ATI 5850 Flicker at desktop? OC'ing fixes?

Logikos · Dec 5, 2009

Arghh.. Driving me nuts, my 5850 flickers like a bad psu, or a clockspeed set too high would show you .. but it is the opposite cause.

Apparently the 5850 (and higher cards) idle down VERY low on core and mem speeds in 2D environments,.. ie: Windows.

(Using Windows 7 btw).

Anyhow,.. how do I immediately fix it?

I run AMD GPU clock util,.. and change the stock clock from 725 to 726, and mem clock from 1000 to 1001. Yes, 1mhz.

This essentially just causes the card to get out of this 'idle, declock' mode I suppose.. and all is happy, no more flicker. (I've even noticed some youtube playback issues and other anomalies before OC'ing 1mhz).

Thing is.. I have to OC EVERYTIME I bootup.

Nothing I have will automatically do it on startup...

It shouldn't be a problem to begin with.. this is an OBVIOUS fix for ATI to release a driver or perhaps a bios flash (whatever it takes).. though I'm sure simple drivers could do it to bump the low idle clock up just a nudge and problem solved. If I could get a hold of one of their devs I'm sure he could fix me right up. lol.

Anyhow, you get the gist of it -- there is even a thread further down in this forum of a 5870 (I think) with the same problem.. that OC'ing a bit fixed. Searching the web finds loads of results of mouse pointer problems and such.. which some have found a little OC fixes.

Though Rivatuner isn't working with this card for OC.. MSI afterburner won't change the settings unless you flash your bios with an older standard ATI bios (which could potentially make your currently unavailable 300$+ card a brick).. and the ATI OC tool, that does great, doesn't have an auto clock feature on startup.. a little change there and I'd be good till ATI fixed it themselves.

So I thought I would ask here..

Any ideas?

Anyone had any luck?

Anyone have any tricks up their sleeve to fix this, or at least get it to OC a touch automatically until ATI releases a fix?

I would greatly appreciate it.. you have no idea.

Take care,

GT3mich · Dec 5, 2009

MSI Afterburner won't run at start up? Mine does. I'm running dual 4870's with a small OC. Is a 58xx card issue?

MadMan007 · Dec 5, 2009

Doesn't CCC allow you to set permanent overclocks? Is that what you're using to oc now? Or does it just set them for 3D, I can't remember.

Try oc'ing just the memory, or rather setting it to a fixed speed. I had some wierdness with a 4850 on Aero desktop when resizing windows that turned out to be due to the aggressive memory downclocking. I fixed it by BIOS flashing so there was no memory downclock which isn't an option for you yet

I was adjusting fan speed profiles too anyway. At least with just memory set to a fixed high speed the power draw difference won't be huge.

deed · Dec 5, 2009

MadMan007 said:
Doesn't CCC allow you to set permanent overclocks? Is that what you're using to oc now? Or does it just set them for 3D, I can't remember.

I thought this also....

Have you tried changing you screen refresh rate? my 4850 had the same issue but it was also because of the new driverrs I had installed.

1sleeper · Dec 6, 2009

I also get some on the right side down by the clock. Looks like a magnet is too close and its fuzzy. A refresh fixes it.

Logikos · Dec 6, 2009

GT3mich said:
MSI Afterburner won't run at start up? Mine does. I'm running dual 4870's with a small OC. Is a 58xx card issue?

MSI will run at startup, it's just that MSI Afterburner doesn't control the clock speeds. You change them, hit apply.. but nothing. (It seemed to change them the first time I tried it (but may have been a fluke) -- But since no luck. I read that with the 5000+ series you have to flash the bios to get MSI Afterburner to work, that is something I am not, just quite , ready to do on such an expensive piece of equipment I cannot RMA.

Yes, this is a 5850/5870 (Think 59xx series can have it as well). Even not 'unheard of' on some upper end 4xxx series cards.. though I can't attest to that.

I just want it fixed, and a 1MHZ clock (or even setting it to stock clocks I realize fixes it.. it is just turning up that dang 'idle down ' feature. If it didn't idle sooo low, it would be fine. Simple fix, at least for my card it is.. and I suspect for others that are having odd problems.

Logikos · Dec 6, 2009

MadMan007 said:
Doesn't CCC allow you to set permanent overclocks? Is that what you're using to oc now? Or does it just set them for 3D, I can't remember.

Try oc'ing just the memory, or rather setting it to a fixed speed. I had some wierdness with a 4850 on Aero desktop when resizing windows that turned out to be due to the aggressive memory downclocking.

