Faulty GPU XFX RX 480 Black (1388 Mhz)?

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george_gb

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Mar 7, 2015
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Hi,

I have received my brand new xfx RX 480 (gtr black OC 1388Mhz).

My system is the following.

CPU: i7 920 overclocked @ 3.6
GPU: nvidia gtx 295, gtx 610, rx 480
Motherboard: EX58-Extreme
RAM: 12gb DDR3 triple channel
Monitor: 1900 x 1200
PSU: 1200W
OS: Windows 10 - 64 (I also run Linux but it is irrelevant for this thread)

This is the first AMD gpu for me. So, as soon as I received it, I removed my old GPU and plugged in the RX 480. The system booted normally. I logged in and everything seemed OK apart from the fact that my system was running on lower analysis (which was anticipated). I downloaded the latest drivers, 17.2.1 from here http://support.amd.com/en-us/download/desktop?os=Windows+10+-+64 and started the installation.

While installing the actual drivers the screen started blinking, was full of "snow", was getting black and coloured lines were all over. It was such a bad situation that I could not even see where to click. I had to hard reset my system and plug in one of my previous cards (gtx 610) in order to be able to boot my system.

I uninstalled the drivers. I uninstalled any left overs from the original installation by booting in safe mode. I also used guru3d driver uninstaller (but not in safe mode).

I assumed that it might be a drivers issues so I also tried the drivers provided with the CD inside the package (16.9) still the same problems.

I still have the Nvidia drivers installed. Should I uninstall them? It shouldn't be a problem but this is my last resort.

What do you think? Drivers/software related issue or gtx 480 issue? The rest of my hardware is OK (mobo, RAM etc) since it works just fine both with my gtx 295 and gtx 610.

If it is a faulty rx 480 then I cannot explain why I have no issues when plugging the system without AMD drivers. Why it runs OK with the default drivers on lower analysis?

Many thanks,

George
 
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Most likely not faulty, but need further testing to confirm.

First of all, I'd remove all other GPUs you have and not leave a single one of them inside the computer except the AMD card.

Then use DDU to uninstall all drivers. All of them, Nvidia and AMD. In safe mode, when the application asks you to.

You can download DDU from here:

http://www.guru3d.com/files-details/display-driver-uninstaller-download.html

Also, which PSU are you using, 1200W really does not say much. Did you plug power connectors into the GPU?
 
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Thanks for your reply.

I remove all my other GPU's before plugging in my rx 480. So, yes I have plug connectors into the GPU since this is the only one available on the system for the use case I am describing.

My PSU works fine. Not a single problem using it for many years with the power hungry gtx 295. FYI I have a THERMALTAKE Toughpower 1200W

Do you see any problems having both AMD and Nvidia drivers? I have read that it shouldn't be an issue.

Thanks
 
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You are right, it should not be an issue when you think logically, but computers can sometimes be strange animals - they like clean stuff :) Clean all drivers to be sure, and do so strictly by using DDU.

PSU is top-notch, so no issues there. Had to check, you never know, you could have a Chinese 1200W noname PSU :)
 
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OK I will uninstall all drivers using DDU and I will keep you posted.

Do I need to do it on safe mode or not really important?

Thanks again :)

 
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Unfortunately I am at the office and I cannot test your approach but I worry whether I will have to return the card eventually.

Do you think that the fact that the card works by default (that is without installing drivers even if the screen resolution is low) indicates that the problem is drivers related and not a faulty GPU?

You have a lot of experience as I can tell and this is why I value your opinion.

 
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In my experience, when a GPU is faulty, it shows immediately, drivers installed or not, it does not matter. Either the GPU is completely dead, or the picture is garbled, or glitched, or makes PC hang. None of that happens in your case, so it is most likely a software issue.

 
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I found some time last night to play around. I removed all drivers (AMD and Nvidia) using DDU in safe mode. No luck.

Then I decided to move my rx 480 to another slot. I installed the drivers provided with the CD and the installation seemed to be OK. Then, I ran "Crimson ReLive Edition 17.2.1 Optional" downloaded from here:

http://support.amd.com/en-us/download/desktop?os=Windows+10+-+64

I installed them on top of the previous ones without uninstalling the previous drivers.

