Is it possible I damaged my card?

[Mr Kagouris]

I have a Sapphire Dual-X R9 270 and I decided to overclock it some 2 months ago. I only set the core clock 75MHz above factory turbo clock and the memory clock 125MHz above factory settings (I also raised the power limit by 10%). It passed Valley Benchmark just fine over 10 times and has shown no problems in games ranging from LoL to GTA V in the last 2 months. Then out of nowhere, I start getting weird graphical problems. Things like the outlines of windows looking weird and games suddenly freezing only to have my display turn on and off really quickly then resume normally. These are the only two anomalies I've encountered thus far, games run normally and everything else is fine.

Is it possible these are signs of damage to the graphics card? Or could it be a software-related problem?

 

[Rogue Leader]

You probably did not damage it. What those could be signs of is your PSU not being up to the task, and starting to wear out. Whats the brand, model, and wattage?

 

[dextermat]

Hi,

Did you up the voltage ?
Did the card overheat / monitor your temps ?

 

[Dunlop0078]

I doubt a small overclock like that would ever hurt the card, did you add any voltage? What are the gpu temps when gaming? Also get cpu temps while your at it. I agree with rouge leader this could also be a power issue knowing what psu you have would help.

 

[Mr Kagouris]

I doubt a small overclock like that would ever hurt the card, did you add any voltage? What are the gpu temps when gaming? Also get cpu temps while your at it. I agree with rouge leader this could also be a power issue knowing what psu you have would help.

Voltage is at stock (slightly boosted by Sapphire since this is Sapphire's OC version of the card). GPU temps with my custom fan profile stick to around 75C under max load. Max CPU temp I've ever seen was 65C. I don't know exactly what PSU I have since the computer was a prebuilt, but it's a 850W and 80+ rated so there's no way I'm maxing it out with only an R9 270 and a i5 760.

I forgot to mention that these problems also seem to appear even when my card is not running my OC profile. One other thing I forgot to mention is that today my display seemingly set itself to my monitor's lowest supported resolution for no reason.

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

No, you need to do way more than that to damage the card.

 

[johnnyb105]

Well even so your power supply is 850 watts given its age how old??? or even new can fail even brands but best to buy good name brands but even there is failures among those so don't rule out a power supply issue just yet.

 

[Dunlop0078]

I doubt a small overclock like that would ever hurt the card, did you add any voltage? What are the gpu temps when gaming? Also get cpu temps while your at it. I agree with rouge leader this could also be a power issue knowing what psu you have would help.

Voltage is at stock (slightly boosted by Sapphire since this is Sapphire's OC version of the card). GPU temps with my custom fan profile stick to around 75C under max load. Max CPU temp I've ever seen was 65C. I don't know exactly what PSU I have since the computer was a prebuilt, but it's a 850W and 80+ rated so there's no way I'm maxing it out with only an R9 270 and a i5 760.

I forgot to mention that these problems also seem to appear even when my card is not running my OC profile. One other thing I forgot to mention is that today my display seemingly set itself to my monitor's lowest supported resolution for no reason.

Well im leaning towards a power issue. They usually put the cheapest bottom of the barrel power supply's they can find in most pre built's I have seen. Can you see any labels on the power supply? A brand or something would really be helpful, but im guessing its probably total junk, for some reason these pre built pc company's do not see the importance of having a decent power supply or they don't care.

 

[Rogue Leader]

850w and 80+ is meaningless, there are plenty of those that are junk, and if its in a prebuilt there is a chance its junk.

 

[Mr Kagouris]

I doubt a small overclock like that would ever hurt the card, did you add any voltage? What are the gpu temps when gaming? Also get cpu temps while your at it. I agree with rouge leader this could also be a power issue knowing what psu you have would help.

Voltage is at stock (slightly boosted by Sapphire since this is Sapphire's OC version of the card). GPU temps with my custom fan profile stick to around 75C under max load. Max CPU temp I've ever seen was 65C. I don't know exactly what PSU I have since the computer was a prebuilt, but it's a 850W and 80+ rated so there's no way I'm maxing it out with only an R9 270 and a i5 760.

I forgot to mention that these problems also seem to appear even when my card is not running my OC profile. One other thing I forgot to mention is that today my display seemingly set itself to my monitor's lowest supported resolution for no reason.

Well im leaning towards a power issue. They usually put the cheapest bottom of the barrel power supply's they can find in most pre built's I have seen. Can you see any labels on the power supply? A brand or something would really be helpful, but im guessing its probably total junk, for some reason these pre built pc company's do not see the importance of having a decent power supply or they don't care.

Unsurprisingly you seem to be right. The PSU is some "Premier SL-X850EPS". I can't even find anything about it on the internet aside from one forum post related to the company that built my PC, and it looks like the PSU isn't even 80+. According to the forum posts I found it's 65% efficient or so. Not only that but it's been making some coil whine for about a year now, and when I plugged it back in just now after disconnecting my PC to check the PSU's labels, it made a crackling noise similar to an electrical spark (no spark was visible however).

All in all I'm currently assuming that I'm extremely lucky that my PC hasn't exploded yet. So aside from the PSU, is there no other possible explanation?

 

[Dunlop0078]

Yah I wouldn't be comfortable with that in my system, PSU is definitely the most likely culprit especially since you said you heard crackling noises coming from it. Other possibilities could range from a dying GPU to a dying motherboard or cpu but like i said power supply is definitely what I would look at. I would replace it with a quality power supply, I can help you pick one if you want

 

[cst1992]

Your overclock is harmless.
However, the people who do serious overclocking, recommend against using no-name PSU's such as this. The power put out by the PSU isn't stable(called 'dirty' by PSU reviewers), it tends to push the card harder than otherwise(the card's built-in noise reducing circuits have to work hard).
Try replacing the PSU. Dirty power wears out components faster.

 

[Mr Kagouris]

Yah I wouldn't be comfortable with that in my system, PSU is definitely the most likely culprit especially since you said you heard crackling noises coming from it. Other possibilities could range from a dying GPU to a dying motherboard or cpu but like i said power supply is definitely what I would look at. I would replace it with a quality power supply, I can help you pick one if you want

I checked my choices based on budget and my requirements and ended up with 2 choices; Be Quiet! Power Zone 850W and Corsair CS850M. Which would you recommend?

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

You don't need to buy a 850W PSU, your current 850W is supplying 300-350W max, if not less depending on how many other components you have in your system.

 

[Mr Kagouris]

You don't need to buy a 850W PSU, your current 850W is supplying 300-350W max, if not less depending on how many other components you have in your system.

Actually I want a 850W as a sort of future-proofing. The wattage I currently need isn't much cheaper.

 

[Mr Kagouris]

Nevermind, I found a Coolermaster V850 for 20 euros more than my other two choices. Anyone got a good reason not to buy the V850?

 

[Rogue Leader]

Nevermind, I found a Coolermaster V850 for 20 euros more than my other two choices. Anyone got a good reason not to buy the V850?

The V series are made by Seasonic and are tier 1. They are excellent, definitely worth buying.

 

[cst1992]

It's a go - that unit's excellent.
Check out this review for details and a few smiles: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story6&reid=350

 

[Mr Kagouris]

Thanks to everyone for helping, I'll be getting the CM V850.

 

[Dunlop0078]

Thanks to everyone for helping, I'll be getting the CM V850.

Good choice, I agree that is a very good psu.