Video Hardware Error/Power Supply

[essenbe]

It makes a pretty big log file, so be ready. It logs about everything there is.

 

[Yefo]

Ask and you shall receive... BSOD while logging. Temperatures were all pretty normal (80 degrees) at the time of the BSOD, especially considering I was gaming.

I have attached the temperature logs, and was going to attach the dump logs, but for some reason, this BSOD did not register in them.

Any idea where to go from here? Have we exhausted our avenues?

I do not have a spare GPU or PSU to swap out unfortunately... I was considering making an impulse PSU buy and swapping it in, but none of the local stores near me have one with a high enough wattage.

 

[essenbe]

Open you case and see if the fan is running. The log shows fan speed as 0%. (GPU Fan)

 

[Yefo]

Yes, the fan is running. Also, I fired up the software again and, even when I can visibly verify the fan is running, it claims fan speed is 0%. It must not be capable of fetching the fan speed from my card *shrug*

 

[Layback Bear]

Hwmonitor works for me. Both cpu and gpu fan speed.

 

[Yefo]

Hwmonitor works for me. Both cpu and gpu fan speed.

Yes, but it could be using an API call that is not available on some NVIDIA graphics cards. Just a thought.

 

[essenbe]

GPUz works for me. It tells the %fan and the RPMs of it too. Do you have software to set a user profile for the fan speed? If not, MSI Afterburner is a good program. It is primarially an overclocking program, But you can set fan profiles and on screen monitoring of numerous functions So that you can see them while playing.

 

[Yefo]

But why would it matter? I can physically see the fan turning and the temperature was well within safe operating temperatures for the GTX 590 when I got the BSOD.

Let's assume the fan stops for some reason... if the video card isn't overheating, does anything actually happen? (in other words, could a suddenly stopped fan on a video card cause a BSOD regardless of temperature?)

Edit: That said, I downloaded MSI Afterburner and it can read my fan speed just fine. It is running at about 50% capacity right now while gaming.

 

[Yefo]

Another symptom of these BSODs that I failed to mention is that the video card fan will suddenly jump up from whatever speed it was running at to an extremely fast speed. This happens right when the screen goes black/computer crashes.

Minor detail, but thought it could be good to know...

 

[Layback Bear]

1. If you GPU card fan quiets when you card is in use your card will overheat. (BSOD)
2.If you watch your fan speed and temps at the same time you should see the fan increase when the temps increase if it is set at Auto.
3. The fan stopping per say doesn't really do anything to the system except allow the video card to overheat.
Example: Unplugging the video card fan.

4. If the fan shorts out and quiets the short could back feed into the motherboard causing problems.
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At the present time I think we should just worry about your fan working properly and your temps under load.
Do your gaming and watch your fan speed and temps and let us know what they are.

 

[Yefo]

Another BSOD, temperature was at 82 degrees, not sure about fan speed (although I did hear/see it running).

80 and 82 degrees were the recorded temperatures at the time of crash for my two BSODs today. That seems pretty light for an overheating issue. But then again...

Any comments on the fact that those temperatures are well within safe operating temperatures for the GTX 590? Perhaps the card is hotter than the reading claims it is...? Or, maybe this issue doesn't have anything to do with overheating?


Note: Neither this BSOD or the early BSOD from today logged any files in minidump... not sure why.

 

[Layback Bear]

What case (tower)are you using? 80c is to hot.

 

[Yefo]

I am using the Corsair Graphite 600T Gaming Case (seen here Amazon.com: Corsair Graphite Series Black 600T Mid-Tower Computer Case (CC600TM): Electronics).

According to NVIDIA (source: GeForce GTX 590 | GeForce) the maximum safe temperature for the GTX 590 is 97 degrees. Also, through less scientific sources, many users experience low 80s when under full load on the GTX 590, so it does not sound that uncommon.

While I can't completely rule out overheating, the way I see the evidence, this does not seem to be the issue.

Edit: I'm currently going to try to keep my game settings/framerate at a level that keeps my card temperature lower, around 70 degrees, and see what happens... If I BSOD at 70 degrees, then I'm thoroughly convinced it is not due to overheating.

 

[Yefo]

The issue with GPU-Z not logging fan speed has been resolved. At the bottom of the GPU-Z program is a drop down to select which video card you want it to monitor. While I only have one video card, the GTX 590 has 2 cores, so there are 2 GTX 590 options to choose from. Long story short... one of them is able to retrieve the fan speed and one of them is not since the GTX 590 only has one fan.