CCC allows for the 'overdrive unlock' but it acts flakey.. and it doesn't turn off the idle down... You see this card is a default stock close on Engine of 725Mhz, and Memory of 1000Mhz. (Has alot of room to OC with stock fan, as the stock fans are monsters.. but I digress).

To give you an example,.. The card idles to these numbers unless 'called upon by a game, or GPU intensive task' -- Engine = 156mhz, and Memory = 300Mhz.

I'm all for power saving, but at the cost of glitch/stability.. no. I bet if they upped that idle down to say.. Engine = 250, and Memory 450 it would be ok. None the less.. simple stock clock settings with the 'idle down' feature off fixes it. So just add that option to the controls .. I don't really care lol.

But yes, CCC has the overdrive feature, that allows for the OC.. but it is finicky and when I set clocks it only temporarily changes to that clockspeed (I'll have GPU-z up in the background to watch clock changes in real time) .. So I'm guessing CCC does indeed OC the card, it just doesn't turn off the idle down.. so the OC is only seen when the card , again, has some demand put on it.

You might say, well just leave it and you'll be fine in games. Not so,.. somehow with this glitchyness at the low speeds (if I don't manually OC first) browser, windows, and yes, even FPS games will be glitched out graphically. IE: A menu screen starting a game will be overlapping onto itself.

Yes, these glitches sound like evidence of artifacting and such that you get when you OC too much.. or heat is an issue (I've had that with other cards.. I know hehe) --- But apparently the opposite , at least in this series, can cause this type of problem.

And no, I don't use CCC for my OC's because it won't lock the clock in and keep it that way. I use "AMD GPU Clock Tool" -- Free program that allows you to type in the clock speeds manually and hit 'set clocks' and you are done. (But , of course, I want an automatic fix.. which is why I'm here picking brains).

I fixed it by BIOS flashing so there was no memory downclock which isn't an option for you yet I was adjusting fan speed profiles too anyway. At least with just memory set to a fixed high speed the power draw difference won't be huge.

Well,.. actually I have come across a Bios that a select few have used on the 58xx series to flash, that they purposely use because this bios allows MSI Afterburner to then work (voltage and all) -- (These guys were OC'ing the 5850 from 725/1000 to 940/1200 (ish.. not exact there) just with the MSI software).

But, it is a little shady, and I'd really like a bios from the ATI website, approved by them, with a fairly easy and reliable method of flashing it.

--If you know much about flashing.. no computer I have here anymore uses a Floppy disk, so I have to use a USB stick for 'media'. Can I load the flash file and according flash utilities on the USB drive and I guess go to dos mode (F8 to dosmode perhaps?) and initiate the flash off the stick? (I know I flash my bios with the USB flash drive)... just curious cause I have no onboard video or other video card in this machine, so I'd be flashing the card I'm using to see what I'm doing (not sure if that is possible.. is it?)

Thanks for your response.

Logikos · Dec 6, 2009

deed said:
MadMan007 said:

Have you tried changing you screen refresh rate? my 4850 had the same issue but it was also because of the new driverrs I had installed.

Click to expand...

Yes -- The screen refresh is what prompted all of this to start. Since I have figured out that it is a clock issue with the card causing the glitches.. I'm glad I did.

You see I ordered one of the few brands that make a true 120Hz LCD monitor. As such, the refresh runs at 120Hz.

This flickered and artifacted right away when I plugged it in. I bumped the refresh to 110Hz and it went away. But through my trial and error I found out what I did with the clock speeds.. and it runs at 120Hz just fine at clock speeds.. just doesn't run right at 120Hz refresh at the 159MHz 'idle speed'. Which makes sense in a way.. that is pretty low by any standard. Not sure what windows and web browsers require for 2d and say Youtube quality HD video, flash, etc.. but the clock doesn't ramp out of that idle mode doing those activities.. maybe that is the issue, maybe it won't come out of the idle mode properly.

Doesn't surprise me your 4850 had the issue, it is a powerful card.. Very close to the 5 series of course... and I've read some 4850/4870 owners report some similar issues though it isn't near as prominent as the 5850/70+ on the message boards. Not sure if it is prominent enough for ATI to release a driver/bios fix in any hurry.. cause it probably doesn't effect every card identically.

IE: I bet if I ran a normal 60Hz LCD like 99% of the population does ,.. this issue would have never crept up. But I will say, on the side, that the 120HZ is tremendous. It is like I have my old CRT back for gaming, and just reading/browsing the internet. My eyes don't get near as fatigued etc.

Keep any ideas coming if you get them..

