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DX11 goes all spikey

thrudge

thrudge

thrudge

Associate
Joined
26 Jan 2010
Posts
26
Hi all,

I've been grappling with an odd graphics problem. When I enable DX11 in Call of Pripyat or Metro 2033, the graphics go nuts - NPCs radiate umpteen spikes, like long narrow triangles. This doesn't happen under DX10, so that's what I've been using.

Current rig is an i5, XFX 5870, 8Gb RAM, Win7-64. Previous rig was a Core 2, XFX 5870, 4Gb RAM, XP SP2; the problem was identical on this platform.

Here's what I've tried to fix it:

Windows updates
Multiple ATI driver updates over a period of 2 years
Game reinstalls
Running DX11 but switching off all the fancy stuff like AA

None of these attempts had any effect. The problem didn't go away or change. I'm baffled.

If anyone's got any ideas, I'd be grateful to hear them.
 
Drop the memory clocks by 50Mhz and see if that helps. Graphic spikes (glitches/artifacts) are linked to memory being too hot or overclocked too far.
 
Sorry, I should have mentioned - the card has never been overclocked. I doubt it's dying, as the problem has been around for about 2 years now. Overheating is a possibility, although it's much better cooled than it used to be - now in a bigger case with bigger and better fans.
 
Well with many driver updates it still sounds like a hardware issue.

Try what Greg has mentioned, to see if that has any effect.
 
The cards memory could be degrading and a drop of 50Mhz wouldn't be noticable in games. Try dropping the memory and see if that helps. If it does and the card is still within RMA time, get it sent off. If it is out of RMA time, at least you can still game for a while longer. If it doesn't fix it at all, the card could have had it.
 
Cheers for all the replies, chaps, it's much appreciated. I dropped the memory clock from 1200 to 1100, then to 1000. I maxed out the cards fans speed and dropped the gpu speed from 850 to 750. None of these had any effect.

Perhaps I've just had a slightly dodgy card from day one?? :(
 
Other than trying different drivers, I am out of ideas sorry. Normaly dropping memory speeds clears the artifacts but if it hasn't, it could well be broken memory on the card.

Is it still within RMA time?
 
this is very interesting i always assumed spikes were a core problem, i would always get them on my 7970 after playing bf3 for 3-4 hours and lowering the core clock always seemed to get rid of them, but maybe it was because the card/memory wasn't getting as hot. Must try overclocking with a mild fan tweek. Every days a school day.
 
BS Dave said:
this is very interesting i always assumed spikes were a core problem, i would always get them on my 7970 after playing bf3 for 3-4 hours and lowering the core clock always seemed to get rid of them, but maybe it was because the card/memory wasn't getting as hot. Must try overclocking with a mild fan tweek. Every days a school day.
Click to expand...

Yep, a culmination of the two can have that effect. I run a heaven bench and all good for most of it but towards the end, I start to see spikes/triangles where the memory is too hot. If I lower the core and keep the memory clocked up, it doesn't do it or not as much.

Mine is water cooled, so I assume the water is getting warmer and of course this will have the same effect on the memory.

Hope that makes sense?
 
this seems to be working, i'll give it a proper test tonight when i play bf3 for a few hours, but this makes me very happy. I always thought my 7970 couldn't reach 1125/1575 on stock volts, turns out it couldn't do it on stock cooling is all
 
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