ripple Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 (edited) This is going to be a long read, because it's not so much a request for help (although if you think you can suggest something I haven't tried), and more of a 'what do you think I should do?', so... I'll post my system specs first:Mobo: EVGA 750i SLI FTWHDD: Seagate Barracuda 500GBPSU: OCZ GXS 600W A month ago I bought a new GPU (XFX Radeon HD 7850 2GB) to replace my old GPU (EVGA 9800 GTX+ 512MB) that was *destroyed* by Skyrim. Ever since then, I've experienced BSOD after extended Skyrim gaming sessions, usually after 45 minutes to an hour, although sometimes I can go even longer. So I've tried all sorts of things to diagnose the problem. First, I tried different versions of the catalyst driver (clean un/install using Driver Sweeper in safe mode). From the latest release version of the driver (13.1), I updated to the latest beta driver, rolled back previous versions, updated to beta drivers eventually released later (tried 13.2 beta 6, currently using beta 5). The second thing I did was to try and test the GPU for instability. I used Furmark and MSI Kombuster to stress test the GPU for a few hours, but I could not reproduce the BSOD in these tests. Next thing I did was to get some help reading the Windows crash dump. The error displayed in the BSOD was 'Attempt to reset the display driver and recover from timeout failed', but apparently many things could cause the '0x116' TDR BSOD. So I updated drivers for all my system components where necessary, flashed my BIOS to the latest version. That didn't end the BSOD either. I also used memtest86 to test my RAM sticks, 8 passes without errors. Used SpeedFan, MSI Afterburner, and HWiNFO64 to make sure this was not an 'overheating' problem. I even got a power supply tester tomakesure my PSU was not failing. The only things I could not do was to test the GPU in another system, or test the system with another GPU of comparable performance. Very few of my friends own desktop PCs (most use notebooks and macbooks), and those who do have PCs so old they are simply not capable of running my new GPU. So I opened a support ticket with XFX while all this was going on, and while waiting for them to respond to my request, I decided I would try some things others have not suggested to me. I disabled the Hi Resolution DLC pack, and reduced shadowmapresolution in my ini to '4096' back to the default '2048.' This was a few days ago, and I haven't seen a BSOD from extended Skyrim sesssions since. So....I think that's a fairly clear sign that it's a defective GPU, right? XFX has finally responded to me with RMA instructions. My concern is that I'll RMA the GPU to them, and their testing won't show any problems (I couldn't reproduce the BSOD using Furmark or MSI Kombuster). Of course, I am sure their testing software and methods are more comprehensive and thorough (although their tech support does not give me confidence...). But before I foot the UPS bill for the RMA and leave myself without a gaming GPU for the next...month maybe? I just wanted to see if anyone here has some thoughts about this. Thanks for reading. Edited March 1, 2013 by ripple Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziitch Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 I'm pretty sure that ATI drivers are going to have trouble with older video controllers on motherboards, especially those that were designed by NVIDIA. So if anything, the motherboard is more likely the problem given its age and is intention to work with NVIDIA GPUs. You might try updating to the latest nForce drivers for the video controller, but they haven't been updated in years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripple Posted March 1, 2013 Author Share Posted March 1, 2013 I already updated to the latest drivers for all the system components, including the motherboard (chipset + LAN) and the RealTek Audio driver. It is old though, as you said (5-02-2011), but not that old? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pevey Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 If you're having a known, reproducible error, you should definitely RMA the card while it is still under warranty. There is no reason NOT to RMA it. If the new card has the same issue, implicating your motherboard instead, at least you will know for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripple Posted March 3, 2013 Author Share Posted March 3, 2013 Sound advice. Considering this is a new card I just bought a month ago, it shouldn't be failing already, and a 2GB card shouldn't have issues just running the Hi-Res Textures DLC. Even though I don't experience BSOD in Skyrim without the Hi-Res DLC, I am thinking the VRAM is probably going bad and if I don't address the issue now, it'll probably get worse.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan3345 Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 And worse thing that could happen is you RMA the card (which is a good decision) and then when you get a replacement you still have BSoD's. Which, as LP1 says could then point to your motherboard. At least this way you are eliminating possible sources of problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalikka Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 (edited) You could test your VRAM with memtestcl.EDIT: Seems like memtestcl is a bit bugged... nvm Edited March 8, 2013 by kalikka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritech100 Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 You should definately RMA it at least if you get another one and you still have problems then it can point to something else being the culprit. Like when i had a problem i thought it was my GPU causing me to have BSODS it turned out it was my Memory that was doing it. One of the 4gb sticks was faulty and i kept swaping out parts until i found the problem. Not fun >:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripple Posted March 30, 2013 Author Share Posted March 30, 2013 (edited) Well, I got bad news (for me, anyway). I RMAed the card to XFX. They tested it and told me they couldn't find anything wrong with the card, but that they would send me a replacement card of the same model (I assume it's a refurbished unit). I finally received the card a few days ago (the whole thing took almost 3 weeks), and I am still experiencing the same BSODs with the same error message VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE (116)Attempt to reset the display driver and recover from timeout failed. What's worse is that I am experiencing the same BSOD error without the Hi-Res DLC. I am now using Catalyst 13.3 beta 3. I don't think there is anything I haven't tried, other than reinstalling Windows....come to think of it, I should try another game just to see if this is specific to Skyrim. Edited March 30, 2013 by ripple Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samadchaz Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Hitry one more time installing fresh windows and without any security software(anti-virus/anti-malware/UAC) ofcourse unplug the internet connection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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