pc freezes randomly since fitting asus r7 260x

[simps2k]

since installing my new gfc card which is asus r7 260x 2gb gddr5 oc im having problems with random freezes where the comp still runs just the screens freeze up until I hit restart button

my specs are:
mobo msi 970a-g46
cpu amd athlon2 x2 215 (I know this isn't the best and is next on my list for upgrade)
cpu cooler Akasa Venom Pico Intel 775 1155 1156 AM2 AM3 FM1 Processor Cooler
ram Crucial 8gb Ddr3 1600 Mhz (pc3-12800) Cl9 1.5v Ballistix Sport Udimm)
psu corsair gold 500w if I remember correctly

no temp isues before that comes up gfx idles at 35 degrees and cpu is down at 15 at rough idle and only just hits high 20s in gaming .

 

[04ahgy]

ASUS just posted an updated BIOS on their support site for the ASUS 260X 2GB OC. BIOS date is 2014/06/25. The changelog mentions this very issue (black screen) is fixed, and I flashed it and haven't had any problems so far.

http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/vga/ATI/BIOS/VBIOS_UPDATE_R7260X_OC.zip

This BIOS version basically sticks the clocks to 1188/1750. The card then runs like a toaster. (No more 2D clock) It's been more stable for the few hours I've run it but I read that in the long term the card overheats. Unfortunately, you can't underclock using GPU Tweak or AMD Overdrive.

Hello everyone!

This VGA (R7260X-DC2OC-2GD5-2DIS) is a crap, ASUS RMA center tries to keep it alive with different methods, also the whole is a BLAME!!! They think that users are stupid dumb people.
My research are below:
There are 3 different VGA BIOS versions, first is the 015.039...... (checked it via the latest GPU-Z). This BIOS functions as intended, there are 2D clocks in idle, both on VMEM and GPU, decrease of voltage in idle, and thus cool working, BUT this one is the freezing one (in 2D, youtube, win bootup, etc.). Computer just hangs, no response, the screen is freezed wit its content.
Second is the 015.042.... This vBIOS fixes all clock and voltage as in 3D mode (1188/1750MHz), and as mentioned above, no energy saving features active! Power consumption of the PC thus recquires a dedicated atomreactor... 🙁 But, no freeze! Card is hot, in idle also.
The third vBIOS is the real blame, its 015.043, and working energy management, no freezing, BUT(!!!) it has the clocks: 1188/1500MHz! vRAM clocking 250Mhz physical (1000MHz effective) lower than the specs... This vBIOS was found on a board, back from RMA.

I RMA'd ~15 boards, wit confusing results... 🙁

George

 

[d2kx]

Hello everyone!

This VGA (R7260X-DC2OC-2GD5-2DIS) is a crap, ASUS RMA center tries to keep it alive with different methods, also the whole is a BLAME!!! They think that users are stupid dumb people.
My research are below:
There are 3 different VGA BIOS versions, first is the 015.039...... (checked it via the latest GPU-Z). This BIOS functions as intended, there are 2D clocks in idle, both on VMEM and GPU, decrease of voltage in idle, and thus cool working, BUT this one is the freezing one (in 2D, youtube, win bootup, etc.). Computer just hangs, no response, the screen is freezed wit its content.
Second is the 015.042.... This vBIOS fixes all clock and voltage as in 3D mode (1188/1750MHz), and as mentioned above, no energy saving features active! Power consumption of the PC thus recquires a dedicated atomreactor... 🙁 But, no freeze! Card is hot, in idle also.
The third vBIOS is the real blame, its 015.043, and working energy management, no freezing, BUT(!!!) it has the clocks: 1188/1500MHz! vRAM clocking 250Mhz physical (1000MHz effective) lower than the specs... This vBIOS was found on a board, back from RMA.

I RMA'd ~15 boards, wit confusing results... 🙁

George

Hi 04ahgy!

Would it be possible for you to upload the 015.043 VBIOS they flashed you @ RMA? I would love to have a look at it! You can just download GPU-Z ( http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/2398/techpowerup-gpu-z-v0-7-9/ ) and in the app right to the BIOS version (015.043...) there is a small symbol and if you click on it you can save a backup of your VBIOS on your disk. You can upload it on Dropbox, Google Drive or some file hoster. Would be really cool! Thanks.

 

[exodus27]

Hello everyone!

