a vram issue.

 

[NOQ]

@OP, just as a rule of thumb from experience over the last 25 years of building PCs, I am not sure from GPU you are coming from, and its likely your card is faulty, however, when I install a totally new GPU especially from a new manufacturer or series of card, I always do it after a fresh Windows install. Its the only way to be sure of a clean install and no driver issues, crashing or stuttering from conflicting drivers. Its just good practice, its a pain, but how often do we really need to do it?, worth it to avoid all the hassle and pain.

Great shout. It is the only thing I didn't do. I've never heard of doing that before for a peripheral but have been considering a fresh OS install if I upgrade to Windows 11. Sapphire 480 was my previous card. I only game on my pc so I'm ruling out malware or viruses being the cause too.