Low FPS in game, when GPU is overclocked even slightly games freeze up and crash

[TheOriginalGeek]

Okay, this is my first time creating a thread so i'll start with my specs

CPU - Intel i5 4670k
GPU - AMD MSI HD7950
PSU - ******** 600w ATX
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-Z87-HD3
RAM - 8GB Crucial Ballistix sport

Bare in mind this PC was built 5 years ago and I know it's not the best to begin with, however I know it's capable of more than 10 fps in The Forest.
My issues started recently when a sloppy hard drive was weighing my PC down. It was a slow drive so i decided to uninstall it from my PC, after doing so I decided to give my PC a thorough clean out. I dusted my PC completely, added new thermal paste to my CPU and organised my cables. After doing so I loaded up my games and noticed my GPU fan was roaring. I decided to download a GPU tracking software to understand what was happening, I noticed that my games were crashing when my GPU reached roughly 70°C. I decided to take apart my GPU to get rid of all dust on the card and the heat sink, I also added new thermal paste to my GPU. This seemed to make no difference, I fidgeted about with the Radeon settings and core clocks in an attempt to reduce the heat. This also made no difference.

I feel as though i'm at a dead-end but have no money to invest in a new card. HELP! https://www.************.co.uk/forums/images/smilies/frown.png

 

[Scania]

If it was ok prior to the strip down and clean I’d guess you’ve damaged the card somehow, 70c isn’t that hot in the grand scheme of things tbh, before condemning the card can you get hold of another to try to rule out something else like the PSU?

 

[kaku]

My guess would be low quality PSU. You can test it by removing any CPU overclocks, and underclocking/undervolting your GPU to the minimum values allowed. If it stable after this, it's probably a power supply issue.

Alternatively, try a different PSU if you have one available.

 

[TheOriginalGeek]

I have purchased a new PSU (Thermaltake TR2 S 600W) And i am still getting the same problem :/

 

[Zefan]

Have you recently changed drivers or added any software? I had an issue where MSI afterburner and AMD Wattman didn't get on, and it limited by overclock options. When they fell out, my card (280x) fell in to a super low frequency mode and performance was severely hampered until I restarted the system.

:edit: have I read this wrong? Your title implies that it's the overclock that causes your card to deliver low performance, however your thread content reads as though your card is constantly doing this. Does the card run properly at stock settings?

 

[TheOriginalGeek]

Yeah, this is happening all across the board, whether overclocked or not :/ I'm starting to think that my GPU is dead to be honest

:edit: And no I had not changed drivers before this became an issue. I have tried removing drivers, rolling back and still no change :/