Issues with the Radeon HD 4890 Vapor-X

Hello,

I bought the 4890 vapor x like you did, and I have the same problem. According to a technician on the AMD and Sapphire forum, there seems to be a defect in the SKU 11150-05 series, PN 288-1e115-020sa (the references are on the box). If you have a different serial number, you need to send it via email to Sapphire's tech service.

At first, he recommended checking certified power supplies via the ATI website (unfortunately, mine is included), but apparently, it is indeed a defect in the thermal sensor that malfunctions and makes the motherboard think there is an overheating issue. (This information is subject to confirmation).

Now, he recommends directly returning it to the retailer for them to send it for workshop repair (it's longer, but it's pointless to exchange it if the entire series has a problem).

I suggest you check here and https://community.amd.com/community/support-forums as well as the Sapphire forum.

If someone has made a return or exchange and it works, please let us know to see if we need to change the power supply or not. As for me, I'm exchanging it tomorrow, and I'll keep you posted.

Juarez333, stop saying it's the power supply,

It's a flaw in the cards!
The proof? My Vapor X 4890 didn't work with my Corsair HX620 PSU

Now I have a 4890 TOXIC, and no problems even though it's factory overclocked.

They messed up the power stage of the Vapor X, that's all.

So yes, they'll say it's the PSU, but the fact that they allow RMAs means it's their cards.
And buying a PSU over 620W for one card, come on, and yet my setup isn't one of the most economical...

Rampage II Gene
i7 920 D0
Noctua NH-U12P (1366)
Sapphire HD4890 Vapour-X - RIP
Sapphire HD4890 Toxic
3*2G PI G.skill
HX620
Antec 300

And then LOL 400 Watts is clearly insufficient, you need at least a 500 W...
So the computer is out of juice... won't start.
So it's not the motherboard
It's the PSU!
With all that, I recommend at least a 550, and if you want to avoid this kind of issue happening again, get a 600, and you'll be able to take it easy, because Crysis is going to push it to its limits!

You're making me laugh with your 600-watt power supplies!!! I have an Earthwatts 430 with an E8400 overclocked and a HD 4890 Vapor X, plus plenty of other peripherals, and it runs without any problems, without any noise, so.......

Hello everyone,

From what I read, many of us have a boot problem with the Vapor X Sapphire HD4890

This post confirms my doubts about the GPU, so...

Just to assure you that this is not a problem with the PC power supply as I am running on a Corsair HX 750 W power supply (that should be sufficient, I think lol)

And I have almost the same equipment as ZOmiG, which means: (this person has good taste ^^)

Asus P6T Deluxe V2
Core i7 920 D0
Noctua NH-U12P (1366)
3x1Go OCZ DDR3
HD 4890 Vapor-X 1Go DDR5 Sapphire

I must constantly turn the motherboard on and off 1 to 2 times...
Otherwise, once the image appears, it works without any problem
It’s surprising coming from Sapphire to have neglected the power stage of the GPU...

Juarez333 said:

Hello,

I bought the 4890 Vapor X like you, and like you, I have the same problem. According to a technician on the AMD and Sapphire forum, there is a defect in the SKU 11150-05 series, PN 288-1e115-020sa (the references are on the box). If you have a different serial number, you need to email Sapphire's tech service.

I’m so frustrated, I’m currently looking at the packaging of my GPU and I have exactly the same references :(

Thanks for the tip.

For your question, the Sapphire Vapor-X 4870 and 4890 require a minimum power supply of 650 watts, and in crossfire, 1000 watts; otherwise, it won't work as these graphics cards are very power-hungry, around 300 watts per graphics card.

I tested it at home. I have a Cooler Master ESA 1200 watts power supply, and it works very well.

Good luck!

Hello, I am building a gaming setup and I have an OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W power supply.
The problem is that I am waiting for a Sapphire HD4890 reference card, so it's not the Vapor-X version, and I was wondering if this card is also affected by the Vapor-X issue (no boot ...).
I also wonder if the ModXStream Pro 700W can support a CrossFire setup with Sapphire HD4890???
According to the power supply calculator website: https://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator, a 700W is sufficient.

