[SOLVED] Dying GPU?

Anthony Si

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A description of my problem. I get some stutters when playing on games at the lowest setting that my gpu (rx 480 8gb) would normally be able to play on the highest settings with good fps. Did OCCT 3d test and furmark and my monitor will go black with no signal, fans will ramp up immediately after clicking the stress test button and I would have to turn the pc off and on. I can run Superposition benchmark without issues though, my gpu temps do not go above 60c in extreme 1080p setting benchmark

I thought it could be my PSU so I tried it on a different system but still using my peripherals and tried to run OCCT. Same issue, no signal and fans ramp up upon clicking the stress test button. Was planning on taking the gpu apart and replace the thermal pads and paste but I don't seem to be having any problem on temps so I put that on hold first. I was able to run OCCT 3d test by reducing my power limit from +50% to -10% although not sure for how long. I only ran it for about 5 mins.

Other things I've done
Stress test CPU and RAM (stable)
Changed HDMI cables
Updated Bios
Turned off link state in power plan
DDU and reinstalled radeon drivers

Any other things I missed or worth trying out?

PC specs:
Ryzen 5800X
MSI Gaming X RX 480 8gb
G.Skill 4x8GB Flare X
Seasonic Prime Platinum 750w v1
 
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Anthony Si

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Was able to get rid of the stuttering by applying a -9% max frequency in wattman while retaining the +50 power limit. I had it undervolted manually before which was causing my clock speed to alternate between 800+ to 1266 very quickly in Superposition benchmark which would explain the stuttering in games.

After applying the -9% max freq. my clock speed was at a constant 1199 with no change throughout the benchmark. Also tried playing Shadow of the tomb raider and it is very smooth now.

I am able to run OCCT 3d with this but only for a few seconds then it will give me the same issue as above. An improvement I guess compared to the immediate black screen after pressing the stress test button.

Any way it seems stable in game so I guess it will do for the time being as I wait for 4070 reviews when it comes out.
 
It really sounds like your GPU is its way out. It crashes when you tax it which means that it can no longer perform like it used to. You can try installing a new driver package using DDU, but other than that I think that you might want to consider getting a new card and relegate this one to being a backup video adapter for emergencies.
 

Anthony Si

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It really sounds like your GPU is its way out. It crashes when you tax it which means that it can no longer perform like it used to. You can try installing a new driver package using DDU, but other than that I think that you might want to consider getting a new card and relegate this one to being a backup video adapter for emergencies.
So as a last resort I decided to buy some gelid thermal pads and applied them plus redid the thermal paste while at it. What I noticed was that aside from the memory thermal pads the others were mostly compact and crumbling. I ran OCCT for 1 hour after and its pretty stable, no fluctuations on my clock speed, utilization and temps.

I also just found out that this card only has one thermal sensor which is why it shows the same temps for the die and vrm. I guess the vrm was overheating which causes my gpu to throttle the clock speed. Guess this card is considered revived lol
 
So as a last resort I decided to buy some gelid thermal pads and applied them plus redid the thermal paste while at it. What I noticed was that aside from the memory thermal pads the others were mostly compact and crumbling. I ran OCCT for 1 hour after and its pretty stable, no fluctuations on my clock speed, utilization and temps.

I also just found out that this card only has one thermal sensor which is why it shows the same temps for the die and vrm. I guess the vrm was overheating which causes my gpu to throttle the clock speed. Guess this card is considered revived lol
That's great! I'm very glad to hear that you didn't have to buy another card, especially at this point in time. :D(y)
 
Yeah. Can hold out for 4070 release, then maybe the 3080 prices will go down further :D
I wouldn't get the RTX 3080 if I were you. The cheapest that I could find was $898USD direct from EVGA and 10GB isn't anywhere near the amount of VRAM that a card as potent as the RTX 3080 should have.

You should get what I did, an RX 6800 XT. It has the same performance as the RTX 3080 (within 3%), has 16GB of VRAM instead of 10GB and only costs $565USD from Newegg. With all of the problems that are occurring with RTX 3070/Ti and RTX 3080 cards because of their tiny VRAM buffers, I know that I dodged a bullet and I would recommend you do the same. (y)
 

Anthony Si

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I wouldn't get the RTX 3080 if I were you. The cheapest that I could find was $898USD direct from EVGA and 10GB isn't anywhere near the amount of VRAM that a card as potent as the RTX 3080 should have.

You should get what I did, an RX 6800 XT. It has the same performance as the RTX 3080 (within 3%), has 16GB of VRAM instead of 10GB and only costs $565USD from Newegg. With all of the problems that are occurring with RTX 3070/Ti and RTX 3080 cards because of their tiny VRAM buffers, I know that I dodged a bullet and I would recommend you do the same. (y)
I've always had AMD cards from 7750 to 7850 to 280x then the rx 480. Its just the RTX cards would serve me better since I do some 3d modeling and stuff. I am planning to get second hand cards with 1 year or so warranty to save though. Interesting info about the tiny VRAM buffers, will look into it. But seeing that the 4070 will be priced at $599 it seems aklo a good choice. Will still need to wait till the reviewers get their hands on them though.
 
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I've always had AMD cards from 7750 to 7850 to 280x then the rx 480. Its just the RTX cards would serve me better since I do some 3d modeling and stuff. I am planning to get second hand cards with 1 year or so warranty to save though. Interesting info about the tiny VRAM buffers, will look into it. But seeing that the 4070 will be priced at $599 it seems aklo a good choice. Will still need to wait till the reviewers get their hands on them though.
Yeah, I had two of the R9-280X's twin, the HD 7970, in crossfire. Great cards!

In your case of 3D modelling, I don't know enough about that to comment on it but if your software likes CUDA, then yeah, it would be beneficial. As for the VRAM buffer problem, you don't have to look too far:
 
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