Question Black screen crash with fans spinning full speed on a ROG Strix 2080 super

[Phoenixdive]

Hello all,
I've been trying to break my head trying to diagnose a recurring issue I've been having where the gpu shuts off randomly while under load and the fans start spinning at 100%. The only way to get it working again is with a hard reboot.
Component list is as follows:

• Asus ROG Strix 2080 Super
• Asus Z370-F Motherboard
• i7 8700k
• 4x 8gb D41 Spectrix 3200 mhz
• 4 ssd drives of various makes and models.
• Gygabyte B700h Plus Bronce

This issue may happen 10 minutes after launching a game or an hour, sometimes not happening at all after intensive 8+ hours of gpu usage.
I've noticed that as times goes by, the crash is less likely to happen. (less likely to happen after 2 hours of gaming, for instance.) This chance seems to reset if I close out a game and can happen within 20 minutes of relaunching a game.
I've been all over forums and I've read this can be an issue with everything basically, from drivers to RAM to PSU to maybe the GPU.
I've done the following so far:

• Several driver clean installs (using DDU) of various versions.
• New windows install
• Underclocking GPU clocks which -somewhat- helped with stability for a while. They are now happening with the same frequency regardless of clock speeds.
• Updating BIOS.
• Installing GPU in another system which had a 550w power supply. Crashes happened as well.

Since crashes happened on a brand different system as well it led me to believe it's the gpu.
Might this be an issue with thermals? might repasting help?
Card is under warranty but I wouldn't wish Asus Mexico RMA process on my worst enemy. Last time I sent them a card it took them 6 months to refund me the money, and with gpu prices the way they are (they are even MORE inflated in my country - 3060's are going for 1300 usd) money won't help me at all, so I want to do all I can to salvage this card.

 

[Phoenixdive]

So I fixed it. Thanks everyone.

 

[NicholasWilder]

Hi, I am having a very similar problem. Can I ask how you fixed it? Thanks!

 

[Phoenixdive]

Hi, I am having a very similar problem. Can I ask how you fixed it? Thanks!

Hello Nicholas,

I am sorry you are going through this as it's extremely frustrating.
I'll try to briefly walk you through a few possible fixes as unfortunately this particular type of crash can have a number of causes.

It may be driver related.
DDU and reinstall drivers or revert to a known driver version.
Check windows event viewer for possible error reports, other software or drivers can conflict with the display driver as well and make it crash, such as the notorious HID_compliant usb devices driver crash.

It may be software related
Sometimes instances of gpu controlling software such as GPU Tweak or MSI afterburner can cause these type of crashes. Unlikely but there's a chance nonetheless.

It may be thermals
Thermal interface materials can age and their performance can decrease to the point where your GPU starts thermal throttling. Once it deteriorates enough components may be getting hot enough to the point of failure causing a crash. Keep in mind components like VRM's are very rarely monitored with a thermal probe so even if you are seeing 60 degree temps in your gpu core, your vrm's may be nearing a 100. Repasting and replacing thermal pads would ideally fix this. This is how I fixed my issue.

It may be hardware related
A component might be fatally malfunctioning. Solder might've cracked. A capacitor burnt. Unfortunately while this is fixable it's way beyond someone with my expertise level and honestly it might be worth it to RMA the card if that is a possibility.