Is my Sapphire 6870 broken?

[Condoriano]

First, my config.

Mobo: Asus P8H61-M LX
Processor: i5 2500k
Graphic Card: Sapphire Radeon 6870 1GB
Memory: 2 x DDR3 G.Skill 4G 1333MHz
PSU: Corsair GS600 600W
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bits

I bought all this last friday (04/05/12).

After driver setup, I got the "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered", every 5 minutes.

Ok, look for solution, tryed a lot of possibles solutions. After reinstall a lot Video Driver, reinstall Windows, check memory for errors, I finally found a "solution".

Raising the idle clock to 400/1050, the PC worked just fine. I played some games (Civilization V, Dota 2, Splinter Cell: Conviction; all in high settings), and no problem.

Now my question. This video card, should work on it's stock idle clocks, right?
And when I click on restore default values, in CCC, the errors occurs only when temperature drops to 35ºC. (Using the modified clocks, the temp remains 44ºC idle, and 56ºC Load)

This video card have some issue? Or all 6870 cards will work like that, in my build, or should I use the vendor warranty, and replace the card?

Sorry, for the english.

 

[Maziar]

Some ATI cards have this problem(especially the 5xxx/6xxx cards).I had a 5970 before(with the same problems as your card) and raising the core/memory clock helped a lot.Since your card is still under warranty,I suggest you to RMA it.

 

[inzone]

The first thing you should have done was to call the tech support of the card since they know how the card is supposed to work and have all the tools to troubleshoot with you to determine if the card is defective. As with any purchase the sooner you act after your purchase the easier it is to get the RMA. If you go past the 30 days from purchase it becomes harder and while you still will be able to get an RMA they are thinking that it has been working all this time and then want to try and fix it , where if you call a few days after purchase you have a better chance of getting a new card in the RMA process. If you end up dealing with the manufacturer for the RMA you may get a repair or a reconditioned card back.

 

[geekapproved]

I see no reason to rma the card. Although it seems sapphire has major problems lately, I wouldn't buy a card from them if it was 1/2 price.

Do you have a 120hz monitor? I've heard of this issue with 120hz monitors but there was a driver update that fixed that like a year ago.

If you have a 60hz monitor, it should have no trouble running 150/300.

What driver version are you using?

 

[Maziar]

I see no reason to rma the card. Although it seems sapphire has major problems lately, I wouldn't buy a card from them if it was 1/2 price.

Do you have a 120hz monitor? I've heard of this issue with 120hz monitors but there was a driver update that fixed that like a year ago.

If you have a 60hz monitor, it should have no trouble running 150/300.

What driver version are you using?

I don't know about the OP but I had a 60Mhz monitor(w/5970) and it was never stable on the idle speeds.(no matter of what drivers I used) so I ended up RMA'ng it.

 

[Condoriano]

I see no reason to rma the card. Although it seems sapphire has major problems lately, I wouldn't buy a card from them if it was 1/2 price.

Do you have a 120hz monitor? I've heard of this issue with 120hz monitors but there was a driver update that fixed that like a year ago.

If you have a 60hz monitor, it should have no trouble running 150/300.

What driver version are you using?

I use a 60hz monitor, and I'm using driver 12.3. This is the last I tried, and when i give up trying others drivers versions (i tryed the one from sapphire CD, 12.4, 12.2,12.1). Only the increase of idle clocks helps.

I don't know about the OP but I had a 60Mhz monitor(w/5970) and it was never stable on the idle speeds.(no matter of what drivers I used) so I ended up RMA'ng it.

You got the same model card? The new one worked fine?

Thank you all for help.

 

[geekapproved]

I don't know about the OP but I had a 60Mhz monitor(w/5970) and it was never stable on the idle speeds.(no matter of what drivers I used) so I ended up RMA'ng it.

Ok so what happened? You got a replacement and it worked fine?

 

[benzjie]

after installing the leaked 12.5 drivers my " display driver" message has disappeared.

 

[Maziar]

I use a 60hz monitor, and I'm using driver 12.3. This is the last I tried, and when i give up trying others drivers versions (i tryed the one from sapphire CD, 12.4, 12.2,12.1). Only the increase of idle clocks helps.

I don't know about the OP but I had a 60Mhz monitor(w/5970) and it was never stable on the idle speeds.(no matter of what drivers I used) so I ended up RMA'ng it.

You got the same model card? The new one worked fine?

Thank you all for help.

No I had a 5970(5xxx and 6xxx series are the most common cards having this issue)

Ok so what happened? You got a replacement and it worked fine?

The new card was much better but wasn't flawless.

after installing the leaked 12.5 drivers my " display driver" message has disappeared.

Great.

 

[Condoriano]

Best answer selected by condoriano.

 

[Condoriano]

So, I solved my problem.

I took my card to the retailer where i bought, to swap it. The card stayed there for one week. Today they called me to say that my card is really broken. So, they gave my money back, and i decided to put more and pick a newer card.

I bought a Sapphire 7870 GHZ Edition, and its working great.

Thank you all for advices and help.