GPU black screen

[numnums]

Hi everyone.
I told a friend recently that I'd build him a gaming PC with some old parts I had laying around. I was testing everything to make sure it's all gravy, you know? However when I was running stress tests and gaming on my GPU, a Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHz edition, my monitor would lose picture and I would just hang on a black screen. I even tested it out with my current set up, and I get the same problem, same thing as the fellow in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSu1z9BVeLY


Does anyone know whats wrong with it? I think its just defective and I should just toss it. Before that though, I'd like your guys' opinions first. Thanks in advance!

 

[herrwizo]

Since this is only happening under stress test, the most likely reasons are that the card is either overheating or the power supply is not a quality one.

 

[numnums]

Since this is only happening under stress test, the most likely reasons are that the card is either overheating or the power supply is not a quality one.

It's not necessarily just stress testing, any amount of time when I'm playing a video game, it blacks out on me. It could be 5 minutes to over an hour.

 

[herrwizo]

The same applies, since the games are also one kind of stress testing. Check your temperatures first, and if they are ok, try with a different power supply.

 

[numnums]

The same applies, since the games are also one kind of stress testing. Check your temperatures first, and if they are ok, try with a different power supply.

Temps never go above 50c and I've tried it on both an antec 650w PSU as well as a corsair hx 750.

 

[herrwizo]

Temps on gpu as well, not only the cpu. They can both overheat and are capable of shutting down the system when they do.

 

[numnums]

Temps on gpu as well, not only the cpu. They can both overheat and are capable of shutting down the system when they do.

Yes, temps on GPU never go above 50c and the CPU never goes above 60c when under load. The system doesn't shut down either, it still remains powered on. I only lose video signal.

 

[herrwizo]

Oh, thats a whole differnt thing. Forgive me, but I understood completely wrong for some reason known only to myself probably 😉 in that case, sir, make sure that the bios on this graphics card is not modified in some way (undervolted or overclocked). Check amd overdrive setting also. Maybe even flash original bios and try again. If this doesnt help, I say that its most likely a defective gpu or graphics memory.

 

[numnums]

Oh, thats a whole differnt thing. Forgive me, but I understood completely wrong for some reason known only to myself probably 😉 in that case, sir, make sure that the bios on this graphics card is not modified in some way (undervolted or overclocked). Check amd overdrive setting also. Maybe even flash original bios and try again. If this doesnt help, I say that its most likely a defective gpu or graphics memory.

Ah ok, thank you. How would I go about flashing a GPU?

 

[herrwizo]

First you have to:

1) determine the exact manufacturer and model -->write it down
2) physically look at memory chips, you need to know who made them (usually Hynix or Elpida) --> write down
3) write down the exact amount of VRAM your card has

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT; USING A WRONG VERSION OF BIOS MAY RENDER YOUR CARD USELESS. Unless, of course, your card has Dual BIOS capability.

Then go here and download the right BIOS for your card (use "details" link on the right for exact manufacturer of memory and other precious details before you download):

http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/index.php?architecture=ATI&manufacturer=Sapphire&model=HD+7870&interface=PCI-E&memType=GDDR5&memSize=2048

Once you have the file downloaded, follow this guide (I always used flashing from Windows and never got a single issue):

http://www.techpowerup.com/articles//overclocking/vidcard/34/9

Here you will also find a link to download ATI WinFlash utility.

BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING, BACKUP YOUR CURRENT BIOS WITH ATI WINFLASH UTILITY (or GPU-Z). If you screw things up, you can still recover the BIOS, but you will obviously have to use a different VGA card just to boot the system, with this faulty one still connected, and you can then flash the same way. Integrated VGA's come handy in this situation. But it is very likely that it wont happen, just saying 😉

After flashing, reboot the computer.

 

[numnums]

First you have to:

1) determine the exact manufacturer and model -->write it down
2) physically look at memory chips, you need to know who made them (usually Hynix or Elpida) --> write down
3) write down the exact amount of VRAM your card has

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT; USING A WRONG VERSION OF BIOS MAY RENDER YOUR CARD USELESS. Unless, of course, your card has Dual BIOS capability.

Then go here and download the right BIOS for your card (use "details" link on the right for exact manufacturer of memory and other precious details before you download):

http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/index.php?architecture=ATI&manufacturer=Sapphire&model=HD+7870&interface=PCI-E&memType=GDDR5&memSize=2048

Once you have the file downloaded, follow this guide (I always used flashing from Windows and never got a single issue):

http://www.techpowerup.com/articles//overclocking/vidcard/34/9

Here you will also find a link to download ATI WinFlash utility.

BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING, BACKUP YOUR CURRENT BIOS WITH ATI WINFLASH UTILITY (or GPU-Z). If you screw things up, you can still recover the BIOS, but you will obviously have to use a different VGA card just to boot the system, with this faulty one still connected, and you can then flash the same way. Integrated VGA's come handy in this situation. But it is very likely that it wont happen, just saying 😉

After flashing, reboot the computer.

I see. I will try that. Thank you