Radeon 7950 issues...

[shankly1985]

Ok, i've just spent over 4 hours playing BF3 today on ultra settings (the longest gaming session with my Radeon 7950 so far) and have a few issues/niggles that concern me a bit:


1. The GPU temp never goes over 61C no matter what i run and how long i run it for (sounds great, but could be a sensor fault as it's starting to seem a bit unrealistic now).

2. I left the room for a while and when i came back there was a slight electrical/plastic burning smell... I can only assume it's from the graphics card as it's the only new part aside from my i5 3570K.

3. The graphics card has started making a slight electrical buzz sound under load (a kind of fuzzy sound)... Not like the typical squealing coil whine found with some graphics cards.

4. My VRM temps are still stuck at 24C all the time and the GPU still runs at an insanely high 1.25V when gaming! BF3 started to get a bit glitchy towards the end of my session (textures flickering and some even disappearing!).

5. Why does the GPU fan run at 100% for 6-7 seconds when i switch on my PC? It's loud and no other card i've owned has done this!


... Is any of this a good enough reason to RMA the card? And do i do this through OCUK or the manufacturer (HIS)? I've had the card for just over 2 weeks now.

When I built this system couple months back and after couple use I had this burning smell, even made topics about it on here but has time passed day or two it went away.
If you have a good cooler on the card temps should be low on theses cards I never go over 62C on BF3, But Heaven Bench I reach 67C.
The Start up is normal dont worry about that its a good way on getting dust of the fans.

 

[C64]

Yeah I always do the tests with my same custom fan profile, BF3 is just really heavy on a GPU at ultra. My only other games I play occasionally are CS:GO and Trine and they run at about 40-45.

OP if you create a custom fan profile does it then make any changes?

Of course what you need to do is compare temps on a static manual fan setting but when you said other games its hitting 40-45 then that solves it i guess bf3 does indeed put the same kind of stress as furmark/heaven on gpus just try a quick test with the fan set to manual say 35% or 40% if it goes above 62c you know its not broken right ?

 

[shankly1985]

well that isn't necessarily accurate if the fan is set to auto could just be spinning up more ? try that test with the same manual fan setting but yea I do understand that bf3 is also a good gpu tester as maybe that puts the same extreme load on cards as furmark and heaven just going by my own experiences over the years and even now my gaming loads are about -10c compared to furmark etc

But yea i dont own bf3 so could be wrong but all other games for me are at least 10c cooler than furmark or heaven.

Are the other games you play not system demanding tho? Take something like Fifa 12 my GPU load on that game dont pass 56% and my temps stay much lower than say if I play Crysis 2/ BF3

 

[C64]

Are the other games you play not system demanding tho? Take something like Fifa 12 my GPU load on that game dont pass 56% and my temps stay much lower than say if I play Crysis 2/ BF3

yes mate borderlands 2 and day z both very gpu heavy the temps are 65c load whilst furmark and heaven can hit 75 upwards i think it's commonly agreed furmark and heaven should be higher temps than gaming but BF3 might be as good as furmark and heaven for load testing i am in the dark on that one as i dont own bf3

you can solve it quickly just by setting the fan to manual on a lowish setting as it should get above 62c right ?

 

[shankly1985]

yes mate borderlands 2 and day z both very gpu heavy the temps are 65c load whilst furmark and heaven can hit 75 upwards i think it's commonly agreed furmark and heaven should be higher temps than gaming but BF3 might be as good as furmark and heaven for load testing i am in the dark on that one as i dont own bf3

You know what mate I completely miss read your other post lol. I thought you was saying Benching gives you 10c cooler than games lol

 

[C64]

You know what mate I completely miss read your other post lol. I thought you was saying Benching gives you 10c cooler than games lol

yea i meant 10 higher ish like i said set the fan to manual say 35% and then test it soon s it goes above 62c you know the sensor isnt broken and its just that bf3 is putting the same load as furmark and heaven

 

[PowerPie5000]

there's just no way furmark wouldn't be higher temps than gaming load can you test gaming load set the fan to manual 40% then compare with furmark with fan at 40% obviously watch temps closely so you dont overheat

Result! Ok, i set the fan manually to 30% (1040rpm) and the temps soared upto 80C during the Unigine Heaven benchmark (all maxed out)... At least i know the GPU temp sensor is fine and the card actually has damn good cooling when the fan is set to auto . It still made that strange electrical buzzing/static noise and it does have a smell to it (maybe it's because it's new and hasn't been used extensively until today ).

