R9 280x DirectCU II Top Artifacts!!

[d1versify]

HEllo i just upgraded from an 7870 to the R9280X-DC2T-3GD5

I followed these steps for drivers

1. Ran Catalyst control center from C:/ AMD and did a custom uninstall. Removed all
2. Restarted computer
3. Ran Driver Fusion and deleted everything from AMD
4. Restarted computer
5. Installed latest 13.12 R9 drivers from AMD site

I get artifacts (shapes, lines , squares) flashing everywhere in screen , when in Chrome, in Dota 2 and Planetside 2. Haven't tested in more games , but I guess it will be the same.
The card will need a replacement? I have a Corsair CX600 , AMD FX 8350, Corsair Vengeance 2x4gb 1600 mhz
I read somewhere about GPU bios update. I ran the GPU ASUS TWEAK software that came in with the CD, and i tried to update something but i got a message ROM programming fail. But then it seemed to installed the update and forced me to restart the computer.
But still i get artifacts.
What do you suggest?

[MoosDiagramm]

Edit: nevermind

[dcinbe]

@jimaros, if those changes work for you then that's fine, but I'm quite skeptical about it.

I suggest you try running OCCT in error check mode with following settings in the GPU:3D tab:

Test Type: Automatic
Duration: 32 min
Idle Periods: 1 min at beginning and end
DirectX Version: DirectX11
Graphic Card/Resolution: choose relevant
FullScreen: leave unchecked!
Error Check: put check mark!
Shader Complexity: 7
Memory used: put check mark and value "2000" MB
FPS Limit: 0 fps (for no limit!)

If your card passes that test without reporting any errors then I guess your card is fine.
Keep an eye on the temps as this test puts quite a bit of stress on the card.
Oh, and don't drag the OCCT window around during the test!

[karakartal3]

I bought this card two days ago. And unfortunately, I have the same problem. Artifacts... Artifacts everywhere...

My build :
- i5 4670k
- Asus Gryphon Z87 C2
- 2 x 4gb Corsair Vengeance LP
- 256GB Samsung SSD 840 Pro Series
- Corsair CX600M
- Windows 8.1 Pro 64bits

So before installing the card, I uninstalled the intel graphic with Display Driver Uninstaller. After that, I installed the latest driver from AMD website (13.251). Everthing was going well. Didn't have any visible artifacts on desktop or while browsing in chrome. But after playing DayZ, I started to see some artifacts after about 15-20 minutes of game. I tought it was the game itself because it's still in alpha version. But when I played BF4, I had the same problem (It does exactly the same thing as this guy's video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCfwDxwL22s).

After that, I uninstalled the driver again with Display Driver uninstaller. Downloaded the one from Asus website (ATI Display Driver 13.251WHQL). And that didn't change anything. Still artifacts while playing. Oh, and when i try to update Vbios, it tells me that : "your graphic card no need to update VBIOS!". Uh, okay...

I installed gpu tweak to check for "live update", but apparently, I'm up to date. And I don't want to change some settings like some guy suggested it.

dcinbe wrote:

I suggest you try running OCCT in error check mode with following settings in the GPU:3D tab:

Test Type: Automatic
Duration: 32 min
Idle Periods: 1 min at beginning and end
DirectX Version: DirectX11
Graphic Card/Resolution: choose relevant
FullScreen: leave unchecked!
Error Check: put check mark!
Shader Complexity: 7
Memory used: put check mark and value "2000" MB
FPS Limit: 0 fps (for no limit!)

If your card passes that test without reporting any errors then I guess your card is fine.
Keep an eye on the temps as this test puts quite a bit of stress on the card.
Oh, and don't drag the OCCT window around during the test!

I did the test with OCCT with the settings above, I didn't have any errors. But after the test, I started to see some "chessboard texture" while moving my mouse on my screen as you can see on this video.

Si what can I do next? RMA it?

I didn't have any problem with Asus products untill now, so I'm not going to immediately write them off for this one issue. But with all the people having the same problem with this card, is it a better idea to get a refund and buy another card or RMA it and hope to get a working one?

Thank you

[dcinbe]

@karakartal3, the artifacts you describe are exactly the same as the ones I get.

Did you run OCCT long enough and exactly with the settings I showed? You should at least run it long enough for the card to reach its max temperature (unless your cooling sucks and your max is too high). Also, it's best not to touch the OCCT window when it's running (dont drag it or minimize it, just leave it alone).
I also use MSI afterburner at the same time to show my card's temperature via On-screen display while OCCT is running. OCCT used to heat up my card until 83 degrees which is not really very high, but I got the impression I get less artifacts when the card runs cooler.

