Flickering pixels in games with a 7950

[Orija]

I'm getting these flickering squares in games, intermittently. The 7950 Vapor-X I have is barely a week old. There are a host of games I've tried, BF3, Crysis 2, Crysis 3 beta, The Witcher 2, The Walking Dead, Skyrim, Dark Souls which do not get these flickering squares.

• Metro 2033, Dishonored, Far Cry 3 and Sleeping Dogs are the ones that get it.
• I'm currently using the 13.2 beta drivers, but this issue was there in 13.1 too.
• Here are my system specs: 2500k at stock settings, Asus P8Z77-MPro motherboard, 4gb ddr3 ram. I play at a resolution of 1920x1080@60Hz.
• The power supply is Corsair TX650V2, I'm using two 6+2pin connectors for the gpu. The gpu is the Sapphire 7950 Vapor-X which I've been using with the Boost switch on.
• The temperatures stay below 27C at idle and below 45C at max load. VRM temps also stay below 50C.

This is the first gpu purchase I've made, and the squares are freaking me out because I fear that they're occurring because of a malfunctioning card. Any help would be much appreciated. I've attached screenshots from the affected games.

 

[Silverforce11]

If it happens in a few games but no others, its often due to drivers. Suggest you run a driver removal software, and then install the 13.2 beta4 http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles/Pages/AMDCatalyst132BetaDriver.aspx

 

[lehtv]

If you find that installing different drivers doesn't help, it may be the stock voltage on it is too low. Install MSI afterburner and set power limit +20, then unlock voltage control in the options and add a 50mV boost or so. If the problem persists, it's pretty much RMA time.

I have the same card, and Dishonored is the only game I have installed out of the four you mentioned. Maybe I'll try later if I get the same issue. I'm using Catalyst 13.1.

 

[Orija]

If it happens in a few games but no others, its often due to drivers. Suggest you run a driver removal software, and then install the 13.2 beta4 http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles/Pages/AMDCatalyst132BetaDriver.aspx

Done that already.

If you find that installing different drivers doesn't help, it may be the stock voltage on it is too low. Install MSI afterburner and set power limit +20, then unlock voltage control in the options and add a 50mV boost or so. If the problem persists, it's pretty much RMA time.

Should I use the default BIOS or just overclock the current one that boosts the core clock to 950MHz?

Also, isn't the voltage locked on the 7950 Vapor-X?

 

[lehtv]

I didn't suggest that you should overclock, only overvolt and increase the power limit to improve the stability of the stock clocks. In any case I'd recommend you test the GPU at its stock settings, so use the default BIOS first. Are you sure the problem persists when using the default BIOS at stock settings? I've never enabled the boost BIOS on my card so I can't say if it'd be stable.

The voltage isn't locked on my 8+8 pin card.

 

[Orija]

I haven't tried the default BIOS. I'll do so.

 

[Orija]

I switched to the default clocks, and raised the power limit and core voltage, but the problem still persists.

I'll try reseating the card as a final measure.

 

[Orija]

Tried reseating, still getting the glitches. Odd that I get no problems when running the Unigine Heaven demo.

 

[footballrunner800]

Yea those are the blocks I get when my overclock is too high.

 

[Hitman928]

Have you checked your loaded temps? (could be a bad heatsink/paste mount)

 

[Ime]

I had a Sapphire 7970 last month that had similar issues. I ended up returning it to Newegg and getting a Gigabyte GTX670 (which turned out to be DoA). Since I don't want to pay a restocking fee, I RMA'd the 670 to get a replacement.

That being said, maybe Sapphire just has a bad batch of cards? If you want to stick with AMD maybe consider a different manufacturer? My old 6950 is an XFX card and it runs like a champ.

 

[Orija]

Have you checked your loaded temps? (could be a bad heatsink/paste mount)

Like I said in the op, the temps are alright, stay below 50C at full load. The VRM temps are alright too.

 

[eagle101]

I switched to the default clocks, and raised the power limit and core voltage, but the problem still persists.

I'll try reseating the card as a final measure.

Orija:
here's what i did almost same problem,
this could solve the problem instantly for reasons you and others might not understand:
goto ccc
goto LCD overdrive, now Enable it Apply, wait a few moments.
now Disable Lcd overdrive,defaults on the bottom of the same page.
now reboot.....
please let me know if this helped the problem

 

[Fx1]

Thats artifacting from an unstable clock

 

[Orija]

Orija:
goto ccc
goto LCD overdrive, now Enable it Apply, wait a few moments.
now Disable Lcd overdrive,defaults on the bottom of the same page.
now reboot.....

Tried that, didn't work.

Thats artifacting from an unstable clock

What do you suggest doing?

 

[psolord]

Orija do you have any cap installed?

If yes, remove it and retry.

Moreover try lowering clocks as well. If the problem goes away with lower clocks, RMA it.

 

[Orija]

I don't think so. All I installed were the 13.2 beta drivers.

 

[Rvenger]

I don't think so. All I installed were the 13.2 beta drivers.

Which have a built in CAP. Underclock the GPU to see if the artifacts still exist. If they don't, RMA the card.

 

[3lackDeath]

Surprisingly I've played most the games mentioned and i never had that problem, have you tried using the older drivers?.

Catalyst 12.11 + CAP2, see if that works

 

[Fx1]

Tried that, didn't work.


What do you suggest doing?

Sending it back.

 

[lilvaratep]

It's normal. I've been through many 7950's because I thought they were all defective. They all had the same problems. Artifacts in many games, including noticeably unigine heaven at the part where it spins around the dragon.

 

[Imouto]

Looks like Sapphire is using shitty components lately.