Those VRM temps are still stuck at 24C though (at idle and under load ).

 

[PowerPie5000]

When I built this system couple months back and after couple use I had this burning smell, even made topics about it on here but has time passed day or two it went away.
If you have a good cooler on the card temps should be low on theses cards I never go over 62C on BF3, But Heaven Bench I reach 67C.
The Start up is normal dont worry about that its a good way on getting dust of the fans.

That's put my mind at ease about the odd burning smell... I'm guessing it's because it's still new and i've not stressed it much until today (full day off work and the other half is keeping our daughter busy downstairs ).

 

[PowerPie5000]

Make sure it is not the PSU. Maybe a spider climbed into it and this is the burning smell (hopefully). People have been confused before thinking it was the GPU when infact it was the PSU making lots of noise.

A burning spider would probably smell pretty rough... I know it's not the PSU as i had it running outside the case when i was trying to find where the noise and smell were coming from. It's definitely the GPU. My PSU runs very quiet (It's a 600W Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold Modular - a very good unit ).

 

[PowerPie5000]

Just been playing STALKER: Call of Pripyat and exprerienced some nasty and erratic squealing in the menu's and that annoying electrical buzzing noise during gameplay ... The game also stuttered frequently and the graphics started glitching! The biggest shock was the GPU's voltage which reached a massive 1.438V during gameplay !! (i checked the max readings in GPU-Z)... I wonder if the VRM's are a bit iffy (which could explain why i can't get a proper temp reading from them).

I've had this card for about 2 weeks and thought it was absolutely brilliant until using it a bit more these last few days... Why are some cards still having this whining issue in 2012? It can't actually be coil whine as i thought all (or most) modern cards used solid chokes these days. And surely the caps can't be 'singing' as they're solid too! What exactly is making this racket? The mosfets?

My XFX Radeon 6870 was always silent and could run STALKER perfectly without squealing, stuttering or corrupted graphics!

Maybe i should RMA it for a replacement, or maybe get a different brand Radeon 7950? What do you guys think?

 

[C64]

the voltage reading capability of gpuz is not to be taken seriously what is gpu temp #3 getting to maybe if thats say 60-80 that is in fact the vrm temp ? on my 6970 I dont even get a voltage temp so i go by gpu temp #3 as being the vrm ?

I'd stick with it as you are past the DSR limit of 7 working days ? have you got access to another power supply / pc to test the card in ? also try different drivers try the 12.9 beta btw i didnt mean stick the fan at 30% and just let it run i meant stop the app when it goes past 62c but 80c isn't a damaging temp at all i think damage can be done at 100c +

 

[PowerPie5000]

the voltage reading capability of gpuz is not to be taken seriously what is gpu temp #3 getting to maybe if thats say 60-80 that is in fact the vrm temp ? on my 6970 I dont even get a voltage temp so i go by gpu temp #3 as being the vrm ?

There isn't a #3 reading in GPU-Z... The VRM temps are listed as 'VRM Temperature 1 & 2' which are both stuck at 24C.

I'd stick with it as you are past the DSR limit of 7 working days ? have you got access to another power supply / pc to test the card in ? also try different drivers try the 12.9 beta btw i didnt mean stick the fan at 30% and just let it run i meant stop the app when it goes past 62c but 80c isn't a damaging temp at all i think damage can be done at 100c

The card has a 2 year warranty and then there's the SOGA... the 7 day DSR doesn't really mean much. I'll test the GPU in my partners PC, but my PSU is more than capable and is one of the best 600W units available (Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold modular). I'll give the beta drivers a go

 

[C64]

Yea but you run the risk of having to pay postage and hassle of not having a card for them to send it back saying nothing wrong with it

you sure you got no readings like gpu #2 or anything that is always higher than gpu #1 (under load)? if there is I'd say that's probably the vrm or at least something to go by on mine my gpu #3 hits 80c so i presume thats the vrm as they are known to get pretty toasty

 

[PowerPie5000]

Yea but you run the risk of having to pay postage and hassle of not having a card for them to send it back saying nothing wrong with it

There's definitely something wrong with it... Long gaming sessions result in glitchy graphics, faint burning smell, squealing/buzzing and dangerously high voltages. I'm sure they'll find the same issues if tested thoroughly. I'll try it in my girlfriends PC, but i can't see it being any different to be honest (might just be a waste of time).

