Solved Bad Graphics Card

[Moochmaker]

Lately, my LCD screen has been shutting off randomly and I'm thinking it's my graphics card. It acted up last year when the fan was broken and I sent it back to get fixed, but I think the fan is busted again. It runs very loudly now whereas I couldn't hear it at all before. Is there any way to know for sure if it is the graphics card causing my LCD screen to shut off? And when I say shut off, I mean the screen is fine, but will lose the signal to the graphics card even though I can hear its still running. It acts as if the card isn't working or the computer isn't on. Do I need to get a new graphics card?

Edit: And come to think of it, this usually happens when I'm running/playing WoW. Haven't seen it happen at any other time.

 

[smarteyeball]

Is it only loud at load, or is it loud even at the desktop?

If it's only happening at load temps, have you checked to see if it's clogged with dust etc?

If it were something else, like the PSU, then most likely the whole machine would shutdown.



Try using GPU-Z to monitor the temps when playing. Make sure the 'log to file' box is ticked so you can review the log after the screen goes blank. If the cards not dirty, the fan is cranked and still overheating it probably is on it's way out.

The fact that it was broken in the past, suggests that it may be the card.

The only other way to really rule out the card is to either use another one.

 

[Moochmaker]

At load and start up, it's pretty quiet. As it keeps going, the fan gets louder.

I went ahead and cleaned out the dust that was in there the best I could. Reduced the loudness, but still noticeable. There wasn't a lot of dust in there, just a bit here and there in different spots.

Anyways, I'm doing the log right now. When I had WoW running, it got up to around 100 degrees Celsius, but when I shut it off, it went back down to 83 degrees. I'll get you the log as soon as I'm done with it.

Edit: Attached the text log. The peak is WoW running above 110 degrees celsius.

 

[smarteyeball]

Wow! - and not the game

I think we've found the cause for the screen going blank. That thing is cooking :shock:

Even the idle temps are far above what they should be.

The 100% fan speed accounts for the excessive noise and unless there are some serious dust bunnies hiding under the shroud (if the model has a shroud) then it's quite possible that the thermal paste may have degraded. Whatever the cause, it's simply not being cooled adequately, hence the very high temps, noise and eventual signal loss.

Unfortunately that card won't last that long if continued to run at 100c+

They tend to run hot anyway, but not that hot

If it is a shrouded model, you could try a can of compressed air to attempt to blow out any dust bunnies or remove the shroud to get at the heatsink. If you're feeling adventurous, you could also remove the heatsink and replace the thermal paste.

Otherwise the easier (and more expensive) option would simply be to replace the card.

 

[ddix1026]

wow.. those are some crazy high GPU temps.. i thought mine was running too hot at 40c or 42c.. even gotten up to 46c a couple times (although the idle is about 35c or 37c).. now I see someone else has 70c+ at idle.. i dont feel so bad about mine.. im surprised it hasnt melted or completely fried by now..

 

[Moochmaker]

Ya. I didn't think that was normal either.

The compressed air may help, but more likely than not, the card is done. What's odd is that after posting that, I went back to play WoW for a bit and the gpu temp didn't even exceed 80 C. It was like the fan was actually working properly and the card running smoothly. But when I was about to turn off the game, it has peaked again at 100 C. I'm guessing the fan works well some of the time, but most of the time it doesn't. I've already ordered a new card, but I made the topic just to confirm if there was anything else that could be causing my screen to shut off. Thanks for the help.

 

[smarteyeball]

No problems - enjoy your new card