Thank you,

Iam99x · Feb 21, 2010

I have this same issue while running dual monitors. No fix for it, yet?

terran2k · Feb 22, 2010

just create a scheduled task to start it upon logon in windows?

killem2 · Feb 22, 2010

1st, I hate replies that are fixes to an issue via some software that isn't related to the source.

2nd, yeah I still get issues with dual screen idling and overclocking, doesn't do it at all in movies or games but still amd really should fix this issue. Because its not like its related to anyone who goes over their stock oc amounts even though cause the same issues.

freeagent · Feb 22, 2010

my asus 4890 does that as soon as you touch the memory clocks. there was no fix.

TTimmy · Feb 22, 2010

My old Powercolor HD4870 PCS+ 1gig also had this very annoying problem, fixed it with Rivatuner which I set to the minimum GPU and memory speed everytime I booted up windows but I had to also make a Launcher Item to set it to stock speed when I wanted to play a game.

You can probably fix that with the new MSI Afterburner with the "unsupported overclock -1" tweak and the 2d/3d profile setting. I'm using that now with my 5850.

Iam99x · Feb 22, 2010

I fixed the issue. Disable ATi Overdrive. Bam.

Mikef1r3 · Feb 23, 2010

even with disabling ati overdrive you can still oc with MSI afterburner? i gotta get me that program. Cause i get the flickering too when ati overdrive is enables and running 5040 x 1050 on three monitors on 2 stock 5770's isnt the worst but want to give it a little boost

Quantu · Feb 23, 2010

fix?

Enable overdrive

create a profile in CCC and save it, but do NOT activate

c:\users\<user name>\appdata\local\ati\ace\profiles [must have show hidden files on]

open the .xml with the same name as the profile created

make the following changes

Feature name="CoreClockTarget_0"
Property name="Want_0" value="40000" [previous should be "15700"]

Feature name="MemoryClockTarget_0"
Property name="Want_0" value="90000" [previous should be "30000"]

Save and close file

now by going in CCC and activating the profile the idle speeds should be 400 and 900 instead of 157 and 300

this will marginally increase idle temps

Iam99x · Mar 11, 2010

Quantu said:
Enable overdrive

create a profile in CCC and save it, but do NOT activate

c:\users\<user name>\appdata\local\ati\ace\profiles [must have show hidden files on]

open the .xml with the same name as the profile created

make the following changes

Feature name="CoreClockTarget_0"
Property name="Want_0" value="40000" [previous should be "15700"]

Feature name="MemoryClockTarget_0"
Property name="Want_0" value="90000" [previous should be "30000"]

Save and close file

now by going in CCC and activating the profile the idle speeds should be 400 and 900 instead of 157 and 300

this will marginally increase idle temps

I finally got off my butt and tried it. It worked! Thank you so much!!!

Quantu · Mar 15, 2010

Glad it worked

No problem at all. I've done that change on 2 5750's and a 5850, and I like the difference myself, although I didn't have a flicker to begin with. It seems to throttle up smoother than it did before now.

al2suarez · Mar 28, 2010

I have the same issue. I own a Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 Toxic 1GB Video Card as of Friday(3/27/2010). Since then I have been experiencing flickering on my screen constantly. I have already requested an RMA from NewEgg but haven't sent it yet. It seems to get worse when I am scrolling or when I open a game. I am currently running ATI's Driver 10.3. Today I noticed that when I opened CCC's ATI Overdrive that the 'Enable ATI Overdrive' checkbox was CHECKED. That caught my attention because I had not manually checked this checkbox. In the Group Box titled 'Current Values' it states GPU Clock: 240MHz and Memory Clock: 300MHz. Mind you that the flickering is constant. The moment I uncheck the checkbox the flickering instantly STOPS and the Group Box titled 'Current Values' changes to GPU Clock: 400MHz and Memory Clock: 1125MHz. So it appears that the idle settings for the card being that of voltage and other stuff might be TOO LOW. Should I continue with the RMA or could this be a Driver fix??? But wasn't this supposed to have already been fixed on Driver 10.1/10.2? Have not tried Quantu's fix yet but what should the default idle GPU and Memory Clock be?

al2suarez · Mar 29, 2010

Quantu said:
No problem at all. I've done that change on 2 5750's and a 5850, and I like the difference myself, although I didn't have a flicker to begin with. It seems to throttle up smoother than it did before now.

Hot diggity dog! It actually worked! Thanks Quantu! You saved me from having to send my video card for an RMA. However, I do have a question though. I read at this site, http://www.hitechlegion.com/reviews...850-toxic-edition-video-card-review?showall=1 , that he is getting 36C at Idle while mine states 52C. Why so darn hi?

ATI 5850 Flicker at desktop? OC'ing fixes?

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