This VGA (R7260X-DC2OC-2GD5-2DIS) is a crap, ASUS RMA center tries to keep it alive with different methods, also the whole is a BLAME!!! They think that users are stupid dumb people.
My research are below:
There are 3 different VGA BIOS versions, first is the 015.039...... (checked it via the latest GPU-Z). This BIOS functions as intended, there are 2D clocks in idle, both on VMEM and GPU, decrease of voltage in idle, and thus cool working, BUT this one is the freezing one (in 2D, youtube, win bootup, etc.). Computer just hangs, no response, the screen is freezed wit its content.
Second is the 015.042.... This vBIOS fixes all clock and voltage as in 3D mode (1188/1750MHz), and as mentioned above, no energy saving features active! Power consumption of the PC thus recquires a dedicated atomreactor... 🙁 But, no freeze! Card is hot, in idle also.
The third vBIOS is the real blame, its 015.043, and working energy management, no freezing, BUT(!!!) it has the clocks: 1188/1500MHz! vRAM clocking 250Mhz physical (1000MHz effective) lower than the specs... This vBIOS was found on a board, back from RMA.

I RMA'd ~15 boards, wit confusing results... 🙁

George

Hi 04ahgy!

Would it be possible for you to upload the 015.043 VBIOS they flashed you @ RMA? I would love to have a look at it! You can just download GPU-Z ( http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/2398/techpowerup-gpu-z-v0-7-9/ ) and in the app right to the BIOS version (015.043...) there is a small symbol and if you click on it you can save a backup of your VBIOS on your disk. You can upload it on Dropbox, Google Drive or some file hoster. Would be really cool! Thanks.

I just bought a Gigabyte R7 260x 2GB OC edition and it has 015.043 bios version. I have no problems with my card,but I noticed the frequencies are 1188mhz for processor and 1500 mhz for RAM(6000 mhz effective).
I'm using Catalyst Control Center 14.4 drivers BTW(because I know there are problems with 14.9)

Here is my bios : http://www.datafilehost.com/d/9b010137

Would it be safe to flash a Sapphire or Asus bios with a higher frequency?
I tried editing my bios with VBE7(click here: http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/vbe7-vbios-editor-for-radeon-hd-7000-series-cards.189089/ ) but it says "not supported"...so I can't edit anything in my bios...and I didn't find an official update to my bios on Gigabyte website.

PS: I uploaded the bios because I found your comments about this video card on another website with a link to this website saying that you're waiting for 015.043 bios version to be uploaded by someone. Hope I helped you.

 

[Alhaddar]

thank you very much , i will try this bios now , i'm using 015.042 bios now , it's working great but it only sets the gpu in 3d mode making it running like toaster , i will try this new bios and inform you , i'm using gigabyte r7 260x oc

 

[exodus27]

thank you very much , i will try this bios now , i'm using 015.042 bios now , it's working great but it only sets the gpu in 3d mode making it running like toaster , i will try this new bios and inform you , i'm using gigabyte r7 260x oc

No problem. I hope it will work for you.

 

[Alhaddar]

thank you very much , i will try this bios now , i'm using 015.042 bios now , it's working great but it only sets the gpu in 3d mode making it running like toaster , i will try this new bios and inform you , i'm using gigabyte r7 260x oc

No problem. I hope it will work for you.

Updated the gpu successfully , well test it for few days and then inform you <3 , thank you very much again

 

[exodus27]

thank you very much , i will try this bios now , i'm using 015.042 bios now , it's working great but it only sets the gpu in 3d mode making it running like toaster , i will try this new bios and inform you , i'm using gigabyte r7 260x oc

No problem. I hope it will work for you.

Updated the gpu successfully , well test it for few days and then inform you <3 , thank you very much again

If it helps you...this is the code for my card : GV-R726XOC-2GD Rev 2.0
If it works,it means we have the same card or it was compatible anyway.
I'm looking for a way to edit my bios to get a higher frequency to RAM...but I didn't find anything for now...except older versions of bios from other manufacturers,but not from Gigabyte...(well...I did find a bios for gigabyte,but it was for windforce version of our card,but that uses Samsung RAM...not Hynix...so it's not compatible).

PS: I know this from experience...if you change the bios version of your card...you should uninstall the drivers,then use a driver cleaner and then install the drivers again,to avoid problems. And use 14.4 CCC drivers...because 14.9 are buggy.
And you should use "performance mode" in windows power options...also disable monitor sleep mode(set it on never).

