HD 7970 sort of working

[TheRandomness]

So, I bought this 7970 matrix platinum from eBay, and only now is it starting to really show the problems the listing showed. Under any sort of load scenario (this includes trying to watch a video on one monitor whilst attempting to do anything on the other lol) it'll just give up on the display outputs and usually, it doesn't recover. Yeah I bought this card knowing this would happen, but I just want to know if anyone can offer a fix.

I've already tried:
Setting clocks to original 7970 levels (925/1350) instead of the Matrix' 1100/1650, whilst also overvolting the thing.
Re-flashing a stock BIOS from the TPU GPU BIOS database.
Swapping the PSU to a 600W one.
Re-pasting and cleaning it up.

And yes, despite the dodgy setup I have with a PCIe riser, said riser works just fine as I've currently swapped out the 7970 for a GTX 480 I had laying around, as that's the only card I own that's stable. I'm thinking the 7970 has some sort of memory problem right now, but any other potential solutions would be nice.

[SenKa]

Just now, TheRandomness said:

So, I bought this 7970 matrix platinum from eBay, and only now is it starting to really show the problems the listing showed. Under any sort of load scenario (this includes trying to watch a video on one monitor whilst attempting to do anything on the other lol) it'll just give up on the display outputs and usually, it doesn't recover. Yeah I bought this card knowing this would happen, but I just want to know if anyone can offer a fix.

I've already tried:
Setting clocks to original 7970 levels (925/1350) instead of the Matrix' 1100/1650, whilst also overvolting the thing.
Re-flashing a stock BIOS from the TPU GPU BIOS database.
Swapping the PSU to a 600W one.

And yes, despite the dodgy setup I have with a PCIe riser, said riser works just fine as I've currently swapped out the 7970 for a GTX 480 I had laying around, as that's the only card I own that's stable. I'm thinking the 7970 has some sort of memory problem right now, but any other potential solutions would be nice.

Did you re-paste the card? That whole gen of cards run really hot even when new.

[TheRandomness]

Just now, SenpaiKaplan said:

Did you re-paste the card? That whole gen of cards run really hot even when new.

Oh yeah, that too. Cleaned the whole thing up after making sure it could have drivers installed. Let me update the OP.

[SenKa]

1 minute ago, TheRandomness said:

Oh yeah, that too. Cleaned the whole thing up after making sure it could have drivers installed. Let me update the OP.

Then try the oven method, which should reflow the whole card. It will likely fix the issue temporarily, if it comes back the GPU core is bad. If it stays fine, it was simply a cracked solder joint (likely if the card experienced a physical shock).

[TheRandomness]

1 minute ago, SenpaiKaplan said:

Then try the oven method, which should reflow the whole card. It will likely fix the issue temporarily, if it comes back the GPU core is bad. If it stays fine, it was simply a cracked solder joint (likely if the card experienced a physical shock).

Yeah I'll try that as a last resort kind of thing. I do have access to a hot air station though... Then again, I have little to no experience with it

[SenKa]

Just now, TheRandomness said:

Yeah I'll try that as a last resort kind of thing. I do have access to a hot air station though... Then again, I have little to no experience with it

Well nows your chance to learn! What are you gonna do? Break it more?

[TheRandomness]

7 minutes ago, SenpaiKaplan said:

Well nows your chance to learn! What are you gonna do? Break it more?

I mean, ideally, I would fix it. Breaking it more is the least desirable option xP

[Stefan Payne]

I fear the chip might be done for.

I have a 7850 wich hangs itself from time to time and even the RESET Button doesn't help. I have to powercycle it...

[TheRandomness]

38 minutes ago, Stefan Payne said:

I fear the chip might be done for.

I have a 7850 wich hangs itself from time to time and even the RESET Button doesn't help. I have to powercycle it...

Yeeaah that'd completely suck. I really hope it isn't, I'd like this card to keep going for a long time.

 

EDIT: I remember hearing about how with GCN, the memory controller was the first thing to go. That sounds kinda likely.