# HD Radeon 7770 Crashing on all the games!



## DeafBlindGimp (Dec 24, 2010)

Hey guys,
I recently purchased a new HD Radeon 7770 and a new PSU (520W). I've had nothing but problems since installing the new parts... I've just recovered from a random HDD wipe. So after reinstalling all my games and Windows 7 itself I thought I was going to be trouble free. This is not the case at all 

Here's a list of problems I've encountered with this new card...

*DiRT 3:Showdown*- This game runs perfectly except for a black box about 1 inch around all sides of the screen that surrounds the game and wont let it go into fullscreen.

*WoW, Arma II, Alan Wake, Batman Arkham City:* They all run perfectly for about 10 minutes, sometimes longer (Except for Arma II: DayZ MOD which is still in BETA and doesnt run very well at all with my card  ). I usually end up with a complete lockup of the screen and then my display driver crashes. _On rare occasions the audio/video freeze up completely, the only solution being a hard reset of the computer. _

*Netflix*: Sometimes Netflix will freeze with a lot of purple coloured squares covering the screen and then the driver stops responding.

If anyone has any solutions to my problems I will be forever in your debt... I just cant figure out what's wrong and it's really frustrating me at this point  My old card was a GeForce 210... so this was *supposed* to be a HUGE upgrade but now I'm thinking I might go back to it because of all the problems.

Thanks in advance!

Tech Support Guy System Info Utility version 1.0.0.2
OS Version: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate, Service Pack 1, 64 bit
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU 760 @ 2.80GHz, Intel64 Family 6 Model 30 Stepping 5
Processor Count: 4
RAM: 8183 Mb
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series, 1024 Mb
Hard Drives: C: Total - 488325 MB, Free - 308746 MB; I: Total - 465439 MB, Free - 440722 MB;
Motherboard: FOXCONN, P55A Series
Antivirus: Kaspersky Anti-Virus, Not Updated


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## DeafBlindGimp (Dec 24, 2010)

So between the time I posted this and now, my card is crapping itself. It's crashed 3 times, 2 of which on my desktop just starting up my computer.


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## accat13 (Jun 8, 2005)

One spec you have not mentioned is your power supply. Also I assume you have the card connected to the PCI Express Power connector. I almost forgot on my install


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## DeafBlindGimp (Dec 24, 2010)

It's a dynex 520W power supply.


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## accat13 (Jun 8, 2005)

Well I would be a little suspicions of the power supply. I believe the 12 volt rail is only a single 18amps...You would have to read the decal on the power supply to confirm this. Best Buy is not necessarily the place to buy a good power supply. I prefer corsair or enermax myself. My sons are running a hd 6850 on a enermax liberty 500 but this has two 12v rails at 22amps each. I was a little concerned but all seems well. I always try to spend as much as I can on the power supply as this liberty 500 has lasted us thru at least 3 builds. You may get more support if this thread was moved to hardware. Maybe pm a mod to move it there. As I'm not sure how you would confirm my thoughts besides temporally installing a better power supply.

A quick goole lead me to this..."single Radeon HD 7770 graphics card AMD specifies a minimum of a 500 Watt or greater power supply. The power supply should also have a combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 23 Amps or greater and have at least one 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connector. "


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## tom6049 (Aug 6, 2007)

accat13 said:


> Well I would be a little suspicions of the power supply.


Agreed....this isn't the component to compromise on cost.


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## DeafBlindGimp (Dec 24, 2010)

So I should definitely look into exchanging my PSU for a more powerful one?


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## DeafBlindGimp (Dec 24, 2010)

"Radeon HD 7770 - On your average system the card requires you to have a 450 Watt power supply unit." This is a quote from the review of the card on Tom's Hardware, is it wrong?

My card barely pulls any power..

http://www.guru3d.com/article/amd-radeon-hd-7750-and-7770-review/7


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## BlooChoo (Jun 8, 2007)

Its not just to do with the amount of wattage a psu is giving out, it all depends on the reliablility of the way the PSU splits the power up into. 

On the PSU there are 3 Voltage Rails, the 3.3, 5 & 12V rails.

Some units have multiple rails (usually a single rail split up), some have a single rail, for the +12V.

Most PC's made in the last half decade or so, mainly use the 12V Rail, and tap into 3.3 and 5V for extra power as needed, though parts like the Video cards, Hard drives, DVD Drives, etc, mainly/exclusively use the 12V Rail.

Years and years ago, it was important to have PSU's with strong 3.3 and 5V Rails, now days its mainly important to have strong 12V Rails.

Look on the PSU's label to find out the info, any reputable (and even then many crap brand units) units will have this info listed on the label.

If a Graphics card calls for a 500watt power supply,that recommendation is made with crappy power supplies in mind.

A quality 450watt psu, should have no problem, if the 12volt amps look good.

so as accat13 says go for Corsair (i always run with Corsair). you will be very happy with a 450watt Corsair


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## black-wolf (Aug 8, 2008)

Did you uninstall the old GPU drivers before install the new ones?


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## accat13 (Jun 8, 2005)

Just a quick thought you may want to try running your motherboard manufacturers software "fox one" I believe. It should give you a general idea of how the 12 volt rail is doing. Try playing a game in a minimized window and having the fox one program running. Check to see what you are getting on 12 v. , if it is fluctuating a lot or dropping below 12v a new power supply would be a good idea. I would recommend a 500 or 520 with a strong 12 volt rail (amps) Corsair does come to mind. But there are others. Google names and reviews and post under hardware for good recommendations.


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## DeafBlindGimp (Dec 24, 2010)

Bloochoo: Here's the side of my PSU ( http://i.imgur.com/haTr7.jpg )

black-wolf: Yeah when I was rebuilding my PC with the new card I somehow wiped my entire HDD so I have this card on a clean install of windows.

accat13: So I played Dirt 3 on windowed with FOXONE running on the side.. The 12V rail fluctuated between 12.1 and 12.2 every 10 or so seconds but nothing dramatic.


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## accat13 (Jun 8, 2005)

Well you have 2 12v rails and the output seems ok. Software is not really the best way to check but I don't feel confident advising someone how to check with hardware. You should really check you temperatures also with foxone and the software that came with you video card. Make sure your video card drivers are up to date and also try running the game with the case open and see if it makes a difference. Not sure where your from in Canada but its pretty hot in Ont. , that could be a factor.
Have you pm'd a mod to get this moved to hardware. Once you've updated the video drivers to the latest , it does seem like a hardware issue.

I know you power supply has two rails and it seems like it could be ok. But I would advise you to return it and buy a proper one if you can still return it. The brand you bought is not known for quality. The money you spent on it could most likely buy you a better one from a Pc store NCIX , Canada Computers , Memory express etc.


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## DeafBlindGimp (Dec 24, 2010)

Yea I'll PM a mod. 

I just rolled back to the most stable driver which is 12.3. Hoping this works.

I'm in Vancouver and it's pretty warm here, I've had my case open and a household fan blowing into it to cool it down. So the temperatures are never really high. I'm still under return policy but its going to be money back at futureshop and we all know they have useless selection...


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## accat13 (Jun 8, 2005)

Well if your stuck with futureshop. Looking online they sell corsair. Not sure how online purchase work there but a 650 watt corsair is cheaper then what you have now.
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/prod...spx?path=33a7dfa27414b3cc8200467af15fe128en02

They even sell the one I own a CMPSU-850HX but I did not pay 180


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