 

[Alhaddar]

thank you very much , i will try this bios now , i'm using 015.042 bios now , it's working great but it only sets the gpu in 3d mode making it running like toaster , i will try this new bios and inform you , i'm using gigabyte r7 260x oc

No problem. I hope it will work for you.

Updated the gpu successfully , well test it for few days and then inform you <3 , thank you very much again

If it helps you...this is the code for my card : GV-R726XOC-2GD Rev 2.0
If it works,it means we have the same card or it was compatible anyway.
I'm looking for a way to edit my bios to get a higher frequency to RAM...but I didn't find anything for now...except older versions of bios from other manufacturers,but not from Gigabyte...(well...I did find a bios for gigabyte,but it was for windforce version of our card,but that uses Samsung RAM...not Hynix...so it's not compatible).

PS: I know this from experience...if you change the bios version of your card...you should uninstall the drivers,then use a driver cleaner and then install the drivers again,to avoid problems. And use 14.4 CCC drivers...because 14.9 are buggy.
And you should use "performance mode" in windows power options...also disable monitor sleep mode(set it on never).

so , i used the bios on my card , when idling i got black screen , it's a problem with amd drivers as they say in their website : [404660]: GPU gets stuck in a low power state after it was previously stressed to max power , i think i will stick to asus bios since it's more stable and i don't get black screens with it , but it idles @ 50 c but idc , from your post you said you want bios with higher memory clock ? use asus bios , it's 1188/1750 clocks , here is the download link for asus bios (015.042.000.003) : http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/vga/ATI/BIOS/VBIOS_UPDATE_R7260X_OC.zip , i will continue using asus bios until amd release drivers that solves this problem , and if you don't know how to flash your card here is a guide on how to do it : http://www.overclock.net/t/1353325/tutorial-atiwinflash-how-to-flash-the-bios-of-your-ati-cards
I DO NOT TAKE ANY RISKS

 

[antdes45]

OK, since my last post, turns out my Dell U2713HM monitor was faulty and causing flickers by itself (Also, the DisplayPort port never worked). RMA'ed and now everything works on that side. Tested along with a 7870, and not a single crash for weeks. (I didn't shutdown or reboot, only used sleep mode and DPMS).

Now testing with the R7 260X and 14.9.2 beta, had a couple flickers and corruption.

Then flashed the non-OC Asus R7260X BIOS from TechPowerUp 1100/1625 (http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/154727/asus-r7260x-2...). Haven't noticed flickers since then, even without using GPUTweak or Afterburner. However, the card still crashes the whole system randomly while on DPMS mode. I tried disabling ULPS without success. I can disable the DPMS timer, but that's only a workaround for a broken card.


Looks like there is a Asus 015.043 ROM posted there : -NEVERMIND, UNFLASHABLE MSI BIOS- ( I HAVEN'T FLASHED IT YET )

By the way, 14.9 beta 2 fixes black screen issues found in the 14.9 release.

 

[exodus27]

so , i used the bios on my card , when idling i got black screen , it's a problem with amd drivers as they say in their website : [404660]: GPU gets stuck in a low power state after it was previously stressed to max power , i think i will stick to asus bios since it's more stable and i don't get black screens with it , but it idles @ 50 c but idc , from your post you said you want bios with higher memory clock ? use asus bios , it's 1188/1750 clocks , here is the download link for asus bios (015.042.000.003) : http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/vga/ATI/BIOS/VBIOS_UPDATE_R7260X_OC.zip , i will continue using asus bios until amd release drivers that solves this problem , and if you don't know how to flash your card here is a guide on how to do it : http://www.overclock.net/t/1353325/tutorial-atiwinflash-how-to-flash-the-bios-of-your-ati-cards
I DO NOT TAKE ANY RISKS

That's why I use 14.4 drivers...and not 14.9...and I also disabled "monitor sleep mode" in windows and set the power options to performance in windows and also in CCC.
I had no black screens or BSOD.
I know how to flash,just I wasn't sure if Asus bios is compatible with my Gigabyte. Thank you!

