Question Driver timeout issues - is it worth buying an AMD Radeon 6000 series card with all the driver timeout issues? anyone who never encountered it?

[mossi]

I really like how AMD cards are value for money but I was wondering if there are any people who actually don't encounter this problem with AMD cards.
From reading other parts of the forum and other forums I'm getting the impression that people have learned to live with this problem or even if they 'fixed' it they basically minimised its frequency.
Are there any success stories where people have gotten rid of it completely or never encountered it in the first place?

My rig is in my signature and last AMD 6000 series card I used I sent it back as it kept having that issue.. I had 3 times in less than 24 hours which is ridiculous as far as I'm concerned..

 

[Nine Layer Nige]

I have an RX5700XT and not experienced any time out issues ever. I was not aware there were such issues, so this is new to me.

 

[Deleted member 362816]

I had a RX 6800 and I wish I would have went Nvidia nothing but issues and stuttering for me. I gave up lol. Nvidia drivers just seem to be better overall.

 

[mossi]

I have an RX5700XT and not experienced any time out issues ever. I was not aware there were such issues, so this is new to me.

So what did you end up doing in the end? Do you still have it or did you sell it?

 

[mossi]

I have an RX5700XT and not experienced any time out issues ever. I was not aware there were such issues, so this is new to me.

Did you do a clean install of Windows 10?
also when you installed the AMD drivers do you remember if you selected Standard or Gaming settings?

 

[Nine Layer Nige]

Not a clean install of Win 10, upgraded GPU from RX580 to RX5700XT.
Dunno about the settings, I always take the latest GPU driver package when its available and install using whatever defaults.
I still have the RX5700XT as shown in my sig below. Its working fine, no problems, works great.

 

[mossi]

Not a clean install of Win 10, upgraded GPU from RX580 to RX5700XT.
Dunno about the settings, I always take the latest GPU driver package when its available and install using whatever defaults.
I still have the RX5700XT as shown in my sig below. Its working fine, no problems, works great.

Ok good to know thank you.
I guess the redeeming feature here is that there is no Nvidia GPU drivers in there previously.
I mean I've used the DDU before but I don't fully trust it has removed everything and seems to be a common theme.

 

[critofur]

I have a 3090 and I removed it from my "main" PC that I game on and put in a 6900XTX instead. I briefly tried a 3080 Ti after picking one up for a little under $1,000 last week, but, it was just too damn hot so I took it out and put the 6900 back. So, for the past couple months, though I've had the option of using an Nvidia 3090, I've chosen to use the AMD card.

I know when the 5700XT was new there were serious driver problems - "black screen" etc. After it'd been out for a while I found one for $294 and wanted to give my 1440p 144hz gaming monitor more FPS than my old 1070 could provide so I figured I'd try it out - worst case, I had 30 days to return it if it had problems. Well, I ended up keeping the 5700XT because all the driver problems seemed to have been worked out by then and was very pleased w/the performance I got from it until I got Cyberpunk 2077. It runs CP2077 OK, but, I am using an ancient Antec PC case that I love, and this case has fairly poor air circulation by today's standards. Playing CP2077 in this case caused my pretty basic 2-fan model 5700XT to overheat. I was going to use my "Purchase Protection Plan" for store credit to upgrade to a 3070, but, I saw they (5700XTs) were selling for $500 or more used. So, I sold it for $400 which seemed like a "generous price" to give someone at the time while still giving me $100 more than I had paid for the card a year ago! Win-win.

That said, the 5700XT was one of my all time most loved GPUs for what it gave me at the price I paid - it simply blew away Nvidia in terms of price/performance, until the 30x0 series came out (if you managed to snag one at MSRP ).

Personally,k I haven't seen this "driver timeout issue" on my 6900 and I play games like Apex Legends, SCUM, etc. pretty much daily, but I do know the "black screen" driver problems were a widespread and serious issue a couple years ago.

Another thing to consider is whether you're gaming at 1440p, or 4K, or, if you plan to move to 4K soon, because AMD really seems to be king of price/performance at that 1440p spot currently, but, something like a 3080 w/it's DLSS will serve you better at 4K, IMO. (And gaming at 4K would be the only reason I can think of that would push me to put a 3090/3080 Ti back in my main PC, as I just hate the amount of heat those cards put out!)

 

[critofur]

Ok good to know thank you.
I guess the redeeming feature here is that there is no Nvidia GPU drivers in there previously.
I mean I've used the DDU before but I don't fully trust it has removed everything and seems to be a common theme.

This might not be the norm, but, I've not had issues [on my current Windows 10 PC] going back and forth (multiple times) between AMD/Nvidia cards without a "clean install" or DDU - in fact, I've even had both brands of cards in my PC at the same time. I'm not denying that a lot of people have/do have problems with old drivers left on their PC interfering w/new ones though.

 

[kerberos_20]

driver timeout usualy means hardware failure...ie driver talks to hardware and hardware doesnt respond
on GPUs most of driver issues are caused by crappy underpowered PSU units, or you have good PSU unit, but GPU causing heavy spikes which will cause instability with that low watt PSU,in some cases GPU might be faulty aswell, but space ivaders are more likely to be seen on monitor

as for driver issues themselves...try few different driver versions, if all of them have "issue" then its hardware issue (PSU or GPU)

your PSU looks to be decent, but units dated before 2018 had issues (black screen, crashing, etc while gaming), they have 10yr warranty so you could RMA it if its older than 2018

 

[mossi]

driver timeout usualy means hardware failure...ie driver talks to hardware and hardware doesnt respond
on GPUs most of driver issues are caused by crappy underpowered PSU units, or you have good PSU unit, but GPU causing heavy spikes which will cause instability with that low watt PSU,in some cases GPU might be faulty aswell, but space ivaders are more likely to be seen on monitor

as for driver issues themselves...try few different driver versions, if all of them have "issue" then its hardware issue (PSU or GPU)

your PSU looks to be decent, but units dated before 2018 had issues (black screen, crashing, etc while gaming), they have 10yr warranty so you could RMA it if its older than 2018

so you're saying that it's defective hardware?
has that been proved before?
that's very interesting

for the PSU you mean units of my specific PSU? I think it's newer than that.. I have not seen these issues with my GTX 1070 though

 

[critofur]

Update: I did recently experience this "driver timeout issue", but for me, it was clear what caused it and easily reversed: I had tried to undervolt my GPU during gaming. I undid the undervolt and since then (a few days ago) it has not happened anymore.