 

[x BlueRobot]

The BSOD's which I have seen so far, have been Stop 0x116's, whereby the graphics card becomes "hung" and doesn't recover within the allocated time, here's a explanation to save typing: Timeout Detection and Recovery (TDR) (Windows Drivers)

Here's some of the usual causes for Stop 0x116's from the BSOD Index:

Usual causes:  Video driver, [COLOR="Red"][B]overheating[/B][/COLOR], bad video card, BIOS, Power to card

 

[Layback Bear]

I would just like to mention the that 97c in my opinion is to hot.
Now I will get out of the way and watch.

 

[Yefo]

I would just like to mention the that 97c in my opinion is to hot.
Now I will get out of the way and watch.

Haha, no need to get out of the way.

I'm just trying to figure out how this could be an overheating issue when I'm so far under the safe operating temperature as indicated by NVIDIA (getting BSODs at 80 degrees vs. the 97 degrees that NVIDIA claims is safe). Granted, 97 does seem pretty high, but I'm almost 20% below that anyway. Perhaps my card is actually hotter than the temperature monitor is indicating...? Or maybe my card simply has a hardware defect that causes it to shut down at lower temperatures than it is supposed to?

Or then again, maybe this is all just a PSU issue in disguise. Personally, I hope this is the case, because a new PSU is about 5x cheaper than a new GPU. Then again, maybe my computer is a complete POS and the PSU AND GPU are malfunctioning at the same time

The fact that these BSODs typically happen when the video card is under stress is concerning and seems to indicate possible overheating... but the temperature monitor just does not seem to indicate that that is the case.

 

[essenbe]

First, you are relying on the monitoring program to get it correctly. Then there is also the sensor on the card itself. Also, the max temp and the safe temp are 2 different things. 97°C is 206°F. I would not call that safe under any circumstances. Just to test it, why not take the side off the case and use a house fan to blow cooler air directly on the card and see if the temps are better and the BSODs improve. I really don't know about GPU monitoring programs, but I do know that CPU temp monitoring programs are rarely correct. They are usually 'in the ball park' but not an exact temp.

As far as the PSU, you can look at the log and see what the voltage was at the time of the BSOD. As I recall, it was pretty normal.

 

[Yefo]

After another BSOD today (at 84 degrees this time), I'm starting to think maybe these BSODs are indeed caused by overheating, regardless of the difference between the temperature monitor and the recorded safe operating temperature by NVIDIA.

One thing I've been noticing in my GPU-Z logs is that my fan is typically only running at ~50 capacity during these crashes. I've used MSI Afterburner to define a more aggressive fan speed curve. At 50 degrees, fan will run at 70%. At 60 degrees, 84%, at 70 degrees, 92%, and at 80 degrees, 100%.

Besides the extra noise, what are the consequences of these changes? Am I overworking my fan (is that even possible)?

I'm going to do some gaming similar to what I've been doing and see how much these fan changes adjust my operating temperature...

Edit: So much for that experiment... I instantly BSODed when trying to start a game. Crashed at 50 degrees this time with the fan at 68% capacity (about 2300 RPM). Now I'm just more confused...

Also, to be more descriptive... these are all black screens of death, and the last 4 or 5 have not even been logged in the minidump files. No idea why.

Edit2:
I tried this again with the same Fan speed curve... and again, nearly insta-BSOD when game started at around 50 degrees. I also tried a flat 85% and, sure enough, BSOD at 52 degrees.

I'm not exactly an expert on how the PSU interacts with the GPU, so maybe this theory does not hold water... But does the GPU draw more power when the fan speed increases? Maybe the card is not overheating at all, but when it reaches a certain temperature and the fan really tries to kick in, the PSU is incapable of supplying the necessary power to the card (and fan), and bam! BSOD. Thoughts on this theory?

 

[essenbe]

Disclaimer: I am not a video card expert, not even close.
Several things you can try:
Try the external fan and see if that makes a difference.

Lower the settings on the game and see if that helps. (I know you shouldn't have to with your card, but maybe)

The black screen sounds more like a driver or the game itself crashed. If either of those happened you should get a message, but not always. Mini dumps are usually only created when you have the typical blue screen with the writing and error code on them. Just make sure you are configured for the mini dumps http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/174459-dump-files-configure-windows-create-bsod.html

The definitave test to me: Do you have another computer or a friend that will help? Take your card out and put his card in your rig and your card in his rig. See what happens. If you think it may be the PSU, do the same. I would rather you find out for sure what it is before spending money.

Make sure your drivers are up to date and installed correctly. click on the 'Detailed Guide and read it.It is a work in progress, but very good. Ultimate 2013 Nvidia Driver Guide by MANIAC-VVV-

EDIT: Also make sure to keep an eye on CPU temps too.