 

[Alhaddar]

so , i used the bios on my card , when idling i got black screen , it's a problem with amd drivers as they say in their website : [404660]: GPU gets stuck in a low power state after it was previously stressed to max power , i think i will stick to asus bios since it's more stable and i don't get black screens with it , but it idles @ 50 c but idc , from your post you said you want bios with higher memory clock ? use asus bios , it's 1188/1750 clocks , here is the download link for asus bios (015.042.000.003) : http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/vga/ATI/BIOS/VBIOS_UPDATE_R7260X_OC.zip , i will continue using asus bios until amd release drivers that solves this problem , and if you don't know how to flash your card here is a guide on how to do it : http://www.overclock.net/t/1353325/tutorial-atiwinflash-how-to-flash-the-bios-of-your-ati-cards
I DO NOT TAKE ANY RISKS

That's why I use 14.4 drivers...and not 14.9...and I also disabled "monitor sleep mode" in windows and set the power options to performance in windows and also in CCC.
I had no black screens or BSOD.
I know how to flash,just I wasn't sure if Asus bios is compatible with my Gigabyte. Thank you!

it's compatible , i'm using it with my GIGABYTE R7 260X OC 2GB GDDR5 gpu now

 

[antdes45]

Now using sapphire underclocked bios 1050/1500, no flickers so far.
http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/152865/sapphire-r7260x-2048-131104.html

 

[saadyrt]

What's a good one?

 

[firstmode]

When trying to use this brand new card with dead space 1 & 3 I get messed up fragments about 1 minute in, then the graphics freeze, the screen goes black, the screen comes back and the game pauses. I Un pause and it repeats each time until fully crashing.

Using latest beta drivers downloaded yesterday...

 

[firstmode]

When trying to use this brand new card with dead space 1 & 3 I get messed up fragments about 1 minute in, then the graphics freeze, the screen goes black, the screen comes back and the game pauses. I Un pause and it repeats each time until fully crashing.

Using latest beta drivers downloaded yesterday...

 

[D-Fyant]

This issue puzzled me; this card went into a new build that was working perfectly prior to adding the card. It worked fine and would only freeze overnight.

I tried almost everything on this thread as well as disabling hibernation, updating the MB bios (boy was that a hassle!), etc.

In the end, I ended up purchasing a GTX 660 to replace it, but before I sent it back, I tried one last thing: I lowered the clock speed to 1050mhz just to see what would happen. It didn't freeze again after that .

Hopefully this helps someone else as well.

 

[ionceparu7]

I have the exact same problem with my asus radeon r7 260x . I tried everything mentioned here and it still didn't work. Luckily i have the warranty of the gpu and now i am waiting to recieve it back. I think you should replace it.

 

[cwongqf]

I feel you buddy, spent the last 3 days of my Chinese New Year trying to debug the issue. Looks like its Amd driver issue for sure. Freezes for no reason.

I have exactly the same problem and wish I had never purchased the bloody Asus R7 260X card. Should be easy to change GFX card but now 3 days wasted on this obviously buggy card. Freezes happen just the same and also not when running any games or sims. BUT not if I remove the latest AMD driver and run on Microsoft drivers albeit slow of course. So AMD drivers must be buggy as I see it and same with older driver from the ncluded CD

Just changed from old HSI HD 4890 Ultra card which was plenty fast enough for my sim racing sims like Iracing but fan went on that card so made the mistake of upgrading to this nightmare new R7 card. My system is Asus P 5B-E motherboard with the fast E8400 core2 duo CPU and 8 GB GSkil RAM. 1807 mobo bios and was all very stable and safely over clocked until I put this new card in. Only has 1 PCI E slot and all checked physically with 6 pin power plugged in too. PSU 850W and fine for old power hungry HD4890

Please someone help before I bin this R7 card as I am pulling my hair out here. Thanks for any help will be much appreciated.

 

[cwongqf]

Finally !!! after 3 days of troubleshooting on Chinese New Year. I postulate the following solution:

My rig:
Mobo: MSI TM31-P31
CPU: Intel Q6600
PSU: Silverstone Strider 80+ 400W
GPU: Asus ATI R7 260X 1GB DDR5 Direct CU II (Stock clock 1075Mhz, 6400Mhz, 1225mV)
Driver: 13.250 (Asus latest WHQL on their website)

Background, years ago i noticed tht screen freezes was usually a cause of GPU tripping when Sin voltage profile was unstable (if you are using some cheap china made PSU, i suggest you change to a good one as square waves will definitely trip this delicate card). So with this card, i noticed that when it is under stress test, my HWMonitor shows a voltage of Min (11.968V) - Max (12.320V). But.... this card come stock overclocked at 12.25V (or 1225mV). Hence when under stress or idling, the PSU voltage profile struggles to keep in phase and in amplitude with the GPU voltage requirement (sometimes over compensating and sometimes under compensating). This can be clearly seen as you run Furmark and note tht HWMonitor current 12V rail voltage fluctuates consistently over a wide range 11.9 - 12.3 for my case. (if you have any other 12V hardware connected, i suggest tht you run tht hardware at full stress to get your lowest 12V rail reading)

Ok Solution time: Under volt your card to match the minimum voltage of your 12V rail under maximum hardware stress. This value is specific for each PSU at different efficiency and life span.

