Gigabyte GTS450 causes random black screen

[drdunno]

Can you borrow another nVidia graphics card from another system to test with? Any PCI-e x16 card will do.

Unfortunately, I do not have access to another nVidia graphics card (unless I buy a new one).

The GTS450 does recommend a minimum 400W PSU. I think trying another graphics card as suggested above is a good idea. Maybe the shop that sold you the card could oblige.

I actually have a 500W PSU. So, I think that should be sufficient (hopefully).

Well, you might give the newer 280.26 driver a go and see what happens now. It seems about 50/50 on whether it works on different systems.

Also please fill out system specs with this tool. This will make them available in each of your posts. http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/180324-system-info-see-your-system-specs.html

I will get my profile updated with my system specs using the tool you pointed me to. Thanks for that. (I'm at work at the moment - I will get it updated later this evening when I get home)

I will also try out the new 280.26 driver, to see if this resolves the issue.

I must say that as of the last BSOD, I have not seen any more - but I have not tried using IE9 since the BSOD. So I am not able to confirm that it will not recur.

I have not checked whether my MOBO BIOS has a newer version. If there is a newer one available, I will try it out to see if that helps.

 

[Britton30]

I have not checked whether my MOBO BIOS has a newer version. If there is a newer one available, I will try it out to see if that helps.

Hold off on flashing your BIOS a bit. that can cause more problems. Unless there is one which addresses this specific issue. The BSOD team may find another solution for you.

 

[drdunno]

Sure, I'm in no rush to flash the BIOS. So, I will wait for the moment. Thanks.

 

[drdunno]

So, I am closing this thread as "Solved" because I have not seen any more black screens since I re-installed the OS and did the following:

• disabled the "High Definition Audio Device" which is associated with the graphics card
• disabled the Etron USB3.0 device in the motherboard BIOS before installing the OS (also did not install the Etron drivers)

Thanks everyone for all the inputs/comments.

 

[Britton30]

You're welcome and good luck.

 

[drdunno]

Sadly, I am seeing the black screens once again. I have managed to root cause it to the GTS450 graphics card.

I have sent it back for warranty claim to Gigabyte (via the store I bought it from). However, now I have to wait for (possibly) 2 months for Gigabyte to get back about the issue.

It looks like many users have reported of the nVIDIA GeForce 4xx series products facing the black screen issue. Not sure if it is a hardware of driver issue. Have to wait till Gigabyte get back to me.

 

[TVeblen]

Bummer.
When I was having trouble with my 260 I bought a $50 replacement card to test with. After confirming the 260 was a dud I then had a temporary card to use while I waited for the RMA process.
I was told 4 to 8 weeks but got my replacement card back in a little over 3.

 

[Britton30]

Sorry to hear that. Personally I lay blame on Gigabyte, I have one of their motherboards and had a AMD graphics card from them. One of their solutions was I shouldn't have installed Win 7 and go back to XP :shock: Others may have different experiences though.
I now have the ASUS GTX460.

 

[drdunno]

One of their solutions was I shouldn't have installed Win 7 and go back to XP :shock: Others may have different experiences though.
I now have the ASUS GTX460.

Holy crap! Really? Gigabyte can give such an answer? I had very high opinion of Gigabyte actually, thus my move to get a Gigabyte MOBO and graphics card.

Deviating from the original topic of this thread, I plan to give my current PC to my dad and I plan to get another computer in 2-3 months time. Any suggestion of MOBO and graphics card makers I should go for?

• For the MOBO, I was actually thinking of getting either the ASUS P8P67 PRO B3, ASUS P8P67 DELUXE B3 or the ASUS P67 SABERTOOTH B3 - any opinions of which one I should go for.
• And which graphics card should I pick - Asus, Sapphire or XFX? nVidia or ATI?

I understand that these are very much personal preferences. But any opinions? To me, there are no correct or wrong answers. It is all about just being well informed before making a purchase. Opinions most welcome.

 

[Britton30]

Yup, it took two RMAs for my motheboard to work, meaning a total of about 4 weeks down time.
I like ASUS's products and many people have MSI mobo's too. As for graphics I think both AMD and nVIDIA can be good or buggy, depending on the drivers. I have use both and have seen no difference, but I don't game, only watch movies and graphics editing.
Regarding motherboards, I suspect most any will suffice if it has all the bells and whistles you want/need. Only reason I got this Gigabyte is it had a floppy connector. Turns out I haven't used it and instead have went to USB flash drives.

 

[TVeblen]

For the graphics card don't rule out EVGA. They have a very good rep for warranty response.

 

[mjf]

I thought the GTS 450 was a workhorse (Gigabyte or ASUS board).
I'm hoping OP's trouble was just unfortunate bad luck. Please report back when you get your new replacement card.

 

[drdunno]

I thought the GTS 450 was a workhorse (Gigabyte or ASUS board).

I too had fairly high expectations of the GTS450. The thing is I know if it graphics card related - but I was not able to narrow down whether the random black screens were due to the hardware or the nVIDIA driver.

I'm hoping OP's trouble was just unfortunate bad luck. Please report back when you get your new replacement card.

I too am hoping that it just bad luck. I re-opened this thread because I thought that it would be useful for other users who are also facing similar problems with their GTS450. I will surely report back once I hear back from the store (which will be sending the graphics card back to Gigabyte for a warranty claim). Since my MOBO and graphics card are both from Gigabyte, I am only hoping that they do see the issue I am facing. Then, at least I would get either new working hardware or some resolution for the problem.

 

[drdunno]

For the graphics card don't rule out EVGA. They have a very good rep for warranty response.

Sadly, I cannot seem to find EVGA in Malaysia. The common board manufacturers in Malaysia are Asus, Gigabyte, Sapphire, XFX, MSI and Winfast. In fact, only after getting onto various forums, I am hearing of EVGA. I cannot seem to find an EVGA vendor over here.

 

[TVeblen]

Oh. That's too bad.

The thing that I do is check the on-line stores that have Customer Reviews. You can sift through the normal complaints and self inflicted wounds and come up with a good sense of the products that have problems and the companies that respond.

I've shied away from Gigabyte products over the last few years due to the pretty consistent buzz from people complaining of getting the run around from the company on warranty issues. Like I've said before, every manufacturer is going to have it's bad day, but it is how they respond that makes all the difference IMHO.

 

[jamiewalder75]

Solved

Hi guys, had a black screen after welcome screen, spent a little wile trying to solve it and it seemed i had bad drivers as safe mode worked fine, then it hit me. there is 3 outputs on this card. HDMI, DVI and standard analogue. maybe the card defaulted to a different output after driver install. BOOOM problem solved HDMI it is then. analogue give me black screen but i had a mouse, HDMI works 1080p fine