I can live without a card for a while as long as i get a replacement, although OCUK don't seem to offer much in the 7950 department (an 880Mhz MSI TFIII or 900Mhz Gigabyte Windforce would be nice - NOT the boost versions ). HIS are usually quite decent, so maybe i've just had bad luck with this one.

you sure you got no readings like gpu #2 or anything that is always higher than gpu #1 (under load)? if there is I'd say that's probably the vrm or at least something to go by on mine my gpu #3 hits 80c so i presume thats the vrm as they are known to get pretty toasty

There are no readings like that... This is the sensor list i get in GPU-Z:

GPU Core Clock
GPU Memory Clock
Fan Speed (%)
Fan Speed (RPM)
GPU Load
Memory Usage (Dedicated)
Memory Usage (Dynamic)
12V
VDDC
VDDC Current
VDDC Current In
VRM Temperature 1
VRM Temperature 2

 

[RichIbizaSport]

I've just returned the same card to OcUK. It was a good card, had a great cooler on it. But I couldn't deal with the sound the fan made at idle, it really was just cheap tat.

I didn't get any whine or buzzing from it though.

I'd also advise not getting the TFIII, it's loud and hot compared to the HIS IceQ and Windforce.

Don't forgot OcUK have a 14 day DSR (I presume 14 working days, excluding the delivery day). So if you want to return I'd get it raised asap.

 

[PowerPie5000]

I've just returned the same card to OcUK. It was a good card, had a great cooler on it. But I couldn't deal with the sound the fan made at idle, it really was just cheap tat.

I didn't get any whine or buzzing from it though.

I'd also advise not getting the TFIII, it's loud and hot compared to the HIS IceQ and Windforce.

I always thought HIS was a decent brand? The cooler on mine was pretty much silent when idling (it's loud for around 6-7 seconds when i first power up the PC). The squealing and buzzing noises are very off-putting with certain games... I even tried it in my girlfriends PC and had the same results (the buzzing was not as noticeable because her case fans are a bit louder than mine, but the squealing with STALKER and Crysis soon drowned them out!). The cards default voltage of 1.25V is asking for trouble anyway and is probably the cause of the buzzing/squealing as the VRM's will be under too much stress! VRM temp sensors on this card are stuck, so i couldn't even tell how hot they were getting during gameplay . The voltage actually hit 1.438V at one point when playing Stalker: Call of Pripyat .

All this squealing and buzzing shouldn't be happening in 2012 with solid chokes and caps etc... It's not acceptable when it's noticeably audible.

Don't forgot OcUK have a 14 day DSR (I presume 14 working days, excluding the delivery day). So if you want to return I'd get it raised asap.

I ordered the graphics card along with all the parts for my girlfriends build (which is all perfectly fine) on the 7th of September, but i didn't actually receive them until the 12th... It's been over 14 days since purchase which shouldn't matter as the card comes with a 2 year warranty (and there's also the SOGA of course ).

Got my RMA number today and will be posting it out tomorrow morning (wonder how much that's going to cost me, as it needs to be insured for over £250?). I'm going to be stuck with the crappy Intel HD 4000 graphics for the time being .

I also noticed the solder work on the back of the card looked a bit shoddy (around the VRM/power phase area)... The solder looks a bit blistered/bubbled .

 

[RichIbizaSport]

I always thought HIS was a decent brand? The cooler on mine was pretty much silent when idling (it's loud for around 6-7 seconds when i first power up the PC). The squealing and buzzing noises are very off-putting with certain games... I even tried it in my girlfriends PC and had the same results (the buzzing was not as noticeable because her case fans are a bit louder than mine, but the squealing with STALKER and Crysis soon drowned them out!).

All this squealing and buzzing shouldn't be happening in 2012 with solid chokes and caps etc... It's not acceptable when it's noticeably audible.



I ordered the graphics card along with all the parts for my girlfriends build (which is all perfectly fine) on the 7th of September, but i didn't actually receive them until the 12th... It's been over 14 days since purchase which shouldn't matter as the card comes with a 2 year warranty (and there's also the SOGA of course ).

Got my RMA number today and will be posting it out tomorrow morning (wonder how much that's going to cost me, as it needs to be insured for over £250?). I'm going to be stuck with the crappy Intel HD 4000 graphics for the time being .

