PC Drivers & Software

[gs64]

OS: Windows 10 64-bit

GPU: Sapphire NITRO+ RX 5700 XT (bios switch in middle position)

CPU: 2700

MOBO: Gigabyte b350-ds3h

RAM: 16gb 3200

STORAGE: Samsung 1TB SSD

PSU: 650W Gold (forget manufacturer, it's a solid brand though)

Examples of the issue: Any windows that are open will start to slow down, will either not minimize, or minimized windows won't pop back up; can't bring up Start or Search; unable to switch between or close tabs in Chrome; when playing a game you'll notice some assets aren't loaded in. After I notice all of these occurrences, it's only a matter of time until I can't interact with anything, and/or my mouse freezes with the picture. This is when I usually have to manually reset my PC (maybe 1/30 times this has happened will the PC become responsive again).

I've found solutions to this problem in the past, and I myself have had this issue on and off ever since I got the card in early 2020. However, it's been happening a lot more as of late (2-5 times a day). My usual fix is realizing I have either a Windows or AMD Driver update to complete, and after that the issue would stop (or, if it would happen, it would be like 1, maybe times a month if at all). Today, I uninstalled my drivers using AMD Cleanup Tool in Safe mode, then manually selected the latest WHQL driver for re-installation. It unfortunately hasn't worked and has crashed 3 times since doing so.

Any ideas on this? Should I rollback to a different driver, try DDU instead? Am I missing something here?

Thank you for your time!

[gs64]

Update:

-I used DDU to remove everything the other day, then reinstalled an older driver from August (my PC didn't crash once between August-Mid November. It still crashed.

-Turned the BIOS switch from Silent to Performance. Still crashing.

-Ended up updating to the driver from November 3rd, and after I did that, noticed there was another driver released yesterday (December 5th). However, this morning, my PC froze again.

I'm at a loss for this problem. I don't get black screens, BSODs, or automatic shutdowns/restarts, so I don't think it's something related to other hardware. I am not an expert. If anyone could please chime in on this I'd be very grateful. 

Have a good day!

[gs64 · Accepted solution]

Well it's been about half of a week, and I think I found a solution. I ended up DDU'ing the AMD drivers once more, and then swapped in my old 1050Ti I had before the 5700 XT, and...

No crashes whatsoever!

I think I found the unfortunate solution to the problem, and that is that AMD cards just aren't as solid a product as I thought. After I got it in April 2020, this problem would occur every so often. I just figured it was the little price to pay with a bank/buck type of product. As time went on, it's clear it's not a bug, but a feature. I am very disappointed in my AMD GPU experience. On top of these freezes, I always felt like the card ran super hot -- even with paying attention to cooling and running a 'factory' undervolt on it most of the time.

It's a shame seeing several other AMD GPUs having similar issues on these forums, and it seems every solution ended up being going back to team green. I can't recommend their GPU line anymore, however I haven't ever had a hitch with my 2700, and I still will be staying team red for that component in the future.

Be well, and buyer beware if you bought an AMD GPU and ran into this issue.