AMD Vega Frontier Edition crashing - Tried everything

[Sasa Gajic]

Hi,

As the title reads, crashing graphic card which basically works because it was tested on a different PC setup, but doesn't work on 2 of mine, which makes it even more weird after I've reinstalled, updated, even clean windows installation 10 several times, tested to the extent where I'm getting sick of testing anything anymore.

To get to the point, I've bought a brand new AMD Vega Frontier, and I use it somewhat for design, some for gaming, either way It's being used in/for game engines, but this case particularly is interesting because the card can't benchmark on Unigine 2.0 Extreme 1080p, nor can i Play DOTA 2 on max details (dota 2 is not a demanding and heavy game, the GPU should eat this game for breakfast) Far from it, I'm not even going to try more demanding games for now...

I had 2 PC setups, and this is where it gets interesting:

My 1st setup was: i7 3820 CPU | 8gb RAM 1866 Mhz | GTX980 G1 Gaming GPU | 730 SE Thermaltake PSU | Asus sabertooth x79 MB | Windows 10 x64 - Everything works fine, all good..

Then i tried the same setup with the following card: AMD Vega Frontier Air Cooled, on any higher load the card crashes, while the sound is active in the background for about 5 seconds, where of it would eventually crash and restart my PC. I tried benchmarking @ 1080p Extreme, crashes, i tried playing dota 2 on high also crashes as soon as there's a battle going on, which puts the card under a load.

So, I gave the card to a friend with the following specs, just to rule out a faulty card:

Asus Z97 Deluxe MB | Corsair Dominator Platinum 2400mhz 2x8GB | Corsair 650W | Windows 10 x64 | and now with my card in this build

Surprisingly the card benchmarked excellent on Stress mode, on extreme 1080p, gameplay more works perfect, also he played Destiny 2 on ultra details and passed through the game without the card stuttering at all. Which means the card was not faulty, he played and used the card for about 2-3 weeks and forced it, it never crashed.

What happens next, I get a brand new PC with the following specs:

AMD Ryzen 5 2600x | 2x8gb 3200 mhz G.SKiLL Ripjaws | Same PSU from old PC - Thermaltake 730 SE | x470 Aorus Gigabyte Ultra gaming MB |

And guess what, the card crashes the same way it crashed with my initial PC build.. So the things I've tried:

Reinstalling AMD Drivers, reinstalling AMD Chipsets to latest, reinstalling windows 10 from scratch (formatting everything to the state of brand new SSD) and it just doesn't work..

I tried uninstalling the graphic card to get on the basic microsoft display adapter and started the benchmark test, it doesn't perform but it didn't crash, I install the graphic card again and it crashes midway through the benchmark test.

I've managed to catch the error 1 time through all this crashing because the screen will usually get all mixed up with pixels and colors.. This is what I got one time before the screen went all colorful and glitchy:

STOP CODE: THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER

Here's a video midway through the benchmark on how it looks like: https://streamable.com/gy91p

Sorry for the long post, but it's been a hard battle, and I'm no where close realizing what the actual problem may be.. Obviously the card worked impeccably on a lower grade build at friends place.. I'm looking for an expert, someone with similar experience, help me out, please I'm about to go mad!! )

 

[Supahos]

Did you use the same psu in both builds that don't work?

 

[COLGeek]

The Thermaltake PSU is likely the issue. I suspect it is not providing enough power to the Vega FE (I have one of those in my main game rig).

 

[Sasa Gajic]

Yes, the same PSU in both builds, but here's the thing, my friend has less PSU (650, while mine is 730) and he runs the same card flawless.. Maybe, just maybe the PSU is not working good, but if that's the case then I'm guessing it wouldn't work at all.. Don't know man..

 

[Supahos]

I'd try a different psu, sounds like the common thread. Total size and how much it delivers on the 12v rail aren't the same thing necessarily

 

[Sasa Gajic]

Could be, I will give it a go when i grab my hands on one sometimes soon, I hope. Is there a way to test the PSU then?

 

[Supahos]

If it functions at all then not really. I suspect the 12v rail just can't deliver the power needed.

 

[Sasa Gajic]

I'm not savy regarding PSU's, but In case I do decide to look for one, then what do you suggest? Doesn't have to be high end, something you would recommend a friend

 

[Supahos]

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/MfJwrH/evga-power-supply-220g20750xr

Unless you want to spend $120+ about as solid as it gets

 

[Sasa Gajic]

You think the 750 will be enough? and I could spend about 120$

 

[Supahos]

That's more than enough

 

[Sasa Gajic]

I agree on that, but is it possible that the current 730w Smart SE that I got has a faulty rail, thus not being able to deliver power? I mean, is that even possible, i thought usually PSU they either work or they don't.. Either way, I'll try to grab one and test before i rush to buy a new one.. I'm hoping for more suggestions

 

[Sasa Gajic]

Before i get a chance to grab a PSU and test, given the error i get: STOP CODE: THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER any other suggestions ?

 

[COLGeek]

Until you have stable, sufficient power going to the Vega FE, you will suffer errors.

 

[Sasa Gajic]

i tried with a different PSU this morning, ran the same benchmark and it passes, ran the 4k one also pass, so basically it's my PSU that's faulty, you guys were right.

 

[Supahos]

When one part carries an issue across two builds it's usually that part. Glad we got ya going again