I also noticed the solder work on the back of the card looked a bit shoddy (around the VRM/power phase area)... The solder looks a bit blistered/bubbled .

The couple of seconds at 100% are normal for this card (mine did it too).

You can return it for a replacement/fix (as you said) for the whole warranty period.

What I was meaning is if you don't like the card, you can return it for a refund (minus your postage costs)
You've had 12 working days. So you could return it under the 14 day extended DSR thing OcUK have.

It'll cost you about £9-10 from the post office - as it's under 2 kg.
A courier will do it for about £11-12 insured for £300. Collected from your doorstep.

I use parcelmonkey.co.uk - it's usually the cheapest (via city link or parcel force)

If it's confirmed broken OcUK should refund your postage cost - as long as you can scan the receipt/email the invoice (do it in the customer service section of the forum).

 

[PowerPie5000]

The couple of seconds at 100% are normal for this card (mine did it too).

Mine does it for about 6 seconds until the motherboards post/boot screen shows up (the motherboard boots to the post screen much faster with the integrated HD 4000 GPU)... Count to 6 and it actually seems a long time for the screen to be blank with GPU fans running at 100%.

You can return it for a replacement/fix (as you said) for the whole warranty period.

I think i'd prefer a replacement seeing as it's still new... There's no way i'd accept a refurb and i really don't trust anyone other than the manufacturer when it comes to repair jobs (as long as it's not Acer as they trashed a monitor of mine that went in for repair ).

What I was meaning is if you don't like the card, you can return it for a refund (minus your postage costs)
You've had 12 working days. So you could return it under the 14 day extended DSR thing OcUK have.

I'm not sure if i should risk getting another HIS 7950 (i could have just been unlucky though)... It seems there are quite a few Radeon 7950/7970 cards that have bad coil whine (despite supposedly having 'all solid' designs ). Maybe i should spend a little more and get a GTX 670? My girlfriends 660Ti is silent and a very good performer

If it's confirmed broken OcUK should refund your postage cost - as long as you can scan the receipt/email the invoice (do it in the customer service section of the forum).

There's definitely something wrong with it (buzzing/squealing, high default voltages, duff VRM sensors and glitches after long periods of play). I'll get it posted via Royal Mail in the morning

 

[chris-82]

sorry to hear your having 7950 issues mate i know how u feel im in the same boat im on my second msi twin frozr 7950 now and it has the samne issue as the first! looks like memory corruption or something...

here is the story so far:

i purchased a msi twin frozr 7950 and when it arrived did a full reinstall including drivers obviously!lol

i then decided to play the free game sleeping dogs and i noticed i had faint scrolling lines over the screen so
i have tried it on sleeping dogs,gw2,dead island,stalker: clear sky,blacklight retribution and then i removed the card and tried it with my 6850 with no issues put the 7950 in again tried the games again with the same issue.

it doesnt do it on skyrim or bastion

i have posted in the customer services section so hopefully should get some feedback from there.

im gutted got a card with a great vidic and low volts which ran cool now im gonna be without a card back to my 6850 then......

yeah its not like join lines its just suttle lines going across the screen generally in the middle portion of the screen that move about the same colour if not a little faded than the colour at the time sometimes there very visible others more sutle and its always there. i didnt realise how much it was spoiling the games untill i plugged in my 6850.
what is it when u get these suttle scrolling lines anyway?

i have ccc installed and msi afterburner and ive kept afterburner closed,all tests have been done on stock clocks it does it when oc'd too but i havent played with it much ocd as i didnt need to was just finding the clocks for future use.

so after all that i rma'd the card and got the new one today plugged it in and same problem again this time i have tried 12.8 and 12.9 beta drivers with the same issues i thought i would see if doing a small oc would remove this problem but no it just made it worse there where more lines and they moved faster (scrolling) around the screen.

is this another card problem or?

any help would be much appreciated

 

[PowerPie5000]

It'll cost you about £9-10 from the post office - as it's under 2 kg.
A courier will do it for about £11-12 insured for £300. Collected from your doorstep.

I use parcelmonkey.co.uk - it's usually the cheapest (via city link or parcel force)

If it's confirmed broken OcUK should refund your postage cost - as long as you can scan the receipt/email the invoice (do it in the customer service section of the forum).

Royal Mail wanted £25 for special delivery as the package weighs 2.22KG . I sent it using Parcelforce in the end for £13.

I usually use Parcel2go.com, but i don't want to be kept waiting .