Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 errors on OCCT - recommendations

[ped]

Reposting from Memory thread on Memtest86+ skipping 1 GB of RAM:
Memtest86+ v.4.2 skipping last GB of ram?

----
My current specs are as follows (will post in my sig later today):

CPU: Intel i7-2600K (not yet OC'ed)
Mobo: ASRock P67 EXTREME4 GEN3 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX
RAM: Corsair Vengence 16GB 1600Mhz DDR3 - 4 sticks of 4GB
GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB (not OC'ed)
SSD: Samsung 830 Series 256GB SATA 6.0Gb/s SSD
PSU: SeaSonic Platinum-1000 1000W 80 PLUS Platinum Modular
Optical Drive: SONY - Interal DVD 24x - ad-5280S - sata
Case: Cooler Master Storm Trooper
Cooler: Thermalright SilverArrow CPU Cooler
Sound: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty PCI-E x1 (only because they didn't sell the cheaper option here)
Monitor: ViewSonic 27" vx2753mh-LED running in 1920x1080p @ 60Hz

Pending placement:
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm 1TB SATA 6.0Gbps ST1000DM003

The HDD is pending placement given my CM Storm Trooper case was missing the tool-less rails, which are now being sent via snail mail from CM.

In regards to the quick test vs. gold standard: Yes, absolutely realize that I will need to run everything much longer. I wanted to speed things up this weekend while I am here to see if I can get an overall picture. During the week when I work, will run each test during 12 hour cycles, and before I use the rig for gaming, will do all the windows tests (aka not memtest86+) again once more before calling it good. Do appreciate giving the guidelines however... like 500% for HCI MemTest... getting tons and tons of different info everywhere.

Tests thus far - all passed unless otherwise indicated:
Memtest86 (Aug 2011 build) v4.0a
Ran with both full RAM in 16GB, and finally with just 1 stick in the first slot, same result.
Garbage on the screen - as I posted earlier. Was told that it has known issues, and to use 86+ instead.
Memtest86+ v4.2 (Jan 2011 build)
Stick 1, slot 1 - 12 passes
Stick 2, slot 2 - 16 passes (late work day)
Stick 3, slot 3 - 3 passes (know it's short... will likely do it again unless recommended otherwise)
Stick 4, slot 4 - 4 passes (again, know it it's short)
All sticks in all slots (with original placement as they were tested above) - so 16GB with 10 passes.
HCI MemTest
All sticks in all slots
Ran 7 threads of 2GB each + 1 thread of "All Remaining Ram available"
Ran for 130%, except for the 1 single thread which was like 300% due to less RAM it had to test.
Prime95
Ran Blend - 8 threads - 64 bit - for 4 hours (known too short for gold standard)
OCCT GPU v4.1.0 (did not use beta as production installed Direct X 10 which I didn't have yet)
Ran 1 shader, error checking on, got 300k+ (or 3M+) errors, FPS dropped from 230 to 30 after 10 minutes. Near the end of the test (ran 37 minutes), FPS dropped as low as 15. Image attached.

Wanted to run LinX 0.6.4 afew hours before going to bed.
Ran 3 times (took over 24 minutes per run... longer than I thought - given I used full memory the problem size was 44799).
Ran 4 threads only given did not want testing downtime during the evening.

Stopped and kicked off Prime95 again before bed.
Ran Large FFTs - 8 threads - 64 bit - rounding on - for 9h10m

Now currently re-running LinX again
4 threads, stop on error.
Currently up to 6 runs, no errors.
CPU idle temp 30C, under load (LinX) at 44C - 46C max.

There we go, will run LinX up to 10 runs.

Thanks much everyone for their help and interest!

[ped]

Hey ProfJim,

Figured should move to another thread as it didn't relate to the only the memtest86+ thread. So to answer your questions:

Running oZone Furmark or MSI Kombuster should stress your video card in a "reasonable" manner.
Each program has some optional settings that will stress your card even more.
I think that you can run the OCCT gpu test in a window, which would let you monitor system temperatures and voltages during the test.
If's been a while since I've run OCCT, but as I recall it's the psu or torture test that stresses your complete system.
Make sure that you're running the latest non-beta version of OCCT.

Yes, I think you are right. Not sure it ran any of the other stress tests, however I can't honestly say there was a way to know this other than which tab you are on.
I was running the non-beta version as well.

So will try oZone Furmark first after I'm done with the my 10th LinX run.

Cheers!

[ped]

Ok, here's the Furmark results.
I did the burn-in at 15 minutes - full screen.