Good evening, I have the same problem with my 4890 HD; when I start the computer, the fan runs at full speed, and nothing happens on the screen.
Check if you have a red LED that stays on; for me, I think it's the problem of a temperature sensor on the card that's malfunctioning, causing the fan to run at full speed like that.

I bought it from LDLC; what should I do, send it back to them or to ATI directly?

I've always had GeForce cards and never had any issues; I wanted to change, but I regret ATI; for me, it's really a piece of junk. Anyway, I'll see if I can exchange it for a GeForce; what would you recommend for the same price as the ATI 4890 HD in GeForce?

Salut Deathtroye, is your HD4890 a VaporX or is it the base version???

Is there anyone who can answer me??? :(

No, it's a 4890 HD, not a Vapor X.

that's serious, I'm waiting for 2 hd4890 sapphire base :s and a ocz modxstream pro 700w power supply
just to know, what power supply do you have deathtroye???

I have an Antec 650.

Hello everyone, I've read your topics, here's my situation:

On an Asus P5Q Deluxe with BIOS updated to 23.01, Core 2 Duo E8400, 4GB DDR2 Crucial 1066 RAM, Creative Xfi Xtrem Gamer, Windows XP, Thermaltake Armor Jr open case + 5 fans...

I have a lot of problems with the Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4890 1GB TOXIC purchased from Grosbill supposedly new but with an open box and the bundled DVDs stolen by the Thiais team:
After a few minutes of gaming (or sometimes an hour), the PC stutters, becomes unplayable, or even freezes or reboots on its own... (e.g. Thief3, Joint Ops, Arma, GTA III, etc)

The newer and more demanding the games are, the sooner it crashes...

On a test with OCCT, it reported a missing graphical DLL error, then the driver stopped responding, followed by a PC crash with a Windows 95-like display.... This crash with OCCT is known, so... an ATI defect that does not support this test:

http://www.presence-pc.com/actualite/Radeon-4890-34994/

Kane & Lynch has never worked properly even with lowered options, it stutters from the start. (tested on GeForce 9600GT Gainward, it was even worse...)

I think this comes from my 700 Watt OCZ Xtrem Gamer PSU which has 4 rails of 12V at 16A each. Since the TOXIC draws at least 25 amperes under load, maybe the card is no longer getting the proper power on its rail. (unlike the 1000 Watt which seems able to distribute the load)

Moreover, GPUz reports that I am on PCI Express 1.1 whereas I should be on 2.0. I don't see how to enable 2.0, there’s nothing in the BIOS.

I also don’t have the heavier option on the chipset and PEG, I can only choose the PCI/PEG order.

Maybe the incompatibilities come not from the power which must be at least 700 but from the amperage on the 12V.

I believe I have the problem of VRM overheating or poor voltage management.

For the total power, it all depends on the number of peripherals, fans, drives, etc. and overclocking.

I wonder if I should disable ATI Overdrive in Catalyst by unchecking it....

Are there any other coolers compatible with the TOXIC besides the Musashi??

In any case, this card is a real pain.

I’m going to test with a single rail power supply like the Thermaltake 750 watt and then ---> Back to Grosbill those little thieves....

On 26/11/2009:

Well, I’m back after swapping my OCZ Gamer Xtrem 700 Watts for a Thermaltake 750 Watts EVO_BLUE MODULAR with lower efficiency but with a single 12V rail of 56A..... and I encountered the famous boot problem with a black screen refusing to start... fans at full speed and red LED lit on Sapphire that I never had before.... I resolved it by changing the order in the BIOS to PEG/PCI instead of the other way around.

So pay attention to this setting which could prevent Sapphire from booting.

For the freezes and slowdowns, perhaps due to the fact that I only had 18A per rail on the OCZ 700 Watts

I am on Catalyst 9.8 and I emphasize that I do not have a Vapor but a TOXIC with serial number: SKU# 11150-01-20R.

