Update on 7970 Matrix Platinum artifacts?

[InRainbow]

Hi all, does anyone have any solution for the artifacts with the 7970 Matrix? I get artifacts in all my games and frequent stuttering too. I have tried different drivers, updated bios, fresh install etc... Temps are 70-75c when gaming. I also RMA'd this card back to scan uk who I bought it off and they said they tested it for 6 hours with Battlefield 3 and there were no problems:confused:

Anyone got suggestions on what to do?

[dremanu]

Manually increase your fans speed, plus, open the card, and replace the factory installed thermal paste with one you buy yourself. The factory one is garbage and badly applied, leading to very bad cooling. In addition, you can buy thermal pads and apply them to the memory. I did all of this and my card runs perfectly.

[Razorjacked]

I agree with dremanu about fan speeds. Spacing of the cards is also important since the heat is left in the case instead of expelled out the back of the case. You need good air flow into and OUT of the case. Also use the GPUTweak utility to set the fan speeds, as I've found just using the AMD Catalyst Overdrive to set fan speed does NOT always set the second fan to the speed selected (Is this a bug?).

When I use the GPUTweak to set the second fan to 100%, I hear a definite change in fan sound from my system. I have 2x7970 ROG Matrix Platinums running at 1200/6800 on a ROG Maximus V Extreme. My temps in BF3 on the first slot card run at 62-67C and the third slot (lower card) run at 60-66C. BF4 raises temps 1-2C.

[Big_d4ddy]

Also try reducing your memory speed from 6600 to 6000 & memory voltage from 1600 to 1520. I have been having artifacts and screen locks, but when I reduced the memory speed the card seems to run flawlessly, also set your fans to 60.

I have read elsewhere that these cards have memory issues, that it is set too high for these cards.

[BronzeMFP]

Sorry to be late to the party. I found with my card that I would get artifacts any time I put powertune to +20%
My card would produce artifacts at stock clocks with the powertune increased.
On the flip side, i can clock the gpu to 1175mhz with no problems with powertune left at +0%
The memory I can't overclock at all without getting artifacts which is a shame.
My DCII TOP memory would clock to 7000mhz or more.

I also replaced the thermal paste wich helped my temps a LOT.

Big_d4ddy: If you look at pictures of the matrix card with the cooler off of it, you can see 4 or 5 memory modules to the right of the GPU that aren't covered by the plate under the gpu heatsink. I think those modules heat up and error out when they get hot, which is why the matrix cards don't OC well (or at all) on the memory. Where, AFAIK, the DCII cards covered all the memory modules.

Almost forgot! You may want to change drivers too. When I first installed the card, I was using the latest beta drivers. After switching to the latest release (non-beta) drivers, That solved or helped most of my artifacting problems at stock speeds. This was before I replaced the thermal paste as well. If you've tried everything else and still are having problems, maybe try a few different versions of drivers to see which work best for you.