Possible defects might include inconsistencies, errors, or issues with performance.
Possible defects might include inconsistencies, errors, or issues with performance.
I'm experiencing some unusual issues with my GPU while playing GTA 5. The usage keeps fluctuating and never stays near 100%, which is strange. I also notice frequent FPS drops and sometimes see a black screen with vertical stripes. I've already tried several fixes: updating drivers, reinstalling GTA 5 drivers, changing RAM sticks, updating BIOS, cleaning dust from the GPU and system. My friend's R9 290 worked perfectly on his setup, which has a similar configuration to mine. I'm unsure if I should proceed with an RMA given these results, especially since my performance in other games like BF4 remains stable. Please watch the video link for more detailed guidance. I'm particularly concerned about the vertical stripes appearing on my screen.
Consider testing it with a different PSU (your friends?) before sending the card back for replacement.
I asked my friend about his PC build, but he doesn’t get it. I spend around 10 hours a day away from school, so I don’t have much time to take apart his machine. The parts that haven’t been checked yet are the CPU, power supply, and motherboard. Thanks for the helpful note—I could use Frapst to document the process, but out of ten times an artifact crash, I have to restart my PC manually. Frapst doesn’t record it properly. My HDD is about 6-8 months old (WD Blue 10 Ezex) and already ran a stress test. I wonder if that’s enough to rule out an HDD issue, but could my HDD cause these artifacting patterns shown in the video? In the footage there are three clips of crashes. In Euro Truck Simulator 2, I was able to capture what happens during a crash. The lag is simple to fix in the game by installing the GTA 5 Beta drivers from AMD. But my friend uses standard drivers, and after testing with those, he didn’t notice any lag. I tried it with the regular drivers and experienced severe lag. Also, check out the images below. See the videos where I show my GPU usage spikes constantly during GTA5, BF4, and ETS2—its always near 100%.
I handled this even on a brand new Windows setup. I replaced several outdated drivers using DDU and removed my AMD map from the C Local drive. I tried various versions but issues persisted. There were numerous display errors, plus problems with distributed COM and two disk warnings. This has been ongoing for a few months now. On the first day I had my card and couldn’t use it at all. After playing a game, two minutes later my screen went black. I resolved it by setting the power limiter to 50% in the Catalyst Control Center. After a five-hour test run with no issues, I never overclocked the card and it ran at stock speeds. After 34 minutes of testing, my card reached 88 degrees with the automatic fan. I’ve contacted Club 3d who sent a custom BIOS for my R9 290, but I’m unsure whether to install it or wait.