For my case, the sweet spot minimum is 11.968V. Before deciding what voltage to under volt your card with, you have some headroom to play here. If you like to keep your card at GPU clock 1075MHZ or 1100Mhz, you can. But i choose to step it down to 1000Mhz to ensure my GPU has sufficient power at max stress (prevent voltage tripping). With this value, drag your card voltage slider to the very minimum, then click apply. You will notice tht the Memory clock drops to a lower value. This is the corresponding value tht is sustainable at minimum value of your voltage under clock (make sure you do not clock your memory speed above this value - if you want a stable system). For my case its 6200Mhz. (But i choose to underclock it lower to 6000Mhz to gain extra stability in case of surges)

Now match your voltage slider to the minimum voltage of your 12V rail captured under max stress (run Furmark and Prime 95 concurrently in the background). And.... hey presto, your GPU is stable and freezes no more. And you will notice that your 12V rail live value does not flutuates tht wide anymore (its input and output are finally in phase and stable)

Recap so far: GPU 1000Mhz, Memory 6000Mhz, Voltage: 1194mV, power target 100% , leave fan at auto. (-10% performance loss - dropping from 6400Mhz to 6000Mhz, you can try push it to 6200Mhz to gain some 3-4% performance)


# After this, make sure you run Furmark stress test and ensure your maximum GPU temp plateaus (controlable with your fan as it now has less voltage to run on)

Enjoy ! Let me know if this solution works for you.

For those thinking of AMD Driver 14.12 the so called Omega (Greek - the all encompassing), ditch tht idea. Its even more unstable and freezes more often.

 

[GentleGiant1965]

For those thinking of AMD Driver 14.12 the so called Omega (Greek - the all encompassing), ditch tht idea. Its even more unstable and freezes more often.

I wish I had read that first, guess what I was doing while reading the thread!!

I cant even get the damned thing to display in safe mode now!!

If I hadnt bought it "used" from Amazon, and then not touched it for 6 months I would RMA the stupid thing!!

I've spent more trying to get the thing working than a brand new card would have cost (TWO new PSUs*, new RAM, replacement cpu cooler)

First POS wouldnt even boot, despite being 750W, damned thing puts most of the current into the Mobo connector and nothing left for more than a budget gfx card!!

 

[simps2k]

i have still got this issue with my gfx but it only happens when i load fb up it gives the error code thread stuck in device now which it never used to. only had this actual error code for it since upgrading to windows 10.

any thoughts on solving this as im thinking about selling and upgrading to maybe a r8/r9 gfx instead also hoping that version of amd cards wont have this error or am i better going back to nvidea?

 

[Ivo88]

i have still got this issue with my gfx but it only happens when i load fb up it gives the error code thread stuck in device now which it never used to. only had this actual error code for it since upgrading to windows 10.

any thoughts on solving this as im thinking about selling and upgrading to maybe a r8/r9 gfx instead also hoping that version of amd cards wont have this error or am i better going back to nvidea?

Hello Simps2k ! I have been using this graphic card for two months and I thought the mistake was giving me for another piece of equipment , but now I have tried with my old card and not the error appears (" thread stuck in device driver" or frozen PC) .
I was wondering if you've got to fix it, you have returned or you sent it to ASUS . A greeting!

 

[deFreitas]

Oh God, two days trying so many things and the problem is the the GPU, my BIOS version is 015.048.. the issues are the same, I will rollback the BIOS to 015.42 and test it.
Decrease the clock probably will works but is unacceptable, first I will try RMA.

This R7 260X is really a CRAP!! Do not buy it.

First time buying AMD, now I given up. I will go back to Nvidia and buy a GTX 750 TI 2gb

 

[simps2k]

sorry to dig up my old thread but recently it has became unbearable using this card.

now using windows 10 it errors out with thread stuck in device error code.

my questions are:

I am going to get a new psu and case cooling system shortly then I will be getting new gfx.

what would u recommend to replace this gfx with I can either sli or single unit and have maybe £200 to spend on gfx.

My only gaming is a bit of eve, d3 , WOT and occasionally supreme commander 2.

thanks in advance