This messed up my system again. Run out of time to investigate more.

1) No experience with AMD drivers. Do I need to uninstall the previous drivers before installing a newest version?
2) Even though it says "Crimson ReLive Edition 17.2.1 Optional" after running the executable it updated my system to 16.60 and not 17.2.1. Do I miss something here? Could I be so wrong? I am pretty sure that it installed 16.60.

Amazon has sent me a replacement card which I will receive today so if it ends up as a hardware issue I can use the new one.

Any suggestions/ideas?

Thanks,

George
 
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Yes, you should always uninstall previous drivers. That's probably why the latest version failed to install...

As for the PCI-e slot that you should use, your mobo manual cleary states the following:

"If only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16_1 slot"

When I think some more about it, this is an older mobo. Which BIOS version do you have? Some older mobos have issues with latest GPUs until they get updated to the most recent version. Latest stable version for your board is F12, and latest beta is F13S.
 
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Thanks.

I had it on the first PCIEX16 and then moved it to the second one (and had the successful installation). In case, let's say, the first PCIEX16 has some issues, do you see any problem using the second one? I need to look the manual though but I think that people say that it shouldn't be an issue.

Regarding BIOS I will have a look. I am sure I updated it at some point. Can't remember to which version.

 
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I checked my BIOS version. It's F12

Unfortunately nothing seems to work. Second card arrived but still the same behaviour. Not a problem with default drivers but as soon as the AMD drivers are installed, my screen breaks, blinks, black screens, snow, aritfacts etc. I cannot even see where the mouse cursor is. The desktop appears only 1 second and then for the next 10 seconds my screen is a mess. The only thing I can do afterwards is hard reset and plug in another card. If I did't have an older gpu my system would be useless.

Tried everything. Uninstalled with DDU in safe mode, installed different drivers versions. Nothing.

My system has both Linux and Windows. I use Linux for development etc. and Windows for games. Even when I am prompted from GRUB to select OS, I see a few blue lines. If I load Linux the same. Artifacts on screen.

Totally dead end. Is AMD drivers so bad for my system? Is it the specific XFX model? Is it the RX 480 series? Don't know what to do. Buy an RX 480 from Sapphire for example or move back to Nvidia (eg gtx 1060)?

Never had such a terrible hardware issue with hardware. Totally disappointed with AMD.

 
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Yes, I can try the beta drivers but I do not have much hope. If this fails as well what do you suggest?

1) Try again rx 480 from a different manufacturer
or
2) Try gtx 1060

I will keep you posted.

 
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I managed to install 16.12.2 successfully but my happiness did not last very long.

1 or 2 boots successful but then back to the same. Also updated to the latest BIOS version F13s.

Seems like there is no future with rx 480. I will probably return them and get a gtx 1060.

Anything else to suggest?
 
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it seems unlikely that the card is faulty to me.
Since the card is working somehow, I suspect it to be SW issue. i'd try it in another computer. if it works just fine, I'd reinstall windows.
well, i'd do it vice versa, but i have many spare drives.

P.S.
Just to make sure, have you removed all other GPUs from the system ?
 
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Yes. I remove the drivers using DDU in safe mode before reinstalling.
WIndows 10/64 is a rather fresh install. I only use it for gaming. I spend most of my time using Linux (dual boot machine).

It's always a good thing to try reinstalling WIndows but it is also a pain to have to set up Windows+Linux from scratch.

Dont know.... really confused.

How a fresh install could potentially solve the problem?

UPDATE: What is really weird is that I after installing the drivers, my Linux is also full of artifacrts
UPDATE_2: As I mentioned above, I also see some blue lines when prompted to select OS in grub. Seems like hardware incompatibility since I do not see how drivers could relate to this. No blue lines with default drivers
 
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with those updates really seems HW issue is more probable.
As a hardcore Linux user (Gentoo is my love) I'd recommend going Nvidia due to much better binary drivers.
next time you upgrade your PC (CPU) you can do the nice trick of running two OSes in parallel. You can assign GPU to windows (so windows drivers will be used) to get decent gaming performance.
It's the only reason I'm thinking about upgrading mine (i7-4770K does not support VT-d 🙁 )
 
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