My web applications occasionally slow to a crawl and then freeze at the same time, sometimes making the entire computer nearly unresponsive. When it happens, the AMD software reports that the display driver has timed out. Games run flawlessly, so I'm not sure whether the RX 7900 GRE is actually failing. I'm using an RX 7900 GRE with a Ryzen 5 9600X, two monitors connected directly to the GPU, and a new M.2 SSD with a fresh Windows installation. The problem also occurred with my previous Windows installation and older SSD. How can I determine whether this is a faulty GPU or a driver, browser, or multi-monitor issue before pursuing an RMA?
1 Answer
A driver timeout means the GPU driver stopped responding, but it doesn’t automatically prove that the graphics card is defective. Since the card isn’t overclocked or undervolted and the issue survived a Windows and SSD change, try completely removing the AMD driver with DDU from Safe Mode, then install a current stable driver directly from AMD. It’s also worth testing with browser hardware acceleration disabled, especially since the problem seems limited to web applications. Check Windows Event Viewer or Reliability Monitor for display-driver errors, and test with one monitor disconnected. If the crashes continue after a clean driver install and those tests, the GPU, cable, power connection, or display setup becomes more suspicious.
The card is running at stock settings, and I’ve already tried a fresh Windows installation. The same problem happened before the reinstall, so I’ll focus next on a fully clean driver install, browser hardware acceleration, and testing with only one monitor connected.