FurMark 1.9.2 BURN-IN Score
GPU burn-in test and OpenGL benchmark
Details for score ID = 38022

BURN-IN SCORE: 3903 points (38737 frames, 82 °C, 43 FPS)

Submitted by ped (anonymous mode) on February 12 2012, 12:40 pm

Bench duration: 900 seconds
Resolution: 1920 x 1080
MSAA samples: 0
Window mode: fullscreen

Primary renderer: AMD SI TAHITI XT
Device ID: 0x1002 - 0x6798
GPU clock: 925 MHz
Memory clock: 1375 MHz
Graphics drivers: Catalyst 11.12 - 8.921.2-120119a-132101E-ATI 1-19-2012
GPU temperatures (start/end): 36°C / 82°C


Number of GPUs: 1
GPU0 - Vendor: 0x1002 - Device: 0x6798 - Max GPU temp: 82 °C - Max GPU load: 99 %


CPU: IntelR CoreTM i7-2600K CPU @ 3.40GHz
CPU speed: 3392 MHz
Operating system: Windows 7 64-bit build 7600 No Service Pack

So I was watching it.. it slowly climbed to 80... then 81... then was hitting 82 at the end. Wondering if it couldn't stop it or if this test is more than fair?

So should I try MSI Kombuster next? Or create a custome burn-in for more than 15 minutes?
Also I'm not sure it recorded errors anywhere... is there an option for that?

Should I do a Skyrim "test" or something similar?

Cheers!

[profJim]

Did you test with any of these options enabled?
Xtreme Burning Mode?
Displacement mapping?
Post FX?
MSAA Samples?

I don't believe that there is any error logging. The standard procedure is to look at the screen to see if there are any artifact errors.
I tested my video cards with Post FX enabled and MSAA Samples set to higher values.
If you test with MSI Kombuster with more demanding options enabled and there aren't any problems, it might just be an issue with OCCT.
I think that OCCT has an official forum that you could check.
You can set up MSI AfterBurner to perform logging that will generate performance graphs similar to what RivaTuner used to do.
AfterBurner needs to be running in order to save the performance graphs.
I think that GPU-Z can also save information to a log file.

**edit**
I think that the OCCT GPU test uses the original version of Furmark, not oZone3D's Furmark version.

[ped]

Did you test with any of these options enabled?
Xtreme Burning Mode?
Displacement mapping?
Post FX?
MSAA Samples?

I don't believe that there is any error logging. The standard procedure is to look at the screen to see if there are any artifact errors.
I tested my video cards with Post FX enabled and MSAA Samples set to higher values.
If you test with MSI Kombuster with more demanding options enabled and there aren't any problems, it might just be an issue with OCCT.
I think that OCCT has an official forum that you could check.
You can set up MSI AfterBurner to perform logging that will generate performance graphs similar to what RivaTuner used to do.
AfterBurner needs to be running in order to save the performance graphs.
I think that GPU-Z can also save information to a log file.

**edit**
I think that the OCCT GPU test uses the original version of Furmark, not oZone3D's Furmark version.

None of them were enabled. However the one I don't see from your list is the "Displacement mapping". Is that moving background? If I select moving camera... all other options become greyed out.

Also saw from the FurMark website a comment about why does MSAA samples slow down the intensity of the test. Something about it slowing down the test to make it easier for the GPU? Know anything about that?
What about if I run it at full screen?
Do I keep it at 1920x1080?

Thanks much for all this "real dialogue" on the forum!

[profJim]

Your best bet is to check out the oZone3D tutorials, such as:
oZone3D.Net Tutorials - Vertex Displacement Mapping - Vertex Texture Fetching - Shader Model 3.0 - OpenGL / GLSL.
I run my tests using 1920 x 1080 and I have AfterBurner set up so that its on screen display shows:

• frame rates
• gpu + memory frequencies
• gpu temperature
• memory usage

The OSD will appear on most, but not all benchmark/gaming programs.
Another excellent DX11 test is 3DMark11.

[ped]

Your best bet is to check out the oZone3D tutorials, such as:
oZone3D.Net Tutorials - Vertex Displacement Mapping - Vertex Texture Fetching - Shader Model 3.0 - OpenGL / GLSL.
I run my tests using 1920 x 1080 and I have AfterBurner set up so that its on screen display shows:

• frame rates
• gpu + memory frequencies
• gpu temperature
• memory usage

The OSD will appear on most, but not all benchmark/gaming programs.
Another excellent DX11 test is 3DMark11.

Ok here's my latest test using everything except Displacement mapping, but will check that URL.

EDIT:
I read the Displacement mapping link, so I understand it better. Based on that, I think it's baked in. Unless there is an option somewhere else I'm not aware of? This is almost identical to what the current FurMark GUI looks like. Except it adds a 1920x1080 benchmark:

Attachment 4321

Did you mean a selection in here for displacement mapping (which I think they had in ver1.8)?

