Guild Wars 2

Hey all,

I’m experiencing the exact same issue as in this old thread, but I figured necroing that would be bad form:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/tech/Graphic-problems-with-a-new-PC-AMD-GPU

The main difference, is that my card is an R9 270X, which, as far as I can tell, has less in common with the old 7xxx chips, but I figure the architecture has to be similar.

The symptoms are exactly the same. Textures seem to stretch off into infinity or fill a plane like wall. It’s extremely random and hard to predict/reproduce. It can happen immediately, or after a few hours.

If I minimize/restore the game, the artifacts go away, but they tend to return very quickly once it’s happened once.

It doesn’t show up in stress tests or other games I’ve tried. Temperatures are in the mid-60s on both CPU and GPU. I’m using the latest driver, 13.12. I have a Core i5-4440 processor, 8GB 1333MHz RAM, Sapphire Dual-X R9 270X. Card is factory OC’d but aside from that everything is stock frequencies and voltages.

Has anyone else who has had this issue managed to confirm that it’s a software issue, and resolve it somehow?

Thanks

eremos.8142:

Hey all,

I’m experiencing the exact same issue as in this old thread, but I figured necroing that would be bad form:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/tech/Graphic-problems-with-a-new-PC-AMD-GPU

The main difference, is that my card is an R9 270X, which, as far as I can tell, has less in common with the old 7xxx chips, but I figure the architecture has to be similar.

The symptoms are exactly the same. Textures seem to stretch off into infinity or fill a plane like wall. It’s extremely random and hard to predict/reproduce. It can happen immediately, or after a few hours.

If I minimize/restore the game, the artifacts go away, but they tend to return very quickly once it’s happened once.

It doesn’t show up in stress tests or other games I’ve tried. Temperatures are in the mid-60s on both CPU and GPU. I’m using the latest driver, 13.12. I have a Core i5-4440 processor, 8GB 1333MHz RAM, Sapphire Dual-X R9 270X. Card is factory OC’d but aside from that everything is stock frequencies and voltages.

Has anyone else who has had this issue managed to confirm that it’s a software issue, and resolve it somehow?

Thanks

I have seen that happen with weaker then needed power supplies. Whats your Power supply rated at? 450W, 500W, 600W….ect?

sirsquishy.8531:

I have seen that happen with weaker then needed power supplies. Whats your Power supply rated at? 450W, 500W, 600W….ect?

Thanks for the reply.

It’s a Corsair VS650 (650W): http://www.corsair.com/en/power-supply-units/vs-series-power-supply-units/vs-seriestm-vs650-650-watt-power-supply.html

From what iv seen of others having this issues, its usualy a software thing. Usualy drivers.

Did you try underclocking your card a little bit? maybe like 50-100mhz and see if it happens?

MetalWolf.9254:

Did you try underclocking your card a little bit? maybe like 50-100mhz and see if it happens?

Yeah, that was one of the first things I tried.

May well be a defective card. Yes even though its new, it can still be broken. I would advise RMA’ing it to the vendor for a replacement.

Lexandro.1456:

May well be a defective card. Yes even though its new, it can still be broken. I would advise RMA’ing it to the vendor for a replacement.

Yeah, I consider this fairly likely. I’m just worried that they will be unable to reproduce the fault and I’ll be stuck with it, especially since it only seems to affect GW2, so I wanted to try and isolate it and make sure it’s not a software issue first.

I think in the end I’ll just have to send it back and hope for the best.

Have you tried any benchmarking software for the GPU to see if thats affected? You could give the Unigene “Valley Benchmark” a whirl a few times and see how that goes visually.

Lexandro.1456:

Have you tried any benchmarking software for the GPU to see if thats affected? You could give the Unigene “Valley Benchmark” a whirl a few times and see how that goes visually.

Yeah, I’ve run Valley a few times, but admittedly I may not have left it alone for long enough.

When it happens in GW2 it tends to affect a particular object. With Valley’s short scenes, objects come and go pretty rapidly, so any issues that pop up might be easy to miss.

I’m a bit torn between continuing testing in GW2 to try and further isolate the fault, and investing the 2 – ? hours it might take to see if the issue occurs in other places, partly because I don’t know whether anyone at my supplier has a GW2 account they’d be willing and able to test my PC with.

I have had Minecraft freak out on me a couple of times too, but again, you need an account for that.

If graphical anomalies appear in any other title, its a sure fire bet its an issue with the system. I have the 270x myself and I am very happy with it. But its never shown me any artifacting or anomolies. Even on high stress games like Crysis 3 with maxed settings.

It really does sound like its a GPU issue to me. Personally I would rather just have it replaced asap, as I have had similar issues in the past with defective hardware. Troubleshooting parts that are defective from the factory is a nightmare, and I dont envy your current situation.

RMA it and then at least you will know its not the card in future. Remember that when RMA’ing you do not have to provide evidence of the issue. The vendor is legally bound to give you an identical replacement at no charge for a suspected defective product.

Lexandro.1456:

If graphical anomalies appear in any other title, its a sure fire bet its an issue with the system. I have the 270x myself and I am very happy with it. But its never shown me any artifacting or anomolies. Even on high stress games like Crysis 3 with maxed settings.

It really does sound like its a GPU issue to me. Personally I would rather just have it replaced asap, as I have had similar issues in the past with defective hardware. Troubleshooting parts that are defective from the factory is a nightmare, and I dont envy your current situation.

RMA it and then at least you will know its not the card in future. Remember that when RMA’ing you do not have to provide evidence of the issue. The vendor is legally bound to give you an identical replacement at no charge for a suspected defective product.

Not in South Africa sadly, but your advice is still sound. I’m glad to hear at least you have the same card and aren’t having issues with it.

I’ll send it back today and hope they can reproduce. Thanks.

Before sending it back i would advise a system format to make sure its not a driver issue. If u change GPU’s without making sure all prior drivers are gone there can be left overs that cause issues with the new installation. This is why i always formate my OS after a major hardware upgrade like the GPU.

I’ve had the exact same problem with my gtx 670 and had to send for an RMA. As for why it’s artifacting, I can only suggest other steps to see if it’s the GPU or if it’s another problem (taken from EVGA’s customer support email):

1. If possible, try checking to see if it’s the motherboard’s problems by testing the GPU with another computer or in a different motherboard slot.
2. Check in the bios to see if the +12v rail is giving you an 11.5v – 12.5v reading. If it’s less than 11.5 or more than 12.5, it could be the power supply.