I also understood why GPUz was telling me that I was on PCI Express 1.0 rather than 2.0: it’s because of the power-saving mode that drops the bus to 1.0 when idle....

For now, no crashes or slowdowns on Joint Ops, Moto GP 07 and 2008, nor GTLegend or Cossack II. Let’s see on newer games. When I play, my GPU rises to 63 degrees (I put a fan blowing on the VRMs from the side)

It also seems that the side power connectors are sensitive, maybe moving them a bit could fix the problem as they are against my hard drive rail (I additionally had to remove the motherboard to route the power supply in the Thermaltake Armor Jr and dismantle everything )))

That’s it, hoping to have helped those struggling with their Vapor X...

never had a problem like that with the nvidia.... 295 GTX, it rocks

Hi,
I have the same issue with mine, it's a Sapphire H4980 and when I play, the screen stops and restarts.
I will have to send it back to LDLC to get another one.

For your information, it is essential that the power supply has 2 PCIe 6-pin connectors to power the graphics card and not to use modex>PciE cables.

Otherwise, it will never work properly. I tested it with a no-name 450W power supply and it was just a mess, the card's fan would get stuck at full speed, etc.

Now that I'm running with my Corsair HX650W, there are no more issues on that front. By the way, I really recommend it to everyone; Corsair power supplies are really great.

But I'm really disappointed with these f***ing ATI drivers that screw up every 5 minutes. I think I'm going to switch back to NVIDIA even though they are more expensive and a bit less powerful.

I bought a Sapphire HD 4890 Vapor-x with the serial number SKU 11150-05, PN 288-1e115-020sa, the one that would have issues... My power supply is an Advance 480W, basically a piece of junk (I'm waiting for a Corsair HX 650W) and yet, everything works! I don't have the startup problem with the fan running at full speed. Everything works wonderfully... That said, it didn't prevent my advance power supply from burning out!!! The sapphire being power-hungry, it pulled power like a glutton on that basic advance. A few minutes of gaming and bam! Two flashes and a nice smell of burnt: I thought I was going to pass out! A few screwdriver turns later, I replaced the burnt power supply with another junk power supply (heden 480W) just to quickly test if any other component had been damaged: everything worked fine, fortunately! More fear than harm! In any case, it makes me laugh when some say it's the graphics card that is the issue! Perhaps it's a compatibility problem with the motherboard?
For your information, here's my setup:

Motherboard Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 Rev 2.0
Processor Intel Core2Quad Q6600 2.4GHz
Disk 3x Maxtor Diamond Max 500Go 7200rpm 32MB Buffer-size
Memory Corsair Value 4x2G
Graphics Card Sapphire HD 4890 1Gb Vapor-x
Power Supply Advance 480W (dead), Heden 480W (test), waiting for a Corsair HX 650
OS Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64bits
Graphics Driver ATI Catalyst 10.3

You need to change the power supply!! 400W is just barely enough for a HD 4890. Try a 500W or more.

I bought it a year ago, I had the same issue during installation, nothing at all.
I put my old graphics card back in, with the new one alongside (I'm not sure about that).
And I installed the driver, and when I put the new one in by itself, it worked this time.

Hi everyone...
"the power stage..." is it a solder joint, a faulty component...?

...it took 2 years to fail on me but I'm with you now!! Same problem with my HD4870 TOXIC Vapor-X
It came on gradually, same symptoms but at first, I thought it was due to its weight since shaking it slightly up and down by the power cables would bring everything back to normal! It worked like that for 66 months!
However, this time, nothing seems to work. The little red diode near the GPU power supply (out of the 4 there are) stays continuously lit, the monitor is black and the GPU fan is running at full speed so much so that its processor doesn't even have time to heat up!
I've tried dusting it off (dismantling the GPU piece by piece), replacing the thermal pads on the RAM and paste on the processor, checking the solder joints, powering the GPU with different cables and through other ports on my power supply, trying other PCI Ex slots on my motherboard........... I'm so frustrated... Over 400E for 2 years, Sapphire won’t be seeing me again!!!

Thank you for providing all these clarifications on this problem!