So, what I did so far to reduce the frequency of the artifacts is:
- I use MSI afterburner with a custom created fan profile. Max. temp in OCCT is now 75 degrees and in-game not more than 65 degrees.
- I use MSI afterburner to drop the mem clock from 1600 to 1500 MHz.

With this I get far less errors in OCCT than the heap of errors I get at 1600 MHz, but there are still errors (sometimes just a few and sometimes a lot). Also, the frequency of artifacts is much less, but it is really very unpredictable. Most days it's ok'ish. I get the occasional artifacts and when I restart the game they are gone, but I've also had days when I get artifacts in every game and even in-browser and then nothing seems to help.

If I could get a refund I would do that immediately, but the shop where I bought it isn't very helpful. I don't really believe in RMA at this moment.

[karakartal3]

@dcinbe, I tried the test again and this time, when my card reached 72° (max. temp I got was 82°), I got this on my screen : Video
And OCCT didn't show me any errors... Weird.

As I said in my first post, I don't want to change the settings of my card. It may help but for the price of the card I will try to get a refund or an another card. Don't want to throw my money out of the window.

[Ookami999]

dcinbe wrote:
@karakartal3, the artifacts you describe are exactly the same as the ones I get.

Did you run OCCT long enough and exactly with the settings I showed? You should at least run it long enough for the card to reach its max temperature (unless your cooling sucks and your max is too high). Also, it's best not to touch the OCCT window when it's running (dont drag it or minimize it, just leave it alone).
I also use MSI afterburner at the same time to show my card's temperature via On-screen display while OCCT is running. OCCT used to heat up my card until 83 degrees which is not really very high, but I got the impression I get less artifacts when the card runs cooler.

So, what I did so far to reduce the frequency of the artifacts is:
- I use MSI afterburner with a custom created fan profile. Max. temp in OCCT is now 75 degrees and in-game not more than 65 degrees.
- I use MSI afterburner to drop the mem clock from 1600 to 1500 MHz.

With this I get far less errors in OCCT than the heap of errors I get at 1600 MHz, but there are still errors (sometimes just a few and sometimes a lot). Also, the frequency of artifacts is much less, but it is really very unpredictable. Most days it's ok'ish. I get the occasional artifacts and when I restart the game they are gone, but I've also had days when I get artifacts in every game and even in-browser and then nothing seems to help.

If I could get a refund I would do that immediately, but the shop where I bought it isn't very helpful. I don't really believe in RMA at this moment.

karakartal3 wrote:
@dcinbe, I tried the test again and this time, when my card reached 72° (max. temp I got was 82°), I got this on my screen : Video
And OCCT didn't show me any errors... Weird.

As I said in my first post, I don't want to change the settings of my card. It may help but for the price of the card I will try to get a refund or an another card. Don't want to throw my money out of the window.

Don't bother trying to fix it. There is no fix involving software tweaks or something. It's definitely hardware related. Even RMA can not solve it, you will probably end up with another faulty card. I can think only two possible solutions. First is to try add some heatsinks over the VRAM chips and second to find a way to lower the voltage of the VRAM to ~1.5V but afaik there is no way to do this cause ASUS have locked this option in the vBIOS.

[karakartal3]

Ookami999 wrote:
Don't bother trying to fix it. There is no fix involving software tweaks or something. It's definitely hardware related. Even RMA can not solve it, you will probably end up with another faulty card.

That's what I thought. I will send the card back and get a refund.

Thanks!

[dcinbe]

I also believe there is no fix possible via software. You can only try to mitigate the issue somewhat. I can change VRAM voltage in MSI afterburner from 1.5-1.7 V, but there is no need to as it is already by default at 1.5V. So, that doesn't bring any relief either.

[Ookami999]

You can't change the voltage of the VRAM. The slider is there but does not work thus staying always at 1.6V.

[Ookami999]

According to the manufacturer of the VRAM, Hynix, the chip operates under 1.5V and 6000Mhz( 1500Mhz ). ASUS overclocked it to 6400Mhz( 1600Mhz ) setting the voltage to 1.6V for marketing purposes. I think this is what causes instabilities over the VRAM thus the artifacts produced. Apparently ASUS did not test it very well and push it to production taking a big portion of the sales of the R9 280x market share.