ATI HD4870x2 crashing

Discussion in 'Videocards - AMD Radeon' started by Mr.Black, Jan 20, 2013.

  1. Mr.Black

    Mr.Black Guest

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    GPU:
    ATI Radeon HD 4870x2
    Hello, i have problems with my graphics card ever since i bought it: screen flickr, pc freezes and even vpu recover errors.

    In my first spec i only had VPU recover error and the PC needed to be restarted after VPU error.
    Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP3 - 32 bit
    Processor: Intel Core i7 920 @ 2.67GHz
    Motherboard: Intel X58 Platinum
    RAM: 3 GB
    Graphic Card: ATI Radeon HD 4870X2 with the latest update
    PSU: EPSILON 80PLUS 700 - Total power 700W

    I tried to add some speed to my graphics card fan, from 50% to 100% but nothing changed, even got worse, i've received a green vertically stripped screen resulting screen freeze.

    Finally i decided to install W7 Ultimate SP1 - 32 bit hoping that something will change, updated all drivers and now i just get a PC freeze. After i restart my PC i receive a "Windows recovery error" that lets me choose between safe mode or normal mode.

    I am confronting with this problem while entering a Dota 2 match.

    Any help will be appreciated.

    P.S.: Will it change something if i install a 64bit version of Windows... ?
     
  2. Hardware Killer

    Hardware Killer Member Guru

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    GPU:
    7970 Lightning Quadfire
    Sounds like the vram is borked

    You could try stripping it and replacing the thermal paste if you are confident
     
  3. PeterB

    PeterB Guest

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    3
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    GPU:
    Palit HD4870x2
    Hi,
    you tried to install some older drivers?.
    I have the catalist 9.xxxx and going great,
    with the new driver I always I have some problems
    I hope to help you serve
     
  4. kevsamiga1974

    kevsamiga1974 Master Guru

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    GPU:
    EVGA GTX 580 SC
    If it's BSOD 0x116 all the time at random with pixelation or stripes the card you got sold is a duffer, claim a refund.

    I tried to fix an XFX 4870x2 for months on end with the same problems, and nothing worked.

    The card you have is dying. Driver fiddling or changing OS won't make any difference. Trust me I know...
     

  5. defcoms

    defcoms Guest

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    GPU:
    MSI-7970ghz Bios Trifire
    I had a 4870x2 that failed the same way. What I did was strip the card down naked and put it in the oven. Preheat the oven to 385 deg. Lay down a sheet of aluminum foil on a cookie sheet then use foil balls to prop the card up over the sheet you laid down. I baked mine for 9 minutes and it fixed it. The card wasn't working so I figured I didn't have much to lose. I had read about this before but never tried. The card worked for about 1 year after being baked before it meet it death.

    Note:
    You will need to get new thermal tape pads for reassembling the cooler. I forget the thickness of them.
     
    Last edited: Jan 21, 2013
  6. campcreekdude

    campcreekdude Guest

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    GPU:
    Radeon 7970 crossfire
    hmmm.. those X2 cards emit alot of heat over thier lifetime? Is this a cause of death, is it by design?

    would one presume that a single GPU will last longer?
     
  7. defcoms

    defcoms Guest

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    GPU:
    MSI-7970ghz Bios Trifire
    I do believe heat was the cause of my cards failure. It used to sound like a harrier jet taking off.
     
  8. elite69

    elite69 Master Guru

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    GPU:
    EVGA rtx 2060 6gb
    i guet the same problem but i discovered that it was a bad memory socket it make the gpu go freeze hang black scrrens airtefacts and discovered that the cpu was at 98 degreas check all your sistem dont open the gpu just yet
     
  9. kevsamiga1974

    kevsamiga1974 Master Guru

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    882
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    GPU:
    EVGA GTX 580 SC
    Here is what I believe causes their death apart from fitting an Acellero S2 where they die in 6 months instead because of inadaquate vrm cooling surface area...

    You'll notice for the backside memory of the card they used different thermal pads (pink) instead of the white chewing gum stuff on the board memory. Every pad has a different w/mk rating, and 4870x2's need anything above 6 w/mk pads to dissipate the heat effectively. And most people suffer 4870x2 death from burnt out VRAM, hmmm...

    My 2 suriviving cards are both over 5 years old. The difference is they have both been redone with Phobya XT 1mm 7w/mk pads on *both* sides of 1mm sheets cut to fit, and artic cooling MX-4 for the GPU's, along with getting a complete cleanout of the shroud every 6 months once the idle temps start climbing...The way it's designed with the vortex fan, a carpet of dust builds up on the 1st copper heatsink clogging it so no air can get to the 2nd heatsink.

    Over time the AMD thermal pads degrade, go brittle and disintigrate with the heat. The phobya pads don't.

    Now they used 2 different brands for the memory, Qimonda and Hynix, the Qimonda memory boards will overclock well, The Hynix ones won't overclock worth a crap without crashing. But it can't be a particular brand of memory dying because both my cards have Qimonda and Hynix.

    So get them re-padded and re-pasted, and clean out the shroud before they die and get to the point of the OP's card peeps....

    And if you've nothing to lose, a heatgun is better than an oven to reflow the BGA leadless solder, and get a good intake fan.
     
    Last edited: Jan 22, 2013
  10. defcoms

    defcoms Guest

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    GPU:
    MSI-7970ghz Bios Trifire
    Very informative post kevsamiga1974.
     

  11. Mr.Black

    Mr.Black Guest

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    GPU:
    ATI Radeon HD 4870x2
    Thank you guys for all your support.

    I apologize for my late response.

    As some of you suggested, yes, i stripped apart my graphics card until i reached the cooler. As i was making my way towards it, i cleaned up my whole card but the critical part was near the cooler. In order to reach the cooler, the air has to pass through two heavy pieces of copper that act as a "carpet" so the fan would be intact in case of something. Those two blocks of copper were heavily covered in shroud, no wonder i was receiving VPU errors and screen freezes.

    I was confident that after doing this operation i will exterminate all my problems, and so it was. After i started my PC i heard that beaut' sound of fresh air absorbed by cooler. Just in case i started Dota 2, no problems of course.

    Unfortunately i had no thermal paste... still, she runs smoothly, idle temp 47 degrees celsius. Didn't looked at my temperature while playing, but i guess it isn't more than 50, she doesn't seem to hand in effort.

    Therefore, thanks again for your suggestions and i will clean more often my system.
     
  12. ibitato

    ibitato Guest

    ^^ replace thermal paste as soon as possible
     
  13. kevsamiga1974

    kevsamiga1974 Master Guru

    Messages:
    882
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    GPU:
    EVGA GTX 580 SC
    Unfortunately it's a common issue the way they are designed.

    But next time you could save half an hour taking it apart and do this instead if your in a hurry :

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s727hZ_VU9Q

    :)
     
  14. Mr.Black

    Mr.Black Guest

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    GPU:
    ATI Radeon HD 4870x2
    Epic :cheers: i will try this next time, unfortunately the only air compressor that i know is at gas station.
     

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