FurMark 1.9.2 BURN-IN Score
GPU burn-in test and OpenGL benchmark
Details for score ID = 38045

BURN-IN SCORE: 1918 points (18889 frames, 82 °C, 20 FPS)

Submitted by ped (anonymous mode) on February 12 2012, 1:45 pm

Bench duration: 900 seconds
Resolution: 1920 x 1080
MSAA samples: 8
Window mode: fullscreen

Primary renderer: AMD SI TAHITI XT
Device ID: 0x1002 - 0x6798
GPU clock: 925 MHz
Memory clock: 1375 MHz
Graphics drivers: Catalyst 11.12 - 8.921.2-120119a-132101E-ATI 1-19-2012
GPU temperatures (start/end): 37°C / 82°C


Number of GPUs: 1
GPU0 - Vendor: 0x1002 - Device: 0x6798 - Max GPU temp: 82 °C - Max GPU load: 99 %


CPU: IntelR CoreTM i7-2600K CPU @ 3.40GHz
CPU speed: 3392 MHz
Operating system: Windows 7 64-bit build 7600 No Service Pack

So I did notice some hiccups every so often, but not sure if that's expected or I should imagine I have fluidity constantly given the test and it's not in Crossfire?

So doing your setups as above, I should expect what as framerates? Seems to me the framerates are quite low from everything I understood this thing could do. If notice some anomolies, should I declare it defective?

Thanks again!

[profJim]

First off, our dialogue is due to your English being far better than my elementary school French.

Your video card is far superior to my highly overclocked MSI N460GTX Hawk SLI setup.
When I tested with Furmark and/or Kombustor with enhanced settings, my display was always smooth with my overclocked single card and SLI setups. I don't think that I ever tested with Displacement Mapping enabled. My scores with these tests were lower due to the added video demands placed on the video card(s).

Any issues that your card has might be related to immature drivers for your recently released video card.
Some 7970 reviews mentioned some issues that they encountered with the 7970 during their gaming benchmark tests.
You would have to check some online sites to see what results others have had with their tests.
Keep in mind that Furmark and AfterBurner are artificial tests that are meant to heavily load your card.
I think that many of the drivers are designed to detect these programs and purposely lower performance somewhat to prevent "abuse".
It's hard to say if artifact errors are due to a defective video card. See what happens when you are running demanding games.

[ped]

First off, our dialogue is due to your English being far better than my elementary school French.

ProfJim, you crack me up. :) Although I do live in France, I can't hide the fact that I'm an american. I moved from the USA about 8 years ago for work (american company). So I do appreciate the thought, but my english is from 12 years of good old public school teaching! LOL

Your video card is far superior to my highly overclocked MSI N460GTX Hawk SLI setup.
When I tested with Furmark and/or Kombustor with enhanced settings, my display was always smooth with my overclocked single card and SLI setups. I don't think that I ever tested with Displacement Mapping enabled. My scores with these tests were lower due to the added video demands placed on the video card(s).

Any issues that your card has might be related to immature drivers for your recently released video card.
Some 7970 reviews mentioned some issues that they encountered with the 7970 during their gaming benchmark tests.
You would have to check some online sites to see what results others have had with their tests.
Keep in mind that Furmark and AfterBurner are artificial tests that are meant to heavily load your card.
I think that many the drivers are designed to detect these programs and purposely lower performance somewhat to prevent "abuse".
It's hard to say if artifact errors are due to a defective video card. See what happens when you are running demanding games.

Ok! So seems that perhaps the OCCT is a bit overstressing my new 7970 due to it being newer, and a lack of more mature graphics drivers etc? So given it has done well in the past two tests, I shouldn't throw too much weight into the OCCT errors?

As I said, it's my first build, and I can honestly say I've never bought a card that at least wasn't a year in the market! LOL

So ... means I should continue my other tests as in the original post of the thread:
MemTest, Prime95, etc... and then on to overclocking! (CPU not GPU >:)

Thanks for making me smile big on that one.

[profJim]

Glad to help out.
By all means continue with your cpu/memory testing to ensure that your system is stable.
Check some of the better online review sites, such as HardOCP and others to see what issues or limitations that are encountering with the 7970 cards.
You should probably post any issues or questions with your cpu/memory testing in Memtest86+ v.4.2 skipping last GB of ram? and post your video card questions and results in this thread. You might want to create a new overclocking thread since it looks like your Memtest86+ questions have been answered.

It's neat when we can bring a smile to a forum member.